Remote controller, remote control method, and remote control vehicle

Abstract

To determine a vehicle speed range suitable for a state of a road surface.SOLUTION: A remote controller 40 comprises: an acquisition part 431 for acquiring a position information indicating a position of a remotely controlled vehicle 10, and weather information indicating weather around the vehicle 10; specification part 432 for specifying a slope of a road surface with which the vehicle 10 is in contact based on map information and the position information that indicate the slope of the road surface, and specifying a state of the road surface based on the weather information; and a determination part 433 for determining a range of a control input for remotely controlling the vehicle 10 on the basis of the state of the road surface based on the weather information, and the slope of the road surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a remote control device, a remote control method, and a remote controlled vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] The vehicle motion management system of Patent Document 1 determines the range of vehicle speed as an operating variable that the operator outputs to the vehicle for remote control by identifying the amount of slippage allowable for the wheels of the vehicle based on the gradient of the road surface on which the vehicle to be remotely controlled is in contact. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2023-510356 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional vehicle motion management systems determine the same vehicle speed range as when the road surface is dry, even when the road surface on which the vehicle is traveling is not dry. As a result, when the road surface is wet or frozen, for example, the wheels may slip even within the determined vehicle speed range, which may cause the vehicle to be unable to travel safely.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and has an object to determine a vehicle speed range suitable for road surface conditions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A remote control device according to a first aspect of the present invention has an acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating the position of a vehicle to be remotely controlled and weather information indicating the weather around the vehicle, an identification unit that identifies the gradient of a road surface on which the vehicle is in contact based on map information indicating the gradient of the road surface and the position information, and identifies the condition of the road surface based on the weather information, and a determination unit that determines a range of operation amounts for remotely controlling the vehicle based on the condition of the road surface based on the weather information and the gradient of the road surface.

[0007] The determination unit may further narrow the range of operation amounts, which is narrower than when the gradient is flat, as the gradient is downward, when the gradient is greater, and may narrow the range of operation amounts, which is larger than when the gradient is flat, as the gradient is upward, when the gradient is smaller.

[0008] The identification unit may further identify whether the road surface condition is frozen or not based on at least one of the amount of rainfall, the amount of snowfall, and the air temperature included in the weather information, and the determination unit may determine a narrower range of the operation amount when the road surface condition is frozen than when the road surface condition is not frozen.

[0009] The identification unit may further identify whether the road surface condition is snow-covered or not based on the amount of snowfall and air temperature included in the weather information, and the determination unit may determine a range of the operation amount when the road surface condition is snow-covered that is wider than when the road surface condition is frozen and narrower than when the road surface condition is wet or dry.

[0010] When the road surface state is snowy, the determination unit may narrow the range of the operation amount as the amount of snowfall increases.

[0011] The identification unit may further identify whether the road surface condition is wet based on at least one of the amount of rainfall, the amount of snowfall, and the air temperature included in the weather information, and the determination unit may determine a range of the operation amount when the road surface condition is wet that is wider than when the road surface condition is frozen or snowy and narrower than when the road surface condition is dry.

[0012] When the road surface condition is wet, the determination unit may narrow the range of the operation amount as the amount of rainfall or the amount of snowfall increases.

[0013] The determination unit may determine, as the range of the operation amount, at least one of a range of an accelerator pedal operation amount, a range of a brake pedal operation amount, a range of a steering angle, and a range of a steering speed of the steering wheel.

[0014] The determination unit may determine, as the range of the operation amount, at least one of a range of torque generated by a driving force source included in the vehicle and a range of acceleration of the vehicle.

[0015] The determination unit may determine the range of the manipulated variable by determining a maximum value of the manipulated variable or an amount of change in the manipulated variable per unit time.

[0016] When narrowing the range of the operation amount at a specified time, the determination unit may determine a second maximum value of the operation amount or a second change amount of the operation amount that is smaller than a first maximum value of the operation amount or a first change amount of the operation amount at a time before the specified time by the unit time.

[0017] A remote control method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition step of acquiring position information indicating the position of a vehicle to be remotely controlled and meteorological information indicating the weather around the vehicle, an identification step of identifying the gradient of the road surface on which the vehicle is in contact based on map information indicating the gradient of the road surface and the position information, and identifying the condition of the road surface based on the meteorological information, and a determination step of determining a range of operation amounts for remotely controlling the vehicle based on the condition of the road surface based on the meteorological information and the gradient of the road surface.

[0018] A remotely operated vehicle according to a third aspect of the present invention has an acquisition unit that acquires position information indicating a position of the host vehicle, weather information indicating the weather around the host vehicle, and an operation amount for remotely operating the host vehicle, an identification unit that identifies the gradient of a road surface on which the host vehicle is in contact based on map information indicating the gradient of the road surface and the position information, and identifies the condition of the road surface based on the weather information, a determination unit that determines a range of the operation amount based on the condition of the road surface based on the weather information and the gradient of the road surface, and an operation control unit that, if the operation amount acquired by the acquisition unit is outside the range of the operation amounts, causes the host vehicle to travel based on an operation amount that is closest to the operation amount acquired by the acquisition unit among the operation amounts included in the range of the operation amounts. Effect of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, an effect of determining a vehicle speed range suitable for road surface conditions is achieved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a remote control system S according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle 10. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a remote control device 40. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a weighting coefficient C corresponding to a gradient of a road surface. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a weighting coefficient D corresponding to a road surface condition. [Figure 6]11 is a diagram showing an example of range information of an operation amount stored in a storage unit 42. FIG. [Figure 7] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining an operation for determining a target manipulated variable; [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing sequence in the remote control device 40. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] <Outline of the remote control system S> FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a remote control system S according to this embodiment. The remote control system S shown in FIG. 1 includes a vehicle 10 and a remote control device 40. FIG. 1 also shows a weather server 1, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellite 2, and a positioning system 3. The weather server 1, the positioning system 3, the vehicle 10, and the remote control device 40 are connected via a network N. The network N includes mobile communication networks such as the Internet, an intranet, a wireless Local Area Network (LAN), and 5G (5th Generation). The remote control system S is a system for an operator who operates the remote control device 40 to remotely control the vehicle 10.

