On-vehicle information processing device, automatic driving system, and on-vehicle system

Abstract

To suppress deterioration of comfort in automatic driving in on-street parking of a general road.SOLUTION: A vehicle control system comprises: a first map storage section for storing first map information including lane information; a second map storage section for storing second map information including property information which includes stores and facilities; a route acquisition section for acquiring a travel route of a vehicle; a property acquisition section for acquiring the property information adjacent to the travel route; and a determination section for determining a recommended lane based on the property information. Deterioration of comfort and cancellation of automatic driving due to stopping of a vehicle on a road are prevented when a vehicle automatically travels on a general road. Presence / absence of on-street parking is combined with stores (static information) and vehicle speed (dynamic information) so as to enable travel recommended lane information with higher prediction accuracy to be reported. Besides, the vehicle control system can be inexpensively operated without causing communication with the outside and without off-line map processing or the like.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance technology for a moving body, particularly a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, autonomous driving and driving assistance (ADAS and information notifications to the driver) are being used as driving assistance technologies for vehicles. However, on general roads, there are many vehicles that are parked on the shoulder of the left lane. For this reason, it is desirable for vehicles that use driving assistance technology to predict this on-street parking as far in advance as possible. By making such predictions, it becomes possible to take measures such as avoiding driving in the lane in question.

[0003] Prior art in this field is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-184005 (Patent Document 1). The route guidance system described in Patent Document 1 includes a recommended lane setting processing means that sets a recommended driving lane for each section based on lane information for each road link and guided route information at intersections, a road condition information acquisition processing means that acquires road condition information indicating road conditions that change due to the presence of parked vehicles for each road link, and a recommended lane determination processing means that changes the recommended driving lane set based on the road condition information. Because the recommended driving lane is changed according to road conditions that change due to the presence of parked vehicles for each road link, it is possible to reliably guide the vehicle to a preferred lane and provide appropriate route guidance. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-184005 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] As mentioned above, Patent Document 1 describes a method for determining road conditions that change with the presence of on-street parked vehicles and changing the recommended driving lane appropriately. However, because this determination method relies on statistical information based on past performance, there are problems such as it being unable to be used on routes with little driving performance and problems with maintaining the database (statistical information) itself that is installed in the actual device.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a driving assistance technology that can determine the possibility of on-street parking even if there is no driving history. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A representative example of the invention disclosed in the present application is as follows: A recommended driving lane for a vehicle on a driving route is identified based on property information of properties adjacent to the vehicle's driving route. More specifically, the in-vehicle information processing device includes a map management unit that stores lane information identifying the driving lane of the driving route and property information indicating property characteristics; a driving route acquisition unit that acquires the vehicle's driving route; a lane information acquisition unit that acquires lane information for the acquired driving route; a property information acquisition unit that acquires property information for properties adjacent to the acquired driving route; and a recommended lane information setting unit that determines recommended driving lane information for identifying a recommended driving lane for the vehicle based on the acquired property information and the acquired lane information. The present invention also includes an autonomous driving system and an in-vehicle system that include the in-vehicle information processing device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a driving assistance technique can be provided that corresponds to the possibility of on-street parking. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a vehicle control system including an MPU according to the first and second embodiments. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which the first embodiment is applied. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an image diagram illustrating an overview of a process for setting a recommended driving lane in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing details of a process for setting a recommended driving lane in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram for explaining the specification of a recommended lane when the vehicle speed decreases after passing a vehicle speed change point 70 in the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram for explaining the specification of a recommended lane when the vehicle speed does not decrease after passing a vehicle speed change point 70 in the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing details of a process for correcting a recommended driving lane in the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing store information used in the first and second embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described. In this embodiment, a recommended driving lane for a vehicle is identified from a plurality of driving lanes (traffic lane) based on store information of stores close to a driving route. In this embodiment, a case where the vehicle travels on a road with two driving lanes as the travel route will be described as an example. Also, in this embodiment, a case where the vehicle keeps to the left will be described as an example. Furthermore, in this embodiment, automatic driving control of the vehicle is executed according to the identified recommended travel lane.

