Vehicle control system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control system capable of appropriately controlling the operation of a vehicle on a drum tester. [Solution] The vehicle control system according to this disclosure is a vehicle control system that drives a vehicle to a drum tester and controls the operation of the vehicle on the drum tester. It comprises a first detection means for detecting when a target vehicle has reached the drum tester, a second detection means for detecting lateral movement information of the target vehicle on the drum tester, and a controller for controlling the target vehicle's travel to the drum tester and its operation on the drum tester. After the first detection means detects that the target vehicle has reached the drum tester, the controller controls the operation of the target vehicle on the drum tester based on the movement information detected by the second detection means.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control system.

Background Art

[0002] For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, when manufacturing a vehicle, instead of transporting the vehicle by a conveyor, for example, a technology for self-driving and transporting the vehicle by autonomous control or remote control (self-driving transport technology) is known.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The inventors are considering running the vehicle unmanned even in the inspection process of the completed vehicle. In normal driving, while estimating the position of the vehicle based on the vehicle speed, the operation of the vehicle is controlled. Here, on the drum tester, the vehicle does not run even when the wheels are driven, so the operation of the vehicle cannot be controlled based on the vehicle speed. Therefore, when performing the same control as normal driving on the vehicle on the drum tester, for example, when the vehicle slides horizontally on the drum tester, the operation of the vehicle cannot be appropriately controlled.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a vehicle control system capable of appropriately controlling the operation of a vehicle on a drum tester.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The vehicle control system according to the present disclosure is a vehicle control system that self-drives the vehicle to a drum tester and controls the operation of the vehicle on the drum tester, A first detection means for detecting when the target vehicle has reached the drum tester, A second detection means for detecting lateral movement information of the target vehicle on the drum tester, The system includes a controller that controls the vehicle's journey to the drum tester and its operation on the drum tester. The aforementioned controller, After the first detection means detects that the target vehicle has reached the drum tester, Based on the movement information detected by the second detection means, the operation of the target vehicle on the drum tester is controlled.

[0007] In the vehicle control system according to this disclosure, after the arrival of the target vehicle to the drum tester is detected by the first detection means, the movement of the vehicle on the drum tester is controlled based on the lateral position information of the target vehicle on the drum tester detected by the second detection means. Since the movement of the vehicle on the drum tester is mainly limited to lateral sliding, the movement of the vehicle on the drum tester can be appropriately controlled by detecting the lateral movement information of the vehicle on the drum tester. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] This disclosure provides a vehicle control system capable of appropriately controlling the operation of a vehicle on a drum tester. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing a part of the vehicle control system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the control system of a vehicle control system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a diagram illustrating the vehicle's driving control. [Figure 4] This is a control block diagram illustrating example 1 of the driving control system. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart to explain example 1 of the driving control system. [Figure 6] It is a control block diagram for explaining Travel Control Example 2. [Figure 7] It is a flowchart for explaining Travel Control Example 2.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail while referring to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Also, for clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are simplified as appropriate.

[0011] (First Embodiment) <Overview of Vehicle Control System> First, referring to FIG. 1, the overview of the vehicle control system will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a part of the vehicle control system according to the first embodiment. The vehicle control system 50 is applied, for example, in a vehicle manufacturing factory that manufactures the vehicle 100. In the example of FIG. 1, the vehicle control system 50 controls the running test of the vehicle 100 placed on the rollers of the drum tester 400 in the test area TA1.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle control system (also simply referred to as the system) 50 includes a server 200, a camera 310, a distance sensor 320, and a drum tester 400. The vehicle 100 is a self-propelled vehicle that can travel by itself during the manufacturing process. In other words, the vehicle 100 is a vehicle that can move by autonomous driving during the manufacturing process.

[0013] Note that the right-handed XYZ orthogonal coordinates shown in FIG. 1 are for convenience of explaining the positional relationship of the components. In FIG. 1 and the like, for example, the positive Z-axis direction is the vertically upward direction, the XY plane is the horizontal plane, and they are common among the drawings.

[0014] The drum tester 400 has a pair of rollers R1 that support the front wheels of the vehicle 100 and a pair of rollers R2 that support the rear wheels of the vehicle 100. In the drum tester 400, as the rollers R1 and R2 rotate with the rotation of the wheels of the vehicle 100, the vehicle 100 is caused to travel on the drum tester 400 under various driving conditions.

