Driving evaluation device, driving evaluation system, and driving evaluation method

Abstract

To improve accuracy of driving evaluation.SOLUTION: A driving evaluation device according to the present invention includes a controller that calculates a driving score from a driving situation of a driver of a vehicle. The controller detects sudden braking accompanied by deceleration equal to or greater than a threshold value by the vehicle, analyzes a scene of the sudden braking to specify an occurrence factor of the sudden braking, and calculates the driving score for each occurrence factor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving evaluation device, a driving evaluation system, and a driving evaluation method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there is a driving evaluation device that evaluates the driving of a driver on the server side using data uploaded from an in-vehicle device. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that unavoidable sudden braking, such as when a pedestrian suddenly steps out into the street, is excluded from the evaluation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-187273 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the conventional technology merely excludes unavoidable sudden braking from the evaluation targets, and there is room for improvement in terms of improving the accuracy of driving evaluation.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has an object to provide a driving evaluation device, a driving evaluation system, and a driving evaluation method that can improve the accuracy of driving evaluation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the driving evaluation device of the present invention has a controller that calculates a driving score from the driving conditions of a vehicle driver, and the controller detects sudden braking by the vehicle accompanied by deceleration greater than or equal to a threshold, analyzes the sudden braking scene to identify the cause of the sudden braking, and calculates the driving score for each cause. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, a driving score is calculated for each item subdivided into factors that cause sudden braking, thereby improving the accuracy of driving evaluation. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a driving evaluation system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the driving evaluation device. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of definition information stored in the storage unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of advice according to the cause of occurrence. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the driving evaluation device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the driving evaluation device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, a driving evaluation device, a driving evaluation system, and a driving evaluation method disclosed in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0010] First, an overview of a driving evaluation system S according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a driving evaluation system. For example, the driving evaluation system S according to an embodiment functions as part of a vehicle management system that manages the operating status of taxis and the like.

[0011] 1, a driving evaluation system S according to an embodiment includes a driving evaluation device 1, an in-vehicle device 50, and a terminal device 100. The driving evaluation device 1 is, for example, a server device or a cloud, and analyzes driving situation data transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50 mounted in each vehicle C to perform a driving evaluation of the driver of each vehicle C.

[0012] The in-vehicle device 50 is, for example, a drive recorder equipped with a communication function. Note that the in-vehicle device 50 is not limited to a drive recorder, and may be any other device such as the driver's smartphone, as long as it is capable of transmitting and receiving various data of the vehicle C.

[0013] The terminal device 100 is a terminal device carried by a driver or the like. The terminal device 100 also includes a terminal device of a manager who manages the operation status of each vehicle C. FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the terminal device 100 is a smartphone or a PC (Personal Computer).

[0014] Next, an overview of the driving evaluation method according to the embodiment will be described. The driving evaluation method according to the embodiment is executed by a driving evaluation device 1. When evaluating a driver's driving, the driving evaluation method identifies causes of sudden braking and calculates a score for each identified cause. That is, the driving evaluation method performs exceptional processing for driving evaluation for unavoidable sudden braking, etc.

[0015] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, driving situation data is periodically uploaded from each vehicle C to the driving evaluation device 1 (step S1).

[0016] The driving situation data includes position information of vehicle C, sensor data from various sensors in vehicle C, and images of the interior and exterior of the vehicle captured by a drive recorder. The sensor data includes the detection results of an accelerator sensor that detects accelerator operation, a brake sensor that detects brake operation, a speed sensor that detects driving speed, and an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration. The sensor data may also include the detection results of a millimeter-wave radar that measures the distance to the vehicle ahead and an obstacle sensor that detects obstacles.

[0017] When the driving evaluation device 1 detects sudden braking based on the driving situation data, it identifies the cause of the sudden braking (step S2). Here, sudden braking is braking that involves deceleration by the vehicle C of a threshold or more.

