Device, and position estimation method of vehicle

Abstract

To provide technique capable of properly estimating a position of a vehicle traveling on a conveyor.SOLUTION: A device includes: a vehicle speed acquisition part for acquiring a vehicle speed of a vehicle capable of traveling by unmanned operation; a conveyance speed acquisition part for acquiring a conveyance speed of the conveyor on which the vehicle is put; and an estimation part for estimating the position of the vehicle, using the acquired vehicle speed and the acquired conveyance speed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for estimating a position of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for running a vehicle autonomously or by remote control during the vehicle manufacturing process. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2017-538619 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The inventors of the present application have found that a vehicle capable of running autonomously or by remote control may run not only on a stationary road surface but also on a moving conveyor. In order to run the vehicle appropriately on the conveyor, a technology capable of appropriately estimating the position of the vehicle is desired. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure can be realized in the following forms.

[0006] (1) According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus including: a vehicle speed acquisition unit that acquires a vehicle speed of a vehicle capable of traveling by unmanned driving, a conveyance speed acquisition unit that acquires a conveyance speed of a conveyor on which the vehicle is riding, and an estimation unit that estimates a position of the vehicle using the acquired vehicle speed and the acquired conveyance speed. According to this aspect, the position of the vehicle is estimated using the vehicle speed and the transport speed of the conveyor on which the vehicle is traveling. Therefore, the position of the vehicle on the conveyor can be appropriately estimated taking into account the transport speed of the conveyor. (2) In the above embodiment, the estimation unit may estimate the position of the vehicle using a detection result by an external sensor located outside the vehicle and the acquired vehicle speed and conveying speed. According to this embodiment, the position of the vehicle on the conveyor can be more appropriately estimated using the acquired vehicle speed and conveying speed and the detection result by the external sensor. (3) In the above embodiment, the estimation unit may estimate the position of the vehicle by correcting the position information of the vehicle acquired using the detection result based on the acquired vehicle speed and conveying speed. According to this embodiment, the position information acquired using an external sensor is corrected based on the vehicle speed and conveying speed, so that the position of the vehicle on the conveyor can be estimated with higher accuracy. (4) In the above embodiment, a command generating unit may be provided that generates and outputs a control command for driving the vehicle in an unmanned manner using the estimated position of the vehicle. According to this embodiment, a control command is generated using the estimated position of the vehicle taking into account the transport speed of the conveyor, and the vehicle can be appropriately driven on the conveyor using the generated control command.

[0007] In addition to the above-mentioned device form, the present disclosure can be realized in the form of, for example, a system, a vehicle position estimation method, a program for implementing the position estimation method, a non-transient recording medium on which the program is recorded, a program product, etc. Note that the program product may be provided as a recording medium on which the program is recorded, or may be provided as a program product that can be distributed via a network, for example. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a system configuration according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for vehicle travel control in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an estimation process. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for vehicle travel control in a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] A. First embodiment: 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a system 50 in the first embodiment. The system 50 includes one or more vehicles 100, a server 200, and one or more external sensors 300.

[0010] The vehicle 100 may be a vehicle that runs on wheels or a vehicle that runs on caterpillar tracks, and may be, for example, a passenger car, a truck, a bus, a two-wheeled vehicle, a four-wheeled vehicle, a tank, a construction vehicle, etc. In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 is an electric vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle). The vehicle 100 may be, for example, a gasoline vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or a fuel cell vehicle.

[0011] The vehicle 100 is configured to be capable of traveling by unmanned driving. "Unmanned driving" means driving without the driving operation of a passenger. Driving operation means at least one of the operations of "running", "turning" and "stopping" of the vehicle 100. Unmanned driving is realized by automatic or manual remote control using a device located outside the vehicle 100, or by autonomous control of the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 traveling by unmanned driving may have a passenger who does not perform driving operation on board. The passenger who does not perform driving operation includes, for example, a person who simply sits in the seat of the vehicle 100, and a person who performs work other than driving operation, such as assembly, inspection, and operation of switches, while riding on the vehicle 100. Note that driving by a passenger who performs driving operation is sometimes called "manned driving".

[0012] In this specification, "remote control" includes "full remote control" in which all of the operations of the vehicle 100 are completely determined from outside the vehicle 100, and "partial remote control" in which some of the operations of the vehicle 100 are determined from outside the vehicle 100. In addition, "autonomous control" includes "full autonomous control" in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations without receiving any information from devices external to the vehicle 100, and "partial autonomous control" in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations using information received from devices external to the vehicle 100.

[0013] The vehicle 100 may have a configuration capable of moving by unmanned driving, and may be in the form of a platform having the configuration described below, for example. Specifically, the vehicle 100 may have at least a vehicle control device and an actuator group described later in order to perform the three functions of "running", "turning", and "stopping" by unmanned driving. When acquiring information from an external device of the vehicle 100 for unmanned driving, the vehicle 100 may further have a communication device. That is, the vehicle 100 capable of moving by unmanned driving may not have at least a part of interior parts such as a driver's seat and a dashboard, may not have at least a part of exterior parts such as a bumper and a fender, and may not have a body shell. In this case, the remaining parts such as a body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 before the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory FC, or the remaining parts such as a body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 after the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory FC in a state in which the remaining parts such as the body shell are not attached to the vehicle 100. Each part may be mounted from any direction, such as the top, bottom, front, rear, right or left side of the vehicle 100, and may be mounted from the same direction or from different directions.

