Vehicle control device, vehicle control method and program

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program, which may allow a crew member who looks at a display device while a drive assist control is being performed to easily recognize that a specific drive assist control is being performed.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device comprises: a control unit which is mounted in a vehicle capable of performing a drive assist control, and is capable of displaying an image of another vehicle representing another vehicle generated based on peripheral information including information about at least one different vehicle traveling around the vehicle, on a display device provided in the vehicle. The control unit displays the other vehicle image on the display device while switching between the color of the other vehicle image before a specific drive assist control is executed and the color of the other vehicle image when the specific drive assist control is executed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] The vehicle described in Patent Document 1 below is equipped with a display device capable of displaying a road image showing the road on which the vehicle is traveling and other vehicle images showing other vehicles positioned around the vehicle. Furthermore, the display device is capable of displaying the road image and other vehicle images in two display modes. That is, the display modes of the display device include a first mode, which is a display mode before the vehicle executes LCA (lane change assist control), and a second mode, which is a display mode while the vehicle is executing LCA. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2019 / 038903 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 leaves room for improvement in terms of making it easier for the occupants to recognize that a specific driving assistance control is being executed.

[0005] In consideration of the above, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program that make it easy for occupants who look at a display device while driving assistance control is being executed to recognize that specific driving assistance control is being executed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle control device of claim 1 is mounted on a vehicle capable of executing driving assistance control, and is equipped with a control unit that is generated based on surrounding information including information about at least one other vehicle traveling around the vehicle, and is capable of displaying an other vehicle image representing the other vehicle on a display device provided in the vehicle, and the control unit displays the other vehicle image on the display device while switching between the color of the other vehicle image before executing the specific driving assistance control and the color of the other vehicle image when the specific driving assistance control is being executed.

[0007] The control unit of the vehicle control device of claim 1 causes the display device to display the image of the other vehicle while switching the color of the image of the other vehicle between before the specific driving assist control is executed and the color of the image of the other vehicle while the specific driving assist control is being executed. Therefore, the vehicle control device of claim 1 makes it easy for an occupant who looks at the display device while the driving assist control is being executed to recognize that the specific driving assist control is being executed.

[0008] The vehicle control device of claim 2 is the same as that of claim 1, wherein when the vehicle executes the specific driving assistance control, the control unit causes the display device to display the other vehicle image having the same shape as the other vehicle.

[0009] The control unit of the vehicle control device of claim 2, when the vehicle executes specific driving assistance control, displays on the display device an image of at least one other vehicle having the same shape as that of at least one other vehicle traveling around the vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle control device of claim 2 makes it easy for the occupants to recognize that specific driving assistance control is being executed.

[0010] The vehicle control device of claim 3 is in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein when the vehicle is equipped with a camera, the vehicle has vehicle-related data including image data representing various vehicle exterior shapes and various vehicle specification information, and a camera image representing the other vehicle acquired by the camera contains characters representing at least one of the manufacturer name and model name of the other vehicle, the control unit uses the character information regarding the characters and the specification information to identify the model name of the other vehicle, and selects the image data corresponding to the identified model name as the other vehicle image representing the other vehicle.

[0011] The control unit of the vehicle control device of claim 3 can cause the image of the other vehicle to be displayed on the display device.

[0012] The vehicle control method of the invention described in claim 4 includes a computer that displays, on a display device provided in the vehicle, an other vehicle image representing the other vehicle generated based on surrounding information including information about at least one other vehicle traveling around a vehicle capable of executing driving assistance control, and displays the other vehicle image on the display device while switching between the color of the other vehicle image before executing a specific driving assistance control and the color of the other vehicle image when the specific driving assistance control is being executed.

