Moving object control device, traffic flow management system, and moving object control method

Abstract

To provide a moving object control device that can prevent a decrease in a movement efficiency of a moving object.SOLUTION: A moving object control device according to the present invention comprises: a moving object information acquisition unit 11 that acquires moving object information; an environment information acquisition unit 12 that acquires environment state information which is movement constraint imposed by a travel environment; and an area control unit 13 that uses the moving object information and the environment state information to set an occupation area 5 exclusively for a moving object. The environment state information includes restriction state information indicating whether the movement constraint is imposed and information on a restriction area 6 that restricts movement, an area in which the moving object will exist until some future time is set as a provisional occupation area 5', and an area that overlaps with the restriction area 6 out of the provisional occupation area 5' is set as an intersection area 8. When the restriction state information restricts the advancement to the restriction area 6, the area control unit 13 sets an area that does not include the intersection area 8 out of the provisional occupation area 5' as the occupation area 5; and when the restriction state information allows the advancement to the restriction area 6, the provisional occupation area 5', which includes the intersection area 8, is set as the occupation area 5.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile object control device that controls an autonomously traveling vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Development of autonomous vehicles is progressing. However, it is not expected that all vehicles on the road will be replaced by autonomous vehicles at some point, and it is expected that there will be a situation where autonomous and manually driven vehicles coexist on the road. In such a situation, there is a technology that collects and utilizes information obtained from sensors installed in the vehicle's driving environment.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a mobility information system. This publication states that "a mobility information system capable of receiving information related to the movements of multiple mobile objects using multiple communication devices installed in a predetermined area or section collects field information of the multiple mobile objects, maps the positions of the multiple mobile objects based on the collected information, generates information on the paths or movable ranges of the multiple mobile objects using the information on which the positions of the multiple mobile objects are mapped, and controls the movements of the multiple mobile objects using the generated information on the paths or movable ranges." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-111345 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The technology described in Patent Document 1 predicts the future behavior of each vehicle based on location information obtained from the autonomous vehicle and location information of autonomous and manually driven vehicles obtained from infrastructure sensors, assigns each autonomous vehicle an occupied area that does not overlap with other vehicles, and operates so that the autonomous vehicle does not deviate from its own occupied area, thereby reducing the risk of vehicle collisions.

[0006] For example, when automated vehicles and manually driven vehicles coexist on a road, there is a possibility that movement control based on an occupied area for automated vehicles and movement constraints for vehicles, such as traffic lights, may be performed within the same area. The same area may be, for example, an intersection with traffic lights. In this case, the automated vehicles will be simultaneously affected by both the movement control based on the occupied area and the movement constraints based on traffic lights, etc. When the automated vehicles are simultaneously affected by both the movement control based on the occupied area and the movement constraints based on traffic lights, etc., and if there is no coordination between these two, the automated vehicles may be hindered from moving smoothly.

[0007] The technology described in Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the movement control based on the occupied area when autonomously driven vehicles and manually driven vehicles coexist on the road. As such, the conventional technology has a problem in efficiently moving a moving object in a situation where movement control based on the occupied area and movement constraints due to environmental conditions such as traffic lights coexist.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile object control device, a traffic flow management system, and a mobile object control method that can prevent a decrease in the movement efficiency of mobile objects. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] A mobile object control device according to the present invention includes a mobile object information acquisition unit that acquires mobile object information including the position of a mobile object; an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental state information, which is information regarding restrictions on the movement of the mobile object due to the state of the driving environment; and a region control unit that sets an occupation region for the mobile object using the mobile object information acquired from the mobile object information acquisition unit and the environmental state information acquired from the environmental information acquisition unit. The environmental state information includes restriction state information, which is information indicating whether or not restrictions are imposed on the movement of the mobile object, and restricted region information, which is information indicating an area in which the movement of the mobile object is restricted. A region in the temporary occupation region that exists between the present and a predetermined future time point is set as a temporary occupation region. A region of the temporary occupation region that overlaps with the restricted region is set as an intersection region. When the restriction state information indicates a state in which entry of the mobile object into the restricted region is restricted, the region control unit sets a region of the temporary occupation region that does not include the intersection region as the occupation region, and when the restriction state information indicates a state in which entry of the mobile object into the restricted region is permitted, sets the temporary occupation region that includes the intersection region as the occupation region.