[0018] The driving evaluation device 1 detects sudden braking based on sensor data such as a speed sensor, analyzes the sudden braking scene, and identifies the cause of the sudden braking. For example, the driving evaluation device 1 identifies the cause of the sudden braking as one of a near miss, a driving error, and dangerous driving.

[0019] Near misses include sudden braking in response to an emergency, sudden braking due to carelessness by the driver, etc. More specifically, near misses include when a pedestrian or other obstacle enters a predetermined area while vehicle C is traveling, i.e., sudden braking due to a pedestrian or other obstacle jumping out, or sudden braking when approaching an intersection or curve with poor visibility. Near misses also include sudden braking when traveling on an uneven road surface.

[0020] Driving errors include sudden braking caused by a driver's driving error. Specifically, driving errors include sudden braking due to insufficient distance between vehicles or excessive speed.

[0021] Dangerous driving corresponds to sudden braking due to the driver's driving style or habits. Specifically, dangerous driving corresponds to sudden braking while traveling around a curve at a speed above a threshold, or sudden braking after accelerating when the distance to the vehicle ahead is below a threshold.

[0022] In this way, in the present disclosure, the cause of sudden braking can be identified as either a near miss, a driving error, or dangerous driving, allowing the driver to easily recognize the cause of sudden braking.

[0023] The driving evaluation device 1 analyzes the driving situation data before and after the sudden braking to identify the cause of the sudden braking, and then calculates a driving score for each cause (step S3).

[0024] The driving evaluation device 1 counts the number of occurrences of each cause of occurrence and calculates a driving score for each cause of occurrence based on the counting results. At this time, the driving evaluation device 1 counts the number of occurrences of sudden braking for which the cause of occurrence was not identified as sudden braking.

[0025] Then, the driving evaluation device 1 provides score information regarding the driving score to the terminal device 100 (step S4). This allows the driver to check his / her own driving score for each cause of the driving. Note that the score information may be provided to the in-vehicle device 50.

[0026] In this way, the driving evaluation device 1 according to the embodiment identifies the causes of sudden braking and calculates a driving score for each cause. Therefore, the driving evaluation device 1 according to the embodiment calculates a driving score for each item subdivided into causes of sudden braking, thereby improving the accuracy of driving evaluation.

[0027] Next, a configuration example of the driving evaluation device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the driving evaluation device 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the driving evaluation device 1 includes a communication unit 2, a controller 3, and a storage unit 4.

[0028] The communication unit 2 is realized by, for example, a network interface card (NIC), etc. The communication unit 2 is connected to a communication network by wire or wirelessly.

[0029] The controller 3 includes a microcomputer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM, etc., and various other circuits. The controller 3 executes the overall operation of the driving evaluation device 1 by having the CPU execute a program stored in the ROM using the RAM as a working area. Note that the controller 3 may be configured partially or entirely with hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0030] The storage unit 4 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a data flash. The storage unit 4 can store information on various programs, etc. The driving evaluation device 1 may acquire the above-mentioned programs and various information via another computer or portable recording medium connected via a wired or wireless network.

[0031] In the present disclosure, the storage unit 4 stores definition information for defining occurrence factors, various programs for identifying occurrence factors, etc. Here, the definition information will be described with reference to FIG.

[0032] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of definition information stored in the storage unit 4. As shown in Fig. 3, the definition information is information that associates "causes of occurrence" with "events in question." The "causes of occurrence" indicate the causes of sudden braking.

[0033] "Relevant event" indicates the relevant event for the corresponding cause. In the example shown in Figure 3, the relevant event for the cause "near miss" is "sudden braking in an emergency," the relevant event for the cause "insufficient distance between vehicles" is "sudden braking at less than the standard distance between vehicles," the relevant event for the cause "excessive speeding" is "sudden braking when exceeding the speed limit," and the relevant event for the cause "dangerous driving" is "sudden braking after accelerating when the distance between vehicles is less than the threshold."

