Vehicle driving assistance systems, vehicle driving assistance methods, programs

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle driving support system that assists vehicles attempting to enter a second road adjacent to a sidewalk, passing through a first roadway that intersects with a sidewalk. [Solution] The system includes a density acquisition unit that acquires the density of pedestrians, etc. based on imaging information captured by a camera that images the movement of pedestrians, etc. in the left sidewalk section, which is a predetermined range of the sidewalk located to the left of the intersection of the first roadway and the sidewalk, and the right sidewalk section, which is a predetermined range of the sidewalk located to the right of the intersection, as viewed from a vehicle located on the first roadway; a transmittance acquisition unit that acquires transmittance indicating the distance between pedestrians, etc. in the direction of extension of the sidewalk or in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension, based on imaging information; a risk determination unit that determines the risk level based on the density and transmittance; an alarm determination unit that determines an alarm based on the risk level; and an alarm information transmission unit that transmits the alarm information, which is the determined alarm information, to an alarm device or vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle driving support system, a vehicle driving support method, and a program for supporting the driving of a vehicle that attempts to enter a second roadway adjacent to a sidewalk by passing through the sidewalk from a first roadway intersecting the sidewalk.

Background Art

[0002] For example, at the entrances and exits of parking lots, logistics facilities, construction sites, etc., there are cases where a vehicle attempts to enter a roadway (second roadway) adjacent to the sidewalk by passing through the sidewalk from the exit roadway (first roadway) of the parking lot (logistics facility, construction site, etc.). In such cases, buildings and the like can become blind spots, and it may be impossible to detect the sudden approach of pedestrians, runners, bicycles, kick scooters (including electric ones, the same hereinafter) on the sidewalk, which may cause accidents.

[0003] Conventionally, traffic guides (security guards) have been arranged to support vehicles, pedestrians, etc. (Non-Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Previously, there was a chronic shortage of traffic controllers (security guards) due to labor shortages. While measures such as installing convex mirrors to compensate for drivers' blind spots have been implemented, the installation of convex mirrors can be difficult due to permit requirements for public roads. Even if convex mirrors are installed, drivers may not be able to detect approaching runners, cyclists, or scooters moving at high speeds.

[0006] On the other hand, if traffic control is to be performed automatically by a dedicated system without relying on human intervention, a challenge arises as to how to notify vehicles of the presence of runners, cyclists, and scooters moving at high speeds on sidewalks in order to ensure safe driving.

[0007] Therefore, the purpose of this disclosure is to provide a vehicle driving support system that assists the driving of a vehicle that is attempting to enter a second roadway adjacent to the sidewalk, passing through the sidewalk from a first roadway that intersects with the sidewalk. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The vehicle driving support system of this disclosure is a vehicle driving support system that assists the driving of a vehicle that is about to enter a second roadway adjacent to a sidewalk, passing through a sidewalk from a first roadway that intersects with a sidewalk, and includes a density acquisition unit, a transmittance acquisition unit, a hazard determination unit, a warning determination unit, and a warning information transmission unit.

[0009] The density acquisition unit acquires the density of pedestrians and other people based on imaging information captured by cameras that image the movement of pedestrians and other people in the left sidewalk section, which is a predetermined range of the sidewalk located to the left of the intersection of the first roadway and the sidewalk, and the right sidewalk section, which is a predetermined range of the sidewalk located to the right of the intersection, as viewed from a vehicle located on the first roadway. The transmittance acquisition unit acquires transmittance, which indicates the distance between pedestrians and other people in the direction of extension of the sidewalk or in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension, based on the imaging information. The risk determination unit determines the risk level based on the density and transmittance. The alarm determination unit determines an alarm based on the risk level. The alarm information transmission unit transmits the alarm information, which is the information of the determined alarm, to the alarm device or vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] The vehicle driving support system of this disclosure can assist the driving of a vehicle that is attempting to enter a second road adjacent to the sidewalk, passing through the sidewalk from a first roadway that intersects with the sidewalk. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] A block diagram showing the device configuration of the sidewalk monitoring system in Example 1. [Figure 2] A schematic plan view showing an example of the arrangement of the sidewalk monitoring system equipment in Example 1. [Figure 3] A block diagram showing the functional configuration of the vehicle driving support system in Example 1. [Figure 4] A flowchart showing example 1 of the operation of the vehicle driving support system in Example 1. [Figure 5] A diagram illustrating an example of risk level determined by the relationship between density and the first transmittance. [Figure 6] A diagram illustrating an example of risk levels determined by the relationship between density and second transmittance. [Figure 7] A flowchart showing example 2 of the operation of the vehicle driving support system in Example 1. [Figure 8] A diagram illustrating an example of a computer's functional configuration. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below. Components having the same function will be numbered the same, and redundant explanations will be omitted. [Examples]

