Travel control device

Abstract

To make an autonomous vehicle travel while suppressing a processing load when a direction of travel is switched.SOLUTION: A travel control device 1 comprises a route generation part 12 that generates a target route R including target position information for passage of a vehicle V, and a travel control part 13 that controls travel of the vehicle V so that it can travel along the target route R. The travel control part 13 controls the travel of the vehicle V so that it can reversely follow the target route R before switching of a direction of travel, after the switching of the direction of travel, when the direction of travel of the vehicle V is switched.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving control device that controls the driving of an autonomously driven vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] There is an autonomous vehicle that generates a target route to a destination and automatically travels along the generated target route. Such an autonomous vehicle is described in, for example, Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-151041 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the above-described autonomous vehicle, a target route needs to be generated each time the autonomous vehicle travels. For this reason, even when switching the traveling direction between forward and backward, for example, a target route is generated both before and after the switching of the traveling direction.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a driving control device that can drive an autonomous vehicle while reducing the processing load when switching the direction of travel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The driving control device of the present invention is [1] "A driving control device that controls the driving of an autonomous vehicle, comprising: a route generation unit that generates a target route including target position information for the autonomous vehicle to pass; and a driving control unit that controls the driving of the autonomous vehicle so that the autonomous vehicle drives along the target route, wherein when the direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle in the forward / backward direction is switched, the driving control unit controls the driving of the autonomous vehicle so that after the direction of travel is switched, the autonomous vehicle follows the target route in the reverse direction that it followed before the direction of travel was switched."

[0007] In this driving control device, a route generation unit generates a target route including target position information for the autonomous vehicle to pass. A driving control unit controls driving after switching the direction of travel based on the target route before switching the direction of travel generated by the route generation unit. This allows the driving control device to drive the autonomous vehicle while reducing processing load when switching the direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle.

[0008] The above-mentioned driving control device may be [2] "the driving control device according to the above-mentioned [1], including a position acquisition unit that acquires vehicle position information indicating the position of the autonomous vehicle, and the driving control unit, when controlling the driving of the autonomous vehicle after switching the direction of travel, controls the driving distance of the autonomous vehicle based on changes in the vehicle position information along the target route before switching the direction of travel." In this case, the driving control device can control the driving distance based on the vehicle position information of the autonomous vehicle without using a vehicle speed sensor or the like. Furthermore, the driving control unit controls the driving distance based on changes in the vehicle position information along the target route before switching the direction of travel. This allows the driving control unit to more appropriately control the driving distance of the autonomous vehicle.

[0009] The above-mentioned driving control device may be [3] "the driving control device according to the above-mentioned [1] or [2], including a position acquisition unit that acquires vehicle position information indicating the position of the autonomous vehicle, and the driving control unit calculates a deviation of the driving position of the autonomous vehicle from the target route before switching the traveling direction based on the vehicle position information, and controls the driving of the autonomous vehicle after switching the traveling direction so as to trace the target route before switching the traveling direction in reverse based on the calculated deviation." This driving control device can calculate in advance the deviation between the target route before switching the traveling direction and the actual driving position of the autonomous vehicle before switching the traveling direction. In other words, the driving control unit can grasp in advance the tendency of deviation of the autonomous vehicle from the target route caused by ruts, etc., before switching the traveling direction. This allows the driving control unit to control the driving of the autonomous vehicle after switching the traveling direction so as to more accurately follow the target route before switching the traveling direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, an autonomously driven vehicle can be driven while suppressing the processing load when switching the direction of travel. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a driving control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Fig. 2(a) is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle reversing along a target route, Fig. 2(b) is a schematic diagram showing the vehicle reaching a target reversing point, and Fig. 2(c) is a schematic diagram showing the vehicle moving forward along the target route when reversing. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing how approximate points corresponding to control reference points are set on a target route. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the control reference point of the vehicle deviates from the target route when the vehicle is moving backward. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, a cruise control device 1 according to this embodiment controls the traveling of a vehicle V (an autonomously driven vehicle). The vehicle V is an autonomously driven vehicle that travels automatically along a set target route. The cruise control device 1 can control the traveling of the vehicle V when switching its traveling direction. Switching the traveling direction here refers to switching the traveling direction of the vehicle V in the forward and backward directions. Switching the traveling direction includes cases where the vehicle V moves backward after moving backward, and cases where the vehicle V moves forward after moving backward. The following description will focus on the control performed by the cruise control device 1 when switching the traveling direction of the vehicle V.

[0014] In this embodiment, the driving control device 1 includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 2 and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 3. The GPS receiver 2 measures the position of the vehicle V (e.g., the latitude and longitude of the vehicle V) by receiving signals from, for example, three or more GPS satellites.