[0022] The weather server 1 is an information processing device for storing meteorological observation information indicating the weather (e.g., weather, amount of precipitation, amount of snowfall, temperature, air pressure, wind speed) observed at multiple observation points at regular intervals. The weather server 1 may store weather forecast information predicting the weather at multiple observation points a predetermined time from the current time. The weather server 1 acquires location information from the vehicle 10 or the remote control device 40, and outputs information indicating the weather observed at the observation point closest to the location included in the location information at the time closest to the current time. The weather server 1 may be a single computer, or may be composed of multiple computers, for example, a cloud-based server.

[0023] The positioning system 3 is, for example, a reference station in RTK (Real Time Kinematic). The positioning system 3 identifies a measurement error based on information contained in the radio waves received from the GNSS satellites 2 and the position of the positioning system 3 stored in the positioning system 3, and generates correction information for correcting the measurement error. The positioning system 3 transmits the generated correction information to the vehicle 10 via the network N.

[0024] The vehicle 10 is, for example, a mobile station in RTK, and receives an operation of the vehicle 10 from a remote control device 40 and executes a process of driving the vehicle 10 based on the operation. The vehicle 10 is a vehicle that drives automatically based on an operation received from the remote control device 40 via a network N. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 2 includes a measuring device 11, a vehicle speed sensor 12, an acceleration sensor 13, a gyro sensor 14, an acquisition device 15, a receiving device 16, a steering mechanism 21, a driving force source 22, a braking device 23, a transmission 24, and a control device 31.

[0025] The measuring device 11 is a device that identifies the shape of the road surface ahead of the vehicle 10 in the traveling direction based on a captured image generated by capturing an image of an area including the road surface ahead of the vehicle 10 in the traveling direction, or based on point cloud data generated by measuring the area. The measuring device 11 is, for example, at least one of a camera provided on the front of the vehicle 10, a RADER (Radio Detection And Ranging), and a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging).

[0026] The vehicle speed sensor 12 is a sensor for detecting the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10. The acceleration sensor 13 is a sensor for detecting the acceleration in each of the three axial directions of the vehicle 10, and is included, for example, in an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) (not shown) provided in the vehicle 10. The gyro sensor 14 is a sensor for detecting the angular velocity (yaw rate, as an example) in the rotational motion of the vehicle 10, and is included, for example, in an IMU provided in the vehicle 10.

[0027] The acquisition device 15 is a device that acquires information indicating the weather around the position where the vehicle 10 is traveling from the weather server 1. The surrounding weather includes at least the amount of precipitation, the amount of snowfall, and the temperature, for example. The acquisition device 15 outputs the position information indicating the position of the vehicle 10 calculated by the receiving device 16 to the acquisition device 15, thereby acquiring information indicating the weather observed at the observation point closest to the position and at the time closest to the current time.

[0028] The receiving device 16 is a device for identifying the position of the vehicle 10. For example, the receiving device 16 calculates the position (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the vehicle 10 based on information included in the radio waves received from the GNSS satellites 2, and corrects the calculated position based on correction information acquired from the positioning system 3, thereby identifying the position of the vehicle 10. The receiving device 16 may identify the current time (including date and time) based on information included in the radio waves received from the GNSS satellites 2. Note that "time" in this embodiment includes "date and time".

[0029] The steering mechanism 21 is a mechanism for changing the angle of the drive wheels of the vehicle 10 relative to the traveling direction, and includes, for example, a steering wheel, a steering shaft, a steering column, a steering gear box, and a tie rod. The drive power source 22 is an engine or a motor for driving the vehicle 10. The braking device 23 is a device for decelerating or stopping the vehicle 10, and includes, for example, a brake master cylinder, and at least one of a disc brake and a drum brake. The transmission 24 is a component provided between the drive power source 22 and the drive wheels, and changes the torque, rotation speed, and rotation direction generated by the drive power source 22 and transmits them to the axle of the drive wheels.

[0030] The control device 31 has a function of calculating the steering angle of the vehicle 10, outputting status information including the steering angle to the remote control device 40, and a function of running the vehicle 10 based on operation information acquired from the remote control device 40. Details of the status information and operation information will be described later. The control device 31 includes, for example, a processor, a storage medium, and a communication controller. The processor is, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or an Electronic Control Unit (ECU). The storage medium is, for example, a Read Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or a Solid State Drive (SSD). The communication controller is, for example, a controller for transmitting and receiving information to and from the remote control device 40 via a mobile communication network included in the network N.

[0031] The control device 31 outputs, for example, status information indicating the status of the vehicle 10 while traveling to the remote control device 40. The status information includes the vehicle speed, acceleration, position, steering amount, and steering speed of the vehicle 10. The control device 31 acquires, for example, at a predetermined period, the shape of the road surface identified by the measurement device 11, the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 12, the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 13, and the angular velocity detected by the gyro sensor 14. The control device 31 calculates the steering angle of the vehicle 10 based on the acquired road surface shape, vehicle speed, acceleration, and angular velocity. The control device 31 outputs, to the remote control device 40, status information including the steering amount and steering speed based on the calculated steering angle, the acquired vehicle speed and acceleration, and the position of the vehicle 10 identified by the receiving device 16.

