Vehicle control device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device for controlling a vehicle in response to reliability by determining the reliability of road information of a position where the state of a road is largely changed.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device includes: an acquisition section for acquiring road information of a position outside a detection range of a sensor mounted on a vehicle; a decision section for deciding whether reliability of the road information is higher or lower based on determination information expressing a position where the state of the road is largely changed; a determination section for determining that resolution of the road information is interpreted to be lower when the decision section decides that the reliability of the road information is lower; and a planning section for generating a plan to control the vehicle based on the road information whose resolution is interpreted to be lower when the determination section determines that the resolution of the road information is interpreted to be lower.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device. [Background technology]

[0002] An automatic control device mounted on a vehicle acquires from a server road information indicating the state of a road ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle and outside the detection range of a sensor.

[0003] The server acquires the road conditions for each lane detected by a large number of probe vehicles traveling on the road and transmits the acquired information to the vehicle as road information. The road information includes the vehicle speed for each lane, the location of obstacles, the road surface condition, etc. For example, the automatic control device generates a driving lane plan based on the road information.

[0004] Road information is not always accurate, for example, the positions of objects on the road detected by the probe vehicle may be incorrect.

[0005] For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a device that receives obstacle information from a roadside device that includes a plurality of sensors that detect obstacles within a predetermined field of view, and determines the reliability of the obstacle information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-64792 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Furthermore, road conditions can change over time, so there is a possibility that the road conditions will be different when the vehicle reaches the location indicated by the road information.

[0008] Therefore, it is preferable to determine the reliability of road information from the viewpoint of changes in road conditions.

[0009] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle control device that determines the reliability of road information at locations where road conditions change significantly, and controls the vehicle in accordance with the reliability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] (1) According to one embodiment, a vehicle control device is provided, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires road information for a position outside the detection range of a sensor mounted on a vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether the reliability of the road information is high or low based on determination information that indicates a position where the road condition changes significantly; a decision unit that, when the determination unit determines that the reliability of the road information is low, determines to interpret the road information with a low resolution; and, when the determination unit determines that the resolution of the road information is to be interpreted with a low resolution, a planner that generates a plan to control the vehicle based on the road information interpreted with a low resolution.

[0011] (2) In the vehicle control device of (1), the judgment information represents a location where the road condition changes significantly over time, and it is preferable that the judgment unit judges that the reliability of the road information is low when the location represented by the road information matches the location where the road condition changes significantly over time represented in the judgment information.

[0012] (3) In the vehicle control device of (1), the judgment information represents a location and a time period where the road condition changes significantly over time, and the judgment unit preferably judges that the reliability of the road information is low if the location represented by the road information coincides with the location where the road condition represented in the judgment information changes significantly over time, and the time when the road information was acquired is included in the time period where the road condition represented in the judgment information changes significantly over time.

[0013] (4) The vehicle control device of (1) further includes a generating unit that generates determination information that indicates a position where the change in road condition is large between the position indicated by the road information and a vicinity of the position indicated by the road information, Preferably, the determination unit determines that the reliability of the road information is low when the position represented by the determination information generated by the generation unit matches the position represented by the road information.

[0014] (5) In the vehicle control device of (1), the judgment information represents a position where the change in the curvature radius of the road is large, and the judgment unit preferably judges that the reliability of the road information is low if the position represented by the road information matches the position represented by the judgment information where the change in the curvature radius is large, and the speed of another vehicle included in the road information exceeds a reference speed estimated based on the reference curvature radius. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] The vehicle control device of the present invention controls the vehicle by interpreting the road information with a low resolution when the reliability of the road information is low at locations where the road conditions change greatly, thereby achieving the effect of being able to control the vehicle in accordance with the road conditions when the vehicle is traveling. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle in which an automatic control device is implemented; [Figure 3] 10 is an example of an operational flowchart of a vehicle control process of an automatic control device. [Figure 4] 10 is an example of an operational flowchart of a generation process of an automatic control device. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating how road information is interpreted with low resolution. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the generation of a plan for controlling a vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle control system 1 in which an automatic control device 11 of this embodiment is implemented. The vehicle control system 1 has at least one vehicle 10 and a server 30. The automatic control device 11 is implemented in the vehicle 10. The automatic control device 11 is connected to the server 30 via the macrocell base station 41 and the communication network 40 by, for example, accessing a wireless base station 41 (hereinafter also referred to as a macrocell base station 41) that provides a macrocell that is connected to a communication network 40 to which the server 30 is connected via a gateway (not shown) or the like. The automatic control device 11 is an example of a vehicle control device.