[0013] The program according to the invention described in claim 5 causes a computer to perform the following processes: displaying, on a display device provided in a vehicle, an image of another vehicle representing the other vehicle generated based on surrounding information including information about at least one other vehicle traveling around a vehicle capable of executing driving assistance control; and displaying, on the display device, the image of the other vehicle while switching between the color of the image of the other vehicle before the specific driving assistance control is executed and the color of the image of the other vehicle when the specific driving assistance control is being executed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] As described above, the vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and program of the present invention have the excellent effect of making it easier for occupants who look at the display device while driving assistance control is being executed to recognize that specific driving assistance control is being executed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the interior of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the vehicle shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the ECU shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle, surrounding vehicles, and road shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 shows a display device displaying an image representing surrounding vehicles and roads when LCA is not being performed. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 shows a display device displaying an image representing surrounding vehicles and roads when LCA is being performed. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing a process executed by a CPU of an ECU. [Figure 8] FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 of a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control device, a vehicle control method, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, an arrow FR indicates the front side in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, an arrow LH indicates the left side in the lateral direction of the vehicle, and an arrow UP indicates the upper side in the vertical direction of the vehicle.

[0017] 1, a vehicle 12 equipped with the vehicle control device 10 includes an instrument panel 14 and a front windshield 15. A steering column 16 is provided on the instrument panel 14, and a steering wheel 18 is rotatably supported on the steering column 16. Furthermore, a turn signal lever 20 is movably supported on the right side of the steering column 16.

[0018] The turn signal lever 20 can rotate upward (counterclockwise) and downward (clockwise) relative to the steering column 16 around its base end (left end). The position shown in FIG. 1 is the initial position of the turn signal lever 20. When the driver (occupant; not shown) of the vehicle 12 applies an external force to the turn signal lever 20, the turn signal lever 20 rotates to a left LCA operating position above the initial position or to a right LCA operating position below the initial position (not shown). Furthermore, when the external force applied to the turn signal lever 20 in the left LCA operating position or right LCA operating position is released, the turn signal lever 20 automatically moves back to its initial position. Furthermore, the turn signal lever 20 can rotate to a left-side on position above the left-side LCA operating position and to a right-side on position below the right-side LCA operating position.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 1, a sensor unit 21 is provided on the upper part of the interior surface of the front windshield 15. The sensor unit 21 includes a camera 21A that captures an image of a subject located in front of the front windshield 15 through the front windshield 15, a millimeter-wave radar (not shown) that transmits a detection wave and receives a reflected wave, and a lidar (laser imaging detection and ranging) (not shown) that scans the area ahead of the vehicle 12. The vehicle 12 also has multiple cameras (not shown) in addition to the camera 21A. Hereinafter, these cameras will be referred to as a group of perimeter monitoring cameras.

[0020] 2, the vehicle 12 has a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 22. The GPS receiver 22 receives GPS signals transmitted from GPS satellites to obtain information about the location where the vehicle 12 is traveling (hereinafter referred to as "location information").

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the instrument panel 14 is provided with a display device 23.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the instrument panel 14 is provided with a driving assistance operation device 25. The driving assistance operation device 25 is a device for causing the vehicle 12 to execute driving assistance control, which will be described later. When the driving assistance operation device 25 is in the ON state, the vehicle 12 can execute driving assistance control. When the driving assistance operation device 25 is in the OFF state, the vehicle 12 cannot execute driving assistance control.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 12 has an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 26 as a hardware configuration.

[0024] The ECU 26 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (controller) (computer) 26A, a ROM (Read Only Memory) (non-temporary recording medium) (recording medium) 26B, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 26C, a storage (non-temporary recording medium) (recording medium) 26D, a communication I / F 26E, and an input / output I / F 26F. The CPU 26A, the ROM 26B, the RAM 26C, the storage 26D, the communication I / F 26E, and the input / output I / F 26F are connected to each other via an internal bus 26Z so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0025] The CPU 26A is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. The CPU 26A reads programs from the ROM 26B or the storage 26D and executes the programs using the RAM 26C as a work area. The CPU 26A controls each component and performs various arithmetic processing in accordance with the programs recorded in the ROM 26B or the storage 26D.

