Roadside device, system, and method of operating system

Abstract

To improve convenience by reducing frustration of pedestrians in information provision for pedestrian traffic safety.SOLUTION: A roadside device includes: a communication unit that transmits and receives information; an imaging unit that captures an image of a pedestrian; an output unit that outputs information for the pedestrian; and a control unit that transmits to a vehicle first information indicating approach of the pedestrian to a roadway based on a captured image and thereafter outputs second information for attracting the attention of the pedestrian to the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a roadside device, a system, and an operating method of the system.

Background Art

[0002] To support safe walking of pedestrians walking on a road, roadside devices such as traffic lights that alert pedestrians by voice or the like are known. Patent Document 1 discloses an information system that provides notifications such as passage permission and alerts to other vehicles and pedestrians according to the behavior of an autonomous vehicle scheduled to pass through a predetermined traffic area.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In providing information to avoid contact between pedestrians and vehicles and improve traffic safety, there is room to reduce stress on pedestrians who are alerted and improve convenience.

[0005] The present disclosure relates to a roadside device or the like that reduces stress on pedestrians and enables improvement of convenience in providing information for traffic safety.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The roadside device in the present disclosure includes a communication unit that transmits and receives information, an imaging unit that images a pedestrian, an output unit that outputs information directed to the pedestrian, and a control unit that outputs second information for alerting the vehicle to the pedestrian after sending first information indicating the approach of the pedestrian to the lane based on the captured image to the vehicle.

[0007] The system in the present disclosure is a system having a server device and a roadside device. After the roadside device sends first information indicating the approach of the pedestrian to the roadway based on a captured image of the pedestrian to the server device, the roadside device outputs second information for arousing the pedestrian's attention to the vehicle, and the server device transmits the first information to the vehicle moving to the roadside device.

[0008] The operation method of the system in the present disclosure is an operation method of a system having a server device and a roadside device. After the roadside device sends first information indicating the approach of the pedestrian to the roadway based on a captured image of the pedestrian to the server device, the roadside device outputs second information for arousing the pedestrian's attention to the vehicle, and the server device transmits the first information to the vehicle moving to the roadside device. It includes.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the roadside device etc. in the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the stress of pedestrians and improve convenience in providing information for traffic safety.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an information providing system according to an embodiment. The information providing system 1 includes one or more server devices 10, roadside devices 12, and vehicles 14 that are connected to each other via a network 11 so as to be able to communicate information with each other.

[0013] The server device 10 is, for example, a server computer that belongs to a cloud computing system or other computing systems and functions as a server that implements various functions. The server device 10 may be configured by two or more server computers that are connected to be able to communicate information and operate in cooperation. The server device 10 corresponds to the "information processing device" in the present embodiment.

[0014] The network 11 is, for example, the Internet, but includes a mobile communication network, an ad hoc network, a LAN (Local Area Network), a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), or other networks or any combination thereof.

[0015] The roadside device 12 is a portable device installed at an arbitrary point along the roadway 16, such as an end near the roadway 16 on the sidewalk, and is configured to be operable by, for example, a built-in battery. The roadside device 12 images a pedestrian 13 passing on the sidewalk side and outputs various types of information for assisting walking toward the pedestrian 13 based on the captured image. The roadside device 12 is configured to be able to communicate information with the server device 10 via the network 11.

[0016] Vehicle 14 is a passenger car or commercial vehicle equipped with a communication function and an information processing function, and is connected to network 11 by mobile communication. A control device with an interface for receiving operations for various information inputs by the occupants and outputting various information to the occupants is installed in vehicle 14. Vehicle 14 has one or more GNSS receivers and is configured to be able to detect its current position. Vehicle 14 is an autonomous vehicle whose driving is automated at an arbitrary level (for example, any one of levels 1 to 5 in SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)) while being appropriately assisted by a driving assistant. Vehicle 14 may be an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle that uses the power of a battery for at least part of the energy for driving.

[0017] In information providing system 1, after roadside device 12 sends information indicating the approach of pedestrian 13 to lane 16 (hereinafter referred to as pedestrian approach information) based on the captured image of pedestrian 13 to vehicle 14, it outputs information for arousing the attention of vehicle 14 to pedestrian 13 (hereinafter referred to as attention-arousing information). In vehicle 14, the control device or the driving assistant of vehicle 14 can grasp that pedestrian 13 is approaching lane 16 based on the pedestrian approach information until pedestrian 13 passes closest to the location where roadside device 12 is installed. On the other hand, pedestrian 13 can cross lane 16 with a margin without being aroused with more attention than necessary while there is a certain degree of leeway until vehicle 14 approaches closest, and is aroused with necessary attention when vehicle 14 approaches closest. Therefore, the stress of pedestrians can be reduced in information provision for traffic safety, and convenience can be improved.

