Dangerous area identification device, map data, and dangerous area identification method and program

Abstract

To provide a dangerous area identification device, map data, and a dangerous area identification method and program for effectively identifying dangerous areas.SOLUTION: In a navigation device 10, a dangerous area identification unit 34 identifies dangerous areas of popping out based on past information showing situations of the past pop-out accidents acquired by a past information acquisition unit 24 and surrounding information showing situations around vehicles acquired by a surrounding information acquisition unit 32. Here, the past information is configured to include information on surrounding facility identification information (information relating to identified feature) used for identifying dangerous areas of popping out and information relating to pop-out target objects. Therefore, a pop-out dangerous area identification unit 34 can identify the pop-out dangerous areas caused by the feature (facility) in a pop-out accident. Therefore, the navigation device 10 can effectively identify the pop-out dangerous areas.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a dangerous location identification device, map data, a dangerous location identification method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 describes a driving support system that determines whether a vehicle is located at a dangerous point. Specifically, in this driving support system, by calculating the similarity between the vehicle situation at the time of a traffic accident included in the past traffic accident history and the current vehicle situation, it is determined whether the vehicle is located at a dangerous point. As a result, even at an unknown dangerous point, the driver can be alerted.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in traffic accidents such as run-off-road accidents, for example, due to features located on the side of the road, people or vehicles may run onto the road. However, in the above driving support system, as vehicle situations, the driving situation of the vehicle, the running state of the vehicle, and the surrounding environment of the vehicle are listed, but the features around the accident location are not considered. For this reason, there is room for improvement in the above driving support system in terms of effectively identifying dangerous locations. Therefore, the problems to be solved by the present invention include the above-described problem as an example.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the problems exemplified above, and a main object thereof is to provide a dangerous location identification device, map data, a dangerous location identification method, and a program that can effectively identify dangerous locations.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] One or more embodiments of the present invention are generated based on past events and used to identify dangerous locations, and include a past information acquisition unit that acquires past information including information about the events, a surrounding information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding information about the situation around the moving body, and a dangerous location identification unit that identifies dangerous locations in the moving area of the moving body based on the past information and the surrounding information.

[0007] One or more embodiments of the present invention are map data including danger determination information for determining danger using surrounding information about the situation around the moving body acquired by the information acquisition unit, wherein the danger determination information is associated with a predetermined area included in the map data and stores a situation in which danger occurs in the predetermined area.

[0008] One or more embodiments of the present invention are a dangerous location identification method in a dangerous location identification device including a past information acquisition unit, a surrounding information acquisition unit, and a dangerous location identification unit, the method including: a first step in which the past information acquisition unit acquires past information generated based on past events and used to identify dangerous locations and including information about the events; a second step in which the surrounding information acquisition unit acquires surrounding information about the situation around the moving body; and a third step in which the dangerous location identification unit identifies dangerous locations in the moving area of the moving body based on the past information and the surrounding information.

[0009] One or more embodiments of the present invention are programs for causing a computer to execute a dangerous location identification method in a dangerous location identification device including a past information acquisition unit, a surrounding information acquisition unit, and a dangerous location identification unit, wherein the past information acquisition unit acquires past information generated based on past events and including information related to the events, and used for identifying dangerous locations, a first step; the surrounding information acquisition unit acquires surrounding information related to the situation around the moving body, a second step; and the dangerous location identification unit identifies dangerous locations in the moving area of the moving body based on the past information and the surrounding information, a third step, and is a program for causing a computer to execute.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] One aspect of the dangerous location identification device according to the present embodiment is configured to obtain past information that is generated based on past events and includes information about the events, and is used to identify dangerous locations. The device includes a past information acquisition unit, a surrounding information acquisition unit configured to obtain surrounding information about the situation around the moving object, and a dangerous location identification unit configured to identify dangerous locations in the moving area of the moving object based on the past information and the surrounding information.

[0012] According to the dangerous location identification device with the above configuration, the past information acquisition unit obtains past information generated based on past events. The surrounding information acquisition unit obtains surrounding information about the situation around the moving object. Then, the dangerous location identification unit identifies dangerous locations in the moving area of the moving object based on the past information and the surrounding information.

