Driving assistance device and driving assistance method

Abstract

To provide a driving assistance device and driving assistance method, which enable appropriate notification of the presence of a traffic regulating object to a driver when visibility of the traffic regulating object is not good.SOLUTION: A driving assistance device 10 is provided, comprising a current location acquisition unit 11 for acquiring a current location of a vehicle, a traffic regulating object information acquisition unit 12 for acquiring traffic regulating object information regarding a traffic regulating object present in a traveling direction of the vehicle, an image acquisition unit 13 for acquiring a captured image of the surroundings of the vehicle including at least the traveling direction of the vehicle, an image recognition unit 14 for recognizing a recognition target object captured in the image, a determination unit 15 for determining that a traffic regulating object is present and that area occupied by a recognition area for the recognition target object in the image is equal to or greater than a predetermined size, and a notification control unit 16 for controlling notification based on a determination result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving support device and a driving support method.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a technique for detecting a deceleration target such as a traffic signal by an image or a radar and notifying the vehicle occupants. (For example, Patent Document 1)

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The driving support device described in Patent Document 1 detects a deceleration target such as a traffic signal and notifies the vehicle occupants. However, there are cases where the traffic signal is in a blind spot due to a preceding vehicle or the like and cannot be detected by a camera or radar mounted on the vehicle. Further, when the vehicle occupants can visually recognize the traffic signal, unnecessary information may be output, which may bother the occupants.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides a driving support device and a driving support method capable of appropriately notifying a driver of the presence of a traffic control object such as a traffic signal, a stop sign, or a railroad crossing when it is difficult for the driver of the vehicle to visually recognize the traffic control object that regulates vehicle travel.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] To achieve the above object, a driving support device according to the present invention includes a current position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of a vehicle, a traffic control object information acquisition unit that acquires traffic control object information regarding a traffic control object existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle, an image acquisition unit that acquires an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the vehicle including at least the traveling direction of the vehicle, an image recognition unit that recognizes a recognition target object photographed in the image, a determination unit that determines that the traffic control object exists and that a recognition area occupied by the authentication target object in the image is larger than a predetermined value, and a notification control unit that controls notification based on the result of the determination.

[0007] To achieve the above object, a driving support device according to the present invention includes a current position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of a vehicle, a traffic control object information acquisition unit that acquires traffic control object information regarding a traffic control object existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle, an image acquisition unit that acquires an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the vehicle including at least the traveling direction of the vehicle, an image recognition unit that recognizes a recognition target object photographed in the image, a determination unit that determines that the traffic control object exists and that a position occupied by the authentication target object on the image includes a predetermined area, and a notification control unit that controls notification based on the result of the determination.

[0008] To achieve the above object, a driving support method according to the present invention includes steps in which a computer acquires the current position of a vehicle, acquires traffic control object information regarding a traffic control object existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle, acquires an image obtained by photographing the periphery of the vehicle including at least the traveling direction of the vehicle, recognizes a recognition target object photographed in the image, determines that the traffic control object exists and that a recognition area occupied by the authentication target object in the image is larger than a predetermined value, and controls notification based on the result of the determination.

[0009] To achieve the above object, the driving support method according to the present invention includes steps in which a computer acquires the current position of a vehicle, acquires traffic control object information regarding traffic control objects existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle, acquires an image obtained by photographing the surroundings of the vehicle including at least the traveling direction of the vehicle, recognizes a recognition target object photographed in the image, determines that the traffic control object exists and that the position occupied by the authentication target object on the image includes a predetermined area, and controls notification based on the result of the determination.

Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a driving support device and a driving support method capable of appropriately notifying a driver of the presence of a traffic control object in a situation where it is difficult to visually recognize the traffic control object.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. Also, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are essential as means for solving the problems. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been appropriately omitted and simplified.

[0013] <Embodiment 1> Using FIG. 1, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the driving support system 1 according to Embodiment 1.

[0014] The driving support system 1 includes a driving support device 10, a GNSS receiver 20, a map database 30, a camera 40, a monitor 50, and a speaker 60.