[0014] In this embodiment, the system 50 is used in a factory FC that manufactures the vehicle 100. The reference coordinate system of the factory FC is a global coordinate system GC. That is, any position in the factory FC is expressed by X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The factory FC includes a first location PL1 and a second location PL2. The first location PL1 and the second location PL2 are connected by a track TR on which the vehicle 100 can travel. In the factory FC, a plurality of external sensors 300 are installed along the track TR. The positions of the external sensors 300 in the factory FC are adjusted in advance. The vehicle 100 moves from the first location PL1 to the second location PL2 through the track TR by unmanned driving. In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 is in the form of a platform during the period when it moves from the first location PL1 to the second location PL2. In other embodiments, the vehicle 100 is not limited to the form of a platform and may be in the form of a completed vehicle.

[0015] In this embodiment, the partial track TRp, which is a part of the track TR, is configured by a part of the conveyor CV laid in the factory FC. The conveyor CV is included in the conveyor device CE. The conveyor CV is driven by a conveyor drive unit CD included in the conveyor device CE. The conveyor CV is configured, for example, as a belt conveyor having an endless belt for conveying, a chain conveyor having an endless chain for conveying, or a roller conveyor having rollers for conveying. The conveyor drive unit CD is configured, for example, by a transmission mechanism such as a motor for generating a driving force, and a gear or pulley for transmitting the driving force of the motor to the conveyor CV. The conveyor drive unit CD is driven under the control of, for example, the server 200 or another computer (not shown) different from the server 200. Note that the conveyor device CE can transport any transported object, such as various parts, people, or various vehicles that are not being driven, while moving the vehicle 100 on the conveyor CV. In this case, it is preferable that the conveyor device CE transports the transported object on a part different from the partial track TRp on the conveyor CV.

[0016] In this embodiment, the conveying direction TD of the conveyor CV is the same direction as the target direction Dp of the vehicle 100 on the partial track TRp. The target direction Dp means the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 along the reference track RR described later. That is, the target direction Dp is a direction from the rear side to the front side on the reference track RR. Specifically, the conveying direction TD and the target direction Dp in this embodiment are the +X direction. Various work processes may be performed on the vehicle 100 moving on the conveyor CV. The work processes are, for example, a process of assembling parts to the vehicle 100 and a process of inspecting each part of the vehicle 100. The work processes on the vehicle 100 on the conveyor CV may be performed, for example, by a worker or a robot riding on the vehicle 100 or the conveyor CV, or may be performed by a worker or a robot not riding on the conveyor CV. In addition, the above-mentioned work processes may be performed on the vehicle 100 traveling on a part of the track TR that is not on the conveyor CV, i.e., a part different from the partial track TRp. In this case, the work process may be performed, for example, by a worker or a robot on board the vehicle 100, or by a worker or a robot not on board the vehicle 100.

[0017] The actual speed of the vehicle 100 moving on the conveyor CV is determined according to the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 and the transport speed of the conveyor CV. In this specification, the "vehicle speed" means the relative speed of the vehicle 100 with respect to the road surface on which the vehicle 100 is located. This road surface includes not only a stationary road surface but also a moving road surface such as the conveyor CV. As will be described later, the vehicle speed can be detected based on a value representing the rotation speed of the wheels. In addition, in this specification, the "actual speed" means the absolute speed in the reference coordinate system. That is, the actual speed of the vehicle 100 in this embodiment is the absolute speed of the vehicle 100 in the global coordinate system GC. For example, when the transport speed of the conveyor CV has a speed component in the same direction as the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, the actual speed of the vehicle 100 moving on the conveyor CV is faster than the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 according to the transport speed of the conveyor CV. Specifically, in this case, if wheel spin and slip are not taken into consideration, the actual speed of the vehicle 100 is approximately equal to the vehicle speed plus the magnitude of the speed component of the conveying speed in the same direction as the traveling direction. Conversely, if the conveying speed of the conveyor CV has a speed component in the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, the actual speed of the vehicle 100 moving on the conveyor CV is slower than the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 according to the conveying speed of the conveyor CV. Specifically, in this case, if wheel spin and slip are not taken into consideration, the actual speed of the vehicle 100 is approximately equal to the vehicle speed minus the magnitude of the speed component of the conveying speed in the opposite direction to the traveling direction. Also, if wheel spin and slip are not taken into consideration, the actual speed of the vehicle 100 traveling on a stationary road surface is approximately equal to the vehicle speed.

[0018] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the system 50. The vehicle 100 includes a vehicle control device 110 for controlling each part of the vehicle 100, an actuator group 120 including one or more actuators that are driven under the control of the vehicle control device 110, a communication device 130 for communicating with an external device such as a server 200 by wireless communication, and one or more internal sensors 140. The actuator group 120 includes actuators related to the running of the vehicle 100, such as an actuator of a drive device for accelerating the vehicle 100, an actuator of a steering device for changing the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, and an actuator of a braking device for decelerating the vehicle 100. The drive device includes a battery, a running motor driven by the power of the battery, and a drive wheel rotated by the running motor. The actuator of the drive device includes a running motor.