[0011] However, this embodiment is not limited to these. For example, the store information to be referenced can be property information including facilities other than stores. This property information is information indicating the characteristics of the property. Furthermore, instead of or in addition to the recommended driving lane, information for identifying the recommended driving lane may be calculated. This information includes a recommendation level indicating the degree of recommendation. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to driving routes (roads) with three or more lanes, and can also be applied to right-hand traffic. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to driving assistance systems known as ADAS, in addition to automatic driving control of vehicles. Each embodiment of the present invention will be described below. [Example]

[0012] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a vehicle control system including an MPU 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle control system of this embodiment is composed of the MPU 1, a vehicle information acquisition unit 13, an IVI 14 (in-vehicle terminal), and a control unit 100. The vehicle control system is connected to a server 200 via a network. The vehicle control system of this embodiment is installed in a vehicle to be controlled, and is connected to a server, etc. via a network. The vehicle and its constituent components, such as its engine and drivetrain, are not shown in this diagram. The MPU 1 and the control unit constitute an autonomous driving system. The MPU 1 and the IVI 14 constitute an in-vehicle system. Each function and process of the MPU 1 can be realized by a program or a dedicated circuit.

[0013] Here, MPU1, which is an example of an in-vehicle information processing device, has a map management unit 2, a store information acquisition unit 3, a lane information acquisition unit 4, an on-street parking determination unit 5, a store and lane association unit 6, a vehicle speed reduction determination position setting unit 7, a recommended lane information setting unit 8, a vehicle speed receiving unit 9, a vehicle speed transmitting unit 10, a position estimation unit 11, and a driving route acquisition unit 12.

[0014] Here, the map management unit 2 can be realized as a so-called storage unit, and is composed of a first map storage unit 21 that stores lane information that identifies driving lanes, and a second map storage unit 22 that stores store information. Also, a store information acquisition unit 3 acquires store information. Also, a lane information acquisition unit 4 acquires lane information. An on-street parking determination unit 5 determines whether there is on-street parking near a store.

[0015] The store-lane associating unit 6 associates a driving lane with a store using lane information and store information. The vehicle speed reduction determination position setting unit 7 sets a position for determining a change (particularly a reduction) in the vehicle's speed. The recommended lane information setting unit 8 specifies a recommended driving lane or information for identifying the recommended driving lane. The vehicle speed receiving unit 9 receives the vehicle's speed, which is realized by a vehicle speed pulse or the like, from the vehicle information acquiring unit 13. The vehicle speed transmitting unit 10 outputs the received vehicle speed to the recommended lane information setting unit 8. The position estimating unit 11 estimates the vehicle's position using a GPS or the like. Then, the driving route acquiring unit 12 acquires the vehicle's driving route. For this purpose, the driving route acquiring unit 12 may acquire the planned driving route from the navigation function of the IVI 14.

[0016] The MPU 1 is also connected to the following external devices: The vehicle information acquisition unit 13 is realized by various sensors, such as a vehicle speed sensor that detects vehicle speed pulses, a camera that captures images of the vehicle's external environment, and a radar sensor that detects surrounding obstacles including other vehicles and pedestrians.

[0017] The IVI 14 is a so-called in-vehicle terminal that has a navigation function and a vehicle management function, and outputs various information to the driver.

[0018] The control unit 100 is also connected to a controlled object such as an engine, and outputs a control signal for automatic driving.

[0019] The following describes the details of each unit of the MPU 1. First, the map management unit 2 is made up of a first map storage unit 21 that stores lane information and a second map storage unit 22 that stores store information. In response to requests from the store information acquisition unit 3 and the lane information acquisition unit 4, the map management unit 2 analyzes the map information stored in the first map storage unit 21 and the second map storage unit 22 and transmits the information to the store information acquisition unit 3 and the lane information acquisition unit 4. This transmission also includes reading in response to read requests from the store information acquisition unit 3 and the lane information acquisition unit 4.

[0020] The first map storage unit 21 stores highly accurate map information for autonomous driving, including information for each road lane. The lane information and the map information for autonomous driving may be configured as a single piece of information, or may be configured as separate pieces of information.

