Method

Abstract

To improve a technology to utilize data acquired from a preceding vehicle in real time for a travel of a subsequent vehicle.SOLUTION: A method executed by a vehicle 20 includes steps of: receiving abnormality information indicating an abnormal location on a road that is estimated based on driving information indicating a driving condition of at least one preceding vehicle V that has traveled on the road preceding the vehicle 20; and outputting a warning about the abnormal location indicated by the abnormality information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a technique for determining changes in detailed road conditions. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that an information processing device detects the road conditions of a road on which a vehicle is traveling based on the rotational speed of the vehicle's wheels and outputs the detection result.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Although it is possible to analyze the road conditions using the driving data of a vehicle and utilize it as map information or road repair information, it has not been possible to utilize the driving data in real time, such as notifying the following vehicle. Thus, there has been room for improvement in the technology of utilizing the data obtained from the preceding vehicle in real time for the driving of the following vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The method according to the present disclosure is a method executed by a vehicle including an output unit, a communication unit that communicates with an information processing device, and a control unit, wherein the control unit receives, via the communication unit, abnormal information indicating an abnormal portion of the road, which is estimated based on driving information indicating the driving conditions of at least one preceding vehicle that has traveled on the road ahead of the vehicle, and outputs, via the output unit, a warning about the abnormal portion indicated by the abnormal information.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the technology of utilizing in real time the data acquired from the preceding vehicle for the driving of the following vehicle.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the description of the present embodiment, the description of the same or corresponding parts will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

[0009] Referring to FIG. 1, the configuration of the system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. The system 1 includes an information processing device 10, a vehicle 20, and at least one preceding vehicle V. The information processing device 10 can communicate with the vehicle 20 and the preceding vehicle V via a network 30. In FIG. 1, a preceding vehicle V1 and a preceding vehicle V2 are shown as the preceding vehicle V, but the number of the preceding vehicle V is not limited thereto. Hereinafter, when the preceding vehicle V1 and the preceding vehicle V2 are not particularly distinguished, they will be simply referred to as "preceding vehicle V".

[0010] The information processing device 10 is a computer installed in a facility such as a data center. The information processing device 10 is, for example, a server belonging to a cloud computing system or other computing systems.

[0011] The vehicle 20 and the preceding vehicle V are any type of automobile such as a gasoline vehicle, a diesel vehicle, a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), an HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or an FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle). The vehicle 20 and the preceding vehicle V may be movable by autonomous driving. The autonomous driving includes, for example, but is not limited to, levels 1 to 5 defined by the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), and may be arbitrarily defined.

[0012] The network 30 includes the Internet, at least one WAN, at least one MAN, or any combination thereof. "WAN" is an abbreviation for wide area network. "MAN" is an abbreviation for metropolitan area network. The network 30 may include at least one wireless network, at least one optical network, or any combination thereof. The wireless network is, for example, an ad hoc network, a cellular network, a wireless LAN, a satellite communication network, or a terrestrial microwave network. "LAN" is an abbreviation for local area network.

[0013] First, the outline of this embodiment will be described, and the details will be described later. The vehicle 20 receives abnormal information indicating an abnormal location on the road, which is estimated based on driving information indicating the driving status of at least one preceding vehicle that has traveled on the road ahead of the vehicle 20. The vehicle 20 outputs a warning about the abnormal location indicated by the abnormal information.

[0014] According to this embodiment, based on the driving information obtained from the driving of the preceding vehicle, it is possible to estimate an abnormal location on the road on which the vehicle 20 is scheduled to travel and notify the vehicle 20 of the abnormal location in advance. As a result, the vehicle 20 as a following vehicle can travel safely with a margin, such as decelerating before the abnormal location or avoiding the abnormal location. Therefore, it is possible to improve the technology of utilizing the data acquired from the preceding vehicle in real time for the driving of the following vehicle.

[0015] Referring to FIG. 1, the configuration of the information processing apparatus 10 according to this embodiment will be described. The information processing apparatus 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a communication unit 13.

[0016] The control unit 11 includes at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or any combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU or GPU, or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing. "CPU" is an abbreviation for central processing unit. "GPU" is an abbreviation for graphics processing unit. The programmable circuit is, for example, an FPGA. "FPGA" is an abbreviation for field-programmable gate array. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an ASIC. "ASIC" is an abbreviation for application specific integrated circuit. The control unit 11 executes processes related to the operation of the information processing apparatus 10 while controlling each part of the information processing apparatus 10.

