Roadside device

Abstract

To provide an improved technique for notifying pedestrians of information on approaching autonomous driving vehicles.SOLUTION: A roadside device provided herein comprises a control unit 21 and is installed at a location where pedestrians cross a road, the control unit 21 being configured to acquire information including multiple items related to approach of an autonomous driving vehicle 30 approaching the location and information indicative of the presence or absence of at least one vehicle V following the autonomous driving vehicle 30, and notify pedestrians of all of the multiple items if no following vehicles V are present and notify the pedestrians of some of the multiple items if at least one following vehicle V is present.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to roadside devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are technologies for notifying the behavior of autonomous vehicles. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for notifying vehicles other than autonomous vehicles or pedestrians, etc., of whether they can pass or to warn them, depending on the behavior of the autonomous vehicle that is scheduled to pass through a predetermined traffic area. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-050629 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There was room for improvement in the technology that notifies pedestrians about approaching self-driving vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The roadside device according to the present disclosure is a roadside device equipped with a control unit and installed at a position where a pedestrian crosses a road, and the control unit acquires approach information including multiple items related to the approach of an autonomous vehicle approaching the position, and following vehicle information indicating whether there is at least one vehicle following the autonomous vehicle, and if there is no following vehicle, notifies the pedestrian of all of the multiple items, and if there is at least one following vehicle, notifies the pedestrian of some of the multiple items. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] The present disclosure makes it possible to improve the technology for notifying pedestrians of information regarding the approach of an autonomous vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the positional relationship between an automatically driven vehicle and a following vehicle. [Figure 4] 10 is an example of an image displayed on a display of a roadside device. [Figure 5] 10 is an example of an image displayed on a display of a roadside device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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

[0009] The configuration of a system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The system 1 includes an information processing device 10, a roadside device 20, an autonomously driven vehicle 30, and a following vehicle V of the autonomously driven vehicle 30. The information processing device 10 is capable of communicating with the roadside device 20, the autonomously driven vehicle 30, and the following vehicle V via a network 40. Although one following vehicle V is shown in Fig. 1, the number of following vehicles V is not limited to this.

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

[0011] The roadside device 20 notifies pedestrians who are about to cross a road of the presence of an autonomous vehicle 30 approaching the roadside device 20 along the road. The roadside device 20 may also notify the autonomous vehicle 30 of the presence of a pedestrian. The roadside device 20 is installed at a position where a pedestrian will cross the road. Specifically, this position includes a position within a predetermined range from the start position of the pedestrian crossing. The roadside device 20 may be installed near the boundary between the road and the sidewalk. In this embodiment, the road is a road where vehicles have priority over pedestrians.

[0012] The autonomous vehicle 30 and the following vehicle V may be any type of automobile, such as a gasoline vehicle, a diesel vehicle, a battery electric vehicle (BEV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), or a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). In addition to the autonomous vehicle 30, the following vehicle V may also be capable of traveling by autonomous driving. Autonomous driving includes, for example, levels 1 to 5 defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), but is not limited to these and may be defined arbitrarily. When traveling on a road according to this embodiment, if there is no following vehicle V, the autonomous vehicle 30 will stop temporarily and wait for the pedestrian to complete crossing before passing through. If there is a following vehicle V, the autonomous vehicle 30 may pass through in front of the pedestrian without stopping temporarily so as not to disrupt traffic flow.

[0013] Network 40 may include the Internet, at least one WAN, at least one MAN, or any combination thereof. "WAN" is an abbreviation for wide area network. "MAN" is an abbreviation for metropolitan area network. Network 40 may include at least one wireless network, at least one optical network, or any combination thereof. A wireless network may be, for example, an ad-hoc network, a cellular network, a wireless LAN, a satellite communication network, or a terrestrial microwave network. "LAN" is an abbreviation for local area network.

[0014] First, an overview of this embodiment will be described, and details will be provided later. Roadside device 20 is installed at a position where a pedestrian crosses a road. Roadside device 20 acquires approach information including multiple items related to the approach of an automatically driven vehicle 30 approaching that position, and following vehicle information indicating whether there is at least one vehicle V following automatically driven vehicle 30. If there is no following vehicle V, roadside device 20 notifies the pedestrian of all of the multiple items, and if there is at least one following vehicle V, roadside device 20 notifies the pedestrian of some of the multiple items.