[0026] The ROM 26B stores various programs and various data. The RAM 26C temporarily stores programs or data as a working area. The storage 26D is configured by a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various programs and various data. For example, a navigation application having map data is installed in the ROM 26B or the storage 26D. In other words, the vehicle 12 is equipped with a navigation system. Furthermore, the ROM 26B or the storage 26D stores first data and second data. The first data and second data will be described later.

[0027] The communication I / F 26E is an interface for connecting via an external bus (not shown) to an ECU (not shown) other than the ECU 26. The interface uses a communication standard such as the CAN protocol.

[0028] The input / output I / F 26F is an interface for communicating with various devices, such as the camera 21A, millimeter-wave radar, lidar, a group of perimeter monitoring cameras, a GPS receiver 22, a display device 23, a driving assistance operation device 25, and a group of actuators (described later).

[0029] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the ECU 26. The ECU 26 has, as its functional configuration, a turn signal control unit 261, a driving assistance control unit 262, and an image display control unit 263. The turn signal control unit 261, the driving assistance control unit 262, and the image display control unit 263 are realized by the CPU 26A reading and executing programs stored in the ROM 26B.

[0030] The turn signal control unit 261 controls left and right turn signals (not shown) according to the position of the turn signal lever 20. That is, when the turn signal lever 20 is in the left LCA operating position or the left lighting position, the left turn signal, which is a lighting fixture provided at the front end of the vehicle 12, is turned on by the control of the turn signal control unit 261. Also, when the turn signal lever 20 is in the right LCA operating position or the right lighting position, the right turn signal, which is a lighting fixture provided at the front end of the vehicle 12, is turned on by the control of the turn signal control unit 261.

[0031] When the driving assistance operation device 25 is in the ON state, the driving assistance control unit 262 uses a group of sensors and a group of actuators (not shown) provided in the vehicle 12 to cause the vehicle 12 to execute driving assistance control at driving levels 1 to 5 defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Furthermore, when the driving assistance operation device 25 is in the ON state, an occupant of the vehicle 12 can select the driving level and the driving assistance control to be executed by operating the driving assistance operation device 25. The driving assistance control of this embodiment includes, for example, adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane trace assist (LTA), and lane change assist (LCA). The group of sensors provided in the vehicle 12 includes a sensor unit 21 and a group of surrounding monitoring cameras. Furthermore, information acquired by the group of sensors is referred to as surrounding information. The group of actuators provided in the vehicle 12 includes a brake device, an electric power steering device having a steering wheel 18, and various electric actuators for driving the internal combustion engine, which is the drive source. This includes the rotor, as well as the electric motor that serves as the drive source.

[0032] Here, a brief explanation of LCA will be given. Like LTA, LCA is a lateral position control (lane width direction) of the vehicle 12 relative to the lane. LCA is initiated when driving assistance control of levels 1 to 3 is selected and the turn signal lever 20 is moved to the left LCA operating position or the right LCA operating position while LTA and ACC are being performed. Furthermore, when driving assistance control of level 5 (fully automated driving) is selected and a planned route for the vehicle 12 is set by the navigation system, LCA is initiated when the driving assistance control unit 262 determines that a lane change is necessary. When LCA is initiated, a predetermined LCA execution condition is met.

[0033] When LCA is initiated, the CPU 26A (driving assistance control unit 262) monitors the surroundings of the vehicle 12 based on information acquired from the sensors. After determining that the vehicle 12 can safely change lanes, the CPU 26A moves the vehicle 12 to the left or right. For example, when LCA is executed by moving the turn signal lever 20 to the left LCA operating position, the actuators are controlled so that the vehicle 12 moves from the driving lane, which is the lane in which the vehicle 12 is currently traveling, to the adjacent lane, which is the lane adjacent to the driving lane on the left. When LCA is executed by moving the turn signal lever 20 to the right LCA operating position, the actuators are controlled so that the vehicle 12 moves from the driving lane, which is the lane in which the vehicle 12 is currently traveling, to the adjacent lane, which is the lane adjacent to the driving lane on the right. When the vehicle 12 moves to a predetermined position in the adjacent lane on the left or right, the CPU 26A (driving assistance control unit 262) ends the LCA.

