Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of achieving a safe travel environment by generating area information related to a changeover spot of a driving state from an automatic driving state into a manual driving state or from the manual driving state into the automatic driving state.SOLUTION: An information processing device has: position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of a mobile body where a mode is shifted from one of modes between an automatic driving mode to automatically perform at least one driving operation in the driving operations and a manual driving mode to manually perform the driving operation into the other mode; and information generation means for generating attention area information to allow an area including a position indicated by the position information to be an attention area. The position information acquisition means acquires the position information of the mobile body where the mode is shifted respectively concerning a driving operation of steering, a driving operation of an acceleration, and a driving operation of braking in the mobile body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program for providing information to a mobile object. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, changes in acceleration have been detected to detect the occurrence of an event requiring attention in a moving object.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a factor analysis device that compares information about the situation in which a detected event requiring attention occurred with past events requiring attention that occurred at the same location as the event requiring attention, and estimates whether the event requiring attention is due to environmental factors or driver factors. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-071492 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The factor analysis device of Patent Document 1 acquires probe information including the traveling speed of a mobile object from the mobile object, and analyzes the acquired probe information.

[0006] However, the factor analysis device of Patent Document 1 acquires probe information without distinguishing whether the mobile body that is the sender is in an autonomous driving state or a manual driving state. Therefore, for example, one example of a problem is that information about an event that requires attention when the mobile body is in an autonomous driving state, that is, an event that requires attention due to factors in the surrounding environment, is buried under other information.

[0007] For example, at a driving mode switching point where the road changes from one where driving in an automated driving state is permitted to one where driving in a manual driving state only is permitted, a transfer of authority may suddenly occur, in which the authority to perform driving operations is transferred to the driver.

[0008] It is assumed that such authority transfer may occur while the vehicle is in motion. Therefore, until the driver regains the sense of driving the vehicle, events requiring caution are likely to occur. One example of the problem is that the locations where such events requiring caution occur cannot be adequately indicated using conventional map information that indicates the locations of events requiring caution.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and one of its objectives is to provide an information processing device that can realize a safer driving environment by generating area information regarding the switching points of driving states from an automatic driving state to a manual driving state, or from a manual driving state to an automatic driving state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The information processing device described in claim 1 of the present application comprises a position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of a mobile body that has undergone a mode transition from either an automatic driving mode in which at least one of the driving operations is performed automatically or a manual driving mode in which the driving operations are performed manually to the other mode, and an information generation means for generating attention area information in which an area including the position indicated by the position information is set as an attention area, wherein the position information acquisition means acquires position information of the mobile body that has undergone a mode transition for each of the driving operations of steering, accelerating, and braking of the mobile body.

[0011] The information processing device described in claim 5 of the present application comprises a position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of a moving body in which a change has occurred in the degree of automation of driving operations in an automatic driving mode in which at least one of the driving operations is performed automatically, and position information of a moving body in which a change has occurred in the degree of automation of driving operations in a manual driving mode in which the driving operations are performed manually, and an information generation means for generating attention area information in which an area including the position indicated by the position information is set as an attention area, wherein the position information acquisition means acquires position information of a moving body in which a change has occurred in the degree of automation of driving operations for each of the steering, acceleration, and braking driving operations of the moving body.

[0012] The information processing system described in claim 9 of the present application comprises an information processing device including a measurement terminal that measures the driving state of a mobile body, and a position information acquisition means that acquires from the measurement terminal position information when a mode transition has occurred, where the mode transition occurs from one of an automatic driving mode in which at least one of the driving operations of the mobile body is performed automatically and a manual driving mode in which the driving operation of the mobile body is performed manually, to the other mode, and an information generation means that generates attention area information in which an area including the position indicated by the position information is an attention area, wherein the position information acquisition means acquires position information of the mobile body when a mode transition has occurred for each of the driving operations of steering, accelerating, and braking of the mobile body.

[0013] The information processing method described in claim 10 of the present application includes an acquisition step of acquiring position information of a moving body that has undergone a mode transition from either an automatic driving mode, in which at least one of the driving operations is performed automatically, or a manual driving mode, in which the driving operations are performed manually, to the other mode, and a generation step of generating attention area information in which an area including the position indicated by the position information is set as an attention area, and is characterized in that in the acquisition step, position information of the moving body that has undergone a mode transition for each of the driving operations of steering, accelerating, and braking of the moving body is acquired.

[0014] The program described in claim 11 of the present application is a program for causing a computer to execute an acquisition step of acquiring position information of a moving body that has undergone a mode transition from either an automatic driving mode, in which at least one of the driving operations is performed automatically, or a manual driving mode, in which the driving operations are performed manually, to the other mode, and a generation step of generating attention area information, in which an area including the position indicated by the position information is set as an attention area, wherein in the acquisition step, the program causes the computer to acquire position information of the moving body that has undergone a mode transition for each of the driving operations of steering, accelerating, and braking. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall view of an information processing system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a measurement terminal and a server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing information processing of the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a measurement terminal and a server according to a second embodiment. [Figure 5] 5 is a conceptual diagram showing attention area information generated by the information generating means of FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing information processing of a server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a detailed flow of a first mode transition determination process in the information processing system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a detailed flow of a second mode transition determination process in the information processing system according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Example]

[0016] Fig. 1 shows the overall configuration of an information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the information processing system 100 is configured by connecting a measurement terminal 10 mounted on an automobile M as a mobile body and a server 20 as an information processing device via a network NW. Note that the mobile body may be a mobile body other than an automobile, such as a car, a motorcycle, an airplane, a ship, or a moving person.

