Mobile body control device, mobile body control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a mobile body control device capable of appropriately detecting a preceding mobile body and executing follow-up control at the time of steering.SOLUTION: A mobile body control device 15 includes: an external environment detection section 40 for detecting a peripheral mobile body 105; a predicted course calculation section 42 for calculating a first predicted course 101 on the basis of a yaw rate of a mobile body 1 and calculating a second predicted course 102 on the basis of a steering angle of the mobile body; a preceding mobile body determination section 43 for determining, as a preceding mobile body 106, the peripheral mobile body overlapping at least one of the first predicted course and the second predicted course on the basis of the first predicted course, the second predicted course, and a position of the peripheral mobile body; and a follow-up control section 44 for executing follow-up control with respect to the preceding mobile body. If the peripheral mobile body corresponding to the preceding mobile body is not present, the preceding mobile body determination section determines, as a preliminary preceding mobile body 107, the peripheral mobile body overlapping an intermediate area 103 defined between the first predicted course and the second predicted course. The follow-up control section executes the follow-up control with respect to the preliminary preceding mobile body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a movement control device, a movement control method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, efforts have been actively made to provide a sustainable transportation system that takes into account people in vulnerable positions among traffic participants. In order to further improve traffic safety and convenience towards this realization, research and development on driving support technologies and autonomous driving technologies have been carried out.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for determining a preceding vehicle for executing following driving. In this method, the preceding vehicle is determined based on the predicted travel route of the host vehicle and the position of the preceding vehicle. The predicted travel route of the host vehicle is determined based on the yaw rate.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Since the yaw rate occurs with a delay with respect to the steering angle, by estimating the predicted travel route of the host vehicle using the steering angle, it is possible to calculate the predicted travel route of the host vehicle more quickly at the entrance and exit of a curve than when using the yaw rate. However, during steering, the difference between the first predicted travel route based on the yaw rate and the second predicted travel route based on the steering angle becomes large, and an actual preceding vehicle is located between the first predicted travel route and the second predicted travel route and is not detected as a preceding vehicle. In particular, when the steering angle is returned, the difference between the first predicted travel route and the second predicted travel route may become large. In this case, there is a risk that the host vehicle loses sight of the preceding vehicle and unnecessary acceleration is performed by the following control.

[0006] In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to provide a movement control device, a movement control method, and a program that appropriately detect a preceding moving object and perform follow-up control during steering. Thereby, an object of the present invention is to contribute to the development of a sustainable transportation system.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, an aspect of the present invention is a movement control device (15) that controls the travel of a moving body (1), the movement control device including an external detection unit (40) that detects a surrounding moving body (105) existing around the moving body, a predicted path calculation unit (42) that calculates a first predicted path (101) based on the yaw rate of the moving body and calculates a second predicted path (102) based on the steering angle of the moving body, a preceding moving body determination unit (43) that determines a surrounding moving body overlapping at least one of the first predicted path and the second predicted path as a preceding moving body (106) based on the first predicted path, the second predicted path, and the position of the surrounding moving body, and a follow-up control unit (44) that performs follow-up control on the preceding moving body. When there is no surrounding moving body corresponding to the preceding moving body, the preceding moving body determination unit determines a surrounding moving body overlapping an intermediate region (103) defined between the first predicted path and the second predicted path as a preliminary preceding moving body (107), and the follow-up control unit performs follow-up control on the preliminary preceding moving body.

[0008] According to this aspect, when the first predicted path and the second predicted path are different during steering, the movement control device can appropriately detect a surrounding moving body existing between the first predicted path and the second predicted path as a preliminary preceding moving body. Further, since the movement control device performs follow-up control on the preliminary preceding moving body, unnecessary acceleration can be avoided. Thereby, a movement control device that appropriately detects a preceding moving object and performs follow-up control can be provided.

[0009] In the above aspect, after starting the follow-up control on the preliminary preceding moving body, the follow-up control unit may continue the follow-up control on the preliminary preceding moving body until a new preceding moving body is determined.

[0010] According to this aspect, the movement control device can continue the follow-up control for the preliminary leading moving body until the leading moving body is detected.

[0011] In the above aspect, after starting the follow-up control for the preliminary leading moving body, when the leading moving body determination unit determines a new leading moving body, the follow-up control for the leading moving body may be performed.