[0019] The internal sensor 140 is a sensor mounted on the vehicle 100. The internal sensor 140 may include, for example, a sensor that detects the motion state of the vehicle 100, a sensor that detects the operating state of each part of the vehicle 100, and a sensor that detects the environment around the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the internal sensor 140 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100. The vehicle speed sensor detects the vehicle speed based on a value representing the rotation speed of a wheel provided on the vehicle 100 and a diameter of the wheel. As the value representing the rotation speed of the wheel, for example, the rotation speed of a driving motor provided on the vehicle 100 may be used, the rotation speed of an output shaft may be used, or the rotation speed of the wheel acquired by a wheel speed sensor may be used. The internal sensor 140 may include, in addition to a vehicle speed sensor and a wheel speed sensor, for example, a camera, a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), a millimeter wave radar, an ultrasonic sensor, a GPS sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like.

[0020] The vehicle control device 110 is configured by a computer including a processor 111, a memory 112, an input / output interface 113, and an internal bus 114. The processor 111, the memory 112, and the input / output interface 113 are connected via the internal bus 114 to enable bidirectional communication. The input / output interface 113 is connected to an actuator group 120 and a communication device 130. The processor 111 executes a program PG1 stored in the memory 112 to realize various functions including a function as a vehicle control unit 115.

[0021] The vehicle control unit 115 controls the actuator group 120 to drive the vehicle 100. The vehicle control unit 115 controls the actuator group 120 using a driving control signal received from the server 200 to drive the vehicle 100. The driving control signal is a control signal for driving the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the driving control signal includes the acceleration and steering angle of the vehicle 100 as parameters. In other embodiments, the driving control signal may include the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 as a parameter instead of or in addition to the acceleration of the vehicle 100.

[0022] The external sensor 300 is a sensor located outside the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the external sensor 300 is a sensor that captures the vehicle 100 from outside the vehicle 100. Specifically, the external sensor 300 is configured by a camera. The camera as the external sensor 300 obtains a captured image including the vehicle 100, and outputs the captured image as a detection result. The external sensor 300 includes a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with other devices such as the server 200 by wired communication or wireless communication.

[0023] The server 200 is configured by a computer including a processor 201, a memory 202, an input / output interface 203, and an internal bus 204. The processor 201, the memory 202, and the input / output interface 203 are connected via the internal bus 204 so as to be able to communicate bidirectionally. The input / output interface 203 is connected to a communication device 205 for communicating with various devices outside the server 200. The communication device 205 can communicate with the vehicle 100 by wireless communication, and can communicate with each external sensor 300 by wired communication or wireless communication. The memory 202 stores various information including a program PG2, a reference route RR, a detection model DM, and conveyor position data PD. The processor 201 executes the program PG2 stored in the memory 202 to realize various functions including functions as a remote control unit 210, a determination unit 215, a vehicle speed acquisition unit 220, a conveying speed acquisition unit 230, an estimation unit 240, and a command generation unit 250. The server 200 in the first embodiment corresponds to the "device" in this disclosure.

[0024] The remote control unit 210 uses the detection results from the sensors to generate a driving control signal for controlling the actuator group 120 of the vehicle 100, and transmits the driving control signal to the vehicle 100, thereby causing the vehicle 100 to drive by remote control. The remote control unit 210 may generate and output not only the driving control signal, but also a control signal for controlling actuators that operate various accessories provided in the vehicle 100 and various equipment such as wipers, power windows, and lamps. In other words, the remote control unit 210 may operate such various equipment and accessories by remote control.

[0025] The determination unit 215 determines whether the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV. As described later, in this embodiment, the determination unit 215 determines whether the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV by using a captured image acquired by a camera as the external sensor 300. The determination unit 215 may determine that the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV when it detects that all wheels provided on the vehicle 100 are on the conveyor CV, or may determine that the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV when it detects that some of the multiple wheels provided on the vehicle 100 are on the conveyor CV. For example, in the case where the vehicle 100 is a four-wheeled vehicle, the determination unit 215 may determine that the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV when it detects that the front wheels in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 are on the conveyor CV, or may determine that the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV when it detects that all four wheels are on the conveyor CV. The front wheels in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 refer to the front wheels when the vehicle 100 is moving forward, and the rear wheels when the vehicle 100 is moving backward. In another embodiment, the determination unit 215 may determine whether the vehicle 100 is riding on the conveyor CV by using, for example, an area sensor that detects the intrusion of the vehicle 100 into an area where the conveyor CV is laid, or a sensor that detects an external force or pressure applied to the conveyor CV.

[0026] The vehicle speed acquisition unit 220 acquires the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100. Specifically, the vehicle speed acquisition unit 220 acquires the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 using a vehicle speed sensor and a wheel speed sensor serving as the internal sensor 140.

[0027] The conveying speed acquisition unit 230 acquires the conveying speed of the conveyor CV on which the vehicle 100 is riding. The conveying speed acquisition unit 230 acquires the conveying speed of the conveyor CV, for example, using various sensors for detecting the movement of the conveyor CV. For example, the conveying speed acquisition unit 230 may acquire the conveying speed of the conveyor CV using a potentiometer or an encoder provided in the conveyor device CE. Such a potentiometer or encoder is not limited to a sensor that directly detects the movement of the conveyor CV, and may be configured, for example, by a sensor that detects the rotation speed of a motor or a transmission mechanism included in the conveyor drive unit CD. In addition, the conveying speed acquisition unit 230 may acquire the conveying speed of the conveyor CV, for example, using a camera that can capture an image of the conveyor CV. In this case, for example, a marker may be given to the conveyor CV in advance, and the conveying speed acquisition unit 230 may acquire the conveying speed of the conveyor CV based on a position change of the marker in an image captured by the camera. In addition, in this embodiment, an external sensor 300 may be used as a camera for acquiring the conveying speed of the conveyor CV.

