Vehicle operation system, automatic driving vehicle, and program

Abstract

To provide a vehicle operation system, a terminal device, a manual driving vehicle, an automatic driving vehicle, and a program capable of ensuring vehicle safety in an automatic driving area and efficiently managing vehicle operations.SOLUTION: In a vehicle operation system 1, when receiving a driving route setting command DA1 transmitted from an operation management system 21, a security management system 22 transmits security condition information DB1 indicating information for security conditions including a security route in which safety is ensured and a limit speed to the operation management system 21 based on position information DC2 of each vehicle in an automatic operation area 6. The operation management system 21 transmits an operation command DA2 to the vehicle, including the security condition information DB1, when receiving the security condition information DB1. An automatic driving vehicle 4 can automatically drive along the security route according to the security conditions indicated by the security condition information DB1 when receiving the operation command DA2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle operation system that manages the operation of vehicles within an autonomous driving area, a terminal device, a manually driven vehicle, an autonomous driving vehicle, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a system equipped with a driving assistance device that assists the driving of an autonomous vehicle. The driving assistance device is installed near the driving route of the autonomous vehicle, monitors the surroundings of the autonomous vehicle, and receives future position information from the autonomous vehicle, including an avoidance route that detours around obstacles on the driving route. Based on the monitoring results and the future position information, the driving assistance device predicts a collision with a moving object traveling on the avoidance route, and transmits driving control information for avoiding the collision to the autonomous vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-50627 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the process of creating an avoidance route is performed by the autonomous vehicle. In this case, the processing load of the autonomous vehicle increases. In addition, the prediction of a collision between a moving object traveling on the avoidance route and the autonomous vehicle is performed by a driving assistance device. Therefore, in a section of the driving route where a driving assistance device is not installed, the autonomous vehicle cannot create a safe avoidance route. That is, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, it may be difficult to efficiently set conditions such as a safe route.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle operation system, a terminal device, a manually driven vehicle, an autonomously driven vehicle, and a program that can ensure the safety of vehicles within autonomous driving areas and efficiently manage vehicle operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A vehicle operation system according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an autonomous vehicle capable of autonomously driving a preset driving route within an autonomous driving area, an operation management system that manages the operation of various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle within the autonomous driving area, and a safety management system that manages the safety of the vehicle within the autonomous driving area. The operation management system transmits to the safety management system an operation route setting command indicating a command requesting the setting of a route for the vehicle to drive on the operation route. When the safety management system receives the operation route setting command, the safety management system sets a safety route within the operation route that ensures safety during the vehicle's driving and safety conditions including a speed limit, based on position information of the vehicle within the autonomous driving area, and transmits safety condition information indicating information on the safety conditions to the operation management system. When the operation management system receives the safety condition information, it transmits an operation command including the safety condition information to the vehicle. When the operation command is received, the autonomous vehicle is capable of autonomously driving along the safety route in accordance with the safety conditions indicated by the safety condition information.

[0007] According to this vehicle operation system, the autonomous vehicle has a function to perform processing related to control for autonomous driving so that the autonomous vehicle can autonomously drive along a route within an autonomous driving area, but does not perform processing related to safety and operation management such as setting a safe route. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the processing load on the autonomous vehicle.

[0008] The management of safety and operation of various vehicles including autonomous vehicles in an autonomous driving area is shared between a traffic management system and a security management system. When the security management system receives a traffic route setting command from the traffic management system, the security management system can determine safety, such as whether there are other vehicles on the route ahead of the vehicle for which the route is to be set, based on the position information of the vehicle in the autonomous driving area, and set a safety route with ensured safety and security conditions including a speed limit that can suppress the rollover of the vehicle. That is, the security management system can manage the safety of the vehicle in the autonomous driving area by centrally determining the safety and setting the security conditions. On the other hand, when the traffic management system receives security condition information from the security management system as information in response to the traffic route setting command, it transmits a traffic command including the security condition information to the vehicle. That is, the traffic management system can efficiently manage the operation of the vehicle in a state where safety is ensured by centrally issuing a command to the security management system to set the route and a command to the vehicle to operate in accordance with the security condition information.

[0009] The vehicle operation system according to the second aspect may be configured such that, in the vehicle operation system according to the first aspect, when the vehicle is stopped at a stop point set in advance on the operation route, the operation management system transmits the operation route setting command to the safety management system to instruct the setting of a route beyond the stop point on the operation route. In this case, the safety management system sets the safety conditions including the safety route and the speed limit that ensure safety on the route beyond the stop point on the operation route, and transmits the safety condition information to the operation management system. Then, when the operation management system receives the safety condition information, it transmits the operation command to the vehicle stopped at the stop point.

[0010] A vehicle operation system according to a third aspect may be the vehicle operation system according to the second aspect, in which a plurality of stop points are set on the operation route. In this case, the operation management system recognizes the presence of the vehicle at each of the stop points based on detection results of vehicle detectors installed at the stop points, and transmits the operation route setting command for each of the stop points to the safety management system. Then, the safety management system determines whether a route between adjacent stop points in the vehicle's traveling direction is a safety route for each of the stop points, and transmits the safety condition information for each of the stop points to the operation management system.

[0011] In this aspect, the safety management system can set a safety route and safety conditions including a speed limit that ensure safety on the route beyond the stopping point for a vehicle that has stopped at a stopping point set in advance on the operation route and has been detected by a vehicle detector, and the operation management system can transmit an operation command. When the vehicle receives an operation command while stopped at a stopping point, the vehicle can travel along the safety route in accordance with the safety conditions based on the safety condition information included in the operation command. This allows the vehicle to travel in a state in which safety is ensured based on the speed limit conditions that can avoid collisions with other vehicles on the safety route and suppress rollovers, etc. Note that when the vehicle automatically travels along the safety route and is detected by a vehicle detector installed at a stopping point that is a target arrival point on the safety route, the operation management system recognizes that the vehicle has traveled the safety route, and the safety management system cancels the setting of the safety conditions including the safety route and the speed limit.

[0012] A vehicle operation system according to a fourth aspect may be the vehicle operation system of any of the first to third aspects, further comprising an alarm device that is installed within the autonomous driving area to instruct the driving of a manually-driven vehicle included in the vehicles within the autonomous driving area, and that notifies at least one of driving condition information related to driving permission, driving suspension, and driving conditions of the manually-driven vehicle. In this case, the safety management system or the operation management system activates the alarm device installed within the autonomous driving area based on position information of the autonomous vehicle within the autonomous driving area.

[0013] In this aspect, an autonomous vehicle and a manually-driven vehicle coexist in the autonomous driving area. The manually-driven vehicle travels under manual driving by a driver or remote control by an operator according to notification information from a notification device installed in the autonomous driving area. In this manner, in a situation in which autonomous vehicles and manually-driven vehicles coexist, the safety management system or the operation management system activates the notification device installed in the autonomous driving area based on the position information of the autonomous vehicle within the autonomous driving area. In this case, the driver of the manually-driven vehicle or the operator of the remote control can drive the manually-driven vehicle according to the automatic travel of the autonomous vehicle along the travel route by driving the manually-driven vehicle according to the notification information from the notification device installed in the autonomous driving area.

[0014] A vehicle operation system according to a fifth aspect is the vehicle operation system according to the second or third aspect, wherein the autonomous driving area has an interchange that divides the autonomous driving area into an inside and an outside thereof, and an entry / exit point where the vehicle enters and exits the autonomous driving area may be set as the stop point at the interchange. In this case, the operation management system recognizes the presence of the vehicle stopped at the entry / exit point based on the detection result of a vehicle detector installed at the entry / exit point. Then, for the vehicle that enters the entry / exit point from outside the autonomous driving area, the operation management system registers vehicle information unique to the vehicle, and, for the vehicle that exits from the entry / exit point to outside the autonomous driving area, deletes the registration of the vehicle information unique to the vehicle.

[0015] In this aspect, the traffic management system registers and cancels vehicle information specific to vehicles parked at entry / exit points set at interchanges that separate the inside and outside of the automated driving area. In this case, the safety of vehicles whose vehicle information is registered can be managed by the security management system, and the traffic management system can manage the operation of the vehicles.

[0016] A vehicle operation system according to a sixth aspect is the vehicle operation system according to the third aspect, wherein the autonomous driving area includes a multi-lane section between two of the stop points, in which the operation route is divided into a plurality of lanes including a first route and a second route. In this case, when the vehicles with opposing driving directions exist at each of the two stop points that divide the multi-lane section, the operation management system transmits the operation route setting command for each of the two stop points to the safety management system. Then, the safety management system sets the safety condition for one of the two stop points to set the first route as the safety route, and sets the safety condition for the other stop point to set the second route as the safety route.

[0017] In this aspect, when the safety management system receives a travel route setting command for each of two stop points that divide a multiple lane section from the traffic management system, the safety management system sets a safety condition for one stop point that sets a first route as a safety route, and sets a safety condition for the other stop point that sets a second route as a safety route. In this case, in the multiple lane section on the travel route, a vehicle stopped at one stop point runs along the first route, and a vehicle stopped at the other stop point runs along the second route. In this case, even if the traveling directions of the vehicles stopped at the two stop points are in a opposing relationship, each vehicle can run in the multiple lane section while avoiding collision between the vehicles and ensuring safety.

[0018] A vehicle operation system according to a seventh aspect may be the vehicle operation system of the sixth aspect, further comprising: a detour route set between the first route and the second route in the multiple lane section. In this case, when at least one of the first route and the second route cannot be set as the safety route, the safety management system sets the safety condition such that the detour route is the safety route.

[0019] In a multi-lane section on a travel route, lane restrictions may be implemented due to work being performed by slow-moving vehicles such as water trucks, a broken-down vehicle being parked, damage occurring to a portion of the route, construction work being carried out, and the like. In this case, the safety management system cannot set at least one of the first route and the second route as a safety route. To deal with this, the safety management system sets a safety condition that sets a detour route set between the first route and the second route as a safety route. This allows vehicles to detour along the detour route to avoid areas where lane restrictions are in place.

[0020] A vehicle operation system according to an eighth aspect is a vehicle operation system according to any one of the third, sixth and seventh aspects, wherein the operation management system is configured to set a temporary stop point where the vehicle can be temporarily stopped in a location close to the stop point, and to regard the vehicle that stops at the temporary stop point as being stopped at the stop point.

[0021] In this aspect, when a following vehicle is traveling toward a stop point where a preceding vehicle is stopped, the traffic management system can stop the following vehicle at the temporary stop point. In this case, the traffic management system can efficiently manage the operation of the following vehicle by regarding the following vehicle that stops at the temporary stop point as being stopped at the stop point.

[0022] A ninth aspect of the vehicle operation system is a vehicle operation system according to any one of the third, sixth and seventh aspects, wherein the operation management system sets a temporary stop point where the vehicle can be temporarily stopped in a position close to the stop point, and when one of the vehicles is stopped at one stop point and no other of the vehicles is stopped at the temporary stop point close to another stop point beyond the first stop point, the operation management system assumes that no other of the vehicles is stopped at the other stop point, and transmits the operation route setting command to the safety management system to instruct the setting of a route from the one stop point to the other stop point as a starting point.

[0023] Assume that one vehicle (following vehicle) is stopped at one stop point, and another vehicle (leading vehicle) is not stopped at a temporary stop point near another stop point beyond the first stop point. In this case, the traffic management system assumes that the leading vehicle is not stopped at another stop point beyond the first stop point where the following vehicle is stopped, and transmits to the safety management system a traffic route setting command to instruct the setting of a route from the first stop point to the other stop point as a starting point. In this case, the traffic management system receives safety condition information from the safety management system as information in response to the traffic route setting command, and transmits a traffic command including the safety condition information to the following vehicle. As a result, the traffic management system can efficiently manage the operation of the following vehicle by assuming that the leading vehicle is not stopped at a stop point that is the target arrival point of the following vehicle.