[0032] The control device 31 also acquires operation information for operating the vehicle 10 from the remote operation device 40. The operation information includes, for example, a target steering angle for operating the steering angle, a target speed for operating the speed, a target acceleration for operating the acceleration, a target pedal operation amount for operating the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal depression amount, and a target position of the vehicle 10. For example, based on the acquired operation information, the control device 31 changes the angle of the drive wheels controlled by the steering mechanism 21, the output generated by the drive force source 22, the braking force generated by the brake device 23, and the torque, rotation speed, and rotation direction of the drive force source 22 transmitted by the transmission 24 to the drive shaft of the drive wheels. The control device 31 operates in this manner, allowing the remote operation device 40 to remotely operate the vehicle 10.

[0033] Returning to Fig. 1, the remote control device 40 has a function of outputting operation information generated by an operator operating the remote control device 40 to the vehicle 10, and a function of displaying status information acquired from the vehicle 10 on a display. The remote control device 40 is, for example, an information processing terminal such as a mobile phone (including a smartphone), a tablet terminal, or a personal computer. The remote control device 40 may be configured using a computer constituted by one or more physical servers, or a cloud server.

[0034] The remote control device 40 includes, as operation devices, at least one of a steering mechanism including a steering shaft and a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and an input device. In the following description, the steering mechanism may be referred to as a "steering wheel." The input device is, for example, at least one of a keyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a touch panel, and a microphone.

[0035] The remote control device 40 calculates a target steering angle, a target speed, a target acceleration, a target pedal operation amount, and a target position, for example, by an operator operating an operation device while referring to status information of the vehicle 10 displayed on a display. The remote control device 40 calculates the target steering angle, the target speed, the target acceleration, the target pedal operation amount, and the target position, for example, based on the speed, acceleration, pedal operation amount, and the position of the vehicle 10 input by the operator using an input device. When the operation devices include a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, and a brake pedal, the remote control device 40 may calculate the target steering angle, the target speed, the target acceleration, the target pedal operation amount, and the target position, based on the angle of the steering wheel and the depression amounts of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal.

[0036] The operator of the remote control device 40 operates the vehicle 10 based on the status information of the vehicle 10 displayed on the display, and can therefore operate the vehicle 10 in a manner appropriate to the driving conditions of the vehicle 10. However, when the road surface on which the vehicle 10 is traveling is wet or frozen, if the operator operates the vehicle 10 in the same way as when the road surface is dry, the wheels of the vehicle 10 may slip, and the vehicle 10 may not be able to be driven safely. Therefore, the remote control device 40 determines the range of operation amounts of the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal based on the amount of snowfall and the amount of rainfall contained in the information acquired from the weather server 1.

[0037] By operating the remote control device 40 in this manner, the amount of operation of the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal can be reduced when the road surface on which the vehicle 10 is traveling is not dry. As a result, the remote control device 40 can prevent the wheels of the vehicle 10 from slipping due to a large change in the amount of operation (so-called, it can prevent slipping due to sudden steering, sudden acceleration, and sudden stopping), so that the vehicle 10 can be safely traveled even when the road surface is slippery due to being wet. The configuration and operation of the remote control device 40 will now be described in detail.

[0038] <Configuration of remote control device 40> 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the remote control device 40. The remote control device 40 has a steering unit 41, a storage unit 42, and a control unit 43. The control unit 43 has an acquisition unit 431, an identification unit 432, a decision unit 433, and an operation control unit 434.

[0039] The steering unit 41 includes an operation device for the operator to remotely operate the vehicle 10, and a display for displaying status information of the vehicle 10. The steering unit 41 displays the status information acquired from the vehicle 10 by the acquisition unit 431 on the display. The steering unit 41 detects the amount of operation performed by the operator to operate the operation device, and notifies the operation control unit 434. The operation amount is, for example, the steering angle of the steering wheel, the steering speed of the steering wheel, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, and the amount of depression of the brake pedal. The operation amount may be the torque generated in the driving force source 22 and the acceleration of the vehicle 10, which are input by the operator using an input device.

[0040] The storage unit 42 has a storage medium such as a ROM, a RAM, a HDD, or a SDD. The storage unit 42 stores a program executed by the control unit 43. The storage unit 42 stores various information for determining the range of the operation amount of the operation device. As an example of the various information, the storage unit 42 stores map information indicating the gradient of the road surface.

[0041] The control unit 43 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU. The control unit 43 executes a program stored in the storage unit 42 to function as an acquisition unit 431, a specification unit 432, a decision unit 433, and an operation control unit 434. The control unit 43 may be configured with one processor, or may be configured with multiple processors or a combination of one or more processors and an electronic circuit. The configuration of each unit realized by the control unit 43 will be described below.

[0042] The acquisition unit 431 acquires location information indicating the location of the vehicle 10 to be remotely operated and weather information indicating the weather around the vehicle 10. The acquisition unit 431 acquires the location information output by the vehicle 10 and the weather information output by the weather server 1, for example, at a predetermined cycle. The predetermined cycle is, for example, a fixed value of one second or less. For example, the acquisition unit 431 notifies the weather server 1 of the location information acquired from the vehicle 10, and acquires from the weather server 1 weather information indicating the weather observed at the observation point closest to the location information at the time closest to the current time.