[0013] Here, the past information is used to identify dangerous locations and includes information about past events. Therefore, the dangerous location identification unit can identify dangerous locations caused by past events. Thus, dangerous locations can be effectively identified.

[0014] Another aspect of the dangerous location identification device according to the present embodiment is that the past information includes information about the occurrence of past accidents, and the dangerous location identification unit identifies dangerous locations based on the past information of the area where the accident occurred at the time of the accident and the surrounding information.

[0015] According to the dangerous location identification device with the above configuration, the past information includes information about the occurrence of past accidents. Therefore, the dangerous location identification unit can effectively identify dangerous locations based on past events such as run-off-road accidents.

[0016] Another aspect of the dangerous location identification device according to the present embodiment is that the past information includes information about related moving objects, which are moving objects related to the accident on the opposite side across the road, and information about ground features. The dangerous location identification unit identifies dangerous locations based on the degree of similarity between the surrounding situation indicated by the surrounding information and the positional relationship between the related moving objects and the ground features in the area where the accident occurred.

[0017] According to the dangerous location identification device with the above configuration, for example, it is possible to more effectively identify dangerous locations in run-out accidents caused by ground features. That is, for example, in a run-out accident, a pedestrian may cross a road (lane) due to a facility existing across the road. Therefore, for example, when the related moving object is a pedestrian, based on the type of ground feature existing across the road from the pedestrian and the positional relationship between the pedestrian and the ground feature, the dangerous location identification unit can identify the dangerous location. Therefore, it is possible to effectively identify dangerous locations in run-out accidents caused by ground features.

[0018] Another aspect of the dangerous location identification device of the present embodiment is that the information regarding the ground feature includes information regarding the relevance between a first facility and a second facility facing each other across the road, and the dangerous location identification unit identifies a dangerous location based on the surrounding situation indicated by the surrounding information and the relevance between the first facility and the second facility in the area where the accident occurred.

[0019] According to the dangerous location identification device with the above configuration, for example, it is possible to even more effectively identify dangerous locations in run-out accidents caused by ground features. That is, for example, in a run-out accident, based on the relevance between a first facility and a second facility facing each other across the road, a pedestrian may cross the road. More specifically, for example, when the first facility is a commercial facility and the second facility is a parking lot owned by the commercial facility, users of the commercial facility may cross the road at the point where the first facility and the second facility face each other. Therefore, the dangerous location identification unit can identify a dangerous location based on the positional relationship between the first facility, the second facility, and the pedestrian. Therefore, it is possible to more effectively identify dangerous locations in run-out accidents caused by ground features.

[0020] In another embodiment of the present invention, there is map data including danger determination information for determining danger using surrounding information regarding the situation around the moving object acquired by the information acquisition unit, wherein the danger determination information is associated with a predetermined area included in the map data, and a situation in which danger occurs in the predetermined area is stored.

[0021] According to the above configuration, since the map data is configured with a data structure including danger determination information, by using the map data, it is possible to predict danger during the movement of the moving object and notify the fact. Further, in the danger determination information, a situation in which danger occurs in the predetermined area is stored in association with the predetermined area included in the map data. Therefore, for example, it is possible to notify the content based on the situation in which danger occurs.

[0022] Another aspect of the map data of the present embodiment is that the danger determination information includes a relationship between a feature existing in the predetermined area and an associated moving object which is a moving object that may be related to an accident.

[0023] According to the above configuration, based on the relationship between a feature existing in the predetermined area and an associated moving object that may be related to an accident, it is possible to predict danger during the movement of the moving object and notify the fact.