[0012] According to this aspect, the movement control device can continue the follow-up control for the preliminary leading moving body until the leading moving body is detected.

[0013] In the above aspect, when there are a plurality of the peripheral moving bodies overlapping the intermediate region, the leading moving body determination unit may determine the peripheral moving body having the smallest distance from the moving body as the preliminary leading moving body.

[0014] According to this aspect, the movement control device can determine the peripheral moving body having the smallest distance from the moving body as the preliminary leading moving body and perform follow-up control on the preliminary leading moving body.

[0015] In the above aspect, when there are a plurality of the peripheral moving bodies overlapping the intermediate region, the leading moving body determination unit may acquire the lane change direction and determine the peripheral moving body located closest to the lane change direction side among the plurality of the peripheral moving bodies as the preliminary leading moving body.

[0016] According to this aspect, the movement control device can determine the peripheral moving body located closest to the lane change direction side among the plurality of the peripheral moving bodies located in the intermediate region as the preliminary leading moving body.

[0017] In the above aspect, when the preceding moving object determination unit detects that the surrounding moving object overlaps with the intermediate region a predetermined number of determination times, the surrounding moving object is determined as the preliminary preceding moving object, a lane change direction is obtained, and based on the lane change direction, the intermediate region is divided into a first region on the lane change direction side and a second region on the side opposite to the lane change direction, and the number of determination times for determining the surrounding moving object in the second region as the preliminary preceding moving object may be set to a value larger than the number of determination times for determining the surrounding moving object in the first region as the preliminary preceding moving object.

[0018] According to this aspect, the movement control device can determine, as a preliminary preceding moving object, a surrounding moving object located on the lane change direction side among a plurality of surrounding moving objects located in the intermediate region.

[0019] Another aspect of the present invention is a driving control method executed by a computer for controlling the driving of a moving object (1), the method including detecting a surrounding moving object (105) existing around the moving object, calculating a first predicted travel path (101) based on the yaw rate of the moving object, calculating a second predicted travel path (102) based on the steering angle of the moving object, determining, based on the first predicted travel path, the second predicted travel path, and the position of the surrounding moving object, a surrounding moving object overlapping the first predicted travel path and the second predicted travel path as a preceding moving object (106), causing the moving object to follow the preceding moving object, and when there is no surrounding moving object corresponding to the preceding moving object, determining a surrounding moving object overlapping an intermediate region (103) defined between the first predicted travel path and the second predicted travel path as a preliminary preceding moving object (107), and causing the moving object to follow the preliminary preceding moving object.

[0020] Another aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute travel control of a moving body (1), which detects a peripheral moving body (105) existing around the moving body, calculates a first predicted travel route (101) based on the yaw rate of the moving body, calculates a second predicted travel route (102) based on the steering angle of the moving body, determines a peripheral moving body overlapping the first predicted travel route and the second predicted travel route as a preceding moving body (106) based on the first predicted travel route, the second predicted travel route, and the position of the peripheral moving body, causes the moving body to follow the preceding moving body, and when there is no peripheral moving body corresponding to the preceding moving body, determines a peripheral moving body overlapping an intermediate region (103) defined between the first predicted travel route and the second predicted travel route as a preliminary preceding moving body (107), and causes the moving body to follow the preliminary preceding moving body.

Advantages of the Invention

[0021] According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a moving body control device, a moving body control method, and a program that appropriately detect a preceding moving body and perform follow-up control during steering.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] Hereinafter, embodiments of a movement control device, a movement control method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The moving body includes vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, and motorcycles, as well as electric kick scooters and the like. In the present embodiment, as an example, an example in which the moving body is a vehicle will be shown.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 (moving body) includes a propulsion device 3, a brake device 4, a steering device 5, an external sensor 6, a vehicle sensor 7, a communication device 8, a navigation device 9, a driving operation device 10, an HMI 12 (Human Machine Interface), and a vehicle control device 15 (movement control device).

[0025] The propulsion device 3 is a device that applies a driving force to the vehicle 1 and includes, for example, a power source and a transmission. The power source has at least one of an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine and an electric motor. The brake device 4 is a device that applies a braking force to the vehicle 1 and includes, for example, a brake caliper that presses a pad against a brake rotor and an electric cylinder that supplies hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper. The brake device 4 may include a parking brake device that restricts the rotation of the wheels by a wire cable. The steering device 5 is a device for changing the steering angle of the wheels and has, for example, a rack and pinion mechanism for steering the wheels and an electric motor for driving the rack and pinion mechanism. The propulsion device 3, the brake device 4, and the steering device 5 are controlled by the vehicle control device 15.