[0021] In addition, the store information acquisition unit 3 acquires driving route information from the driving route acquisition unit 12, requests store information stored in the second map storage unit 22 from the map management unit 2 based on the driving route information, and acquires store information in response to the request from the map management unit 2.

[0022] In addition, the lane information acquisition unit 4 acquires driving route information from the driving route acquisition unit 12, requests lane information stored in the first map storage unit 21 from the map management unit 2 based on the driving route information, and acquires lane information in response to the request from the map management unit 2.

[0023] The store's on-street parking determination unit 5 acquires store information from the store information acquisition unit 3 and determines the possibility of on-street parking on the road and lane in front of the store based on, for example, the store's business type, business hours, and whether or not there is a parking lot. To reduce the processing load on the MPU 1, the on-street parking possibility may be set in advance. For example, the on-street parking possibility can be stored in the store information.

[0024] The store and lane associating unit 6 also acquires lane information from the lane information acquiring unit 4. Store information on where on-street parking may occur is acquired from the store's on-street parking determining unit 5. The lane information from the lane information acquiring unit 4 and the store information from the store's on-street parking determining unit 5 are used to associate both sets of data.

[0025] Furthermore, the vehicle speed reduction determination position setting unit 7 sets position information for determining a vehicle speed reduction for the lane information where on-street parking may occur, set by the store and lane association unit 6, after setting a threshold value. The position information for determining a vehicle speed reduction is information required to correct the possibility of on-street parking determined by the on-street parking determination unit 5 during autonomous driving. Specifically, if the vehicle speed does not change after passing the position information for determining a vehicle speed reduction during autonomous driving, the recommended lane information is corrected. This is how it is used.

[0026] Furthermore, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 acquires lane information where on-street parking may occur, which is set by the store-lane association unit 6, and identifies recommended lane information. This is then set for the lane information. Furthermore, when the vehicle approaches lane information where on-street parking may occur during autonomous driving, position information for determining whether to reduce the vehicle speed is acquired from the vehicle speed reduction determination position setting unit 7. Furthermore, the vehicle's own position information is acquired from the position estimation unit 11. Then, after acquiring the vehicle speed from the vehicle speed transmission unit 10, the previously set recommended lane information is reset (corrected).

[0027] The vehicle speed receiving unit 9 also acquires vehicle speed information from the vehicle information acquiring unit 13. As described above, this vehicle speed information can be acquired using a vehicle speed pulse. The vehicle speed transmitting unit 10 also transmits the vehicle speed information acquired by the vehicle speed receiving unit 9 to the recommended lane information setting unit 8.

[0028] The position estimation unit 11 acquires position information from a GNSS antenna or the like provided outside the MPU 1. The driving route acquisition unit 12 acquires the driving route from an IVI 14 outside the MPU 1. The acquired driving route information is sent to the store information acquisition unit 3 and the lane information acquisition unit 4.

[0029] Here, we will explain the lane information and store information of the map management unit 2. The lane information is information that identifies the driving lanes of each road that is a driving route. In other words, it records the driving lanes included in each driving route.

[0030] The store information also indicates the characteristics of the store and includes items that affect the possibility of on-street parking. The store information used in this embodiment is shown in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the store information includes, for each store, a store ID, store name, business type, location, business hours, availability of parking information, and the possibility of on-street parking. Here, the store ID and store name indicate the identifier and name of the store, respectively, and can be omitted. Next, the business type indicates the type and type of business of the store. Furthermore, the location is information that indicates the location of the store. This location may be indicated by latitude and longitude, or may indicate a relative position on the driving route.

[0031] Furthermore, the business hours indicate the business hours of the store, i.e., the hours when the store is available. The availability of parking information indicates whether the store has a parking lot. These indicate that the possibility of on-street parking increases during business hours, and also increases when there is no parking lot. Therefore, the store information may include other items that affect the possibility of on-street parking, or may use at least one of these. For example, past data on on-street parking may be included.