[0017] The storage unit 12 includes at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or any combination thereof. The semiconductor memory is, for example, RAM, ROM, or flash memory. "RAM" is an abbreviation for random access memory. "ROM" is an abbreviation for read only memory. RAM is, for example, SRAM or DRAM. "SRAM" is an abbreviation for static random access memory. "DRAM" is an abbreviation for dynamic random access memory. ROM is, for example, EEPROM. "EEPROM" is an abbreviation for electrically erasable programmable read only memory. The flash memory is, for example, SSD. "SSD" is an abbreviation for solid-state drive. The magnetic memory is, for example, HDD. "HDD" is an abbreviation for hard disk drive. The storage unit 12 functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. Information used in the operation of the information processing apparatus 10 and information obtained by the operation of the information processing apparatus 10 are stored in the storage unit 12.

[0018] The communication unit 13 includes at least one communication module. The communication module is a module compatible with a wired LAN communication standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or a wireless LAN communication standard such as IEEE802.11. "IEEE" is an abbreviation for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The communication unit 13 communicates with devices other than the information processing apparatus 10. The communication unit 13 receives information used in the operation of the information processing apparatus 10 and transmits information obtained by the operation of the information processing apparatus 10.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 1, the configuration of the vehicle 20 according to this embodiment will be described. The vehicle 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication unit 23, an input unit 24, an output unit 25, and a positioning unit 26. The hardware configurations of the control unit 21 and the storage unit 22 of the vehicle 20 may be the same as those of the control unit 11 and the storage unit 12 of the information processing apparatus 10, respectively. The description thereof will be omitted here.

[0020] The communication unit 23 includes at least one communication interface. The communication interface is, for example, an interface corresponding to a mobile communication standard such as LTE, 4G standard, or 5G standard, an interface corresponding to a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), or a LAN interface. "LTE" is an abbreviation for Long Term Evolution. "4G" is an abbreviation for 4th generation. "5G" is an abbreviation for 5th generation. The communication unit 23 receives information used for the operation of the vehicle 20 and transmits information obtained by the operation of the vehicle 20.

[0021] The input unit 24 includes at least one input interface. The input interface is, for example, a physical key, a capacitive key, a pointing device, a touch screen provided integrally with a display, or a microphone. The input unit 24 receives an operation for inputting data used for the operation of the vehicle 20. Instead of being provided in the vehicle 20, the input unit 24 may be connected to the vehicle 20 as an external input device. As a connection method, for example, any method such as USB, HDMI (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used. "USB" is an abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus. "HDMI (registered trademark)" is an abbreviation for High-Definition Multimedia Interface.

[0022] The output unit 25 includes at least one output interface. The output interface is, for example, a display or a speaker. The display is, for example, an LCD or an organic EL display. "LCD" is an abbreviation for liquid crystal display. "EL" is an abbreviation for electro luminescence. The output unit 25 outputs data obtained by the operation of the vehicle 20. Instead of being provided in the vehicle 20, the output unit 25 may be connected to the vehicle 20 as an external output device. As the connection method, for example, any method such as USB, HDMI (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used.

[0023] The positioning unit 26 includes at least one GNSS receiver. "GNSS" is an abbreviation for global navigation satellite system. GNSS is, for example, GPS, QZSS, BeiDou, GLONASS, or Galileo. "GPS" is an abbreviation for Global Positioning System. "QZSS" is an abbreviation for Quasi-Zenith Satellite System. The satellites of QZSS are called quasi-zenith satellites. "GLONASS" is an abbreviation for Global Navigation Satellite System. The positioning unit 26 measures the position of the vehicle 20.

[0024] In this embodiment, the preceding vehicle V also includes a positioning unit having the same hardware configuration as the vehicle 20. The vehicle 20 and the preceding vehicle V can transmit position information indicating the position of the host vehicle to the information processing device 10.

[0025] The functions of the information processing apparatus 10 or the vehicle 20 are realized by executing the program according to the present embodiment by a processor as the control unit 11 or the control unit 21. That is, the functions of the information processing apparatus 10 or the vehicle 20 are realized by software. The program causes a computer to execute the operations of the information processing apparatus 10 or the vehicle 20, thereby causing the computer to function as the information processing apparatus 10 or the vehicle 20. That is, the computer functions as the information processing apparatus 10 or the vehicle 20 by executing the operations of the information processing apparatus 10 or the vehicle 20 according to the program.