[0024] A vehicle operation system according to a tenth aspect is the vehicle operation system according to any one of the second, third, and fifth to ninth aspects, in which the autonomous vehicle may have a loading platform capable of loading transported objects and a dump device for tilting the loading platform. The autonomous driving area includes a work area in which a work point where the transported objects are loaded onto the loading platform or the transported objects are unloaded from the loading platform and the stop point are set. A special vehicle capable of performing the loading work as the vehicle is arranged in the work area. In this case, when the autonomous vehicle is stopped at the stop point in the work area, the operation management system transmits the operation route setting command including information on a stop position designation command transmitted from the special vehicle to the safety management system. The safety management system sets the safety conditions such that a work approach route from the stop point in the work area to the work point corresponding to the stop point indicated in the stop position designation command is set as the safety route, and transmits the safety condition information including information on the work approach route to the traffic management system. Then, the traffic management system transmits the traffic command including information on the work approach route to the autonomous vehicle stopped at the stop point.

[0025] At a work point set in a work area within the autonomous driving area, a special vehicle loads the transported goods onto the loading platform of the autonomous vehicle. Also, at the work point, a dump device in the autonomous vehicle operates to unload the transported goods loaded onto the loading platform. When the autonomous vehicle is stopped at a stop point within the work area where such work is performed, the operation management system transmits a driving route setting command including information on a stop position designation command transmitted from the special vehicle to the safety management system. In this case, the safety management system sets a safety condition in which a work approach route from a stop point within the work area to a work point corresponding to the stop position indicated by the stop position designation command is set as a safety route. Then, the operation management system transmits an operation command including information on the work approach route to the autonomous driving vehicle. This allows the autonomous driving vehicle to automatically travel along the work approach route from the stop point within the work area to the work point. In this case, the work point where the autonomous driving vehicle stops is a work point corresponding to the stop position indicated by the stop position designation command transmitted from the special vehicle, so that the work efficiency of the special vehicle at the work point is improved.

[0026] The vehicle operation system of the 11th aspect is the vehicle operation system of the 10th aspect, wherein when the special vehicle performs work of loading the transported object onto the loading platform of the autonomous vehicle at the work point, the operation management system is configured to transmit the operation command, which includes information indicating an instruction for the autonomous vehicle to stop alongside the work point, to the autonomous vehicle stopped at the stopping point.

[0027] In this embodiment, when the special vehicle loads an object onto the bed of the autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle stops alongside the vehicle at the work site, thereby improving the efficiency of the loading of the object by the special vehicle.

[0028] A vehicle operation system according to a 12th aspect is a vehicle operation system according to the 10th or 11th aspect, wherein, when the autonomous vehicle unloads the transported object at the work point by tilting the loading platform by operating the dump device, the operation management system is configured to send the operation command, which includes information indicating an instruction for the autonomous vehicle to back up and stop at the work point, to the autonomous vehicle stopped at the stopping point.

[0029] In this embodiment, when the autonomous vehicle operates the dump device to tilt the loading platform and unload the transported object, the autonomous vehicle backs up and stops at the work site, thereby improving the work efficiency of the unloading of the transported object by operating the dump device.

[0030] A vehicle operation system according to a thirteenth aspect is the vehicle operation system according to any one of the third, sixth to ninth aspects, wherein the operation management system is configured to transmit to the safety management system an operation route setting command for instructing the setting of a consolidated route that collectively covers a plurality of route sections between the stop points that are adjacent to each other in the traveling direction of the vehicle. In this case, when the consolidated route is a route where safety is ensured, the safety management system sets the safety conditions that make the consolidated route the safety route, and transmits the safety condition information to the operation management system.

[0031] In this embodiment, the traffic control system can instruct the safety control system to set a unified route without instructing the safety control system to set all of the consecutive route sections, and the process of requesting route setting is simplified. In addition, by knowing in advance the route sections that may be set collectively, the safety control system can quickly set a collectively route consisting of a predetermined combination of routes as a safety route when a request for route setting is received.

[0032] A terminal device according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention is a terminal device mounted on a manually driven vehicle driven by a driver, whose safety is managed by a safety management system together with an autonomous vehicle that automatically drives a preset driving route within an autonomous driving area, and whose driving is managed by a driving management system. The terminal device includes a communication control unit that receives a driving command when the driving management system transmits a driving command including safety conditions including a safety route and a speed limit that ensures safety in the driving of each vehicle based on position information of each of the autonomous vehicle and the manually driven vehicle within the autonomous driving area, a conversion information storage unit that stores conversion information that corresponds to the driving command to recognizable data that can be recognized by the driver, a conversion unit that converts the driving command received by the communication control unit into recognizable data by referring to the conversion information, and a notification unit that notifies the recognizable data converted by the conversion unit.

[0033] This terminal device converts operation commands transmitted from the operation management system, including safety condition information indicating the safety conditions set by the safety management system, into recognizable data, and reports the converted recognizable data. In this case, in a situation where autonomous vehicles and manually driven vehicles coexist in an autonomous driving area, the driver of the manually driven vehicle can drive the manually driven vehicle along a safety route while recognizing the safety conditions set by the safety management system based on the recognizable data reported by the terminal device.

[0034] A manually driven vehicle according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention is a vehicle driven by a driver, and together with an autonomous vehicle that automatically drives along a pre-set driving route within an autonomous driving area, its safety is managed by a safety management system, its operation is managed by a driving management system, and it is equipped with a terminal device according to the fourteenth aspect.

[0035] A manually driven vehicle according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention is a vehicle driven by a driver, whose safety is managed by a safety management system together with an automatically driven vehicle that automatically drives a preset driving route within an automatically driven area, and whose driving is managed by a driving management system. This manually driven vehicle includes a communication control unit that receives a driving command when the driving management system transmits a driving command including safety condition information indicating information on the safety condition, a conversion information storage unit that stores conversion information that corresponds to the driving command to recognizable data that can be recognized by the driver, a conversion unit that converts the driving command received by the communication control unit into recognizable data by referring to the conversion information, and a notification unit that notifies the recognizable data converted by the conversion unit.

[0036] According to this manually-driven vehicle, a driving command transmitted from the driving control system, which includes safety condition information indicating the safety conditions set by the safety control system, is converted into recognizable data, and the converted recognizable data is notified. In this case, a driver of the manually-driven vehicle can drive the manually-driven vehicle along a safe route while recognizing the safety conditions set by the safety control system based on the notified recognizable data.

[0037] An autonomous vehicle according to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention is a vehicle that travels along a predetermined driving route within an autonomous driving area, and the driving mode can be switched between autonomous driving mode and manual driving mode, and when set to the autonomous driving mode, the vehicle travels along the driving route autonomously, and when set to the manual driving mode, the vehicle travels along the driving route under the driver's driving operations, with safety being managed by a security management system and operation being managed by a driving management system. This autonomous vehicle is equipped with a communication control unit that receives an operation command including safety condition information indicating information on the safety conditions, the operation command including safety routes and speed limits that ensure safety when the vehicle is driven, and a conversion information storage unit that stores conversion information that corresponds to the operation command into recognizable data that can be recognized by the driver, a conversion unit that converts the operation command received by the communication control unit into the recognizable data by referring to the conversion information, and an alarm unit that alarms the recognizable data converted by the conversion unit.

[0038] According to this autonomous vehicle, when the autonomous vehicle is set to manual driving mode and the driver is operating the vehicle, a driving command transmitted from the driving control system, which includes safety condition information indicating the safety conditions set by the safety control system, is converted into recognizable data, and the converted recognizable data is notified. In this case, the driver manually driving the autonomous vehicle set to manual driving mode can manually drive the autonomous vehicle along a safety route while recognizing the safety conditions set by the safety control system based on the notified recognizable data.

[0039] A program according to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention is a program for causing one or more processors to execute the processes performed by the safety management system and the operation management system, including a terminal device mounted on a manually-driven vehicle driven by a driver, whose operation is managed by the operation management system after safety is managed by the safety management system, together with an autonomous vehicle that automatically drives a predetermined operation route within an autonomous driving area. When the safety management system sets safety conditions including a safety route and a speed limit that ensure safety for the operation of each vehicle based on position information of each of the autonomous vehicles and the manually-driven vehicles within the autonomous driving area, and when an operation command including safety condition information indicating information on the safety conditions is transmitted by the operation management system, the program causes the processor to execute the following processes: receiving the operation command; converting the operation command into recognizable data by referring to conversion information that corresponds to recognizable data that can be recognized by the driver; and notifying the converted recognizable data.

[0040] According to this program, one or more processors, such as the processor of a terminal device installed in a manually-driven vehicle, can be made to execute various processes to convert operation commands sent from the operation management system, which include safety condition information indicating the safety conditions set by the safety management system, into recognizable data, and to notify the user of the converted recognizable data. Effect of the Invention

[0041] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle operation system, a terminal device, a manually driven vehicle, an autonomously driven vehicle, and a program that can ensure the safety of vehicles within autonomous driving areas and efficiently manage vehicle operation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0042] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle operation system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an autonomous driving area in which autonomous vehicles drive autonomously. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a terminal device mounted on a manually driven vehicle. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining vehicle operation management in an interchange area within an autonomous driving area. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining vehicle operation management in a first work area and a second work area within an autonomous driving area. [Figure 6] This is a diagram to explain vehicle operation management in a third work area within an autonomous driving area. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining vehicle operation management in a multi-lane section within an autonomous driving area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0043] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle operation system will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0044] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle operation system 1 according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a diagram that shows a schematic diagram of an automatic driving area 6 in which an automatic driving vehicle 4 automatically drives. The vehicle operation system 1 is a system for managing the safe operation of various vehicles, including an automatic driving vehicle 4 and a manually driven vehicle 5A, in an automatic driving area 6. The automatic driving vehicle 4 is a vehicle that can automatically drive. The automatic driving vehicle 4 can transport objects such as people and goods by automatically driving. Outside the automatic driving area 6, the automatic driving vehicle 4 travels under the driving operation of a driver or under remote control by an operator, like a manually driven vehicle 5A described later. In the following description, an example of the vehicle operation system 1 applied to a situation in which an object to be transported, which is made of granulated slag generated in a blast furnace, is transported by the automatic driving vehicle 4 is illustrated.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle operation system 1 includes a management system 2, a ground facility 3, an autonomous vehicle 4, and a special vehicle 5 as a manually operated vehicle 5A. The management system 2 and the ground facility 3 including a ground station 31 are connected to each other so as to be capable of wired communication via a wired communication facility such as an optical network, or to be capable of wireless communication via a wireless communication device. The autonomous vehicle 4 is connected to the ground station 31 of the ground facility 3 via an on-board station 42 in an autonomous driving area 6 so as to be capable of wireless communication. Therefore, the management system 2 and the autonomous vehicle 4 are connected to each other so as to be capable of communication via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42. In addition, the management system 2 and the manually operated vehicle 5A including the special vehicle 5 are also connected to each other so as to be capable of communication via a terminal device 5B shown in FIG. 3 described later.

[0046] The management system 2 is a computer system installed in a section of the autonomous driving area 6, separate and independent from the autonomous driving vehicle 4. In this embodiment, one management system 2 is installed in a section of the autonomous driving area 6. The management system 2 may be installed outside the autonomous driving area 6. The management system 2 manages the safe operation of various vehicles, the autonomous driving vehicle 4 and the manually driven vehicle 5A, within the autonomous driving area 6. The management system 2 includes a driving management system 21 and a safety management system 22. The driving management system 21 is a system that manages the operation of various vehicles, the autonomous driving vehicle 4 and the manually driven vehicle 5A, within the autonomous driving area 6. The safety management system 22 is a system that manages the safety of various vehicles, the autonomous driving vehicle 4 and the manually driven vehicle 5A, within the autonomous driving area 6. The traffic control system 21 and the safety control system 22 are each realized by a computer device including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage area such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or flash memory for storing a control program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) used as a working area for the CPU, a display for displaying various information, an operation panel for inputting various information, a communication interface, etc. The safety control system 22 may be realized by a relay circuit, a programmable logic controller, etc. The processes executed by the traffic control system 21 and the safety control system 22 will be described in detail later.

[0047] The ground equipment 3 is equipment installed within the automatic driving area 6. The ground equipment 3 includes a ground station 31, a vehicle detector 32, a traffic signal 33, a guide display 34, a railroad crossing facility 35, and a hopper control device 36.

