Methods and Vehicles

Abstract

We will improve the technology related to obstacle detection by vehicles. [Solution] A method performed by a vehicle 10, comprising: obtaining information about the vehicle's travel path; obtaining information about an object located near the vehicle's travel path from a traffic system 20; and, based on the information about the object, displaying a first object on the windshield of the vehicle 10, extending from a predetermined area on the periphery of the windshield toward the object, before the vehicle 10 passes the object.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, technologies for notifying a vehicle driver of the presence of an obstacle are known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for notifying a driver of an obstacle present in a blind spot area formed by a pillar (window pillar) of a vehicle.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] There has been room for improvement in technologies for notifying a vehicle driver of the presence of an obstacle.

[0005] In view of such circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve technologies for notifying a vehicle driver of the presence of an obstacle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A method executed by a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: acquiring information regarding a moving route of the vehicle; acquiring information on an object present in the vicinity of the moving route of the vehicle from a traffic system; displaying, on a windshield, a first object extending from a predetermined area at a peripheral portion of the windshield of the vehicle toward the object before the vehicle passes the object, based on the information on the object.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the technology for notifying a vehicle driver of the presence of an obstacle is improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows a schematic configuration of a system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle's control unit. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described below.

[0010] (Summary of the embodiment) Referring to Figure 1, an overview of the system according to the embodiment of this disclosure will be described. The system comprises a vehicle 10 and a traffic system 20. The vehicle 10 and the traffic system 20 are communicably connected to a network 30, which includes, for example, the Internet and a mobile communication network.

[0011] Vehicle 10 is, for example, an automobile, but is not limited to that and may be any vehicle. An automobile is, but is not limited to, a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle), PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle).

[0012] In this embodiment, the vehicle 10 has a function for detecting obstacles (hereinafter also referred to as the "obstacle detection function"). Specifically, the vehicle 10 realizes the obstacle detection function by displaying an arbitrary object representing an obstacle on the windshield of the vehicle 10 using a display medium such as an mounted head-up display (HUD).

[0013] The traffic system 20 is, for example, an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) and comprises one or more computers. By coordinating with the traffic infrastructure, the traffic system 20 can acquire the location of objects described later (e.g., pedestrians and other vehicles) in real time. The traffic system 20 also stores map information, including the location and shape of three-dimensional objects such as buildings. The traffic system 20 can communicate with the vehicle 10 via the network 30. The vehicle 10 can acquire any traffic-related information from the traffic system 20.

[0014] First, an overview of this embodiment will be described, and details will be described later. The vehicle 10 acquires information regarding its travel path. Next, the vehicle 10 acquires information about an object located near the travel path from the traffic system 20. Based on the information about the object, the vehicle 10 displays a first object on the windshield of the vehicle 10, extending from a predetermined area on the periphery of the windshield toward the object, before the vehicle 10 passes the object.

[0015] Thus, according to this embodiment, the technology for notifying the driver of the presence of obstacles is improved, in that the driver can recognize obstacles in the vicinity of the vehicle's travel path in advance, or the burden of such recognition can be reduced. In particular, even in situations where the driver is unaware of an obstacle for some reason, the display of the object allows the driver to recognize the obstacle and prevent accidents.

[0016] Next, we will describe each component of the system in detail.

[0017] (Vehicle configuration) As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle 10 includes a communication unit 11, a display unit 12, a storage unit 13, and a control unit 14.

[0018] The communication unit 11 includes one or more communication interfaces for connecting to the network 30. The communication interface corresponds to, for example, a mobile communication standard such as 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation), but is not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 10 communicates with the traffic system 20 via the communication unit 11 and the network 30.

[0019] The display unit 12 includes a display medium such as a head-up display (HUD) mounted on the vehicle 10, and a display body such as a windshield. The display unit 12 can display the first (and second) objects of the present disclosure, and any display medium and display body can be adopted as long as the driver can recognize an obstacle by the object.

[0020] The storage unit 13 includes one or more memories. The memory is, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory, an optical memory, or the like, but is not limited thereto. Each memory included in the storage unit 13 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 13 stores any information used for the operation of the vehicle 10. For example, the storage unit 13 may store a system program, an application program, and embedded software. The information stored in the storage unit 13 may be updated, for example, with information obtained from the network 30 via the communication unit 11.

