Vehicle control device and program

Abstract

To perform proper deceleration control to a low-speed moving body such as a pedestrian existing in front of a vehicle.SOLUTION: When the host vehicle travels on a road, the ECU10 executes deceleration control of the host vehicle for low-speed movable bodies including pedestrians ahead in the traveling direction. The ECU10 includes a pedestrian recognition unit 11 that recognizes a pedestrian present in front of a host vehicle in a traveling direction based on detection information from a camera 21 or a radar device 22, an area recognition unit 12 that recognizes a host vehicle lane area in which the host vehicle travels and a roadway side area which is a side portion of the roadway area in a roadway area on a road, an area determination unit 13 that determines that the pedestrian is present in any one of the host vehicle lane area and the roadway side area when the pedestrian is recognized, and a deceleration controller 14 that decreases a degree of deceleration in deceleration control of the host vehicle when it is determined that the pedestrian is present in the roadway side area compared to when it is determined that the pedestrian is present in the host vehicle lane area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The disclosure in this specification relates to a vehicle control device and a program that perform driving assistance for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] A technology described in Patent Document 1, for example, is known as a vehicle control device that provides driving assistance for a vehicle. In Patent Document 1, the future positions of the host vehicle and an object are predicted, and collision avoidance control is performed on the condition that the object is located within an assistance range around the host vehicle within a predetermined time. Specifically, it is determined whether the object is located in the host vehicle's own lane (first roadway area) on the roadway, the adjacent lane next to the host vehicle's own lane (second roadway area), or a sidewalk area corresponding to the sidewalk, and avoidance start conditions and a predicted future movement range of the object are set according to the determination result. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-12360 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On roads where vehicles are allowed to travel, shoulders are provided on the carriageway, and pedestrians and bicycles may travel on these shoulders. In such cases, there is a concern that the driver may feel uncomfortable if deceleration control is applied to pedestrians on the shoulder at the same level as to pedestrians in the vehicle's own lane.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a vehicle control device and program that can perform appropriate deceleration control for slow-moving objects such as pedestrians in front of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle control device of the present disclosure includes: A vehicle control device that executes deceleration control of a host vehicle when the host vehicle is traveling on a road, targeting a low-speed moving object including a pedestrian ahead in a traveling direction, the vehicle control device comprising: a moving object recognition unit that recognizes the low-speed moving object present ahead in the traveling direction of the host vehicle based on detection information from an object detection device mounted on the host vehicle; an area recognition unit that recognizes a lane area in which the host vehicle is traveling within a roadway area on the road and a roadway side area that is a side of the lane area; an area determination unit that determines, when the low-speed moving object is recognized by the moving object recognition unit, whether the low-speed moving object is present in the current lane area or the roadway side area; a deceleration control unit that, when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present in the roadway side area, reduces the degree of deceleration in deceleration control of the host vehicle compared to when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present in the host lane area; Equipped with.

[0007] Even if a low-speed moving object such as a pedestrian is present within the roadway area of ​​a road, if the low-speed moving object is located in a roadway side area, i.e., the road shoulder, the possibility of the host vehicle colliding with the low-speed moving object is low. In consideration of this, the above configuration recognizes the current lane area and the roadway side area of ​​the roadway area when a low-speed moving object is present ahead of the host vehicle in the traveling direction, and determines whether the low-speed moving object is present in either the current lane area or the roadway side area. When the low-speed moving object is determined to be present in the roadway side area, the deceleration rate in the deceleration control of the host vehicle is reduced compared to when the low-speed moving object is determined to be present in the current lane area. This prevents the host vehicle from being excessively decelerated relative to a pedestrian or the like. As a result, appropriate deceleration control can be performed for a low-speed moving object such as a pedestrian present ahead of the vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1]1 is a configuration diagram showing an overview of a vehicle driving assistance system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a road plan view illustrating a road divided into a plurality of areas. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a road plan view illustrating a road divided into a plurality of areas. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a scene in which the host vehicle is following a preceding vehicle; [Figure 5] 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for deceleration control in the host vehicle. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a driving scene in which the vehicle crosses a lane marking; [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a driving scene in which the vehicle crosses a lane marking; [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing a part of deceleration control of the host vehicle. [Figure 9] (a) is a diagram showing a first type of road, and (b) is a diagram showing a second type of road. [Figure 10] 4 is a flowchart showing a part of deceleration control of the host vehicle. [Figure 11] A diagram showing no-entry areas on roads. [Figure 12] 4 is a flowchart showing deceleration control of the host vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a driving assistance system is configured to provide driving assistance to a vehicle such as a passenger car, a truck, or a bus.

[0010] As shown in Fig. 1, the driving assistance system according to this embodiment includes an ECU 10 (Electronic Control Unit) as a vehicle control device, sensors 20, and a controlled device 30. The sensors 20 include a camera 21, a radar device 22, a speed sensor 23, and a steering angle sensor 24. The camera 21 and the radar device 22 correspond to "object detection devices." The controlled device 30 includes an accelerator device 31 and a brake device 32.

[0011] The camera 21 is, for example, a monocular camera. The camera 21 is, for example, a plurality of imaging devices capable of capturing images of the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle. Images of the surroundings of the vehicle are captured by each of these cameras 21. The camera 21 capturing images of the area in front of the vehicle is provided near the front bumper of the vehicle or above the windshield of the vehicle. Each camera 21 transmits the captured images to the ECU 10 at a predetermined interval. The camera 21 may also be a stereo camera.

[0012] The radar device 22 is a distance measuring device that transmits high-frequency signals in the millimeter wave band. The radar devices 22 are mounted, for example, at the front end, rear end, and left and right sides of the vehicle, and measure the distance to objects around the vehicle. Specifically, the radar device 22 transmits probe waves at a predetermined cycle and receives reflected waves using multiple antennas. The radar device 22 measures the distance to the object based on the transmission time of the probe waves and the reception time of the reflected waves. The radar device 22 also calculates the direction of the object based on the phase difference between the reflected waves received by the multiple antennas. By calculating the distance to the object and the direction of the object, the relative position of the object with respect to the vehicle can be identified.