[0018] Figure 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of server device 10. Server device 10 has a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit 23. These configurations are appropriately arranged in two or more computers when server device 10 is composed of two or more server computers.

[0019] The communication unit 21 includes one or more communication interfaces. The communication interface is, for example, a LAN interface. The communication unit 21 receives information used for the operation of the server device 10 and transmits information obtained by the operation of the server device 10. The server device 10 is connected to the network 11 by the communication unit 21 and performs information communication with the roadside device 12 or the like via the network 11.

[0020] The storage unit 22 includes, for example, one or more semiconductor memories that function as a main memory device, an auxiliary memory device, or a cache memory, one or more magnetic memories, one or more optical memories, or a combination of at least two of these. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory). The RAM is, for example, an SRAM (Static RAM) or a DRAM (Dynamic RAM). The ROM is, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The storage unit 22 stores information used for the operation of the server device 10 and information obtained by the operation of the server device 10.

[0021] The control unit 23 includes one or more processors, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) specialized for specific processing. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc. While controlling each part of the server device 10, the control unit 23 executes information processing related to the operation of the server device 10. The functions of the server device 10 are realized by a processor included in the control unit 23 executing a control program. The control program is a program for causing a computer to function as the server device 10. Also, some or all of the functions of the server device 10 may be realized by a dedicated circuit included in the control unit 23. Further, the control program may be stored in a non-transitory recording and storage medium readable by the server device 10, and the server device 10 may read it from the medium.

[0022] Figure 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the roadside device 12. The roadside device 12 includes a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a control unit 33, a positioning unit 34, an imaging unit 35, and an output unit 38.

[0023] The communication unit 31 includes a communication module corresponding to a wired or wireless LAN standard, a module corresponding to a mobile communication standard, etc. The mobile communication standards include LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), 5G (5th Generation), etc. The roadside device 12 is connected to the network 11 via the communication unit 31 through a nearby router device or a base station for mobile communication, and performs information communication with the server device 10, etc. via the network 11.

[0024] The storage unit 32 includes one or more semiconductor memories, one or more magnetic memories, one or more optical memories, or a combination of at least two of these. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a RAM or a ROM. The RAM is, for example, an SRAM or a DRAM. The ROM is, for example, an EEPROM. The storage unit 32 stores information used for the operation of the control unit 33 and information obtained by the operation of the control unit 33.

[0025] The control unit 33 has, for example, one or more general-purpose processors such as a CPU or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or one or more dedicated processors specialized for specific processing. Alternatively, the control unit 33 may have one or more dedicated circuits such as an FPGA or an ASIC. The control unit 33 operates according to a control / processing program or according to an operation procedure implemented as a circuit to comprehensively control the operation of the roadside device 12. Then, the control unit 33 transmits and receives various information to and from the server device 10 etc. via the communication unit 31 and executes the operation according to the present embodiment. The functions of the control unit 33 are realized by a processor included in the control unit 33 executing a control program. The control program is a program for causing the processor to function as the control unit 33. Also, some or all of the functions of the control unit 33 may be realized by a dedicated circuit included in the control unit 33.

[0026] The positioning unit 34 includes one or more GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers. The GNSS includes, for example, at least any one of GPS (Global Positioning System), QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System), BeiDou, GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and Galileo. Based on the information acquired by the positioning unit 34, the position information of the roadside device 12 is obtained.

[0027] The imaging unit 35 is a visible light camera provided at a position capable of imaging the outer periphery of the roadside device 12. The camera images a subject, for example, at 15 to 30 frames per second to generate continuous imaging images. The imaging unit 18 sends the imaging images to the control unit 23.

[0028] The output unit 36 includes one or more output interfaces. The output interface is, for example, a display or a speaker. The display is, for example, illumination by an LED (Light Emitting Diode) light or a bulletin board. The output unit 36 outputs information under the control of the control unit 33.

[0029] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are flowchart diagrams for explaining the operation procedures of the server device 10 and the roadside device 12 in this embodiment.

[0030] FIG. 4 relates to the operation procedure of the control unit 23 when the server device 10 transmits and receives information to and from the vehicle 14 and the roadside device 12. The procedure in FIG. 4 is executed at an arbitrary period, for example, a period of several tens of microseconds to several seconds.