[0017] Fig. 2 shows functional blocks of the measurement terminal 10 and the server 20 of the information processing system 100. As shown in Fig. 2, in the information processing system 100, the measurement terminal 10 and the server 20 mounted on each of a plurality of automobiles M are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0018] The metering terminal 10 can be mounted on the vehicle M or can travel with the vehicle M. The metering terminal 10 can also be part of the vehicle M's navigation system.

[0019] The acceleration sensor 11 is a capacitance type, a piezo-resistance type, etc. The acceleration sensor 11 is, for example, a two-axis acceleration sensor, and detects acceleration in the front-to-rear direction, which is the direction of movement of the automobile M, and acceleration in the left-to-right direction, which is perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction.

[0020] The GPS (Global Positioning System) device 12 is a device that receives signals (GPS signals) from GPS satellites and acquires the position information of the automobile M.

[0021] The communication unit 13 is an interface that is communicably connected to the server 20 and the measurement terminals 10 mounted on other automobiles M via a network NW.

[0022] The control unit 14 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs calculation processing. The control unit 14 can control the operation of each unit of the measurement terminal 10, including the acceleration sensor 11, the GPS device 12, and the communication unit 13.

[0023] The behavior information calculation unit 15 is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 14. The behavior information calculation unit 15 can calculate behavior information including the speed of the automobile M, acceleration (including longitudinal acceleration in the traveling direction of the automobile M and lateral acceleration in a direction approximately perpendicular to the traveling direction), accelerator opening, braking strength, free running distance with the accelerator off, inter-vehicle distance to the automobile traveling in front of the automobile M, and the position of the automobile M, from signals from the acceleration sensor 11 and the GPS device 12. In other words, the behavior information calculation unit 15 can acquire probe information. The behavior information is, for example, information about the behavior of the automobile M per predetermined period. In the case of acceleration, it is, for example, the acceleration of the automobile M per 15 seconds. The predetermined period can be set arbitrarily.

[0024] The acceleration and speed of the automobile M may be calculated and obtained, for example, based on an acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 11 or a GPS signal from the GPS device 12. In addition, the speed of the automobile M may be calculated and obtained, for example, based on a vehicle speed pulse supplied from the automobile M.

[0025] The position of the automobile M may also be acquired based on, for example, a GPS signal from the GPS device 12. The position of the automobile M may also be calculated based on the amount of movement from a reference position, attitude information of the automobile M from a gyro device, or vehicle speed information obtained from a vehicle speed pulse of the automobile M. The behavior information calculation unit 15 may also be capable of acquiring map information. That is, the position of the automobile M may be calculated and acquired by combining at least one of the GPS information from the GPS device 12, the attitude information of the automobile M from the gyro device, and the vehicle speed information of the automobile M with the map information.

[0026] In the following description, the longitudinal acceleration when the automobile M accelerates in the direction of travel (front-rear direction) of the automobile M will be referred to as positive acceleration, and the acceleration when the automobile M decelerates will be referred to as negative longitudinal acceleration. Note that negative longitudinal acceleration in the direction of travel will also be referred to as deceleration. In addition, with regard to lateral acceleration in the left-right direction, the lateral acceleration in the left direction of travel of the automobile M will be referred to as positive acceleration, and the lateral acceleration in the right direction of travel will be referred to as negative acceleration.

[0027] The communication unit 21 of the server 20 is communicably connected via a network NW to the communication unit 13 of the measurement terminal 10 that is mounted on each of the multiple automobiles M or that moves together with the automobiles M. The communication unit 21 can receive, for example, behavior information or probe information including the acceleration, speed, and position of the automobile M from the communication unit 13.

[0028] The control unit 23 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs arithmetic processing, and is realized by a computer. The control unit 23 can control the operation of each unit of the server 20, including the communication unit 21. The control unit 23 can also acquire various pieces of information from the outside via the communication unit 21 and perform processing such as analysis on the acquired information. The CPU reads out a program corresponding to the processing content from the storage unit 22, and executes the read program to realize various functions.

[0029] The behavior information acquisition means 23a is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The behavior information acquisition means 23a is capable of acquiring behavior information of the automobile M from each measurement terminal 10 mounted on the automobile M.

[0030] The attention point information collecting means 23b is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The attention point information collecting means 23b is capable of collecting attention point information including a point where an event requiring attention that affects the driving operation of the automobile M has occurred (hereinafter referred to as an event occurrence point) from the behavior information.

[0031] An event requiring caution that may affect the driving operation of the automobile M (hereinafter referred to as a caution event) is, for example, a situation in which one of the driving operations, such as abrupt steering, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration, occurs. The location where the caution event occurs is, for example, a location where a factor that may require one of the driving operations, such as abrupt steering, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration, is encountered, or a location where one of the driving operations, such as abrupt steering, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration, occurs.