[0015] Some items included in the approach information according to this embodiment may be inaccurate. When there is no following vehicle V, notifying a pedestrian of an item that may be inaccurate does not pose any particular disadvantage to the pedestrian. For example, even if the "remaining distance" item included in the approach information is inaccurate, the autonomously driven vehicle 30 will temporarily stop, so notifying the pedestrian of this item does not pose any danger to the pedestrian. Furthermore, being notified of an item that may be inaccurate can be beneficial to the pedestrian. For example, if a pedestrian who recognizes that they walk slowly, such as an injured person or an elderly person, is aware that they have a slow walking speed, they can make flexible decisions, such as letting the autonomously driven vehicle 30 pass first and then crossing the street slowly, if the notified "remaining distance" is relatively short. Therefore, in this embodiment, when there is no following vehicle V following the autonomously driven vehicle 30, all of the multiple items included in the approach information are notified. When there is a following vehicle V, notifying a pedestrian of an item that may be inaccurate may lead to an incorrect decision by the pedestrian. For example, if the notified "remaining distance" item is longer than the actual distance, the pedestrian may mistakenly believe that there is sufficient time before the autonomously driven vehicle 30 arrives and begin crossing the street, which may result in the autonomously driven vehicle 30 suddenly stopping. According to this embodiment, when a following vehicle V is present, only some of the approach information items are notified, reducing the likelihood that the pedestrian will make an incorrect judgment, thereby improving traffic safety and smoothness. Therefore, it is possible to improve the technology for notifying pedestrians of information regarding the approach of an autonomously driven vehicle.

[0016] The configuration of an information processing device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The information processing device 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a communication unit 13.

[0017] The control unit 11 includes at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, or any combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU or GPU, or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing. "CPU" is an abbreviation for central processing unit. "GPU" is an abbreviation for graphics processing unit. An example of the programmable circuit is an FPGA. "FPGA" is an abbreviation for field-programmable gate array. An example of the dedicated circuit is an ASIC. "ASIC" is an abbreviation for application specific integrated circuit. The control unit 11 controls each unit of the information processing device 10 and executes processing related to the operation of the information processing device 10.

[0018] The storage unit 12 includes at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or any combination thereof. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a RAM, a ROM, or a flash memory. "RAM" is an abbreviation for random access memory. "ROM" is an abbreviation for read only memory. RAM is, for example, an SRAM or a DRAM. "SRAM" is an abbreviation for static random access memory. "DRAM" is an abbreviation for dynamic random access memory. ROM is, for example, an EEPROM. "EEPROM" is an abbreviation for electrically erasable programmable read only memory. Flash memory is, for example, an SSD. "SSD" is an abbreviation for solid-state drive. Magnetic memory is, for example, an HDD. "HDD" is an abbreviation for hard disk drive. The storage unit 12 functions, for example, as a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 12 stores information used in the operation of the information processing device 10 and information obtained by the operation of the information processing device 10.

[0019] The communication unit 13 includes at least one communication module. The communication module is, for example, a module that complies with a wired LAN communication standard such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or a wireless LAN communication standard such as IEEE802.11. "IEEE" is an abbreviation for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The communication unit 13 communicates with devices other than the information processing device 10. The communication unit 13 receives information used in the operation of the information processing device 10 and transmits information obtained by the operation of the information processing device 10.

[0020] The configuration of a roadside device 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The roadside device 20 includes a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication unit 23, an input unit 24, an output unit 25, and an image capture unit 26. The hardware configurations of the control unit 21 and the storage unit 22 of the roadside device 20 may be similar to the hardware configurations of the control unit 11 and the storage unit 12 of the information processing device 10, respectively. A description thereof will be omitted here.

[0021] The communication unit 23 includes at least one communication interface. The communication interface is, for example, an interface compatible with a mobile communication standard such as LTE, 4G standard, or 5G standard, an interface compatible with a short-range wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), or a LAN interface. "LTE" is an abbreviation for Long Term Evolution. "4G" is an abbreviation for 4th generation. "5G" is an abbreviation for 5th generation. The communication unit 23 receives information used in the operation of the roadside device 20 and transmits information obtained by the operation of the roadside device 20.