[0015] The GNSS receiver 20 receives GNSS signals from GNSS satellites (not shown). The GNSS receiver 20 outputs the received radio wave signals to the driving support device 10. Alternatively, the GNSS receiver 20 measures the current position using the received radio wave signals and outputs the information on the measured current position to the driving support device 10. The GNSS receiver 20 may be implemented as a function of a portable device held by a vehicle occupant such as a driver or a passenger, and may be a device that outputs the received radio wave signals or the information on the measured current position to the driving support device 10.

[0016] Various map information is stored in the map database 30. The map information includes the position information of traffic control objects such as traffic lights, stop signs, and level crossings, where the vehicle needs to stop or decelerate and the driving of the vehicle is restricted.

[0017] The camera 40 is mounted on the vehicle and captures a range including the traveling direction of the vehicle. The camera 40 may be a single camera or may be configured as a plurality of camera groups. Also, the camera 40 may be a portable device held by a vehicle occupant such as a driver.

[0018] The monitor 50 is an image display device mounted on the vehicle. The monitor 50 may be a display unit mounted on a portable device held by a vehicle occupant such as a driver.

[0019] The speaker 60 is an audio output device mounted on the vehicle. The speaker 60 may be a speaker mounted on a portable device held by a vehicle occupant such as a driver.

[0020] The driving support device 10 includes a current position acquisition unit 11, a traffic control object information acquisition unit 12, an image acquisition unit 13, an image recognition unit 14, a determination unit 15, and a notification control unit 16.

[0021] The current position acquisition unit 11 uses the signal of the radio wave received by the GNSS receiver 20 to measure and acquire the current position of the vehicle. Alternatively, the current position acquisition unit 11 acquires the current position information of the vehicle measured by the GNSS receiver 20. The current position acquisition unit 11 may be configured to include the GNSS receiver 20. The current position acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired current position of the vehicle to the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12.

[0022] Based on the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 11, the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12 refers to the map database 30 to acquire traffic control object information regarding traffic control objects such as traffic lights, stop signs, and level crossings that exist in the traveling direction of the vehicle and for which the vehicle needs to stop or decelerate and that regulate the travel of the vehicle. In addition, the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12 preferably acquires information indicating the type of the acquired traffic control object, such as whether it is a traffic light or a stop sign, and information regarding the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the traffic control object. The traffic control object information acquisition unit 12 acquires traffic control object information regarding traffic control objects existing within a predetermined range that is visible to the driver, such as within 100 m in the traveling direction of the vehicle. The traffic control object information acquisition unit 12 outputs the acquired information regarding the traffic control object to the determination unit 15.

[0023] The image acquisition unit 13 acquires an image of the surroundings of the vehicle including at least the traveling direction of the vehicle from the camera 40. The image acquisition unit 13 may acquire a plurality of images from a plurality of camera groups 40. The image acquisition unit 13 may be configured to include the camera 40, or may be an input interface unit that is connected to a separate camera 40 and acquires an output signal output from the camera 40. The image acquisition unit 13 outputs the acquired image to the image recognition unit 14.

[0024] The image recognition unit 14 performs a process of recognizing a predetermined recognition target object photographed in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 13. In the present embodiment, the image recognition unit 14 uses, as recognition target objects, traffic control objects such as traffic lights, stop signs, and level crossings, which require a vehicle to stop or decelerate and regulate the running of the vehicle, and performs a recognition process. The image recognition unit 14 outputs the recognition result to the determination unit 15.

[0025] The image recognition unit 14 includes a learned model for traffic control object recognition as a learned model for image recognition, and uses image recognition technology to recognize traffic control objects that regulate the running of a vehicle from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 13. A learned model for image recognition is a learning model obtained by inputting input data in which an image and teacher data are set into a neural network and performing machine learning. In the present embodiment, as the image, for example, an image of a landscape photographed by a camera mounted on a vehicle, or an image of a traffic light, a sign, a level crossing, etc. is used. As the teacher data, teacher data is used, where it is set to 1 when a traffic control object is photographed in the image and 0 when no traffic control object is photographed in the image. The neural network included in the image recognition unit 14 inputs, for example, the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 13 into the learned model for traffic control object recognition, and outputs the possibility that a traffic control object is photographed in the input image as a value between 1 and 0. The closer the output value is to 1, the higher the possibility that a traffic control object is photographed in the input image, and the closer the output value is to 0, the lower the possibility that a traffic control object is photographed in the input image. When this output value is a predetermined threshold value, for example, 0.8 or more, the image recognition unit 14 outputs a recognition result indicating that a traffic control object is photographed in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 13 to the determination unit 15. In addition to the above-described form, the image recognition unit 14 may recognize the recognition target object using a known technique such as pattern matching.