[0034] When a predetermined interruption condition is met during the execution of LCA, the driving assistance control unit 262 interrupts the LCA. For example, the interruption condition is met when the driving assistance control unit 262 determines that the predicted time until collision (TTC) of the vehicle 12 with another vehicle is less than a predetermined threshold while the LCA is being executed. When the interruption condition is met or when the LCA is terminated, the LCA execution condition is no longer met.

[0035] The image display control unit 263 identifies the road on which the vehicle 12 is traveling based on the car navigation system (map data) and the position information. Furthermore, the image display control unit 263 reads the map data of the car navigation system and causes the display device 23 to display an image of the road on which the vehicle 12 is currently traveling. For example, assume that the vehicle 12 is traveling on a road 50 shown in FIG. 4. The road 50 has a first lane 51, a second lane 52, and a third lane 53. The first lane 51 and the second lane 52 are separated by a dividing line 50A, and the second lane 52 and the third lane 53 are separated by a dividing line 50B. The arrow DR shown in FIG. 4 indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle 12. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the road image 30 displayed on the display device 23 has a first lane image 31, a second lane image 32, and a third lane image 33. The first lane image 31 and the second lane image 32 are separated by a lane marking image 30A, and the second lane image 32 and the third lane image 33 are separated by a lane marking image 30B. In this embodiment, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the image displayed on the display device 23 is displayed as an image seen diagonally forward from a virtual viewpoint (not shown) directly above the vehicle 12.

[0036] Furthermore, when the LCA execution condition is not satisfied, the image display control unit 263 uses the camera images (image data) showing subjects located around the vehicle 12 acquired by the camera 21A and the group of surrounding monitoring cameras and a pattern matching method to determine whether the camera images include surrounding vehicles located around the vehicle 12. Note that the surrounding vehicles include not only four-wheeled vehicles but also three-wheeled and two-wheeled vehicles. Furthermore, when it is determined that the camera images include surrounding vehicles, the image display control unit 263 acquires image data showing the surrounding vehicles from the first data. The image data included in the first data in this embodiment is passenger car image data showing a four-wheeled passenger car and truck image data showing a four-wheeled truck. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, assume that vehicle 12 and two surrounding vehicles (other vehicles) 55A and 55B located in front of vehicle 12 are traveling in lane 2 52, another surrounding vehicle, motorcycle (other vehicle) 55C is traveling in lane 1 51, and yet another surrounding vehicle, truck (other vehicle) 55D is traveling in lane 3 53. In this case, the image display control unit 263 recognizes the relative positions of vehicle 12 and each surrounding vehicle based on the detection results of the sensor group and the camera images. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, the image display control unit 263 displays passenger car image data 35A, 35B, and 35C and truck image data 35D representing each surrounding vehicle on the display device 23 based on the relative positions. The passenger car image data 35A, 35B, and 35C and truck image data 35D are each a specific color. For example, the passenger car image data 35A, 35B, and 35C and truck image data 35D are white. Therefore, for example, the passenger car image data 35A, 35B, 35C and the truck image data 35D are displayed as white images on the display device 23. In this way, when the LCA execution condition is not met, images (passenger car image data 35A, 35B, 35C and truck image data 35D) that are different in color and shape from the actual surrounding vehicles are displayed on the display device 23.