[0048] The ground station 31 is connected to the management system 2 via wired communication equipment to enable wired communication, and is a wireless communication device that realizes wireless communication with an on-board station 42 of the autonomous driving vehicle 4. In this embodiment, the ground station 31 is capable of wireless communication with an on-board station 52 of a special vehicle 5 described below. The vehicle detector 32 is a sensor that detects the autonomous driving vehicle 4. The vehicle detector 32 is realized by, for example, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) in the autonomous driving area 6. The detection result of the vehicle detector 32 is transmitted to the management system 2 via the ground station 31.

[0049] The traffic lights 33 and the guide display 34 are installed in the autonomous driving area 6 to instruct the manually driven vehicle 5A to drive in the autonomous driving area 6. The traffic lights 33 are an example of a notification device that notifies the manually driven vehicle 5A of permission to drive and the driving stop. The guide display 34 is an example of a notification device that notifies by displaying driving condition information related to the driving conditions of the manually driven vehicle 5A. The driving condition information includes information on the safety route on which the manually driven vehicle 5A is permitted to drive in the autonomous driving area 6, information on the speed limit of the manually driven vehicle 5A, and the like. The operation of the traffic lights 33 and the guide display 34 as notification devices is controlled by the safety management system 22 or the operation management system 21. Note that, in the autonomous driving area 6, the notification device may be configured to notify at least one of the driving permission, driving stop, and driving condition information of the manually driven vehicle 5A. For this reason, in the autonomous driving area 6, at least one of the traffic lights 33 and the guide display 34 as notification devices may be installed. In other words, both the traffic signal 33 and the guidance display 34 may be installed within the autonomous driving area 6, or either the traffic signal 33 or the guidance display 34 may be installed.

[0050] The manually operated vehicle 5A is a vehicle that travels under the driving operation of a driver or remote control by an operator. Examples of the manually operated vehicle 5A include special vehicles 5 such as wheel loaders that can load objects to be transported onto the automatically operated vehicle 4, water sprinklers that sprinkle water to prevent granulated slag as the object to be transported from scattering, and general vehicles. General vehicles include passenger cars and vehicles such as trucks that can transport objects to be transported.

[0051] The special vehicle 5 as the manually operated vehicle 5A has a vehicle body 50 and a bucket 501 attached to the vehicle body 50. The bucket 501 operates when loading the transported object onto the automatically operated vehicle 4. The vehicle body 50 is equipped with a control unit 51, an on-board station 52, a position designation button 53, a departure request button 54, a vehicle arrival indicator 55, and the like. In the special vehicle 5, the control unit 51 comprehensively controls the on-board station 52, the position designation button 53, the departure request button 54, and the vehicle arrival indicator 55. The on-board station 52 is a wireless communication device that realizes wireless communication with the ground station 31. The management system 2 and the special vehicle 5 can communicate with each other via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 52. The position designation button 53 is an operation button for designating a stop position of the automatically operated vehicle 4 when performing the work of loading the transported object. The departure request button 54 is an operation button for requesting the departure of the automatically operated vehicle 4 after the work of loading the transported object is completed. The vehicle arrival display 55, which will be described in detail later, is a display for displaying vehicle arrival information DD4 transmitted from the operation management system 21 via the ground station 31 when the autonomous vehicle 4 arrives at the arrival point of the work area where the special vehicle 5 is located.

[0052] The railroad crossing facility 35 is a facility including a railroad crossing gate 351. The opening and closing of the railroad crossing gate 351 is controlled by the safety management system 22.

[0053] The hopper control device 36 is a device that controls the hopper device 361. The hopper device 361 is a collection device for loading objects transported by the autonomously driven vehicle 4 onto a ship or the like outside the autonomously driven area 6.

[0054] The autonomous vehicle 4 is a vehicle capable of autonomous driving. In this embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 4 can switch between an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode. The autonomous vehicle 4 autonomously drives when set to the autonomous driving mode, and drives under the driver's driving operation or remote control by an operator when set to the manual driving mode. The autonomous vehicle 4 may be equipped with a terminal device 5B such as a tablet (to be described later) mounted on a manually driven vehicle 5A such as a special vehicle 5 in preparation for a case where the autonomous vehicle 4 is set to the manual driving mode and drives under the driver's driving operation.

[0055] In this embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 4 has a vehicle body 40 and a loading platform 401 attached to the vehicle body 40. The loading platform 401 is capable of carrying an object to be transported. The vehicle body 40 is equipped with a control unit 41, an on-board station 42, a measurement unit 43, a mode changeover switch 44, a dump device 45, and the like. In the autonomous vehicle 4, the control unit 41 comprehensively controls the on-board station 42, the measurement unit 43, the mode changeover switch 44, and the dump device 45.

[0056] The on-board station is a wireless communication device that realizes wireless communication with the ground station 31. The management system 2 and the autonomously driven vehicle 4 can communicate with each other via the ground station 31 and the on-board station .

[0057] The measurement unit 43 is a unit that realizes self-position estimation and obstacle detection of the autonomous driving vehicle 4. The measurement unit 43 includes, for example, an RTK-GNSS (Real-time Kinematic Global Positioning System), a LiDAR, a LADAR (Laser Detection and Ranging), an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), a camera, and the like.

[0058] The mode changeover switch 44 is a switch for switching the driving mode of the autonomous vehicle 4 between an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode.

[0059] The dump device 45 is a device that tilts the loading platform 401 of the autonomously driven vehicle 4. The loading platform 401 is tiltably installed on the autonomously driven vehicle 4 via the dump device 45. The autonomously driven vehicle 4 can tilt the loading platform 401 by operating the dump device 45, and perform the task of unloading transported objects from the loading platform 401.

[0060] In the autonomous driving area 6 in which the ground facilities 3 are installed and the autonomous vehicles 4 automatically travel, a travel route 7 shown in Fig. 2 is set in advance. The travel route 7 is a travel route along which various vehicles, including the autonomous vehicles 4 and the manually driven vehicles 5A, travel.

[0061] In the autonomous vehicle 4, with the mode changeover switch 44 set to the autonomous driving mode, the control unit 41 performs control for autonomous driving while estimating its own position based on the measurement results of the measurement unit 43. As a result, the autonomous vehicle 4 transmits position information DC2 of its own position from the on-board station 42 to the management system 2 via the ground station 31, and autonomously drives along the driving route 7 in accordance with commands from the driving management system 21 while referring to route information of the driving route 7 registered in advance inside the vehicle.

[0062] The traffic management system 21 transmits to the safety management system 22 a travel route setting command DA1 indicating a command requesting setting of a route for various types of autonomously driven vehicles 4 and manually driven vehicles 5A to travel on the travel route 7. The travel route setting command DA1 includes initial route information indicating route information in an initial state of the travel route 7. In addition, the traffic management system 21 receives from the safety management system 22 position information DC2, DD5 of all autonomously driven vehicles 4 and various types of manually driven vehicles 5A that exist within the autonomous driving area 6.

[0063] The safety management system 22 receives the position information DC2, DD5 of various vehicles, including all the autonomous vehicles 4 and the manually driven vehicles 5A, present within the autonomous driving area 6, via the ground station 31 and the on-board stations 42, 52. When the safety management system 22 receives a driving route setting command DA1 from the operation management system 21, the safety management system 22 sets safety conditions, including a safety route and a speed limit that ensures safety for the driving of the target vehicle for which the route is set, based on the position information DC2, DD5 of various vehicles, including all the autonomous vehicles 4 and the manually driven vehicles 5A, present within the autonomous driving area 6. The safety conditions are conditions for ensuring the safety of the vehicles within the autonomous driving area 6, and include conditions such as a safety route that can avoid collisions between vehicles within the driving route 7, and a speed limit that can prevent the vehicle from rolling over. The safety conditions may also include conditions regarding permission to drive the vehicle and stopping driving, in addition to the safety route and the speed limit.

[0064] Specifically, the safety management system 22 judges safety, such as whether there are other vehicles, whether the destination point is not occupied, and whether there is a section overlapping with a route set corresponding to another vehicle, on the route indicated by the initial route information included in the travel route setting command DA1 from the starting point ahead of the target vehicle for which the route is to be set, based on the position information DC2 and DD5 of all the autonomously driven vehicles 4 and the manually driven vehicles 5A. When there are no other vehicles, etc. on the route indicated by the initial route information, the safety management system 22 recognizes the route as a safety route with ensured safety, and sets safety conditions including at least a safety route and a speed limit by recognizing a speed limit that can suppress the rollover of the vehicle when traveling on the safety route. On the other hand, when there are other vehicles, etc. on the route indicated by the initial route information, the safety management system 22 suspends the setting of safety conditions including a safety route and a speed limit until safety is ensured by, for example, eliminating the presence of other vehicles.

[0065] When the safety management system 22 sets safety conditions in response to the operation route setting command DA1 received from the traffic management system 21, it transmits to the traffic management system 21 safety condition information DB1 indicating information on the safety conditions.

[0066] When the traffic control system 21 receives safety condition information DB1 from the safety control system 22, it transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the automatically driven vehicle 4 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42. Furthermore, when the vehicle to be managed is a manually driven vehicle 5A, the traffic control system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the manually driven vehicle 5A. The traffic command DA2 transmitted to the manually driven vehicle 5A is received by a terminal device 5B shown in FIG. 3 described below and mounted on the manually driven vehicle 5A. In addition to the safety condition information DB1, the traffic command DA2 includes information such as the time at which the vehicle departs from a starting point on the safety route when traveling on the safety route.

[0067] When an autonomous vehicle 4 receives an operation command DA2 from the operation management system 21 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42, it is able to automatically drive along a safety route in accordance with the safety conditions indicated in the safety condition information DB1 based on the operation command DA2.

[0068] In the vehicle operation system 1 according to this embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 4 has a function of performing processing related to control for autonomous driving based on the measurement results of the measurement unit 43 so that the autonomous vehicle 4 can autonomously drive along a driving route 7 within an autonomous driving area 6. On the other hand, the autonomous vehicle 4 does not perform processing related to safety and operation management, such as setting a safe route that ensures safety. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the processing load on the autonomous vehicle 4.

[0069] The management of safety and operation of various vehicles, including the autonomous vehicle 4, within the autonomous driving area 6 is shared between the operation management system 21 and the safety management system 22.

[0070] When the safety management system 22 receives a driving route setting command DA1 from the traffic management system 21, the safety management system 22 can determine safety, such as whether there are other vehicles on the route ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle for which the route is to be set, based on the position information DC2 and DD5 of various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 in the autonomous driving area 6, and set a safe safety route and safety conditions including a speed limit that can prevent the vehicle from rolling over, etc. That is, the safety management system 22 can manage the safety of various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 in the autonomous driving area 6 by centrally performing the safety determination and the setting of the safety conditions. The safety management system 22 focuses on managing the safety of various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4, and leaves the management of vehicle operation to the traffic management system 21. This allows the safety management system 22 to efficiently manage the safety of the vehicles.

[0071] On the other hand, when the traffic control system 21 receives safety condition information DB1 from the safety control system 22 as information in response to the traffic route setting command DA1, it transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the vehicles to be managed. That is, the traffic control system 21 can manage the traffic of vehicles in a state where safety is ensured by centrally issuing a command to the safety control system 22 to set a route and a command to the vehicles to operate in accordance with the safety condition information DB1. The traffic control system 21 focuses on managing the safe operation of the vehicles and leaves the management of vehicle safety to the safety control system 22. This allows the traffic control system 21 to efficiently manage the traffic of vehicles in a state where safety is ensured.

[0072] As shown in FIG. 2, a driving route 7 in an autonomous driving area 6 has stop points 8 set in advance where various vehicles, including an autonomous vehicle 4, should stop. When various vehicles, including an autonomous vehicle 4, are stopped at the stop points 8 set in advance on the driving route 7, the driving management system 21 transmits a driving route setting command DA1 to the safety management system 22 to instruct the setting of a route beyond the stop point 8 on the driving route 7. In this case, the safety management system 22 sets safety conditions, including a safety route and a speed limit, on the route beyond the stop point 8 on the driving route 7, and transmits safety condition information DB1 to the driving management system 21. Then, when the driving management system 21 receives the safety condition information DB1 from the safety management system 22, it transmits a driving command DA2 to the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the stop point 8 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42. Furthermore, when a manually driven vehicle 5A is stopped at a stopping point 8, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 to the manually driven vehicle 5A via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 52.