[0032] In this embodiment, the store information records the possibility of on-street parking. This may be a probability calculated based on other items in the store information, or a dynamic probability calculated for each time period.

[0033] Since the store information is used to identify the recommended driving lane, it is provided for each driving direction of the driving route. In other words, it is desirable to manage store information for each store that is close to the first driving lane, which is on the far left (outside) of the driving route. For this reason, the driving route and its driving direction may be recorded as the location of the store information. Note that "close" includes being adjacent to a road or a sidewalk associated with the road, as well as being located within a predetermined range from the road.

[0034] This concludes the description of the configuration of the first embodiment, and next, a scenario in which the first embodiment is applied will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a scenario in which the first embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 shows a state in which a vehicle 50 is traveling on a road 40 consisting of a left lane 40-1, which is a first driving lane, and an overtaking lane 40-2, which is a second driving lane. A vehicle 60 is parked on the street in front of stores 30-1 and 30-2 along the road 40. To avoid this parked vehicle 60, the vehicle 50 travels through 50(a), 50(b), and 50(c) over time. In this case, the vehicle 50 decelerates at 50(a) just before the parked vehicle 60 and changes lanes at 50(b), which is expected to cause congestion on surrounding roads.

[0035] In this embodiment, the vehicle 50 is autonomously driving in the left lane 40-1, where a parked vehicle 60 is present. Therefore, in the situation shown in FIG. 2, not only is the comfort of the autonomous driving impaired, but in the worst case scenario, the autonomous driving function may be deactivated. Here, in typical autonomous driving control, each lane of the road 40 (left lane 40-1, overtaking lane 40-2) is set as a recommended driving lane. Therefore, in this embodiment, recommended lane information is specified according to the predicted conditions of the road 40, particularly the condition of parking along the way. Note that the recommended lane information may be the recommended driving lane itself, or information for specifying the recommended driving lane.

[0036] Next, the details of the processing of this embodiment will be explained. First, FIG. 3 is an image diagram showing an overview of the processing in this embodiment. FIG. 3 targets a road 40 similar to the application scene shown in FIG. 2. In other words, a recommended driving lane is identified for a road 40 that is close to stores 30-1 and 30-2 and is made up of a left lane 40-1 and an overtaking lane 40-2. An overview of this identification will be explained below.

[0037] The MPU 1 shown in FIG. 1 acquires lane information for the left lane 40-1 and the passing lane 40-2, and store information for the stores 30-1 and 30-2. The MPU 1 also identifies a vehicle speed change point 70. When the vehicle passes the vehicle speed change point 70, the MPU 1 identifies a recommended driving lane based on the lane information and the store information. In FIG. 3, the passing lane indicated by the thicker arrow is identified as the recommended driving lane. Details of this process will be described below using the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, with reference to FIG. 3 as well.

[0038] 4 is a flowchart showing the details of the process for setting a recommended driving lane in this embodiment. First, the driving route acquisition unit 12 acquires a driving route (step S201). For example, the driving route acquisition unit 12 receives a guide route in a navigation function set in the IVI 14. Then, the driving route acquisition unit 12 transmits information specifying the acquired driving route to each of the store information acquisition unit 3 and the lane information acquisition unit 4.

[0039] Next, the lane information acquisition unit 4 acquires lane information corresponding to the acquired driving route from the map management unit 2 (step S202). Also, the store information acquisition unit 3 acquires store information corresponding to the acquired driving route position from the map management unit 2 (step S203).

[0040] Here, steps S202 and S203 may be executed as follows. Each of the store information acquisition unit 3 and the lane information acquisition unit 4 notifies the map management unit 2 of a request for map information including information specifying the acquired driving route. Then, upon receiving the request for map information, the map management unit 2 acquires and analyzes the necessary map information corresponding to the driving route from the first map storage unit and the second map storage unit, and then transmits the store information to the store information acquisition unit 3 and the lane information to the lane information acquisition unit 4.