[0010] A traffic flow management system according to the present invention comprises a mobile object control device according to the present invention, the mobile object, an infrastructure sensor that detects the position of the mobile object, and at least one of a traffic light, a barrier, and an emergency vehicle that provides the restricted state of the environmental state information.

[0011] A mobile object control method according to the present invention includes a mobile object information acquisition step in which a mobile object control device acquires mobile object information including the position of a mobile object; an environmental information acquisition step in which the mobile object control device acquires environmental state information, which is information regarding restrictions on the movement of the mobile object due to the state of the driving environment; and a region control step in which the mobile object control device sets an occupation region for the mobile object using the mobile object information and the environmental state information. The environmental state information includes restriction state information, which is information indicating whether or not restrictions are imposed on the movement of the mobile object, and restriction region information, which is information indicating an area in which the movement of the mobile object is restricted. A region in the temporary occupation region between the present and a predetermined future time point is set as a temporary occupation region. A region of the temporary occupation region that overlaps with the restriction region is set as an intersection region. In the region control step, if the restriction state information indicates a state in which entry of the mobile object into the restriction region is restricted, a region of the temporary occupation region that does not include the intersection region is set as the occupation region. If the restriction state information indicates a state in which entry of the mobile object into the restriction region is permitted, the temporary occupation region that includes the intersection region is set as the occupation region. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mobile object control device, a traffic flow management system, and a mobile object control method that can prevent a decrease in the movement efficiency of mobile objects. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a usage environment of a mobile object control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a traffic flow management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a basic method in which the area control unit determines an occupied area when the environmental information acquisition unit does not acquire traffic light information. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a restricted area of ​​a traffic light. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a temporary occupied area set by an area control unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an intersection area determined by the area control unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an occupied area 5 determined by an area control unit 13. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The mobile object control device, traffic flow management system, and mobile object control method according to the present invention can prevent a decrease in the movement efficiency of mobile objects in situations where movement control based on occupied areas is mixed with movement constraints based on conditions other than the occupied areas, i.e., movement constraints based on environmental conditions such as traffic lights, which are the state of the vehicle's driving environment, and can control multiple autonomously driving vehicles safely and efficiently.

[0015] Hereinafter, a mobile object control device, a traffic flow management system, and a mobile object control method according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below show specific examples of the contents of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical ideas disclosed in this specification.

[0016] In the following description, a movement constraint due to an environmental condition refers to a movement constraint that restricts the movement of a moving body, and is a restriction due to the state of the traveling environment, such as the road on which the moving body travels, and is a movement constraint due to conditions different from the occupied area. In the embodiment described below, as an example, a movement constraint due to an environmental condition is described as a movement constraint due to a traffic light. The movement constraint due to an environmental condition is not limited to a movement constraint due to a traffic light, and may be, for example, a movement constraint due to a barrier installed at a railroad crossing or the movement of an emergency vehicle.

[0017] In the drawings used in this specification, the same or corresponding components are designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations of these components may be omitted. [Example]

[0018] A mobile object control device, a traffic flow management system, and a mobile object control method according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 7. The mobile object control method according to this embodiment is executed by a mobile object control device 1 according to this embodiment.

[0019] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a usage environment of a mobile object control device 1 according to this embodiment. Fig. 1 shows, as an example, an intersection of a crossroads and its surrounding area as the usage environment of the mobile object control device 1. The usage environment of the mobile object control device 1 is a management area controlled by the mobile object control device 1.

[0020] One or more infrastructure sensors 2 are installed in the environment in which the mobile object control device 1 is used. The infrastructure sensor 2 is equipped with one or more sensors such as a camera or a laser sensor, and detects the positions of moving objects including vehicles (including autonomously driven vehicles 3 and manually driven vehicles) and people. The infrastructure sensor 2 transmits information such as the positions of the detected moving objects to the mobile object control device 1.

[0021] Autonomous vehicles 3 travel in the usage environment of the mobile object control device 1. Autonomous vehicles 3 are vehicles that have a driving control function for performing autonomous driving. The mobile object control device 1 sets an occupied area (occupied area 5 shown in FIG. 3 described later) for all autonomous vehicles 3 that exist in its usage environment. The occupied area 5 is an area set exclusively for each autonomous vehicle 3 by the mobile object control device 1, and is an area that does not overlap with other moving bodies. The autonomous vehicles 3 travel in the occupied area 5.

[0022] In the usage environment of the mobile object control device 1, not only automatically driven vehicles 3 but also manually driven vehicles (not shown in Fig. 1) are traveling. For this reason, traffic lights 4 for controlling the traveling of vehicles at intersections may be installed in this usage environment. Traffic lights 4 impose movement restrictions on moving objects such as vehicles.