[0037] On the other hand, when the LCA execution condition is met, the image display control unit 263 uses the camera image and a pattern matching method to determine whether or not the camera image includes surrounding vehicles. Furthermore, when it is determined that the camera image includes surrounding vehicles, the image display control unit 263 selects vehicle-related data representing each surrounding vehicle from the second data. The second data includes vehicle-related data relating to a large number of four-wheeled vehicles, three-wheeled vehicles, and two-wheeled vehicles manufactured by various vehicle manufacturers in Japan and overseas. The vehicle-related data includes image data representing the exterior shape of each vehicle and specification information of each vehicle (manufacturer name, model name (product name), vehicle type), etc. Note that the vehicle type includes, for example, passenger cars, buses, and trucks. Furthermore, the vehicle type includes information representing the type of passenger car. For example, the information representing the type of passenger car includes sedan, hatchback, and SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle). The image display control unit 26 3 identifies the model name of each surrounding vehicle using the camera image and a pattern matching method. Furthermore, if the image data representing the surrounding vehicles contains characters representing at least one of the manufacturer name and model name of the surrounding vehicles, the model name of each surrounding vehicle is identified using this character information and specification information. Furthermore, the image display control unit 263 selects image data (vehicle-related data) corresponding to the identified model name from the second data.

[0038] For example, if two peripheral vehicles traveling immediately before the vehicle 12 are passenger cars of different models, the image display control unit 263 selects passenger car image data (other vehicle image) 45A, 45B representing the respective peripheral vehicles from the second data, as shown in Fig. 6. If yet another peripheral vehicle is a motorcycle 55C traveling in the first lane 51, the image display control unit 263 selects motorcycle image data (other vehicle image) 45C representing the motorcycle 55C from the second data. If yet another peripheral vehicle is a truck 55D traveling in the third lane 53, the image display control unit 263 selects truck image data (other vehicle image) 45D representing the truck 55D from the second data.

[0039] Furthermore, when the LCA execution condition is satisfied, the image display control unit 263 recognizes the body colors of the surrounding vehicles included in the camera image. For example, the image display control unit 263 identifies the range of hues defined by a predetermined color system in which the hue of the body color of each surrounding vehicle falls. This color system includes, for example, the Munsell color system, the Ostwald color system, and the PCCS (Japan Color Research Color System).

[0040] For example, when a Munsell color wheel defined to be divided into 20 ranges is used, the image display control unit 263 determines which of the 20 ranges the hue of the vehicle body falls within. When an Ostwald color wheel defined to be divided into 24 ranges is used, the image display control unit 263 determines which of the 24 ranges the hue of the vehicle body falls within. When a PCCS color wheel defined to be divided into 24 ranges is used, the image display control unit 263 determines which of the 24 ranges the hue of the vehicle body falls within.

[0041] For example, assume that the hue of the body of the passenger car 55A represented by the passenger car image data 45A falls within a predetermined range (e.g., a range having 10Y) of the Munsell color wheel, which is defined to be divided into 20 ranges. In this case, the image display control unit 263 adds color data having a hue falling within this range to the passenger car image data 45A. Therefore, the passenger car image data 45A displayed on the display device 23 is expressed using a color including this hue. Also, assume that the hue of the body of the motorcycle 55C represented by the motorcycle image data 45C falls within a predetermined range (e.g., a range having 18:B) of the PCCS color wheel, which is defined to be divided into 24 ranges. In this case, the image display control unit 263 adds color data having a hue falling within this range to the motorcycle image data 45C. The image display control unit 263 performs similar processing on the passenger car image data 45B and the truck image data 45D.

[0042] 6, the image display control unit 263 displays passenger car image data 45A, 45B, motorcycle image data 45C, and truck image data 45D, which represent the surrounding vehicles and have color data added, on the display device 23, based on the relative positions of the vehicle 12 and the surrounding vehicles acquired based on the detection results of the sensor group and the camera images. Furthermore, the image display control unit 263 reads a traveling trajectory image 47, which represents the traveling trajectory for the vehicle 12 to change lanes, and displays the traveling trajectory image 47 on the display device 23. Traveling trajectory images of various shapes are recorded in the ROM 26B or the storage 26D.

[0043] The GPS receiver 22, the display device 23, the driving support operation device 25, the ECU 26, the above-mentioned sensors, and the above-mentioned actuators are components of the vehicle control device 10.