[0041] Next, the store's on-street parking determination unit 5 uses the acquired store information to determine whether the store is one in which on-street parking is likely to occur (step S204). As a result, if the store is one in which on-street parking is likely to occur (YES), the process proceeds to step S205. On the other hand, if there is no possibility or the possibility is below a certain value, the process proceeds to step S201. For this purpose, the store's on-street parking determination unit 5 uses the store information shown in FIG. 8. In other words, the store's on-street parking determination unit 5 determines the possibility of on-street parking occurring on the road and lane in front of the store based on the store's business type, business hours, whether or not there is a parking lot, etc. The store's on-street parking determination unit 5 may also use the on-street parking possibility (score) shown in FIG. 8. Note that other information used for this determination may also be added. In this way, the store's on-street parking determination unit 5 may determine that there is a possibility of on-street parking when the score based on the store's business type or the on-street parking possibility is equal to or greater than a preset threshold. Note that this step is preferably determined for each store, but multiple stores may be grouped together and the determination may be made for each group.

[0042] Furthermore, in order to reduce the processing load of the MPU 1, the number of stores for which on-street parking is to be determined may be thinned out, or the possibility of on-street parking may be calculated in advance by another information processing device such as the server 200. Alternatively, the information processing device may be configured to be set in the map storage unit. While the server 200 connected via a network is used as the information processing device in FIG. 1, a so-called PC may also be used. In this case, the MPU 1 and the PC may be connected using a communication standard based on OBD (On-board diagnostics).

[0043] Next, the store and lane association unit 6 acquires lane information acquired from the lane information acquisition unit 4 and store information where on-street parking may occur from the store's on-street parking determination unit 5, and associates the lane information with the store information (step S205).

[0044] Next, the vehicle speed reduction determination position setting unit 7 acquires information associating lane information with store information from the store-lane associating unit 6. The vehicle speed reduction determination position setting unit 7 also specifies a vehicle speed change point indicating a position at which a vehicle speed reduction is determined after setting a threshold value. Then, the vehicle speed reduction determination position setting unit 7 sets the vehicle speed change point for the lane information (step S206).

[0045] Finally, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 identifies recommended lane information (step S207). For example, if it is determined in step S204 that on-street parking will occur, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 sets the passing lane as the recommended driving lane. Alternatively, if it is determined in step S204 that on-street parking is unlikely to occur, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 identifies maintaining the lane as the recommended lane information. Alternatively, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 sets the driving lane in which the vehicle will travel when passing the vehicle speed change point 70 as the recommended driving lane. Alternatively, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 may identify one of the driving lanes previously set as priority lanes, for example, the left lane, as the recommended driving lane.

[0046] Then, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 sets the recommended lane information to the lane information in the first map storage unit. This ends the processing flow, but the processing flow may be repeated by transitioning to step S201 until a predetermined condition, such as the vehicle being parked, is satisfied.

[0047] Furthermore, the control unit 100 controls the vehicle's driving using the set recommended lane information. This enables automatic driving control. The IVI 141 may also output guidance information and attention-calling information based on the set recommended lane information. This information is notified to the driver. This concludes the description of the first embodiment. [Example]

[0048] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, the recommended lane information is reset (corrected) according to the driving conditions such as the vehicle speed after passing the vehicle speed change point 70. After passing the vehicle speed change point 70, the roadside parked vehicle 60 moves, and correction is performed to deal with the situation that differs from that identified in the first embodiment. In other words, whether or not the recommended lane information should be corrected is determined depending on whether the driving situation satisfies the correction conditions. The configuration of the second embodiment and the lane information and store information used are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0049] First, an overview of the processing of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the identification of a recommended lane when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle decreases after passing a vehicle speed change point 70. In Fig. 5, the vehicle 50 is assumed to be traveling in the overtaking lane 40-2. The vehicle 50 is also assumed to be traveling from bottom to top in the drawing. Furthermore, in the example of Fig. 5, the left lane 40-1 is assumed to be set as the priority lane.

[0050] First, in FIG. 5(a), a vehicle 60 is parked on the street near a store 30-1. Therefore, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 outputs an output indicating that the vehicle 50 should maintain the passing lane 40-2 when the vehicle speed change point 70 is passed, and the vehicle 50 continues to travel in the passing lane 40-2 after the vehicle speed change point 70. In addition, the preceding vehicle 52-1 is traveling in the passing lane 40-2 near the other vehicle 51.