[0026] The determination unit 15 determines that the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12 has acquired information that there is a traffic control object in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the image recognition unit 14 has not recognized the traffic control object that is the object to be authenticated. In other words, when it indicates that, despite the presence of a traffic control object in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the result of image recognition has not recognized the traffic control object and there is a high possibility that the driver cannot recognize the traffic control object, it is determined to notify the driver. The determination unit 15 outputs the determined result to the notification control unit 16.

[0027] When the determination unit 15 determines to notify the driver, the notification control unit 16 performs control to notify the driver by display or sound. Notifying the driver means, for example, notifying the driver by presenting, via the monitor 50 or the speaker 60, the fact that a traffic control object exists in the traveling direction of the vehicle, such as "There is a traffic signal ahead" or "There is a level crossing 50 m ahead", by display or sound. The notification control unit 16 performs either control of outputting predetermined image data or text data to the monitor 50, or outputting predetermined warning sounds or voice data to the speaker 60. The notification control unit 16 may notify the driver via a buzzer, an LED (Light Emitting Diode), or a vibrating device (not shown) other than the monitor 50 or the speaker 60.

[0028] Next, the processing procedure of the driving support device 10 according to the above-described Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2.

[0029] First, in step S10, the current position acquisition unit 11 acquires the current position of the vehicle based on the radio wave signal received by the GNSS receiver 20. The current position acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired current position information to the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12. Then, the process proceeds to step S11.

[0030] In step S11, the traffic regulation object information acquisition unit 12 refers to the map information database 30 based on the acquired current position, and acquires information on traffic regulation objects existing within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the vehicle. When the traffic regulation object exists within the predetermined range in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the traffic regulation object information acquisition unit 12 outputs the acquired traffic regulation object information to the determination unit 15. Then, the process proceeds to step S12.

[0031] In step S12, the image acquisition unit 13 acquires the image captured by the camera 40. The image acquisition unit 13 outputs the acquired image to the image recognition unit 14. Then, the process proceeds to step S13.

[0032] In step S13, the image recognition unit 14 performs image recognition processing on the acquired image, and recognizes the traffic regulation object to be recognized. As a result of the recognition, that is, the result of whether the traffic regulation object is recognized or not, the image recognition unit 14 outputs it to the determination unit 15. Then, the process proceeds to step S14.

[0033] In step S14, when the traffic regulation object information acquisition unit 12 has acquired information that the traffic regulation object exists within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the result of image recognition in the image recognition unit 14 indicates that there is a high possibility that the driver cannot recognize the traffic regulation object, the determination unit 15 determines to notify the driver. When the determination unit 15 determines to notify the driver (Yes in S14), the process proceeds to step S15. When the determination unit 15 does not determine to notify the driver (No in S14), the process returns to step S10 and the process is executed again.

[0034] In step S15, the notification control unit 16 controls the notification to the driver by display or voice. The notification control unit 16 outputs the notification to the driver as image data or text data to the monitor 50, or outputs it as voice data to the speaker 60. Then, the flow ends.

[0035] As described above, according to Embodiment 1, when there is a traffic control object such as a traffic signal or a stop sign within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the traffic control object is not recognized in the image captured by the camera mounted on the vehicle, the driving support device 10 determines that there is a high possibility that the driver cannot visually recognize the traffic control object, and can notify the driver of information regarding the traffic control object. With such a configuration, while suppressing notification when it is highly likely that the driver can visually recognize, when it is highly unlikely that the driver can visually recognize, it is possible to appropriately notify that there is a traffic control object in the vehicle traveling direction, thereby enhancing the safety of vehicle travel.

[0036] <Embodiment 2> Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The driving support device 10a according to Embodiment 2 has a configuration different from that of the driving support device 10 according to Embodiment 1 in the following points. That is, the image recognition unit 14a has a function of recognizing a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle by an image. Further, the determination unit 15a determines whether or not the size occupied by the preceding vehicle recognized by the image recognition unit 14a on the image is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and when a traffic control object exists within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the vehicle and the size occupied by the preceding vehicle on the image is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it has a function of determining to notify the driver. In the driving support device 10a, since the current position acquisition unit 11, the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12, the image acquisition unit 13, and the notification control unit 16 have the same configuration and functions as those of the driving support device 10 according to Embodiment 1, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0037] The image recognition unit 14a performs a process of image-recognizing a predetermined recognition object captured in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 13. In the present embodiment, the image recognition unit 14a recognizes a preceding vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle as a recognition object. The image recognition unit 14a outputs the recognized result to the determination unit 15a.