[0023] The mobile object control device 1 and the autonomously driven vehicle 3 transmit and receive mobile object information to each other via wireless communication. The mobile object information includes information about the traveling of the autonomously driven vehicle 3, such as the position of the autonomously driven vehicle 3, the traveling direction, the speed, the traveling route, the occupied area 5, and the size of the mobile object.

[0024] Since information such as the position of a moving object is transmitted from the infrastructure sensor 2 to the mobile object control device 1, the mobile object control device 1 can know the position of not only an automatically driven vehicle 3, but also a moving object that does not have a means for detecting and transmitting its own position, such as a manually driven vehicle or a person. That is, the mobile object control device 1 can acquire, as mobile object information, information about the traveling of the moving object, such as the position, traveling direction, speed, traveling route, and size of the moving object, and, if the moving object is an automatically driven vehicle 3, its occupied area 5, etc.

[0025] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a traffic flow management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The traffic flow management system according to this embodiment includes a mobile object control device 1 according to this embodiment, an infrastructure sensor 2, a traffic light 4, and an autonomously driven vehicle 3. The traffic flow management system according to this embodiment may also include a manually driven vehicle.

[0026] The mobile object control device 1 includes a mobile object information acquisition unit 11, an environmental information acquisition unit 12, an area control unit 13, and a communication unit 14, and is wirelessly connected to infrastructure sensors 2, traffic lights 4, and an autonomously driven vehicle 3. The mobile object control device 1 can be configured, for example, by a computer.

[0027] The mobile object information acquisition unit 11 acquires mobile object information including the position of the mobile object. For example, the mobile object information acquisition unit 11 receives and acquires information such as the position of the mobile object detected by the infrastructure sensor 2 from the infrastructure sensor 2. The mobile object information acquisition unit 11 also receives and acquires information such as the position of the autonomously driven vehicle 3 from the autonomously driven vehicle 3 via the communication unit 14.

[0028] The environmental information acquisition unit 12 acquires information transmitted by the traffic light 4 as environmental state information from the traffic light 4. The environmental state information is information about movement constraints due to the environmental state, i.e., information about constraints imposed on the movement of a mobile object by the state of the driving environment, and in this embodiment, is information about movement constraints imposed by the traffic light 4. The environmental state information includes restriction state information, which is information indicating whether or not a restriction is imposed on the movement of a mobile object, and information about a restriction area, which is an area where the movement of the mobile object is restricted by this restriction (information about a restriction area 6 shown in FIG. 4 , which will be described later).

[0029] An infrastructure sensor for acquiring the state of the traffic light 4 is installed in the usage environment of the mobile object control device 1. This infrastructure sensor acquires the state of the traffic light 4 transmitted from the traffic light 4 and transmits it to the environmental information acquisition unit 12. The environmental information acquisition unit 12 acquires the information of the traffic light 4 from this infrastructure sensor as environmental state information.

[0030] Traffic light 4 regards its own status as information on the color it is displaying and information on the time until the displayed color is changed. Traffic light 4 stores, for example, the color it is displaying as restricted state information, and stores the area in which traffic light 4 restricts the travel of mobile objects as restricted area 6. Traffic light 4 is configured to transmit the restricted state information and information on restricted area 6 as environmental state information.

[0031] The autonomous vehicle 3 has the function of transmitting and receiving information to and from the mobile control device 1 via wireless communication, as well as the functions necessary for autonomous driving. The functions necessary for autonomous driving include, for example, a function for acquiring its own position, a function for planning a route to a destination, a route following function for autonomously driving the vehicle along a route, a function for recognizing the status of traffic lights 4 and planning driving in accordance with the status of traffic lights 4, etc. Furthermore, the autonomous vehicle 3 has an area restriction function that restricts driving so that it does not go outside the received occupied area 5.

[0032] The autonomously driven vehicle 3 plans a driving route and transmits information about the autonomously driven vehicle 3, such as its own position and speed, and the planned driving route (driving route 7 shown in FIG. 3 , which will be described later), to the mobile object information acquisition unit 11 via the communication unit 14. The autonomously driven vehicle 3 also receives the occupied area 5 from the area control unit 13 via the communication unit 14.