[0015] The camera 310 is a form of the external sensor 300 and photographs the test area TA1 where the drum tester 400 is installed. Also, the camera 310 is a first detection means for detecting the arrival of the vehicle 100, which is the control target, at the drum tester 400. The camera 310 has a communication function and transmits data such as photographed images to the server 200 via the network 500.

[0016] The distance sensor 320 is a form of the external sensor 300 and is a second detection means for detecting the position information or movement information in the lateral direction (left - right direction, i.e., the X - axis direction) of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400. The distance sensor 320 has a communication function and transmits the position information in the lateral direction of the vehicle 100 to the server 200 via the network 500.

[0017] Note that the distance sensor 320, which is the second detection means, may also serve as the first detection means for detecting the arrival of the vehicle 100 at the drum tester 400. Even in that case, for example, the camera 310 is used for control to self - drive the vehicle 100 to the drum tester 400. In addition to the distance sensor 320 shown in FIG. 1 as the second detection means, a distance sensor 320 (not shown) may be provided as a third detection means for detecting the position information or movement information in the front - rear direction (Y - axis direction) of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400.

[0018] On the other hand, the camera 310 may be provided directly above the drum tester 400 and may also serve as the second detection means for detecting the position information in the lateral direction of the vehicle 100 and the third detection means for detecting the position information in the front - rear direction. In that case, the distance sensor 320 becomes unnecessary.

[0019] The server 200 estimates the position of the vehicle 100 based on the image of the vehicle 100 received from the camera 310 and the position information of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 received from the distance sensor 320, and controls the vehicle 100's movement and operation on the drum tester 400. In other words, the server 200 functions as a controller that makes the vehicle 100 move to the drum tester 400 and controls the vehicle 100's operation on the drum tester 400. Details of the control of the vehicle 100's operation by the server 200 will be described later.

[0020] <Details of control in the vehicle control system> Next, with reference to Figure 2, the details of the control in the vehicle control system will be described. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the control system of the vehicle control system according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the server 200 includes a memory 202, a communication device 205, a position estimation unit 207, and a driving control unit 208. The vehicle 100 includes a vehicle control device 110, an actuator group 120, and a communication device 130. Furthermore, the server 200 may consist not only of a single physical device, but also of multiple distributed devices.

[0021] In the server 200, the communication device 205 communicates with the camera 310, distance sensor 320, drum tester 400, and vehicle 100 via the network 500. The communication device 205 receives data such as images of the vehicle 100 from the camera 310 and position information of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 from the distance sensor 320. The communication device 205 also receives data from the drum tester 400 regarding the rotation status of rollers R1 and R2. Furthermore, the communication device 205 transmits information regarding vehicle control based on the driving conditions of the driving test to the vehicle 100 and receives information regarding test results such as the speed shown by the speedometer from the vehicle 100.

[0022] The position estimation unit 207 estimates the position of the vehicle 100 based on images of the vehicle 100 taken by the camera 310 or other cameras (not shown) while the vehicle 100 is moving under its own power to the drum tester 400. Specifically, the communication device 205 receives data such as captured images from the camera 310 or other cameras, and the position estimation unit 207 estimates the position of the vehicle 100 by analyzing the received captured images (i.e., image analysis). The camera 310 used to photograph the vehicle on the drum tester 400 may be a single unit or multiple units.

[0023] On the other hand, after the vehicle 100 arrives at the drum tester 400, the position estimation unit 207 estimates the position of the vehicle 100 based on the position information of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 acquired by the distance sensor 320.

[0024] Here, the movement of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 is mainly limited to sliding in the lateral direction (X-axis direction). Therefore, by detecting the lateral movement information of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400, the movement of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 can be appropriately controlled.

[0025] Furthermore, by using a distance sensor 320 instead of a camera 310 to detect the above-mentioned movement information, the position estimation unit 207 can estimate the position of the vehicle 100 without performing image analysis. As a result, the processing speed of position estimation can be increased.

[0026] Furthermore, if the camera 310 also serves as the second detection means without using the distance sensor 320, the position estimation unit 207 can estimate the left-right position of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 based on the positional relationship between the rollers R1 and R2 of the drum tester 400 and the vehicle 100, which is identified from the image captured by the camera 310.