[0026] The external sensor 6 is a sensor that captures electromagnetic waves and light from the periphery of the vehicle 1 and detects objects outside the vehicle. The external sensor 6 includes, for example, a radar 6A, a lidar 6B (LIDAR), and a camera 6C. The external sensor 6 outputs the detection result to the vehicle control device 15.

[0027] The radar 6A emits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the vehicle 1, and detects the position (distance and direction) of an object by capturing the reflected waves. The radar 6A is attached at least at one arbitrary location on the vehicle 1. The radar 6A preferably includes a front radar that irradiates radio waves at least toward the front of the vehicle 1, a rear radar that irradiates radio waves toward the rear of the vehicle 1, and a pair of left and right side radars that irradiate radio waves toward the sides of the vehicle 1.

[0028] The lidar 6B irradiates light such as infrared rays around the vehicle 1, and detects the position (distance and direction) of an object by capturing the reflected light. The lidar 6B is provided at least at one arbitrary location on the vehicle 1.

[0029] The camera 6C images the surroundings of the vehicle 1 including objects existing around the vehicle 1 (for example, surrounding vehicles 105 (surrounding moving objects) and pedestrians), guardrails, curbs, walls, median strips, the shape of the road, and road markings drawn on the road. The camera 6C may be, for example, a digital camera using a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD or a CMOS. The camera 6C is provided at least at one arbitrary location on the vehicle 1. The camera 6C preferably includes a front camera that images at least the front of the vehicle 1, and further includes a rear camera that images the rear of the vehicle 1 and a pair of side cameras that image the left and right sides of the vehicle 1. The camera 6C may be, for example, a stereo camera.

[0030] The vehicle sensor 7 includes a speed sensor 7A that detects the speed of the vehicle 1, an acceleration sensor 7B that detects the acceleration of the vehicle 1, a yaw rate sensor 7C that detects the yaw rate of the vehicle 1, and a steering angle sensor 7D that detects the steering angle of the front wheels which are the steering wheels.

[0031] The communication device 8 mediates communication between the vehicle control device 15 and the navigation device 9 and surrounding vehicles 105 and servers located outside the vehicle. The vehicle control device 15 can perform wireless communication with the surrounding vehicles 105 via the communication device 8.

[0032] The navigation device 9 is a device that acquires the current position of the vehicle 1 and provides route guidance to the destination, etc., and includes a GNSS receiver 21, a map storage unit 22, a navigation interface 23, and a route determination unit 24. The GNSS receiver 21 identifies the position (latitude and longitude) of the vehicle 1 based on signals received from artificial satellites (positioning satellites). The map storage unit 22 is composed of a known storage device such as a flash memory or a hard disk, and stores map information.

[0033] The map information includes road information such as the type of road such as expressways, toll roads, national roads, and prefectural roads, the number of lanes of the road, the central position of each lane (3D coordinates including longitude, latitude, and height), the shape of road markings such as road section lines and lane boundaries, the presence or absence of sidewalks, curbs, and gutters, the position of intersections, the position of lane merging and branching points, the area of non-resident parking zones, the width of each lane, and signs provided on the road. Further, the map information may include traffic regulation information, address information (address and postal code), facility information, telephone number information, etc. The route determination unit 24 determines a route to the destination based on the position of the vehicle 1 identified by the GNSS receiver 21, the destination input from the navigation interface 23, and the map information. Further, when determining the route, the route determination unit 24 may determine including the target lane, which is the lane in which the vehicle 1 should travel, with reference to the position of the lane merging and branching points in the map information.

[0034] The driving operation device 10 receives input operations performed by the driver to control the vehicle 1. The driving operation device 10 includes, for example, a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, and a brake pedal. Further, the driving operation device 10 may include a shift lever, a parking brake lever, etc. A sensor for detecting the operation amount is attached to each driving operation device 10. The driving operation device 10 outputs a signal indicating the operation amount to the vehicle control device 15.

[0035] The HMI 12 notifies various information to the passengers by display and voice, and receives input operations by the passengers.