[0044] (Action and effect) Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

[0045] Next, a description will be given of the processing executed by the CPU 26A of the ECU 26. The CPU 26A repeatedly executes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0046] In step S10 (hereinafter, the letter "step" will be omitted), the CPU 26A determines whether or not the LCA execution condition is met.

[0047] If the determination in S10 is Yes, the CPU 26A proceeds to S11 and executes the LCA.

[0048] Next, the CPU 26A proceeds to S12 and selects image data corresponding to the surrounding vehicles from the second data. For example, when the vehicle 12 is traveling on the road 50, the CPU 26A selects passenger car image data 45A, 45B, motorcycle image data 45C, and truck image data 45D from the second data.

[0049] After completing the process of S12, the CPU 26A proceeds to S13, where it determines the hue of the body color of each of the surrounding vehicles based on a predetermined color system. Furthermore, the CPU 26A adds color data corresponding to the determined hue to the passenger car image data 45A, 45B, motorcycle image data 45C, and truck image data 45D selected in S12.

[0050] After completing the process of S13, the CPU 26A proceeds to S14 and causes the display device 23 to display the passenger car image data 45A, 45B, the motorcycle image data 45C, and the truck image data 45D to which the color data has been added.

[0051] After completing the process of S14, the CPU 26A proceeds to S15 and determines whether the LCA execution condition is met.

[0052] If the determination in S15 is Yes or if the determination in S10 is No, the CPU 26A proceeds to S16 and causes the display device 23 to display the first data instead of the second data.

[0053] When the process of S16 is completed, the CPU 26A temporarily ends the process of the flowchart of FIG.

[0054] As described above, in this embodiment, when the vehicle 12 performs LCA, the passenger car image data 45A, 45B, motorcycle image data 45C, and truck image data 45D, which specifically represent the color and shape of each surrounding vehicle traveling around the vehicle 12, are displayed on the display device 23. That is, the colors and shapes of the passenger car image data 45A, 45B, motorcycle image data 45C, and truck image data 45D displayed on the display device 23 are the same as the actual colors and shapes of the surrounding vehicles, respectively.

[0055] In this specification, when the color of the image data representing the surrounding vehicles displayed on the display device 23 becomes identical to the color of the actual surrounding vehicles, it means that the two colors are completely identical or substantially identical. When the hue, lightness, and saturation of the two are identical, the two colors are completely identical. On the other hand, when the hue of the two is substantially identical, the two colors are substantially identical. For example, as described above, when the hues of the two are included in the same range of a predetermined color circle, the two colors are substantially identical. When the colors of the two are completely identical or substantially identical, an occupant who visually checks the surroundings of the vehicle 12 and views the surrounding image data representing the surrounding vehicles displayed on the display device 23 can easily recognize the correspondence between the actual surrounding vehicles and the surrounding image data representing the surrounding vehicles.

[0056] Furthermore, in this specification, the shape of the image data representing the surrounding vehicles displayed on the display device 23 being identical to the shape of the actual surrounding vehicles means that the two shapes are completely similar to each other or are substantially similar to each other. When the two shapes are completely similar to each other or are substantially similar to each other in this way, an occupant who visually checks the surroundings of the vehicle 12 and sees the surrounding image data representing the surrounding vehicles displayed on the display device 23 can easily recognize the correspondence between the actual surrounding vehicles and the surrounding image data representing the surrounding vehicles.

[0057] Therefore, the vehicle control device 10 of this embodiment makes it difficult for an occupant who looks at the display device 23 while LCA is being performed to recognize that the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 12 displayed by the display device 23 do not match the actual surrounding conditions. Therefore, there is little risk that an occupant who looks at the display device 23 while LCA is being performed will feel uneasy.

[0058] Furthermore, when LCA (specific driving assist control) is executed, the color and shape of the image (passenger car image data 45A, 45B, etc.) representing the surrounding vehicles displayed on the display device 23 are changed to the same color and shape as the actual surrounding vehicles. Therefore, a passenger looking at the display device 23 can easily recognize that the vehicle 12, which has not been executing LCA, has started to execute LCA.