[0026] The program can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The non-transitory computer-readable medium is, for example, a flash memory, a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, or a ROM. The distribution of the program is performed, for example, by selling, transferring, or lending a portable medium such as an SD card, a DVD, or a CD-ROM storing the program. "SD" is an abbreviation for Secure Digital. "DVD" is an abbreviation for digital versatile disc. "CD-ROM" is an abbreviation for compact disc read only memory. The program may be stored in the storage of a server and transferred from the server to another computer to distribute the program. The program may be provided as a program product.

[0027] The computer temporarily stores, for example, a program stored in a portable medium or a program transferred from a server in the main memory device. Then, the computer reads the program stored in the main memory device with the processor and executes the processing according to the read program with the processor. The computer may directly read the program from the portable medium and execute the processing according to the program. Each time a program is transferred from the server to the computer, the computer may sequentially execute the processing according to the received program. The processing may be executed by a so-called ASP-type service that realizes the function only by execution instructions and result acquisition without transferring the program from the server to the computer. "ASP" is an abbreviation for application service provider. The program includes information for use in processing by an electronic computer and things conforming to the program. For example, data that is not a direct instruction to the computer but has the property of defining the processing of the computer corresponds to "things conforming to the program".

[0028] Some or all of the functions of the information processing apparatus 10 or the vehicle 20 may be realized by a programmable circuit or a dedicated circuit as the control unit 11 or the control unit 21. That is, some or all of the functions of the information processing apparatus 10 or the vehicle 20 may be realized by hardware.

[0029] With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the operation of the system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. Among the operations shown in FIG. 2, the operation of the vehicle 20 corresponds to the method according to the present embodiment. In the following, it is assumed that the communication between the information processing apparatus 10 and the external device is performed via the communication unit 13 and the network 30. In the following, it is assumed that the communication between the vehicle 20 and the external device is performed via the communication unit 23 and the network 30. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the information processing apparatus 10 constantly acquires position information indicating the position of each vehicle.

[0030] In S101 of FIG. 2, the control unit 11 of the information processing apparatus 10 acquires driving information indicating the driving status of each of at least one vehicle from each of the at least one vehicle. The control unit 11 may acquire the driving information by constantly receiving it from each vehicle. The driving information is information generated by the control unit of each of the at least one vehicle based on the detection results of various vehicle sensors. The various sensors include a speed sensor, an accelerator sensor, a brake sensor, a steering wheel angle sensor, etc. The driving information may include information regarding the rotation of the tires, information regarding the rotation of the steering wheel, information regarding the depression of the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal, etc. The information regarding the rotation of the tires may include information indicating the rotation speed or the rotational speed of each tire provided on the vehicle.

[0031] In S102, the control unit 11 estimates an abnormal location on the road based on the driving information acquired in S101. Any method may be adopted for the estimation of the abnormal location. In this example, the control unit 11 estimates the abnormal location based on the driving information and the position information of each vehicle related to the driving information. The control unit 11 may estimate that there is an abnormal location at the position indicated by the position information when there is a change in the driving status indicated by the driving information. The change in the driving status includes a case where the variation in the rotational speed of the tires, the number of rotations of the tires, the amount of rotation of the steering wheel, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, or the amount of depression of the brake pedal, etc. within a predetermined time exceeds a predetermined value from a reference value. The information indicating the predetermined value may be preset and stored in the storage unit 12. Each of the at least one vehicle that transmitted the driving information used for the estimation of the abnormal location corresponds to the preceding vehicle V of the vehicle 20 as described below.

[0032] The control unit 11 may estimate the type of the abnormal location according to the driving situation indicated by the driving information. The type of the abnormal location includes road unevenness or obstacles such as fallen trees. Information indicating the type of the abnormal location may be stored in advance in the storage unit 12 in association with the driving situation indicated by the driving information. For example, in the information, a change in the rotation speed of the tire may be associated with and recorded as the road unevenness as the type of the abnormal location. For example, in the information, a change amount of the rotation speed of the tire or the rotation amount of the steering wheel may be associated with and recorded in advance with the scale of the abnormal location as the type of the abnormal location, such as "large", "medium", or "small".