[0018] 1 shows only one vehicle 10, the vehicle control system 1 may include multiple vehicles 10. Similarly, multiple macrocell base stations 41 may be connected to the communication network 40.

[0019] Vehicle 10 is traveling on road 50. Road 50 has three lanes 51, 52, and 53. Vehicle 10 is traveling on lane 52. Lane 51 is divided by lane dividing line 54 and lane dividing line 55. Lane 52 is divided by lane dividing line 55 and lane dividing line 56. Lane 53 is divided by lane dividing line 56 and lane dividing line 57.

[0020] The server 30 acquires information indicating the road condition for each lane detected by a large number of probe vehicles traveling on the road. The server 30 can also acquire information indicating the road condition from a terminal carried by the driver or a roadside unit. The server 30 transmits road information to the vehicle 10 via the communication network 40 and the macrocell base station 41. The road information includes, for example, the location of the road, the vehicle speed for each lane, the location of obstacles, the condition of the road surface, etc. The road information is transmitted, for example, at a transmission time having a predetermined cycle.

[0021] In the map information held by the server 30 and the automatic control device 11, a road is represented as a series of multiple road sections. A lane is represented as a series of multiple lane sections. A lane section is associated with the road section that includes this lane section. The road information may represent the road condition of a lane section. Alternatively, the road information may be represented as the road condition of a road section.

[0022] The automatic control device 11 receives road information from the server 30 using the communication device 4 via the macrocell base station 41 and the communication network 40. The road information includes the condition of roads in areas outside the detection range of the sensors mounted on the vehicle 10. The road information may also include the condition of roads in areas within the detection range of the sensors mounted on the vehicle 10.

[0023] The automatic control device 11 controls the operation of the vehicle 10 based on information detected by sensors mounted on the vehicle 10, road information, etc. The vehicle 10 may be, for example, an autonomous vehicle.

[0024] If the road information represents the condition of a road at a position outside the detection range of the sensor installed on the vehicle 10, the condition of the road may have changed by the time the vehicle 10 reaches the position represented by the road information.

[0025] Therefore, the automatic control device 11 determines whether the reliability of the received road information is high or low based on the determination information that indicates the location where the road condition changes significantly.

[0026] For example, the automatic control device 11 uses determination information that indicates a location where road conditions change significantly over time. If the location indicated by the road information matches a location where road conditions change significantly over time, as indicated in the determination information, the automatic control device 11 determines that the reliability of the road information is low. A location where road conditions change significantly over time is, for example, a location where traffic congestion occurs statistically frequently.

[0027] When the reliability of the road information is determined to be low, the automatic control device 11 determines to interpret the road information with a low resolution. For example, the resolution of the road information may be interpreted as low by expanding the position represented by the road information to the adjacent lanes or the entire road.

[0028] In the example shown in Figure 1, if there is congestion in lane section 60 of lane 52, other vehicles traveling in lane 52 will move to lane 51 or lane 53, and the congestion is likely to spread to the entire road, including lane section 60 and adjacent lanes.

[0029] 1, when the road information indicates that congestion is occurring in lane section 60 of lane 52, the automatic control device 11 interprets that the congestion is occurring in road section 61 which includes lane section 60. Road section 61 includes lane sections 51 and 53 which are adjacent to lane section 60.

[0030] If it is determined that the resolution of the road information is to be interpreted at a low level, the automatic control device 11 generates a plan to control the vehicle 10 based on the road information interpreted at a low level. For example, the automatic control device 11 plans to transfer control of the vehicle 10 to the driver before the vehicle 10 reaches the road section 61.

[0031] When the reliability of road information at a location outside the detection range of the sensor installed in the vehicle 10 is low, the automatic control device 11 generates a plan to control the vehicle 10 by interpreting the road information with a low resolution so that it can also respond to changes in road conditions.