[0034] As mentioned above, sudden braking in an emergency situation includes sudden braking when a pedestrian or other obstacle enters a predetermined area while vehicle C is traveling, sudden braking when entering an intersection or curve with poor visibility, and sudden braking when traveling on an uneven road surface.

[0035] The sudden braking in an emergency situation may include sudden braking due to a red light. Specifically, this applies to sudden braking when the vehicle C is about to pass through a traffic light that turns red.

[0036] In addition, sudden braking below the standard distance refers to sudden braking when the distance between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead is less than the standard distance.Sudden braking when exceeding the speed limit refers to sudden braking when traveling above the speed limit.

[0037] In addition, sudden braking after acceleration when the inter-vehicle distance is less than a threshold value corresponds to sudden braking caused by vehicle C accelerating and the distance to the preceding vehicle becoming shorter when the inter-vehicle distance is less than a reference distance.

[0038] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 2, the controller 3 will be described. The controller 3 calculates a driving score from the driving conditions of the driver of the vehicle C. Specifically, the controller 3 detects sudden braking by the vehicle C accompanied by deceleration equal to or greater than a threshold, analyzes the sudden braking scene to identify the cause of the sudden braking, and calculates a driving score for each cause.

[0039] The controller 3 acquires driving situation data from the in-vehicle device 50 installed in each vehicle C. The controller 3 may acquire driving situation data from each in-vehicle device 50 at a predetermined cycle, or may acquire driving situation data related to a predetermined event only when the in-vehicle device 50 detects the event. For example, the predetermined event may include sudden braking, distracted driving, smartphone operation, etc. In this case, the in-vehicle device 50 may detect the sudden braking.

[0040] When the controller 3 detects sudden braking of the vehicle C, it analyzes the scene of the sudden braking and identifies the cause of the sudden braking. Specifically, the controller 3 analyzes the driving situation data before and after the sudden braking (for example, for 10 seconds) and identifies the cause of the sudden braking.

[0041] For example, the controller 3 identifies the cause of sudden braking based on any one of the traveling speed of the vehicle C, the distance to the vehicle ahead, and the presence or absence of an obstacle. The controller 3 identifies the cause of sudden braking as any one of near misses, driving errors, and dangerous driving. First, the processing related to near misses will be described. A near miss is sudden braking in response to an emergency.

[0042] Sudden braking in an emergency situation includes sudden braking when a pedestrian or other obstacle enters a designated area while vehicle C is traveling, sudden braking when approaching an intersection or curve with poor visibility, and sudden braking when traveling on an uneven road surface.

[0043] The controller 3 analyzes the video from the external camera to determine whether an obstacle has entered the vehicle, and uses millimeter-wave radar to analyze the distance to the obstacle. If the controller 3 determines that an obstacle such as a pedestrian has entered within a predetermined range while the vehicle C is traveling, it identifies the cause of sudden braking as a near miss.

[0044] In addition, the controller 3 determines whether the location is an intersection or curve with poor visibility, or whether the road surface is uneven, based on the position information of the vehicle C, and if it determines that the point where the sudden braking occurred is an intersection or curve with poor visibility, or an uneven road surface, it identifies the cause of the sudden braking as a near miss.

[0045] Next, processing related to driving errors will be explained. Driving errors include sudden braking due to insufficient inter-vehicle distance and sudden braking due to speeding. The controller 3 calculates the inter-vehicle distance to the vehicle ahead based on the distance measurement results using the millimeter-wave radar, and if sudden braking is performed when the inter-vehicle distance is insufficient, it identifies the cause of sudden braking as a driving error.

[0046] Furthermore, the controller 3 identifies the speed limit based on the position information, and if sudden braking occurs while traveling at or above the identified speed limit, identifies the cause of the sudden braking as a driving error.

