Positioning device, positioning method, and positioning program

Abstract

To provide a positioning device, a positioning method, and a positioning program capable of reducing a processing load of an output object.SOLUTION: A positioning device comprises an acquisition section, a conversion section, a generation section, and an output section. The acquisition section acquires a geodesic antenna position of geodesic coordinates that is calculated based on a GNSS signal received by an antenna mounted on a moving body and is an antenna position. The conversion section converts the amount of offset of the coordinates of a moving body equivalent to a position difference between a reference position on the moving body and a position of an antenna on the moving body to the amount of geodesic offset that is the amount of offset of the geodesic coordinates on the basis of an attitude angle of local area coordinates in the moving body. The generation section generates a correction position obtained by correcting a geodesic area antenna position by adding the amount of geodesic offset to the geodesic antenna position. The output section outputs a generated correction position to an output target as a positioning result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a positioning device, a positioning method, and a positioning program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a GNSS receiver that receives navigation signals transmitted from navigation satellites, such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), with an antenna and determines the position of the antenna as the vehicle position. In this case, there is a technique on the host side, such as a vehicle control device, that acquires the positioning result from the GNSS receiver, to correct the positioning result based on the position difference between the reference position on the vehicle required by the host and the antenna position (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6569572 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, the host, which is the output destination of the positioning results, performs processing to correct the positioning results before carrying out various controls, which increases the processing load on the host.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a positioning device, a positioning method, and a positioning program that can reduce the processing load on the output target. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a positioning device according to the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit, a conversion unit, a generation unit, and an output unit. The acquisition unit acquires a geodetic antenna position in geodetic coordinates, which is the position of the antenna, calculated based on a GNSS signal received by an antenna mounted on a mobile body. The conversion unit converts an offset amount of the mobile body coordinates, which corresponds to a positional difference between a reference position on the mobile body and the position of the antenna on the mobile body, into a geodetic offset amount, which is the offset amount of the geodetic coordinates, based on an attitude angle of the local coordinates on the mobile body. The generation unit generates a corrected position by correcting the geodetic antenna position by adding the geodetic offset amount to the geodetic antenna position. The output unit outputs the generated corrected position to an output target as a positioning result.

[0007] This allows the positioning device to reduce the processing load of the output target.

[0008] Furthermore, when the generation unit is unable to generate the corrected position, the output unit according to the present disclosure notifies the output target that the corrected position cannot be output.

[0009] This allows the positioning device to inform the output target that it cannot output the corrected position.

[0010] In addition, the output unit according to the present disclosure outputs the geodetic antenna position to the output target as the positioning result if the acquisition unit has acquired the geodetic antenna position when the generation unit is unable to generate the corrected position.

[0011] This allows the positioning device to avoid a situation in which it is unable to output position information to an output target.

[0012] Furthermore, the output unit according to the present disclosure outputs the positioning result to the output target, to which specific information has been added for identifying whether the positioning result is the corrected position or the geodetic antenna position.

[0013] This allows the positioning device to identify whether the positioning result is a corrected position or a geodetic antenna position on the output target side.

[0014] The positioning device according to the present disclosure further includes a sensor that detects sensor information for calculating the attitude angle.

[0015] This allows the positioning device to improve the accuracy of the attitude angle.

[0016] The present disclosure also provides a positioning method executed by a computer, which includes an acquisition step, a conversion step, a generation step, and an output step. The acquisition step acquires a geodetic antenna position in geodetic coordinates, which is the position of the antenna, calculated based on a GNSS signal received by an antenna mounted on the mobile body. The conversion step converts an offset amount of the mobile body coordinates, which corresponds to a positional difference between a reference position on the mobile body and the position of the antenna on the mobile body, into a geodetic offset amount, which is the offset amount of the geodetic coordinates, based on an attitude angle of the local coordinates on the mobile body. The generation step generates a corrected position by correcting the geodetic antenna position by adding the geodetic offset amount to the geodetic antenna position. The output step outputs the generated corrected position to an output target as a positioning result.

[0017] This allows the positioning method to reduce the processing load on the output target.

[0018] A positioning program according to the present disclosure causes a computer to execute an acquisition step, a conversion step, a generation step, and an output step. The acquisition step acquires a geodetic antenna position in geodetic coordinates, which is the position of the antenna, calculated based on a GNSS signal received by an antenna mounted on a mobile body. The conversion step converts an offset amount of the mobile body coordinates, which corresponds to a positional difference between a reference position on the mobile body and the position of the antenna on the mobile body, into a geodetic offset amount, which is the offset amount of the geodetic coordinates, based on an attitude angle of the local coordinates on the mobile body. The generation step generates a corrected position by correcting the geodetic antenna position by adding the geodetic offset amount to the geodetic antenna position. The output step outputs the generated corrected position to an output target as a positioning result.