[0043] The identification unit 432 identifies the gradient of the road surface on which the vehicle 10 is in contact, based on the map information indicating the gradient of the road surface and the position information. The identification unit 432 identifies the gradient of the road surface at the position included in the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 431, for example, by referring to the map information indicating the gradient of the road surface stored in the memory unit 42.

[0044] The identification unit 432 may further identify the state of the road surface based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 431. The state of the road surface is, for example, frozen, snowy, wet, or dry. The identification unit 432 further identifies whether the state of the road surface is frozen or not based on, for example, at least one of the amount of rainfall, the amount of snowfall, and the air temperature included in the weather information. The identification unit 432 identifies the state of the road surface as frozen, for example, when the amount of rainfall or the amount of snowfall is greater than a first amount and the air temperature is lower than a first temperature. The first amount is, for example, a value greater than 0, and the first temperature is, for example, a fixed value equal to or greater than 0° C. (for example, 3° C.). The first amount and the first temperature are stored in the storage unit 42.

[0045] The identification unit 432 further identifies whether the road surface state is snow-covered or not based on, for example, the amount of snowfall and the temperature included in the weather information. The identification unit 432 identifies the road surface state as snow-covered, for example, when the amount of snowfall is greater than a first amount and the temperature is lower than a second temperature. The second temperature is a temperature lower than the first temperature (for example, a temperature of 3° C. or lower). The second temperature is stored in the memory unit 42.

[0046] The determination unit 432 further determines whether the road surface state is wet based on at least one of the amount of rainfall, the amount of snowfall, and the temperature included in the weather information. For example, when the amount of rainfall or the amount of snowfall is greater than a first amount and the temperature is equal to or higher than a second temperature, the determination unit 432 determines that the road surface state is wet. For example, when the amount of rainfall and the amount of snowfall are equal to or lower than the first amount, the determination unit 432 determines that the road surface state is dry.

[0047] The determination unit 433 determines a range of an operation amount for remotely operating the vehicle 10. For example, the determination unit 433 determines, as the range of the operation amount, at least one of a range of an accelerator pedal operation amount, a range of a brake pedal operation amount, a range of a steering angle, and a range of a steering speed. For example, when the operator uses an operation device different from the input device, the determination unit 433 determines at least one of a range of an accelerator pedal depression amount, a range of a brake pedal depression amount, a range of a steering angle, and a range of a steering speed.

[0048] The determination unit 433 may determine, as the range of the operation amount, at least one of the range of the torque generated by the driving force source 22 included in the vehicle 10 and the range of the acceleration of the vehicle 10. For example, when the operator uses an input device to input the torque to be generated by the driving force source 22 and the acceleration of the vehicle 10, the determination unit 433 determines the torque range and the acceleration range.

[0049] The determination unit 433 determines the range of the operation amount for remotely operating the vehicle 10 based on the road surface condition based on the weather information and the road surface gradient. The determination unit 433 determines the range of the operation amount by, for example, determining the maximum value of the operation amount or the amount of change in the operation amount per unit time (for example, a fixed value of one second or less).

[0050] For example, the determination unit 433 determines the weighting coefficient C based on the gradient of the road surface identified by the identification unit 432, and determines the weighting coefficient D based on the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 431 and the state of the road surface identified by the identification unit 432. When determining the maximum value of the operation amount, the determination unit 433 updates the maximum value of the operation amount to a multiplied value obtained by multiplying the maximum value of the operation amount by the weighting coefficient C and the weighting coefficient D. The weighting coefficients C and D are coefficients equal to or less than 1. The details of the weighting coefficients C and D will be described later.

[0051] On the other hand, when determining the amount of change in the operation amount, the determination unit 433 notifies the operation control unit 434 of the multiplied value obtained by multiplying the weighting coefficient C and the weighting coefficient D as a suppression coefficient for suppressing the amount of change in the operation amount. Then, the determination unit 433 causes the operation control unit 434 to notify the vehicle 10 of the multiplied value obtained by multiplying the suppression coefficient and the operation amount as the operation amount. By determining a suppression coefficient of 1 or less to be multiplied by the operation amount in this manner, the determination unit 433 can reduce or increase the operation amount per unit time, and therefore the amount of change in the operation amount per unit time can be determined.

[0052] As one example, when narrowing the range of the operation amount at a predetermined time, the determination unit 433 determines a second maximum value smaller than the first maximum value of the operation amount at a time unit time before the predetermined time as the maximum value of the operation amount at the predetermined time. As another example, when narrowing the range of the operation amount at a predetermined time, the determination unit 433 determines a second change amount smaller than the first change amount of the operation amount at a time unit time before the predetermined time as the change amount of the operation amount at the predetermined time. For example, in order to determine the change amount of the operation amount, the determination unit 433 determines a reduction coefficient smaller than the reduction coefficient corresponding to the first change amount as the reduction coefficient corresponding to the change amount of the operation amount at the predetermined time.

[0053] For example, when the gradient in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 is a downward gradient, the determination unit 433 narrows the range of the operation amount compared to when the gradient is flat. That is, the determination unit 433 limits the range of the operation amount for operating the vehicle 10 with respect to the operation amount by which the operator operates the operating device. On the other hand, when the gradient in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 is an upward gradient, the determination unit 433 widens the range of the operation amount compared to when the gradient is flat. Also, when the gradient in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 is a downward gradient, the determination unit 433 narrows the range of the operation amount as the gradient is larger, and when the gradient in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 is an upward gradient, the determination unit 433 narrows the range of the operation amount as the gradient is smaller.