[0031] In step S40, the control unit 23 acquires the position information for each vehicle 14. The control unit 23 receives, by the communication unit 102, the position information of the vehicle 14 that the vehicle 14 sends at an arbitrary period, for example, a period of several tens of microseconds to several seconds.

[0032] In step S41, the control unit 23 derives the required time until the vehicle 14 reaches the location of the nearest roadside device 12. For example, for each vehicle 14, the control unit 23 derives the moving direction and the moving speed based on the change in position over time. For each vehicle 14, the control unit 23 identifies the nearest roadside device 12 in the moving direction. For example, the server device 10 reads out the position information of each roadside device 12 stored in the storage unit 22 in advance and identifies the nearest roadside device 12 for each vehicle 14. When the roadside device 12 is installed at an arbitrary location, when the control unit 33 of the roadside device 12 acquires the position information by the positioning unit 34 and sends the position information to the server device 10 by the communication unit 31, the control unit 23 of the server device 10 stores the position information of each roadside device 12 in the storage unit 22. Alternatively, the control unit 23 may identify the nearest roadside device 12 using the results derived in past processing cycles. The control unit 23 derives the moving distance to the installation location of the identified nearest roadside device 12 by an arbitrary algorithm. Then, the control unit 23 derives the required time until the vehicle 14 reaches the location of the nearest roadside device 12 based on the moving speed and the moving distance of the vehicle 14.

[0033] In step S42, the control unit 23 determines for each vehicle 14 whether the required time is equal to or less than the upper limit of the reference range. The reference range of the required time is a grace period of, for example, several seconds to several tens of seconds for notifying the vehicle 14 in advance of the presence of the pedestrian 13 near the nearest roadside device 12, and is arbitrarily determined. If the required time is equal to or less than the upper limit of the reference range (Yes), the control unit 23 proceeds to step S43. If the required time is greater than the upper limit of the reference range (No), the control unit 23 omits the steps after step S43 and ends the procedure of FIG. 4.

[0034] In step S43, the control unit 23 sends a request for pedestrian approach information and a notification of the lower limit of the reference range of the required time. The control unit 23 sends, via the communication unit 103, the request for pedestrian approach information and the notification of the lower limit of the reference range of the required time to the nearest roadside device 12. The pedestrian approach information is information indicating the approach of the pedestrian 13 to the lane 16 facing the roadside device 12. The control unit 33 receives the request for pedestrian approach information via the communication unit 31. The lower limit of the reference range may be a time or an elapsed time from the current time. In the roadside device 12, in the procedure described with reference to FIG. 5, when the control unit 33 detects the approach of the pedestrian 13 to the lane 16, in response to the request for pedestrian approach information, the roadside device 12 sends the pedestrian approach information to the server device 10 via the communication unit 31. In the server device 10, the control unit 23 receives the pedestrian approach information sent from the roadside device 12 via the communication unit 31.

[0035] In step S45, the control unit 23 determines whether it has acquired the pedestrian approach information. If the control unit 23 has received and acquired the pedestrian approach information from the roadside device 12 (Yes), the control unit 23 proceeds to step S46. If the control unit 23 has not received the pedestrian approach information from the roadside device 12 (No), the control unit 23 omits step S46 and ends the procedure of FIG. 4.

[0036] In step S46, the control unit 23 sends the pedestrian approach information. The control unit 23 sends, via the communication unit 21, the pedestrian approach information received from the roadside device 12 to the vehicle 14 nearest to the roadside device 12. Then, the control unit 33 ends the procedure of FIG. 4. When the control device of the vehicle 14 receives the pedestrian approach information sent from the server device 10, the vehicle 14 may slow down to be able to respond to sudden movements of the pedestrian 13 until the vehicle 14 gets closest to the roadside device 12, or output information for alerting the driver assistant by display or sound. By doing so, in the vehicle 14, it becomes possible to make preparations to respond to sudden movements of the pedestrian 13 during the grace period until the vehicle 14 gets closest to the location of the roadside device 12.

[0037] FIG. 5 relates to the operation procedure of the control unit 33 when the roadside device 12 detects the approach of the pedestrian 13 while transmitting and receiving information to and from the server device 10. The procedure in FIG. 5 is executed at an arbitrary period, for example, a period of several tens of microseconds to several seconds.

[0038] In step S50, the control unit 33 causes the imaging unit 35 to perform imaging. The imaging unit 35 captures a visible light image around the roadside device 12 including the sidewalk at an arbitrarily set frame rate, and sends the captured image to the control unit 33.