[0033] Area control unit 13 uses the mobile object information acquired from mobile object information acquisition unit 11 and environmental state information, which is information on traffic lights 4 acquired from environmental information acquisition unit 12, to set an occupation area 5 for each of multiple autonomously driven vehicles 3 present in the usage environment of mobile object control device 1. Area control unit 13 exclusively sets an occupation area 5 for each autonomously driven vehicle 3 so that the occupation area 5 of each autonomously driven vehicle 3 does not overlap with the occupation areas 5 of other autonomously driven vehicles 3.

[0034] In the mobile object control device 1 according to this embodiment, when the area control unit 13 executes such processing, the area restriction function possessed by the autonomous vehicle 3 (the function of restricting the area in which the autonomous vehicle 3 travels to the inside of the occupied area 5) is activated, thereby preventing collisions between autonomous vehicles 3 and improving the safety of the autonomous driving of the autonomous vehicle 3.

[0035] The communication unit 14 performs communication processing with the autonomously driven vehicle 3. For example, the communication unit 14 receives information about the autonomously driven vehicle 3 from the autonomously driven vehicle 3. Also, for example, the communication unit 14 transmits to the autonomously driven vehicle 3 the occupied area 5 that the area control unit 13 has set for the autonomously driven vehicle 3.

[0036] Here, the occupied area 5 will be described.

[0037] In order to explain the features of the mobile object control device 1 according to this embodiment, we will first explain an example of how the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 when the environmental information acquisition unit 12 does not acquire environmental state information, which is information from the traffic light 4.

[0038] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a basic method in which the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 when the environment information acquisition unit 12 does not acquire information (environmental state information) about the traffic light 4. FIG. 3 schematically illustrates the usage environment of the mobile object control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above.

[0039] The management area of ​​the mobile object control device 1 is divided into unit areas 9 of any size. The occupied area 5 is expressed as a collection of unit areas 9. The size of the unit area 9 can be determined based on the size of the management area, the size of the vehicles to be managed, etc.

[0040] If the unit areas 9 are made too small, the number of unit areas 9 increases, increasing the processing load on the area control unit 13. If the unit areas 9 are made too large, the distance between the autonomous vehicles 3 must be greater than necessary, which may hinder smooth vehicle movement, such as preventing the autonomous vehicles 3 from passing each other on narrow roads. For this reason, it is best to determine the size of the unit areas 9 by considering the balance between the processing load on the area control unit 13 and the efficiency of vehicle movement.

[0041] The basic method by which the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 is, for example, as follows: That is, the area control unit 13 determines the set of unit areas 9 in which the autonomously driven vehicles 3 (3a, 3b, 3c) exist, the set of unit areas 9 that include part or all of the driving routes 7 (7a, 7b, 7c) of each of the autonomously driven vehicles 3, and the set of unit areas 9 adjacent to these unit areas 9 as the occupied area 5 (5a, 5b, 5c) of the autonomously driven vehicles 3 (3a, 3b, 3c). The area control unit 13 may determine, from the driving routes 7, where the target autonomously driven vehicle 3 will travel from now, and determine, as the occupied area 5, the set of unit areas 9 in which the autonomously driven vehicle 3 exists within a predetermined distance or a distance traveled in a predetermined time.

[0042] However, as mentioned above, the occupied area 5 of each autonomously driven vehicle 3 must not overlap with the occupied areas 5 of other autonomously driven vehicles 3, that is, each of the occupied areas 5a, 5b, and 5c must not overlap with the other occupied areas 5a, 5b, and 5c. For this reason, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, if occupied areas 5a and 5b have already been set for autonomously driven vehicles 3a and 3b, respectively, and the driving path 7c of autonomously driven vehicle 3c overlaps with the occupied areas 5a and 5b, the occupied area 5c set for autonomously driven vehicle 3c is determined as the set of unit areas 9 up to the point immediately before the driving path 7c of autonomous vehicle 3c first overlaps with the other occupied areas 5a and 5b as autonomous vehicle 3c travels along the driving path 7c (i.e., immediately before autonomous vehicle 3c first enters the other occupied areas 5a and 5b).

[0043] As shown in Figure 3, the area managed by the mobile object control device 1 contains traffic lights 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) that perform their own traffic flow control different from that of the mobile object control device 1. The autonomously driven vehicle 3 is equipped with a camera and acquires the status of the traffic lights 4 (the color displayed by the traffic lights 4) from images captured by the camera, etc. The autonomously driven vehicle 3 is restricted from traveling into the intersection based on the acquired status of the traffic lights 4.