[0027] The driving control unit 208 controls the driving of the vehicle 100 and its operation on the drum tester 400 based on the position of the vehicle 100 estimated by the position estimation unit 207. For the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400, the driving control unit 208 controls the vehicle 100 to ensure that it drives stably on the rotating rollers R1 and R2.

[0028] Here, on the drum tester 400, the wheels of the vehicle 100 are driven to rotate according to the conditions of the driving test, and the rollers R1 and R2 rotate accordingly. In this case, it is preferable that the wheels of the vehicle 100 remain on the rollers R1 and R2 and do not move in the left-right direction (X-axis direction) or the front-back direction (Y-axis direction).

[0029] Therefore, the driving control unit 208 adjusts the lateral (left-right) movement of the vehicle 100 based on the position of the vehicle 100 estimated by the position estimation unit 207, for example, so that the vehicle 100 stays within a predetermined reference area on the drum tester 400.

[0030] Specifically, if the wheels of vehicle 100 on drum tester 400 slide, for example, in the positive X-axis direction on rotating rollers R1 and R2, the driving control unit 208 controls the amount and rate of change of the lateral movement of vehicle 100 so that the wheels of vehicle 100 slide in the opposite direction (negative X-axis direction). The lateral movement of vehicle 100 is caused by steering. Therefore, specifically, the driving control unit 208 controls the steering angle (deg) and the rate of change of the steering angle (deg / s).

[0031] Furthermore, if a third detection means is provided for detecting the longitudinal position information of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400, the driving control unit 208 may control the amount of change in the longitudinal movement and the rate of change in the movement of the vehicle 100 so that the vehicle 100 does not shift in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction) on the rollers R1 and R2 on which the wheels of the vehicle 100 rotate. The longitudinal movement of the vehicle 100 is caused by acceleration and deceleration. Specifically, the driving control unit 208 controls the acceleration (m / s) based on the driving force of the vehicle 100 by the accelerator. 2) and deceleration (m / s) based on braking force. 2 ), as well as the rate of change per unit time, i.e., the rate of change of acceleration (m / s²). 3 ) and deceleration rate (m / s 3 ) to control.

[0032] If steering and acceleration / deceleration operations are controlled for the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 in the same way as during normal driving, the wheels of the vehicle 100 may easily detach from the rollers R1 and R2 of the drum tester 400, making proper control impossible. For example, if the steering angle and acceleration / deceleration of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 are increased in the same way as during normal driving, there is a risk that the wheels of the vehicle 100 may detach from the rollers R1 and R2 of the drum tester 400.

[0033] Therefore, when the camera 310 detects that the vehicle 100 has reached the drum tester 400, the driving control unit 208 may switch the control mode for the vehicle 100 from the driving control mode to the test control mode. Here, the driving control mode is the normal control mode for controlling the vehicle 100's movement on the road. On the other hand, the test control mode is a special control mode for controlling the vehicle 100's movement (driving) on ​​the drum tester 400.

[0034] For example, in test control mode, the actuator group 120 that drives the vehicle 100 is controlled such that at least one of the amount of change in the vehicle's movement and the rate of change in its movement is limited compared to driving control mode. More specifically, in order to limit the movement of the vehicle 100 in the left-right direction, the range of possible values ​​for at least one of the steering angle and the rate of change of the steering angle is limited. For example, the upper limit is reduced. Also, in order to limit the movement of the vehicle 100 in the front-rear direction, the range of possible values ​​for at least one of the acceleration, the rate of change of acceleration, the deceleration, and the rate of change of deceleration is limited. For example, the upper limit is reduced. In other words, in test control mode, the range of possible values ​​for at least one of the steering angle, the rate of change of steering angle, acceleration, the rate of change of acceleration, the deceleration, and the rate of change of deceleration is limited compared to driving control mode. This prevents the wheels of the vehicle 100 from separating from the rollers R1 and R2 of the drum tester 400.

[0035] Furthermore, in test control mode, the control cycle may be set to be shorter than in driving control mode. Accordingly, when switching from driving control mode to test control mode, the communication frequency between vehicle 100 and server 200 may be switched to a second communication frequency (e.g., 5GHz) that is higher than the first communication frequency (e.g., 2.4GHz) used in driving control mode. By shortening the control cycle, the wheels of vehicle 100 can be more effectively prevented from detaching from the rollers R1 and R2 of the drum tester 400.