[0054] Specifically, the determination unit 433 determines the range of the amount of operation by determining a weighting coefficient C to be multiplied with the maximum value of the amount of operation or the amount of change in the amount of operation based on the gradient in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 identified by the identification unit 432. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the weighting coefficient C corresponding to the gradient of the road surface. The horizontal axis of FIG. 4 indicates the gradient of the road surface, and the vertical axis of FIG. 4 indicates the weighting coefficient C. The gradient F shown in FIG. 4 is the gradient when the road surface is flat (i.e., 0). On the horizontal axis of FIG. 4, the gradient FU to the gradient F indicate an upward gradient, and the gradient F to the gradient FD indicate a downward gradient. The gradient FU is the maximum value of the upward gradient, and the gradient FD is the maximum value of the downward gradient. The coefficient CM shown in FIG. 4 is the maximum value of the weighting coefficient C, and is, for example, 1. The coefficient CB shown in FIG. 4 is the minimum value of the weighting coefficient C. The coefficient CF shown in FIG. 4 is the weighting coefficient C corresponding to the gradient F. Coefficient C1 (solid line) shown in FIG. 4 indicates a weighting coefficient C for determining a range of operation amounts different from the brake pedal operation amount, and coefficient C2 (dashed dotted line) shown in FIG. 4 is a weighting coefficient C for determining the range of the brake pedal operation amount.

[0055] When determining the range of the operation amount different from the operation amount of the brake pedal, the determination unit 433 determines the weighting coefficient C by referring to the coefficient C1 shown in Fig. 4. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, when the gradient is a downward gradient, the determination unit 433 sets the weighting coefficient C smaller than the gradient F, and when the gradient is an upward gradient, the determination unit 433 sets the weighting coefficient C larger than the gradient F. Furthermore, when the gradient is a downward gradient, the determination unit 433 sets the weighting coefficient C smaller as the gradient increases, and when the gradient is an upward gradient, the determination unit 433 sets the weighting coefficient C smaller as the gradient decreases. By operating in this manner, the determination unit 433 can increase the weighting coefficient C when the vehicle 10 requires a large torque to run, and can decrease the weighting coefficient C when the vehicle 10 does not require a large torque to run.

[0056] On the other hand, when determining the range of the operation amount of the brake pedal, the determination unit 433 determines the weighting coefficient C by referring to the coefficient C2 shown in Fig. 4. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, when the gradient is a downward gradient, the determination unit 433 sets the weighting coefficient C to be larger than the gradient F, and when the gradient is an upward gradient, the determination unit 433 sets the weighting coefficient C to be smaller than the gradient F. Furthermore, when the gradient is a downward gradient, the determination unit 433 sets the weighting coefficient C to be larger the larger the gradient, and when the gradient is an upward gradient, the determination unit 433 sets the weighting coefficient C to be smaller the larger the gradient. By operating in this manner, the determination unit 433 can increase the weighting coefficient C when the vehicle 10 requires a large braking force to decelerate or stop, and can decrease the weighting coefficient C when the vehicle 10 does not require a large braking force to decelerate or stop.

[0057] For example, when the road surface state identified by the identification unit 432 is frozen, the determination unit 433 determines a narrower range of the operation amount than when the road surface state is not frozen. Specifically, when the road surface state is frozen, the determination unit 433 sets a weighting factor D, which is different from the weighting factor C and is multiplied by the maximum value of the operation amount or the operation amount acquired by the operation control unit 434, to a smaller value than the weighting factor D when the road surface state is other than frozen.

[0058] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the weighting coefficient D corresponding to the road surface state. The horizontal axis of FIG. 5 indicates the amount of rainfall or snowfall, and the vertical axis of FIG. 5 indicates the weighting coefficient D. The coefficient DM is the maximum value of the weighting coefficient D (i.e., the weighting coefficient D when the road surface state is dry), the coefficient DL is the minimum value of the weighting coefficient D when the road surface state is not frozen, and the coefficient DT is the weighting coefficient D when the road surface state is frozen. On the horizontal axis of FIG. 5, 0 to the variable W1 indicate the amount of rainfall, and the variables W1 to W2 indicate the sum of the amount of snowfall and the variable W1. As shown in FIG. 5, when the road surface state is frozen, the determination unit 433 determines the weighting coefficient D to be the coefficient DT. By the determination unit 433 operating in this manner, the range of the operation amount can be narrowed to the narrowest on a road surface on which the wheels are most likely to slip.

[0059] For example, when the road surface state identified by the identification unit 432 is snowy, the determination unit 433 determines a range of the operation amount that is wider than when the road surface state is frozen and narrower than when the road surface state is wet or dry. Furthermore, when the road surface state is snowy, the determination unit 433 narrows the range of the operation amount as the amount of snowfall included in the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 431 increases.

[0060] 5, when the road surface state is snowy, the determination unit 433 calculates an added value by adding a variable W1 to the amount of snowfall included in the weather information, and determines the weighting coefficient D corresponding to the added value. By the determination unit 433 operating in this manner, the range of the operation amount can be narrowed in a state where the road surface is snowy due to snowfall, compared to a state where the road surface is wet due to rainfall.

[0061] For example, when the road surface state identified by the identification unit 432 is wet, the determination unit 433 determines a range of the operation amount that is wider than when the road surface state is frozen or snowy and narrower than when the road surface state is dry. Furthermore, when the road surface state is wet, the determination unit 433 narrows the range of the operation amount as the amount of precipitation or snowfall included in the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 431 increases.