[0044] Depending on the state of the traffic lights 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d), a situation may arise in which none of the autonomous vehicles 3a, 3b, 3c can enter the intersection, even if they have their own occupied areas 5a, 5b, 5c set for them, respectively.

[0045] For example, in the state shown in Fig. 3, autonomous vehicles 3a and 3b are assigned occupied areas 5a and 5b, respectively, by mobile object control device 1, and are therefore permitted to enter the intersection by mobile object control device 1. However, when traffic lights 4a and 4b are red and traffic lights 4c and 4d are green, autonomous vehicles 3a and 3b are prohibited from entering the intersection by traffic lights 4a and 4b. Therefore, autonomous vehicles 3a and 3b are unable to enter the intersection and are forced to stop just before the intersection.

[0046] Meanwhile, traffic light 4c has a green light, so automatically driven vehicle 3c is permitted to enter the intersection by traffic light 4c. However, an occupied area sufficient for passing through the intersection has not been set by mobile control device 1. Therefore, automatically driven vehicle 3c is unable to enter the intersection, and stops at the furthest point along driving route 7c within occupied area 5c.

[0047] For this reason, all of the automatically driven vehicles 3a, 3b, and 3c are unable to enter the intersection and are forced to stop before the intersection until the state of the traffic light 4 switches and the color of the traffic light 4 changes. In this way, if the environmental information acquisition unit 12 does not acquire information (environmental state information) from the traffic light 4, smooth traffic flow at the intersection may be disrupted.

[0048] In this embodiment, the environmental information acquisition unit 12 acquires environmental state information, which is information from the traffic light 4, thereby avoiding such a situation and realizing smooth traffic flow even at intersections where the traffic light 4 is installed.

[0049] The configuration of the mobile object control device 1 in this embodiment, particularly an example of a method by which the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5, will be described below.

[0050] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a restricted area 6 of a traffic light 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d). Similar to FIG. 3, FIG. 4 also shows a schematic diagram of the environment in which the mobile object control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used. The restricted area 6 is an area in which the traffic light 4 restricts the travel of a mobile object, and can be, for example, the range of an intersection where the traffic light 4 is installed (for example, the area inside the stop line for vehicles). The boundaries of the restricted area 6 may not coincide with the boundaries of the unit area 9.

[0051] In the mobile object control device 1 according to this embodiment, the environmental information acquisition unit 12 periodically acquires information on the restricted area 6, which is environmental state information, and restricted state information (the color displayed by the traffic light 4), from the traffic light 4, and transmits this acquired information to the area control unit 13. The area control unit 13 uses the mobile object information (for example, the current position, traveling direction, speed, traveling route 7, and vehicle size of the autonomously driven vehicle 3), the information on the restricted area 6, and the restricted state information to determine an occupation area 5 for each autonomously driven vehicle 3, and transmits the determined occupation area 5 to each autonomously driven vehicle 3.

[0052] An example of a method in which the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 will be described.

[0053] First, the area control unit 13 sets a set of unit areas 9 in which the autonomously driven vehicle 3 currently exists as a provisional occupied area for each autonomously driven vehicle 3 in accordance with a predetermined order, based on the current position, driving direction, vehicle size, etc. of the autonomously driven vehicle 3. A provisional occupied area is an occupied area 5 provisionally determined for each autonomously driven vehicle 3. If the provisional occupied areas of multiple autonomously driven vehicles 3 overlap, the provisional occupied area determined first takes priority.

[0054] Next, for each autonomous vehicle 3, the area control unit 13 calculates and determines the position of the autonomous vehicle 3 between the present and a predetermined future time point based on information such as the current speed and driving route 7. The predetermined future time point is, for example, a time point when a predetermined time has elapsed from the present, or a time point when the autonomous vehicle 3 has traveled a predetermined distance from its current position. For example, the area control unit 13 calculates the position of the autonomous vehicle 3 between its current position and a position when a predetermined time has elapsed, assuming that the autonomous vehicle 3 will travel the driving route 7 at a constant speed at its current speed. Alternatively, the area control unit 13 calculates, for example, the position of the autonomous vehicle 3 between the current position and a position when the autonomous vehicle 3 has traveled a predetermined distance from its current position.

[0055] Next, for each of the autonomous vehicles 3, the area control unit 13 sets the set of unit areas 9 in which the autonomous vehicle 3 existed during this movement and the unit areas 9 that will exist after this movement as a provisional occupied area, assuming that the autonomous vehicle 3 has moved between the present and this specified future point in time.