[0036] In this way, by switching the control mode for the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 from the normal driving control mode to the test control mode, it is possible to suppress the wheels of the vehicle 100 from disengaging from the rollers R1 and R2 of the drum tester 400. As a result, the operation of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 can be appropriately controlled.

[0037] The information regarding vehicle control (vehicle control information) generated by the travel control unit 208 is transmitted to the vehicle 100 via the communication device 205. In the vehicle 100, the communication device 130 receives the vehicle control information transmitted from the server 200, and the vehicle control device 110 operates the actuator group 120 based on the received vehicle control information to make the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 travel.

[0038] On the other hand, the result of the running test of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 is transmitted from the vehicle 100 to the server 200 via the communication device 130. In the server 200, the communication device 205 receives the information regarding the result of the running test from the vehicle 100 or the drum tester 400. The result of the running test of the vehicle 100 is stored in, for example, the memory 202 together with the running conditions.

[0039] As described above, in the vehicle control system 50 according to the present embodiment, after the arrival of the vehicle 100 at the drum tester 400 is detected by the camera 310, the operation of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 is controlled based on the lateral position information of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 detected by the distance sensor 320.

[0040] Here, the operation of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 is mainly limited to lateral sliding. Therefore, by detecting the lateral movement information of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400, the operation of the vehicle 100 on the drum tester 400 can be appropriately controlled.

[0041] Hereinafter, in the system 50, a travel control example for controlling the travel of the vehicle 100 will be described. <A. Travel Control Example 1> FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the system 50 in travel control example 1. The system 50 includes one or more vehicles 100 as moving bodies, a server 200, and one or more external sensors 300.

[0042] Furthermore, if the moving object is not a vehicle, the terms "vehicle" and "car" in this disclosure may be replaced with "moving object" as appropriate, and the term "driving" may be replaced with "moving" as appropriate.

[0043] Vehicle 100 is configured to operate autonomously. "Autonomous operation" means operation without the operation of a passenger. Operation refers to operations related to at least one of the following: "going," "turning," or "stopping" of vehicle 100. Autonomous operation is achieved by automatic or manual remote control using a device located outside vehicle 100, or by autonomous control of vehicle 100. Vehicle 100 operating autonomously may have passengers on board who do not perform operation. Passengers who do not perform operation include, for example, people simply sitting in the seats of vehicle 100, or people performing tasks other than operation, such as assembly, inspection, or operating switches, while on board vehicle 100. Operation by a passenger is sometimes called "manned operation."

[0044] In this specification, "remote control" includes "fully remote control," in which all operations of the vehicle 100 are completely determined from outside the vehicle 100, and "partial remote control," in which some operations of the vehicle 100 are determined from outside the vehicle 100. Furthermore, "autonomous control" includes "fully autonomous control," in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations without receiving any information from external devices, and "partial autonomous control," in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations using information received from external devices.

[0045] In this embodiment, system 50 is used in a factory FC where vehicle 100 is manufactured. The reference coordinate system of the factory FC is the global coordinate system GC. That is, any position within the factory FC is represented by X, Y, Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The factory FC comprises a first location PL1 and a second location PL2. The first location PL1 and the second location PL2 are connected by a track TR on which vehicle 100 can travel. Multiple external sensors 300 are installed along the track TR in the factory FC. The position of each external sensor 300 in the factory FC is pre-adjusted. Vehicle 100 moves from the first location PL1 to the second location PL2 via the track TR by unmanned operation.

[0046] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of system 50. The vehicle 100 includes a vehicle control device 110 for controlling various parts of the vehicle 100, an actuator group 120 including one or more actuators driven under the control of the vehicle control device 110, and a communication device 130 for communicating wirelessly with external devices such as a server 200. The actuator group 120 includes actuators for a drive system to accelerate the vehicle 100, actuators for a steering system to change the direction of travel of the vehicle 100, and actuators for a braking system to decelerate the vehicle 100.

[0047] The vehicle control device 110 is composed of a computer comprising a processor 111, a memory 112, an input / output interface 113, and an internal bus 114. The processor 111, the memory 112, and the input / output interface 113 are connected via the internal bus 114 to enable bidirectional communication. The input / output interface 113 is connected to an actuator group 120 and a communication device 130. The processor 111 implements various functions, including those of a vehicle control unit 115, by executing a program PG1 stored in the memory 112.