[0047] Next, we will explain the process of dangerous driving. Dangerous driving corresponds to the driver's driving style or sudden braking due to habit. Specifically, when the vehicle enters a curve at a speed higher than a certain speed, This includes sudden braking when the vehicle is in a dangerous position, or sudden braking as a result of accelerating when the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front is below the standard value.

[0048] The controller 3 determines whether the vehicle has entered a curve based on the position information, and determines whether the speed at that time is equal to or greater than a threshold value. If the controller 3 determines that the traveling speed at the time of entering the curve exceeded the threshold value, it determines that the cause of the sudden braking was dangerous driving.

[0049] Furthermore, the controller 3 measures the distance to the vehicle ahead based on the distance measurement result of the millimeter wave radar and determines whether the distance is equal to or less than a reference value. Next, when the controller 3 determines that the vehicle C has accelerated while the distance to the vehicle ahead is equal to or less than the reference value, the controller 3 determines that the cause of the sudden braking is reckless driving.

[0050] In this way, the controller 3 can appropriately identify the cause of sudden braking by identifying the cause based on any one of the traveling speed of the vehicle C, the distance to the preceding vehicle, and the presence or absence of an obstacle. The controller 3 may also analyze an in-vehicle video to identify the cause of sudden braking. For example, in such a case, the controller 3 may identify the driver's line of sight from the in-vehicle video and identify inattentive driving as the cause of sudden braking.

[0051] When the controller 3 identifies the cause of sudden braking through these processes, it requests the in-vehicle device 50 to give advice to the driver according to the cause. Here, an example of advice according to the cause will be described with reference to Fig. 4.

[0052] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of advice according to the cause of occurrence. As shown in Fig. 4, in the present disclosure, a voice message to be notified as advice for each cause of occurrence is defined. In the example shown in Fig. 4, the voice message for "near miss" is "Drive while paying attention to your surroundings," and the voice message for "insufficient distance between vehicles" is "Maintain a sufficient distance between vehicles."

[0053] As shown in FIG. 4, the voice message for "speeding" is "Be careful not to exceed the speed limit," and the voice message for "dangerous driving" is "Drive while paying attention to the vehicle ahead."

[0054] Then, the controller 3 requests the in-vehicle device 50 to notify a voice message corresponding to the identified cause of the occurrence, thereby enabling the driver to receive advice according to the cause of the occurrence.

[0055] In other words, in the present disclosure, advice is given to the driver according to the cause of sudden braking, thereby making it possible to improve the driver's awareness of safe driving.

[0056] Furthermore, when the controller 3 identifies the cause of sudden braking, it counts the number of occurrences for each cause. At this time, the controller 3 counts sudden braking for which the cause has not been identified as sudden braking.

[0057] Then, the controller 3 calculates the driving score at predetermined intervals. Specifically, the controller 3 tallies the number of occurrences of each cause of occurrence and the number of occurrences of sudden braking for which the cause of occurrence was not identified.

[0058] The controller 3 calculates the driving score for each occurrence factor so that the driving score corresponds to the aggregation result. Then, the controller 3 provides score information regarding the driving score to the terminal device 100 (see FIG. 1) at a predetermined timing.

[0059] This allows the controller 3 to allow the driver to understand his / her own driving situation. As described above, in the present disclosure, the driving score is calculated for each item subdivided into each cause of sudden braking, so that the accuracy of the driving evaluation can be improved.

[0060] Next, the processing procedure executed by the driving evaluation device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are flowcharts showing the processing procedure executed by the driving evaluation device 1. The processing shown in Fig. 5 is repeatedly executed by the controller 3 every time driving situation data is received. The processing shown in Fig. 6 is repeatedly executed by the controller 3 at a predetermined cycle.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 5, when the controller 3 receives driving situation data from the in-vehicle device 50 (step S101), the controller 3 determines whether or not sudden braking of the vehicle C has been detected (step S102).

[0062] The controller 3 detects sudden braking when the traveling speed of the vehicle C included in the driving condition data exceeds a threshold and decelerates. When sudden braking is detected (step S102; Yes), the controller 3 analyzes the driving condition data before and after the occurrence of sudden braking (step S103).