[0032] Also, in the example shown in Figure 1, when vehicle 10 approaches road section 61 and road section 61 is included in the detection range of the sensor mounted on vehicle 10, if congestion occurs only in lane section 60, the plan may be changed to drive vehicle 10 under automatic control.

[0033] According to the automatic control device 11 of this embodiment described above, when the reliability of road information at a location where the road condition changes significantly is low, the resolution of the road information is interpreted as low and the vehicle is controlled, so that the vehicle can be controlled in accordance with the road condition when the vehicle 10 is traveling.

[0034] Next, the vehicle 10 in which the automatic control device 11 is implemented will be described below with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the vehicle 10 in which the automatic control device 11 is implemented.

[0035] The vehicle 10 includes a camera 2, a LiDAR sensor 3, a communication device 4, a positioning information receiving device 5, a user interface (UI) 6, an automatic control device 11, and the like.

[0036] The camera 2, LiDAR sensor 3, communication device 4, positioning information receiving device 5, UI 6, and automatic control device 11 are communicatively connected via an in-vehicle network 12 that complies with a standard such as a controller area network.

[0037] The camera 2 is attached to the vehicle 10 so as to face forward of the vehicle 10. The camera 2 acquires camera images showing the environment of a predetermined area ahead of the vehicle 10, for example, at a predetermined period. The camera images are an example of information showing the environment around the vehicle 10. The camera images may show roads included in the predetermined area ahead of the vehicle 10 and road features around the roads. The camera images are used in the process of detecting objects around the vehicle 10 in the automatic control device 11. The object detection distance of the camera 2 is, for example, about 200 m.

[0038] The camera 2 has a two-dimensional detector composed of an array of photoelectric conversion elements sensitive to visible light, such as a CCD or C-MOS, and an imaging optical system that forms an image of the area to be acquired on the two-dimensional detector.

[0039] Every time the camera 2 captures a camera image, it outputs the camera image and the camera image capture time at which the camera image was captured to the automatic control device 11 via the in-vehicle network 12.

[0040] The LiDAR sensor 3 is attached to, for example, the exterior surface of the vehicle 10 so as to face forward of the vehicle 10. The LiDAR sensor 3 emits a laser to scan a predetermined field of view in front of the vehicle 10 at a reflected wave information acquisition time set at a predetermined cycle, and receives the reflected wave reflected by a reflecting object. The time required for the reflected wave to return contains distance information between the vehicle 10 and an object located in the direction of the laser irradiation. The LiDAR sensor 3 outputs reflected wave information, including the laser irradiation direction and the time required for the reflected wave to return, together with the reflected wave information acquisition time when the laser was emitted, to the automatic control device 11 via the in-vehicle network 12. The reflected wave information is used by the automatic control device 11 in a process to detect objects around the vehicle 10. The object detection distance of the LiDAR sensor is, for example, 200 m to 1000 m.

[0041] The communication device 4 has an interface circuit for connecting the automatic control device 11 to the macrocell base station 41. The communication device 4 is configured to be able to communicate with the server 30 via the macrocell base station 41 and the communication network 40. Every time the communication device 4 receives road information from the server 30, it outputs the road information to the automatic control device 11 via the in-vehicle network 12.

[0042] In the map information held by the server 30 and the automatic control device 11, roads are represented as a series of multiple road sections. A lane is represented as a series of multiple lane sections. A lane section is associated with the road section that includes this lane section.

[0043] The road information includes the location, vehicle speed for each lane, vehicle intervals, road features, the location of obstacles, road surface conditions, and the presence or absence of congestion. The vehicle speed may be expressed as an average speed or as a range of upper and lower limits. The road information also includes information indicating the time when the road conditions were acquired.

[0044] The road information may represent the road condition of one lane section. The lane section is identified by identification information that identifies the lane section. The position of the lane section is expressed in world coordinates having an origin at a predetermined position. The road information may also represent the road condition of one road section. The road section is identified by identification information that identifies the road section. The position of the road section is expressed in world coordinates having an origin at a predetermined position.