[0013] The speed sensor 23 is a sensor that detects the traveling speed of the host vehicle. For example, a wheel speed sensor that detects the rotation speed of the wheels can be used as the speed sensor 23. The steering angle sensor 24 is a sensor that detects the steering angle of the steering member operated by the driver of the host vehicle.

[0014] The ECU 10 is an electronic control unit equipped with a well-known microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. The microcomputer provides various computational functions. The functions provided by the microcomputer can be provided by software recorded in a physical memory device and a computer executing the software, the software alone, the hardware alone, or a combination thereof. The microcomputer executes programs stored, for example, in a non-transitory tangible storage medium serving as a storage unit provided within the microcomputer. The programs include, for example, programs related to object recognition processing for recognizing objects around the vehicle, processing for avoiding collisions with objects around the vehicle or mitigating damage in the event of a collision, and processing for controlling the vehicle's traveling speed. Execution of the programs results in the execution of a method corresponding to the programs. The storage unit is, for example, a non-volatile memory. The programs stored in the storage unit can be updated, for example, via a network such as the Internet.

[0015] The ECU 10 acquires object detection information from the camera 21 and the radar device 22, respectively, and recognizes objects around the vehicle based on this information. Specifically, the ECU 10 calculates the relative position and presence area of ​​the object as image information based on the distance to the object and the direction of the object calculated from the camera image, and calculates the relative position and presence area of ​​the object as radar information based on the distance to the object and the direction of the object included in the distance information acquired from the radar device 22. The ECU 10 then recognizes the object by fusing this image information with the radar information. In this embodiment, the object is recognized based on whether the presence area of ​​the object included in the image information overlaps with the presence area of ​​the object included in the radar information. However, in this embodiment, any object recognition method may be used. For example, it is also possible to recognize an object based on only the object detection information from the camera 21 or only the object detection information from the radar device 22 out of the object detection information from the camera 21 and the radar device 22.

[0016] The ECU 10 executes PCS (Pre-Crash Safety) control and ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) control as driving assistance controls for the host vehicle. Specifically, as PCS control, the ECU 10 calculates a time to collision (TTC: Time to Collision), which is the time until the host vehicle collides with an object, based on the relative distance and relative speed between the host vehicle and the object, and executes collision avoidance control to avoid the collision by comparing the collision prediction time with an activation timing. At this time, the ECU 10 brakes the host vehicle using a brake device 32 included in the controlled device 30 to avoid the collision with the object. It is also possible to avoid the collision with the object by automatically steering the host vehicle using a steering device. The activation timing is the timing at which the controlled device 30 or the like is desired to be activated, and may be set individually depending on the target to be activated.

[0017] Furthermore, as ACC control, ECU 10 performs constant-speed cruise control of the host vehicle at a target speed set by the driver, and also performs follow-up control to make the host vehicle follow the preceding vehicle while maintaining a predetermined inter-vehicle distance when there is a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle. In this case, ECU 10 searches for a preceding vehicle to follow ahead of the host vehicle while performing ACC control. If there is no preceding vehicle, ECU 10 causes the host vehicle to travel at a constant speed at a target speed. If there is a preceding vehicle, ECU 10 causes the host vehicle to travel while maintaining the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle at the target inter-vehicle distance. In this case, ECU 10 performs speed control by adjusting the driving force and braking force of the host vehicle using controlled device 30 to control the speed of the host vehicle.

[0018] In this embodiment, the speed of the host vehicle is controlled using an accelerator device 31 and a brake device 32 provided as controlled devices 30. The accelerator device 31 is an engine or a motor as a vehicle power source, and when the driver operates the accelerator, a driving force is applied to the host vehicle in response to a control command from the ECU 10. The brake devices 32 are provided on each wheel of the vehicle, and when the driver operates the brakes, a braking force is applied to the host vehicle in response to a control command from the ECU 10.

[0019] In both PCS control and ACC control, the deceleration control of the host vehicle is performed based on an object ahead of the host vehicle. In PCS control, for example, deceleration control is performed using TTC for an object ahead of the host vehicle in the host vehicle's own lane in which the host vehicle is traveling. In this case, for an object on the left or right outside the host vehicle's own lane, deceleration control is performed based on the lateral speed of the object moving toward the host vehicle's own lane. Also, in this embodiment, as will be described in detail later, in ACC control, deceleration control of the host vehicle is performed based on the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and a pedestrian. When a deceleration request for the host vehicle by PCS control and a deceleration request for the host vehicle by ACC control overlap, it is preferable that the host vehicle be decelerated based on the deceleration request with the greater deceleration rate.

[0020] The ACC control can be turned on and off by the driver. For example, when the driver turns on a set switch, the ECU 10 executes the ACC control. Also, when a predetermined release condition is met, such as when the driver turns off the set switch, the ACC control by the ECU 10 is stopped.

[0021] In this embodiment, when the vehicle is traveling on a road, the deceleration control of the vehicle is performed for low-speed moving objects, including pedestrians, ahead of the vehicle in the traveling direction, as will be described in detail below. Note that low-speed moving objects are moving objects that move at a slower speed than vehicles such as passenger cars, and include pedestrians, bicycles, electric wheelchairs, etc.

[0022] In this embodiment, the road is recognized as being divided into a roadway area where vehicles travel and a non-roadway area where pedestrians and bicycles travel, and the roadway area is further recognized as being divided into a lane area where the vehicle travels and a roadway side area that is the side of the roadway area (to the side of the lane area).The speed of the vehicle is then controlled depending on which of these areas a low-speed moving object is located.