[0024] In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for identifying a dangerous location in a dangerous location identification device including a past information acquisition unit, a surrounding information acquisition unit, and a dangerous location identification unit. The method includes: a first step in which the past information acquisition unit acquires past information that is generated based on past events and includes information related to the events and is used for identifying dangerous locations; a second step in which the surrounding information acquisition unit acquires surrounding information related to the situation around the moving body; and a third step in which the dangerous location identification unit identifies dangerous locations in the moving area of the moving body based on the past information and the surrounding information. By executing this dangerous location identification method with the dangerous location identification device, dangerous locations caused by past events can be identified by the dangerous location identification unit. Therefore, dangerous locations can be effectively identified.

[0025] In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a computer to execute a method for identifying a dangerous location in a dangerous location identification device including a past information acquisition unit, a surrounding information acquisition unit, and a dangerous location identification unit. The program causes the computer to execute: a first step in which the past information acquisition unit acquires past information that is generated based on past events and includes information related to the events and is used for identifying dangerous locations; a second step in which the surrounding information acquisition unit acquires surrounding information related to the situation around the moving body; and a third step in which the dangerous location identification unit identifies dangerous locations in the moving area of the moving body based on the past information and the surrounding information. By causing the computer to execute the dangerous location identification method in the dangerous location identification device, dangerous locations caused by past events can be identified by the dangerous location identification unit. Therefore, dangerous locations can be effectively identified.

Example

[0026] Hereinafter, the navigation device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The navigation device 10 is configured as a device that is mounted on a vehicle (automobile), searches for a driving route of the vehicle, and performs route guidance based on the searched route. Further, the navigation device 10 is also configured as a device that identifies a location where a person, a vehicle, or the like may jump out onto the road as a "jumping-out dangerous location" and notifies the vehicle occupants. Note that the navigation device 10 is an example of the "dangerous location identification device" of the present invention, the vehicle is an example of the "moving body" of the present invention, and the jumping-out dangerous location corresponds to the "dangerous location" of the present invention.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 10 includes a GPS receiver 12, an autonomous positioning sensor 14, a surrounding detection unit 16, a storage unit 18, a display unit 20, a speaker 22, a past information acquisition unit 24, a communication unit 26, and a control unit 30. Hereinafter, each component of the navigation device 10 will be described.

[0028] [Regarding the GPS receiver] The GPS receiver 12 receives signals from GPS satellites and measures the current position of the vehicle. Then, the GPS receiver 12 outputs the measured current position information of the vehicle to the control unit 30.

[0029] [Regarding the autonomous positioning sensor] The autonomous positioning sensor 14 is composed of an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a distance sensor, and the like. The acceleration sensor detects the acceleration of the vehicle and outputs acceleration data to the control unit 30. The angular velocity sensor is composed of, for example, a gyro, and detects the angular velocity of the vehicle when the vehicle changes direction and outputs angular velocity data to the control unit 30. The distance sensor measures a vehicle speed pulse composed of a pulse signal generated by the rotation of the wheels and outputs distance data to the control unit 30.

[0030] [Regarding the surrounding detection unit] The surrounding detection unit 16 is composed of, for example, a Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) and a camera. The Lidar is installed, for example, at both ends in the vehicle width direction of the front and rear bumpers of the vehicle. Then, the Lidar measures the scattered light by the pulsed laser light to obtain the distance and shape of the object irradiated with the laser light, and is configured to detect pedestrians around the vehicle, the features of the road on which the vehicle travels, the features around the vehicle, etc. The camera is set, for example, at the center in the vehicle width direction of the windshield glass of the vehicle. And the camera takes pictures of the surroundings of the vehicle and is configured to detect pedestrians, the features of the road on which the vehicle travels, the features around the road, etc. from the captured image data. Note that the surrounding detection unit 16 is an example of the "information acquisition unit" of the present invention.

[0031] [Regarding the storage unit] The storage unit 18 is composed of, for example, a storage medium such as an HDD [Hard disk drive], and is electrically connected to the control unit 30. Map data for route search and route guidance is stored in the storage unit 18. This map data includes road position information, road shape information, position information of intersections and branch points, information on features on the map, etc.

[0032] [Regarding the display unit] The display unit 20 is configured to include a touch panel having a display surface. Also, on the display unit 20, for example, a map around the position of the own vehicle of the vehicle is displayed, and a mark of the vehicle is superimposed and displayed on the map.