[0045] The positioning information receiving device 5 outputs positioning information indicating the current position of the vehicle 10. For example, the positioning information receiving device 5 can be a GNSS receiver. Every time the positioning information receiving device 5 acquires GNSS information at a predetermined reception cycle, it outputs the positioning information and the positioning information acquisition time at which the GNSS information was acquired to the automatic control device 11. The positioning information includes, for example, the current position of the vehicle 10 expressed in world coordinates. The current position of the vehicle 10 includes, for example, latitude and longitude.

[0046] The UI 6 is an example of a notification unit. The UI 6 is controlled by the automatic control device 11 or the like to notify the driver of operation information and the like related to the vehicle 10. The operation information related to the vehicle 10 includes driving information and the like of the vehicle 10. The UI 6 has a display device 6a such as a liquid crystal display or a touch panel for displaying the operation information and the like. The UI 6 may also have an audio output device (not shown) for notifying the driver of the operation information and the like. The UI 6 also generates an operation signal in response to an operation from the driver to the vehicle 10. Examples of the operation information include a destination location, intermediate destinations, vehicle speed, and a request to switch driving modes. The UI 6 has, for example, a touch panel or an operation button as an input device for inputting operation information from the driver to the vehicle 10. The UI 6 outputs the input operation information to the automatic control device 11 or the like via the in-vehicle network 12.

[0047] The automatic control device 11 executes detection processing, control processing, judgment processing, decision processing, and generation processing. To this end, the automatic control device 11 has a communication interface (IF) 21, a memory 22, and a processor 23. The communication IF 21, the memory 22, and the processor 23 are connected via a signal line 24. The communication IF 21 has an interface circuit for connecting the automatic control device 11 to the in-vehicle network 12. The communication IF 21 is an example of an acquisition unit.

[0048] The memory 22 is an example of a storage unit and includes, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory and a non-volatile semiconductor memory. The memory 22 stores various data and computer programs of applications used in information processing executed by the processor 23. The memory 22 stores road information input from the communication device 4. The memory 22 stores road information received from the server 30.

[0049] All or part of the functions of the automatic control device 11 are functional modules implemented by, for example, a computer program running on the processor 23. The processor 23 includes a detection unit 231, a control unit 232, a determination unit 233, a decision unit 234, and a generation unit 235. Alternatively, the functional modules included in the processor 23 may be dedicated arithmetic circuits provided in the processor 23. The processor 23 includes one or more central processing units (CPUs) and their peripheral circuits. The processor 23 may further include other arithmetic circuits such as a logic operation unit, a numerical operation unit, or a graphics processing unit.

[0050] The detection unit 231 detects an object and its type (for example, a vehicle) ahead of the vehicle 10 based on the camera image and the reflected wave information. The object includes a moving object such as a vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle 10. The detection unit 231 has a classifier that receives a camera image as input and detects an object shown in the camera image. The detection unit 231 can use, for example, a deep neural network (DNN) as such a classifier that has been trained in advance to detect an object shown in the input camera image.

[0051] Furthermore, when the detection unit 231 detects a moving object such as a vehicle or a person as the object, it identifies the driving lane in which the moving object is traveling based on the lane markings shown in the map information and the position of the moving object. The detection unit 231 notifies the control unit 232 and the like of object detection information including information indicating the type of the detected object, information indicating its position, the driving lane, a camera image in which the object is shown, and information indicating the position of the object in the camera image.

[0052] The map information is stored in memory 22. The map information includes three-dimensional information of the road surface, information representing road features such as lane markings on the road, the radius of curvature, the type and location of structures, and high-precision map information including the legal speed limit on the road, etc.

[0053] The control unit 232 controls the operation, including the driving, of the vehicle 10. The control unit 232 has two driving modes that differ in the degree to which the control unit 232 is involved in the driving of the driver. The control unit 232 controls the operation of the vehicle 10 according to the driving mode.

[0054] For example, the control unit 232 has an automatic driving mode (for example, a driving mode of levels 3 to 5) in which the driver is less involved in driving, and a manual driving mode (for example, a driving mode of levels 0 to 2) in which the driver is more involved in driving. In the automatic driving mode, the control unit 232 mainly drives the vehicle 10. In the manual driving mode, the driver mainly drives the vehicle 10.