[0023] Fig. 2 is a road plan view illustrating the multiple areas divided into road RD. In Fig. 2, road RD is made up of a roadway area R10 and a sidewalk area R20 as a non-roadway area. As an example, road RD is a two-lane road with a sidewalk.

[0024] The roadway area R10 is made up of a current lane area R11 in which the current vehicle CA is traveling, an other lane area R12 which is a lane area other than the current lane area R11, and a roadway side area R13 which is on the side of the current lane area R11 but on the opposite side of the other lane area R12. The roadway side area R13 is a strip-shaped shoulder area provided adjacent to the sidewalk area R20 in the roadway area R10.

[0025] In addition, on the road RD, there are structural partitions between the roadway area R10 and the sidewalk area R20. Such partitions include, for example, curbs, steps, guardrails, and tree strips. However, there may be no structural partitions between the roadway area R10 and the sidewalk area R20, and the roadway area R10 and the sidewalk area R20 may be separated by a dividing line such as a white line.

[0026] The configuration of the ECU 10 for controlling deceleration of the vehicle will be described. In the following description, the ECU 10 is configured to recognize pedestrians as low-speed moving objects. However, the low-speed moving object may be a bicycle or an electric wheelchair in addition to a pedestrian. In FIG. 1, the ECU 10 includes a pedestrian recognition unit 11, an area recognition unit 12, an area determination unit 13, and a deceleration control unit 14. The pedestrian recognition unit 11 corresponds to the moving object recognition unit.

[0027] The pedestrian recognition unit 11 acquires object detection information from the camera 21 and the radar device 22, and recognizes pedestrians ahead of the vehicle in the traveling direction based on this information. Any method may be used to recognize pedestrians, and for example, pedestrians may be recognized by pattern matching using camera images and dictionary information.

[0028] The area recognition unit 12 recognizes, for example, a current lane area R11, other lane area R12, roadway side area R13, and sidewalk area R20 of a roadway area R10 on a road RD shown in Fig. 2. At this time, the area recognition unit 12 recognizes dividing lines S1 to S3 on the road surface existing on both the left and right sides of the current vehicle CA and structures S4 and S5 on the road RD based on an image acquired from the camera 21, and also recognizes the current lane area R11, other lane area R12, roadway side area R13, and sidewalk area R20 of the road RD based on the dividing lines S1 to S3 and structures S4 and S5.

[0029] The road markings may be recognized based on brightness changes in the camera image. Specifically, the ECU 10 extracts points of change in contrast (edge ​​strength) on the road surface for markings such as white lines that separate lanes on the road surface as edge candidate points. The ECU 10 then extracts markings from a series of extracted edge candidate points. Furthermore, structures on the road may be recognized by pattern matching of individual objects using the camera image.

[0030] When the host vehicle CA travels on the road RD shown in Figure 2, the area between the left and right demarcation lines S1, S2 relative to the host vehicle CA is recognized as the host vehicle lane area R11. Furthermore, if another demarcation line S3 is recognized on the road RD to the right of the demarcation line S2 on the right side of the host vehicle CA, the area between the demarcation lines S2, S3 is recognized as the other lane area R12. Note that the lateral distances between the demarcation lines S1 to S3 are calculated, and the areas between the demarcation lines S1 to S3 are recognized as the lane areas R11, R12, provided that the lateral distances are within a predetermined range.

[0031] 2, the left edge of the roadway area R10 is determined by a structure S4 on the left side of the road RD, and the area between the structure S4 and the dividing line S1 on the left side of the host vehicle CA is recognized as a roadway side area R13. Furthermore, the opposite side of the roadway side area R13 (the left side of the figure) across the structure S4 is recognized as a sidewalk area R20. Note that a structure S5 such as a guardrail is recognized on the right side of the host vehicle CA, and the outside of the structure S5 is recognized as the right sidewalk area R20.

[0032] On road RD, it may be difficult to recognize lane markings due to blurred or dirty white lines, etc. In this case, for example, when it is impossible to recognize one of the lane markings on the left and right sides of the current lane, the area recognition unit 12 may determine a virtual lane marking at a position corresponding to the prescribed width of the standard road based on the recognized lane marking, and use the virtual lane marking to recognize the current lane area R11, the other lane area R12, and the roadway side area R13.

[0033] Alternatively, the area recognition unit 12 may be configured to recognize, in a situation where it is impossible to recognize a dividing line on either the left or right side of the own lane, the area up to a structure on the left or right side of the road RD where the dividing line cannot be recognized as the own lane area R11. When it is impossible to recognize dividing lines on both the left and right sides of the own lane, the area between the structures on the left and right sides of the road RD may be recognized as the own lane area R11.

[0034] When a pedestrian is recognized by the pedestrian recognition unit 11, the area determination unit 13 determines whether the pedestrian is present in one of the following areas: the current lane area R11, the other lane area R12, the roadway side area R13, or the sidewalk area R20. An example of area determination regarding the location of the pedestrian will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

[0035] In FIG. 3, based on the center position L in the left-right direction of the host vehicle CA, the lateral distances D1 to D4 from the host vehicle CA to the pedestrian P, and the lateral distances D11 to D14 from the host vehicle CA to each lane line S1 to S3 and the structure S4 are defined. These lateral distances D1 to D4, D11 to D14 are all distances on the coordinate with the left direction being positive. Therefore, for pedestrians and lane lines on the left side of the host vehicle CA, the lateral distance is calculated as a positive value, and for pedestrians and lane lines on the right side of the host vehicle CA, the lateral distance is calculated as a negative value.