[0033] For example, regarding information on the rotation speed of a tire as the driving information of the vehicle, after the rotation speed per predetermined time of some of the plurality of tires provided in the vehicle increases or decreases by a predetermined value or more and then returns to the original rotation speed, that is, it is assumed that there is a change in the rotation speed of the tire. In this case, the control unit 11 may estimate the road unevenness as the type of the abnormal location. In this way, as the type of the abnormal location, relatively small obstacles such as unevenness that do not need to be avoided and the vehicle can continue to drive may be included.

[0034] The control unit 11 may estimate one abnormal location based on the driving information of a plurality of vehicles as at least one vehicle. In this case, the control unit 11 estimates the abnormal location based on the driving information of each of the plurality of vehicles that have traveled at the same position on the road. The same position may be an area within a predetermined range. Information indicating the predetermined range may be preset and stored in the storage unit 12. For example, among two vehicles as a plurality of vehicles, regarding the information on the rotation of the steering wheel as the driving information of one vehicle, it is assumed that the steering wheel has rotated at an angle equal to or greater than a predetermined value at position L and has returned to the original angle within a predetermined time, that is, the steering wheel has been rotated sharply. Also, assuming that there is no change in the information on the rotation of the steering wheel as the driving information of the other vehicle, and the information on the rotation of the tires indicates a change in the rotation speed of some of the tires at position L. That is, it is assumed that the driving information related to the two vehicles indicates that at position L, one vehicle rotated the steering wheel to avoid the abnormal location, while the other vehicle passed through the abnormal location without avoidance. In this case, the control unit 11 may estimate that one abnormal location exists at position L. Thus, the driving information may include the driving situation of the leading vehicle that avoided the abnormal location and the driving situation of the leading vehicle that did not avoid the abnormal location among the plurality of leading vehicles.

[0035] In S103, the control unit 11 generates abnormal information indicating the estimated abnormal location. The abnormal information may be information indicating the type of the abnormal location in addition to the position of the abnormal location.

[0036] In S104, the control unit 11 specifies the vehicle passing through the position of the abnormal location indicated by the abnormal information as the vehicle 20 to which a warning is to be notified, which will be described below. Any method may be adopted for specifying the vehicle 20. For example, the control unit 11 may specify the vehicle traveling at a position within a predetermined distance from the position of the abnormal location as the vehicle 20. Information indicating the predetermined distance may be preset and stored in the storage unit 12. The control unit 11 communicates with in-vehicle devices such as a navigation device that executes route guidance provided in the vehicle, and when the position of the abnormal location is included in the route indicated by the route guidance, may specify the vehicle executing the route guidance as the target vehicle 20.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the vehicle 20 specified by the control unit 11 on the road R, the leading vehicle V1 and the leading vehicle V2 of the vehicle 20. In FIG. 3, the abnormal location E exists at the position P indicated by the dashed-dotted line. Each of the two dashed arrows represents the movement locus of the leading vehicle V1 and the leading vehicle V2, indicating that the leading vehicle V1 was traveling at the position P at 10:00 on X year Y month Z day, and the leading vehicle V2 was traveling at the position P at 10:05 on X year Y month Z day. In this example, the driving information of the leading vehicle V1 indicates that the steering wheel has rotated sharply, and it is assumed that the leading vehicle V1 is moving so as to avoid the abnormal location E. Also, the driving information of the leading vehicle V2 indicates that there has been a change in the rotation speed of some tires at the position P, and it is assumed that the leading vehicle V2 is moving through the abnormal location E. The vehicle 20 is a vehicle that is traveling within a predetermined distance from the position P where the abnormal location E is located, and is specified by the control unit 11 as a vehicle that will travel through the position P from now on. Thus, at least one leading vehicle V is the leading vehicle V1 and the leading vehicle V2 as a plurality of leading vehicles V, and the driving information may include the driving status of each of the leading vehicle V1 and the leading vehicle V2 as a plurality of leading vehicles V that have passed through the position P where the abnormal location E exists.

[0038] In S105 of FIG. 2, the control unit 11 transmits the abnormal information generated in S103 to the vehicle 20 specified in S104.

[0039] In S106, the control unit 21 of the vehicle 20 receives the abnormal information from the information processing device 10.