[0055] In addition, in a driving mode in which the driver is less involved in driving, some or all of the driving operations necessary for the vehicle 10 to operate are automatically performed, and in a driving mode in which the driver is more involved in driving, the types of driving operations that are automatically performed may be fewer or even zero than in a driving mode in which the driver is less involved in driving.

[0056] In the autonomous driving mode, the control unit 232 generates a driving plan for controlling operations such as steering, driving, and braking based on the positioning information, map information, camera images and reflected wave information, road information received from the server 30, and the like. The control unit 232 outputs automatic control signals based on this driving plan to an actuator (not shown) that controls the steered wheels, a drive unit (not shown), or a brake (not shown) via the in-vehicle network 12. The control unit 232 is an example of a planning unit.

[0057] In addition, in the manual driving mode, the control unit 232 generates manual control signals that control the operation of the vehicle 10, such as steering, driving, and braking, based on the driver's operation, and outputs these manual control signals to the actuator that drives the steering wheels, the drive device, or the brakes via the in-vehicle network 12.

[0058] The control unit 232 can drive the vehicle 10 in the autonomous driving mode in areas where the autonomous driving mode is permitted (for example, areas where a high-precision map for controlling the vehicle 10 is prepared). The control unit 232 controls the vehicle 10 in the manual driving mode in areas where the autonomous driving mode is not permitted. The control unit 232 also transitions from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode or from the manual driving mode to the autonomous driving mode in response to a request from the driver. The control unit 232 also transitions from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode when it determines that the vehicle 10 cannot be driven safely in the autonomous driving mode. The control unit 232 notifies the driver via the UI 6 of the transition from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode.

[0059] The automatic control device 11 is, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU). In Fig. 2, the detection unit 231, the control unit 232, the determination unit 233, the decision unit 234, and the generation unit 235 are described as a single device, but the detection unit 231 may be a device separate from the other units.

[0060] Fig. 3 is an example of an operational flowchart of the vehicle control processing of the automatic control device 11. Hereinafter, the vehicle control processing of the automatic control device 11 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The automatic control device 11 executes the vehicle control processing shown in Fig. 3 at a vehicle control time having a predetermined cycle. Furthermore, the automatic control device 11 may execute the vehicle control processing shown in Fig. 3 every time road information is acquired.

[0061] In the vehicle control process shown in Fig. 3, the automatic control device 11 generates a driving lane plan and a driving mode plan. To plan the driving lane plan and the driving mode, the road conditions up to a predetermined distance ahead from the current position of the vehicle 10 in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 are used. The predetermined distance can be, for example, 2 km to 3 km. Since the road conditions at this distance cannot be detected by the camera 2 and the LiDAR sensor 3, the plan is generated using road information received from the server 30. In the vehicle control process shown in Fig. 3, the road information represents the road conditions of one lane section.

[0062] First, the determination unit 233 acquires a plurality of pieces of road information stored in the memory 22, the road information being included in a range up to a predetermined distance ahead from the current position of the vehicle 10 (step S101).

[0063] Next, the process between step S102 and step S105 is executed for each piece of road information obtained.

[0064] The determination unit 233 determines whether the reliability of the road information is high or low based on the determination information that indicates the position where the road condition changes significantly (step S103). This determination process will be described later.

[0065] If the reliability of the road information is low (step S103-Yes), the decision unit 234 decides to interpret the resolution of the road information as low (step S104). On the other hand, if the reliability of the road information is high (step S103-No), the process proceeds to before step S105.

[0066] Reducing the resolution of the position included in the road information includes extending the road condition of a lane section to adjacent lane sections on the left and right or front and rear, and extending the road condition of a lane section to other road sections. The example shown in Figure 1 illustrates extending the road condition of lane section 60 to adjacent lane sections on the left and right. The example shown in Figure 4 illustrates extending the road condition of lane section 60 to adjacent lane sections behind.

[0067] When road information represents the road condition of one road section, interpreting the position contained in the road information with a low resolution involves expanding the road condition of the road section to adjacent road sections before and after.

[0068] Furthermore, interpreting the position resolution included in the road information as lower includes expanding the range of vehicle speeds for lane segments or road segments, and expanding the range of vehicle speeds includes lowering the lower limit of vehicle speeds.