[0056] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a temporary occupation area 5' set by the area control unit 13. Like Fig. 3, Fig. 5 schematically shows the usage environment of the mobile object control device 1 shown in Fig. 1.

[0057] Figure 5 shows temporary occupied areas 5a', 5b', and 5c' for autonomously driven vehicles 3a, 3b, and 3c, respectively. Also in Figure 5, the traffic light 4 that restricts the direction of travel of autonomously driven vehicle 3a is traffic light 4a, the traffic light 4 that restricts the direction of travel of autonomously driven vehicle 3b is traffic light 4b, and the traffic light 4 that restricts the direction of travel of autonomously driven vehicle 3c is traffic light 4c.

[0058] Next, the area control unit 13 compares the temporary occupied area 5' set for each of the autonomously driven vehicles 3 with the restricted area 6 (Figure 4) acquired from the environmental information acquisition unit 12, and determines the occupied area 5 for each of the autonomously driven vehicles 3 according to the restricted state information (displayed color) of the traffic light 4.

[0059] First, we will explain the case where, at the time when each of the automatically driven vehicles 3 is predicted to enter the restricted area 6, the restriction state information of the traffic light 4 that restricts the direction of travel of each of the automatically driven vehicles 3 is in a state that restricts (prohibits) the vehicle from entering the restricted area 6 (for example, a yellow light or a red light).

[0060] In this case, the area control unit 13 determines the area of ​​the temporary occupied area 5' of the autonomously driven vehicle 3 that does not include the intersection area 8 described below as the occupied area 5. Specifically, the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 as follows.

[0061] The area control unit 13 obtains an intersection area, which is a set of unit areas 9 that overlap with the restricted area 6 in the temporary occupied area 5′ of the autonomously driven vehicle 3.

[0062] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an intersection area 8 determined by the area control unit 13. Similar to Fig. 3, Fig. 6 also shows a schematic diagram of the usage environment of the mobile object control device 1 shown in Fig. 1. For the sake of explanation, Fig. 6 shows intersection areas 8a, 8b, and 8c for all of the automatically driven vehicles 3a, 3b, and 3c, respectively.

[0063] The area control unit 13 then determines the area obtained by removing the intersection area 8 (8a, 8b, 8c) from the temporary occupied area 5'. The area control unit 13 then adds only the areas adjacent to the temporary occupied area from the determined area (i.e., the temporary occupied area 5' from which the intersection area 8 has been removed) to the temporary occupied area, and defines the temporary occupied area with the added adjacent areas as the occupied area 5.

[0064] When the restriction state information of the traffic light 4 indicates a state in which entry of the vehicle into the restricted area 6 is restricted, the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 of the automatically driven vehicle 3 in this manner.

[0065] Next, we will explain the case where, at the time when each of the autonomous vehicles 3 is predicted to enter the restricted area 6, the restriction state information of the traffic light 4 that restricts the direction of travel of each of the autonomous vehicles 3 is in a state that allows the vehicle to enter the restricted area 6 (for example, a green light).

[0066] In this case, the area control unit 13 determines the temporary occupied area 5′ of the automatically driven vehicle 3, which includes the intersection area 8, as the occupied area 5. Specifically, the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 as follows.

[0067] The area control unit 13 adds the temporary occupied area 5′ to the temporary occupied area of ​​the autonomously driven vehicle 3, and sets the temporary occupied area to which the temporary occupied area 5′ has been added as the occupied area 5.

[0068] When the restriction state information of the traffic light 4 indicates a state in which the vehicle is permitted to enter the restricted area 6, the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 of the automatically driven vehicle 3 in this manner.

[0069] In this manner, the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 for each of the automatically driven vehicles 3.

[0070] As an example, an example of occupied area 5 determined by area control unit 13 when traffic lights 4a and 4b are red and traffic lights 4c and 4d are green will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Automatically driven vehicles 3a and 3b are prohibited from entering the intersection by traffic lights 4a and 4b. Automatically driven vehicle 3c is permitted to enter the intersection by traffic light 4c.

[0071] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an occupied area 5 determined by the area control unit 13. Similar to Fig. 3, Fig. 7 schematically shows the usage environment of the mobile object control device 1 shown in Fig. 1. Occupied areas 5a, 5b, and 5c are determined for the autonomously driven vehicles 3a, 3b, and 3c, respectively.