[0036] Vehicle 1 has a direction indicator 26 that indicates the lane change direction and the turning direction. The direction indicator 26 is a flashing light-emitting device and is provided on both the left and right sides of the front and rear of Vehicle 1. The direction indicator 26 is connected to the vehicle control device 15. Vehicle 1 has a turn signal lever 27 that is operated by the occupant. The turn signal lever 27 is connected to the vehicle control device 15.

[0037] Vehicle 1 is provided with a mode switch 28 that accepts an operation for switching the level of autonomous driving.

[0038] The vehicle control device 15 is an electronic control unit (ECU) composed of an MPU (microprocessor), a ROM, a RAM, etc., that is, a computer. The vehicle control device 15 executes various vehicle controls by performing arithmetic processing according to a program with the MPU. The vehicle control device 15 may be configured as one piece of hardware, or may be configured as a unit composed of a plurality of pieces of hardware. Also, at least a part of each functional unit of the vehicle control device 15 may be realized by hardware such as an LSI, an ASIC, or an FPGA, or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in a non-volatile storage device such as the HDD or flash memory of the vehicle control device 15, may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed in the storage device of the vehicle control device 15 by being read by a reading device. Also, the program may be downloaded and installed in the storage device of the vehicle control device 15 via a communication line such as the Internet. The vehicle control device 15, which is a computer, executes the driving control method for Vehicle 1 described below. The program causes the vehicle control device 15 to execute the driving control of the moving body.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control device 15 includes an automatic driving control unit 35 and a traveling control unit 36. The automatic driving control unit 35 includes an external environment detection unit 40, a host vehicle position detection unit 41, a predicted path calculation unit 42, a preceding vehicle determination unit 43 (preceding moving object determination unit), a following control unit 44, a behavior planning unit 45, and a mode switching unit 46.

[0040] The automatic driving control unit 35 performs automatic driving control at each level by combining various vehicle controls. For example, in level 0 automatic driving, the vehicle control device 15 does not control vehicle 1, and the driver performs all driving operations. In level 1 automatic driving, constant speed driving and inter-vehicle distance control (ACC; Adaptive Cruise Control) and lane keeping assistance control (LKA; Lane Keeping Assistance) are included. In levels 2 and 3 of automatic driving, the driver monitors the surroundings of the vehicle, and the vehicle control device 15 performs all driving operations. In levels 2 and 3, the degree of monitoring of the vehicle surroundings by the driver is different.

[0041] Based on the signal from the external environment sensor 6, the external environment detection unit 40 detects obstacles located around vehicle 1, the shape of the road, the presence or absence of sidewalks, and road markings. Obstacles include, for example, guardrails, utility poles, surrounding moving objects, and pedestrians such as people. The surrounding moving objects include vehicle 1. The external environment detection unit 40 may detect the position and distance of obstacles and surrounding vehicles with respect to vehicle 1 based on signals from at least one of the radar 6A, lidar 6B, and camera 6C.

[0042] The host vehicle position detection unit 41 calculates the host vehicle position based on the GNSS signal received by the GNSS receiver 21. In addition, the host vehicle position detection unit 41 recognizes the driving lane, which is the lane in which vehicle 1 is traveling, and the relative position and angle of vehicle 1 with respect to the driving lane. The host vehicle position detection unit 41 may recognize the driving lane, for example, based on the map information held by the map storage unit 22 and the position of vehicle 1 acquired by the GNSS receiver 21. Further, the host vehicle position detection unit 41 may extract the lane lines around vehicle 1 drawn on the road surface from the map information, compare the shape of the lane lines imaged by the camera 6C, and recognize the relative position and angle of vehicle 1 with respect to the driving lane.

[0043] The predicted path calculation unit 42 calculates a first predicted path 101 based on the yaw rate of the vehicle 1 and calculates a second predicted path 102 based on the steering angle of the vehicle 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 are represented as curves connecting the predicted positions of the vehicle 1 at each future time point. The predicted path calculation unit 42 may calculate the first predicted path 101 based on the yaw rate of the vehicle 1 and the vehicle speed. Further, the predicted path calculation unit 42 may calculate the second predicted path 102 based on the steering angle of the vehicle 1 and the vehicle speed. Since the yaw rate changes as the steering angle changes, the change in the yaw rate occurs with a delay with respect to the change in the steering angle. Therefore, when the steering angle changes, the first predicted path 101 changes with a delay with respect to the second predicted path 102, and a difference occurs between the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 (see FIGS. 3(B) and 3(C)). When the steering angle is constant, the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 are substantially the same (see FIG. 3(D)).