[0032] The caution point information collecting means 23b is capable of determining that a caution event affecting the driving operation of the automobile M has occurred based on the acquired behavior information, and determining the event occurrence location based on the position information of the automobile M corresponding to the behavior included in the acquired behavior information. The event occurrence location may be a predetermined area including the location where the caution event occurred. For example, if the location where the caution event occurred is an intersection, the predetermined area may be an area with a radius of several tens of meters centered on the intersection.

[0033] Specifically, the caution point information collecting means 23b determines whether the behavior information includes acceleration corresponding to abrupt steering, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration, and collects the location where the acceleration corresponding to the abrupt steering, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration occurred as an event occurrence location. Whether or not acceleration corresponding to abrupt steering, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration occurred is determined, for example, by whether or not it exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0034] The attention point information collecting means 23b distinguishes whether the automobile M equipped with each measurement terminal 10 is in automatic driving mode or manual driving mode based on the acceleration included in the behavior information, and collects attention point information. That is, the attention point information collecting means 23b distinguishes between attention point information when the automobile M is in automatic driving mode and attention point information when the automobile M is in manual driving mode and collects the same.

[0035] Here, the automatic driving mode and the manual driving mode are driving control modes (hereinafter also referred to as steering modes) of the automobile M. The steering modes include a plurality of steering modes that differ depending on the degree of automation of operations related to the driving of the automobile M.

[0036] For example, manual driving mode corresponds to automated driving level 0. The automated driving modes correspond to automated driving levels 1 to 5. Here, the automated driving levels are defined by the Japanese government and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

[0037] The autonomous driving mode also includes a mode that provides assistance with at least one of the accelerator operation, brake operation, and steering operation. The mode that provides assistance with an operation is a mode that intervenes in the driving operation when the driver's operation does not satisfy a predetermined condition, such as emergency braking.

[0038] For example, the attention point information collecting means 23b determines that the vehicle is in the autonomous driving mode when the acceleration (deceleration) in the traveling direction of the vehicle M is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, and collects the attention point information. Also, for example, the attention point information collecting means 23b determines that the vehicle is in the autonomous driving mode when the absolute value of the acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle M is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, and collects the attention point information.

[0039] Specifically, when automobile M is traveling in autonomous driving mode, it maintains a constant speed on a straight road when there is no other automobile traveling ahead, with minimal acceleration and deceleration, little variation, and smooth movement.

[0040] Furthermore, when automobile M traveling in autonomous driving mode is following a vehicle traveling ahead, its speed on a straight road changes to match the vehicle traveling ahead, and acceleration and deceleration are minimal, with little variation, and smooth.

[0041] Furthermore, when automobile M traveling in autonomous driving mode is following a vehicle traveling ahead, the distance between automobile M and the vehicle traveling ahead of automobile M is constant. In other words, automobile M traveling in autonomous driving mode travels while maintaining a constant distance between automobiles, regardless of the weather or time of day (daytime or nighttime).

[0042] It should be noted that as the speed range of automobile M increases, the stopping distance of automobile M increases. Therefore, the inter-vehicle distance increases as the speed range of automobile M increases. In other words, automobile M traveling in autonomous driving mode travels at a constant inter-vehicle distance according to its traveling speed.

[0043] In contrast, it is difficult for the automobile M traveling in manual driving mode to maintain a strict constant speed. Also, the automobile M traveling in manual driving mode occasionally exhibits accelerations that indicate sudden deceleration. Furthermore, the automobile M traveling in manual driving mode experiences variations in the distance between itself and the automobile traveling ahead when traveling and when stopped.

[0044] The attention point information collection means 23b determines whether the automobile M is in automatic driving mode or manual driving mode, taking into account the characteristics and factors of the automatic driving mode and manual driving mode, and collects attention point information for each determined driving mode.

[0045] The attention point information collecting means 23b determines whether at least some of the driving operations related to acceleration, at least some of the driving operations related to braking, and at least some of the driving operations related to steering are performed automatically. For example, in the case of an auto cruise control that maintains the traveling speed of the automobile M at a set speed, some of the driving operations related to acceleration are performed automatically. In this case, the attention point information collecting means 23b determines that the driving mode is automatic even if the driving operations related to braking and steering are performed manually.

[0046] The attention point information collecting means 23b also determines whether at least one of the driving operations of steering, accelerating, and braking of the automobile M is being performed automatically.

[0047] In other words, when determining the automatic driving mode, the attention point information collection means 23b may determine the automatic driving mode for only one of the driving operations related to acceleration, braking, and steering, or may determine the automatic driving mode for two or more of these driving operations.

[0048] Note that the determination of the driving mode by the attention point information collection means 23b is not limited to this, and for example, the attention point information collection means 23b may determine whether each of the steering, acceleration, and braking operations of the automobile M is performed automatically. That is, it may be determined that the automobile M is in the automatic driving mode when each of the steering, acceleration, and braking operations of the automobile M is performed automatically. Also, the automatic driving level does not necessarily have to be determined, and for example, it may be determined whether the automobile is in the automatic driving mode for each of the accelerator operation, braking operation, and steering operation.