[0072] 7, when occupied areas 5a, 5b, and 5c are determined for autonomous vehicles 3a, 3b, and 3c, autonomous vehicles 3a and 3b, which are prohibited from entering an intersection when traffic lights 4a and 4b are red, are given occupied areas 5a and 5b in which they are prohibited from entering the intersection by mobile object control device 1. As a result, autonomous vehicles 3a and 3b do not enter the intersection, but stop just before the intersection.

[0073] On the other hand, autonomous vehicle 3c, which is permitted to enter the intersection from traffic light 4c that is green, is given occupied area 5c in which it can enter the intersection by mobile object control device 1. Therefore, autonomous vehicle 3c can travel through the intersection without stopping before the intersection and pass through it.

[0074] If the environmental information acquisition unit 12 does not acquire environmental state information from the traffic light 4 and the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 without using the information from this traffic light 4, the occupied area 5 shown in Figure 3 is obtained, and all of the autonomous vehicles 3a, 3b, and 3c are unable to enter the intersection and are stopped just before the intersection.

[0075] In this embodiment, the environmental information acquisition unit 12 acquires environmental state information from the traffic light 4, and the area control unit 13 determines the occupied area 5 using the information from the traffic light 4, so that the situation shown in Figure 3 can be avoided and smooth traffic flow can be achieved even at intersections where traffic lights 4 are installed.

[0076] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the movement constraint due to the environmental condition is a movement constraint due to a traffic light. The movement constraint due to the environmental condition may be a movement constraint due to other conditions, for example, a movement constraint due to a crossing gate installed at a railroad crossing or an emergency running of an emergency vehicle. Similar to the traffic light 4, the crossing gate and the emergency vehicle impose movement constraints on a moving object such as a vehicle. Therefore, the environmental information acquisition unit 12 can acquire environmental condition information from at least one of the traffic light, the crossing gate, and the emergency vehicle.

[0077] An example in which the movement constraint due to the environmental condition is a movement constraint due to a barrier will be briefly described below.

[0078] A crossing barrier restricts the entry of moving objects onto a railroad crossing from the time the barrier bar (bar) starts to descend until it reaches its full height, or from the time the crossing alarm starts to sound until it stops. The state of a crossing barrier includes both a state in which it restricts the entry of moving objects onto the crossing and a state in which it does not restrict this.

[0079] The gate restriction state information indicates whether the gate allows a moving object to enter the crossing. The gate restriction area 6 is an area where the gate prohibits a moving object from traveling, and is an area inside the crossing, for example, an area inside the stop line set up at the crossing.

[0080] The circuit breaker is equipped with a control device that transmits the state of the circuit breaker.

[0081] The environmental information acquisition unit 12 acquires information transmitted by the crossing gate control device as environmental state information. An infrastructure sensor for acquiring the state of the crossing gate is installed in the usage environment of the mobile object control device 1. This infrastructure sensor acquires the state of the crossing gate transmitted from the crossing gate control device and transmits it to the environmental information acquisition unit 12. The environmental information acquisition unit 12 acquires the state of the crossing gate from this infrastructure sensor as environmental state information.

[0082] An example in which the movement constraint due to the environmental condition is a movement constraint due to an emergency vehicle traveling will be briefly described below.

[0083] When an emergency vehicle is traveling nearby, other vehicles must give way to the emergency vehicle. Therefore, the emergency traveling of an emergency vehicle can become a movement constraint that controls the movement of a moving object. The state of an emergency vehicle includes a state in which an emergency vehicle is traveling nearby and a state in which an emergency vehicle is not traveling nearby.

[0084] The emergency vehicle restriction status information indicates whether or not an emergency vehicle is making an emergency trip nearby. The emergency vehicle restriction area 6 indicates the road on which the emergency vehicle is making an emergency trip (the route of the emergency trip). The emergency vehicle restriction status information and the restriction area 6 can be acquired if it is known which road and in which direction the emergency vehicle is making an emergency trip.

[0085] The road and direction on which an emergency vehicle is traveling in an emergency can be obtained by, for example, using ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) to transmit and receive information between a vehicle and a road (driving environment) or between vehicles. For example, by using an existing emergency vehicle presence notification system, the traveling direction of an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance, as well as its direction and distance relative to the vehicle itself, can be obtained. Furthermore, if an infrastructure sensor that detects the emergency traveling of an emergency vehicle is installed in the environment in which the mobile object control device 1 is used, the infrastructure sensor can also be used to obtain the road and direction on which the emergency vehicle is traveling in an emergency.