[0022] The input unit 24 includes at least one input interface. The input interface is, for example, a physical key, a capacitance key, a pointing device, a touch screen integrated with a display, or a microphone. The input unit 24 accepts an operation to input data used for the operation of the roadside device 20. The input unit 24 may be connected to the roadside device 20 as an external input device instead of being provided in the roadside device 20. Any connection method may be used, for example, USB, HDMI (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark). "USB" is an abbreviation for Universal Serial Bus. "HDMI (registered trademark)" is an abbreviation for High-Definition Multimedia Interface.

[0023] The output unit 25 includes at least one output interface. The output interface is, for example, a display or a speaker. The display is, for example, an LCD or an organic EL display. "LCD" is an abbreviation for liquid crystal display. "EL" is an abbreviation for electroluminescence. The display may be an LED display. "LED" is an abbreviation for light emitting diode. The output unit 25 outputs data obtained by the operation of the roadside device 20. The output unit 25 may be connected to the roadside device 20 as an external output device instead of being provided in the roadside device 20. Any connection method can be used, for example, USB, HDMI (registered trademark), or Bluetooth (registered trademark). The output unit 25 may include a light emitting element such as an LED light.

[0024] The photographing unit 26 is a camera that photographs the surroundings of the roadside device 20. The camera may be equipped with a lens that can photograph 360 degrees. The photographing unit 26 can output the photographed image to the control unit 21.

[0025] The configuration of an autonomously driven vehicle 30 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The autonomously driven vehicle 30 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication unit 33, a positioning unit 34, and an image capture unit 35. The hardware configuration of the storage unit 32 of the autonomously driven vehicle 30 may be similar to the hardware configuration of the storage unit 12 of the information processing device 10. A description thereof will be omitted here. The hardware configuration of the communication unit 33 of the autonomously driven vehicle 30 may be similar to the hardware configuration of the communication unit 23 of the roadside device 20. A description thereof will be omitted here.

[0026] The control unit 31 includes at least one processor, at least one programmable circuit, at least one dedicated circuit, at least one ECU, or any combination thereof. "ECU" is an abbreviation for electronic control unit. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU or GPU, or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process. The programmable circuit is, for example, an FPGA. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an ASIC. The control unit 31 controls each part of the autonomously driven vehicle 30 and executes processes related to the operation of the autonomously driven vehicle 30.

[0027] The positioning unit 34 includes at least one GNSS receiver. "GNSS" is an abbreviation for global navigation satellite system. GNSS is, for example, GPS, QZSS, BeiDou, GLONASS, or Galileo. "GPS" is an abbreviation for Global Positioning System. "QZSS" is an abbreviation for Quasi-Zenith Satellite System. QZSS satellites are called quasi-zenith satellites. "GLONASS" is an abbreviation for Global Navigation Satellite System. The positioning unit 34 measures the position of the autonomously driven vehicle 30.

[0028] The photographing unit 35 is a camera that photographs the surroundings of the autonomously driven vehicle 30. The photographing unit 35 can output the acquired images to the control unit 31. The photographing unit 35 includes a drive recorder.

[0029] The following vehicle V may also be equipped with a control unit, a memory unit, a communication unit, and a positioning unit with the same hardware configuration as the automatically driven vehicle 30. The automatically driven vehicle 30 and the following vehicle V may be capable of transmitting position information indicating the position of the respective vehicles to the information processing device 10.

[0030] The functions of the information processing device 10, the roadside device 20, or the autonomously driven vehicle 30 are realized by executing a program according to this embodiment on a processor functioning as the control unit 11, the control unit 21, or the control unit 31. That is, the functions of the information processing device 10, the roadside device 20, or the autonomously driven vehicle 30 are realized by software. The program causes a computer to execute the operations of the information processing device 10, the roadside device 20, or the autonomously driven vehicle 30, thereby causing the computer to function as the information processing device 10, the roadside device 20, or the autonomously driven vehicle 30. That is, the computer functions as the information processing device 10, the roadside device 20, or the autonomously driven vehicle 30 by executing the operations of the information processing device 10, the roadside device 20, or the autonomously driven vehicle 30 in accordance with the program.

[0031] The program can be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include flash memory, magnetic recording devices, optical disks, magneto-optical recording media, and ROMs. The program can be distributed by selling, transferring, or lending portable media such as SD cards, DVDs, or CD-ROMs that store the program. "SD" is an abbreviation for Secure Digital. "DVD" is an abbreviation for digital versatile disc. "CD-ROM" is an abbreviation for compact disc read only memory. The program can also be distributed by storing it in the storage of a server and transferring it from the server to another computer. The program can also be provided as a program product.