[0049] The traffic environment acquisition means 23c is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The traffic environment acquisition means 23c is capable of acquiring traffic environment information of an event occurrence point. The traffic environment acquisition means 23c may acquire the traffic environment information by referring to a traffic environment information database in the storage unit 22, which will be described later, that stores the traffic environment information of the event occurrence point. The traffic environment acquisition means 23c may acquire the traffic environment information by communicating with an external device via the communication unit 21.

[0050] The setting means 23d is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The setting means 23d can assign a weight to either the caution point information collected in the automatic driving mode or the caution point information collected in the manual driving mode, and set the event occurrence point as a caution point.

[0051] For example, the setting unit 23d counts the number of caution events that have occurred at an event occurrence point included in the caution point information, and sets the point as a caution point when the number of caution events exceeds a predetermined value.

[0052] When setting a point as a caution point, the setting means 23d assigns a weight to the caution point information depending on whether the caution point information was collected in automatic driving mode or manual driving mode, and sets the point where the event occurred as a caution point using the weighted caution point information.

[0053] For example, in the autonomous driving mode, there is no human error by the driver, so the occurrence of caution events is low. Therefore, caution events that occur in the autonomous driving mode are weighted heavily and a setting process is performed. As an example, the setting means 23d performs a determination process by multiplying by "2" the number of caution events that occurred at the event occurrence point included in the caution point information collected in the autonomous driving mode.

[0054] On the other hand, in the manual driving mode, since human error by the driver is also included, it is considered that there are more caution events than in the automatic driving mode. Therefore, the setting means 23d performs setting processing by reducing the weight for caution events that occurred in the manual driving mode. As an example, the setting means 23d performs determination processing by directly using the number of caution events that occurred at the event occurrence point included in the caution point information collected in the manual driving mode.

[0055] Furthermore, the setting means 23d may assign a weight to each piece of caution point information according to the degree of automation of driving operations, and set the event occurrence point as a caution point. Specifically, weighting may be performed according to the autonomous driving level. For example, as the autonomous driving level becomes higher, that is, as the autonomous driving level approaches 5, the probability of an event requiring caution due to human error by the driver occurring becomes lower, so processing may be performed with a heavier weight.

[0056] Furthermore, the setting unit 23d may set the event occurrence point according to the automatic driving mode and the manual driving mode as the caution point. In this way, it is possible to analyze the caution event according to the automatic driving mode and the manual driving mode.

[0057] The setting unit 23d may set caution points according to traffic volume. That is, the number of caution events that occurred at the event occurrence point included in the caution point information may be divided by the traffic volume at the event occurrence point to equalize the number of caution events.

[0058] The providing means 23e is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The providing means 23e is capable of providing each vehicle M with attention points according to, for example, the automatic driving mode and the manual driving mode.

[0059] The storage unit 22 includes, for example, a hard disk, a flash memory, an SSD (Solid State Drive), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and is capable of storing information such as moving object information received by the communication unit 21. The storage unit 22 is also capable of storing threshold information used by the attention point information collection means 23b when determining the operation mode of the automobile M, and threshold information used by the setting means 23d when setting an event occurrence point as an attention point.

[0060] The storage unit 22 can store information that serves as a reference for the means of each functional block to make a judgment. The storage unit 22 can also store map information, etc. The storage unit 22 stores various programs such as a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and software.

[0061] The storage unit 22 has a traffic environment information database (not shown) that stores traffic environment information of an incident occurrence point referenced by the traffic environment acquisition means 23c. The storage unit 22 also has an attention point information database (not shown) that stores attention point information collected by the attention point information collection means 23b. The storage unit 22 also has an attention point database (not shown) that stores attention points set by the setting means 23d.

[0062] Fig. 3 shows the autonomous driving mode determination process executed by the server 20. As shown in Fig. 3, the behavior information acquisition means 23a acquires behavior information of the vehicle M from each measurement terminal 10 mounted on the vehicle M (step S101).

[0063] The attention point information collecting means 23b acquires information on whether the driving operation of the automobile M is being performed automatically, that is, information on the driving mode of the automobile M, based on the behavior information acquired in step S101 (step S102).

[0064] The attention point information collecting means 23b determines whether the longitudinal acceleration of the behavior information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value (step S103).

[0065] If it is determined in step S103 that the longitudinal acceleration is greater than or equal to the threshold value (step S103: Y), the attention point information collection means 23b determines that an attention event has occurred in the vehicle M (step S104), determines the event occurrence point based on the position information of the vehicle M corresponding to the point where the attention event occurred in the vehicle M, which is included in the behavior information (step S105), and records the attention point information including the event occurrence point in the attention point information database (step S106).

[0066] If it is determined in step S103 that the longitudinal acceleration is not equal to or greater than the threshold (step S103: N), the caution point information collecting means 23b determines whether the lateral acceleration of the behavior information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S107).