[0044] The preceding vehicle determination unit 43 determines a preceding vehicle 106 or a preliminary preceding vehicle 107 from among the surrounding vehicles 105. The preceding vehicle determination unit 43 determines the preceding vehicle 106 or the preliminary preceding vehicle 107 by executing a preceding vehicle determination process described later.

[0045] The following control unit 44 executes following control with respect to the preceding vehicle 106 or the preliminary preceding vehicle 107. When the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle 106 is lower than the set vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 by the following control, the following control unit 44 sets the target vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 so that the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle 106 becomes a predetermined value.

[0046] The action planning unit 45 sequentially creates an action plan for driving the vehicle 1 along the route. More specifically, the action planning unit 45 first determines an event for driving in the target lane determined by the route determination unit 24 without the vehicle 1 coming into contact with an obstacle. Based on the determined event, the action planning unit 45 generates a target trajectory that the vehicle 1 should travel in the future. The target trajectory is an arrangement of trajectory points, which are the points that the vehicle 1 should reach at each time. The action planning unit 45 may generate the target trajectory based on the target speed and the target acceleration set for each event. When the leading vehicle 106 is detected on the target trajectory, the action planning unit 45 may perform follow-up control on the leading vehicle 106 in the same manner as the follow-up control unit 44.

[0047] The mode switching unit 46 switches the level of autonomous driving based on a signal from the mode switch 28. When level 0 is selected by the mode switch 28, the mode switching unit 46 stops the calculations by the follow-up control unit 44 and the action planning unit 45. When level 1 is selected by the mode switch 28, the mode switching unit 46 executes the calculations by the follow-up control unit 44 and stops the calculations by the action planning unit 45. When level 2 or higher is selected by the mode switch 28, the mode switching unit 46 executes the calculations by the action planning unit 45 and stops the calculations by the follow-up control unit 44.

[0048] The driving control unit 36 controls the propulsion device 3, the braking device 4, and the steering device 5 based on the target vehicle speed generated by the follow-up control unit 44. Also, the driving control unit 36 controls the propulsion device 3, the braking device 4, and the steering device 5 so that the vehicle 1 passes through the target trajectory generated by the action planning unit 45 at the scheduled time.

[0049] The vehicle control device 15 includes a turn signal control unit 48 for controlling the lighting of the turn signal 26. The turn signal control unit 48 outputs a control signal for controlling the turn signal 26 upon receiving a signal from the turn signal lever 27.

[0050] Next, the preceding vehicle determination process executed by the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 will be described. The preceding vehicle determination unit 43 may repeat the vehicle determination process shown in FIG. 2 at time intervals of, for example, several microseconds. First, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 acquires information on the position of the surrounding vehicle 105 and the distance between the surrounding vehicle 105 and the vehicle 1 from the external detection unit 40 (S1). The number of surrounding vehicles 105 is 0 or more. The distance between the surrounding vehicle 105 and the vehicle 1 is preferably the Euclidean distance.

[0051] Next, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 acquires the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 calculated by the predicted path calculation unit 42 (S2).

[0052] Next, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 determines the surrounding vehicle 105 that overlaps both the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 as the preceding vehicle 106 based on the first predicted path 101, the second predicted path 102, and the position of the surrounding vehicle 105 (S3). When there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles 105 that overlap both the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 may determine the surrounding vehicle 105 with the smallest distance from the vehicle 1 among the surrounding vehicles 105 that overlap both the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 as the preceding vehicle 106.

[0053] Next, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 determines whether the preceding vehicle 106 could be determined in step S3 (S4). If the preceding vehicle 106 could be determined in step S3 (the determination result in S4 is Yes), the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 ends the preceding vehicle determination process.

[0054] When the preceding vehicle 106 cannot be determined in step S3 (the determination result in S4 is No), that is, when there is no surrounding vehicle 105 corresponding to the preceding vehicle 106, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 determines a surrounding vehicle 105 overlapping the intermediate area 103 defined between the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107 (S5). Here, that the surrounding vehicle 105 overlaps the intermediate area 103 means that the representative position of the surrounding vehicle 105 is located within the intermediate area 103. The representative position of the surrounding vehicle 105 may be, for example, the center position of the surrounding vehicle 105. Also, when the surrounding vehicle 105 is represented by a plurality of outer edge positions corresponding to the outer edge of the surrounding vehicle 105, it may be said that the surrounding vehicle 105 overlaps the intermediate area 103 when at least one of the plurality of outer edge positions is within the intermediate area 103. The preceding vehicle determination unit 43 may calculate the intermediate area 103 based on the predicted positions at each time included in the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102.