[0051] Then, after a certain time has elapsed since vehicle 50 passed vehicle speed change point 70, the situation shown in FIG. 5(b) occurs. In FIG. 5(b), other vehicle 51 changes lanes from left lane 40-1 to overtaking lane 40-2 to avoid parked vehicle 60. This causes vehicle 52-2 ahead of vehicle 50 to decelerate. Therefore, recommended lane information setting unit 8 outputs recommended lane information that inhibits the lane change to left lane 40-1, which is the priority lane, and maintains overtaking lane 40-2. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 determines that it is not necessary to reset (correct) the recommended lane information.

[0052] Next, another example of the second embodiment will be described. If the vehicle speed of the vehicle 50 does not decrease after passing the vehicle speed change point 70, there is a possibility that the on-street parked vehicle 60 has been removed. Also, there are cases where a right or left turn is planned on the travel route. The identification of recommended lane information in such a case will be described.

[0053] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining how to identify a recommended lane based on the conditions of the driving route, even when the vehicle speed does not decrease after passing the vehicle speed change point 70 in this embodiment. In FIG. 6, as in FIG. 5, the vehicle 50 is assumed to be driving in the overtaking lane 40-2. The vehicle 50 is also assumed to be driving from bottom to top in the drawing. Furthermore, in FIG. 6, the left lane 40-1 is assumed to be set as the priority lane.

[0054] First, in Figure 6(a), there are no on-street parked vehicles 60 near the stores 30-1 and 30-2. Therefore, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 50 does not decrease. Therefore, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 sets the same recommended level for the left lane 40-1 and the overtaking lane 40-2 as recommended lane information.

[0055] Then, after a certain time has elapsed since the vehicle 50 passed the vehicle speed change point 70, the situation shown in Figure 6(b) is reached. Here, the vehicle speed of the vehicle 50 has not decreased. However, although the passing lane 40-2 is a right-turn lane, if the vehicle 50 goes straight through the intersection, the recommended lane information is corrected. That is, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 sets the recommended lane information to prioritize the left lane 40-1 based on the status of the overtaking lane 40-2 currently being driven in (right-turn lane) and the planned driving route. That is, the left lane 40-1 is set as the recommended driving lane, or the recommendation level of the left lane 40-1 is increased. Also, even if there is no right-turn lane ahead on the driving route, lane changes are possible if the left lane 40-1 is set as the priority lane. In this case as well, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 can correct the recommended lane information as described above.

[0056] This concludes the description of the outline of the processing in the second embodiment, and the details will be described with reference to FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the details of the process of correcting the recommended driving lane in the second embodiment. First, the position estimation unit 11 acquires the vehicle's own position information (step S301). Next, the vehicle speed receiving unit 9 acquires vehicle speed information indicating the vehicle speed (step S302). These steps S301 and S302 are preferably performed periodically.

[0057] Next, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 acquires the vehicle speed change point 70 (step S303). This vehicle speed change point 70 is information indicating the position set by the vehicle speed decrease determination position setting unit 7 at which a vehicle speed decrease is determined. Then, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 determines whether the vehicle 50 has passed the vehicle speed change point 70 (step S304). As a result, if the vehicle 50 has passed the vehicle speed change point 70, the process proceeds to step S305. If the vehicle 50 has not been digitized, the process returns to step S301.

[0058] Next, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 determines whether the driving situation satisfies the correction condition (step S305). As a result, if the correction condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S306. On the other hand, if the correction condition is not satisfied, the correction of the recommended lane information is omitted, and this processing flow ends.