[0073] Specifically, a plurality of stop points 8 are set in advance on the travel route 7. A vehicle detector 32 is provided at each stop point 8. A route boundary 70 is set near each stop point 8 on the travel route 7, and a plurality of unit routes are connected so as to intersect at each route boundary 70. Note that the route boundary 70 is not limited to being set at a point where a plurality of unit routes intersect on the travel route 7, and may be set at a midpoint of a relatively long single-track unit route for operational management purposes.

[0074] The safety management system 22 transmits the detection results of the vehicle detectors 32 installed at the multiple stop points 8 to the traffic management system 21. The traffic management system 21 recognizes the presence of various vehicles, including the autonomous vehicle 4, at each of the multiple stop points 8 based on the detection results of the vehicle detectors 32 received from the security management system 22, and transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 for each of the multiple stop points 8 to the security management system 22. In this case, the security management system 22 determines whether the route between adjacent stop points 8 in the traveling direction of the various vehicles, including the autonomous vehicle 4, is a security route for each of the multiple stop points 8, and transmits security condition information DB1 for each of the multiple stop points 8 to the traffic management system 21. Then, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 via the ground station 31 to each of the various vehicles, including the autonomous vehicle 4, that are stopped at each of the multiple stop points 8.

[0075] As described above, for various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 that are stopped at a stop point 8 set in advance on the travel route 7 and detected by the vehicle detector 32, the safety management system 22 can set a safety route and safety conditions including a speed limit on the route beyond the stop point 8, and the operation management system 21 can transmit the operation command DA2. When the operation command DA2 is received while the various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 are stopped at the stop point 8, the various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 can travel along the safety route in accordance with the safety conditions based on the safety condition information DB1 included in the operation command DA2. As a result, the various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 can travel on the safety route in a state where safety is ensured based on the speed limit conditions that can avoid collisions with other vehicles and suppress rollovers, etc. When various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 travel along the security route and are detected by a vehicle detector 32 provided at a stop point 8 that is a target arrival point on the security route, the traffic management system 21 recognizes that various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 have traveled the security route, and the security management system 22 cancels the setting of the security route and the security conditions including the speed limit. In this case, when various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 following behind are stopped at one of the multiple stop points 8, and the vehicle detector 32 detects that various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 preceding ahead of the one stop point 8 have arrived at another stop point 8, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 corresponding to the following vehicle to the security management system 22. When the safety management system 22 receives an operation route setting command DA1 from the operation management system 21, it judges the safety corresponding to the following vehicle, and when there is no leading vehicle at another stopping point 8 which is the target arrival point, it sets safety conditions including a safe route and speed limit, and transmits safety condition information DB1 indicating information on the safety conditions to the operation management system 21.

[0076] Furthermore, in the autonomous driving area 6, autonomous vehicles 4 and manually driven vehicles 5A such as special vehicles 5 coexist. In this case, even if a manually driven vehicle 5A is detected by a vehicle detector 32 installed at a plurality of stopping points 8, the safety management system 22 transmits the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 to the traffic management system 21. This allows the traffic management system 21 to recognize the presence of a manually driven vehicle 5A at each of the plurality of stopping points 8 based on the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 received from the safety management system 22.

[0077] In the autonomous driving area 6, at least one of a traffic light 33 and a guide display 34 is installed near some or all of the multiple stop points 8. In this embodiment, at least one of a traffic light 33 and a guide display 34 is installed near all of the multiple stop points 8. The manually driven vehicle 5A travels by being manually driven by a driver or remotely operated by an operator in accordance with notification information notified by at least one of the traffic light 33 and the guide display 34 installed in the autonomous driving area 6. In this way, in a situation where the autonomous driving vehicle 4 and the manually driven vehicle 5A coexist, the safety management system 22 or the operation management system 21 activates at least one of the traffic light 33 and the guide display 34 installed in the autonomous driving area 6 based on the position information DC2 of the autonomous driving vehicle 4 in the autonomous driving area 6 and the position information DD5 of the manually driven vehicle 5A. In this case, the driver of the manually driven vehicle 5A or a remote operator can drive the manually driven vehicle 5A in accordance with the notification information provided by at least one of the traffic signals 33 and the guidance display 34, thereby causing the manually driven vehicle 5A to travel in accordance with the automatic travel of the automatically driven vehicle 4 along the travel route 7.

[0078] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the terminal device 5B mounted on the manually driven vehicle 5A. The manually driven vehicle 5A, together with the automatically driven vehicle 4, is managed for safety by the safety management system 22 in the automatically driven area 6, and the operation is managed by the operation management system 21. In this case, the operation management system 21 and the manually driven vehicle 5A are communicably connected via the terminal device 5B mounted on the manually driven vehicle 5A. The terminal device 5B is configured, for example, as a tablet. The terminal device 5B is used to notify the driver of the operation command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 indicating the safety conditions for ensuring the safety of the manually driven vehicle 5A in the automatically driven area 6 in a recognizable manner. The driver of the manually driven vehicle 5A can drive the manually driven vehicle 5A according to the safety condition information DB1 included in the operation command DA2 notified by the terminal device 5B. In this case, even if the traffic signal 33 and the guide display 34 fail, the driver can drive the manually driven vehicle 5A safely.

[0079] In a situation where various vehicles, including automatically driven vehicles 4 and manually driven vehicles 5A, coexist within the automatically driven area 6, the safety management system 22, as described above, sets safety conditions including safety routes and speed limits for various vehicles, and transmits safety condition information DB1 indicating information on the safety conditions to the traffic management system 21. When the traffic management system 21 receives safety condition information DB1 for the manually driven vehicle 5A, it transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the terminal device 5B mounted on the manually driven vehicle 5A.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 3, the terminal device 5B includes a processor 5B1 capable of information processing, a communication unit 5B2, a notification unit 5B3, and a program storage unit 5B4.

[0081] The communication unit 5B2 is controlled by the processor 5B1 and receives various information transmitted from the operation management system 21. The notification unit 5B3 is controlled by the processor 5B1 and notifies the driver of various information and data necessary for driving the manually driven vehicle 5A in the autonomous driving area 6. The structure of the notification unit 5B3 is not particularly limited as long as it is capable of notifying various information and data. The notification unit 5B3 is composed of, for example, a display unit such as a display that displays visual data such as images and text, a unit that outputs auditory data such as voice and buzzer sound, an indicator or Patlite (registered trademark) that outputs visual data such as lighting and blinking light, a vibrator that generates vibrations, and the like.

[0082] The processor 5B1 includes, as functional components, a communication control unit 5B11, a conversion information storage unit 5B12, a conversion unit 5B13, and a notification control unit 5B14.

[0083] The communication control unit 5B11 receives the operation command DA2 transmitted from the operation management system 21 via the communication unit 5B2.

[0084] The conversion information storage unit 5B12 stores conversion information DE in which the operation command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 indicating the safety condition is associated with recognizable data DE2 recognizable by the driver of the manually operated vehicle 5A. In other words, the conversion information DE stored in the conversion information storage unit 5B12 is information in which the recognizable data DE2 is associated with each condition, such as a safety route, a speed limit, a travel permission, and a travel stop, included in the safety condition indicated by the safety condition information DB1 included in the operation command DA2. Note that the recognizable data DE2 is not particularly limited as long as it is data recognizable by the driver of the manually operated vehicle 5A. The recognizable data DE2 is, for example, visual data such as images, text, or lighting and blinking lights, auditory data such as voice and buzzer sound, and tactile data such as vibration.

[0085] The conversion unit 5B13 refers to the conversion information DE stored in the conversion information storage unit 5B12 and converts the operation command DA2, which includes the safety condition information DB1 and which is received by the communication control unit 5B11, into recognizable data DE2.

[0086] The notification control unit 5B14 causes the notification unit 5B3 to notify the recognizable data DE2 converted by the conversion unit 5B13. In this case, the notification unit 5B3 notifies the recognizable data DE2 under the control of the notification control unit 5B14.

[0087] In the terminal device 5B mounted on the manually-driven vehicle 5A, the operation command DA2 transmitted from the operation management system 21, which includes the safety condition information DB1 indicating the safety conditions set by the safety management system 22, is converted into recognizable data DE2 in the conversion unit 5B13. Then, under the control of the notification control unit 5B14, the notification unit 5B3 notifies the recognizable data DE2 converted by the conversion unit 5B13. In this case, in a situation where the automatically-driven vehicle 4 and the manually-driven vehicle 5A coexist in the automatically-driven area 6, the driver who drives the manually-driven vehicle 5A can drive the manually-driven vehicle 5A along a safety route while recognizing the safety conditions indicated by the safety condition information DB1 set by the safety management system 22 based on the recognizable data DE2 notified by the terminal device 5B. For example, when the driver recognizes that driving is permitted based on the recognizable data DE2, he or she can drive the manually-driven vehicle 5A along a safety route where safety is ensured within the speed limit range that can suppress the rollover of the vehicle. Furthermore, when the driver recognizes that driving has been stopped based on the recognizable data DE2, he or she can stop the manually driven vehicle 5A from driving on the safety route.

[0088] The program storage unit 5B4 stores the program PG. The program PG is a program for causing one or more processors, including the processor 5B1, to execute each process performed by the safety management system 22 including the terminal device 5B mounted on the manually-operated vehicle 5A and the operation management system 21. This program PG causes one or more processors, including the processor 5B1, to execute the following processes: receiving the operation command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 set by the safety management system 22 from the operation management system 21 via the communication unit 5B2; converting the operation command DA2 into recognizable data DE2 by referring to the conversion information DE; and notifying the converted recognizable data DE2 via the notification unit 5B3.

[0089] The processor 5B1 of the terminal device 5B can perform the following processes in accordance with the program PG stored in the program memory unit 5B4: receiving an operation command DA2 in the communication control unit 5B11, converting the operation command DA2 into recognizable data DE2 in the conversion unit 5B13, and reporting the recognizable data DE2 from the reporting unit 5B3 in the reporting control unit 5B14.

[0090] As described above, the manually driven vehicle 5A is a vehicle driven by a driver, and together with the automatically driven vehicle 4 which automatically drives along a pre-set driving route 7 within the automatically driven area 6, its safety is managed by the safety management system 22, its operation is managed by the operation management system 21, and it is equipped with a terminal device 5B.

[0091] The manually-operated vehicle 5A may incorporate the processor 5B1, the communication unit 5B2, and the notification unit 5B3 that constitute the terminal device 5B. In this case, the manually-operated vehicle 5A includes a communication control unit 5B11 that receives a driving command DA2 from the traffic management system 21 via the communication unit 5B2, a conversion information storage unit 5B12 that stores conversion information DE that associates the driving command DA2 with the recognizable data DE2, a conversion unit 5B13 that converts the driving command DA2 into the recognizable data DE2 by referring to the conversion information DE, and a notification unit 5B3 that notifies the recognizable data DE2 based on the control of the notification control unit 5B14. According to this manually-operated vehicle 5A, the driving command DA2 transmitted from the traffic management system 21, which includes the safety condition information DB1 indicating the safety conditions set by the safety management system 22, is converted into the recognizable data DE2, and the converted recognizable data DE2 is notified. In this case, the driver of the manually driven vehicle 5A can drive the manually driven vehicle 5A along a safe route while recognizing the safety conditions indicated by the safety condition information DB1 set by the safety management system 22 based on the notified recognizable data DE2.