[0055] In one aspect, when there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles 105 overlapping the intermediate area 103, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 may determine the surrounding vehicle 105 with the smallest distance from the vehicle 1 as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107. The distance between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle 105 may be, for example, the distance between the central position at the front end of the vehicle 1 and the central position at the rear end of the surrounding vehicle 105. Also, the distance between the vehicle 1 and the surrounding vehicle 105 may be the distance between the center position of the vehicle 1 and the center position of the surrounding vehicle 105.

[0056] In step S5, when there is no surrounding vehicle 105 overlapping the intermediate area 103, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 determines that there is no preliminary preceding vehicle 107. After executing the process of step S5, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 ends the preceding vehicle determination process. The preceding vehicle determination unit 43 repeats the preceding vehicle determination process at a predetermined interval to update the preceding vehicle 106 and the preliminary preceding vehicle 107.

[0057] The following-distance control unit 44 performs following-distance control with respect to the preceding vehicle 106 or the standby preceding vehicle 107. The following-distance control unit 44 may make the control modes the same or different between the following-distance control with respect to the preceding vehicle 106 and the following-distance control with respect to the standby preceding vehicle 107.

[0058] The vehicle control device 15 configured as described above, the vehicle control method executed by the vehicle control device 15, and the actions and effects of the program for causing the vehicle control device 15 to execute the vehicle control method will be described.

[0059] When the steering angle is constant, the first predicted path 101 calculated based on the yaw rate and the second predicted path 102 calculated based on the steering angle generally coincide. Therefore, when the vehicle 1 is traveling on a straight road, the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 each extend straight ahead and coincide with each other. Therefore, when a surrounding vehicle 105 exists in front of the vehicle 1, the surrounding vehicle 105 overlaps with the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 and is determined as the preceding vehicle 106. Also, when the vehicle 1 is traveling on a curve with a certain curvature, the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 each curve and extend along the curve and coincide with each other. Therefore, when a surrounding vehicle 105 exists on the traveling path of the vehicle 1, the surrounding vehicle 105 overlaps with the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 and is determined as the preceding vehicle 106.

[0060] On the one hand, immediately after steering is performed, the yaw rate occurs with a delay with respect to the steering angle, so there is a difference between the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102. In particular, as shown in FIGS. 3(A) to (C), when the steering angle is increased and decreased in a short period, such as during a lane change, the difference between the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 becomes large when the steering angle is decreased. At the start of a lane change, the steering angle increases, and the yaw rate occurs with a delay with respect to the increase in the steering angle, so the first predicted path 101 lags behind the second predicted path 102 (see FIG. 3(A)). In the latter half of the lane change, the steering angle is decreased in the direction opposite to the direction of the yaw rate, so the difference between the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 becomes large (see FIGS. 3(B) and (C)). In this case, even if there is an actual surrounding vehicle 105 in front of the vehicle 1, the surrounding vehicle 105 cannot overlap both the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 and is not determined as the preceding vehicle 106.