[0069] After the processing between steps S102 and S105 is performed for each piece of acquired road information, the control unit 232 generates a plan to control the vehicle 10 (step S105) and ends the series of processes. At this time, if it is determined that the resolution of the road information is to be interpreted as low, the control unit 232 generates a plan to control the vehicle 10 based on the road information interpreted as low resolution. For road information with a high degree of reliability, the control unit 232 generates a plan to control the vehicle 10 based on the road condition represented by the road information. An example of the control unit 232 generating a plan to control the vehicle 10 based on road information interpreted as low resolution will be described later.

[0070] When the control unit 232 generates a plan to control the vehicle 10 based on road information that has been interpreted with low resolution, the control unit 232 may notify the driver via the UI 5 that the plan was generated with the road information interpreted with low resolution. When the road information is actually correct, the operation of the vehicle 10 may give the driver a sense of incongruity. Therefore, by notifying the driver that the plan was generated with the road information interpreted with low resolution, the driver can understand the control of the control unit 232.

[0071] Next, specific examples (1) to (4) of the above-mentioned determination process will be explained below.

[0072] (1) The determination information indicates a position where the road condition changes significantly over time. The determination information is stored in memory 22. The determination information includes identification information or coordinates of a lane section that includes a position where the road condition changes significantly over time. If the identification information or coordinates of a lane section included in the road information matches the identification information or coordinates represented in the determination information, the determination unit 233 determines that the reliability of the road information is low. On the other hand, if this is not the case, the determination unit determines that the reliability of the road information is high.

[0073] Examples of road conditions that change significantly over time include the average vehicle speed falling below a predetermined reference speed and the average vehicle interval falling below a predetermined reference distance. Locations where such changes over time occur include locations where congestion occurs. For example, the determination information includes locations where congestion occurs statistically frequently.

[0074] (2) The determination information indicates the locations and time periods where the road conditions change significantly over time. The determination information is stored in memory 22. The determination information includes identification information or coordinates of lane sections that include locations where the road conditions change significantly over time. The determination information also includes, for each location where the road conditions change significantly over time, the time periods where the road conditions change significantly over time.

[0075] If the identification information or coordinates of a lane section included in the road information match the identification information or coordinates represented by the determination information, and the time at which the road condition represented by the road information was acquired is included in a time period in which the road condition represented by the determination information changes significantly over time, the determination unit determines that the reliability of the road information is low. On the other hand, if this is not the case, the determination unit determines that the reliability of the road information is high. An example of a time period in which the road condition changes significantly over time is the morning and evening rush hour.

[0076] (3) When the location indicated by the determination information generated by the generation unit 235 matches the location indicated by the road information, the determination unit 233 determines that the reliability of the road information is low. Fig. 4 is an example of an operational flowchart of the generation process of the automatic control device. The generation unit 235 executes the generation process shown in Fig. 4 at a generation process time having a predetermined cycle.

[0077] First, the generation unit 235 acquires a plurality of pieces of road information stored in the memory 22, the pieces of road information being included in a range up to a predetermined distance ahead from the current position of the vehicle 10 (step S201). The predetermined distance can be, for example, 2 km to 3 km.

[0078] Next, the process between step S202 and step S207 is executed for each piece of road information obtained.

[0079] The generation unit 235 acquires road information in the vicinity of the position represented by one piece of road information (step S203). For example, the generation unit 235 acquires road information on lane sections located on the left and right, or before and after the lane section represented by the road information.

[0080] Next, the generation unit 235 calculates the difference between the two pieces of road information (step S204). Specifically, the generation unit 235 calculates the difference between the road conditions of the two lane sections. For example, the generation unit 235 calculates the difference between the average vehicle speeds of the two lane sections.

[0081] Next, the generation unit 235 determines whether the difference between the two pieces of road information is equal to or greater than a reference value (step S205). For example, the generation unit 235 determines whether the difference between the average vehicle speeds of the two lane sections is equal to or greater than a reference value. The reference value may be, for example, 15 km / h.

[0082] If the difference between the two pieces of road information is equal to or greater than the reference value (step S205-Yes), the generation unit 235 determines that the lane section is a location where the road condition changes significantly. If the difference between the average vehicle speeds of the two lane sections is equal to or greater than the reference value, it is considered that one lane section is congested but the other lane section is not congested.