[0092] The autonomous vehicle 4 may be equipped with a terminal device 5B in preparation for a case where the autonomous vehicle 4 is set to manual driving mode and driven by the driver's driving operation. The autonomous vehicle 4 may have the functional configuration of the terminal device 5B built into the control unit 41. In this case, the control unit 41 in the autonomous vehicle 4 has a function as a communication control unit 5B11 that receives a driving command DA2 from the operation management system 21 via the on-board station 42, a function as a conversion information storage unit 5B12 that stores conversion information DE that associates the driving command DA2 with the recognizable data DE2, a function as a conversion unit 5B13 that converts the driving command DA2 into the recognizable data DE2 by referring to the conversion information DE, and a function as a notification unit 5B3 that notifies the recognizable data DE2. In such an autonomous vehicle 4, in a situation where the autonomous vehicle 4 is set to manual driving mode and driven by the driver, the operation command DA2 transmitted from the operation management system 21, which includes the safety condition information DB1 indicating the safety condition set by the safety management system 22, is converted into the recognizable data DE2, and the converted recognizable data DE2 is notified. In this case, a driver manually driving the autonomous vehicle 4 set in manual driving mode can manually drive the autonomous vehicle 4 along a safety route while recognizing the safety conditions indicated by the safety condition information DB1 set by the safety management system 22 based on the notified recognizable data DE2.

[0093] 2, in this embodiment, the autonomous driving area 6 has an interchange area 61, a first working area 62, a second working area 63, and a third working area 64. Within the autonomous driving area 6, the interchange area 61, the first working area 62, the second working area 63, and the third working area 64 are each connected by a driving route 7. Therefore, various vehicles, including the autonomous driving vehicle 4 and the manually driven vehicle 5A, can move to each area by traveling along the driving route 7.

[0094] The interchange area 61 is an area having an interchange 611 that divides the inside and outside of the autonomous driving area 6. At the interchange 611, the driving route 7 in the autonomous driving area 6 and the general road 7A outside the autonomous driving area 6 are connected to each other. At the interchange 611, an entry / exit point 81 where various vehicles, including the autonomous driving vehicle 4 and the manually driven vehicle 5A, enter and exit the autonomous driving area 6 is set as a stop point 8. A vehicle detector 32 is provided at this entry / exit point 81. At the interchange 611, a railroad crossing barrier 351 is provided in front of the entry / exit point 81 on the driving route 7. In addition, multiple entry / exit waiting points 811 provided with vehicle detectors 32 are set within the interchange area 61. The entry / exit waiting point 811 is a stop point 8 that functions as a parking lot for various vehicles, such as the autonomous driving vehicle 4, to wait within the interchange area 61.

[0095] A first waiting point 82 is set as a stop point 8 where a vehicle detector 32 is provided, at a location extending from an entry / exit point 81 on the travel route 7 and immediately after leaving the interchange area 61. On the travel route 7, routes extending from the first waiting point 82 on the opposite side of the entry / exit point 81 include a route extending toward the first work area 62 via the route boundary 70, a route extending toward the second work area 63, and a route extending toward the third work area 64. A second waiting point 83 is set as a stop point 8 where a vehicle detector 32 is provided on the route extending from the first waiting point 82 toward the second work area 63 via the route boundary 70. In addition, a third waiting point 84 and a fourth waiting point 85 are set at a predetermined interval as stop points 8 where a vehicle detector 32 is provided on the route extending from the first waiting point 82 toward the third work area 64 via the route boundary 70.

[0096] In this embodiment, the section between the third waiting point 84 and the fourth waiting point 85 is a multiple lane section 65 in which the travel route 7 is separated into multiple lanes including a first route 71 and a second route 72. In the multiple lane section 65, the number of lanes in the multiple lanes is not limited to two, the first route 71 and the second route 72, and may be three or more. In the multiple lane section 65, a first passing waiting point 841 is set on the first route 71 as a stop point 8 where a vehicle detector 32 is installed, and a second passing waiting point 851 is set on the second route 72 as a stop point 8 where a vehicle detector 32 is installed.

[0097] The first working area 62 is an area where the work of loading the transported object onto the loading platform 401 of the autonomous vehicle 4 or the work of unloading the transported object from the loading platform 401 is performed. In the first working area 62, a special vehicle 5 as a manually operated vehicle 5A is arranged. In the first working area 62, a first arrival point 8A where various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 that arrives at the first working area 62 from outside the first working area 62 wait is set as a stop point 8, and a first departure point 8B where various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 that departs from inside the first working area 62 to the outside wait is set as a stop point 8. A vehicle detector 32 is provided at each of the first arrival point 8A and the first departure point 8B. In addition, a first working point 91 where the work of loading or unloading the transported object is performed is set in the first working area 62. A vehicle detector 32 is provided at the first working point 91.

[0098] The second work area 63 is an area where transported objects transported by a belt conveyor or the like are stored for a certain period of time, and is an area where the stored transported objects are loaded onto the loading platform 401 of the autonomous vehicle 4. In the second work area 63, a special vehicle 5 as a manually operated vehicle 5A is arranged. In the second work area 63, a second arrival point 8C where various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 that arrives at the second work area 63 from outside the second work area 63 wait is set as a stop point 8, and a second departure point 8D where various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 that departs from inside the second work area 63 to the outside wait is set as a stop point 8. A vehicle detector 32 is provided at each of the second arrival point 8C and the second departure point 8D. In addition, a second work area 92 where the transported objects are loaded is set in the second work area 63. A vehicle detector 32 is provided at the second work area 92.

[0099] The third working area 64 is an area where a collection operation for loading transported objects onto a ship or the like outside the automatic driving area 6 is performed by the hopper device 361, and is an area where an operation for unloading transported objects from the loading platform 401 of the automatic driving vehicle 4 is performed. In the third working area 64, a third arrival point 8E where various vehicles including the automatic driving vehicle 4 that arrives at the third working area 64 from outside the third working area 64 wait is set as a stop point 8, and a third departure point 8F where various vehicles including the automatic driving vehicle 4 that departs from inside the third working area 64 to the outside wait is set as a stop point 8. A vehicle detector 32 is provided at each of the third arrival point 8E and the third departure point 8F. In addition, a third working area 93 where unloading of transported objects is performed is set in the third working area 64. A vehicle detector 32 is provided at the third working area 93. Furthermore, in the third work area 64, a work waiting point 86 is set as a stopping point 8 between the third arrival point 8E and the third work point 93. In the work waiting point 86, a vehicle detector 32 is provided.

[0100] In this embodiment, the traffic management system 21 may set a temporary stop point 8G where various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 can be temporarily stopped in a position close to at least one of the first arrival point 8A and the first departure point 8B in the first working area 62. Similarly, the traffic management system 21 may set a temporary stop point 8G where various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 can be temporarily stopped in a position close to at least one of the second arrival point 8C and the second departure point 8D in the second working area 63. In addition, the traffic management system 21 may set a temporary stop point 8G where various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 can be temporarily stopped in a position close to at least one of the third arrival point 8E and the third departure point 8F in the third working area 64. Furthermore, the operation management system 21 may set a temporary stop point 8G where various vehicles, including the autonomous vehicle 4, can be temporarily stopped in locations close to the first waiting point 82, the second waiting point 83, and the third waiting point 84.

[0101] As described above, the traffic management system 21 sets the temporary stop point 8G at a position close to the stop points 8, such as the first arrival point 8A, the first departure point 8B, the second arrival point 8C, the second departure point 8D, the third arrival point 8E, the third departure point 8F, the first waiting point 82, the second waiting point 83, and the third waiting point 84. In this way, when various vehicles including the following autonomous vehicle 4 travel toward the stop point 8 where various vehicles including the preceding autonomous vehicle 4 are stopped, the traffic management system 21 can stop the following vehicle at the temporary stop point 8G. In this case, the traffic management system 21 regards the following vehicle that stops at the temporary stop point 8G as being stopped at the stop point 8. In this way, the traffic management system 21 can efficiently manage the operation of the following vehicle by regarding the following vehicle that stops at the temporary stop point 8G as being stopped at the stop point 8.

[0102] If the following vehicle stopped at temporary stop point 8G is an autonomous vehicle 4, after the preceding vehicle has moved from stop point 8, the autonomous vehicle 4 will automatically drive to stop point 8 while referring to the measurement results of the measurement unit 43, and stop at stop point 8.

[0103] Also, assume that various vehicles (following vehicles) including one autonomous vehicle 4 are stopped at one stop point 8 among the multiple stop points 8, and various vehicles (leading vehicles) including the other autonomous vehicle 4 are not stopped at a temporary stop point 8G that is close to another stop point 8 beyond the first stop point 8. In this case, the traffic management system 21 assumes that the leading vehicle is not stopped at the other stop point 8 beyond the one stop point 8 where the following vehicle is stopped, and transmits to the safety management system 22 a traffic route setting command DA1 that commands the setting of a route with the one stop point 8 as a starting point and the other stop point 8 as a destination point. In this case, the traffic management system 21 receives safety condition information DB1 from the safety management system 22 as information in response to the traffic route setting command DA1, and transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the following vehicle via the ground station 31. As a result, the operation management system 21 can efficiently manage the operation of the following vehicle by assuming that the preceding vehicle is not stopped at the stop point 8, which is the target arrival point of the following vehicle.

[0104] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining operation management of various vehicles, including an autonomous driving vehicle 4, in an interchange area 61 within an autonomous driving area 6.

[0105] Outside the autonomous driving area 6, the autonomous vehicle 4 is driven by the driver or remotely operated by an operator, and is moved to the autonomous driving area 6, more specifically, to an entrance / exit point 81 set at an interchange 611 in the autonomous driving area 6. The safety management system 22 transmits the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 installed at the entrance / exit point 81 set at the interchange 611 to the operation management system 21. Based on the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 received from the safety management system 22, the operation management system 21 recognizes the presence of the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the entrance / exit point 81. For the autonomous vehicle 4 that has entered the entrance / exit point 81 from outside the autonomous driving area 6, the operation management system 21 receives vehicle information DC1 from the autonomous vehicle 4 and registers the vehicle information DC1. For the autonomous vehicle 4 for which the vehicle information DC1 has been registered, the operation mode is set to the autonomous driving mode by automatically, manually, or remotely operating the mode changeover switch 44. On the other hand, for an autonomous vehicle 4 that exits from the entry / exit point 81 to outside the autonomous driving area 6, the operation management system 21 deletes the registration of the vehicle information DC1. For an autonomous vehicle 4 whose registration of the vehicle information DC1 has been deleted, the driving mode is set to the manual driving mode by automatic, manual, or remote operation of the mode change switch 44. Note that the vehicle information DC1 is information unique to the autonomous vehicle 4, and includes vehicle identification information, information related to the vehicle size, information related to the load capacity of the vehicle, etc.

[0106] As described above, the traffic management system 21 registers and cancels the registration of vehicle information DC1 unique to an autonomous vehicle 4 that is parked at an entry / exit point 81. In this case, the safety management system 22 can manage the safety of the autonomous vehicle 4 for which the vehicle information DC1 is registered, and the traffic management system 21 can manage the operation.

[0107] The traffic management system 21 may also be configured to register vehicle information DD1 specific to manually driven vehicles 5A, including special vehicles 5, that exist within the autonomous driving area 6. In this case, the traffic management system 21 can manage the manually driven vehicles 5A in which the vehicle information DD1 is registered, along with the autonomous driving vehicles 4 in which the vehicle information DD1 is registered.

[0108] When the registration of the vehicle information DC1 and DD1 of various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the entry / exit point 81 is completed, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 to the safety management system 22 to command the setting of a route of the section between the entry / exit point 81 and the first waiting point 82 in the traffic route 7. In this case, the safety management system 22 judges whether the section between the entry / exit point 81 and the first waiting point 82 is a safety route based on the position information DC2 and DD5 of all vehicles for which the vehicle information DC1 and DD1 are registered. If it is a safety route, the safety management system 22 transmits to the traffic management system 21 safety condition information DB1 that sets the route of the section between the entry / exit point 81 and the first waiting point 82 as a safety route. Thereafter, the safety management system 22 operates the crossing gate 351 in the interchange 611 to open based on the command from the traffic management system 21. When the operation management system 21 receives safety condition information DB1 and information on the complete opening state of the railroad crossing barrier 351 from the safety management system 22, it transmits an operation command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to various vehicles, including the autonomous vehicle 4, parked at the entry / exit point 81 via the ground station 31.

[0109] When various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 receive an operation command DA2 while stopped at the entry / exit point 81, they travel from the entry / exit point 81 to the first waiting point 82 based on the safety condition information DB1 included in the operation command DA2, and stop at the first waiting point 82. The safety management system 22 operates the railroad crossing gate 351 to close after various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 have passed through the railroad crossing gate 351. Various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 wait while stopped at the first waiting point 82 until they receive the next operation command DA2.