[0048] The vehicle control unit 115 drives the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 120. The vehicle control unit 115 can drive the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 120 using the driving control signal received from the server 200. The driving control signal is a control signal for driving the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the driving control signal includes the acceleration and steering angle of the vehicle 100 as parameters. In other embodiments, the driving control signal may include the speed of the vehicle 100 as a parameter instead of, or in addition to, the acceleration of the vehicle 100.

[0049] The server 200 is composed of a computer comprising a processor 201, memory 202, an input / output interface 203, and an internal bus 204. The processor 201, memory 202, and input / output interface 203 are connected via the internal bus 204 to enable bidirectional communication. A communication device 205 for communicating with various external devices of the server 200 is connected to the input / output interface 203. The communication device 205 can communicate with the vehicle 100 via wireless communication and can communicate with each external sensor 300 via wired or wireless communication. The processor 201 implements various functions, including those of a remote control unit 210, by executing a program PG2 stored in memory 202.

[0050] The remote control unit 210 acquires detection results from sensors, generates a driving control signal to control the actuator group 120 of the vehicle 100 using the detection results, and transmits the driving control signal to the vehicle 100, thereby driving the vehicle 100 by remote control. In other words, the remote control unit 210 includes the functions of the position estimation unit 207 and the driving control unit 208 shown in Figure 2. Furthermore, the remote control unit 210 may generate and output control signals not only for driving control signals, but also for controlling various auxiliary equipment and actuators that operate various devices such as wipers, power windows, and lamps, which are provided on the vehicle 100. In other words, the remote control unit 210 may operate these various devices and auxiliary equipment by remote control.

[0051] The external sensor 300 is a sensor located outside the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the external sensor 300 is a sensor that detects the vehicle 100 from outside the vehicle 100. The external sensor 300 is equipped with a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with other devices such as the server 200 via wired or wireless communication.

[0052] Specifically, the external sensor 300 is comprised of a camera. The camera, acting as the external sensor 300, captures an image including the vehicle 100 and outputs the captured image as the detection result.

[0053] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for vehicle 100's driving control in an example of driving control. In the processing procedure in Figure 5, the processor 201 of the server 200 functions as a remote control unit 210 by executing program PG2. Also, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 functions as a vehicle control unit 115 by executing program PG1.

[0054] In step S110, the processor 201 of the server 200 acquires vehicle position information of the vehicle 100 using the detection results output from the external sensor 300. The vehicle position information is the position information that forms the basis for generating the driving control signal. In this embodiment, the vehicle position information includes the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 in the global coordinate system GC of the factory FC. Specifically, in step S110, the processor 201 acquires vehicle position information using the captured image acquired from the camera, which is the external sensor 300.

[0055] In detail, in step S110, the processor 201 detects the outline of the vehicle 100 from the captured image, calculates the coordinates of the vehicle 100's positioning point in the coordinate system of the captured image, i.e., the local coordinate system, and obtains the position of the vehicle 100 by converting the calculated coordinates to coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The outline of the vehicle 100 included in the captured image can be detected, for example, by inputting the captured image into a detection model DM that utilizes artificial intelligence. The detection model DM is prepared, for example, within or outside the system 50 and pre-stored in the memory 202 of the server 200. Examples of the detection model DM include a pre-trained machine learning model that has been trained to implement either semantic segmentation or instance segmentation. As this machine learning model, for example, a convolutional neural network (CNN) trained by supervised learning using a training dataset can be used. The training dataset includes, for example, multiple training images containing vehicle 100, and labels indicating whether each region in the training images represents vehicle 100 or something other than vehicle 100. During CNN training, it is preferable to update the CNN parameters using backpropagation to reduce the error between the output result of the detection model DM and the labels. Furthermore, the processor 201 can obtain the orientation of vehicle 100 by, for example, using the optical flow method, estimating it based on the direction of the vehicle 100's movement vector calculated from the positional changes of the vehicle 100's feature points between frames of the captured images.

[0056] In step S120, the processor 201 of the server 200 determines the next target location that the vehicle 100 should head to. In this embodiment, the target location is represented by X, Y, Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The memory 202 of the server 200 pre-stores a reference route RR, which is the path that the vehicle 100 should travel. The route is represented by a node indicating the starting point, nodes indicating waypoints, a node indicating the destination, and links connecting each node. The processor 201 uses the vehicle position information and the reference route RR to determine the next target location that the vehicle 100 should head to. The processor 201 determines the target location on the reference route RR beyond the vehicle 100's current location.