[0015] The ECU 3 is an electronic control unit having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The ECU 3 realizes various functions by, for example, loading a program recorded in the ROM into the RAM and executing the program loaded into the RAM with the CPU. Functionally, the ECU 3 includes a position acquisition unit 11, a route generation unit 12, and a driving control unit 13.

[0016] The position acquisition unit 11 acquires vehicle position information indicating the position of the vehicle V. The vehicle position information includes, for example, the latitude and longitude of the vehicle V. In this embodiment, the position acquisition unit 11 can acquire the vehicle position information based on the measurement results of the GPS receiving unit 2, for example. Note that the position acquisition unit 11 uses the position of a preset control reference point K (see FIG. 2(a)) of the vehicle V as the position of the vehicle V.

[0017] The route generation unit 12 generates a target route for the vehicle V to travel by autonomous driving. The route generation unit 12 can generate a travel route for the vehicle V to a target point based on well-known autonomous driving technology. The target route includes at least target position information indicating a target position through which the vehicle V should pass. The target position through which the vehicle V should pass is a target position through which the control reference point K of the vehicle V will pass. For example, the target position information includes the latitude and longitude of the target position through which the vehicle V should pass. Note that the target position information is not limited to including the latitude and longitude of the target position through which the vehicle V should pass. The target position information may include such information instead of the latitude and longitude as long as it is information that can identify the target position through which the vehicle V should pass. The target route can be represented by a line connecting each target position through which the control reference point K of the vehicle V will pass.

[0018] The driving control unit 13 controls the driving of the vehicle V based on well-known automatic driving technology so that the vehicle V drives along the target route generated by the route generation unit 12. In this embodiment, the driving control unit 13 controls the driving of the vehicle V so that the control reference point K of the vehicle V moves along the target route. The driving control unit 13 can control the driving of the vehicle V by controlling the steering and acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle V. For example, the driving control unit 13 can control the driving of the vehicle V by issuing instructions to an actuator that steers the vehicle V, an actuator that controls the output of the drive source of the vehicle V, and an actuator that controls the brakes of the vehicle V.

[0019] Below, details of the control performed by the traveling control unit 13 when switching the traveling direction in the forward / backward direction of the vehicle V will be described. Here, a case where the traveling direction is switched by moving the vehicle V backward and then forward will be described. In other words, before switching the traveling direction, the vehicle V is in a state of moving backward. After switching the traveling direction, the vehicle V is in a state of moving forward.

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), the driving control unit 13 controls the driving of the vehicle V so that the vehicle V reverses along the target route R to the reverse target point P. The target route R to the reverse target point P, which is used when the vehicle V reverses (before switching the traveling direction), is generated by the route generation unit 12. The driving control unit 13 reverses the vehicle V along the target route R so that the control reference point K of the vehicle V reaches the reverse target point P.

[0021] Next, the driving control unit 13 switches the traveling direction of the vehicle V in the forward / backward direction, as shown in FIG. 2(c). In other words, the driving control unit 13 moves the vehicle V forward after switching the traveling direction. At this time, the driving control unit 13 controls the traveling of the vehicle V so that the vehicle V traces the target route R before switching the traveling direction in the reverse direction. The target route R before switching the traveling direction is the target route R generated by the route generation unit 12, and is the target route R used when reversing the vehicle V to the reversal target point P. The driving control unit 13 controls the traveling of the vehicle V so that the vehicle V traces each target position to be passed through, which is included in the target route R when reversing, in the reverse direction.

[0022] When controlling the traveling of the vehicle V after switching the traveling direction, the traveling control unit 13 controls the traveling distance of the vehicle V based on the change in the vehicle position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 11. Here, the traveling control unit 13 controls the traveling distance of the vehicle V based on the change (amount of change) in the position information in the direction along the target route R used when reversing.

[0023] Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 3 , when the vehicle V is moved forward so as to trace the target route R used during reversing in the reverse direction, various influences such as ruts may cause the control reference point K of the vehicle V to deviate from the target route R. In this case, the cruise control unit 13 sets an approximate point K1 corresponding to the control reference point K on the target route R used during reversing. The approximate point K1 corresponding to the control reference point K may be, for example, the point on the target route R that is closest to the control reference point K. However, the approximate point K1 may also be set based on the control reference point K using other setting conditions in addition to being the point closest to the control reference point K. The cruise control unit 13 can control the travel distance of the vehicle V based on the change (amount of change) of the approximate point K1 along the target route R.

[0024] 4, when the vehicle V is backing up along the target route R, various influences such as ruts may cause the control reference point K of the vehicle V to deviate from the target route R. In this case, the traveling control unit 13 calculates the deviation of the traveling position of the vehicle V from the target route R when backing up (before switching the traveling direction) based on the vehicle position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 11. For example, the deviation of the traveling position of the vehicle V from the target route R may be the deviation of the vehicle V in the lateral direction (vehicle width direction) from the target route R.