[0086] The environmental information acquisition unit 12 acquires emergency vehicle restriction state information and information on the restricted area 6 as environmental state information from vehicles and roads using ITS, or from infrastructure sensors that detect emergency driving of emergency vehicles.

[0087] The mobile object control device 1 according to this embodiment has the above-described configuration and can set an occupied area 5 for an autonomous vehicle 3 in conjunction with a traffic light 4 (or a crossing gate or an emergency vehicle), thereby reducing unnecessary stopping time of the autonomous vehicle 3. Therefore, the mobile object control device 1 according to this embodiment can prevent a decrease in the movement efficiency of mobile objects and achieve smooth traffic flow.

[0088] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to embodiments including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment. It is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to delete part of the configuration of each embodiment, or to add or replace other configurations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0089] 1…Mobile control device, 2…Infrasensor, 3, 3a, 3b, 3c…Automatic transport vehicle, 4, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d…Signal machine, 5, 5a, 5b, 5c…Occupied area, 5', 5a', 5b', 5c'…Temporarily occupied area, 6…Restricted area, 7, 7a, 7b, 7c…Road, 8, 8a, 8b, 8c…Intersection area, 9…Single area, 11…Mobile information acquisition unit, 12…Environmental information acquisition unit, 13…Area control unit, 14…Communication unit.

Claims

1. a mobile object information acquisition unit that acquires mobile object information including a position of the mobile object; an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental state information, which is information about restrictions on movement of the moving object due to the state of a traveling environment; an area control unit that sets an occupation area for the moving object using the moving object information acquired from the moving object information acquisition unit and the environmental state information acquired from the environmental information acquisition unit; Equipped with the environmental state information includes restriction state information indicating whether or not a restriction is imposed on the movement of the moving object, and restriction area information indicating an area in which the movement of the moving object is restricted; A region in which the moving body exists between the present and a predetermined future time is defined as a temporary occupied region, An area of ​​the temporary occupied area that overlaps with the restricted area is defined as an intersection area, The area control unit If the restriction state information indicates a state in which entry of the moving object into the restriction area is restricted, a region of the temporary occupied area that does not include the intersection area is set as the occupied area; If the restriction state information indicates a state in which entry of the moving object into the restriction area is permitted, the temporary occupation area including the intersection area is set as the occupation area. A mobile object control device characterized by:

2. The area control unit setting a region in which the moving body currently exists as a temporary occupied region for the moving body; setting the temporary occupied area for the moving body; The area control unit When the restriction state information indicates a state in which entry of the moving object into the restriction area is restricted, determining the intersection area; The area obtained by removing the intersection area from the temporary occupied area and adding an area adjacent to the temporary occupied area to the temporary occupied area is defined as the occupied area; The area control unit When the restriction state information indicates a state in which the moving object is permitted to enter the restriction area, The area obtained by adding the provisional occupied area to the temporary occupied area is defined as the occupied area. The mobile object control device according to claim 1.

3. the environmental information acquisition unit acquires the environmental state information from at least one of a traffic light, a crossing gate, and an emergency vehicle; The mobile object control device according to claim 1.

4. The occupied area is an area set exclusively for the moving body. The mobile object control device according to claim 1.

5. The mobile object control device according to claim 1; The moving body; an infrastructure sensor that detects the position of the moving object; at least one of a traffic light, a crossing gate, and an emergency vehicle that provides the limiting state information of the environmental state information; Equipped with A traffic flow management system characterized by:

6. a mobile object information acquisition step in which the mobile object control device acquires mobile object information including a position of the mobile object; an environmental information acquisition step in which the mobile object control device acquires environmental state information, which is information regarding restrictions on movement of the mobile object due to a state of a traveling environment; a region control step in which the mobile object control device sets an occupation region for the mobile object using the mobile object information and the environmental state information; and the environmental state information includes restriction state information indicating whether or not a restriction is imposed on the movement of the moving object, and restriction area information indicating an area in which the movement of the moving object is restricted; A region in which the moving body exists between the present and a predetermined future time is defined as a temporary occupied region, An area of ​​the temporary occupied area that overlaps with the restricted area is defined as an intersection area, In the region control step, If the restriction state information indicates a state in which entry of the moving object into the restriction area is restricted, a region of the temporary occupied area that does not include the intersection area is set as the occupied area; If the restriction state information indicates a state in which entry of the moving object into the restriction area is permitted, the temporary occupation area including the intersection area is set as the occupation area. A mobile object control method characterized by:

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