[0083] On the other hand, if the difference between the two road information items is not equal to or greater than the reference value (step S205-No), the process proceeds to before step S207.

[0084] After the processes of steps S202 to S207 are performed for each of the acquired road information, the control unit 232 generates determination information indicating the location of the large change in road condition (step S208), and ends the series of processes. The determination information includes the location of the lane section determined to be the location of the large change in road condition in the above-mentioned step S206.

[0085] The determination unit 233 determines that the reliability of the road information is low when the position represented by the determination information generated by the generation unit 235 matches the position represented by the road information. If the speeds of vehicles in adjacent lanes on a road differ significantly, it is thought that the speed of vehicles on the entire road will decrease over time, and the speeds of vehicles between lanes will average out. Therefore, the reliability of the road information is determined to be low, and the resolution of the road condition for this lane section is interpreted as low.

[0086] In the above example, the generating unit 235 uses the average vehicle speed in the lane section as the road information, but the road information is not limited to this. For example, the road information may use the average inter-vehicle distance in the lane section.

[0087] (4) The determination information indicates a position where the curvature radius of the road changes significantly. For example, the determination information includes a position where the curvature radius of the road is smaller than a reference curvature radius. In this specification, a position where the curvature radius of the road is smaller than a reference curvature radius refers to a position where the curvature radius of the road changes significantly. The determination unit 233 determines whether the position indicated by the road information matches the position indicated by the determination information where the curvature radius changes significantly. If the position indicated by the road information matches the position indicated by the determination information where the curvature radius changes significantly, the determination unit 233 determines whether the vehicle speed included in the road information exceeds a reference speed calculated based on the reference curvature radius. If the vehicle speed included in the road information exceeds the reference speed, the determination unit 233 determines that the reliability of the road information is low. Note that the determination unit 233 may also determine whether the vehicle speed included in the road information exceeds a value obtained by adding a predetermined offset to the reference speed.

[0088] The reference speed is calculated based on the lateral acceleration allowed to act on the vehicle, the mass of the vehicle 10, and the reference radius of curvature. It is not normally expected that the vehicle speed included in the road information will exceed the reference speed. Therefore, if the vehicle speed included in the road information exceeds the reference speed, the reliability of the road information is determined to be low. This concludes the description of a specific example of the determination process.

[0089] Next, the generation of a plan for controlling the vehicle 10 by the control unit 232 based on road information interpreted at a low resolution will be described below.

[0090] Generating a plan to control the vehicle based on the coarsely interpreted road information includes generating a lane change plan, which may involve an early initiation of a lane change to allow for exiting at a junction.

[0091] 6 is a diagram illustrating the generation of a plan to control vehicle 10. Vehicle 10 is scheduled to switch from road 50 to road 70 at branch position 71. Vehicle 10 is traveling on lane 52. Control unit 232 generates a lane change plan to switch from lane 52 to lane 51 and then switch from lane 51 to road 70. If there is no traffic congestion on road 50, control unit 232 generates a lane change plan to switch from lane 52 to lane 51 at position P1.

[0092] The determination unit 233 determined that the reliability of the road information indicating that the lane section 80 near the branch position 71 is congested is low. Therefore, the decision unit 234 decided to interpret the road information with a low resolution, and expanded the interpretation of the congested state of the lane section 60 to include the adjacent lane sections before and after.

[0093] If an attempt is made to move from lane 52 to lane 51 at position P1, vehicle 10 will move into lane 51, which is congested, making it difficult to change lanes in the autonomous driving mode.

[0094] Therefore, the control unit 232 generates a lane change plan for moving from lane 52 to lane 51 at position P2 just before congestion occurs. This causes the vehicle 10 to move to lane 51 where there is no congestion, allowing the vehicle 10 to change lanes safely in the autonomous driving mode.

[0095] Furthermore, generating a vehicle control plan based on road information interpreted with low resolution may delay the start of a lane change and cause the lane change to occur after passing through a traffic jam. The location where the lane change was planned may be congested as a result of the low resolution interpretation of the road information. In this case, it may be possible to reach the destination faster by staying in the current lane and passing through the traffic jam before changing lanes.