[0032] A computer temporarily stores a program stored on a portable medium or transferred from a server in its main storage device. The computer then reads the program stored in the main storage device using a processor and executes processing in accordance with the read program. The computer may also read the program directly from a portable medium and execute processing in accordance with the program. The computer may also execute processing in accordance with the received program each time a program is transferred from a server to the computer. Processing may also be executed through a so-called ASP-type service that achieves its functions by issuing execution instructions and obtaining results without transferring the program from the server to the computer. "ASP" is an abbreviation for application service provider. A program is information used for processing by a computer and includes something equivalent to a program. For example, data that is not a direct instruction to a computer but has properties that specify computer processing falls under the category of "something equivalent to a program."

[0033] Some or all of the functions of the information processing device 10, the roadside device 20, or the autonomously driven vehicle 30 may be realized by a programmable circuit or a dedicated circuit as the control unit 11, the control unit 21, or the control unit 31. In other words, some or all of the functions of the information processing device 10, the roadside device 20, or the autonomously driven vehicle 30 may be realized by hardware.

[0034] The operation of the system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Of the operations shown in Figure 2, the operation of the roadside device 20 corresponds to the method according to this embodiment. In the following, it is assumed that communication between the information processing device 10 and an external device is performed via the communication unit 13 and the network 40. In the following, it is assumed that communication between the roadside device 20 and an external device is performed via the communication unit 23 and the network 40. In the following, it is assumed that communication between the autonomously driven vehicle 30 and an external device is performed via the communication unit 33 and the network 40.

[0035] 2, the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10 determines whether or not there is a pedestrian attempting to cross the road. If there is no pedestrian attempting to cross the road (S1: NO), the processing operation of the control unit 11 returns to the beginning. If there is a pedestrian attempting to cross the road (S1: YES), the processing operation of the control unit 11 proceeds to S2.

[0036] Any method may be used to determine whether a pedestrian is attempting to cross the road. For example, the control unit 11 may receive and acquire from the roadside device 20 an image captured by the image capture unit 26 of the roadside device 20, analyze the image using any image analysis technology, and determine whether a pedestrian attempting to cross the road is captured in the image. The control unit 11 may also acquire the image by receiving it from an outdoor camera capturing an image of the location of the roadside device 20. The control unit 11 may communicate with a terminal device used by the pedestrian, acquire terminal location information indicating the location of the terminal device, and determine whether a pedestrian is attempting to cross the road based on the terminal location information.

[0037] In S2, the control unit 11 determines whether there is an autonomous vehicle 30 approaching the position where the pedestrian will cross the road. If there is no autonomous vehicle 30 (S2: NO), the control unit 11 returns to S1. If there is an autonomous vehicle 30 (S2: YES), the control unit 11 proceeds to S3.

[0038] Any method may be used to determine whether an oncoming autonomous vehicle 30 is present. For example, the control unit 11 first acquires an image captured by the image capturing unit 26 of the roadside device 20 or an image captured by an outdoor camera from the roadside device 20 or the outdoor camera. The control unit 11 may analyze the image using any image analysis technology, and determine that an autonomous vehicle 30 is present if the image captures an autonomous vehicle 30 approaching a position where a pedestrian is crossing the road, and may determine that an autonomous vehicle 30 is not present if the image does not capture an autonomous vehicle 30. The control unit 11 may acquire location information indicating the location of the autonomous vehicle 30 from the autonomous vehicle 30, and determine whether an oncoming autonomous vehicle 30 is present based on the location information.

[0039] In S3, the control unit 11 determines whether there is at least one vehicle V following the automatically driven vehicle 30. If there is no following vehicle V (S3: NO), the control unit 11 proceeds to S4. If there is at least one following vehicle V (S3: YES), the control unit 11 proceeds to S5.

[0040] Any method may be used to determine whether at least one following vehicle V is present. For example, the control unit 11 may analyze an image captured by the roadside device 20 or an outdoor camera using any image analysis technology, and determine that a following vehicle V is present if the following vehicle V of the autonomously driven vehicle 30 is captured in the image, and determine that a following vehicle V is not present if the following vehicle V is not captured in the image. The control unit 11 may acquire position information indicating the respective positions of multiple vehicles including the autonomously driven vehicle 30, and, based on the position information, identify a vehicle traveling behind the autonomously driven vehicle 30 within a predetermined distance as the following vehicle V, and determine that a following vehicle V is present. Information indicating the predetermined distance may be set in advance and stored in the memory unit 12. The control unit 11 may identify multiple following vehicles V as at least one following vehicle V.