[0019] This allows the positioning program to reduce the processing load of the output target. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a reference position according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a positioning method according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a GNSS receiver according to an embodiment. FIG. [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of processing executed by the GNSS receiver according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a reference position according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an overview of a positioning method according to an embodiment. Note that FIG. 1 shows only the configuration necessary for the embodiment, and other general configurations of a vehicle are omitted. Furthermore, in this disclosure, a vehicle is shown as an example of a moving body, but it is not limited to a vehicle, and other types of moving bodies such as a ship or an aircraft may also be used.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle C includes a GNSS receiver 1 and a vehicle control device 100.

[0024] The GNSS receiver 1 is a positioning device that measures the position of a navigation satellite by receiving a navigation signal transmitted by the navigation satellite with an antenna. The navigation satellite is a navigation satellite included in one or more systems of various GNSSs such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, IRNSS, QZSS, and Beidou.

[0025] The GNSS receiver 1 analyzes the navigation signal received by the antenna to determine the code pseudorange, carrier phase, Doppler frequency, etc., and then sequentially calculates and acquires geodetic coordinate position information (hereinafter referred to as the geodetic antenna position) that represents the current position of the antenna. The geodetic coordinate is an Earth Centered Earth Fixed (ECEF) coordinate system that includes latitude, longitude, altitude, etc. The GNSS receiver 1 also has a DR (Dead Reckoning) function that estimates its own position using sensors such as a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor.

[0026] The vehicle control device 100 is a device (host) to which the positioning results of the GNSS receiver 1 are output. Based on the positioning results of the GNSS receiver 1, the vehicle control device 100 performs various vehicle controls such as an automatic driving function.

[0027] 2, the vehicle control device 100 assumes that a specific position on the vehicle C is a reference position Pb, and that the position information used when performing various types of vehicle control is the reference position Pb. In other words, the position information measured by the GNSS receiver 1 corresponds to the antenna position Pa, so the positioning result needs to be corrected (offset) from the antenna position Pa to the reference position Pb. Therefore, conventionally, the host side (vehicle control device side) had to correct the positioning result acquired from the GNSS receiver from the antenna position Pa to the reference position Pb before using it for various types of vehicle control, which increased the processing load on the host side.

[0028] Therefore, in the present disclosure, the GNSS receiver 1 corrects the positioning result from the antenna position Pa to the reference position Pb and outputs the result to the vehicle control device 100, which is the output target. This eliminates the need for the vehicle control device 100 to correct the positioning result, thereby reducing the processing load. The method for correcting the positioning result will be explained below with reference to FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, circles indicate "processing" and rectangles indicate "processing results."

[0029] As shown in Fig. 3, first, the vehicle control device 100 sets an offset for the GNSS antenna position (step S1). Specifically, the vehicle control device 100 receives information on a reference position Pb expressed in body coordinates (an example of moving body coordinates) of the vehicle C from the vehicle control device 100, and directly sets an offset amount corresponding to the position difference between the antenna position Pa and the reference position Pb in the body coordinates. This offset amount is the position difference expressed in body coordinates. The body coordinates are a three-axis Cartesian coordinate system with a predetermined position on the vehicle C (for example, the center of the vehicle body) as the origin.

[0030] Next, the GNSS receiver 1 receives navigation signals transmitted from navigation satellites with its antenna to determine the position of the antenna (step S2). Specifically, the GNSS receiver 1 calculates the geodetic antenna position in ECEF coordinates (three-dimensional coordinates), which is the antenna position Pa, based on the GNSS signals received by the antenna.

[0031] Next, the GNSS receiver 1 calculates the attitude angle of the vehicle C based on sensor data such as a gyro sensor and an acceleration sensor (step S3). The attitude angle is expressed in NED (North-East-Down) coordinates, which are local coordinates.

[0032] Next, the GNSS receiver 1 converts the offset amount from the body coordinates to the ECEF coordinates based on the geodetic antenna position in the ECEF coordinates, the attitude angle in the NED coordinates, and the offset amount in the body coordinates (step S4). Specifically, the GNSS receiver 1 first converts the offset amount from the body coordinates to the NED coordinates based on the attitude angle in the NED coordinates and the offset amount in the body coordinates. Next, the GNSS receiver 1 converts the offset amount from the NED coordinates to a geodetic offset amount, which is the offset amount from the NED coordinates to the ECEF coordinates, based on the offset amount in the NED coordinates and the geodetic antenna position in the ECEF coordinates. Note that the conversion from the body coordinates to the NED coordinates and from the NED coordinates to the ECEF coordinates can use the conversion method described in the US standard (SAE J2945 / 1 APR2020 6.2.3 Coordinate System and Reference (COORDSYSREF)).