[0028] When the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV, the estimation unit 240 estimates the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 using the acquired vehicle speed and transport speed. The vehicle position is included in vehicle position information, which is position information that is the basis for generating a travel control signal. In this embodiment, the vehicle position information includes the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 in the global coordinate system GC of the factory FC. Hereinafter, the orientation included in the vehicle position information is also referred to as the vehicle orientation. Note that, when the vehicle 100 is not on the conveyor CV, the estimation unit 240 in this embodiment estimates the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 using the vehicle speed.

[0029] The command generating unit 250 generates and outputs a control command for driving the vehicle 100 in an unmanned driving manner, using the position of the vehicle 100 estimated by the estimating unit 240. In this embodiment, the command generating unit 250 generates a control command using the estimated vehicle position, and transmits the generated control command to the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the remote control unit 210 functions as the command generating unit 250. In this embodiment, the remote control unit 210 functioning as the command generating unit 250 generates a driving control signal as a control command.

[0030] Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for driving control of the vehicle 100 in the first embodiment. In the processing procedure in Fig. 3, the processor 201 of the server 200 executes a program PG2 to function as a remote control unit 210, a determination unit 215, a vehicle speed acquisition unit 220, a transport speed acquisition unit 230, an estimation unit 240, and a command generation unit 250. Also, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 executes a program PG1 to function as a vehicle control unit 115.

[0031] In step S1, the processor 201 of the server 200 acquires vehicle position information of the vehicle 100 using the detection results output from the sensors. In step S1 in this embodiment, the processor 201 acquires the vehicle position information using a captured image acquired from a camera, which is the external sensor 300, and the vehicle speed acquired by the internal sensor 140.

[0032] In detail, in step S1, the processor 201 acquires the position information of the vehicle 100 using the captured image, and corrects the position information based on the vehicle speed to acquire the vehicle position. Hereinafter, the position information of the vehicle 100 before correction acquired using the external sensor 300 is also referred to as primary position information, and the position information of the vehicle 100 generated by correcting the primary position information based on at least the vehicle speed is also referred to as secondary position information. In addition, the position of the vehicle 100 represented by the primary position information is also referred to as the primary position, and the position of the vehicle 100 represented by the secondary position information is also referred to as the secondary position. For example, in step S1, the processor 201 first detects the outer shape of the vehicle 100 from the captured image, calculates the coordinates of the positioning point of the vehicle 100 in the coordinate system of the captured image, i.e., the local coordinate system, and converts the calculated coordinates into coordinates in the global coordinate system GC, thereby acquiring the primary position information of the vehicle 100. The outer shape of the vehicle 100 included in the captured image can be detected, for example, by inputting the captured image into a detection model DM that utilizes artificial intelligence. The detection model DM is prepared, for example, inside or outside the system 50, and is stored in advance in the memory 202 of the server 200. The detection model DM may be, for example, a trained machine learning model trained to realize either semantic segmentation or instance segmentation. For example, a convolutional neural network (hereinafter, CNN) trained by supervised learning using a training dataset may be used as this machine learning model. The training dataset has, for example, a plurality of training images including the vehicle 100, and labels indicating whether each region in the training image is a region indicating the vehicle 100 or a region indicating something other than the vehicle 100. During training of the CNN, it is preferable to update the parameters of the CNN by backpropagation (error backpropagation method) so as to reduce an error between the output result of the detection model DM and the label.

[0033] Next, the processor 201 acquires the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100, and corrects the primary position information based on the acquired vehicle speed, thereby generating secondary position information. Specifically, the processor 201 corrects the primary position information based on, for example, the vehicle speed and a time corresponding to a time lag from the start of step S1 to the acquisition of the primary position information, so as to suppress a positional deviation between the primary position and the actual position of the vehicle 100 caused by this time lag. The time corresponding to the time lag from the start of step S1 to the acquisition of the primary position information includes, for example, a time corresponding to a time lag from the start of step S1 to the acquisition of a captured image, and a time corresponding to a time lag from the acquisition of a captured image to the acquisition of the primary position information.

[0034] Also, in step S1, the processor 201 can obtain the orientation of the vehicle 100 by estimating the orientation of the vehicle 100 based on the orientation of a movement vector of the vehicle 100 calculated from a position change of a feature point of the vehicle 100 between frames of captured images using, for example, an optical flow method. Note that the orientation of the vehicle 100 may be obtained using, for example, a detection result of a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, or the like, as the internal sensor 140. Also, the obtained orientation of the vehicle 100 may be used, for example, to correct the primary position information.

[0035] In step S1 in this embodiment, specifically, an estimation process, which will be described later, is executed to acquire vehicle position information of the vehicle 100.

[0036] In step S2, the processor 201 of the server 200 determines a target position to which the vehicle 100 should next head. In this embodiment, the target position is represented by X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. A reference route RR, which is a route along which the vehicle 100 should travel, is stored in advance in the memory 202 of the server 200. The route is represented by nodes indicating the departure point, nodes indicating passing points, nodes indicating the destination, and links connecting the nodes. The processor 201 uses the vehicle position information and the reference route RR to determine a target position to which the vehicle 100 should next head. The processor 201 determines a target position on the reference route RR that is ahead of the current location of the vehicle 100.