[0067] If it is determined in step S107 that the lateral acceleration is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S107: Y), the attention point information collecting means 23b determines that a cautionary event has occurred in the vehicle M (step S104), determines the event occurrence point based on the position information of the vehicle M corresponding to the point where the cautionary event occurred in the vehicle M, which is included in the behavior information (step S105), and records the attention point information including the event occurrence point in the attention point information database (step S106). In this way, the attention point information collecting means 23b collects attention point information.

[0068] If it is determined in step S107 that the lateral acceleration is not greater than or equal to the threshold (step S107: N), the attention point information collection means 23b determines that no attention event has occurred for the vehicle M, i.e., that the event has not yet occurred (step S108), and terminates the processing.

[0069] The setting means 23d reads out, for each operation mode, the number (S) of caution events that occurred at the event occurrence point included in the caution point information collected by the caution point information collecting means 23b. The setting means 23d weights the number (S) of caution events that occurred at the event occurrence point for each operation mode and calculates a judgment value (DV) (step S109).

[0070] For example, the setting means 23d calculates the judgment value (DV) by adding the number of caution events in the automatic driving mode (SA) and the number of caution events in the manual driving mode (SM). In this case, the setting means 23d uses a value multiplied by "2" for the number of caution events in the automatic driving mode (SA), and uses the number of caution events in the manual driving mode (SM) as is, as shown in the following formula (Formula 1).

[0071]

number

[0072] The setting means 23d determines whether or not the judgment value (DV) calculated in step S109 exceeds a predetermined specified value (K) as shown in the following equation (Equation 2) (step S110).

[0073]

number

[0074] When it is determined in step S110 that the judgment value (DV) exceeds the specified value (K) (step S110: Y), the setting means 23d sets the event occurrence point as a caution point (step S111). The setting means 23d records the set caution point in the caution point database.

[0075] The providing means 23e provides the attention points to the measurement terminals 10 mounted on the other traveling automobiles M by reading out the attention points from the attention point information database and transmitting the attention points (step S112).

[0076] When the setting means 23d determines in step S110 that the judgment value (DV) does not exceed the specified value (K) (step S110: N), the process ends.

[0077] The processing of step S109 may be executed when the number of caution events (S) occurring at the event occurrence point exceeds a predetermined cutoff value. Specifically, when executing the processing of step S109, the setting means 23d may determine whether the number of caution events (S) exceeds the cutoff value (T) as shown in the following equation (Equation 3). The setting means 23d may execute the processing of step S109 when the number of caution events (S) exceeds the cutoff value (T). Furthermore, the setting means 23d may terminate the processing when the number of caution events (S) is equal to or less than the cutoff value (T).

[0078]

number

[0079] Furthermore, the processing of step S110 may be performed by leveling based on the traffic volume at the event occurrence point. For example, as shown in the following equation (Equation 4), the number of caution events (S) that occurred at the event occurrence point for each operation mode may be divided by the traffic volume (N) to obtain a judgment value (DV), and the judgment value (DV) may be determined based on whether or not it exceeds a specified value (K) determined for each operation mode. The traffic volume (N) is acquired by the traffic environment acquisition means 23c by referring to the traffic volume at the event occurrence point in the traffic environment information database.

[0080]

number

[0081] Furthermore, the setting means 23d may set the event occurrence point as a caution point for each operation mode. The setting means 23d may make a determination using a different specified value (K) for each operation mode, for example, as shown in the following equation (Equation 5). Specifically, the setting means 23d determines whether the value obtained by dividing the number of caution events (SA) in the automatic driving mode by the traffic volume (N) exceeds the specified value (KA) for the automatic driving mode. Furthermore, the setting means 23d determines whether the value obtained by dividing the number of caution events (SM) in the manual driving mode by the traffic volume (N) exceeds the specified value (KM) for the manual driving mode. Note that the specified value (KA) for the automatic driving mode is an integer different from the specified value (KM) for the manual driving mode.

[0082]

number

[0083] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the steering mode information is obtained based on the longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration of the behavior information, but this is not limited to this. For example, the behavior information may include an identifier that identifies the automatic driving mode or the manual driving mode, and the steering mode may be determined by reading the identifier.

[0084] As described above, the information processing system 100 of this embodiment assigns a weight to either the attention point information collected in the automatic driving mode or the attention point information collected in the manual driving mode, and sets the event occurrence point as an attention point.

[0085] Therefore, according to the information processing system 100 of this embodiment, it is possible to analyze the collected cautionary events depending on the driving state of the automobile M, i.e., whether the driving mode is an automatic driving mode or a manual driving mode. [Example]

[0086] An information processing system 100 according to a second embodiment will be described. The information processing system according to the second embodiment generates information on a position where an automobile M has shifted from one of an automatic driving mode and a manual driving mode to the other driving mode as an area requiring attention. Note that the same components as those in the information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described.

[0087] 4 illustrates functional blocks of the measurement terminal 10 and the server 20 of the information processing system 100 according to the second embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to the second embodiment is different from that of the information processing system 100 according to the first embodiment in the configuration of the control unit 23 of the server 20.

[0088] The location information acquisition means 23f is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. It is possible to acquire location information of the automobile M that has undergone a mode transition from one of the automatic driving mode and the manual driving mode to the other driving mode.