[0096] Furthermore, generating a plan to control the vehicle 10 based on road information interpreted at a low resolution may change the control mode to increase the driver's involvement in driving. Changing the control mode to increase the driver's involvement in driving may include ending automated driving, requiring a hands-on approach, changing the level of automated driving, etc.

[0097] Control modes for lane changes include an approval-less mode, a proposed approval mode, a driver trigger mode, and a manual control mode. In the approval-less mode, the control unit 232 executes a lane change that the control unit 232 determines is necessary without receiving approval from the driver. In the proposed approval mode, the control unit 232 executes a lane change that the control unit 232 determines is necessary only after the driver approves it. In the driver trigger mode, the control unit 232 executes a lane change that the driver determines is necessary. In the manual control mode, the control unit 232 notifies the driver to execute a lane change, and if the driver determines that a lane change is necessary, the driver executes the lane change. This concludes the description of generating a plan to control the vehicle 10 based on road information interpreted with low resolution.

[0098] The automatic control device of this embodiment described above in detail interprets the road information with a low resolution and controls the vehicle when the reliability of road information is low at locations where road conditions change significantly, so that the vehicle can be controlled in accordance with the road conditions when the vehicle is traveling.

[0099] In the present invention, the vehicle control device of the above-described embodiment can be appropriately modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to those embodiments, but extends to the inventions set forth in the claims and their equivalents.

[0100] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the resolution of the road information may be interpreted as being low based on the information detected by the sensors mounted on the vehicle 10.

[0101] For example, if the speed of the vehicle 10 is faster than a predetermined reference speed, the resolution of the road information may be interpreted as low. This is because, when the speed of the vehicle 10 is slow, the driver has more time to be involved in driving, but when the speed of the vehicle 10 is fast, the driver has less time to be involved in driving.

[0102] Furthermore, the resolution of the road information may be interpreted as being low based on the speed of other vehicles around the vehicle 10. Specifically, if the speed of other vehicles around the vehicle 10 acquired from the road information differs from the speed of the other vehicles detected by a sensor mounted on the vehicle 10, the resolution of the road information at a position outside the detection range of the sensor may be interpreted as being low. For example, the difference between the speed of other vehicles around the vehicle 10 acquired from the road information and the speed of the other vehicles detected by a sensor mounted on the vehicle 10 may be applied as an offset to the speed of the road information in an area outside the detection range of the sensor. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 1. Vehicle control system 2 Cameras 3 LiDAR sensors 4. Communications equipment 5. Positioning information receiving device 10 vehicles 11 Automatic control devices 21 Communication Interface 22 Memory 23 processors 231 Detector 232 Control Unit 233 Judgment section 234 Decision Section 235 Generation part 24 signal line 12 In-vehicle network 30 servers 40 Communication Network 41 Macrocell base station

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires road information at a position outside the detection range of a sensor mounted on the vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether the reliability of the road information is high or low based on determination information that indicates a position where the road condition changes significantly; a determination unit that determines to interpret the road information as having a low resolution when the determination unit determines that the reliability of the road information is low; and a planning unit that generates a plan to control a vehicle based on the road information interpreted with low resolution when the determining unit determines that the resolution of the road information is to be low; and having A vehicle control device characterized by:

2. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination information represents a location where the road condition changes significantly over time, and the determination unit determines that the reliability of the road information is low when the location represented by the road information matches the location where the road condition changes significantly over time represented in the determination information.

3. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the judgment information represents a location and a time period where the road condition changes significantly over time, and the judgment unit judges that the reliability of the road information is low if the location represented by the road information matches the location represented by the judgment information where the road condition changes significantly over time, and if the time at which the road information was acquired is included in the time period where the road condition represented by the judgment information changes significantly over time.

4. a generating unit configured to generate the determination information representing a position where a change in road condition is large between the position represented by the road information and a vicinity of the position represented by the road information, The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit determines that the reliability of the road information is low when a position represented by the determination information generated by the generation unit matches a position represented by the road information.

5. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination information represents a position where the change in the radius of curvature of the road is large, and the determination unit determines that the reliability of the road information is low when the position represented by the road information matches the position where the change in the radius of curvature represented in the determination information is large, and when the speed of another vehicle included in the road information exceeds a reference speed estimated based on a reference radius of curvature.

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