[0041] First, a case will be described in which the control unit 11 determines in S3 that there is no vehicle V following the automatically driven vehicle 30. In S4, the control unit 11 generates following vehicle information indicating that there is no following vehicle. Thereafter, the processing of the control unit 11 proceeds to S6.

[0042] Next, a case will be described where the control unit 11 determines in S3 that there is at least one vehicle V following the automatically driven vehicle 30. In S5, the control unit 11 generates following vehicle information indicating the presence of a following vehicle. The following vehicle information may include information about the following vehicle V. For example, the following vehicle information may include information indicating the number of following vehicles V, the distance from the following vehicle V to the automatically driven vehicle 30, etc. The following vehicle information may include information indicating the speed of the following vehicle V.

[0043] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationship between an autonomously driven vehicle 30 according to this embodiment and a following vehicle V. In the example shown in FIG. 3, an autonomously driven vehicle 30 is traveling along road R and approaching the position of a pedestrian P and a roadside device 20, and one following vehicle V is present behind the autonomously driven vehicle 30. In this example, the control unit 11 determines that a following vehicle V is present, and generates following vehicle information indicating the presence of a following vehicle. In this example, the following vehicle information includes information indicating that the number of following vehicles V is one.

[0044] In S6 of FIG. 2 , the control unit 11 generates approach information including multiple items related to the approach of the autonomously driven vehicle 30. Any method may be used to generate the approach information. The control unit 11 may generate the approach information based on position information of the autonomously driven vehicle 30. In this embodiment, the approach information includes items indicating that the autonomously driven vehicle 30 is approaching, the remaining distance from the autonomously driven vehicle 30 to the position where the pedestrian will cross the road, and the direction in which the autonomously driven vehicle 30 is approaching. The remaining distance specifically includes the "remaining distance" until the autonomously driven vehicle 30 reaches the position, or the remaining time until the autonomously driven vehicle 30 reaches the position. The direction specifically includes, with the direction in which the pedestrian will cross the road being the front, "to the right" or "to the left," etc. Without being limited thereto, the direction may also include "diagonally forward right," "diagonally backward right," "diagonally forward left," "diagonally backward left," etc. The direction may also include directions such as north, south, east, and west, road names, road numbers, etc. The approach information is not limited thereto and may include any items. For example, the approach information may include items such as the color of the body of the autonomous vehicle 30, which allow pedestrians to identify the autonomous vehicle 30.

[0045] In the example of Fig. 3, there is an autonomous vehicle 30 approaching from the right, with the direction in which the pedestrian is crossing the road in front. Assume that the remaining distance from autonomous vehicle 30 to the position where the pedestrian will cross the road is 20 m. Control unit 11 generates approach information that includes, as items, "autonomous vehicle 30 is coming," "20 m" as the remaining distance, and "to the right" as the direction in which autonomous vehicle 30 is coming.

[0046] In S7 of FIG. 2, the control unit 11 transmits the generated approach information and following vehicle information to the roadside device 20.

[0047] In S8, the control unit 21 of the roadside device 20 receives the approach information and the following vehicle information from the information processing device 10 and thereby acquires them.

[0048] In S9, the control unit 21 determines which items of the approach information to notify the pedestrian of. In this embodiment, when the following vehicle information indicates that at least one following vehicle V is present, the control unit 21 determines some of the multiple items included in the approach information as the items to notify. Furthermore, when the following vehicle information indicates that no following vehicle V is present, the control unit 21 determines all of the multiple items included in the approach information as the items to notify. In other words, when at least one following vehicle V is present, the control unit 21 determines to notify some of the multiple items included in the approach information, and when no following vehicle V is present, the control unit 21 determines to notify all of the multiple items included in the approach information.