[0063] For example, the controller 3 analyzes the traveling speed, the distance between vehicles, the presence or absence of obstacles, etc. As a result of analyzing the driving situation data, the controller 3 determines whether or not the cause of sudden braking has been identified (step S104).

[0064] If the controller 3 can identify the cause of sudden braking (step S104; Yes), it counts it as the identified cause (step S105) and ends the process. On the other hand, if the controller 3 cannot identify the cause of sudden braking in the determination of step S104 (step S104; No), it counts it as sudden braking (step S106) and ends the process.

[0065] Furthermore, if the controller 3 determines in step S102 that sudden braking has not been detected (step S102; No), it skips the processes from step S103 onwards and ends the process.

[0066] Next, the processing procedure for calculating the driving score will be described with reference to Fig. 6. First, the controller 3 counts the number of occurrences for each item (step S201). Specifically, the controller 3 counts the number of occurrences of each occurrence factor and the number of occurrences of sudden braking for which the occurrence factor was not identified.

[0067] Next, the controller 3 calculates a driving score for each item (step S202). The controller 3 calculates a driving score for each item so that the driving score corresponds to the count result of the number of occurrences for each item.

[0068] Then, the controller 3 provides the terminal device 100 with the diagnosis result of the driving evaluation including the calculated driving score (step S203), and ends the process.

[0069] As described above, the driving evaluation device 1 according to the embodiment has the controller 3 that calculates a driving score from the driving conditions of the driver of the vehicle C. The controller 3 detects sudden braking by the vehicle C accompanied by deceleration equal to or greater than a threshold, analyzes the sudden braking scene to identify the cause of the sudden braking, and calculates the driving score for each cause.

[0070] Therefore, according to the driving evaluation device 1 of the embodiment, the driving score is calculated for each item subdivided into each cause of sudden braking, and therefore the accuracy of the driving evaluation can be improved.

[0071] In the above-described embodiment, the driving evaluation device 1 is a server device or a cloud, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, some or all of the processing of the driving evaluation device 1 may be performed by an in-vehicle device 50. That is, the driving evaluation device 1 may be the in-vehicle device 50.

[0072] Further advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 1. Driving evaluation device 2. Communications Department 3 Controller 4 Storage section 50 Onboard equipment 100 Terminal Device C vehicle S Driving Evaluation System

Claims

1. a controller that calculates a driving score based on a driving situation of a driver of the vehicle; The controller detecting sudden braking by the vehicle accompanied by deceleration equal to or greater than a threshold; Analyzing the sudden braking scene to identify the cause of the sudden braking; The driving score is calculated for each of the occurrence factors. Driving evaluation device.

2. The controller The number of occurrences of the sudden braking is counted for each of the occurrence factors, and the driving score is calculated for each of the occurrence factors. The driving evaluation device according to claim 1 .

3. The controller Calculating the driving score for the sudden braking for which the cause of the sudden braking is not identified The driving evaluation device according to claim 1 .

4. The controller The cause of the occurrence is identified as one of near misses, driving errors, and dangerous driving. The driving evaluation device according to claim 1 .

5. The controller Advice according to the cause of the accident is notified to the driver. The driving evaluation device according to claim 1 .

6. The controller The cause of the occurrence is identified based on one of the traveling speed of the vehicle, the distance to the preceding vehicle, and the presence or absence of an obstacle. The driving evaluation device according to claim 1 .

7. A driving evaluation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, an on-board device mounted on the vehicle; A driving evaluation system comprising:

8. A driving evaluation method executed by a controller that calculates a driving score from a driving situation of a vehicle driver, detecting sudden braking by the vehicle accompanied by deceleration equal to or greater than a threshold; Analyzing the sudden braking scene to identify the cause of the sudden braking; The driving score is calculated according to the occurrence factor. Driving evaluation methods.

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