[0037] In step S3, the processor 201 of the server 200 generates a driving control signal for driving the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position. The processor 201 acquires a vehicle speed from the vehicle 100, and compares the acquired vehicle speed with the target vehicle speed. When the vehicle speed is lower than the target vehicle speed as a whole, the processor 201 determines an acceleration so that the vehicle 100 accelerates, and when the vehicle speed is higher than the target vehicle speed, the processor 201 determines an acceleration so that the vehicle 100 decelerates. In addition, when the vehicle 100 is located on the reference route RR, the processor 201 determines a steering angle and an acceleration so that the vehicle 100 does not deviate from the reference route RR, and when the vehicle 100 is not located on the reference route RR, in other words, when the vehicle 100 deviates from the reference route RR, the processor 201 determines a steering angle and an acceleration so that the vehicle 100 returns to the reference route RR.

[0038] In step S4, the processor 201 of the server 200 transmits the generated driving control signal to the vehicle 100. The processor 201 repeats, at a predetermined cycle, the acquisition of vehicle position information, the determination of a target position, the generation of a driving control signal, and the transmission of the driving control signal.

[0039] In step S5, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 receives a traveling control signal transmitted from the server 200. In step S6, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 controls the actuator group 120 using the received traveling control signal, thereby causing the vehicle 100 to travel at the acceleration and steering angle represented in the traveling control signal. The processor 111 repeats receiving the traveling control signal and controlling the actuator group 120 at a predetermined cycle. According to the system 50 in this embodiment, the vehicle 100 can be caused to travel by remote control, and the vehicle 100 can be moved without using transportation equipment such as a crane or a conveyor.

[0040] 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the estimation process for implementing the method for estimating the position of the vehicle 100 in this embodiment. As described above, the estimation process in FIG. 4 is executed to acquire vehicle position information in step S1 in FIG.

[0041] In step S105, the determination unit 215 determines whether the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV. In step S105 in this embodiment, the determination unit 215 determines whether the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV using the position information of the vehicle 100 acquired using the captured image and the conveyor position data PD indicating the installation position of the conveyor CV in the factory FC. The position information of the vehicle 100 used in step S105 is acquired, for example, by a method similar to that for acquiring the primary position information. Note that in other embodiments, in step S105, the determination unit 215 may determine whether the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV using, for example, the primary position information. In addition, the determination unit 215 may determine whether the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV using, for example, the corrected primary position information.

[0042] If it is determined in step S105 that the vehicle 100 is not on the conveyor CV, the processor 201 executes normal processing in steps S110 to S125. The normal processing is processing for estimating the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 traveling on a portion of the track TR that is not on the conveyor CV, i.e., a portion different from the partial track TRp. In contrast, if it is determined in step S105 that the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV, the processor 201 executes conveyor processing in steps S130 to S150. The conveyor processing is processing for estimating the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 traveling on the conveyor CV of the track TR, i.e., the partial track TRp.

[0043] If it is determined in step S105 that the vehicle 100 is not on the conveyor CV, in step S110, the estimation unit 240 acquires a captured image from a camera, which is the external sensor 300. In step S115, the vehicle speed acquisition unit 220 acquires the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100. In step S120, the estimation unit 240 acquires primary position information of the vehicle 100 using the detection model DM and the captured image acquired in step S110. Also, in step S120, the estimation unit 240 acquires the orientation of the vehicle 100 by using an optical flow method or the like.

[0044] In step S125, the estimation unit 240 estimates the vehicle position using the primary position information acquired in step S120 and the vehicle speed acquired in step S115. Specifically, in step S125, the estimation unit 240 estimates the vehicle position by correcting the primary position information acquired in step S120 based on the vehicle speed acquired in step S115. That is, in step S125, the estimation unit 240 generates secondary position information by correcting the primary position information based on the vehicle speed, and estimates the generated secondary position information as the vehicle position. As described above, the actual speed of the vehicle 100 traveling on a stationary road surface approximately matches the vehicle speed if spinning and slipping are not taken into consideration, so that the vehicle position can be estimated with higher accuracy by correcting the primary position information based on the vehicle speed in step S125.

[0045] If it is determined in step S105 that the vehicle 100 is not on the conveyor CV, first, in step S130, the estimation unit 240 acquires a captured image in the same manner as in step S110. In step S135, the vehicle speed acquisition unit 220 acquires the vehicle speed in the same manner as in step S115. In step S140, the conveying speed acquisition unit 230 acquires the conveying speed of the conveyor CV. In step S145, the estimation unit 240 acquires primary position information of the vehicle 100 and acquires the orientation of the vehicle 100 using the detection model DM and the captured image acquired in step S130 in the same manner as in step S115.

[0046] In step S150, the estimation unit 240 estimates the vehicle position using the vehicle speed acquired in step S135 and the conveying speed acquired in step S140. In step S150 in this embodiment, the processor 201 functioning as the estimation unit 240 estimates the vehicle position using the captured image, the vehicle speed, and the conveying speed. Specifically, in step S150, the processor 201 functioning as the estimation unit 240 estimates the vehicle position by correcting the primary position information acquired using the captured image based on the vehicle speed and the conveying speed. That is, in step S150, the estimation unit 240 generates secondary position information by correcting the primary position information based on the vehicle speed and the conveying speed, and estimates the generated secondary position information as the vehicle position. As described above, the actual speed of the vehicle 100 traveling on the conveyor CV is determined according to the vehicle speed and the conveying speed, so the vehicle speed and the conveying speed are reflected in the positional deviation between the primary position and the actual position of the vehicle 100 when the vehicle 100 is traveling on the conveyor CV. Therefore, by estimating the vehicle position using the primary position information, the vehicle speed, and the transport speed in step S150, the vehicle position can be estimated with higher accuracy.