[0110] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining operation management of various vehicles, including the autonomous driving vehicle 4, in a first work area 62 and a second work area 63 within the autonomous driving area 6.

[0111] The safety management system 22 transmits the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 provided at the first arrival point 8A set within the first work area 62 to the traffic management system 21. Based on the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 received from the safety management system 22, the traffic management system 21 recognizes the presence of various vehicles including the autonomously driven vehicle 4 parked at the first arrival point 8A.

[0112] A case where the vehicle stopped at the first arrival point 8A is an autonomous vehicle 4 will be described below. First, a case is assumed where an object is to be loaded onto the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the first arrival point 8A. In this case, the autonomous vehicle 4 transports the loaded object from the first work area 62 to the third work area 64 via the multiple lane section 65.

[0113] When the driver or remote operator of the special vehicle 5 as the manually operated vehicle 5A arranged in the first work area 62 confirms that the autonomous vehicle 4 has arrived at the first arrival point 8A, he or she operates the position designation button 53 to transmit a stop position designation command DD2. The stop position designation command DD2 indicates a command for designating a stop position of the autonomous vehicle 4 when the special vehicle 5 performs a loading operation of a transported object. The stop position designation command DD2 may be output from a terminal device 5B mounted on the special vehicle 5.

[0114] When the operation management system 21 receives the stop position designation command DD2 transmitted from the special vehicle 5 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 52, it transmits an operation route setting command DA1 including information of the stop position designation command DD2 to the safety management system 22.

[0115] The traffic management system 21 may be configured to transmit vehicle arrival information DD4, which indicates information for notifying the driver of the special vehicle 5 or the remote operator that the autonomous vehicle 4 is stopped at the first arrival point 8A and that the traffic management system 21 has received the stop position designation command DD2, to the special vehicle 5 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 52. In this case, the vehicle arrival information DD4 is displayed on the vehicle arrival display 55 in the special vehicle 5. Alternatively, the traffic management system 21 may be configured to turn on a PATLITE (registered trademark) mounted on the autonomous vehicle 4 when the autonomous vehicle 4 arrives at the first arrival point 8A. In this case, the driver of the special vehicle 5 or the remote operator can confirm that the autonomous vehicle 4 has arrived at the first arrival point 8A by the illumination of the PATLITE (registered trademark) mounted on the autonomous vehicle 4. The vehicle arrival information DD4 may be notified by a terminal device 5B mounted on the special vehicle 5.

[0116] When the safety management system 22 receives an operation route setting command DA1 from the traffic management system 21, it sets safety conditions such that a work approach route from the first arrival point 8A to the first work point 91 corresponding to the stopping position indicated in the stopping position designation command DD2 is set as a safety route. Then, the safety management system 22 transmits safety condition information DB1 including information on the work approach route to the traffic management system 21. When the safety management system 21 receives the safety condition information DB1 from the safety management system 22, it transmits an operation command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the first arrival point 8A via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42.

[0117] When the autonomous vehicle 4 receives the operation command DA2 while stopped at the first arrival point 8A, it automatically travels along the work approach route from the first arrival point 8A to the first working point 91 based on the safety condition information DB1 included in the operation command DA2, and stops at the first working point 91. When the autonomous vehicle 4 stops at the first working point 91, the special vehicle 5 performs the work of loading the transported object onto the loading platform 401 of the autonomous vehicle 4. Since the first working point 91 where the autonomous vehicle 4 stops is a working point corresponding to the stopping position indicated in the stopping position designation command DD2 transmitted from the special vehicle 5, the work efficiency of the special vehicle 5 at the first working point 91 is improved.

[0118] When the special vehicle 5 loads transported goods onto the loading platform 401 of the autonomous vehicle 4 at the first working point 91, it is preferable that the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 including information instructing the autonomous vehicle 4 to stop alongside at the first working point 91 to the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the first arrival point 8A. In this case, the autonomous vehicle 4 automatically travels along the work approach route from the first arrival point 8A to the first working point 91, and stops alongside at the first working point 91. This improves the work efficiency of the special vehicle 5 loading the transported goods.

[0119] When the loading of the transported goods onto the autonomous vehicle 4 at the first work site 91 is completed, the driver of the special vehicle 5 or a remote control operator operates the departure request button 54 to transmit a departure request command DD3. The departure request command DD3 indicates a command to request the departure of the autonomous vehicle 4 after the loading of the transported goods by the special vehicle 5 is completed. The departure request command DD3 may be output from a terminal device 5B mounted on the special vehicle 5.

[0120] When the traffic management system 21 receives the departure request command DD3 transmitted from the special vehicle 5 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 52, it transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 including information on the departure request command DD3 to the safety management system 22. In this case, the safety management system 22 sets safety conditions for the route from the first working point 91 to the first departure point 8B as a safety route. Then, the safety management system 22 transmits safety condition information DB1 including information on the route from the first working point 91 to the first departure point 8B to the traffic management system 21. When the traffic management system 21 receives the safety condition information DB1 from the safety management system 22, it transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the automatically driven vehicle 4 parked at the first working point 91 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42.

[0121] When the autonomous vehicle 4 receives an operation command DA2 while stopped at the first working point 91, it automatically travels from the first working point 91 to the first departure point 8B based on the safety condition information DB1 included in the operation command DA2, and stops at the first departure point 8B. While stopped at the first departure point 8B, the autonomous vehicle 4 waits until it receives the next operation command DA2.

[0122] Next, assume that an operation is performed to unload transported goods from the autonomous vehicle 4 that has stopped at the first arrival point 8A. In this case, the autonomous vehicle 4 transports the transported goods that have been loaded in the second work area 63 from the second work area 63 to the first work area 62.

[0123] When the driver of the special vehicle 5 or the remote operator confirms that the autonomous vehicle 4 has arrived at the first arrival point 8A, the driver or the remote operator operates the position designation button 53 to transmit a stop position designation command DD2. The stop position designation command DD2 may be output from the terminal device 5B mounted on the special vehicle 5.

[0124] When the traffic management system 21 receives the stop position designation command DD2 transmitted from the special vehicle 5 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 52, it transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 including information on the stop position designation command DD2 to the safety management system 22. In this case, the safety management system 22 sets a safety condition in which the work approach route from the first arrival point 8A to the first work point 91 corresponding to the stop position indicated by the stop position designation command DD2 is set as a safety route. Then, the safety management system 22 transmits safety condition information DB1 including information on the work approach route to the traffic management system 21. When the traffic management system 21 receives the safety condition information DB1 from the safety management system 22, it transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the automatically driven vehicle 4 stopped at the first arrival point 8A via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42.

[0125] When the autonomous vehicle 4 receives an operation command DA2 while stopped at the first arrival point 8A, it automatically travels along the work approach route from the first arrival point 8A to the first work point 91, and stops at the first work point 91. While stopped at the first work point 91, the autonomous vehicle 4 tilts the loading platform 401 by operating the dump device 45, and performs the task of unloading the transported object from the loading platform 401.

[0126] When the autonomous vehicle 4 performs unloading of the transported object at the first working point 91, the traffic control system 21 preferably transmits a traffic command DA2 including information instructing the autonomous vehicle 4 to back up and stop at the first working point 91 to the autonomous vehicle 4 parked at the first arrival point 8A. In this case, the autonomous vehicle 4 automatically travels along the work approach route from the first arrival point 8A to the first working point 91, and backs up and stops at the first working point 91. This improves the work efficiency of the unloading of the transported object by operating the dump device 45.

[0127] When the unloading of the transported goods from the autonomous vehicle 4 at the first work site 91 is completed, the driver of the special vehicle 5 or the remote control operator operates the departure request button 54 to transmit a departure request command DD3. The departure request command DD3 may be output from the terminal device 5B mounted on the special vehicle 5.

[0128] When the traffic management system 21 receives the departure request command DD3 transmitted from the special vehicle 5 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 52, it transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 including information on the departure request command DD3 to the safety management system 22. In this case, the safety management system 22 sets safety conditions for the route from the first working point 91 to the first departure point 8B as a safety route. Then, the safety management system 22 transmits safety condition information DB1 including information on the route from the first working point 91 to the first departure point 8B to the traffic management system 21. When the traffic management system 21 receives the safety condition information DB1 from the safety management system 22, it transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the automatically driven vehicle 4 parked at the first working point 91 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42.

[0129] When the autonomous vehicle 4 receives an operation command DA2 while stopped at the first working point 91, it automatically travels from the first working point 91 to the first departure point 8B based on the safety condition information DB1 included in the operation command DA2, and stops at the first departure point 8B. While stopped at the first departure point 8B, the autonomous vehicle 4 waits until it receives the next operation command DA2.

[0130] Furthermore, the security management system 22 transmits to the traffic management system 21 the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 provided at the second arrival point 8C set within the second work area 63. The traffic management system 21 recognizes the presence of an autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the second arrival point 8C based on the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 received from the security management system 22. In this case, the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the second arrival point 8C is subjected to loading of transported objects in the second work area 63. The autonomous vehicle 4 transports the loaded transported objects from the second work area 63 to the first work area 62.

[0131] When the driver of the special vehicle 5 placed in the second work area 63 or a remote operator confirms that the autonomous vehicle 4 has arrived at the second arrival point 8C, the driver or the remote operator operates the position designation button 53 to transmit a stop position designation command DD2. The stop position designation command DD2 may be output from the terminal device 5B mounted on the special vehicle 5.

[0132] When the traffic management system 21 receives the stop position designation command DD2 transmitted from the special vehicle 5 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 52, it transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 including information on the stop position designation command DD2 to the safety management system 22. In this case, the safety management system 22 sets safety conditions for a work approach route from the second arrival point 8C to the second work point 92 corresponding to the stop position indicated by the stop position designation command DD2 as a safety route, and transmits safety condition information DB1 to the traffic management system 21. Then, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 and information indicating an instruction to stop alongside to the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the second arrival point 8C via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42.

[0133] When the autonomous vehicle 4 receives the operation command DA2 while stopped at the second arrival point 8C, it automatically travels along the work approach route from the second arrival point 8C to the second work point 92 and stops alongside at the second work point 92. When the autonomous vehicle 4 stops at the second work point 92, the special vehicle 5 loads the transported object onto the loading platform 401 of the autonomous vehicle 4. When the loading of the transported object onto the autonomous vehicle 4 at the second work point 92 is completed, the driver of the special vehicle 5 or the remote operator operates the departure request button 54 to transmit a departure request command DD3. The departure request command DD3 may be output from a terminal device 5B mounted on the special vehicle 5.

[0134] When the traffic management system 21 receives the departure request command DD3 transmitted from the special vehicle 5 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 52, it transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 including information on the departure request command DD3 to the safety management system 22. In this case, the safety management system 22 sets safety conditions for the route from the second working point 92 to the second departure point 8D as a safety route, and transmits safety condition information DB1 to the traffic management system 21. Then, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the autonomous vehicle 4 parked at the second working point 92 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42.

[0135] When the autonomously driven vehicle 4 receives an operation command DA2 while stopped at the second working point 92, it automatically travels from the second working point 92 to the second departure point 8D and stops at the second departure point 8D. While stopped at the second departure point 8D, the autonomously driven vehicle 4 waits until it receives the next operation command DA2.

[0136] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining operation management of various vehicles, including the autonomously driven vehicle 4, in the third work area 64 within the autonomous driving area 6.

[0137] The security management system 22 transmits the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 provided at the third arrival point 8E set within the third working area 64 to the traffic management system 21. Based on the detection result of the vehicle detector 32 received from the security management system 22, the traffic management system 21 recognizes the presence of various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the third arrival point 8E. The following describes a case where the vehicle stopped at the third arrival point 8E is the autonomous vehicle 4. In this case, the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the third arrival point 8E performs the task of unloading transported objects from the hopper device 361 arranged in the third working area 64.