[0036] When the pedestrian P1 is present in the host vehicle lane area R11, the lateral distance to the pedestrian P1 is D1. In this case, based on the fact that the lateral distance D1 is smaller than the lateral distance D11 to the lane line S1 on the left side of the host vehicle lane and larger than the lateral distance D12 to the lane line S2 on the right side of the host vehicle lane (that is, D1 < D11 and D1 > D12), it is determined that the pedestrian P1 is present in the host vehicle lane area R11.

[0037] When the pedestrian P2 is present in the other vehicle lane area R12 on the right side of the host vehicle lane, the lateral distance to the pedestrian P2 is D2. In this case, based on the fact that the lateral distance D2 is smaller than the lateral distance D12 to the lane line S2 on the right side of the host vehicle lane and larger than the lateral distance D13 to the lane line S3 on the right side of the road (that is, D12 > D2 > D13), it is determined that the pedestrian P2 is present in the other vehicle lane area R12.

[0038] When the pedestrian P3 is present in the roadside area R13, the lateral distance to the pedestrian P3 is D3. In this case, based on the fact that the lateral distance D3 is larger than the lateral distance D11 to the lane line S1 on the left side of the host vehicle lane and smaller than the lateral distance D14 to the structure S4 on the left side of the road (that is, D11 < D3 < D14), it is determined that the pedestrian P3 is present in the roadside area R13.

[0039] When pedestrian P4 is present in sidewalk area R20, the lateral distance to pedestrian P4 is D4. In this case, it is determined that pedestrian P4 is present in sidewalk area R20 because lateral distance D4 is greater than lateral distance D14 to structure S4 on the left side of the road (i.e., D4>D14).

[0040] Although not shown in the figure, if a pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20 on the right side of the road, it is determined that the pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20 on the right side of the road based on the fact that the lateral distance to the pedestrian is smaller than the lateral distance D13 to the dividing line S3 on the right side of the road.

[0041] When a pedestrian is recognized ahead of the vehicle on the road RD, the deceleration control unit 14 executes deceleration control based on which of the areas R11 to R13, R20 of the road RD the pedestrian is present in. (1) If a pedestrian is in the current lane area R11, (2) If a pedestrian is in the other lane area R12, (3) If a pedestrian is present in the roadway side area R13, (4) If a pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20, Among these, in case (1), the deceleration rate for the pedestrian is controlled to be the largest, and in cases (2) to (4), the deceleration rate for the pedestrian is controlled to be smaller than in case (1). Specifically, when it is determined that the pedestrian is present in the other lane area R12 or the roadway side area R13, the deceleration control unit 14 reduces the deceleration rate in the deceleration control of the host vehicle CA compared to when it is determined that the pedestrian is present in the host lane area R11. Furthermore, when it is determined that the pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20, the deceleration rate in the deceleration control of the host vehicle is reduced compared to when it is determined that the pedestrian is present in the other lane area R12 or the roadway side area R13. The deceleration rate in the deceleration control of the host vehicle corresponds to the strength of deceleration when decelerating the host vehicle and the ease with which the deceleration start condition is satisfied, and the greater the deceleration rate, the stronger the deceleration of the host vehicle or the more frequently the host vehicle decelerates.

[0042] The other lane area R12 and the roadway side area R13 are both areas of the roadway area R10 other than the own lane area R11. Therefore, in these areas R12 and R13, the magnitude of deceleration relative to a pedestrian may be the same, and deceleration control may be performed at a magnitude smaller than when a pedestrian is present in the own lane area R11. However, the magnitude of deceleration may be different between the other lane area R12 and the roadway side area R13. For example, the magnitude of deceleration may be greater in the other lane area R12, or greater in the roadway side area R13.

[0043] The deceleration control unit 14 may perform deceleration control for the pedestrian by, for example, inter-vehicle distance control that maintains an appropriate inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle in ACC control. In this case, the deceleration control unit 14 executes deceleration control of the host vehicle based on the longitudinal distance between the host vehicle and the pedestrian in the host vehicle's traveling direction. Specifically, the host vehicle is decelerated when the longitudinal distance from the host vehicle to the pedestrian becomes shorter than a predetermined deceleration start distance.

[0044] Here, when a pedestrian is present in the current lane area R11 among the areas of the road RD, the deceleration start distance at which the vehicle deceleration begins is set to the longest, and the maximum deceleration during deceleration of the current vehicle is set to the longest, in order to maximize the deceleration ratio for the pedestrian. Furthermore, for the other lane area R12, the roadway side area R13, and the sidewalk area R20, the deceleration start distance and the maximum deceleration may be set in stages so as to satisfy the relationship "deceleration ratio in R11 > deceleration ratio in R12 and R13 > deceleration ratio in R20." In other words, in the deceleration control, a distance range within which the current vehicle is decelerated is set for each area of ​​the road RD, and a maximum deceleration during deceleration of the current vehicle is set. The deceleration start distance may be set according to the traveling speed of the current vehicle; for example, the higher the traveling speed of the current vehicle, the longer the deceleration start distance is set.

[0045] Furthermore, in a scene where the host vehicle is using tracking control to follow a preceding vehicle ahead of the host vehicle, the possibility of a pedestrian appearing ahead of the host vehicle in the host lane area R11 is low, and even if the presence of a pedestrian is recognized, it is likely that this is an erroneous recognition. Taking this into consideration, in this embodiment, when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the host lane area R11 and tracking control is being performed for the preceding vehicle, the degree of deceleration in the deceleration control of the host vehicle is made smaller than when tracking control is not being performed.

[0046] 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a situation in which the host vehicle CA is following a preceding vehicle CB. In Fig. 4A, a situation is shown in which it is determined that a pedestrian P is present between the host vehicle CA and the preceding vehicle CB, and Fig. 4B shows a situation in which it is determined that a pedestrian P is present in front of the preceding vehicle CB.