[0038] In this embodiment, the image recognition unit 14a uses, as a learned model for image recognition, a learned model for recognizing a vehicle traveling ahead that has undergone the following machine learning. That is, as images, for example, an image of a landscape photographed by a camera mounted on a vehicle or an image of various vehicles is used. As teaching data, data is used where when a vehicle traveling ahead is photographed in the image, it is set to 1, and when a vehicle traveling ahead is not photographed in the image, it is set to 0. For example, the image recognition unit 14a inputs an image into the learned model for recognizing a vehicle traveling ahead and outputs, as a value between 1 and 0, the possibility that a vehicle traveling ahead is photographed in the input image. The closer the output value is to 1, the higher the possibility that a vehicle traveling ahead is photographed in the input image, and the closer the output value is to 0, the lower the possibility that a vehicle traveling ahead is photographed in the input image. When this output value is a predetermined threshold value, for example, 0.8 or more, the image recognition unit 13 determines that a vehicle traveling ahead is photographed in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 12. In addition to the above-described form, the image recognition unit 14a may recognize an object to be recognized using a known technique such as pattern matching.

[0039] The determination unit 15a measures the size occupied by the vehicle traveling ahead recognized by the image recognition unit 14a on the image. The determination unit 15a measures the size of the image of the vehicle traveling ahead recognized by the image recognition unit 14a as the number of pixels indicating at least one of the vertical and horizontal lengths of the image of the vehicle traveling ahead recognized on the image, or as the number of pixels indicating the area of the region of the image of the vehicle traveling ahead recognized on the image.

[0040] The determination unit 15a determines that the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12 has acquired information that there is a traffic control object in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and that the recognition area occupied by the oncoming vehicle, which is the object to be recognized recognized by the image recognition unit 14a, in the image is larger than a predetermined value. That the recognition area occupied by the oncoming vehicle in the image is larger than a predetermined value means that the number of pixels in the vertical length of the recognition area recognizing the oncoming vehicle is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, for example, greater than or equal to 1 / 2 of the number of pixels in the vertical length of the entire image. In other words, when the result of image recognition indicates that the oncoming vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle occupies an area equal to or larger than a predetermined range in the image, and there is a high possibility that the driver cannot recognize the traffic control object, it is determined to notify the driver. The determination unit 15a outputs the determined result to the notification control unit 16.

[0041] The determination unit 15a may make a determination based on the number of pixels in the horizontal length in which the oncoming vehicle is recognized or the number of pixels indicating the area of the area in which the oncoming vehicle is recognized, assuming that the size of the oncoming vehicle in the image is equal to or larger than a predetermined value. Further, it is preferable that these predetermined values can be changed by user designation or depending on the driving environment.

[0042] As described above, according to the second embodiment, the driving support device 10a has a traffic control object such as a traffic signal or a stop sign within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and an oncoming vehicle having a size equal to or larger than a predetermined value is recognized in the image captured by the camera mounted on the vehicle. In this case, it is determined that the driver's field of view is narrowed by the oncoming vehicle and there is a high possibility that the driver cannot visually recognize the traffic control object, and information regarding the traffic control object can be notified to the driver. With such a configuration, while suppressing notification when there is a high possibility that the driver can visually recognize it, when there is a low possibility that the driver cannot visually recognize it, it is possible to appropriately notify that there is a traffic control object in the vehicle traveling direction, thereby enhancing the safety of vehicle travel.