[0062] 5, when the road surface condition is wet, the determination unit 433 determines the weighting factor D corresponding to the amount of rainfall included in the weather information. By operating in this manner, the determination unit 433 can set the weighting factor D when the road surface condition is wet to be greater than the weighting factor D (less than weighting factor D1) when the road surface condition is frozen or snowy, and smaller than the weighting factor DM when the road surface condition is dry.

[0063] In the above description, the determination unit 433 calculates a multiplication value by multiplying the weighting factor C corresponding to the gradient of the road surface by the weighting factor D corresponding to the state of the road surface, and multiplies the operation amount or the maximum value of the operation amount by the multiplication value, but the operation is not limited to this. The determination unit 433 may determine the range of the operation amount corresponding to the gradient of the road surface and the state of the road surface by referring to the range information of the operation amount stored in the storage unit 42. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the range information of the operation amount stored in the storage unit 42. In FIG. 6, the weighting factor by which the range of the operation amount is multiplied is associated with the gradient of the road surface and the state of the road surface and is shown as a ratio. That is, the weighting factor shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to the multiplication value obtained by multiplying the weighting factor C by the weighting factor D.

[0064] For example, when the gradient of the road surface identified by the identification unit 432 is an uphill gradient and the state of the road surface identified by the identification unit 432 is snowfall, the determination unit 433 determines whether the amount of snowfall is Y or more. When the amount of snowfall included in the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 431 is Y or more, the determination unit 433 determines the weighting coefficient ratio to be "60" by referring to the range information of the operation amount stored in the storage unit 42, and calculates a multiplication value by multiplying the maximum value of the operation amount by "0.6". On the other hand, when the amount of snowfall is less than Y, the determination unit 433 determines the weighting coefficient ratio to be "70" and calculates a multiplication value by multiplying the maximum value of the operation amount by "0.7".

[0065] Furthermore, when the amount of snowfall included in the weather information acquired by the acquisition unit 431 is equal to or greater than Y, the determination unit 433 determines the weighting coefficient ratio to be "60" by referring to the range information of the operation amount stored in the storage unit 42. The determination unit 433 then notifies the operation control unit 434 of the suppression coefficient "0.6" corresponding to the weighting coefficient ratio "60", and causes the operation control unit 434 to calculate a multiplication value by multiplying the operation amount acquired from the steering unit 41 by the suppression coefficient "0.6". On the other hand, when the amount of snowfall is less than Y, the determination unit 433 notifies the operation control unit 434 of the suppression coefficient "0.7" corresponding to the weighting coefficient ratio "70", and causes the operation control unit 434 to calculate a multiplication value by multiplying the operation amount acquired from the steering unit 41 by the suppression coefficient "0.7". By the determination unit 433 operating as described above, the determination unit 433 can reduce the load of the process of calculating the weighting coefficient.

[0066] In addition, the determination unit 433 may identify the amount of change in the operation amount by referring to change amount information stored in the memory unit 42, which indicates the amount of change in the operation amount corresponding to the gradient of the road surface and the condition of the road surface, and notify the operation control unit 434 of the amount of change.

[0067] The operation control unit 434 determines a target operation amount based on the operation amount acquired from the steering unit 41 and the range of the operation amount acquired from the determination unit 433, and notifies the vehicle 10 of operation information including the target operation amount. For example, the target operation amount indicates a target steering angle when the operation amount is a steering angle, and indicates a target depression amount of the accelerator pedal when the operation amount is a depression amount of the accelerator pedal. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an operation of determining a target operation amount. The horizontal axis of FIG. 7 indicates the operation amount acquired from the steering unit 41, and the vertical axis of FIG. 7 indicates a target operation amount to be notified to the vehicle 10. FIG. 7 shows the operation amount UM, which is the maximum value of the operation amount, and a multiplication value U1 obtained by multiplying the operation amount UM by a weighting coefficient determined by the determination unit 433.

[0068] As shown in Fig. 7, when the operation amount E0 acquired from the steering unit 41 is equal to or smaller than the multiplication value U1, the operation control unit 434 notifies the vehicle 10 of the operation amount E0 as a target operation amount. When the operation amount E1 acquired from the steering unit 41 is greater than the multiplication value U1, the operation control unit 434 notifies the vehicle 10 of the multiplication value U1 as a target operation amount. The operation control unit 434 causes the target operation amount notified to the vehicle 10 to be displayed on a display of the steering unit 41. By operating in this manner, the operation control unit 434 can notify the vehicle 10 of a target operation amount having a different value depending on the magnitude of the operation amount, even when the operation amount acquired from the determination unit 433 is greater than the maximum value of the operation amount.

[0069] The operation control unit 434 may acquire a weighting coefficient (i.e., a suppression coefficient) by which the operation amount is multiplied from the determination unit 433, and may notify the vehicle 10 of a multiplication value E2 obtained by multiplying the operation amount by the suppression coefficient as a target operation amount. For example, as shown in Fig. 7, the operation control unit 434 may acquire an operation amount U2 and a suppression coefficient from the determination unit 433, and may notify the vehicle 10 of a multiplication value U3 obtained by multiplying the operation amount U2 by the suppression coefficient as a target operation amount. By operating in this manner, the operation control unit 434 can notify the vehicle 10 of a multiplication value obtained by multiplying the operation amount acquired from the steering unit 41 by the suppression coefficient, and therefore can notify the vehicle 10 of an operation amount having a small change amount per unit time.