[0047] In step S150, the processor 201 may calculate an actual speed based on the vehicle speed and the transport speed, and correct the primary position information using the calculated actual speed and a time corresponding to the time lag described above. In this case, the actual speed is calculated, for example, by the following formula (1). V A=V V +V C cosθ …(1) In the above formula (1), V A represents the magnitude of the actual velocity, and V V represents the magnitude of the vehicle speed, and V C represents the magnitude of the conveying speed of the conveyor CV. θ represents the angle difference between the conveying direction TD and the moving direction Dt of the vehicle 100. The moving direction Dt represents the relative moving direction of the vehicle 100 with respect to the road surface of the conveyor CV. As the moving direction Dt, for example, a direction calculated based on the orientation acquired in step S120 or a target direction Dp can be used. The moving direction Dt may be acquired based on the transition of the vehicle position of the vehicle 100, for example. The angular difference θ is 0° when the conveying direction TD and the moving direction Dt are the same, and is 180° when the conveying direction TD and the moving direction Dt are exactly opposite to each other.

[0048] In step S3 of FIG. 3, the processor 201 functioning as the command generator 250 generates and outputs the above-mentioned control command, that is, a driving control signal, using the vehicle position estimated in step S125 or step S150.

[0049] According to the system 50 in the present embodiment described above, the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 is estimated based on the vehicle speed of the vehicle 100 and the transport speed of the conveyor CV on which the vehicle 100 is riding. Therefore, the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 on the conveyor CV can be appropriately estimated taking into account the transport speed of the conveyor CV. Furthermore, the travel of the vehicle 100 on the conveyor CV can be appropriately controlled using the vehicle position appropriately estimated in this manner.

[0050] In addition, in this embodiment, the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 is estimated using the captured image as the detection result by the external sensor 300 and the acquired vehicle speed and conveying speed. Therefore, the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 on the conveyor CV can be more appropriately estimated using the acquired vehicle speed and conveying speed and the detection result by the external sensor 300.

[0051] In the present embodiment, the estimation unit 240 estimates the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 by correcting the primary position information of the vehicle 100 acquired using the detection result by the external sensor 300, based on the vehicle speed and the conveying speed. Therefore, for example, by correcting the primary position information based on the vehicle speed and the conveying speed so as to suppress the positional deviation between the primary position and the actual position of the vehicle 100, the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 on the conveyor CV can be estimated with higher accuracy.

[0052] In addition, this embodiment includes a command generating unit 250 that generates and outputs a control command for driving the vehicle 100 in an unmanned manner, using the vehicle position estimated by the estimating unit 240. Therefore, a control command is generated based on the vehicle position estimated taking into account the transport speed of the conveyor CV, and the vehicle 100 can be appropriately driven on the conveyor CV using the generated control command.

[0053] B. Second embodiment: 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a system 50v in the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the system 50v is different from the first embodiment in that it does not include a server 200. In addition, the vehicle 100v in this embodiment can run by autonomous control of the vehicle 100v. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment unless otherwise described.

[0054] In this embodiment, the processor 111v of the vehicle control device 110v executes the program PG1 stored in the memory 112v to function as the vehicle control unit 115v, the determination unit 215, the vehicle speed acquisition unit 220, the conveying speed acquisition unit 230, the estimation unit 240, and the command generation unit 250. The vehicle control unit 115v acquires the detection results by the sensors, generates a driving control signal using the detection results, and outputs the generated driving control signal to operate the actuator group 120, thereby making it possible to drive the vehicle 100v by autonomous control. In this embodiment, the vehicle control unit 115v functions as the command generation unit 250. In this embodiment, in addition to the program PG1, the memory 112v prestores the detection model DM, the reference route RR, and the conveyor position data PD. The vehicle control device 110v in the second embodiment corresponds to the "device" in this disclosure.

[0055] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the travel control of the vehicle 100v in the second embodiment. In the processing procedure in Fig. 6, the processor 111v of the vehicle 100v executes a program PG1 to function as a vehicle control unit 115v, a determination unit 215, a vehicle speed acquisition unit 220, a transport speed acquisition unit 230, an estimation unit 240, and a command generation unit 250.

[0056] In step S11, the processor 111v of the vehicle control device 110v acquires vehicle position information using a detection result output from a camera, which is the external sensor 300. In step S11 in this embodiment, the processor 111v acquires vehicle position information using a captured image and a vehicle speed, similar to step S1 in FIG. 3. In step S12, the processor 111v determines a target position to which the vehicle 100v should next head. In step S13, the processor 111v generates a driving control signal for driving the vehicle 100v toward the determined target position. In step S14, the processor 111v controls the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal, thereby causing the vehicle 100v to drive according to parameters represented in the driving control signal. The processor 111v repeats the acquisition of vehicle position information, the determination of a target position, the generation of a driving control signal, and the control of the actuator group 120 at a predetermined cycle. According to the system 50v in this embodiment, the vehicle 100v can be driven by autonomous control of the vehicle 100v without remote control of the vehicle 100v by the server 200.

[0057] In this embodiment, a process similar to the position estimation process of Fig. 4 is executed, for example, at a predetermined time interval by the processor 111v of the vehicle 100v. Also, each step of Fig. 4 is executed by the processor 111v.