[0021] The control unit 14 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing, but is not limited thereto. The programmable circuit is, for example, but not limited to, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The dedicated circuit is, for example, but not limited to, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 14 controls the operation of the entire vehicle 10.

[0022] (Operation flow of control unit 14) Referring to FIG. 2, the operation of the control unit 14 of the vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0023] S100: The control unit 14 of the vehicle 10 acquires information regarding the travel route of the vehicle.

[0024] Any method can be adopted to acquire information regarding the travel route of the vehicle. For example, the control unit 14 may directly receive information regarding the travel route from an external server that performs, for example, route search via the communication unit 11 and the network 30, or may acquire information regarding the travel route using a car navigation device mounted on the vehicle. Here, the "travel route" means a route from the departure point (current location) of the vehicle 10 to an arbitrary destination, and the traveling direction (forward) of the vehicle 10 indicates the direction of traveling toward the destination. Also, the destination may be changed during the movement of the vehicle 10. Further, the "information regarding the travel route" includes, for example, route guidance information obtained by route search, but is not limited thereto, and may include any information regarding the travel route.

[0025] S101: The control unit 14 acquires information on an object existing in the vicinity of the travel route of the vehicle 10 from the traffic system.

[0026] Specifically, the control unit 14 communicates with the traffic system 20 via the communication unit 11 and acquires information about any object located near the vehicle 10's travel path. At this time, based on the travel path information acquired in S100, the positional relationship between the vehicle 10 and the object is determined. Here, "object" refers to a moving body such as a person, animal, bicycle, or other vehicle, and includes one or more moving bodies that may enter the vehicle 10's travel path. In this specification, "object" and "obstacle" are treated as synonymous. Also, "nearby" means, for example, the space within a radius of 10m centered on the vehicle 10, but this radius may be within 30m, 50m, or even greater. Furthermore, if there are multiple objects in this nearby area, information may be selectively acquired only for objects that satisfy predetermined conditions. The predetermined conditions may be, for example, the distance to the object before it enters the vehicle 10's travel path or the speed of the object's movement. The traffic system 20 uses photographic devices such as cameras installed on infrastructure facilities such as traffic lights, streetlights, or any building, or satellite communication devices, as means of collecting traffic information.

[0027] S102: Based on the information acquired in S100 and S101, the control unit 14 determines whether it is now a predetermined time before the vehicle 10 will pass the object. If it is determined that it is now a predetermined time before the vehicle will pass the object (S102-Yes), the control unit 14 executes S103. On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not now a predetermined time before the vehicle will pass the object (S102-No), the control unit 14 repeats the process in S102.

[0028] Specifically, the control unit 14 communicates with the traffic system 20 via the communication unit 11 to determine the positional relationship between the vehicle 10 and the object. Then, based on the speed at which the vehicle 10 approaches the object from this positional relationship, it calculates the remaining time until the vehicle 10 passes the object and determines whether it is within a predetermined time before passing. Here, the "predetermined time" may be predetermined or may be changeable by the user of the vehicle 10.

[0029] S103: If it is determined in S102 that a predetermined time has not yet passed over the object (S102-Yes), the control unit 14 executes a process to detect the state of the driver.

[0030] Specifically, the control unit 14 can detect the driver's state using any recording device, such as a drive recorder mounted on the vehicle 10. Alternatively, the driver's state may be determined by detecting any physiological state, such as the driver's pulse, body temperature, respiration, or brain waves, using appropriate equipment. Here, a predetermined state of the driver includes, for example, a state in which the driver is not paying attention to the road ahead for any reason. Alternatively, it may be a state caused by any reason that may reduce the driver's attention, such as being distracted, eating or drinking, talking on the phone, or feeling unwell.

[0031] S104: The control unit 14 determines whether the driver is in a predetermined state based on the information obtained in S103. If it is determined that the driver is in a predetermined state (S104-Yes), the control unit 14 executes S105. On the other hand, if it is determined that the driver is not in a predetermined state (S104-No), the process terminates.