[0049] The control unit 21 may determine which items to notify the pedestrian by referring to information specifying which items to omit from among the multiple items included in the approach information. This information may be preset and stored in the storage unit 22. For example, the control unit 21 may refer to the information and, of the three items included in the approach information—“the autonomously driven vehicle 30 is coming,” “the remaining distance,” and “the direction”—determine, omitting the “remaining distance” item, only two items—“the autonomously driven vehicle 30 is coming” and “the direction”—as some of the items to be notified. As a result, when the autonomously driven vehicle 30 prioritizes the flow of traffic on the road and passes by without stopping at a location where a pedestrian is present, the pedestrian is notified of the items of the approach information excluding the “remaining distance,” which may be inaccurate. This reduces the likelihood that the pedestrian will make an incorrect judgment. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the likelihood that the pedestrian will feel annoyed by being notified of inaccurate information.

[0050] For example, depending on the shape of the road, the control unit 21 may determine, as some of the items to be notified to the pedestrian, the items "remaining distance" and the "direction" in which the autonomous vehicle 30 is approaching the position where the pedestrian is to cross the road, omitting the above-mentioned items. In this case, if the road has a shape in which the autonomous vehicle 30 is approaching in only one direction, the control unit 21 may determine, as some of the items to be notified, only "that the autonomous vehicle 30 is approaching." If the road has a shape in which the autonomous vehicle 30 is approaching in multiple directions, the control unit 21 may determine, as some of the items to be notified, only two items, "that the autonomous vehicle 30 is approaching" and the "direction." In this way, if the direction in which the autonomous vehicle 30 is approaching is clear, the notification will omit the "direction" as well. This further reduces the possibility that pedestrians will feel annoyed.

[0051] For example, when the following vehicle information includes the distance between the autonomously driven vehicle 30 and the following vehicle V, the control unit 21 may determine, depending on the distance, as some of the items to be notified to the pedestrian, in addition to the above-mentioned "remaining distance" item, but omitting the "direction" item. Specifically, when the distance between the autonomously driven vehicle 30 and the following vehicle V is less than a predetermined value, the control unit 21 may determine only the item "that the autonomously driven vehicle 30 is coming" but omitting the above-mentioned "remaining distance" and "direction." When the distance is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the control unit 21 may determine only the items "that the autonomously driven vehicle 30 is coming" and "direction" but omitting the above-mentioned "remaining distance." As a result, when the distance between the autonomously driven vehicle 30 and the following vehicle V is short and there is a high possibility that the autonomously driven vehicle 30 will pass by without stopping at the pedestrian's crossing position, the control unit 21 may determine only the item "that the autonomously driven vehicle 30 is coming" but omitting the above-mentioned "remaining distance." As a result, when the distance between the autonomous vehicle 30 and the following vehicle V is sufficiently large and there is a high possibility that the autonomous vehicle 30 will stop at a position where a pedestrian will cross, the control unit 21 can determine that both the items "the autonomous vehicle 30 is approaching" and "direction" are to be notified. This reduces the likelihood that the pedestrian will make an incorrect judgment. It also reduces the possibility that the pedestrian will feel annoyed.

[0052] The control unit 21 may also determine, depending on the number of following vehicles V indicated by the following vehicle information, items to be notified to pedestrians, excluding the "direction" item in addition to the "remaining distance" item. Specifically, when the number of following vehicles V is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit 21 may determine, as some of the items to be notified, only the item "that an autonomously driven vehicle 30 is coming," omitting the "direction" item in addition to the "remaining distance." When the number is less than the predetermined value, the control unit 21 may determine, as some of the items to be notified, only the items "that an autonomously driven vehicle 30 is coming" and "direction," omitting the "remaining distance." Information indicating the predetermined value may be stored in advance in the storage unit 22. As a result, when the number of following vehicles V is equal to or greater than the predetermined value and there is a high possibility that autonomously driven vehicles 30 will pass by without stopping traffic flow or stopping at a position where pedestrians are to cross, only the information that autonomously driven vehicles 30 are coming is notified to pedestrians. This reduces the likelihood that pedestrians will make an incorrect judgment. It also reduces the possibility of pedestrians feeling annoyed.

[0053] The items to be notified may be determined by the control unit 11 of the information processing device 10. In this case, the control unit 11 transmits information indicating the determined items to the roadside device 20.

[0054] In S10, the control unit 21 notifies the pedestrian of the items determined in S9 by outputting them via the output unit 25. Any method may be used to notify the pedestrian. For example, the control unit 21 communicates with a terminal device used by the pedestrian and transmits information indicating the determined items to the terminal device. The terminal device displays the information on a display or the like serving as an output unit, thereby notifying the pedestrian of the determined items. Thereafter, the operation of the system 1 ends.