[0043] <Embodiment 3> Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The driving support device 10b according to Embodiment 3 has a configuration different from that of the driving support device 10a according to Embodiment 2 in the following points. That is, the determination unit 15b determines whether a traffic control object exists within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and whether the position occupied by the authentication target object recognized by the image recognition unit 14a on the image includes a predetermined area determined in advance. When a traffic control object exists within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the vehicle and the position occupied by the authentication target object on the image includes a predetermined area, it is determined that notification is to be given to the driver. In the driving support device 10b, the current position acquisition unit 11, the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12, the image acquisition unit 13, the image recognition unit 14a, and the notification control unit 16 have the same configuration and functions as those of the driving support device 10a according to Embodiment 2, and thus detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0044] The determination unit 15b determines whether the position of the oncoming vehicle, which is the authentication target object recognized by the image recognition unit 14a, on the recognized image is included in the recognition area in terms of information on whether each pixel or each small area including a plurality of pixels constituting the image is included in the recognition area. In other words, it is determined in terms of information on whether each pixel or each small area is an area where the oncoming vehicle is recognized. The determination unit 15b determines that a traffic control object exists and that the position occupied by the authentication target object on the image includes a predetermined area determined in advance. That the position occupied by the authentication target object on the image includes a predetermined area means that the position of pixels or small areas where there is a high possibility of the existence of a traffic control object, which is predetermined in the image area, coincides with the area where the determined oncoming vehicle is recognized. When a traffic control object exists and the position occupied by the authentication target object on the image includes a predetermined area, the determination unit 15b determines that notification is to be given to the driver on the grounds that the result of image recognition indicates a high possibility that the driver cannot recognize the traffic control object. The determination unit 15b outputs the determined result to the notification control unit 16.

[0045] The determination unit 15b may set a predetermined area for each type of traffic control information acquired by the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12 as a predetermined area. For example, a specific area in the upper left part of the image may be predetermined as a position where a stop sign is likely to be recognized by image recognition. The determination unit 15b determines whether the recognition position of the vehicle traveling ahead recognized by the image recognition unit 14a matches the specific area in the upper left part of the image. The determination unit 15b has acquired information that there is a stop sign in the traveling direction of the vehicle from the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12. When the vehicle traveling ahead is recognized in the specific area in the upper left part of the image, the determination unit 15b outputs to the notification control unit 16 an output indicating that it is highly likely that the driver cannot recognize the traffic control object. Traffic lights, level crossings, etc. may also be defined as predetermined areas in the same way.

[0046] As described above, according to the third embodiment, the driving support device 10b has a traffic control object that restricts the travel of the vehicle, such as a traffic light or a stop, within a predetermined range in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and when a vehicle traveling ahead is recognized at a specific position on the image captured by the camera mounted on the vehicle, it is determined that the area on the image where there is a high possibility of the traffic control object existing is blocked by the vehicle traveling ahead and it is highly likely that the driver cannot visually recognize the traffic control object, and information regarding the traffic control object can be notified to the driver. With such a configuration, while suppressing notification when it is highly likely that the driver can visually recognize, when it is highly unlikely that the driver can visually recognize, it is possible to appropriately notify that there is a traffic control object in the vehicle traveling direction, thereby enhancing the safety of vehicle travel.

[0047] <Other Embodiments> The specific examples etc. shown in the first to third embodiments described above in the present invention are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention except when specifically stated otherwise. Note that the present invention is not limited to the first to third embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist.

[0048] The driving support device 10a according to Embodiment 2 may include the embodiment of the driving support device 10 according to Embodiment 1. That is, the image recognition unit 14a in the driving support device 10a simultaneously recognizes traffic control objects and the vehicle traveling ahead, and the determination unit 15a in the driving support device 10a determines that the traffic control objects cannot be recognized and that the recognition area occupied by the vehicle traveling ahead in the image is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and outputs to the notification control unit 16 an output indicating that there is a high possibility that the driver cannot recognize the traffic control objects. Similarly, the driving support device 10b according to Embodiment 3 may include the embodiment of the driving support device 10 according to Embodiment 1 or the driving support device 10a according to Embodiment 2. That is, the determination unit 15b in the driving support device 10b according to Embodiment 3 determines that the traffic control objects cannot be recognized, that the position occupied in the image includes a predetermined area, that the recognition area occupied by the vehicle traveling ahead in the image is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and that the position occupied in the image includes a predetermined area, and outputs to the notification control unit 16 an output indicating that there is a high possibility that the driver cannot recognize the traffic control objects.