[0033] [Regarding the speaker] The speaker 22 is configured as a device that, under the control of the control unit 30 described later, notifies, for example, route guidance information during the travel of the vehicle by voice.

[0034] [Regarding the past information acquisition unit] The past information acquisition unit 24 is connected by communication with an external server 40 via the communication unit 26. And the past information acquisition unit 24 is configured to acquire past information indicating information on past traffic accidents from the external server 40. Hereinafter, the past information will be described.

[0035] The past information includes information on the event generated based on past events. Specifically, the past information mainly consists of information indicating the situation of traffic accidents related to past run-off-road accidents. Also, the past information includes identification information used when a dangerous location identification unit 34 described later identifies run-off-road dangerous locations on the road during travel. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the past information is configured to include, as identification information, moving object identification information, ground object identification information, weather identification information, and time identification information, and these pieces of information correspond to each case of the run-off-road accident.

[0036] The moving object identification information is information for identifying a moving object that may run off the road by a dangerous location identification unit 34 described later. This moving object identification information is information on a moving object that ran off the road in a past run-off-road accident (that is, an element that is related to the accident and is grasped as a "related moving object", and hereinafter, this moving object is referred to as a "run-off target object"). Specifically, the moving object identification information includes information indicating whether the run-off target object is a pedestrian, a four-wheeled vehicle, or a two-wheeled vehicle. Also, when the run-off target object is a pedestrian (person), information on whether the person is an adult or a child is also included as information on the run-off target object. Further, when the run-off target object is a two-wheeled vehicle, information on a bicycle, a motorcycle, etc. is also included as information on the run-off target object.

[0037] The ground object identification information is information regarding ground objects (facilities) used to identify dangerous locations by a dangerous location identification unit 34 described later. This ground object identification information is information regarding ground objects (hereinafter referred to as "identified ground objects") that existed in the area of a past run-off-road accident. Further, the ground object identification information is configured to include surrounding facility identification information and road ground object identification information.

[0038] The surrounding facility identification information includes information regarding identified ground objects (facilities) around the accident occurrence area at the time of the accident. That is, in a run-off-road accident, since there is a possibility that the run-off object may run off onto the roadway due to ground objects (facilities) around the accident occurrence area, the surrounding facility identification information is included in the ground object identification information. Further, this surrounding facility identification information is configured to include first facility information, second facility information, and facility-related information.

[0039] The first facility information indicates information of a first facility (that is, a facility existing at a position facing the run-off object across the roadway) existing at the crossing destination of the run-off object. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, in an accident where the run-off object A jumps out from the sidewalk a on the left side of the paper surface of FIG. 3 to the roadway b as a pedestrian, the facility existing on the front side across the road c with respect to the run-off object A becomes the first facility B. That is, in a run-off-road accident, for example, a pedestrian as the run-off object A may jump out onto the roadway b in order to quickly reach the first facility B existing at the crossing destination. For this reason, the first facility information is set in the surrounding facility identification information.

[0040] And the first facility information includes information indicating the type of the first facility B and the positional relationship between the entrance / exit B1 of the first facility B and the accident occurrence point (the point indicated by the × mark in FIG. 3) (in other words, the distance L1 between the run-off object A and the entrance / exit B1 of the facility in the extending direction of the road). Here, the type of the facility is, for example, a hospital, library, city hall, community center, nursery school, etc. if it is a public facility, and a restaurant, retail store (department store, supermarket, convenience store, etc.), etc. if it is a commercial facility.

[0041] The second facility information indicates information on facilities existing on the position side that is the starting point of the protrusion of the object A to protrude with respect to the road. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the facility existing on the left side with respect to the road c becomes the second facility C. That is, in a protrusion accident, for example, a vehicle exiting from the exit of a parking lot may protrude into the road lane in order to enter the road lane. Therefore, the second facility information is set in the surrounding facility identification information.