[0059] The correction conditions include the vehicle speed described in Figure 5 and the driving route conditions described in Figure 6. Regarding the vehicle speed, the latest vehicle speed is compared with the vehicle speed a specified number of seconds ago to determine whether there is a change in vehicle speed that exceeds a threshold. Furthermore, the driving route conditions include the presence of right and left turn lanes. That is, it is determined whether the vehicle is traveling in a lane corresponding to the planned travel route. When using vehicle speed, the speed of a preceding vehicle or a vehicle in an adjacent lane, or the speed difference between these (relative speed), may also be used. Furthermore, the blinking of the brake lights of the preceding vehicle or a vehicle in an adjacent lane may be used to determine the deceleration status of these vehicles.

[0060] Next, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 resets the recommended lane information (step S306). In the example of Fig. 6, for example, if a change of a threshold or more cannot be confirmed between the latest vehicle speed and the vehicle speed several seconds prior, and if it is possible to determine from the lane information in the first map storage unit 21 that there is an intersection ahead that does not have a right-turn-only lane, the recommended lane information setting unit 8 resets the recommended lane information.

[0061] This concludes the description of the second embodiment. As described above, in the second embodiment, the recommended lane information can be corrected, enabling vehicle control that is more in line with the actual situation. Note that, according to each embodiment, when autonomous driving on a public road, it is possible to prevent a decrease in comfort due to a vehicle parked on the road and the cancellation of autonomous driving, and to combine the presence or absence of on-street parking with stores (static information) and vehicle speed (dynamic information). This makes it possible to notify the driver of the recommended driving lane with improved prediction accuracy. Furthermore, it is possible to operate at low cost without generating external communication or performing offline map processing, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1...MPU, 2...map management unit, 3...store information acquisition unit, 4...lane information acquisition unit, 5...on-street parking determination unit, 6...store and lane association unit, 7...vehicle speed reduction determination position setting unit, 8...recommended lane information setting unit, 9...vehicle speed receiving unit, 9, 10...vehicle speed transmitting unit, 11...position estimation unit, 12...driving route acquisition unit, 13...vehicle information acquisition unit, 14...IV1, 100...control unit, 200...server

Claims

1. An in-vehicle information processing device for providing driving assistance to a vehicle traveling on a route consisting of multiple travel lanes, a map management unit that stores an on-street parking possibility score calculated based on lane information that identifies a driving lane of a driving route and property information that indicates the characteristics of a property; a travel route acquisition unit that acquires a travel route of the vehicle; a lane information acquisition unit that acquires lane information of the acquired travel route; a property information acquisition unit that acquires the on-street parking possibility score for properties that are close to the acquired driving route; An in-vehicle information processing device having a recommended lane information setting unit that specifies recommended driving lane information for specifying a recommended driving lane for the vehicle based on the acquired on-street parking possibility score and the acquired lane information.

2. 2. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1, The recommended lane information setting unit is an in-vehicle information processing device that specifies a recommended driving lane depending on whether or not the vehicle speed of the vehicle is decreasing.

3. 2. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1, the travel route is composed of at least a first travel lane and a second travel lane located at the outermost sides of the travel route, The recommended lane information setting unit is an in-vehicle information processing device that, when the vehicle is traveling in the second driving lane and the vehicle speed decreases, identifies the second driving lane as the recommended driving lane.

4. 2. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1, the travel route is composed of at least a first travel lane and a second travel lane located at the outermost sides of the travel route, The recommended lane information setting unit is an in-vehicle information processing device that, when the vehicle is traveling in the second driving lane and the vehicle speed does not decrease, identifies each driving lane that makes up the driving route as the recommended driving lane.

5. 5. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1, An in-vehicle information processing device having a function of thinning out the properties that are judged to be on-street parking.

6. 6. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1, The on-street parking possibility score is calculated by a server installed outside the vehicle and transmitted to the vehicle.

7. 7. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1, The on-street parking possibility score is calculated based on one or a combination of the property's business type, location, business hours, and whether or not there is parking.

8. 8. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1, The on-street parking possibility score is information regarding dynamic probability calculated for each time period.

9. 9. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1, The on-street parking possibility score is provided for each driving direction of the driving route by an in-vehicle information processing device.

10. An in-vehicle information processing system including the in-vehicle information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, An in-vehicle information processing system including a server installed outside the vehicle, wherein the on-street parking possibility score is calculated by the server.

Images