[0047] 4(a) and 4(b), it is determined that pedestrian P is present in the own lane area R11 while the own vehicle CA is following a pedestrian. In this case, since there is a possibility that pedestrian P has been erroneously recognized, the deceleration control unit 14 reduces the degree of deceleration in the deceleration control of the own vehicle CA compared to when follow-up control is not being performed and it is determined that pedestrian P is present in the own lane area R11.

[0048] Furthermore, in the scene of FIG. 4(b), if pedestrian P is actually present ahead of preceding vehicle CB, it is conceivable that preceding vehicle CB will decelerate with respect to pedestrian P. Furthermore, since tracking control is in progress, if preceding vehicle CB decelerates, then the host vehicle CA will decelerate accordingly. Therefore, if it is determined that pedestrian P is present ahead of preceding vehicle CB, there is a high possibility that pedestrian P has been mistakenly recognized, and it is advisable to prohibit deceleration control of the host vehicle with respect to pedestrian P. In this case, it is advisable to make the degree of deceleration of host vehicle CA with respect to pedestrian P different between FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b). In FIG. 4(a), deceleration control with respect to pedestrian P is performed but the degree of deceleration is reduced, whereas in FIG. 4(a), deceleration control with respect to pedestrian P is not performed.

[0049] 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure for deceleration control in the host vehicle. This process is repeatedly executed at a predetermined interval by the ECU 10. This process is performed on the assumption that the ACC control mode is on in the host vehicle.

[0050] 5, in step S101, detection information is acquired from the camera 21, the radar device 22, etc. In step S102, object recognition processing is performed in front of the host vehicle based on the detection information from the camera 21 and the radar device 22. At this time, if a pedestrian or a preceding vehicle is present as a low-speed moving object in front of the host vehicle, the presence of the pedestrian or the preceding vehicle is recognized.

[0051] In step S103, area recognition processing is performed for the road on which the vehicle is traveling. At this time, for example, on the road RD shown in Figure 2, the following are recognized: the current lane area R11, other lane area R12, and roadway side area R13, which are roadway area R10; and the sidewalk area R20, which is a non-roadway area.

[0052] Then, in step S104, it is determined whether or not a pedestrian is recognized as being present ahead of the vehicle as the object recognition result of step S102. If the presence of a pedestrian is recognized, the process proceeds to the subsequent step S105, and if the presence of a pedestrian is not recognized, the process is temporarily terminated.

[0053] Thereafter, in steps S105 to S107, it is determined whether the pedestrian is present in the current lane area R11, an area of ​​the roadway area R10 other than the current lane area R11 (i.e., other lane area R12 or roadway side area R13), or the sidewalk area R20. Note that in step S106, it is also possible to separately determine whether the pedestrian is present in the other lane area R12 and whether the pedestrian is present in the roadway side area R13.

[0054] In this case, if it is determined in step S105 that a pedestrian is present in the current lane area R11, the result in step S105 is affirmative, and the process proceeds to step S108. In step S108, it is determined whether or not a preceding vehicle that is the target of tracking control is present ahead of the current vehicle, i.e., whether or not tracking control for the preceding vehicle is in progress. If a preceding vehicle is present, the process proceeds to step S109, and if no preceding vehicle is present, the process proceeds to step S110. In step S109, deceleration control of the current vehicle with respect to the pedestrian is prohibited.

[0055] In step S110, when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the current lane area R11, the deceleration control is performed by setting the deceleration rate for the pedestrian to the highest level among all areas. If the deceleration rate for the deceleration control is classified into three relatively different levels, large, medium, and small, the deceleration rate in step S110 is "large."

[0056] In steps S108 to S110, if there is a preceding vehicle to be followed ahead of the host vehicle, deceleration control of the host vehicle with respect to pedestrian P may be prohibited in step S109, provided that the vehicle's traveling speed or the target speed for constant speed traveling is equal to or greater than a predetermined speed (e.g., 20 km / h).

[0057] In step S109, in a situation where it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the own lane area R11, the degree of deceleration in the deceleration control may be different between when it is determined that a pedestrian is present between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle and when it is determined that a pedestrian is present ahead of the preceding vehicle. Specifically, when it is determined that a pedestrian is present between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle, control may be executed in which the degree of deceleration for the pedestrian is smaller than when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the own lane area R11 and there is no preceding vehicle (step S110), and when it is determined that a pedestrian is present ahead of the preceding vehicle, deceleration control of the own vehicle for the pedestrian may be prohibited.

[0058] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S106 that a pedestrian is present in the other lane area R12 or the roadway side area R13, the result of step S106 is affirmative, and the process proceeds to step S111. In step S111, it is determined whether the reliability of the lane markings used to recognize the current lane area R11 in step S103 is high, i.e., whether their reliability is above a predetermined level. The reliability of the lane markings may be determined, for example, based on the magnitude of edge strength and the continuity of edge points when the lane markings are extracted from the camera image. In this case, if a reliability index calculated based on the magnitude of edge strength and the continuity of edge points is above a predetermined value, the reliability is determined to be high (the reliability of the lane markings is above a predetermined level). If the reliability index is below the predetermined value, the reliability is determined to be low (the reliability of the lane markings is below a predetermined level).

[0059] If it is determined in step S111 that the reliability of the lane markings is high, the process proceeds to step S112, where, as deceleration control when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the other lane area R12 or the roadway side area R13, control is executed to reduce the deceleration rate for the pedestrian compared to when the pedestrian is present in the own lane area R11. The deceleration rate in step S112 is "medium."

[0060] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S111 that the reliability of the lane markings is low, the process proceeds to step S110, where the deceleration control in the case where a pedestrian is recognized to be present in the other lane area R12 or the roadway side area R13 is performed by controlling the deceleration rate the same as when a pedestrian is present in the current lane area R11. In other words, even if a pedestrian is recognized to be present in the other lane area R12 or the roadway side area R13, the deceleration rate is not reduced compared to when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the current lane area R11.