[0042] The facility-related information indicates information regarding the presence or absence of the relevance of the first facility B and the second facility C facing each other across the road in the accident occurrence area. That is, in a protrusion accident, for example, when the first facility B is a commercial facility such as a department store and the second facility C is a parking lot owned by the facility or a parking lot affiliated with the facility, pedestrians using the first facility B may cross the road lane b in order to arrive at the first facility B earlier after parking their vehicles in the parking lot. Therefore, the facility-related information is set in the surrounding facility identification information.

[0043] And as described above, when there is a relevance between the first facility B and the second facility C, the facility-related information includes information indicating that there is a relevance. In addition, the facility-related information includes, for example, information indicating the positional relationship (distance L2 in FIG. 3) between the entrance / exit B1 of the first facility B and the entrance / exit C1 of the second facility C.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 2, the road feature identification information includes information regarding the identification features of the road in the area where the protrusion accident occurred. Specifically, the road feature identification information has information regarding the dividing object d (see FIG. 3) between the road lane b and the sidewalk a on the road in the area where the protrusion accident occurred. More specifically, the road feature identification information includes information such as the presence or absence of a dividing object on the road and the type of the dividing object (white line, curb, guardrail, etc.) when there is a dividing object. That is, in a protrusion accident, for example, when the dividing object between the road lane and the sidewalk is a dividing line, pedestrians may cross the road more likely than in the case of a guardrail or the like, and therefore, this information is set in the road feature identification information.

[0045] In addition, the road feature identification information includes information on whether there is a crosswalk e (see FIG. 3) within a predetermined distance before and after the location where the run-off-road accident occurred, and when there is a crosswalk e, information on whether there is a traffic signal on the crosswalk e. That is, in a run-off-road accident, for example, at positions before and after a crosswalk e without a traffic signal, pedestrians may cross the road at that position without reaching the crosswalk e. Therefore, these pieces of information are set in the road feature identification information. And the road feature identification information includes information on the distance L3 (see FIG. 3) between the crosswalk e without a traffic signal and the accident occurrence location.

[0046] In addition, the road feature identification information also includes road information such as the road information in the area where the run-off-road accident occurred. This road information includes information such as the type of the road (national road, prefectural road, etc.), width, number of lanes, and the like.

[0047] The weather identification information is information regarding the weather at the time when the run-off-road accident occurred. Specifically, it includes information such as sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, etc. at the time when the run-off-road accident occurred.

[0048] The time identification information includes information regarding the time zone at the time when the run-off-road accident occurred.

[0049] Note that in this embodiment, as described above, since the navigation device 10 is connected to the external server 40 through communication, it may be configured to acquire the map data stored in the storage unit 18 from the external server 40.

[0050] [Regarding the control unit] As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 30 is configured to detect the position of the host vehicle based on the information measured by the GPS receiver 12 and the self-positioning sensor 14. Further, the control unit 30 performs route search according to the input destination, and performs route guidance control on the display unit 20 and the speaker 22 based on the searched route. Furthermore, the control unit 30 is provided with a functional component for identifying dangerous jumping-out locations on the road on which the vehicle travels. Hereinafter, the said functional component in the control unit 30 will be described.

[0051] The control unit 30 includes a surrounding information acquisition unit 32 and a dangerous location identification unit 34 for identifying the jumping-out point.

[0052] The surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is configured to acquire the surrounding information about the surroundings of the vehicle during traveling, in association with each identification information (mobile object identification information, ground object identification information, weather identification information, time identification information) of the above-described past information. That is, the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is configured to detect a jumping-out target located on the side of the road and having a possibility of jumping out onto the lane, based on the information detected by the surrounding detection unit 16. When the jumping-out target detected by the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is a person (pedestrian), the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is configured to detect the target as an adult or a child from the physique of the target. When the jumping-out target detected by the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is a vehicle, the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is configured to detect the target as a two-wheeled vehicle or a four-wheeled vehicle. Further, when the jumping-out target detected by the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is a two-wheeled vehicle, the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is configured to detect the target as a bicycle or a motorcycle.