[0057] In step S130, the processor 201 of the server 200 generates a driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position. The processor 201 calculates the vehicle's speed from the change in the vehicle's position and compares the calculated speed with the target speed. Overall, the processor 201 determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 accelerates if the speed is lower than the target speed, and determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 decelerates if the speed is higher than the target speed. Furthermore, if the vehicle 100 is located on the reference path RR, the processor 201 determines the steering angle and acceleration so that the vehicle 100 does not deviate from the reference path RR, and if the vehicle 100 is not located on the reference path RR, in other words, if the vehicle 100 has deviated from the reference path RR, the processor 201 determines the steering angle and acceleration so that the vehicle 100 returns to the reference path RR.

[0058] In step S140, the processor 201 of the server 200 transmits the generated driving control signal to the vehicle 100. The processor 201 repeats the process of acquiring the position of the vehicle 100, determining the target position, generating the driving control signal, and transmitting the driving control signal at predetermined intervals.

[0059] In step S150, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 receives a driving control signal transmitted from the server 200. In step S160, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 controls the actuator group 120 using the received driving control signal, thereby driving the vehicle 100 at the acceleration and steering angle represented by the driving control signal. The processor 111 repeats the reception of the driving control signal and the control of the actuator group 120 at a predetermined cycle. According to the system 50 in this example, the vehicle 100 can be driven by remote control, and the vehicle 100 can be moved without using conveying equipment such as a crane or a conveyor.

[0060] <B:Driving Control Example 2> FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the system 50v in Driving Control Example 2. In this example, the system 50v is different from Driving Control Example 1 in that it does not include the server 200. Also, the vehicle 100v in the configuration can travel by autonomous control of the vehicle 100v. For other configurations, they are the same as above unless otherwise specified.

[0061] In this example, the processor 111v of the vehicle control device 110v functions as the vehicle control unit 115v by executing the program PG1 stored in the memory 112v. The vehicle control unit 115v acquires the output result from the sensor, generates a driving control signal using the output result, and outputs the generated driving control signal to operate the actuator group 120, thereby enabling the vehicle 100v to travel by autonomous control. In this example, in addition to the program PG1, a detection model DM and a reference route RR are stored in the memory 112v in advance.

[0062] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the driving control of the vehicle 100v in Example 2. In the processing procedure of FIG. 7, the processor 111v of the vehicle 100v functions as the vehicle control unit 115v by executing the program PG1.

[0063] In step S210, the processor 111v of the vehicle control device 110v acquires vehicle position information using the detection result output from the camera, which is an external sensor 300. In step S220, the processor 111v determines the target position to which the vehicle 100v should next go. In step S230, the processor 111v generates a driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100v toward the determined target position. In step S240, the processor 111v controls the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100v according to the parameters expressed in the driving control signal. The processor 111v repeats the acquisition of vehicle position information, determination of the target position, generation of the driving control signal, and control of the actuators at a predetermined cycle. According to the system 50v in this example, the vehicle 100v can be driven by autonomous control of the vehicle 100v without remote control of the vehicle 100v by the server 200.

[0064] YY: Other examples of driving control (YY1) In the above example, the external sensor 300 is a camera. However, the external sensor 300 does not have to be a camera; for example, it could be a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). In this case, the detection result output by the external sensor 300 may be 3D point cloud data representing the vehicle 100. In this case, the server 200 and the vehicle 100 may acquire vehicle position information by template matching using the 3D point cloud data as the detection result and pre-prepared reference point cloud data.

[0065] In (YY2) Driving control example 1, the server 200 performs the processing from acquiring vehicle position information to generating driving control signals. In contrast, the vehicle 100 may perform at least a part of the processing from acquiring vehicle position information to generating driving control signals. For example, the following forms (1) to (3) may be used.

[0066] (1) The server 200 may acquire vehicle location information, determine the next target location that vehicle 100 should head to, and generate a route from the vehicle 100's current location, as shown in the acquired vehicle location information, to the target location. The server 200 may generate a route to the target location between the current location and the destination, or it may generate a route to the destination. The server 200 may transmit the generated route to vehicle 100. Vehicle 100 may generate a driving control signal so that vehicle 100 travels along the route received from the server 200, and may use the generated driving control signal to control the actuator group 120.