[0061] Here, examples of situations in which lane markings cannot be properly recognized include when the actual lane markings cannot be recognized due to blurred or dirty white lines, as well as when erasure marks remain on the road surface after lane markings such as white lines have been erased, when the road surface is cracked, or when long objects such as branches are present on the road surface, leading to the lane markings being erroneously recognized even when no lane markings exist. If lane markings are erroneously recognized even when no lane markings exist, the lane area R11 may be perceived as narrower than it actually is, raising concerns that the vehicle may not be slowed down enough to accommodate pedestrians who are actually in the lane area R11. In this regard, steps S110 to S112 described above enable appropriate deceleration control while taking into account the reliability of the lane markings.

[0062] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S107 that a pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20, the result in step S107 is affirmative, and the process proceeds to step S113. In step S113, as deceleration control when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20, control is executed in which the degree of deceleration relative to the pedestrian is smaller than when the pedestrian is present in the other lane area R12 or the roadway side area R13. The degree of deceleration in step S113 is "small."

[0063] 5 may be configured to determine whether a pedestrian is partially hidden by a barrier such as a guardrail or a planting strip, and if so, determine that the pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20. In this case, deceleration control in step S113 may be performed on the pedestrian partially hidden by the barrier.

[0064] Incidentally, when the host vehicle is traveling on the road RD, as shown in Fig. 6, the host vehicle CA may cross one of the left and right dividing lines S1, S2 that define the host lane area R11, and a pedestrian P may be present in an area adjacent to the host lane area R11 (roadway side area R13) across the dividing line on the side where the host vehicle CA has crossed (a specific state). In this case, a part of the host vehicle CA extends outside the host lane area R11, raising concerns about contact between the host vehicle CA and the pedestrian P. Therefore, in a scene that constitutes the specific state shown in Fig. 6, the deceleration control of the host vehicle CA may be executed in the same manner as when the pedestrian P is present in the host lane area R11.

[0065] 7, even in a specific state where pedestrian P is present in roadway side area R13 and the host vehicle CA is straddling a dividing line that is the boundary between the roadway side area R13 where pedestrian P is present, if the host vehicle CA is moving laterally toward the host lane area R11, the host vehicle CA is unlikely to come into contact with pedestrian P. Therefore, in the above-mentioned specific state, it is preferable to reduce the deceleration rate in the deceleration control of the host vehicle CA compared to when pedestrian P is present in the host lane area R11, provided that the host vehicle CA is moving laterally toward the host lane area R11. This processing will be described below.

[0066] 8 is a flowchart showing a part of the deceleration control of the host vehicle. This process is executed by replacing steps S106 and S111 in the process of FIG.

[0067] In Figure 8, if the result of step S105 in Figure 5 is negative, the process proceeds to step S201. In step S201, it is determined whether or not a pedestrian is present in the roadway side area R13. If it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the roadway side area R13, the process proceeds to step S202, and if it is determined that a pedestrian is not present in the roadway side area R13, the process proceeds to step S107.

[0068] In step S202, it is determined whether the host vehicle CA is straddling one of the left and right dividing lines S1, S2 that divide the host lane area R11. In addition, in step S203, it is determined whether the host vehicle CA is moving laterally toward the host lane area R11. In step S203, it is preferable to determine whether the host vehicle CA is moving laterally toward the host lane area R11 based on steering information of the host vehicle CA.

[0069] If the host vehicle CA is not crossing a lane marking, the process proceeds to step S204. In step S204, when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the roadway side area R13, the deceleration control is performed by reducing the deceleration rate for the pedestrian compared to when the pedestrian is present in the host vehicle lane area R11 (similar to step S112 in FIG. 5).

[0070] If the host vehicle CA is crossing a lane marking and has not moved laterally toward the host vehicle's lane area R11, the process proceeds to step S205. In step S205, the host vehicle CA is decelerated in the same manner as when a pedestrian is present in the host vehicle's lane area R11. That is, the deceleration control is performed by setting the deceleration rate for the pedestrian to the maximum among all areas (similar to step S110 in FIG. 5).

[0071] If the host vehicle CA is crossing a lane marking and is moving laterally toward the host vehicle lane area R11, the process proceeds to step S206. In step S206, it is determined that deceleration control is not performed, and then the process ends.

[0072] According to the present embodiment described above in detail, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

[0073] Even if a pedestrian is present in the roadway area R10 of the road RD, if the pedestrian is located in the roadway side area R13, which is the road shoulder, the host vehicle is unlikely to collide with the pedestrian. In consideration of this, the above configuration recognizes the host vehicle's own lane area R11 and the roadway side area R13 when a pedestrian is present ahead of the host vehicle in the traveling direction, and changes the deceleration rate in the host vehicle's deceleration control depending on whether the pedestrian is present in the own lane area R11 or the roadway side area R13. This prevents the host vehicle from being excessively decelerated in relation to the pedestrian. As a result, the host vehicle can perform appropriate deceleration control in relation to the pedestrian or the like present ahead of the vehicle.

[0074] On road RD, the system recognizes the current lane area R11, other lane area R12, and roadway side area R13, which are roadway areas R10, and the sidewalk area R20, which is a non-roadway area, and determines whether a pedestrian is present in any of the above areas R11 to R13, R20. The system also sets different deceleration rates for the current vehicle relative to the pedestrian for each area. In this case, regardless of which area of ​​road RD the pedestrian is present in, the system can appropriately decelerate the current vehicle relative to the pedestrian.

[0075] When the vehicle's own lane area R11 is recognized based on lane markings and the reliability of the lane markings used to recognize the vehicle's own lane area R11 is less than a predetermined level, even if the vehicle determines that a pedestrian is present in the other lane area R12 or the roadway side area R13, the vehicle's deceleration control is executed in the same manner as when the vehicle determines that the pedestrian is present in the vehicle's own lane area R11. This prevents the vehicle from being mistakenly decelerated to a smaller extent for a pedestrian due to incorrect recognition of lane markings, which could lead to the vehicle being mistakenly decelerated to a smaller extent for a pedestrian.