[0033] Next, the GNSS receiver 1 adds the geodetic offset to the geodetic antenna position on the ECEF coordinate system (step S5). As a result, the geodetic antenna position, which is the antenna position Pa on the ECEF coordinate system, is corrected to a corrected position, which is the reference position Pb on the ECEF coordinate system. The GNSS receiver 1 then outputs the generated corrected position to the vehicle control device 100.

[0034] In this way, the GNSS receiver 1 according to the embodiment can generate a corrected position in which the geodetic antenna position is offset from the antenna position Pa to the reference position Pb by converting the offset amount of the body coordinates into ECEF coordinates. This eliminates the need for the vehicle control device 100 to perform processing to correct the positioning result of the GNSS receiver 1 to the reference position Pb. Therefore, the GNSS receiver 1 according to the embodiment can reduce the processing load on the vehicle control device 100, which is the output target.

[0035] Furthermore, the GNSS receiver 1 is equipped with a sensor that detects sensor information (sensor data) for calculating the attitude angle, so that sensor information can be obtained from a sensor located close to the antenna position, allowing the attitude angle to be calculated with high accuracy.

[0036] The GNSS receiver 1 may acquire sensor information for calculating the attitude angle from an external source such as an output target. In this case, when the GNSS receiver 1 can acquire the mounting position of the sensor on the output target, it can improve the accuracy of the attitude angle by correcting the attitude angle (or sensor information) based on the positional difference between the mounting position and the antenna position.

[0037] In addition, if the GNSS receiver 1 is unable to generate a corrected position, it will notify the user that the corrected position cannot be output, output the geodetic antenna position, and add specific information indicating whether the output position is the geodetic antenna position or the corrected position; details of these points will be provided later.

[0038] Next, a configuration example of a GNSS receiver 1, which is a positioning device according to an embodiment, will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration example of a GNSS receiver 1 according to an embodiment. Note that in the block diagram of Fig. 4, only the components necessary for explaining the features of this embodiment are shown in functional blocks, and descriptions of general components are omitted.

[0039] In other words, each component shown in the block diagram of Figure 4 is a functional concept and does not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. For example, the specific form of distribution and integration of each functional block is not limited to that shown, and all or part of it can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 4, the GNSS receiver 1 includes a communication unit 2, a control unit 3, a storage unit 4, an antenna 5, and a sensor 6.

[0041] The communication unit 2 is a communication interface that communicates with the outside world. The communication unit 2 transmits and receives information to and from the vehicle control device 100 by being connected to an in-vehicle network such as a CAN.

[0042] The antenna 5 is attached to the body of the vehicle C and receives navigation signals such as GNSS signals. The antenna 5 outputs the received GNSS signals to the control unit 3. The sensor 6 is attached to the vehicle C and detects sensor information for calculating the attitude angle of the vehicle C. The sensor 6 is, for example, a gyro sensor or an acceleration sensor.

[0043] Here, the GNSS receiver 1 includes a computer having, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, input / output ports, and various other circuits.

[0044] The CPU of the computer functions as the reception unit 31, acquisition unit 32, conversion unit 33, generation unit 34, and output unit 35 of the control unit 3, for example, by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

[0045] In addition, at least some or all of the reception unit 31, acquisition unit 32, conversion unit 33, generation unit 34 and output unit 35 of the control unit 3 can be configured using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0046] The storage unit 4 is configured with a storage device such as a semiconductor element memory, a hard disk drive, etc. The storage unit 4 stores various programs and various information required for processing by the control unit 3.

[0047] Next, each function of the control unit 3 (receiving unit 31, acquiring unit 32, converting unit 33, generating unit 34, and output unit 35) will be described in detail.

[0048] The reception unit 31 receives information on a reference position Pb expressed in body coordinates of the vehicle C from the vehicle control device 100, which is an output target. The reception unit 31 directly receives the position difference between the received reference position Pb and the antenna position Pa expressed in body coordinates as an offset amount. This offset amount is expressed in body coordinates.

[0049] The acquisition unit 32 acquires various types of information. Specifically, the acquisition unit 32 receives a GNSS signal from the antenna 5. The acquisition unit 32 also acquires sensor information from the sensor 6.