[0138] The traffic management system 21 transmits to the safety management system 22 a traffic route setting command DA1 for instructing the setting of a route for a section between the third arrival point 8E and the work standby point 86 within the third work area 64, and the setting of a route for a section between the work standby point 86 and the third work point 93. In this case, the safety management system 22 sets a safety condition for the work approach route from the third arrival point 8E to the work standby point 86 as a safety route, sets a safety condition for the work approach route from the work standby point 86 to the third work point 93 as a safety route, and transmits safety condition information DB1 to the traffic management system 21. Then, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 and information indicating an instruction to back up and stop to the autonomous vehicle 4 parked at the third arrival point 8E, via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42.

[0139] When the autonomously driven vehicle 4 receives the operation command DA2 while stopped at the third arrival point 8E, it automatically drives from the third arrival point 8E to the work standby point 86 and temporarily stops in reverse at the work standby point 86. The autonomously driven vehicle 4 then automatically drives in reverse from the work standby point 86 to the third work point 93 and stops in reverse at the third work point 93.

[0140] When the autonomous vehicle 4 receives an unloading command from the hopper control device 36 or information that unloading is possible via the traffic management system 21 while stopped at the third working point 93, the dump device 45 operates to tilt the loading platform 401 and unload the transported objects from the loading platform 401. As a result, the transported objects are loaded at the third working point 93. The hopper device 361 performs a collection operation to load the transported objects loaded at the third working point 93 onto a ship or the like outside the autonomous driving area 6.

[0141] When the unloading of the transported goods from the autonomous vehicle 4 at the third working point 93 is completed, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 to the safety management system 22 to instruct the setting of a route for the section between the third working point 93 and the third departure point 8F. In this case, the safety management system 22 sets safety conditions for the route from the third working point 93 to the third departure point 8F as a safety route, and transmits safety condition information DB1 to the traffic management system 21. Then, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the autonomous vehicle 4 parked at the third working point 93 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42.

[0142] When the autonomous vehicle 4 receives an operation command DA2 while stopped at the third working point 93, it automatically travels from the third working point 93 to the third departure point 8F based on the safety condition information DB1 included in the operation command DA2, and stops at the third departure point 8F. The autonomous vehicle 4 waits while stopped at the third departure point 8F until it receives the next operation command DA2.

[0143] 7 is a diagram for explaining operation management of various vehicles including an autonomous vehicle 4 in a multiple lane section 65 in an autonomous driving area 6. The following describes an example in which the vehicle traveling in the multiple lane section 65 is an autonomous vehicle 4.

[0144] 7, in the autonomous driving area 6, between a third waiting point 84 and a fourth waiting point 85, there is a multiple lane section 65 in which the driving route 7 is separated into multiple lanes including a first route 71 and a second route 72. In the multiple lane section 65, a first passing waiting point 841 is set on the first route 71, and a second passing waiting point 851 is set on the second route 72.

[0145] The safety management system 22 transmits the detection results of the vehicle detectors 32 installed at the third waiting point 84 and the fourth waiting point 85 to the traffic management system 21. Based on the detection results of each vehicle detector 32 received from the safety management system 22, the traffic management system 21 recognizes that an autonomously driven vehicle 4 is present at each of the third waiting point 84 and the fourth waiting point 85, the traveling direction of which is opposed to each other. The traffic management system 21 then transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 for each of the third waiting point 84 and the fourth waiting point 85 to the safety management system 22.

[0146] In this case, the safety management system 22 sets safety conditions for the two third waiting points 84 and the fourth waiting points 85, with the first route 71 being the safety route for the third waiting point 84, and sets safety conditions for the other fourth waiting point 85, with the second route 72 being the safety route. Then, the safety management system 22 transmits safety condition information DB1 indicating information on each of the set safety conditions to the traffic management system 21.

[0147] When the traffic management system 21 receives the safety condition information DB1 from the safety management system 22, it transmits a traffic command DA2 to each of the autonomous vehicles 4 parked at the third waiting point 84 and the fourth waiting point 85 via the ground station 31 and the on-board station 42. Specifically, for the autonomous vehicles 4 parked at the third waiting point 84, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 including safety condition information DB1 that specifies the first route 71 as a safety route. On the other hand, for the autonomous vehicles 4 parked at the fourth waiting point 85, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic command DA2 including safety condition information DB1 that specifies the second route 72 as a safety route.

[0148] The autonomously driven vehicle 4 stopped at the third waiting point 84 automatically drives from the third waiting point 84 to a first passing waiting point 841 on the first route 71 based on the operation command DA2, and temporarily stops at the first passing waiting point 841. Meanwhile, the autonomously driven vehicle 4 stopped at the fourth waiting point 85 automatically drives from the fourth waiting point 85 to a second passing waiting point 851 on the second route 72 based on the operation command DA2, and temporarily stops at the second passing waiting point 851.

[0149] When the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the fourth waiting point 85 moves onto the second route 72, the autonomous vehicle 4 temporarily stopped at the first passing waiting point 841 automatically travels along the first route 71 from the first passing waiting point 841 to the fourth waiting point 85, and stops at the fourth waiting point 85. The autonomous vehicle 4 waits while stopped at the fourth waiting point 85 until it receives the next operation command DA2.

[0150] On the other hand, when the autonomously driven vehicle 4 stopped at the third waiting point 84 moves onto the first route 71, the autonomously driven vehicle 4 temporarily stopped at the second passing waiting point 851 automatically travels along the second route 72 from the second passing waiting point 851 to the third waiting point 84, and stops at the third waiting point 84. The autonomously driven vehicle 4 waits while stopped at the third waiting point 84 until it receives the next operation command DA2.

[0151] As described above, in the multiple lane section 65 on the travel route 7, the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the third waiting point 84 automatically travels along the first route 71, and the autonomous vehicle 4 stopped at the fourth waiting point 85 automatically travels along the second route 72. In this case, even if the driving directions of the autonomous vehicles 4 stopped at the third waiting point 84 and the fourth waiting point 85 are opposite each other, each autonomous vehicle 4 can automatically travel in the multiple lane section 65 while collisions between the vehicles are avoided and safety is ensured.

[0152] 7, at least one detour route 73 may be set between a first route 71 and a second route 72 in a multiple lane section 65. In this case, if at least one of the first route 71 and the second route 72 cannot be set as a safety route, the safety management system 22 sets a safety condition that sets the detour route 73 as a safety route.

[0153] In a multi-lane section 65 on the travel route 7, lane restrictions may be imposed due to work being performed by a slow-moving vehicle such as a water truck, a broken-down vehicle being parked, damage occurring to a portion of the route, construction work being carried out, and the like. In this case, the safety management system 22 cannot set at least one of the first route 71 and the second route 72 as a safety route. In response to this, the safety management system 22 sets a safety condition that sets the detour route 73 set between the first route 71 and the second route 72 as a safety route. This allows the autonomous vehicle 4 to detour along the detour route 73 to avoid the area where lane restrictions are in place.

[0154] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this and may take the following modified embodiments, for example.

[0155] In the above embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 4 transports an object made of granulated slag, but the present invention is not limited to this. The autonomous vehicle 4 may be a vehicle that transports objects other than granulated slag or people as the object. When the autonomous vehicle 4 is a vehicle that transports people, the first to third work areas 62 to 64 in the autonomous driving area 6 are areas where people get on and off the autonomous vehicle 4.

[0156] In the above embodiment, the management system 2 and the ground facility 3 including the ground station 31 are connected to each other via wired communication facilities such as an optical network in the autonomous driving area 6 to enable wired communication, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. The management system 2, the ground facility 3, and the autonomous driving vehicle 4 may be connected to each other to enable wireless communication according to a communication standard dedicated to mobile devices such as 4G, 5G, or LTE, or may be connected via a wireless LAN. Wireless communication using the cloud may also be used.

[0157] In the above embodiment, the management system 2 manages the safe operation of various vehicles, including the autonomously driven vehicles 4 and the manually driven vehicles 5A, within the autonomous driving area 6, but is not limited to this. The management system 2 has an operator console installed in a central control room, and performs monitoring, judgment, and operation (intervention operations, emergency response, registration of manually driven vehicles 5A, etc.). For this reason, the management system 2 may be provided with a communication and monitoring system, such as a video system or a broadcasting system, for central monitoring.

[0158] In the above embodiment, the traffic control system 21 and the safety control system 22 are realized by separate and independent computer devices, but the present invention is not limited to this. The traffic control system 21 and the safety control system 22 may be realized by a single computer device.

[0159] In the above embodiment, the vehicle detector 32 is realized by LiDAR, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. The vehicle detector 32 may be a loop coil buried in the ground in the autonomous driving area 6, a camera, a wireless direction finder, a camera for detecting RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), or a QR code (registered trademark). However, in the case of a wireless direction finder, a wireless sign (radio beacon) or the like must be attached to the vehicle to be detected, and in the case of RFID, an RF tag must be attached, and in the case of a camera for detecting a QR code (registered trademark), a sheet or the like on which a QR code (registered trademark) is printed must be attached to the vehicle. In addition, a portable wireless communication device such as a tablet, an Air tag, or a GPS transmitter may be used to detect the position of various vehicles including the autonomous driving vehicle 4. Furthermore, in order to detect the position of the autonomous driving vehicle 4, a measurement unit 43 mounted on the autonomous driving vehicle 4 may be used.

[0160] In the above embodiment, a vehicle detector 32 is provided at each of the plurality of stop points 8, but the present invention is not limited to this. A single vehicle detector 32 may be provided to aggregate the plurality of stop points 8.

[0161] In the above embodiment, at least one of the traffic signal 33 and the guide display 34 is installed as an alarm device in the automatic driving area 6 to instruct the driver to drive the manually driven vehicle 5A. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the alarm device may be a PATLITE (registered trademark). As described above, the manually driven vehicle 5A may be equipped with a terminal device 5B such as a detachable tablet, and the alarm unit 5B3 of the terminal device 5B may alarm the recognizable data DE2 related to safety conditions such as a safety route on which the manually driven vehicle 5A is permitted to drive, a speed limit, driving permission, and driving suspension. The driver who drives the manually driven vehicle 5A can drive the manually driven vehicle 5A while recognizing the safety conditions indicated by the safety condition information DB1 set by the safety management system 22 based on the recognizable data DE2 alarmed by the terminal device 5B.

[0162] In the above embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 4 is stopped at a work point in the first work area 62 and the second work area 63 according to the stop position designation command DD2 transmitted from the special vehicle 5, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a vehicle detection sensor such as LiDAR may be installed in the first work area 62 and the second work area 63, the position of the special vehicle 5 may be detected by the sensor, and the autonomous vehicle 4 may be stopped at a work point according to the detected position. In addition, the LiDAR may be used to detect the amount of transported goods loaded in the first work area 62 and the second work area 63.

[0163] In the above embodiment, the special vehicle 5 is a manually operated vehicle 5A that runs under the driving operation of a driver or under remote control by an operator, but is not limited to such an embodiment. The special vehicle 5 may be applied as an autonomous vehicle 4 that can run autonomously.

[0164] In the vehicle operation system 1 according to the above embodiment, the operation management system 21 may be configured to monitor environmental conditions such as rainfall and road surface conditions such as the presence of puddles within the autonomous driving area 6. In this case, the operation management system 21 may transmit an operation command DA2 including information on a speed limit according to the environmental conditions and road surface conditions to various vehicles including the autonomous driving vehicle 4. In addition, the operation management system 21 may be configured to manage the operation of various vehicles including the autonomous driving vehicle 4 according to the road construction status, etc. within the autonomous driving area 6.

[0165] In the above embodiment, the safety management system 22 sets the route between the stop points 8 adjacent to each other in the driving direction of various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4 as a safety route at the multiple stop points 8, but the present invention is not limited to this. When multiple route sections can be continuously configured in the route section between the stop points 8 adjacent to each other in the driving direction of various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle 4, the traffic management system 21 may be configured to transmit a traffic route setting command DA1 to the security management system 22 to command the setting of a collective route that collectively includes the multiple route sections. In this case, the security management system 22 determines the safety of the collective route, and when the collective route is a route where safety is ensured, sets the security conditions that make the collective route a security route, and transmits the security condition information DB1 to the traffic management system 21. For example, the security management system 22 may set the route from the first departure point 8B in the first working area 62 via the multiple lane section 65 to the third arrival point 8E in the third working area 64 as a collective route, and set the security conditions that make the collective route a security route.