[0039] In step S51, the control unit 33 processes the captured image. The control unit 33 performs arbitrary image processing such as pattern matching on the captured image to detect the pedestrian 13. Also, the control unit 33 derives the movement, movement direction, and movement speed of the pedestrian 13 from the change over time of the captured image.

[0040] In step S52, the control unit 23 determines whether or not it has detected the approach of the pedestrian to the roadway 16. For example, when the movement direction of the pedestrian 13 is toward the roadside device 12, the control unit 33 can determine that the pedestrian is approaching the roadway 16 because the roadside device 12 is installed on the roadway 16 side of the sidewalk. On the other hand, when the pedestrian 13 is not moving, moving away from the roadside device 12, or deviating from the field of view, the control unit 33 can determine that the pedestrian 13 is not approaching the roadway 16. If the approach of the pedestrian is detected (Yes), the control unit 23 proceeds to step S53. If the approach of the pedestrian has not been detected (No), the control unit 23 omits the steps after S53 and ends the procedure in FIG. 5.

[0041] In step S53, the control unit 23 determines whether or not there is a request for pedestrian approach information. If the control unit 33 has received a request for pedestrian approach information from the server device 10 (Yes), it proceeds to step S55. If it has not received the request (No), it omits the steps after S55 and ends the procedure in FIG. 5.

[0042] In step S55, the control unit 33 sends out pedestrian approach information. The control unit 33 sends the pedestrian approach information to the server device 10 via the communication unit 21. In the server device 10, when the control unit 23 receives the pedestrian approach information via the communication unit 21, it sends the pedestrian approach information to the vehicle 14 (step S46 in FIG. 4).

[0043] In step S56, after sending out the pedestrian approach information, the control unit 23 determines whether the waiting time has elapsed. The waiting time is the time from when the pedestrian approach information is sent until the pedestrian 13 approaches a distance at which the information presented by the roadside device 12 can be confirmed. The waiting time may be set arbitrarily, or may be the difference between the current time and the lower limit of the reference range of the required time received from the server device 10. When the waiting time has elapsed (Yes), the control unit 33 proceeds to step S57. When the waiting time has not elapsed (No), the control unit 33 holds off on proceeding to step S57.

[0044] In step S57, the control unit 33 outputs attention - calling information for the pedestrian. When the pedestrian 13 is approaching the roadway 16, there is a high probability that the pedestrian 13 is about to cross the roadway 16. The attention - calling information is information transmitted by, for example, the blinking of an LED light, or voice such as "A vehicle is approaching" or "Caution when crossing" for attracting attention. The control unit 33 outputs the attention - calling information via the output unit 36. Then, the control unit 33 ends the procedure in FIG. 5. By presenting the attention - calling information, the pedestrian 13 can recognize that the vehicle 14 is traveling and approaching on the roadway 16. At this time, since the attention - calling information is received after the waiting time has elapsed, the pedestrian 13 does not receive unnecessary attention - calling during the waiting time, that is, until the vehicle 14 is closest, so it is possible to suppress stress.

[0045] In the modification example, step S51 of the procedure in FIG. 5 is executed in the server device 10. The control unit 33 of the roadside device 12 sends the captured image to the server device 10 via the communication unit 31. Then, the processing of the captured image in step S51 is executed in the server device 10, and the execution result, that is, whether the pedestrian 13 is detected or not, and the execution result including the moving direction, moving speed, etc. when the pedestrian 13 is detected, is sent from the server device 10 to the roadside device 12. The control unit 33 of the roadside device 12 executes steps S52 and subsequent steps based on the execution result received from the server device 10. According to such a modification example, it is possible to reduce the processing load on the control unit 33 of the roadside device 12.

[0046] In a further modification example, as a condition for sending a request for pedestrian approach information from the server device 10 to the roadside device 12 in step S43 of FIG. 4, it may be a condition that the vehicle 14 is passing through the reference route. For example, a step of estimating the moving route of the vehicle 14 based on the change over time of the position of the vehicle 14 by the control unit 23 and determining whether the moving route corresponds to the reference route may be provided between steps S40 and S43. Then, the control unit 23 can proceed with the processing towards step S43 when it corresponds to the reference route, and end the procedure in FIG. 4 when it does not correspond to the reference route. The reference route can be, for example, a route that is statistically derived as a route with a large number of vehicles moving to each point where the roadside device 12 can be installed in advance for each point.