[0053] In addition, the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is configured to detect features and road features around the vehicle based on the information detected by the surrounding detection unit 16. For example, the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is configured to detect a facility facing the road across the road (a facility corresponding to the first facility) or a facility existing on the pedestrian side with respect to the road (a facility corresponding to the second facility) for the pedestrians detected by the surrounding detection unit 16. Then, the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 is configured to acquire information such as the facility name and type of the detected facility from the storage unit 18.

[0054] In addition, the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 acquires weather information around the vehicle based on the information detected by the surrounding detection unit 16. The surrounding information acquisition unit 32 also acquires the current time based on the time information from the GPS satellites received by the GPS receiver 12. When the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 detects that the weather information is rain, the rain (weather) around the vehicle may be detected by detecting the on signal of the wiper device of the vehicle.

[0055] Next, with reference to FIG. 4, while explaining the operation of the navigation device 10 when identifying the dangerous jump-out locations, the actions and effects in this embodiment will be described.

[0056] First, in the navigation device 10, the past information acquisition unit 24 acquires past information from the external server 40 (step S1).

[0057] Then, the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 acquires surrounding information regarding the situation around the vehicle based on the information from the surrounding detection unit 16. Specifically, the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 detects and acquires a jump-out target that may jump out onto the road lane and exists on the front side of the vehicle, road features, and features around the vehicle (step S2).

[0058] When the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 acquires the surrounding information of the object to jump out, the road features, and the features around the vehicle, the dangerous location identification unit 34 identifies the jump-out dangerous location based on the past information acquired by the past information acquisition unit 24 and the surrounding information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 (step 3). Specifically, the dangerous location identification unit 34 determines the similarity between the information indicating the situation of the jump-out accident in the past information and the surrounding information around the vehicle acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 32. Then, when the dangerous location identification unit 34 determines that there is similarity in the current driving situation in light of each identification information in the past information, the location is identified as a jump-out dangerous location.

[0059] When the dangerous location identification unit 34 identifies the jump-out dangerous location, the driver of the vehicle is notified from the display unit 20 or the speaker 22 under the control of the control unit 30 that there is a jump-out dangerous location ahead (step 4). For example, a warning such as "At about 〇〇m ahead, there is a possibility that the pedestrian on the left side will cross the vehicle towards the △ department store. Please slow down and be careful." is given on the display unit 20 or the speaker 22. After executing the process of step 4, the process ends.

[0060] As described above, according to the navigation device 10 of this embodiment, based on the past information indicating the situation of past jump-out accidents acquired by the past information acquisition unit 24 and the surrounding information indicating the situation around the vehicle acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 32, the dangerous location identification unit 34 identifies the jump-out dangerous location.

[0061] Here, the past information includes information regarding an event generated based on past events (past run-off-road accidents). Specifically, the past information is configured to include surrounding facility identification information (information regarding identified features) used to identify run-off-road risk locations and information regarding the run-off-road object. Therefore, in a run-off-road accident, the run-off-road risk locations caused by features (facilities) can be identified by the risk location identification unit 34. Accordingly, the navigation device 10 can effectively identify run-off-road risk locations.

[0062] In addition, the surrounding facility identification information in the past information includes information regarding a first facility that exists across a road from the run-off-road object. Therefore, the run-off-road risk locations in a run-off-road accident can be identified more effectively. That is, in a run-off-road accident, for example, a pedestrian who is the run-off-road object may be induced by the first facility that exists across the road and may cross the road (the traffic lane). Therefore, by referring to the positional relationship between the first facility that faces the pedestrian across the road and the pedestrian and the type of the first facility, etc. in the past information, risk locations similar to the past run-off-road accident situation can be effectively identified. Accordingly, the risk locations in a run-off-road accident caused by features can be identified more effectively.