[0061] In such a case, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 of the vehicle control device 15 determines a surrounding vehicle 105 that overlaps the intermediate region 103 defined between the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 as a preliminary preceding vehicle 107, and the following control unit 44 performs following control on the preliminary preceding vehicle 107. Since the vehicle control device 15 can perform following control on the preliminary preceding vehicle 107, it can avoid overlooking the surrounding vehicle 105 actually present in front of the vehicle 1 and avoid unnecessary acceleration. As a result, the vehicle control device 15 can appropriately perform following control even during a lane change.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 3(D), when the lane change is completed and the steering angle returns to 0 degrees, the yaw rate also becomes 0 with a delay with respect to the steering angle, and the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 extend linearly in front of the vehicle 1. As a result, since the surrounding vehicle 105 determined as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107 overlaps both the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 determines this surrounding vehicle 105 as the preceding vehicle 106. In this way, after starting the follow-up control with respect to the preliminary preceding vehicle 107, the follow-up control unit 44 continues the follow-up control with respect to the preliminary preceding vehicle 107 until a new preceding vehicle 106 is determined. Further, when a new preceding vehicle 106 is determined after the follow-up control unit 44 starts the follow-up control with respect to the preliminary preceding vehicle 107, the follow-up control unit 44 performs the follow-up control with respect to the preceding vehicle 106. Thereby, the vehicle control device 15 can continue the follow-up control without losing sight of the surrounding vehicle 105 existing in front of the vehicle 1.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 4, when there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles 105 overlapping the intermediate region 103, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 determines the surrounding moving body having the smallest distance from the vehicle 1 as the preliminary preceding moving body. In FIG. 4, although the first surrounding vehicle 105A and the second surrounding vehicle 105B exist at positions overlapping the intermediate region 103, since the distance D1 between the first surrounding vehicle 105A and the vehicle 1 is smaller than the distance D2 between the second surrounding vehicle 105B and the vehicle 1, the first surrounding vehicle 105A is determined as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107. Thereby, when there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles 105 in the intermediate region 103, the preliminary preceding vehicle 107 can be appropriately determined.

[0064] In another aspect, when there are a plurality of surrounding moving bodies overlapping the intermediate region 103, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 may acquire the lane change direction and determine the surrounding vehicle 105 located closest to the lane change direction side among the plurality of surrounding vehicles 105 as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107. The preceding vehicle determination unit 43 may acquire the lane change direction based on the control signal of the direction indicator 26. Further, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 may acquire the lane change direction based on the signal from the wiper lever 27.

[0065] In another aspect, when the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 detects that the surrounding vehicle 105 overlaps the intermediate region 103 a predetermined number of determination times, the surrounding vehicle 105 may be determined as a preliminary preceding moving body. In this case, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 may change the number of determination times in each part of the intermediate region 103. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 may divide the intermediate region 103 into a first region 103A on the lane change direction side and a second region 103B on the side opposite to the lane change direction based on the lane change direction. That is, the intermediate region 103 may be divided into two in the left - right direction by the center line 110. The center line 110 may be calculated as a line extending from the center between the first predicted path 101 and the second predicted path 102 from the vehicle 1. And the number of determination times for determining the surrounding moving body in the second region 103B as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107 may be set to a value larger than the number of determination times for determining the surrounding moving body in the first region 103A as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107. Also, the center line 110 may be defined as a line extending forward from the vehicle 1 with respect to the vehicle 1, that is, a line passing through the center of gravity of the vehicle 1 and extending in the vehicle length direction (longitudinal direction) of the vehicle 1.

[0066] FIG. 5 is an example at the time of lane change, and a first surrounding vehicle 105A and a second surrounding vehicle 105B exist in the intermediate region 103. The first surrounding vehicle 105A exists in the first region 103A on the lane change direction side in the intermediate region 103, and the second surrounding vehicle 105B exists in the second region 103B on the side opposite to the lane change direction side in the intermediate region 103. When the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 detects that the surrounding vehicle 105 is at a position overlapping the first region 103A twice, the surrounding vehicle 105 is determined as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107. Also, when the preceding vehicle determination unit 43 detects that the surrounding vehicle 105 is at a position overlapping the second region 103B three times, the surrounding vehicle 105 is determined as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107. In the example of FIG. 5, since the number of determination times in the first region 103A is set to a value smaller than the number of determination times in the second region 103B, the first surrounding vehicle 105A existing in the first region 103A is preferentially determined as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107. Thereby, the surrounding vehicle 105 located on the lane change direction side of the intermediate region 103 is determined as the preliminary preceding vehicle 107.

[0067] With the above description of the specific embodiments completed, the present invention can be widely modified and implemented without being limited to the above embodiments. In other embodiments, when there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles 105 in the intermediate region 103, the leading vehicle determination unit 43 may determine the surrounding vehicle 105 closest to the center line 110 of the intermediate region 103 as the preliminary leading vehicle 107.