[0058] The system 50v in the second embodiment described above can also appropriately estimate the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 on the conveyor CV, taking into account the transport speed of the conveyor CV.

[0059] C. Other embodiments: (C1) In the above embodiment, the external sensor 300 is a camera. In contrast, the external sensor 300 does not have to be a camera, and may be, for example, a LiDAR. In this case, the detection result output by the external sensor 300 may be three-dimensional point cloud data representing the vehicle 100. In this case, the server 200 and the vehicle 100 may acquire vehicle position information by template matching using detection point cloud data, which is three-dimensional point cloud data as the detection result, and reference point cloud data prepared in advance. In addition, in the template matching, matching between the detection point cloud data and the reference point cloud data is started at the start position. Then, if matching cannot be completed at the start position, matching is performed around the start point starting from the start position. In this way, the template matching is repeatedly performed while changing the matching position until matching is completed. For example, the start position is preferably a position closer to the vehicle 100 in the measurement point cloud data from the viewpoint of suppressing falling into a local solution in the template matching and from the viewpoint of completing the template matching early.

[0060] Even in a case where the external sensor 300 is a LiDAR and the detection result by the external sensor 300 is three-dimensional point cloud data, when it is determined that the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV, the estimation unit 240 can estimate the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 using the detection result by the external sensor 300 and the acquired vehicle speed and conveyance speed. In this case, the estimation unit 240 may determine the start position of template matching using the acquired vehicle speed and conveyance speed. Specifically, the estimation unit 240 can determine the start position so that the start position is closer to the vehicle 100 in the measurement point cloud data, for example, using the vehicle speed and conveyance speed and previous position information of the vehicle 100. In this case, the previous position information of the vehicle 100 can be, for example, a predetermined running start position of the vehicle 100, previously acquired vehicle position information of the vehicle 100, or a previous completion position of matching. In this way, it is possible to increase the possibility that the measurement point cloud data and the reference point cloud data are more appropriately matched, and the position of the vehicle 100 can be more appropriately estimated by template matching. Furthermore, when it is determined that the vehicle 100 is on the conveyor CV, the estimation unit 240 may acquire the vehicle position by correcting the position of the vehicle 100 acquired by template matching based on the vehicle speed and the conveying speed, regardless of whether or not the start position of template matching is determined using the vehicle speed and the conveying speed. That is, the estimation unit 240 may generate secondary position information by correcting the primary position information acquired by template matching based on the vehicle speed and the conveying speed, and acquire the generated secondary position information as the vehicle position.

[0061] (C2) In each of the above embodiments, the estimation unit 240 may acquire vehicle position information using detection results output from various internal sensors 140, including but not limited to vehicle speed sensors, wheel speed sensors, gyro sensors, and acceleration sensors, in addition to or instead of the detection results output from the external sensor 300. In this case, the estimation unit 240 may acquire vehicle position information using, for example, detection results from a camera or Lidar as the internal sensor 140. Also, the estimation unit 240 may acquire vehicle position information using detection results from the internal sensor 140 without using the external sensor 300. In this case, the estimation unit 240 may acquire the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 on the conveyor CV using, for example, the position of the vehicle 100 acquired using the detection results from a camera or LiDAR as the internal sensor 140, the vehicle speed, and the conveying speed. Also, the estimation unit 240 may acquire the vehicle position of the vehicle 100 on the conveyor CV using, for example, previous position information of the vehicle 100, the vehicle speed, and the conveying speed. In this case, as the previous position information of the vehicle 100, for example, a predetermined travel start position of the vehicle 100 or previously acquired vehicle position information of the vehicle 100 can be used.

[0062] (C3) In each of the above embodiments, the command generating unit 250 generates a driving control signal as a control command. In contrast, the command generating unit 250 does not have to generate a driving control signal as a control command. Specifically, the control command only needs to include at least one of a driving control signal and generation information for generating the driving control signal. For example, when the command generating unit 250 provided in the server 200 generates the generation information as a control command, the vehicle control device 110 of the vehicle 100 that receives the generation information may generate a driving control signal using the generation information. For example, the generation information may be vehicle position information, a route, or a target position.

[0063] (C4) In the above-described first embodiment, the processes from obtaining vehicle position information to generating a driving control signal are executed by the server 200. In contrast, at least a part of the processes from obtaining vehicle position information to generating a driving control signal may be executed by the vehicle 100. For example, the following forms (1) to (3) may be used.

[0064] (1) The server 200 may acquire vehicle position information, determine a target position to which the vehicle 100 should next head, and generate a route from the current location of the vehicle 100 represented in the acquired vehicle position information to the target position. The server 200 may generate a route to a target position between the current location and the destination, or may generate a route to the destination. The server 200 may transmit the generated route to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may generate a driving control signal so that the vehicle 100 drives on the route received from the server 200, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal.

[0065] (2) Server 200 may acquire vehicle position information and transmit the acquired vehicle position information to vehicle 100. Vehicle 100 may determine a target position to which vehicle 100 should next head, generate a route from the current location of vehicle 100 represented in the received vehicle position information to the target position, generate a driving control signal so that vehicle 100 travels on the generated route, and control actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal.