[0047] According to the above-described embodiment, even when a pedestrian 13 starts crossing a road lane 16 from a blind spot of a traveling vehicle 14, by receiving pedestrian approach information from the roadside device 12, the vehicle 14 that is automatically driven or a driver assistant of the vehicle 14 can recognize the presence of the pedestrian in advance. On the other hand, since the pedestrian 13 can recognize the presence of the vehicle 14 by the warning information, traffic safety can be improved. Further, since the pedestrian approach information is sent to the vehicle 14 with a certain time lag, even when the pedestrian 13 is delayed in crossing the road lane 16 due to an unexpected situation such as a fall, the vehicle 14 can make preparations in advance until it reaches the location of the roadside device 12, such as traveling slowly to avoid contact with the pedestrian 13. Furthermore, since the warning information is presented to the pedestrian 13 after a certain period of time has elapsed since the pedestrian approach information was sent to the vehicle, the pedestrian 13 does not need to receive the warning information until the warning information is presented after the pedestrian approach information is sent, that is, until the vehicle 14 approaches the location of the roadside device 12 to a certain extent. Therefore, the pedestrian 13 can cross the road lane 16 without taking more precautions than necessary.

[0048] In the above, the embodiments have been described based on the drawings and examples. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and corrections are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each means, each step, etc. can be rearranged so as not to be logically contradictory, and a plurality of means, steps, etc. can be combined into one or divided.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0049] 1 Information providing system 10 Server device 11 Network 12 Roadside device 13 Pedestrian 14 Vehicle 16 Road lane 21, 31 Communication unit 22, 32 Storage unit 23, 33 Control Unit 34 Positioning Unit 35 Imaging Unit 36 Output Unit

Claims

1. A communication unit for transmitting and receiving information, An imaging unit for imaging a pedestrian, An output unit for outputting information directed to the pedestrian, A control unit that outputs second information for arousing the pedestrian's attention to the vehicle after sending first information indicating the approach of the pedestrian to the lane to the vehicle based on the captured image, A roadside device having the above.

2. In Claim 1, The control unit sends the first information on the condition that the vehicle is located within a predetermined range from the roadside device. Roadside device.

3. In Claim 2, The control unit does not send the first information when the vehicle is located outside the predetermined range. Roadside device.

4. In Claim 1, The control unit sends the first information on the condition that the vehicle moves to the roadside device along a predetermined route. Roadside device.

5. In Claim 1, The control unit detects the approach based on the captured image and sends the first information. Roadside device.

6. In Claim 1, The control unit receives information indicating that the approach has been detected based on the captured image and sends the first information. Roadside device.

7. In Claim 1, After sending the first information, the control unit outputs the second information after a predetermined time has elapsed. Roadside device.

8. A system having a server device and a roadside device, The roadside device sends first information indicating the approach of the pedestrian to the lane based on the captured image of the pedestrian to the server device, and then outputs second information for arousing the pedestrian's attention to the vehicle, The server device transmits the first information to a vehicle moving to the roadside device. System.

9. In Claim 8, The roadside device sends the first information on the condition that the vehicle is located within a predetermined range from the roadside device. System.

10. In Claim 9, The roadside device does not send the first information when the vehicle is located outside the predetermined range. System.

11. In Claim 8, The roadside device sends the first information on the condition that the vehicle moves to the roadside device along a predetermined route. System.

12. In Claim 8, The roadside device detects the approach based on the captured image and sends the first information. System.

13. In Claim 8, The server device sends information on a detection result indicating that the approach has been detected based on the captured image to the roadside device. The roadside device receives the information on the detection result and sends out first information. System.

14. In claim 8, after sending out the first information, the roadside device outputs second information after a predetermined time has elapsed. System.

15. An operation method of a system having a server device and a roadside device, after the roadside device sends first information indicating the approach of the pedestrian to the server device based on a captured image of the pedestrian, outputting second information for arousing the pedestrian's attention to the vehicle; the server device sending the first information to a vehicle moving to the roadside device. An operation method including the above.

16. In claim 15, the roadside device sends out the first information on the condition that the vehicle is located within a predetermined range from the roadside device. Operation method.

17. In claim 16, when the vehicle is located outside the predetermined range, the roadside device does not send out the first information. Operation method.

18. In claim 15, the roadside device sends out the first information on the condition that the vehicle moves to the roadside device along a predetermined route. Operation method.

19. In claim 15, the roadside device detects the approach based on the captured image and sends out the first information. Operation method.

20. In claim 15, the server device sends information on a detection result indicating that the approach has been detected based on the captured image to the roadside device, the roadside device receives the information on the detection result and sends out first information. Operation method.

Images