[0068] In the above embodiment, in step S3, the leading vehicle determination unit 43 determines the surrounding vehicle 105 overlapping both the first predicted route 101 and the second predicted route 102 as the leading vehicle 106. However, in other aspects, the leading vehicle determination unit 43 may determine the surrounding vehicle 105 overlapping at least one of the first predicted route 101 and the second predicted route 102 as the leading vehicle 106.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0069] 1: Vehicle 6: External sensor 7: Vehicle sensor 15: Vehicle control device 40: External detection unit 41: Own vehicle position detection unit 42: Predicted route calculation unit 43: Leading vehicle determination unit 44: Following control unit 101: First predicted route 102: Second predicted route 103: Intermediate region 103A: First region 103B: Second region 105: Surrounding vehicle 106: Leading vehicle 107: Preliminary leading vehicle 110: Center line

Claims

1. A mobile body control device for controlling the travel of a mobile body, comprising: an external detection unit that detects surrounding mobile bodies existing around the mobile body; a predicted path calculation unit that calculates a first predicted path based on the yaw rate of the mobile body and calculates a second predicted path based on the steering angle of the mobile body; a preceding mobile body determination unit that determines, based on the first predicted path, the second predicted path, and the positions of the surrounding mobile bodies, a surrounding mobile body that overlaps at least one of the first predicted path and the second predicted path as a preceding mobile body; a following control unit that performs following control with respect to the preceding mobile body; when there is no surrounding mobile body corresponding to the preceding mobile body, the preceding mobile body determination unit determines a surrounding mobile body that overlaps an intermediate region defined between the first predicted path and the second predicted path as a preliminary preceding mobile body; The following control unit is a mobile body control device that performs following control with respect to the preliminary preceding mobile body.

2. The mobile body control device according to claim 1, wherein the following control unit continues the following control with respect to the preliminary preceding mobile body after starting the following control with respect to the preliminary preceding mobile body until a new preceding mobile body is determined.

3. The mobile body control device according to claim 2, wherein when the preceding mobile body determination unit determines a new preceding mobile body after the following control unit starts the following control with respect to the preliminary preceding mobile body, the following control unit performs following control with respect to the preceding mobile body.

4. The mobile body control device according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of surrounding mobile bodies that overlap the intermediate region, the preceding mobile body determination unit determines the surrounding mobile body having the smallest distance from the mobile body as the preliminary preceding mobile body.

5. The mobile body control device according to claim 1, wherein when there are a plurality of surrounding mobile bodies that overlap the intermediate region, the preceding mobile body determination unit acquires a lane change direction and determines, as the preliminary preceding mobile body, the surrounding mobile body that is located closest to the lane change direction side among the plurality of surrounding mobile bodies.

6. When the preceding mobile body determination unit detects that the surrounding mobile body overlaps the intermediate region a predetermined number of times, the preceding mobile body determination unit determines the surrounding mobile body as the preliminary preceding mobile body, acquires a lane change direction, divides the intermediate region into a first region on the lane change direction side and a second region on the side opposite to the lane change direction based on the lane change direction. The mobile body control device according to claim 1, wherein the number of determinations for determining the peripheral mobile body in the second region as the preliminary leading mobile body is set to a value larger than the number of determinations for determining the peripheral mobile body in the first region as the preliminary leading mobile body.

7. A mobile body control method executed by a computer to perform traveling control of a mobile body, comprising: detecting a peripheral mobile body existing around the mobile body; calculating a first predicted path based on the yaw rate of the mobile body; calculating a second predicted path based on the steering angle of the mobile body; determining, based on the first predicted path, the second predicted path, and the position of the peripheral mobile body, the peripheral mobile body overlapping the first predicted path and the second predicted path as a leading mobile body; causing the mobile body to follow the leading mobile body; when there is no peripheral mobile body corresponding to the leading mobile body, determining the peripheral mobile body overlapping an intermediate region defined between the first predicted path and the second predicted path as a preliminary leading mobile body; A mobile body control method for causing the mobile body to follow the preliminary leading mobile body.

8. A program for causing a computer to execute traveling control of a mobile body, comprising: detecting a peripheral mobile body existing around the mobile body; calculating a first predicted path based on the yaw rate of the mobile body; calculating a second predicted path based on the steering angle of the mobile body; determining, based on the first predicted path, the second predicted path, and the position of the peripheral mobile body, the peripheral mobile body overlapping the first predicted path and the second predicted path as a leading mobile body; causing the mobile body to follow the leading mobile body; when there is no peripheral mobile body corresponding to the leading mobile body, determining the peripheral mobile body overlapping an intermediate region defined between the first predicted path and the second predicted path as a preliminary leading mobile body; A program for causing the mobile body to follow the preliminary leading mobile body.

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