[0040] In S107, the control unit 21 outputs a warning about the abnormal part indicated by the abnormality information via the output unit 25 and notifies the person riding in the vehicle 20. Any method may be adopted for the output of the warning. For example, the control unit 21 may output, as voice, from a speaker as the output unit 25, a message indicating the existence of the abnormal part indicated by the abnormality information, or the type of the abnormal part or the like. The control unit 21 may also output by causing a display as the output unit 25 to display a message or a pattern indicating the existence of the abnormal part indicated by the abnormality information, or the type of the abnormal part or the like. For example, the control unit 21 calculates the distance to the position of the abnormal part based on the current position of the vehicle 20 acquired by the positioning unit 26 of the vehicle 20 and the position of the abnormal part indicated by the abnormality information, and outputs a warning notifying the distance.

[0041] In S108, the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 generates a signal for controlling the vehicle 20 based on the own vehicle driving information indicating the driving state of the vehicle 20. Similar to the driving information in S101, the control unit 11 may acquire the own vehicle driving information by constantly receiving it from the vehicle 20. The own vehicle driving information of the vehicle 20 may include information regarding the rotation of the tires, information regarding the rotation of the steering wheel, information regarding the depression of the accelerator pedal or the depression of the brake pedal, and the like. Any method may be adopted for the generation of the signal. For example, when the distance between the position of the abnormal part indicated by the abnormality information and the vehicle 20 becomes less than a predetermined distance and the depression amount of the accelerator pedal of the vehicle 20 has not changed, the control unit 11 generates a signal for performing control to decelerate the vehicle 20. The information indicating the predetermined distance may be preset and stored in the storage unit 12. Not limited thereto, the control unit 11 may generate a signal for instructing to switch the vehicle 20 from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode. The control unit 11 may also generate a signal for performing control to avoid the abnormal part and move, such as turning on the blinker of the vehicle 20 and rotating the steering wheel.

[0042] Instead of the control unit 11 of the information processing apparatus 10, the control unit 21 of the vehicle 20 may generate the signal. In this case, after outputting a warning via the output unit 25, the control unit 21 acquires information detected by various sensors of the vehicle 20 as the own-vehicle driving information, and generates a signal based on the own-vehicle driving information.

[0043] In S109, the control unit 11 transmits the generated signal to the vehicle 20.

[0044] In S110, the control unit 21 of the vehicle 20 acquires it by receiving a signal from the information processing apparatus 10. The control unit 21 controls each part of the vehicle 20 according to the acquired signal. Thereby, the vehicle 20 can safely move to the position of the abnormal part. Then, the operation of the system 1 ends.

[0045] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, two or more blocks described in the block diagram may be integrated, or one block may be divided. Instead of executing two or more steps described in the flowchart in time series according to the description, each step may be executed in parallel or in a different order according to the processing ability of the device that executes the steps, or as necessary. Other changes are possible without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0046] 1 System 10 Information Processing Apparatus 11 Control Unit 12 Storage Unit 13 Communication Unit 20 Vehicle 21 Control Unit 22 Storage Unit 23 Communication Unit 24 Input Unit 25 Output Unit 26 Positioning Unit 30 Network

Claims

1. A method executed by a vehicle comprising an output unit, a communication unit that communicates with an information processing device, and a control unit, the method comprising: the control unit receiving, via the communication unit, abnormal information indicating an abnormal location of the road, the abnormal information being estimated based on driving information indicating the driving conditions of at least one leading vehicle that has traveled on the road ahead of the vehicle; outputting, via the output unit, a warning about the abnormal location indicated by the abnormal information A method including the above.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one leading vehicle is a plurality of leading vehicles, and the driving information includes the driving conditions of each of the plurality of leading vehicles that have passed through the position where the abnormal location exists.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the driving information includes the driving conditions of the leading vehicles that have avoided the abnormal location and the driving conditions of the leading vehicles that have not avoided the abnormal location among the plurality of leading vehicles.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the abnormal location includes unevenness of the road, and the driving information includes information regarding the rotational speed of the tires of the at least one leading vehicle.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit acquires own vehicle driving information indicating the driving conditions of the vehicle; acquires a signal for controlling the vehicle, the signal being generated based on the own vehicle driving information; and controls the vehicle to avoid the abnormal location in response to the signal The method further including the above.

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