[0067] (2) The server 200 may acquire vehicle location information and transmit the acquired vehicle location information to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may determine the next target location to which the vehicle 100 should go, generate a route from the vehicle 100's current location shown in the received vehicle location information to the target location, generate a driving control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels along the generated route, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal.

[0068] (3) In the embodiments of (1) and (2) above, the vehicle 100 is equipped with internal sensors, and the detection results output from the internal sensors may be used in at least one of the generation of a route and the generation of a driving control signal. The internal sensors are sensors mounted on the vehicle 100. The internal sensors may include, for example, sensors that detect the motion state of the vehicle 100, sensors that detect the operating state of each part of the vehicle 100, and sensors that detect the environment around the vehicle 100. Specifically, the internal sensors may include, for example, cameras, LiDAR, millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic sensors, GPS sensors, acceleration sensors, gyroscopes, etc. For example, in the embodiment of (1) above, the server 200 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the route when generating a route. In the embodiment of (1) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the driving control signal when generating a driving control signal. In the embodiment of (2) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the route when generating a route. In the embodiment described in (2) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal.

[0069] (YY3) In the driving control example 2, the vehicle 100v is equipped with an internal sensor, and the detection result output from the internal sensor may be used in at least one of the generation of the route and the generation of the driving control signal. For example, the vehicle 100v may acquire the detection result from the internal sensor and reflect the detection result from the internal sensor in the route when generating the route. The vehicle 100v may acquire the detection result from the internal sensor and reflect the detection result from the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal.

[0070] (YY4) In driving control example 2, vehicle 100v acquires vehicle position information using the detection results of the external sensor 300. Alternatively, vehicle 100v may be equipped with an internal sensor, which may acquire vehicle position information using the detection results of the internal sensor, determine the next target location to which vehicle 100v should go, generate a route from vehicle 100v's current location to the target location as shown in the acquired vehicle position information, generate a driving control signal for driving along the generated route, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal. In this case, vehicle 100v can drive without using the detection results of the external sensor 300 at all. Vehicle 100v may also acquire target arrival time and congestion information from outside vehicle 100v and reflect the target arrival time and congestion information in at least one of the route and the driving control signal. Furthermore, all the functional configurations of system 50v may be provided in vehicle 100v. That is, the processing realized by system 50v in this disclosure may be realized by vehicle 100v alone.

[0071] (YY5) In driving control example 1, the server 200 automatically generates driving control signals to be transmitted to the vehicle 100. Alternatively, the server 200 may generate driving control signals to be transmitted to the vehicle 100 in accordance with the operations of an external operator located outside the vehicle 100. For example, an external operator may operate a control device that includes a display for displaying captured images output from an external sensor 300, a steering wheel for remotely controlling the vehicle 100, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a communication device for communicating with the server 200 via wired or wireless communication, and the server 200 may generate driving control signals in accordance with the operations applied to the control device.

[0072] (YY6) In each of the above driving control examples, the vehicle 100 only needs to have a configuration that allows it to move by unmanned operation, and may be in the form of a platform having the configuration described below. Specifically, in order for the vehicle 100 to perform the three functions of "driving," "turning," and "stopping" by unmanned operation, it only needs to be equipped with at least a vehicle control device 110 and an actuator group 120. When the vehicle 100 acquires information from the outside for unmanned operation, the vehicle 100 may further be equipped with a communication device 130. That is, the vehicle 100 that can move by unmanned operation does not need to have at least some of the interior parts such as the driver's seat and dashboard installed, at least some of the exterior parts such as the bumper and fender installed, and does not need to have a body shell installed. In this case, the remaining parts such as the body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 before it is shipped from the factory FC, or the remaining parts such as the body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 after it has been shipped from the factory FC, while the remaining parts such as the body shell are not attached to the vehicle 100. Each part may be attached from any direction, such as the top, bottom, front, rear, right, or left side of the vehicle 100, and each part may be attached from the same direction or from different directions. The positioning of the platform can also be determined in the same way as the vehicle 100 in the first embodiment.