[0050] Furthermore, the acquisition unit 32 calculates the geodetic antenna position, which is the antenna position Pa expressed in ECEF coordinates, based on the acquired GNSS signals. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 32 calculates the attitude angle of the vehicle C expressed in NED coordinates based on the sensor information.

[0051] The conversion unit 33 performs various coordinate conversions. Specifically, the conversion unit 33 converts the offset amount from the body coordinate to the ECEF coordinate based on the geodetic antenna position in the ECEF coordinate, the attitude angle in the NED coordinate, and the offset amount in the body coordinate. More specifically, the conversion unit 33 first converts the offset amount from the body coordinate to the NED coordinate based on the attitude angle in the NED coordinate and the offset amount in the body coordinate. Next, the conversion unit 33 converts the offset amount from the NED coordinate to a geodetic offset amount, which is the offset amount from the NED coordinate to the ECEF coordinate, based on the offset amount in the NED coordinate and the geodetic antenna position in the ECEF coordinate.

[0052] The generation unit 34 generates a corrected position by correcting the geodetic antenna position by adding the geodetic offset amount converted by the conversion unit 33 to the geodetic antenna position acquired by the acquisition unit 32. In other words, the generation unit 34 corrects the geodetic antenna position, which is the antenna position Pa in the ECEF coordinates, to a corrected position, which is the reference position Pb in the ECEF coordinates.

[0053] The output unit 35 outputs the corrected position generated by the generation unit 34 to the vehicle control device 100, which is the output target.

[0054] When the generation unit 34 is unable to generate the corrected position, the output unit 35 notifies the vehicle control device 100, which is the output target, that the corrected position cannot be output. The case where the generation of the corrected position is unable is, for example, when the acquisition unit 32 is unable to acquire the geodetic antenna position or when the acquisition unit 32 is unable to calculate the attitude angle. In this way, by notifying the vehicle control device 100 that the corrected position cannot be output, the output unit 35 can take measures when the vehicle control device 100 side is unable to acquire the corrected position (such as notifying the driver that vehicle control cannot be performed due to the lack of position information).

[0055] Furthermore, when it is not possible to generate a corrected position because the acquisition unit 32 cannot calculate the attitude angle, in other words, when the acquisition unit 32 can acquire the geodetic antenna position, the output unit 35 may output the geodetic antenna position to the output target as the positioning result. This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which the vehicle control device 100 cannot control the vehicle because it cannot acquire position information.

[0056] In this case, the output unit 35 outputs the positioning result to which specific information specifying that the positioning result is the geodetic antenna position has been added. The output unit 35 may also output the positioning result to which specific information specifying that the positioning result is the corrected position has been added. In other words, the output unit 35 outputs the positioning result to which specific information for specifying whether the positioning result is the corrected position or the geodetic antenna position has been added to the output target. The specific information is, for example, tag information of "corrected position" or "geodes antenna position." By adding the specific information in this way, it is possible for the vehicle control device 100 to specify whether the positioning result is the corrected position or the positioning antenna position.

[0057] Next, the procedure of the process executed by the GNSS receiver 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the process executed by the GNSS receiver 1 according to the embodiment.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 5, first, the vehicle control device 100 directly sets the offset amount of the body coordinates (step S101).

[0059] Next, the control unit 3 determines whether or not the geodetic antenna position has been acquired based on the GNSS signal (step S102). Note that step S102 may be a process of determining "whether or not the GNSS signal has been received."

[0060] If the control unit 3 has been able to acquire the geodetic antenna position (step S102: Yes), it determines whether or not the attitude angle of the vehicle C has been acquired (calculated) (step S103). Note that step S103 may be a process of determining "whether or not sensor information has been acquired."

[0061] If the attitude angle can be acquired (step S103: Yes), the control unit 3 converts the offset amount from the body coordinates to the NED coordinates based on the attitude angle in the NED coordinates (step S104).

[0062] Next, the control unit 3 converts the offset amount of the NED coordinates into a geodetic offset amount, which is an offset amount of the ECEF coordinates, based on the geodetic antenna position (step S105).

[0063] Next, the control unit 3 corrects the geodetic antenna position to a corrected position by adding the geodetic offset amount of the ECEF coordinates to the geodetic antenna position (step S106).

[0064] Next, the control unit 3 outputs the corrected position to which the specific information specifying that the positioning result is the corrected position is added as the positioning result to the vehicle control device 100 (step S107), and ends the process.

[0065] On the other hand, in step S103, if the control unit 3 is unable to acquire the attitude angle (step S103: No), it outputs the geodetic antenna position, to which specific information identifying that the positioning result is the geodetic antenna position, to the vehicle control device 100 as the positioning result (step S108), and terminates the processing.