[0070] The operation control unit 434 may acquire the amount of change in the amount of operation from the determination unit 433. The operation control unit 434 calculates, for example, a difference between a first amount of operation acquired at a time unit time before a predetermined time and a second amount of operation acquired at the predetermined time. When the amount of change in the amount of operation acquired from the determination unit 433 is smaller than the calculated difference, the operation control unit 434 notifies the vehicle 10 of an added value obtained by adding the amount of change in the amount of operation acquired from the determination unit 433 to the first amount of operation as a target amount of operation. On the other hand, when the calculated difference is equal to or smaller than the amount of change in the amount of operation acquired from the determination unit 433, the operation control unit 434 notifies the vehicle 10 of an added value obtained by adding the first amount of operation to the calculated difference as a target amount of operation.

[0071] <Processing sequence in the remote control device 40> Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a processing sequence in the remote control device 40. The processing sequence shown in Fig. 8 is a sequence showing an operation of the remote control device 40 to determine the range of the operation amount. In Fig. 8, as an example, an operation of the remote control device 40 to determine the maximum value of the operation amount in order to determine the range of the operation amount will be described. The remote control device 40 repeats the processing sequence shown in Fig. 8 at regular time intervals (for example, every second).

[0072] The acquisition unit 431 acquires position information J from the vehicle 10, and acquires weather information K from the weather server 1 (S11). The identification unit 432 identifies the gradient L of the road surface at the position included in the position information J by referring to map information indicating the gradient of the road surface stored in the storage unit 42 (S12). The determination unit 433 determines a weighting coefficient C corresponding to the gradient L of the road surface identified by the identification unit 432 (S13).

[0073] The identification unit 432 identifies the road surface condition M based on the amount of snowfall, the amount of rainfall, and the temperature included in the weather information K (S14). If the road surface condition M is snowfall (YES in S15), the determination unit 433 acquires the amount of snowfall included in the weather information K (S16). If the road surface condition M is not snowfall (NO in S15), the determination unit 433 determines whether the road surface condition M is wet (S17). If the road surface condition M is wet (YES in S17), the determination unit 433 acquires the amount of rainfall included in the weather information K (S18). If the road surface condition M is not wet (NO in S17), the determination unit 433 determines that the road surface condition M is dry, and proceeds to step S19.

[0074] The determination unit 433 determines the weighting factor D based on the road surface condition M identified by the identification unit 432 and the amount of snowfall or rainfall included in the weather information K (S19). The determination unit 433 updates the maximum value of the operation amount to a multiplied value obtained by multiplying the maximum value of the operation amount by the weighting factors C and D, thereby determining the range of the operation amount (S20). The operation control unit 434 determines a target operation amount corresponding to the operation amount acquired from the steering unit 41 based on the range of the operation amount determined by the determination unit 433, and notifies the vehicle 10 of the target operation amount (S21).

[0075] <Modification> In the above description, the operation of the remote control device 40 in the remote control system S to determine the range of the operation amount has been exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the remote control system S, at least one of the vehicle 10 and the remote control device 40 may determine the range of the operation amount. When the vehicle 10 determines the range of the operation amount, the control device 31 shown in Fig. 2 has an acquisition unit 431, an identification unit 432, a decision unit 433, and an operation control unit 434 shown in Fig. 3.

[0076] For example, the acquisition unit 431 of the control device 31 acquires position information indicating the position of the vehicle identified by the receiving device 16, meteorological information indicating the weather around the vehicle acquired by the acquisition device 15, and an operation amount for remotely operating the vehicle notified by the remote operation device 40. The identification unit 432 of the control device 31 identifies the gradient of the road surface on which the vehicle is in contact, based on the map information indicating the gradient of the road surface and the position information. The determination unit 433 of the control device 31 determines the range of the operation amount, based on the state of the road surface based on the meteorological information and the gradient of the road surface.

[0077] For example, when the operation amount acquired by the acquisition unit 431 of the control device 31 is outside the range of the operation amounts, the operation control unit 434 of the control device 31 drives the vehicle based on the operation amount that is closest to the operation amount acquired by the acquisition unit 431 among the operation amounts included in the range of the operation amounts. For example, when the operation amount acquired by the acquisition unit 431 of the control device 31 is equal to or larger than the operation amount U1 shown in Fig. 8, the operation control unit 434 of the control device 31 operates at least one of the steering mechanism 21, the driving force source 22, the braking device 23, and the transmission 24 based on the multiplication value U1 (i.e., the target operation amount U1, which is the maximum value of the operation amount). Furthermore, when the change in the operation amount determined by the determination unit 433 of the control device 31 is smaller than the difference between the first operation amount acquired by the acquisition unit 431 of the control device 31 at a time unit time before the current time and the second operation amount acquired at the current time, the operation control unit 434 of the control device 31 may set the sum of the first operation amount and the change in the operation amount as the target operation amount. For example, when the second operation amount is the operation amount U2, the operation control unit 434 of the control device 31 specifies the target operation amount U3, which is the sum of the first operation amount U1 and the change in the operation amount, as the target operation amount. The operation control unit 434 operates at least one of the steering mechanism 21, the driving force source 22, the braking device 23, and the transmission 24 based on the specified target operation amount U3.

[0078] By determining the range of the operation amount in this manner, the vehicle 10 can determine the operation amount so as not to exceed the range of the operation amount corresponding to the gradient and condition of the road surface, even if data loss or delay in acquisition occurs in the operation information obtained from the remote control device 40 due to, for example, a communication failure. Then, the vehicle 10 can be caused to travel based on the determined operation amount. As a result, the vehicle 10 can increase the probability of safe travel.