[0059] The vehicle control device 10, the vehicle control method, and the program according to the embodiment have been described above, but these can be modified in design as appropriate within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0060] For example, as shown in FIG. 8 , when the LCA execution condition is met, a camera image 55 representing other vehicle images (passenger cars 55A, 55B, motorcycle 55C, truck 55D) that are subjects in front of the vehicle 12 and that are acquired by at least one of the camera 21A and the surrounding monitoring cameras may be displayed on the display device 23. In this case, when the vehicle 12 executes LCA, the colors and shapes of the surrounding vehicles 55A, 55B, 55C, and 55D displayed on the display device 23 will be completely identical to those of the actual surrounding vehicles 55A, 55B, 55C, and 55D. Therefore, there is little risk that an occupant who views the display device 23 during LCA execution will recognize that the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 12 represented by the image displayed on the display device 23 do not match the actual surrounding conditions. Therefore, there is little risk that an occupant who views the display device 23 during LCA execution will feel uneasy.

[0061] Furthermore, in this case, as shown in FIG. 8, a vehicle image 60 representing at least a part of the vehicle 12 may be displayed on the display device 23. For example, the vehicle image 60 may be a camera image (image data) acquired by the camera 21A. Alternatively, the vehicle image 60 may be image data recorded in the ROM 26B or the storage 26D. Displaying the vehicle image 60 on the display device 23 in this manner allows the occupant looking at the display device 23 to recognize the positional relationship between the vehicle 12 and surrounding vehicles. Therefore, compared to when the vehicle image 60 is not displayed on the display device 23, there is a reduced risk that the occupant will feel uneasy when looking at the display device 23 during the execution of LCA.

[0062] The image displayed on the display device 23 may be an image displayed in plan view. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 10 Vehicle control device 12 vehicles 21A Camera 26A CPU (control unit) 45A 45B Passenger car image data (images of other vehicles) 45C Motorcycle image data (images of other vehicles) 45D Truck image data (images of other vehicles) 55 camera images 55A Passenger cars (other vehicles) 55B Passenger car (other vehicles) 55C Motorcycle (other vehicles) 55D Truck (other vehicles)

Claims

1. It is installed in a vehicle capable of executing driving assistance control, a control unit that is capable of displaying an other vehicle image representing the other vehicle on a display device provided in the vehicle, the other vehicle image being generated based on surrounding information including information about at least one other vehicle traveling around the vehicle; A vehicle control device in which the control unit displays the other vehicle image on the display device while switching between the color of the other vehicle image before the specific driving assistance control is executed and the color of the other vehicle image when the specific driving assistance control is being executed.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein, when the vehicle executes the specific driving assistance control, the control unit causes the display device to display the other vehicle image having the same shape as the other vehicle.

3. the vehicle is equipped with a camera; The vehicle has vehicle-related data including image data representing various vehicle exterior shapes and specification information of various vehicles, 3. A vehicle control device as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein when a camera image representing the other vehicle acquired by the camera contains characters representing at least one of the manufacturer name and model name of the other vehicle, the control unit uses character information regarding the characters and the specification information to identify the model name of the other vehicle, and selects the image data corresponding to the identified model name as the other vehicle image representing the other vehicle.

4. The computer displaying, on a display device provided in the vehicle, an other vehicle image representing the other vehicle that is generated based on surrounding information including information about at least one other vehicle traveling around the vehicle capable of executing driving assist control; A vehicle control method for displaying an image of another vehicle on the display device while switching between the color of the image of another vehicle before the specific driving assistance control is executed and the color of the image of another vehicle when the specific driving assistance control is being executed.

5. a process of displaying, on a display device provided in the vehicle, an other vehicle image representing the other vehicle that is generated based on surrounding information including information about at least one other vehicle traveling around the vehicle capable of executing driving assistance control; and a process of displaying the other vehicle image on the display device while switching between a color of the other vehicle image before the specific driving assistance control is executed and a color of the other vehicle image while the specific driving assistance control is being executed; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

Images