[0089] Specifically, the location information acquisition means 23f can acquire location information of the automobile M where a mode transition has occurred for at least one of the driving operations of steering, accelerating, and braking of the automobile M. The location information acquisition means 23f can also acquire location information of the automobile M where a mode transition has occurred for each of the driving operations of steering, accelerating, and braking of the automobile M. The location information may be a predetermined area that is divided in advance and includes the point where the mode transition has occurred.

[0090] For example, when determining the mode transition of the automobile M, the position information acquisition means 23f may determine the mode transition for only one of the driving operations related to acceleration, braking, and steering, or may determine the mode transition for two or more of these driving operations.

[0091] In addition, the location information acquisition means 23f can acquire location information of the vehicle M when a change has occurred in the degree of automation of driving operations in the automatic driving mode, and location information of the vehicle M when a change has occurred in the degree of automation of driving operations in the manual driving mode. For example, when determining a mode transition of the vehicle M, the location information acquisition means 23f may determine a change in the automatic driving level of the vehicle M as a mode transition.

[0092] The position information acquisition means 23f can determine a mode transition based on, for example, a change in longitudinal acceleration and a change in lateral acceleration included in the behavior information. Alternatively, the behavior information may include operation mode change information indicating a change in the operation mode, and the position information acquisition means 23f may determine a mode transition by reading the behavior information.

[0093] The information generating means 23g is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. Based on the position information acquired by the position information acquiring means 23f, the information generating means 23g is capable of generating attention area information with the position of the position information as an attention area.

[0094] The information generation means 23g generates attention area information using different modes of first location information where a first mode transition from an automatic driving mode to a manual driving mode has occurred and second location information where a second mode transition from a manual driving mode to an automatic driving mode has occurred.

[0095] For example, the information generating means 23g generates attention region information as a heat map that changes based on the first position information in accordance with the frequency of the first mode transition, and the information generating means 23g generates attention region information as a heat map that changes based on the second position information in accordance with the frequency of the second mode transition.

[0096] The storage unit 22 has a position information database (not shown) that stores the position information of the automobile M where the mode transition has been performed, which is acquired by the position information acquisition means 23f. The storage unit 22 also has an attention area information database (not shown) that is generated by the information generation means 23g.

[0097] Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing the attention area information generated by the information generating means 23g. As shown in Fig. 5, the road R on which the automobile M travels is divided into a plurality of areas E that are partitioned at equal intervals. Each area E is displayed in a different color depending on the frequency of mode transitions that occur within that area E.

[0098] For example, an area E where the frequency of the first mode transition or the second mode transition is relatively the highest, i.e., an area E of "high occurrence frequency," is displayed in red, for example. An area E where the frequency of the first mode transition or the second mode transition is slightly lower than the "high occurrence frequency," i.e., an area E of "medium-high occurrence frequency," is displayed in orange, for example. An area E where the frequency of the first mode transition or the second mode transition is lower than the "medium-high occurrence frequency," i.e., an area E of "medium-low occurrence frequency," is displayed in green, for example. An area E where the frequency of the first mode transition or the second mode transition is relatively the lowest, i.e., an area E of "low occurrence frequency," is displayed in blue, for example. The illustrated colors are merely examples, and the "low occurrence frequency" area E in particular may be displayed in the same way as a normal map without any coloring.

[0099] Fig. 6 shows the autonomous driving mode determination process executed by the server 20. As shown in Fig. 6, the behavior information acquisition means 23a acquires behavior information of the vehicle M from each measurement terminal 10 mounted on the vehicle M (step S201).

[0100] The location information acquisition means 23f performs a first mode transition determination process to determine whether the automobile M has transitioned from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode (step S202). The location information acquisition means 23f determines whether the first mode transition has occurred based on the process of step S202 (step S203).

[0101] When the location information acquisition means 23f determines in step S203 that a first mode transition has occurred (step S203: Y), it acquires first location information where the first mode transition has occurred (step S204) and records the first location information in the location information database.

[0102] The information generating means 23g reads out the first position information from the position information database, generates heat map-like attention area information according to the frequency at which the first mode transition occurred (step S205), and records the attention area information in the attention area information database.

[0103] The providing means 23e reads out the attention area information generated in step S205 from the attention area information database, and provides it by transmitting it to the measurement terminal 10 mounted on the other automobile M (step S206).

[0104] If the position information acquisition means 23f determines in step S203 that the first mode transition has not occurred (step S203: N), the position information acquisition means 23f performs a second mode transition determination process to determine whether the automobile M has transitioned from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode (step S207).The position information acquisition means 23f determines whether the second mode transition has occurred based on the process of step S207 (step S208).

[0105] If the location information acquisition means 23f determines in step S208 that a second mode transition has occurred (step S208: Y), it acquires second location information where the second mode transition has occurred (step S209) and records the second location information in the location information database.

[0106] The information generating means 23g reads out the second position information from the position information database, generates heat map-like attention area information according to the frequency at which the second mode transition occurred (step S205), and records the attention area information in the attention area information database.