[0032] S105: If it is determined in S104 that the driver is in a predetermined state (S104-Yes), the control unit 14 executes the process of displaying a first (and second) object extending from a predetermined area on the periphery of the windshield of the vehicle 10 toward the object on the windshield. However, in other embodiments, even if the driver is not in a predetermined state in S104 (S104-No), the process of S105 may be executed.

[0033] Specifically, the control unit 14 displays the first object via the display unit 12, that is, using a display medium such as a HUD, so that it extends from a predetermined area on the periphery of the object to be displayed, such as the windshield of the vehicle 10, for example, from the central area in the left-right direction of the lower end toward the object. At this time, the object extending toward the object extends with three-dimensional depth, so that the driver can easily perceive the distance between the vehicle 10 and the object. Here, the "periphery" is not limited to the central area of ​​the lower end as described above, but can be any end on the top, bottom, left, or right, and on the other hand, it is not necessarily an end, but may be a position closer to the center of the windshield from the end. Furthermore, a second object indicating the position of the object may be displayed on the windshield at the end of the first object on the object side. The second object may be, for example, a line surrounding the object, and any method that allows the driver to recognize the object more accurately is acceptable. Alternatively, the second object may be shown as a human-shaped icon for a person, or a bicycle-shaped icon for a bicycle, depending on the object. According to the configuration showing the second object, the driver can recognize the object faster and more accurately.

[0034] While this disclosure has been described based on the drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functions, etc., included in each component or step can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple components or steps can be combined into one or divided into two.

[0035] For example, in the embodiments described above, it is also possible to distribute the configuration and operation of the traffic system 20 to multiple computers that can communicate with each other. Furthermore, for example, it is also possible to provide some or all of the components of the traffic system 20 in the vehicle 10. For instance, a navigation device mounted in the vehicle 10 may comprise some or all of the components of the traffic system 20.

[0036] Furthermore, the above-described embodiment may further include changing the display mode of the first object depending on whether or not the object is located in the blind spot of the vehicle 10. Here, the "blind spot" of the vehicle 10 means a state in which, in the spatial location conditions near the vehicle 10 obtained from the traffic system 20, any three-dimensional object exists in a straight line between the vehicle 10 and the object, causing the object to be hidden from the vehicle 10 and "not visible". The state of not being visible may be the whole object or only a part of it. In that case, the change in the display mode of the first object may be, for example, a change in the shape, color, or shade of the object, as long as it is a state in which the driver can recognize the change. With such a configuration, not only is it possible to make the driver recognize an object that is in the blind spot, but even if the first object extends toward, for example, any building, the driver can reliably recognize that the object is in the shadow of a building, etc., without mistaking it for an error display.

[0037] Furthermore, it is also possible to implement an embodiment in which a general-purpose computer functions as the traffic system 20 according to the above embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing content that realizes each function of the traffic system 20 according to the above embodiment is stored in the memory of the general-purpose computer, and the processor reads and executes the program. Therefore, this disclosure can also be implemented as a program that can be executed by a processor, or as a non-temporary computer-readable medium that stores said program. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0038] 10 Vehicle, 11 Communication unit, 12 Display unit, 13 Memory unit, 14 Control unit, 20 Traffic system, 30 Network

Claims

1. The method by which a vehicle performs To obtain information regarding the vehicle's travel route, The acquisition of information about objects located near the vehicle's travel path from the traffic system, Based on the information of the object, a first object extending toward the object from a predetermined area on the periphery of the vehicle's windshield is displayed on the windshield before the vehicle passes the object, Methods that include...

2. The method according to claim 1, The further includes detecting the state of the driver of the vehicle, A method for displaying the first object on the windshield of a vehicle when the driver is in a predetermined state.

3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, A method further comprising displaying a second object on the windshield at the object-side end of the first object, indicating the position of the object.

4. A method according to claim 1 or 2, A method further comprising changing the display manner of the first object depending on whether or not the object is located in the blind spot of the vehicle.

5. A vehicle equipped with a communication unit, a display unit and a control unit, The control unit, Information regarding the vehicle's travel route is obtained, Information about objects located near the vehicle's travel path is obtained from the traffic system via the communication unit. A vehicle that, based on the information of the object, displays a first object extending from a predetermined area on the periphery of the vehicle's windshield toward the object using the display unit on the windshield before the vehicle passes over the object.

Images