[0076] When the host vehicle is straddling one of the left and right dividing lines S1, S2 that divide the host lane area R11, and a pedestrian is present in an area adjacent to the host lane area R11 across the dividing line on the side the host vehicle has straddled (when a specific state is present), the host vehicle is decelerated in the same manner as when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the host lane area R11. This makes it possible to perform appropriate deceleration control for the pedestrian even when the host vehicle is traveling in a position biased to one side of the host lane.

[0077] Even if a pedestrian is present in the roadway side area R13 and the host vehicle is straddling the dividing line that is the boundary between the roadway side area R13 where the pedestrian is present, if the host vehicle is moving laterally toward the host lane area R11, the host vehicle is unlikely to come into contact with the pedestrian. Taking this into consideration, the host vehicle is configured to perform deceleration control. This makes it possible to prevent excessive deceleration control of the host vehicle.

[0078] When it is determined that a pedestrian P is present in the own lane area R11 and follow-up control for the preceding vehicle CB is being performed, the deceleration rate in the deceleration control of the own vehicle CA is made smaller than when the follow-up control is not being performed. This makes it possible to prevent excessive deceleration control from being performed in a follow-up driving scene.

[0079] During follow-up control for the preceding vehicle CB, if a pedestrian is actually present ahead of the preceding vehicle CB, it is conceivable that the preceding vehicle CB will decelerate with respect to the pedestrian. Also, since follow-up control is being performed, if the preceding vehicle CB decelerates, the host vehicle CA will decelerate accordingly. In this case, by prohibiting the deceleration control of the host vehicle CA with respect to the pedestrian ahead of the preceding vehicle CB, unnecessary deceleration with respect to the pedestrian can be suppressed.

[0080] (Other embodiments) The above embodiment may be modified as follows, for example.

[0081] There are two types of roads: a first type road in which a sidewalk area R20 is provided on the side of the vehicle's lane area R11, with a roadway side area R13 (shoulder) sandwiched between them, as shown in FIG. 9(a); and a second type road in which a sidewalk area R20 is provided adjacent to the vehicle's lane area R11, without a roadway side area R13 (shoulder) between them, as shown in FIG. 9(b). On the first type of road, the roadway side area R13 and the sidewalk area R20 are separated by structures such as curbs, steps, and guardrails, whereas on the second type of road, the vehicle's lane area R11 and the sidewalk area R20 are assumed to be separated by dividing lines on the road surface. On each of these types of roads, the presence of a pedestrian in the sidewalk area R20 has different implications from the vehicle's perspective. Taking this into consideration, the vehicle's deceleration control may be performed in relation to a pedestrian.

[0082] Specifically, the ECU 10 executes the process of the flowchart shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a part of the deceleration control of the host vehicle. This process is executed by replacing steps S107 and S113 in the process of Fig. 5.

[0083] In Fig. 10, if the result of step S106 in Fig. 5 is negative, the process proceeds to step S301. In step S301, it is determined whether or not a pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20. If it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20, the process proceeds to step S302, and if it is determined that a pedestrian is not present in the sidewalk area R20, the process is temporarily terminated.

[0084] In step S302, it is determined whether the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is a first-type road (the road in FIG. 9(a)) or a second-type road (the road in FIG. 9(b)) (road type determination unit). If the road is the first-type road, the process proceeds to step S303. In step S303, as deceleration control when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20, control is executed to reduce the deceleration rate for the pedestrian compared to when the pedestrian is present in the other lane area R12 or the roadway side area R13 (similar to step S113 in FIG. 5).

[0085] If the road is of the second type, the process proceeds to step S304. In step S304, the deceleration rate in the deceleration control of the vehicle is increased compared to when the road is of the first type. At this time, deceleration control should be performed at a "medium" level deceleration rate, similar to step S112 in FIG. 5.

[0086] On a road of the second type where a sidewalk area R20 is provided adjacent to the current vehicle lane area R11, almost all pedestrians traveling on the road travel in the sidewalk area R20 adjacent to the current vehicle lane area R11. In this case, the possibility of the host vehicle coming into contact with a pedestrian traveling on the road RD is higher on a road of the second type than on a road of the first type. Taking this into consideration, when it is determined that a pedestrian is present in the sidewalk area R20, if the road is a road of the second type (a road without a shoulder), the deceleration rate in the deceleration control of the host vehicle is set to be larger than when the road is a road of the first type. This allows the host vehicle to appropriately decelerate against a pedestrian in the sidewalk area R20.

[0087] As shown in FIG. 11, roads may have no-entry areas RS (safety zones, etc.) that prohibit vehicles from entering. It is undesirable for the host vehicle CA to excessively decelerate when approaching a pedestrian P in the no-entry area RS. The no-entry area RS may be, for example, a road marking with white stripes surrounded by a yellow frame, indicating a no-entry area, or a road marking with a solid yellow line outside the white frame, indicating a safety zone. In this case, the ECU 10 may execute the process shown in FIG. 12. The process of FIG. 12 may be executed as part of steps S103 and S104 of FIG. 5, or in parallel with steps S103 and S104.

[0088] 12, in step S401, the location and range of the no-entry area RS are recognized using map information used by a navigation system or the like (area recognition unit). At this time, the no-entry area RS adjacent to the current lane area R11 or the no-entry area RS overlapping the current lane area R11 to the left or right is recognized. In addition to the map information, the no-entry area RS can also be recognized using image information from a camera.