[0107] The providing means 23e reads out the attention area information generated in step S205 from the attention area information database, and provides it by transmitting it to the measurement terminal 10 mounted on the other automobile M (step S206).

[0108] If it is determined in step S208 that the second mode transition has not occurred (step S208: N), the position information acquisition means 23f performs processing assuming that the mode transition has not occurred (step S210), and ends the processing.

[0109] 7 is a diagram showing a more detailed flow of the first mode transition determination process (step S202). Step S202 may be configured as a subroutine as shown in FIG.

[0110] As shown in FIG. 7, the position information acquisition means 23f determines whether the longitudinal acceleration, which is the direction of movement of the automobile M, has changed beyond a predetermined threshold (step S301). Specifically, the longitudinal acceleration, which is the direction of movement of the automobile M traveling in autonomous driving mode, and the lateral acceleration relative to the direction of movement are assumed to be constant. In contrast, the longitudinal acceleration of the automobile M traveling in manual driving mode is assumed to vary and exceed a predetermined threshold. Therefore, the position information acquisition means 23f analyzes the change in longitudinal acceleration per predetermined time (e.g., one minute). For example, if the longitudinal acceleration is below a predetermined threshold before a specific time within the predetermined time, and changes to exceed the predetermined threshold after the specific time, the position information acquisition means 23f considers that the mode has shifted from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode.

[0111] When the position information acquisition means 23f determines in step S301 that the longitudinal acceleration, which is the direction of movement of the automobile M, has changed beyond a predetermined threshold (step S301: Y), it performs processing assuming that a first mode transition has occurred (step S302). That is, when there is a change in the positive longitudinal acceleration that exceeds the threshold, the position information acquisition means 23f performs processing assuming that there is a first mode transition for a driving operation related to acceleration (accelerator operation). Furthermore, when there is a change in the negative longitudinal acceleration that exceeds the threshold, the position information acquisition means 23f performs processing assuming that there is a first mode transition for a driving operation related to braking (brake operation).

[0112] If the location information acquisition means 23f determines in step S301 that the longitudinal acceleration of the automobile M has not changed beyond a predetermined threshold (step S301: N), it determines whether the lateral acceleration of the automobile M has changed beyond a predetermined threshold (step S303).

[0113] For example, if the position information acquisition means 23f detects that the lateral acceleration is below a predetermined threshold before a specific time within the specified period of time, and changes to exceed the predetermined threshold after the specific time, it is considered that the vehicle has transitioned from automatic driving mode to manual driving mode.

[0114] When it is determined in step S303 that the lateral acceleration of the automobile M has changed beyond a predetermined threshold (step S303: Y), the position information acquiring means 23f performs processing assuming that a first mode transition has occurred (step S302). That is, when there is a change in the positive or negative lateral acceleration exceeding the threshold, the position information acquiring means 23f performs processing assuming that a first mode transition has occurred regarding the driving operation related to steering (steering operation).

[0115] When it is determined in step S303 that the lateral acceleration of the automobile M has not changed beyond a predetermined threshold (step S303: N), the position information acquisition means 23f ends the process.

[0116] 8 is a diagram showing a more detailed flow of the second mode transition determination process (step S207). Step S207 may be configured as a subroutine as shown in FIG.

[0117] 8, the position information acquisition means 23f determines whether the longitudinal acceleration, which is the direction of movement of the automobile M, has changed to a value equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (step S401). For example, if the longitudinal acceleration exceeds the predetermined threshold before a specific time within the specified period of time and changes to a value equal to or less than the predetermined threshold after the specific time, the position information acquisition means 23f considers that the mode has shifted from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode.

[0118] When the position information acquisition means 23f determines in step S401 that the longitudinal acceleration of the automobile M has changed to a predetermined threshold or less (step S401: Y), it performs processing assuming that a second mode transition has occurred (step S402). That is, when there is a change in the positive longitudinal acceleration that exceeds the threshold, the position information acquisition means 23f performs processing assuming that a second mode transition has occurred for a driving operation related to acceleration (accelerator operation). Furthermore, when there is a change in the negative longitudinal acceleration that exceeds the threshold, the position information acquisition means 23f performs processing assuming that a second mode transition has occurred for a driving operation related to braking (brake operation).

[0119] If the position information acquisition means 23f determines in step S401 that the longitudinal acceleration of the automobile M has not changed below a predetermined threshold (step S401: N), it determines whether the lateral acceleration of the automobile M has changed below a predetermined threshold (step S403).

[0120] For example, if the position information acquisition means 23f detects that the lateral acceleration exceeds a predetermined threshold before a specific time within the specified period of time, and changes to a value below the predetermined threshold after the specific time, it is considered that the vehicle has transitioned from manual driving mode to automatic driving mode.

[0121] When it is determined in step S403 that the lateral acceleration of the automobile M has changed to a predetermined threshold or less (step S403: Y), the position information acquisition means 23f performs processing assuming that a second mode transition has occurred (step S402). That is, when the lateral acceleration has changed to a threshold or less, the position information acquisition means 23f performs processing assuming that a second mode transition has occurred for the driving operation related to steering (handle operation).