[0073] (YY7) Vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining multiple modules. A module means a unit composed of multiple parts grouped together according to the part or function of the vehicle 100. For example, the platform of vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining a front module that constitutes the front part of the platform, a central module that constitutes the central part of the platform, and a rear module that constitutes the rear part of the platform. The number of modules that constitute the platform is not limited to three, but may be two or fewer, or four or more. In addition to, or instead of, the parts that constitute the platform may be modularized, as well as parts that constitute parts of the vehicle 100 that are different from the platform. Various modules may also include any exterior parts such as bumpers and grilles, or any interior parts such as seats and consoles. Furthermore, not limited to vehicle 100, any type of mobile body may be manufactured by combining multiple modules. Such modules may be manufactured, for example, by joining multiple parts by welding or fasteners, or by integrally molding at least a part of the parts that constitute the module as a single part by casting. A molding technique for integrally molding a single component, especially a relatively large component, is also called gigacast or megacast. For example, the front module, central module, and rear module mentioned above may be manufactured using gigacast.

[0074] (YY8) Transporting vehicle 100 using the unmanned operation of the vehicle 100 is also called "autonomous transport." The configuration for realizing autonomous transport is also called a "vehicle remote control autonomous driving transport system." Furthermore, a production method that uses autonomous transport to produce vehicle 100 is also called "autonomous production." In autonomous production, for example, at a factory fuel cell (FC) that manufactures vehicle 100, at least a portion of the transport of vehicle 100 is realized by autonomous transport.

[0075] (YY9) In each of the above driving control examples, some or all of the functions and processes implemented in software may be implemented in hardware. Also, some or all of the functions and processes implemented in hardware may be implemented in software. As hardware for implementing the various functions in each of the above embodiments, various circuits such as integrated circuits and discrete circuits may be used.

[0076] Furthermore, this disclosure can be realized by having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) execute a computer program to perform some or all of the processing in the external sensor 300, vehicle 100, server 200, etc. as described above.

[0077] The program described above includes, when loaded into a computer, a set of instructions (or software code) for causing the computer to perform one or more of the functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored in a non-temporary computer-readable medium or a physical storage medium. Examples, but not limited to, include RAM (Random-Access Memory), ROM (Read-Only Memory), flash memory, SSD (Solid-State Drive), or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), Blu-ray® disc, or other optical disc storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices. The program may be transmitted over a temporary computer-readable medium or a communication medium. Examples, but not limited to, include temporary computer-readable medium or a communication medium that includes electrically, optically, acoustically, or otherwise propagating signals.

[0078] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. Various modifications to the structure and details of the present disclosure can be made as understandable to those skilled in the art within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be combined with other embodiments as appropriate. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0079] 50 Vehicle control systems 100 vehicles 110 Vehicle control device 111 processors 112 memory 113 Input / Output Interfaces 114 Internal bus 115 Vehicle Control Unit 120 Actuator Group 130 Communication equipment 200 servers 201 Processor 202 memory 203 Input / Output Interfaces 204 Internal Bus 205 Communication equipment 207 Position estimation part 208 Driving Control Unit 210 Remote Control Unit 300 External Sensors 310 Camera 320 Distance Sensor 400 Drum Tester 500 Networks R1, R2 Laura TA1 Test Area

Claims

1. A vehicle control system that drives a vehicle to a drum tester and controls the vehicle's operation on the drum tester, A first detection means for detecting when the target vehicle has reached the drum tester, A second detection means for detecting lateral movement information of the target vehicle on the drum tester, The system includes a controller that controls the vehicle's journey to the drum tester and its operation on the drum tester. The aforementioned controller, After the first detection means detects that the target vehicle has reached the drum tester, Based on the movement information detected by the second detection means, the operation of the target vehicle on the drum tester is controlled. Vehicle control system.

2. The first detection means also serves as the second detection means. The vehicle control system according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned controller, When the first detection means detects that the target vehicle has reached the drum tester, The control mode for the aforementioned target vehicle is switched from the driving control mode to the test control mode, which controls the operation on the drum tester. In the test control mode, the operation of the target vehicle on the drum tester is controlled based on the movement information detected by the second detection means. In the test control mode, the actuators driving the vehicle are controlled such that, compared to the driving control mode, at least one of the amount of change in the vehicle's movement and the rate of change in its movement is limited. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. In the aforementioned test control mode, the control cycle is set to be shorter than in the aforementioned driving control mode. The vehicle control system according to claim 3.

5. The controller is wirelessly connected to the target vehicle. When switching from the aforementioned driving control mode to the aforementioned test control mode, the system switches to a second communication frequency that is higher than the first communication frequency used in the aforementioned driving control mode. The vehicle control system according to claim 4.

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