[0063] In addition, the surrounding facility identification information in the past information includes information on the presence or absence of relevance between the first facility and the second facility. Therefore, the danger location identification unit 34 can identify a jumping-out danger location based on the presence or absence of relevance between the first facility and the second facility facing each other across the road. That is, for example, when the opposing first facility and second facility are the entrance and exit of a commercial facility and a parking lot owned by the commercial facility, pedestrians using the commercial facility may cross the roadway in a hurry to reach the commercial facility or the parking lot. Also, for example, when the opposing facilities are the entrance and exit of a park and the entrance and exit of a commercial facility such as a convenience store, pedestrians using the park may cross the roadway to use the convenience store. Therefore, in response to such a situation where there is a relevance between the first facility and the second facility, the danger location identification unit 34 can identify a jumping-out danger location.

[0064] In addition, the surrounding facility identification information in the past information includes information on the second facility existing on the side that is the starting point of the crossing of the jumping-out object. Therefore, the danger location identification unit 34 can identify a jumping-out danger location based on the type of facility existing on the side of the road. That is, for example, when a feature existing on the side of the road is the exit of a parking lot and a vehicle leaving the exit is parked, the vehicle may jump out onto the roadway. Also, when a facility existing on the side of the road is the exit of a bicycle parking lot and two-wheeled vehicles such as bicycles or motorcycles leaving the exit are parked, the two-wheeled vehicles may jump out from the bicycle parking lot onto the roadway. Therefore, in response to such a situation, the danger location identification unit 34 can identify a jumping-out danger location.

[0065] In this embodiment, the navigation device 10 is configured to identify a jumping-out risk location. However, map data may be created using information indicating the jumping-out risk locations identified by the navigation device 10. For example, in each vehicle, information indicating the jumping-out risk locations identified by the navigation device 10 may be transmitted to an external server 40, and the external server 40 may generate map data including risk determination information for determining risks during travel.

[0066] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5, an example of the structure of map data 50 generated by the external server 40 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5(A), the map data 50 includes road area data 52, intersection area data 54, roadside feature data 56, road-related feature data 58, road data 60, and risk determination information data 62.

[0067] The road area data 52 includes information indicating the areas in each road (the lanes on which vehicles travel and the sidewalks on which pedestrians walk), together with the position information in each road.

[0068] The intersection area data 54 includes information indicating the areas in each intersection, associated with the position information of each intersection.

[0069] The roadside feature data 56 includes information regarding features existing on the sides of each road. For example, the roadside feature data 56 includes information such as the types and names of facilities as features, and the entrances and exits of facilities.

[0070] The road-related feature data 58 includes data regarding the roads existing in each road area. For example, the road-related feature data 58 includes information such as dividers (lane lines, curbs, guardrails, etc.) that divide the vehicle lanes and the sidewalks, dividers (diagonal lines, cat's eyes) that divide the vehicle lanes, and poles.

[0071] The road data 60 includes information indicating a road network by nodes and links. That is, the road data 60 indicates a part showing a connection part of a road such as an intersection as a node, and is represented as a road network in which the nodes are connected by links.

[0072] The danger judgment information data 62 is information for performing a danger judgment generated based on information indicating a jumping-out danger location identified by the navigation device 10 of each vehicle. As shown in FIG. 5(B), this danger judgment information data is assigned an ID for each danger judgment information, and each danger judgment information includes position information, information about a jumping-out object, information about a feature corresponding to an identified feature, and danger situation information indicating the content of the danger.

[0073] The position information in the danger judgment information is information indicating the position of the jumping-out danger location identified by the navigation device 10 of each vehicle, and in this embodiment, it is indicated by latitude and longitude. For this reason, each danger judgment information is associated with a road area and an intersection area based on this position information. That is, the road area and the intersection area correspond to an example of the "area" of the present invention.

[0074] The information about the jumping-out object in the danger judgment information is information indicating the jumping-out object at the jumping-out danger location identified by the navigation device 10 of each vehicle. That is, for example, in the danger judgment information of ID1 shown in FIG. 5(B), a pedestrian is shown as the jumping-out object, in the danger judgment information of ID2, a four-wheeled vehicle is shown as the jumping-out object, and in the danger judgment information of ID3, a two-wheeled vehicle is shown as the jumping-out object.