[0055] For example, if the control unit 21 determines in S9 that the items "Autonomous vehicle 30 is approaching" and "to the right" are to be included as notification items, the control unit 21 generates a message such as "An autonomous vehicle is approaching from the right" and outputs the message audibly via a speaker serving as the output unit 25 to notify the pedestrian. The control unit 21 may also notify the pedestrian by displaying the message on a display serving as the output unit 25. FIG. 4 is an example of an image that the control unit 21 displays on the display. The image shows the autonomous vehicle 30, the following vehicle V, a pedestrian, and the roadside device 20 on a schematic map. In the image, the following vehicle V and the autonomous vehicle 30 are traveling on the roadway and approaching the roadside device 20 and the pedestrian P, and information about the autonomous vehicle 30 is displayed in text. The autonomous vehicle 30 may be highlighted by a color, an arrow, a flashing light, or the like. The image displayed on the display is not limited to the example of FIG. 4; a text message such as "An autonomous vehicle is approaching from the right" may also be displayed.

[0056] For example, if the control unit 21 determines in S9 that all items included in the approach information, namely, "an autonomous vehicle 30 is approaching," "to the right," and "remaining distance," are to be notified, the control unit 21 generates a message such as "An autonomous vehicle is approaching from the right. The remaining distance is 20 meters," and notifies the pedestrian by outputting the message aloud through a speaker serving as the output unit 25. The control unit 21 may notify the pedestrian by displaying the message on a display serving as the output unit 25. FIG. 5 is an example of an image that the control unit 21 displays on the display. The image shows the autonomous vehicle 30, a pedestrian, and a roadside device 20 on a schematic map. In the image, there is no following vehicle V, and the autonomous vehicle 30 is traveling on the roadway, approaching the roadside device 20 and the pedestrian P. Information indicating the autonomous vehicle 30 and the remaining distance of the autonomous vehicle 30 to the roadside device 20, "20 meters," are displayed in text. If "remaining time" is also determined to be an item to be notified in S9, then instead of or in addition to the text display of "20 m," the remaining time may be displayed in text, such as "20 seconds." The autonomously driven vehicle 30 may be highlighted by color coding, an arrow, a flashing light, or the like. The image displayed on the display is not limited to the example in FIG. 5 , and a text message such as "An autonomously driven vehicle is approaching from the right. The remaining distance is 20 m" may also be displayed.

[0057] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, two or more blocks shown in the block diagrams may be integrated, or one block may be divided. Two or more steps shown in the flowcharts may be executed in parallel or in a different order, instead of being executed in chronological order as described, depending on the processing capabilities of the device executing each step, or as needed. Other modifications are possible within the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1 System 10. Information processing equipment 11 Control section 12 Storage section 13 Communications Department 20 Roadside equipment 21 Control Unit 22 Memory section 23 Communications Department 24 Input section 25 Output section 26 Photography Department 30 Self-driving vehicles 31 Control Unit 32 Storage section 33 Communications Department 34 Positioning unit 35 Photography Department 40 Network

Claims

1. A roadside device equipped with a control unit and installed at a position where a pedestrian crosses a road, The control unit acquiring information including a plurality of items related to the approach of an autonomous vehicle approaching the location and information indicating whether there is at least one vehicle following the autonomous vehicle; The roadside device notifies the pedestrian of all of the plurality of items when there is no following vehicle, and notifies the pedestrian of some of the plurality of items when there is at least one following vehicle.

2. The roadside device according to claim 1, the plurality of items related to the approach of the autonomous vehicle include a remaining distance until the autonomous vehicle reaches the position; When the following vehicle is present, the control unit notifies the pedestrian of the items excluding the remaining distance.

3. The roadside device according to claim 1, the plurality of items related to the approach of the autonomous vehicle include an item indicating a remaining time until the autonomous vehicle arrives at the location; When the following vehicle is present, the control unit notifies the pedestrian of the items excluding the remaining time.

4. The roadside device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the plurality of items related to the approach of the autonomous vehicle include a direction in which the autonomous vehicle is coming toward the location; When the following vehicle is present, the control unit notifies the pedestrian of the information excluding the direction.

5. The roadside device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the information indicating whether at least one following vehicle is present includes a distance between the autonomously driven vehicle and the following vehicle; The control unit notifies the pedestrian of some of the plurality of items when the following vehicle is present and the distance is less than a predetermined value.

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