[0122] When it is determined in step S403 that the lateral acceleration of the automobile M has not changed beyond a predetermined threshold (step S403: N), the position information acquisition means 23f ends the process.

[0123] As described above, the information processing system 100 of this embodiment generates information regarding the position where the automobile M has shifted from one of the automatic driving mode and the manual driving mode to the other driving mode as an area requiring attention.

[0124] Therefore, according to the information processing system 100 of this embodiment, it is possible to analyze the collected cautionary events depending on the driving state of the automobile M, i.e., whether the driving mode is an automatic driving mode or a manual driving mode.

[0125] In particular, according to the information processing system 100 of this embodiment, it is possible to realize a safer driving environment by generating attention area information regarding the switching points of driving modes from automatic driving mode to manual driving mode, or from manual driving mode to automatic driving mode. [Explanation of symbols]

[0126] 100 Information Processing Systems 10 Measurement terminal 20 servers 23a Behavioral information acquisition means 23b Means of collecting information on points of interest 23c Traffic environment acquisition means 23d Setting method 23e Means of provision 23f Location information acquisition means 23g Information generation means

Claims

1. a position information acquisition means for acquiring position information of a moving body that has undergone a mode transition from one of an automatic driving mode in which at least one of the driving operations is performed automatically and a manual driving mode in which the driving operation is performed manually to the other mode; and an information generating means for generating attention area information, the attention area being an area including the position indicated by the position information; The information processing device is characterized in that the position information acquisition means acquires position information of the mobile body when the mode transition is performed for each of the steering driving operation, the acceleration driving operation, and the braking driving operation of the mobile body.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the information generation means generates the attention area information in a manner that changes depending on the frequency of a first mode transition from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode, using first position information where the first mode transition from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode occurs.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the information generation means generates the attention area information in a manner that changes depending on the frequency of a second mode transition from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode, as second position information where the second mode transition from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode occurs.

4. a storage unit for storing the attention area information; The information processing device described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the information generation means generates first attention area information, in which an area including a position indicated by first position information where a first mode transition from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode occurs is an attention area, and second attention area information, in which an area including a position indicated by second position information where a second mode transition from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode occurs is an attention area, and the memory unit stores these separately.

5. a location information acquisition means for acquiring location information of a moving body in an automatic driving mode in which at least one of the driving operations is performed automatically, and in a manual driving mode in which the driving operation is performed manually, and in which the degree of automation of the driving operation has changed; an information generating means for generating attention area information, the attention area being an area including the position indicated by the position information; An information processing device characterized in that the position information acquisition means acquires the position information of a mobile body in which a change has occurred in the degree of automation of the driving operations for each of the steering, acceleration, and braking driving operations of the mobile body.

6. The information processing device described in claim 5, characterized in that the information generation means generates the attention area information in a manner that changes depending on the frequency at which changes in the degree of automation of the driving operation occur, and the position information at which changes in the degree of automation of the driving operation occur in the autonomous driving mode.

7. The information processing device described in claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the information generation means generates the attention area information in a manner that changes depending on the frequency at which changes in the degree of automation of the driving operation occur, and the position information at which changes in the degree of automation of the driving operation occur in the manual driving mode.

8. a storage unit for storing the attention area information; The information processing device described in any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the information generation means generates first attention area information, in which an area including a position indicated by position information where a change in the degree of automation of the driving operation has occurred in the automatic driving mode is an attention area, and second attention area information, in which an area including a position indicated by position information where a change in the degree of automation of the driving operation has occurred in the manual driving mode is an attention area, and the memory unit records these separately.

9. a measurement terminal that measures the running state of a moving object; an information processing device including: a position information acquisition means for acquiring, from the measurement terminal, position information for a mode transition from one of an automatic driving mode in which at least one of the driving operations of the moving body is performed automatically and a manual driving mode in which the driving operation of the moving body is performed manually to the other mode; and an information generation means for generating attention area information in which an area including a position indicated by the position information is set as an attention area; and An information processing system characterized in that the position information acquisition means acquires position information of the mobile body when the mode transition is performed for each of the steering driving operation, acceleration driving operation, and braking driving operation of the mobile body.

10. an acquisition step of acquiring location information of a moving body that has undergone a mode transition from one of an automatic driving mode in which at least one of driving operations is performed automatically and a manual driving mode in which the driving operation is performed manually to the other mode; a generating step of generating attention area information in which an area including the position indicated by the position information is set as an attention area, An information processing method characterized in that, in the acquisition step, position information of the mobile body for which the mode transition has occurred is acquired for each of the steering driving operation, acceleration driving operation, and braking driving operation of the mobile body.

11. On the computer, an acquisition step of acquiring location information of a moving body that has undergone a mode transition from one of an automatic driving mode in which at least one of driving operations is performed automatically and a manual driving mode in which the driving operation is performed manually to the other mode; a generating step of generating attention area information in which an area including the position indicated by the position information is an attention area, A program that causes the computer to acquire, in the acquisition step, position information of the moving body for which the mode transition has been performed for each of the steering driving operation, the acceleration driving operation, and the braking driving operation of the moving body.

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