[0066] (3) In the above-mentioned embodiments (1) and (2), detection results output from various internal sensors 140, not limited to vehicle speed sensors, wheel speed sensors, gyro sensors, and acceleration sensors, may be used for at least one of generating a route and generating a travel control signal. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment (1), the server 200 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensor 140 and reflect the detection results of the internal sensor 140 in the route when generating a route. In the above-mentioned embodiment (1), the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensor 140 and reflect the detection results of the internal sensor 140 in the travel control signal when generating a travel control signal. In the above-mentioned embodiment (2), the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensor 140 and reflect the detection results of the internal sensor 140 in the route when generating a route. In the above-mentioned embodiment (2), the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensor 140 and reflect the detection results of the internal sensor 140 in the route when generating a route.

[0067] (C5) In the above second embodiment, detection results output from various internal sensors 140, not limited to a vehicle speed sensor, a wheel speed sensor, a gyro sensor, or an acceleration sensor, may be used for at least one of generating a route and generating a traveling control signal. For example, the vehicle 100v may acquire the detection result of the internal sensor 140, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor 140 in the route when generating a route. The vehicle 100v may acquire the detection result of the internal sensor 140, and reflect the detection result of the internal sensor 140 in the traveling control signal when generating a traveling control signal.

[0068] (C6) In the second embodiment, the vehicle 100v acquires the vehicle position information using the detection result of the external sensor 300. In contrast, the vehicle 100v may acquire the vehicle position information using the detection result of the internal sensor 140, determine the target position to which the vehicle 100v should next head, generate a route from the current location of the vehicle 100v represented in the acquired vehicle position information to the target position, generate a travel control signal for traveling the generated route, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated travel control signal. In this case, the vehicle 100v can travel without using any of the detection results of the external sensor 300. The vehicle 100v may acquire a target arrival time or traffic congestion information from outside the vehicle 100v and reflect the target arrival time or traffic congestion information in at least one of the route and the travel control signal. In addition, all of the functional configurations of the system 50v may be provided in the vehicle 100v. That is, the processing realized by the system 50v in the present disclosure may be realized by the vehicle 100v alone.

[0069] (C7) The vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining a plurality of modules. A module means a unit composed of a plurality of parts grouped according to the location or function of the vehicle 100. For example, the platform of the vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining a front module that constitutes the front part of the platform, a central module that constitutes the central part of the platform, and a rear module that constitutes the rear part of the platform. The number of modules that constitute the platform is not limited to three, and may be two or less, or four or more. In addition to or instead of the parts that constitute the platform, parts that constitute parts of the vehicle 100 that are different from the platform may be modularized. The various modules may include any exterior parts such as a bumper or a grille, or any interior parts such as a seat or a console. In addition, not limited to the vehicle 100, any type of moving body may be manufactured by combining a plurality of modules. Such a module may be manufactured, for example, by joining a plurality of parts by welding or a fastener, or may be manufactured by integrally molding at least a part of the parts that constitute the module as one part by casting. The molding method for integrally molding a single component, particularly a relatively large component, is also called gigacast or megacast. For example, the front module, the center module, and the rear module may be manufactured using gigacast.

[0070] (C8) Transporting the vehicle 100 by using the driving of the vehicle 100 through unmanned driving is also called "self-propelled transport". Also, a configuration for realizing self-propelled transport is also called a "vehicle remote-controlled autonomous driving transport system". Also, a production method for producing the vehicle 100 using self-propelled transport is also called "self-propelled production". In self-propelled production, for example, at least a part of the transportation of the vehicle 100 is realized by self-propelled transport in the factory FC where the vehicle 100 is manufactured.

[0071] (C9) In each of the above embodiments, some or all of the functions and processes implemented by software may be implemented by hardware. Also, some or all of the functions and processes implemented by hardware may be implemented by software. As hardware for implementing the various functions in each of the above embodiments, various circuits such as integrated circuits and discrete circuits may be used.

[0072] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be realized in various configurations without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each aspect described in the Summary of the Invention column can be appropriately replaced or combined to solve some or all of the above-mentioned problems or to achieve some or all of the above-mentioned effects. Furthermore, if the technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be appropriately deleted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 50,50v...system, 100,100v...vehicle, 110,110v...vehicle control device, 111,111v...processor, 112,112v...memory, 113...input / output interface, 114...internal bus, 115,115v...vehicle control unit, 120...actuator group, 130...communication device, 140...internal sensor, 200...server, 201...processor, 202...memory, 203...input / output interface, 204...internal bus, 205...communication device, 210...remote control unit, 215...judgment unit, 220...vehicle speed acquisition unit, 230...transport speed acquisition unit, 240...estimation unit, 250...command generation unit, 300...external sensor

Claims

1. A vehicle speed acquisition unit that acquires a vehicle speed of a vehicle that can be driven by an unmanned driving method; a conveyance speed acquisition unit that acquires a conveyance speed of a conveyor on which the vehicle is mounted; an estimation unit that estimates a position of the vehicle using the acquired vehicle speed and the acquired transport speed.

2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, The estimation unit estimates a position of the vehicle using a detection result by an external sensor located outside the vehicle and the acquired vehicle speed and transportation speed.

3. 3. The apparatus of claim 2, The estimation unit estimates a position of the vehicle by correcting position information of the vehicle obtained using the detection result based on the obtained vehicle speed and transportation speed.

4. 4. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising: An apparatus comprising: a command generating unit that generates and outputs a control command for driving the vehicle in an unmanned driving manner using the estimated position of the vehicle.

5. acquiring a vehicle speed of a vehicle that can be driven by an unmanned vehicle; acquiring a conveying speed of a conveyor on which the vehicle is riding; estimating a position of the vehicle using the acquired vehicle speed and the acquired transport speed.

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