[0089] In step S402, it is determined whether or not the pedestrian P is in a no-entry area RS (area determination unit). If it is determined that the pedestrian P is in the no-entry area RS, the process proceeds to step S403, where the deceleration rate in the deceleration control of the host vehicle is reduced compared to when it is determined that the pedestrian P is in the host lane area R11 (deceleration control unit). At this time, it is preferable that the deceleration control be performed at a medium deceleration rate, as in step S112 of FIG. 5.

[0090] It may be difficult to recognize no-entry areas RS defined on roads using only the detection information from the on-board camera 21 and radar device 22, but the no-entry areas RS can be correctly recognized by using map information. Then, the vehicle can be appropriately controlled to decelerate when a pedestrian P is in the no-entry area RS.

[0091] In the road RD, the non-road area may be a bicycle lane where bicycles, which are low-speed moving objects, travel.

[0092] The control device and method described herein may be implemented by a special-purpose computer configured with a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the control device and method described herein may be implemented by a special-purpose computer configured with a processor comprising one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control device and method described herein may be implemented by one or more special-purpose computers configured with a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions in combination with a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. Furthermore, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium as instructions executed by a computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 10...ECU, 21...camera, 22...radar device.

Claims

1. A vehicle control device (10) that executes deceleration control of a vehicle when the vehicle is traveling on a road, targeting a low-speed moving object, including a pedestrian, ahead in the traveling direction, comprising: a moving object recognition unit that recognizes the low-speed moving object present ahead in the traveling direction of the host vehicle based on detection information from an object detection device (21, 22) mounted on the host vehicle; an area recognition unit that recognizes a lane area (R11) in which the vehicle is traveling within a roadway area (R10) on the road, and a roadway side area (R13) that is a side of the lane area; an area determination unit that determines, when the low-speed moving object is recognized by the moving object recognition unit, whether the low-speed moving object is present in the current lane area or the roadway side area; a deceleration control unit that, when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present in the roadway side area, reduces the degree of deceleration in deceleration control of the host vehicle compared to when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present in the host lane area; A vehicle control device comprising:

2. The area recognition unit recognizes a non-roadway area (R20) adjacent to the roadway area in addition to the current lane area and the roadway side area, which are the roadway area; when the moving object recognition unit recognizes the low-speed moving object, the area determination unit determines that the low-speed moving object is present in any one of the current lane area, the roadway side area, and the non-roadway area; 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the deceleration control unit reduces the degree of deceleration in the deceleration control of the vehicle when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present in the non-road area compared to when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present in the roadway side area.

3. a road type determination unit that determines whether the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is a first type road in which the non-roadway area is located on either side of the host lane area with the roadway side area in between, or a second type road in which the non-roadway area is located next to the host lane area without the roadway side area in between, 3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2, wherein when it is determined that the low-speed moving body is present in the non-road area, if the road is the second type of road, the deceleration control unit increases the degree of deceleration in the deceleration control of the vehicle compared to when the road is the first type of road.

4. the area recognition unit recognizes dividing lines on a road surface of the road and recognizes both left and right ends of the current lane area based on the dividing lines; 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the deceleration control unit performs deceleration control of the vehicle in the same manner as when it is determined that the slow-moving object is present in the lane area, even if the slow-moving object is present in the roadway side area when the lane area is recognized by the area recognition unit based on the dividing line and the reliability of the dividing line used to recognize the lane area is less than a predetermined value.

5. a state determination unit that determines that a specific state is occurring in which the host vehicle is straddling one of the left and right dividing lines that divide the host lane area, and the low-speed moving object is present in an area adjacent to the host lane area across the dividing line on the side that the host vehicle has straddled; 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein when the state determination unit determines that the specific state exists, the deceleration control unit executes deceleration control of the vehicle in the same manner as when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present in the vehicle lane area.

6. 6. The vehicle control device according to claim 5, wherein, when the state determination unit determines that the specific state is present, the deceleration control unit reduces the degree of deceleration in the deceleration control of the vehicle, provided that the vehicle is moving laterally toward the vehicle's own lane area, compared to when the low-speed moving object is present in the vehicle's own lane area.

7. the area recognition unit recognizes, based on map information, no-entry areas on the road where vehicles are prohibited from entering, the area determination unit is capable of determining that the slow-moving object is present in the no-entry area when the slow-moving object is recognized by the moving object recognition unit, 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the deceleration control unit reduces the degree of deceleration in the deceleration control of the vehicle when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is in the no-entry area compared to when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is in the lane area.

8. A vehicle control device capable of executing follow-up control to make the host vehicle follow a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle while maintaining a predetermined inter-vehicle distance, The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein when follow-up control for the preceding vehicle is being performed under a situation in which it is determined that the low-speed moving body is present in the own vehicle lane area, the deceleration control unit reduces the degree of deceleration in the deceleration control of the own vehicle compared to when the follow-up control is not being performed.

9. 9. The vehicle control device according to claim 8, wherein the deceleration control unit prohibits deceleration control of the host vehicle relative to the low-speed moving object when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present ahead of the preceding vehicle during follow-up control of the preceding vehicle.

10. A program for executing deceleration control of a host vehicle when the host vehicle is traveling on a road, targeting a low-speed moving object, including a pedestrian, ahead in a traveling direction, the program comprising: On the computer, a moving object recognition process for recognizing the low-speed moving object present ahead in the traveling direction of the host vehicle based on detection information from an object detection device (21, 22) mounted on the host vehicle; an area recognition process for recognizing a lane area (R11) in which the vehicle is traveling within a roadway area (R10) on the road, and a roadway side area (R13) that is a side of the lane area; an area determination process for determining whether the low-speed moving object is present in the current lane area or the roadway side area when the low-speed moving object is recognized by the moving object recognition process; a deceleration control process for reducing the degree of deceleration in deceleration control of the host vehicle when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present in the roadway side area compared to when it is determined that the low-speed moving object is present in the host vehicle lane area; A program that executes.

Images