[0025] In this way, the traveling control unit 13 can grasp in advance, before switching the traveling direction (before moving forward), the tendency of deviation of the traveling position at the location where the vehicle will travel after switching the traveling direction. Therefore, the traveling control unit 13 controls the traveling of the vehicle V so that, after switching the traveling direction, the vehicle V traces the target route R before switching the traveling direction in the reverse direction based on the calculated deviation. For example, the traveling control unit 13 may control the traveling of the vehicle V so that the vehicle V passes through a position offset from the target route R by the calculated deviation amount. For example, the traveling control unit 13 may correct the target route R based on the calculated deviation amount, and control the traveling of the vehicle V based on the corrected target route R.

[0026] The vehicle V described above may be, for example, a dump truck. The dump truck backs up to a position (reverse target point P) where the cargo is to be unloaded, and then unloads the cargo by performing a dump-up operation. If the dump truck is unable to unload all the cargo in one go, it may perform a dump-down operation, then move forward a predetermined distance (for example, about 1 meter), and then perform another dump-up operation to unload the remaining cargo. The control of switching the traveling direction in the driving control device 1 described above may be applied to a case in which such a dump truck performs a first dump-up after backing up, and then moves forward a predetermined distance. In this case, when moving the dump truck forward a predetermined distance from the position where the first dump-up operation was performed in order to perform the second dump-up operation, it is not necessary to generate a target route dedicated to forward movement.

[0027] As described above, the route generation unit 12 of the cruise control device 1 generates a target route R including information on the target position through which the vehicle V should pass. The cruise control unit 13 controls the cruise after the direction of travel is switched based on the target route R before the direction of travel is switched, which is generated by the route generation unit. In other words, it is not necessary to generate a target route dedicated to the cruise after the direction of travel is switched. This allows the cruise control device 1 to drive the vehicle V while reducing the processing load when switching the direction of travel.

[0028] When controlling the traveling of the vehicle V after switching the traveling direction, the traveling control unit 13 controls the traveling distance of the vehicle V based on changes in the vehicle position information of the vehicle V along the target route R before switching the traveling direction. In this case, the traveling control device 1 can control the traveling distance based on the vehicle position information of the vehicle V without using a vehicle speed sensor or the like. Furthermore, the traveling control unit 13 controls the traveling distance based on changes in the vehicle position information along the target route R before switching the traveling direction. This allows the traveling control unit 13 to more appropriately control the traveling distance of the vehicle V.

[0029] The driving control unit 13 calculates the deviation of the driving position of the vehicle V from the target route R before switching the direction of travel, based on the vehicle position information. Then, based on the calculated deviation, the driving control unit 13 controls the driving of the vehicle V so that after switching the direction of travel, the vehicle V travels in the reverse direction along the target route R before switching the direction of travel. This driving control device 1 can calculate in advance the deviation between the target route R before switching the direction of travel and the actual driving position of the vehicle V before switching the direction of travel. In other words, the driving control unit 13 can grasp in advance the tendency of deviation of the vehicle V from the target route R caused by ruts, etc., before the vehicle V starts traveling after switching the direction of travel. This allows the driving control unit 13 to control the driving of the vehicle V so that the vehicle V more accurately follows the target route R before switching the direction of travel.

[0030] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the above description has been given of a case where the vehicle V moves backward and then forward as a change in the traveling direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cruise control device 1 can also perform the above-described control when the vehicle V moves forward and then backward as a change in the traveling direction. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1...cruising control device, 11...position acquisition unit, 12...route generation unit, 13...cruising control unit, R...target route, V...vehicle (autonomous driving vehicle).

Claims

1. A driving control device that controls driving of an autonomous driving vehicle, a route generation unit that generates a target route including target position information that the autonomously driven vehicle should pass; a travel control unit that controls the travel of the autonomously driven vehicle so that the autonomously driven vehicle travels along the target route; Equipped with The driving control device controls the driving of the autonomous vehicle so that, when switching the direction of travel of the autonomous vehicle in the forward / backward direction, the autonomous vehicle travels in the reverse direction of the target route before switching the direction of travel after switching the direction of travel.

2. a position acquisition unit that acquires vehicle position information indicating the position of the autonomously driven vehicle; 2. The driving control device according to claim 1, wherein, when controlling the driving of the autonomous vehicle after switching the direction of travel, the driving control unit controls the driving distance of the autonomous vehicle based on a change in the vehicle position information along the target route before switching the direction of travel.

3. a position acquisition unit that acquires vehicle position information indicating the position of the autonomously driven vehicle; 2. The driving control device according to claim 1, wherein the driving control unit calculates a deviation of the driving position of the autonomous vehicle from the target route before switching the direction of travel based on the vehicle position information, and controls the driving of the autonomous vehicle so that, after switching the direction of travel, the autonomous vehicle follows the target route before switching the direction of travel in the reverse direction based on the calculated deviation.

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