[0049] The driving support devices according to Embodiments 1 to 3 may be provided with at least one of a recording control unit (not shown) and a communication control unit (not shown). At this time, when the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12 has acquired information that there is a traffic control object in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the results of the image recognition units 14 and 14a recognizing the object to be recognized indicate that there is a high possibility that the driver cannot recognize the traffic control object, the recording control unit performs control to record the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 13 in a recording unit (not shown). Alternatively, when the traffic control object information acquisition unit 12 has acquired information that there is a traffic control object in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the results of the image recognition units 14 and 14a recognizing the object to be recognized indicate that there is a high possibility that the driver cannot recognize the traffic control object, the communication control unit performs control to transmit the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 13 to an external server (not shown) or a mobile terminal possessed by the driver. The recording control unit (not shown) and the communication control unit (not shown) may perform recording control and communication control respectively based on the determination results of the determination units 15, 15a, and 15b. Further, either a recording control unit (not shown) or a communication control unit (not shown) may be provided in place of the notification control unit of the driving support device according to Embodiments 1 to 3. In this case, the driving support device does not notify the driver and only performs recording control or communication control.

[0050] In the above-described embodiments, the present invention has been described in terms of the hardware configuration. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be realized by causing a processor to execute a computer program for any processing.

[0051] In the above example, the program can be stored using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media and supplied to the computer. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible recording media, for example, magnetic recording media such as hard disk drives, optical recording media, magneto-optical recording media, and semiconductor memories. The semiconductor memory can also be various types of rewritable ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory), and also includes those provided as SSD (Solid State Drive). Further, the program may be supplied to the computer via a wired communication path such as an electric wire and an optical fiber, or a wireless communication path by various types of temporary computer-readable media, and includes, for example, electric signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves.

[0052] The execution order of each process in the devices and methods shown in the claims, the specification, and the drawings can be realized in any order. Regarding the operation flows in the claims, the specification, and the drawings, even if terms such as "first" and "next" are used for convenience of explanation, it does not mean that it is essential to perform in this order.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0053] 1 Driving support system 10 Driving support device 11 Current position acquisition unit 12 Traffic control object information acquisition unit 13 Image acquisition unit 14, 14a Image recognition unit 15, 15a, 15b Determination unit 16 Notification control unit 20 GNSS receiver 30 Map database 40 Camera 50 Monitor 60 Speaker

Claims

1. A current position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of the vehicle; A traffic control object information acquisition unit that acquires traffic control object information regarding a traffic control object existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle; An image acquisition unit that acquires an image obtained by photographing the surroundings of the vehicle including at least the traveling direction of the vehicle; An image recognition unit that recognizes a recognition target object photographed in the image; A determination unit that determines that the traffic control object exists and that the recognition area occupied by the authentication target object in the image is larger than a predetermined value; An alert control unit that controls an alert based on the result of the determination; A driving support device comprising the above.

2. A current position acquisition unit that acquires the current position of the vehicle; A traffic control object information acquisition unit that acquires traffic control object information regarding a traffic control object existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle; An image acquisition unit that acquires an image obtained by photographing the surroundings of the vehicle including at least the traveling direction of the vehicle; An image recognition unit that recognizes a recognition target object photographed in the image; A determination unit that determines that the traffic control object exists and that the position occupied by the authentication target object on the image includes a predetermined area; An alert control unit that controls an alert based on the result of the determination; A driving support device comprising the above.

3. Further comprising at least one of a recording control unit that controls recording of the image acquired by the image acquisition unit and a communication control unit that controls transmission of the image acquired by the image acquisition unit to the outside, The driving support device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A computer performs a step of acquiring the current position of the vehicle; a step of acquiring traffic control object information regarding a traffic control object existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle; A step of acquiring an image that captures at least the traveling direction of the vehicle and the surroundings of the vehicle; A step of recognizing a recognition target object captured in the image; A step of determining that the traffic control object exists and that the recognition area occupied by the authentication target object in the image is larger than a predetermined value; A step of controlling notification based on the result of the determination; A driving support method for executing the above.

5. A computer performs: A step of acquiring the current position of the vehicle; A step of acquiring traffic control object information regarding a traffic control object existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle; A step of acquiring an image that captures at least the traveling direction of the vehicle and the surroundings of the vehicle; A step of recognizing a recognition target object captured in the image; A step of determining that the traffic control object exists and that the position occupied by the authentication target object on the image includes a predetermined area; A step of controlling notification based on the result of the determination; A driving support method for executing the above.

Images