[0066] On the other hand, in step S102, if the control unit 3 is unable to acquire the geodetic antenna position (step S102: No), it notifies that the position as a positioning result cannot be output (step S109), and ends the process.

[0067] As described above, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the positioning device (GNSS receiver 1) includes an acquisition unit 32, a conversion unit 33, a generation unit 34, and an output unit 35. The acquisition unit 32 acquires a geodetic antenna position in geodetic coordinates (ECEF coordinates), which is the antenna position (antenna position Pa), calculated based on a GNSS signal received by an antenna 5 mounted on a moving body (vehicle C). The conversion unit 33 converts an offset amount in the moving body coordinates (body coordinates), which corresponds to the positional difference between a reference position Pb on the moving body and the antenna position on the moving body, into a geodetic offset amount, which is the offset amount in the geodetic coordinates, based on the attitude angle of the local coordinates (NED coordinates) on the moving body. The generation unit 34 generates a corrected position by correcting the geodetic antenna position by adding the geodetic offset amount to the geodetic antenna position. The output unit 35 outputs the generated corrected position to an output target as a positioning result. This allows the positioning device to reduce the processing load on the output target.

[0068] Furthermore, among the processes described in the above embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be performed automatically using a known method. In addition, the information including the processing procedures, specific names, various data, and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be changed as desired unless otherwise specified. For example, the various information shown in each drawing is not limited to the information shown in the drawings.

[0069] Furthermore, the components of each device shown in the figure are conceptual functional components and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown in the figure. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc.

[0070] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. For example, the technical scope of the present invention also includes configurations obtained by appropriately combining the above-described embodiments in an area where the processing content is not contradictory. Furthermore, the order of each step shown in the flowcharts and sequence diagrams of the above-described embodiments can be changed as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1 GNSS receiver 2. Communications Department 3. Control Unit 4 Storage section 5 Antennas 6 sensors 31 Reception 32 Acquisition Department 33 Conversion unit 34 Generation part 35 Output section 100 Vehicle control device C vehicle Pa antenna position Pb reference position

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires a geodetic antenna position of geodetic coordinates that is calculated based on a GNSS signal received by an antenna mounted on the moving object and is the position of the antenna; a conversion unit that converts an offset amount of the mobile body coordinates corresponding to a positional difference between a reference position on the mobile body and the position of the antenna on the mobile body into a geodetic offset amount that is an offset amount of the geodetic coordinates based on an attitude angle of the local coordinates on the mobile body; a generating unit that generates a corrected position by adding the geodetic offset amount to the geodetic antenna position; an output unit that outputs the generated corrected position as a positioning result to an output target; A positioning device comprising:

2. The output unit If the generation unit is unable to generate the corrected position, the output target is notified that the corrected position cannot be output. The positioning device according to claim 1 .

3. The output unit When the generation unit is unable to generate the corrected position, if the acquisition unit has acquired the geodetic antenna position, the geodetic antenna position is output to the output target as the positioning result. The positioning device according to claim 1 .

4. The output unit The positioning result to which specific information for specifying whether the positioning result is the corrected position or the geodetic antenna position is added is output to the output target. The positioning device according to claim 3 .

5. a sensor for detecting sensor information for calculating the attitude angle; The positioning device according to claim 1 .

6. 1. A computer-implemented positioning method, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring a geodetic antenna position in geodetic coordinates, which is calculated based on a GNSS signal received by an antenna mounted on a moving object, and which is the position of the antenna; a conversion step of converting an offset amount of the mobile body coordinates corresponding to a positional difference between a reference position on the mobile body and the position of the antenna on the mobile body into a geodetic offset amount, which is an offset amount of the geodetic coordinates, based on an attitude angle of the local coordinates on the mobile body; a generating step of generating a corrected position by adding the geodetic offset amount to the geodetic antenna position; an output step of outputting the generated corrected position as a positioning result to an output target; A positioning method including:

7. an acquisition step of acquiring a geodetic antenna position of a geodetic coordinate system, the geodetic antenna position being calculated based on a GNSS signal received by an antenna mounted on a moving object; a conversion step of converting an offset amount of the mobile body coordinates corresponding to a positional difference between a reference position on the mobile body and the position of the antenna on the mobile body into a geodetic offset amount, which is an offset amount of the geodetic coordinates, based on an attitude angle of the local coordinates on the mobile body; a generating step of generating a corrected position by adding the geodetic offset amount to the geodetic antenna position; an output step of outputting the generated corrected position as a positioning result to an output target; A positioning program that causes a computer to execute the above.

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