[0166] In this case, the traffic control system 21 can instruct the safety control system 22 to set a unified route without instructing the safety control system 22 to set all of the consecutive route sections, and the process of requesting route setting is simplified. Furthermore, by knowing in advance the route sections that may be set collectively, the safety control system 22 can quickly set a collectively route consisting of a predetermined combination of routes as a safety route when a request for route setting is received.

[0167] Furthermore, if for some reason operation cannot be performed as planned or if a malfunction occurs in the operation control system 21, the operator manually sets the route from the console of the safety control system 22. However, if it is possible to set multiple consecutive routes at once, this will also help prevent human error.

[0168] In the above embodiment, when the vehicle detector 32 detects that the preceding vehicle has arrived at another stop point 8 ahead of the first stop point 8 while the following vehicle is stopped at one of the multiple stop points 8, the safety management system 22 determines the safety corresponding to the following vehicle and sets a safety route. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the preceding vehicle may be detected by setting a timer to pass through a route boundary 70 set between the first stop point 8 and the other stop point 8. In this case, under a condition where overtaking is prohibited, even if the vehicle detector 32 does not detect that the preceding vehicle has arrived at the other stop point 8, when the timer setting detects that the preceding vehicle has passed through the route boundary 70, the traffic management system 21 transmits a traffic route setting command DA1 corresponding to the following vehicle to the security management system 22. When the safety management system 22 receives a driving route setting command DA1 from the traffic management system 21, it determines the safety corresponding to the following vehicle, sets the safety conditions, and transmits safety condition information DB1 indicating the information on the safety conditions to the traffic management system 21. Then, the traffic management system 21 transmits a driving command DA2 including the safety condition information DB1 to the following vehicle. When the following vehicle receives the driving command DA2 while stopped at one stop point 8, it can travel from the one stop point 8 to the other stop point 8 under the condition that overtaking of the preceding vehicle is prohibited. [Explanation of symbols]

[0169] 1 Vehicle operation system 2. Management System 21 Traffic Control System 22 Security Management System 32 Vehicle detector 33 Traffic signals (alarm devices) 34 Guidance display (alarm device) 4. Self-driving vehicles 5 Special Vehicles 5A Manually operated vehicles 5B Terminal Equipment 6. Autonomous Driving Area 61 Interchange Area 611 Interchange 62 First Work Area 63 Second Work Area 64 Third Work Area 65 Multi-lane section 7 Route 71 Route 1 72 Route 2 73 Detour Route 8 Stopping points 8G Temporary stop point 91 First Work Site 92 Second Work Site 93 Third Work Site

Claims

1. An autonomous vehicle capable of autonomously driving along a preset route within an autonomous driving area; A traffic management system that manages the operation of various vehicles including the autonomous driving vehicle within the autonomous driving area; A safety management system that manages the safety of the vehicle within the automated driving area, The operation management system transmits, to the safety management system, an operation route setting command indicating a command requesting setting of a route for the vehicle to travel on the operation route; When the safety management system receives the operation route setting command, it sets a safety route within the operation route that ensures safety during the travel of the vehicle and safety conditions including a speed limit based on position information of the vehicle within the automatic driving area, and transmits safety condition information indicating information on the safety condition to the operation management system; When the operation management system receives the safety condition information, the operation management system transmits an operation command including the safety condition information to the vehicle, A vehicle operation system, wherein the autonomous vehicle, when receiving the operation command, is capable of automatically driving along the safety route in accordance with the safety conditions indicated in the safety condition information.

2. When the vehicle is stopped at a stop point set in advance on the driving route, the driving management system transmits the driving route setting command to the safety management system, the driving route setting command instructing the setting of a route beyond the stop point on the driving route, The safety management system sets the safety conditions including the safety route and the speed limit that ensure safety on the route beyond the stopping point on the operation route, and transmits the safety condition information to the operation management system; The vehicle operation system according to claim 1 , wherein the operation control system transmits the operation command to the vehicle stopped at the stopping point when the safety condition information is received.

3. A plurality of stop points are set on the travel route, the operation management system recognizes the presence of the vehicle at each of the plurality of stop points based on detection results of vehicle detectors installed at the plurality of stop points, and transmits the operation route setting command for each of the plurality of stop points to the safety management system; The vehicle operation system of claim 2, wherein the safety management system determines, for each of the plurality of stop points, whether a route between adjacent stop points in the vehicle's traveling direction is a safety route, and transmits the safety condition information for each of the plurality of stop points to the operation management system.

4. The vehicle further includes an alarm device that is installed in the autonomous driving area to instruct the driving of a manually-driven vehicle included in the vehicle within the autonomous driving area, and that notifies at least one of driving condition information related to driving permission, driving stop, and driving conditions of the manually-driven vehicle; The vehicle operation system according to claim 1, wherein the safety management system or the operation management system activates the notification device installed within the autonomous driving area based on position information of the autonomous driving vehicle within the autonomous driving area.

5. The automated driving area has an interchange that separates the automated driving area from the outside, At the interchange, an entry / exit point where the vehicle enters and exits the automated driving area is set as the stop point, The traffic management system includes: Recognizing the presence of the vehicle stopped at the entrance / exit point based on a detection result of a vehicle detector installed at the entrance / exit point; For the vehicle that enters the entry / exit point from outside the automated driving area, vehicle information unique to the vehicle is registered; The vehicle operation system according to claim 2 , wherein, for the vehicle that exits the automatic driving area from the entry / exit point, registration of vehicle information unique to the vehicle is cancelled.

6. In the automated driving area, between the two stop points, there is a multi-lane section in which the driving route is separated into a plurality of lanes including a first route and a second route, the traffic management system, when the vehicles are present at each of the two stop points that define the multiple lane section and have opposing travel directions, transmits the traffic route setting command for each of the two stop points to the safety management system; The vehicle operation system of claim 3, wherein the safety management system sets the safety condition for one of the two stop points such that the first route is the safety route, and sets the safety condition for the other stop point such that the second route is the safety route.

7. a detour route is set between the first route and the second route in the multiple lane section, 7. The vehicle operation system according to claim 6, wherein the safety management system sets the safety condition such that the detour route is the safety route when at least one of the first route and the second route cannot be set as the safety route.

8. The traffic management system includes: setting a temporary stop point where the vehicle can be temporarily stopped in a position close to the stop point; The vehicle operation system according to claim 3 , wherein the vehicle that stops at the temporary stop point is regarded as being stopped at the stop point.

9. The traffic management system includes: setting a temporary stop point where the vehicle can be temporarily stopped in a position close to the stop point; 4. The vehicle operation system according to claim 3, wherein, when one of the vehicles is stopped at one stop point and no other of the vehicles is stopped at the temporary stop point close to another stop point beyond the one stop point, the system assumes that no other of the vehicles is stopped at the other stop point, and transmits to the safety management system an operation route setting command instructing the setting of a route from the one stop point as a starting point to the other stop point as an end point.

10. The autonomous vehicle is a vehicle having a loading platform capable of loading an object to be transported, and a dump device that tilts the loading platform, In the automatic driving area, there is a work area in which a work point where the work of loading the transported object onto the loading platform or the work of unloading the transported object from the loading platform is performed and the stopping point are set, A special vehicle capable of performing the loading work is placed in the work area as the vehicle, When the autonomous vehicle is stopped at the stop point within the work area, the operation management system transmits the operation route setting command including information of the stop position designation command transmitted from the special vehicle to the safety management system, the safety management system sets the safety conditions so that a work approach route from the stop point in the work area to the work point corresponding to the stop position indicated by the stop position designation command is set as the safety route, and transmits the safety condition information including information on the work approach route to the operation management system; The vehicle operation system according to claim 2 , wherein the operation management system transmits the operation command including information of the work approach route to the autonomous vehicle parked at the stopping point.

11. The vehicle operation system of claim 10, wherein when the special vehicle performs work of loading the transported object onto the loading platform of the autonomous vehicle at the work point, the operation management system transmits the operation command, which includes information indicating an instruction for the autonomous vehicle to stop alongside the work point, to the autonomous vehicle stopped at the stopping point.

12. The vehicle operation system of claim 10 or 11, wherein when the autonomous vehicle operates the dump device to tilt the loading platform to unload the transported object at the work point, the operation management system sends the operation command, which includes information indicating an instruction for the autonomous vehicle to back up and stop at the work point, to the autonomous vehicle stopped at the stopping point.

13. The operation management system transmits to the safety management system the operation route setting command for instructing the setting of a collective route that collectively includes a plurality of route sections in route sections between the stop points that are adjacent to each other in a traveling direction of the vehicle, The vehicle operation system according to claim 3, wherein, when the master route is a route in which safety is ensured, the safety management system sets the safety conditions so that the master route is the safety route, and transmits the safety condition information to the operation management system.

14. A terminal device is mounted on a manually-operated vehicle that is driven by a driver and whose safety is managed by a safety management system and whose operation is managed by a traffic management system, together with an autonomous vehicle that automatically drives a predetermined driving route within an autonomous driving area, a communication control unit that receives an operation command when the operation management system sets safety conditions including a safety route and a speed limit for each vehicle based on position information of the autonomous vehicle and the manually driven vehicle within the autonomous driving area and transmits an operation command including safety condition information indicating information on the safety conditions; and a conversion information storage unit that stores conversion information that associates the driving command with recognizable data that can be recognized by the driver; a conversion unit that converts the operation command received by the communication control unit into the recognizable data by referring to the conversion information; a notification unit that notifies the recognizable data converted by the conversion unit.

15. A manually operated vehicle operated by a driver, Autonomous vehicles will automatically drive along pre-set routes within the autonomous driving area, with safety being managed by a security management system and operation being managed by a traffic management system. A manually operated vehicle equipped with the terminal device according to claim 14.

16. An automated driving vehicle that automatically drives a pre-set driving route within an automated driving area is also a manually driven vehicle that is operated by a driver and whose safety is managed by a safety management system and whose operation is managed by a driving management system. a communication control unit that receives an operation command when the operation management system sets safety conditions including a safety route and a speed limit for each vehicle based on position information of the autonomous vehicle and the manually driven vehicle within the autonomous driving area and transmits an operation command including safety condition information indicating information on the safety conditions; and a conversion information storage unit that stores conversion information that associates the driving command with recognizable data that can be recognized by the driver; a conversion unit that converts the operation command received by the communication control unit into the recognizable data by referring to the conversion information; A manually-operated vehicle comprising: an annunciation unit that annunciates the recognizable data converted by the conversion unit.

17. A vehicle that travels along a preset driving route within an autonomous driving area, the driving mode of which can be switched between an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode, the vehicle automatically travels along the driving route when set to the autonomous driving mode, and travels along the driving route under the driving operation of a driver when set to the manual driving mode, the vehicle's safety being managed by a safety management system and the vehicle's operation being managed by a driving management system, a communication control unit that receives an operation command when the operation management system sets safety conditions including a safety route and a speed limit for the vehicle based on position information of various vehicles including the autonomous vehicle within the autonomous driving area and transmits an operation command including safety condition information indicating information on the safety conditions; and a conversion information storage unit that stores conversion information that associates the driving command with recognizable data that can be recognized by the driver; a conversion unit that converts the operation command received by the communication control unit into the recognizable data by referring to the conversion information; An autonomous driving vehicle comprising: an alarm unit that alarms the recognizable data converted by the conversion unit.

18. A program that causes one or more processors to execute the processes performed by the safety management system and the operation management system, including a terminal device mounted on a manually operated vehicle operated by a driver, the safety of which is managed by a safety management system, together with an autonomous vehicle that automatically travels along a preset operation route within an autonomous driving area, and the operation management system, A process in which safety conditions including a safety route and a speed limit that ensure safety during the travel of each vehicle based on position information of the autonomous vehicle and the manually driven vehicle within the autonomous driving area are set by the safety management system, and when an operation command including safety condition information indicating information on the safety conditions is transmitted by the operation management system, the process of receiving the operation command; A process of converting the driving command into the recognizable data by referring to conversion information that associates the driving command with recognizable data that can be recognized by the driver; and notifying the converted recognizable data.

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