[0075] The information about the feature corresponding to the identified feature in the danger judgment information is the information indicating the feature corresponding to the identified feature at the protruding danger location identified by the navigation device 10 of each vehicle. That is, for example, in the danger judgment information of ID1 shown in Fig. 5(B), a commercial facility which is a department store is shown as the identified feature, in the danger judgment information of ID2, an exit of a parking lot is shown as the identified feature, and in the danger judgment information of ID3, an entrance of a parking lot is shown as the identified feature.

[0076] The danger situation information indicating the content of danger in the danger judgment information is the information indicating the content of danger at the protruding danger location identified by the navigation device 10 of each vehicle. For example, in the danger judgment information of ID1 shown in Fig. 5(B), it indicates that there is a risk of a pedestrian jumping out by crossing the road towards the department store, in the danger judgment information of ID2, it indicates that there is a risk of a four-wheeled vehicle leaving the parking lot and jumping out onto the road, and in the danger judgment information of ID3, it indicates that there is a risk of a two-wheeled vehicle turning right to enter the parking lot entrance and jumping out onto the road.

[0077] And by acquiring the map data 50 configured in this way in the navigation device 10 of each vehicle and storing it in the storage unit 18 of the navigation device 10, it is possible to predict the danger during vehicle travel using the map data 50.

[0078] For example, when the vehicle is located in front of the point corresponding to the danger judgment information of ID1 shown in Fig. 5(B) and a pedestrian is detected in front of the vehicle by the surrounding information acquisition unit 32 of the navigation device 10, it is possible to notify the vehicle occupants that there is a risk of the pedestrian jumping out onto the road by means of the speaker 22 or the like. For example, it is possible to notify the occupants with a guidance such as "There is a risk that the pedestrian in front may jump out onto the road towards 〇〇 Department Store, so please slow down."

[0079] As described above, by configuring the data structure of the map data 50 to include danger determination information and using the map data 50 having such a data structure in the navigation device 10, it is possible to predict a danger during the running of the vehicle and notify the passenger to that effect. Further, the danger determination information in the map data 50 includes information indicating the content of the danger. Therefore, the navigation device 10 can notify the passenger in advance of information based on the content of the danger.

[0080] Also, in this embodiment, the vehicle in which the navigation device 10 is mounted is not particularly defined, and the vehicle may be a manually driven vehicle or an autonomously drivable vehicle. And when the vehicle is an autonomously drivable vehicle, when the navigation device 10 identifies a danger spot of running out, the braking device of the vehicle may be controlled to brake the vehicle so that the vehicle runs at a relatively low speed.

[0081] Also, in this embodiment, the past information acquired by the past information acquisition unit 24 is information regarding past running out accidents, but the past information acquisition unit 24 may be configured to acquire only information regarding the situation of running out accidents with a high accident frequency, for example. Thereby, the identification of the danger spots of running out in the danger spot identification unit 34 can be performed with high accuracy.

[0082] Note that the processing of the navigation device 10 can be recorded on a computer system-readable recording medium, and the navigation device 10 can be made to read and execute the program recorded on this recording medium, thereby realizing the navigation device 10 of the present invention. The computer system referred to here includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices.

[0083] In addition, if the "computer system" uses the WWW (World Wide Web) system, it may also include the homepage providing environment (or display environment). Further, the above program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the "transmission medium" for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) like the Internet or a communication line (communication wire) like a telephone line.

[0084] In addition, the above program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, it may be a so-called difference file (difference program) that can realize the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0085] As described above, the embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment or example, and designs and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention are also included.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0086] 10 Navigation device (hazard identification device) 16 Surrounding detection unit (information acquisition unit) 24 Past information acquisition unit 32 Surrounding information acquisition unit 34 Hazard identification unit 50 Map data

Claims

【Claim 1】 A past information acquisition unit that is generated based on past events and is used to identify dangerous locations, and acquires past information including information regarding the events; A surrounding information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding information regarding the situation around the moving body; A dangerous location identification unit that identifies dangerous locations in the moving area of the moving body based on the past information and the surrounding information; A dangerous location identification device comprising the above.

Images