[0079] <Effects of the remote control device 40> As described above, the remote control device 40 has an acquisition unit 431 that acquires position information indicating the position of the vehicle 10 to be remotely controlled and weather information indicating the weather around the vehicle 10, an identification unit 432 that identifies the gradient of the road surface on which the vehicle 10 is in contact based on map information indicating the gradient of the road surface and the position information, and a determination unit 433 that determines the range of operation amounts for remotely controlling the vehicle 10 based on the condition of the road surface based on the weather information and the gradient of the road surface.

[0080] With the remote control device 40 configured in this manner, it is possible to determine the range of the operation amount for remotely operating the vehicle 10 based on the gradient of the road surface and the condition of the road surface. As a result, the range of the operation amount is narrowed according to the condition of the road surface, and sudden acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle 10 and large changes in the steering angle of the vehicle 10 can be suppressed, so that the vehicle 10 can be safely driven within a vehicle speed range suitable for the condition of the road surface.

[0081] Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by distributing or integrating functionally or physically in any unit. In addition, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effect of the new embodiment resulting from the combination combines the effect of the original embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1 Weather Server 2 GNSS satellites 3. Positioning System 10 Vehicles 11 Measuring equipment 12 Vehicle speed sensor 13 Acceleration Sensor 14 Gyro sensor 15 Acquisition device 16 Receiving device 21 Steering mechanism 22 Driving force source 23 Braking device 24 Gearbox 31 Control device 40 Remote Control Device 41 Steering section 42 Storage section 43 Control Unit 431 Acquisition Department 432 Specific part 433 Decision Section 434 Operation control section

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating a location of a vehicle to be remotely operated and meteorological information indicating weather around the vehicle; an identification unit that identifies a gradient of a road surface on which the vehicle is in contact based on map information indicating a gradient of the road surface and the position information, and identifies a condition of the road surface based on the weather information; a determination unit that determines a range of an operation amount for remotely operating the vehicle based on a road surface condition based on the meteorological information and a gradient of the road surface; A remote control device having the same.

2. the determination unit, when a gradient in a traveling direction of the vehicle is a downward gradient, further narrows the range of the operation amount that is narrower than when the gradient is flat as the gradient is larger, and, when the gradient is an upward gradient, narrows the range of the operation amount that is larger than when the gradient is flat as the gradient is smaller. The remote control device according to claim 1 .

3. The determination unit further determines whether the road surface condition is frozen based on at least one of an amount of rainfall, an amount of snowfall, and an air temperature included in the weather information, the determination unit determines a narrower range of the operation amount when the road surface state is icy than when the road surface state is not icy. The remote control device according to claim 1 .

4. The identification unit further identifies whether or not the road surface state is snowy based on an amount of snowfall and an air temperature included in the weather information, the determination unit determines a range of the operation amount when the road surface state is snowy, the range being wider than when the road surface state is frozen and narrower than when the road surface state is wet or dry. The remote control device according to claim 1 .

5. When the road surface state is snowy, the determination unit narrows the range of the operation amount as the amount of snowfall increases. The remote control device according to claim 4.

6. The determination unit further determines whether the state of the road surface is wet based on at least one of an amount of rainfall, an amount of snowfall, and an air temperature included in the weather information, the determination unit determines, when the road surface state is wet, a range of the operation amount that is wider than a range of the road surface state that is frozen or snowy and narrower than a range of the road surface state that is dry. The remote control device according to claim 1 .

7. When the road surface condition is wet, the determination unit narrows the range of the operation amount as the amount of rainfall or the amount of snowfall increases. The remote control device according to claim 6.

8. The determination unit determines, as the range of the operation amount, at least one of a range of an accelerator pedal operation amount, a range of a brake pedal operation amount, a range of a steering angle, and a range of a steering speed of the steering. The remote control device according to claim 1 .

9. The determination unit determines, as the range of the operation amount, at least one of a range of a torque generated by a driving force source included in the vehicle and a range of an acceleration of the vehicle. The remote control device according to claim 1 .

10. The determination unit determines the range of the manipulated variable by determining a maximum value of the manipulated variable or a change amount of the manipulated variable per unit time. The remote control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. When narrowing the range of the manipulated variable at a predetermined time, the determination unit determines a second maximum value of the manipulated variable or a second change amount of the manipulated variable that is smaller than a first maximum value of the manipulated variable or a first change amount of the manipulated variable at a time before the predetermined time by the unit time. The remote control device according to claim 10.

12. an acquisition step of acquiring location information indicating a location of a vehicle to be remotely operated and meteorological information indicating weather around the vehicle; a step of identifying a gradient of a road surface on which the vehicle is in contact based on map information indicating a gradient of the road surface and the position information, and identifying a condition of the road surface based on the meteorological information; a determination step of determining a range of an operation amount for remotely operating the vehicle based on a road surface condition based on the meteorological information and a gradient of the road surface; A remote control method comprising:

13. an acquisition unit that acquires location information indicating a location of the host vehicle, meteorological information indicating weather around the host vehicle, and an operation amount for remotely operating the host vehicle; an identification unit that identifies a gradient of a road surface on which the host vehicle is in contact based on map information indicating a gradient of the road surface and the position information, and identifies a condition of the road surface based on the weather information; a determination unit that determines the range of the operation amount based on a road surface condition based on the meteorological information and a gradient of the road surface; an operation control unit that, when the operation amount acquired by the acquisition unit is outside the range of the operation amounts, causes the host vehicle to travel based on an operation amount that is closest to the operation amount acquired by the acquisition unit among the operation amounts included in the range of the operation amounts; A remotely operated vehicle having:

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