[0013] ≪Pedestrian walkway monitoring system 1≫ The sidewalk monitoring system is composed of multiple devices and is a system that monitors pedestrians, runners, bicycles, kick scooters, etc. passing through the sidewalk in the target area. Referring to FIG. 1, the device configuration of the sidewalk monitoring system according to Embodiment 1 will be described. As shown in the figure, the sidewalk monitoring system 1 of this embodiment includes a vehicle 3, an MMS (Mobility Management System) 3A (which may be omitted depending on the case), a vehicle passing sensor 4, an alarm device 5 (which may be omitted depending on the case), a camera 6, a millimeter wave radar 7, and a vehicle driving support system 11. Hereinafter, each device (system) constituting the sidewalk monitoring system 1 and the structures arranged in the target area will be described.

[0014] ≪Vehicle 3≫ In this specification, the vehicle 3 refers to a vehicle that receives information from the sidewalk monitoring system 1 for safe driving. The vehicle 3 may be a manned vehicle or an autonomous vehicle. Also, the vehicle 3 may be a connected car. In this embodiment, when the target facility is a logistics facility or a construction site, the vehicle 3 may be a truck (special vehicle), either a manned truck (manned special vehicle) or an autonomous driving truck (autonomous driving special vehicle).

[0015] ≪MMS (Mobility Management System) 3A≫ The MMS 3A is a system that performs operation management / running monitoring of autonomous vehicles. The MMS 3A is a system for remotely controlling autonomous vehicles and manages departure times, current position information, estimated time of arrival (ETA) after passing through a specific position, etc. for each ID of the autonomous vehicle. In this embodiment, the MMS 3A is not an essential component. As described above, when the vehicle 3 is an autonomous vehicle, its control may be executed via the MMS 3A in some cases.

[0016] ≪Vehicle passing sensor 4≫ The vehicle passing sensor 4 is provided on the first roadway 8 shown in FIG. 2 (details will be described later) and is arranged to detect the passing of the vehicle 3. Triggered by the detection by the vehicle passing sensor 4, the process of generating and transmitting an alarm for the vehicle 3 is started.

[0017] ≪Alarm device 5≫ The alarm device 5 is a device that displays an alarm to the driver of the vehicle 3 by means of sound, light, character display, etc. When the vehicle 3 targeted in this embodiment is only an autonomous vehicle, it is omitted. Also, when assuming a connected car as the vehicle 3 in this embodiment, since the sidewalk monitoring system 1 directly transmits an alarm to the vehicle 3 and the vehicle 3 reproduces the alarm for the driver, the alarm device 5 can be omitted.

[0018] ≪Camera 6≫ The camera 6 captures the passing of pedestrians and the like on the target sidewalk to obtain imaging information. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable to prepare two cameras 6, with the camera 6L capturing the left sidewalk portion 92L (described later) that is likely to be a blind spot and the camera 6R capturing the right sidewalk portion 92R (described later) that is also likely to be a blind spot.

[0019] Regarding the camera 6 as a simple imaging device, the analysis of the imaging information may be carried out by another device, or the camera 6 may be equipped with an analysis function for the imaging information. For example, the camera 6 may be equipped with a function of pattern recognition of the imaging information to obtain the density of pedestrians and the like. Also, the camera 6 may be equipped with a function of pattern recognition of the imaging information to obtain the transparency indicating the interval between pedestrians. Also, the camera 6 may obtain the density and transparency based on a pre-learned model instead of pattern recognition.

[0020] ≪Millimeter-wave radar 7≫ The millimeter-wave radar 7 measures the distance and speed of those passing through the monitored sidewalk, and generates and transmits ranging and speed information, which is information on distance and speed. While the camera 6 is useful for the analysis of pedestrians and the like, the millimeter-wave radar 7 can monitor up to the far part of the sidewalk and is also superior to the camera 6 in detecting fast-moving objects, so it helps to monitor the approach of runners, bicycles, kick scooters, etc. moving at high speeds.

[0021] ≪Stop line 2≫ As shown in Figure 2, the stop line 2 is positioned near the boundary between the first roadway 8 and the sidewalk 9, and vehicles 3 are required to come to a complete stop at the stop line 2. The aforementioned warning device 5 is preferably positioned near the stop line 2 so that it can be seen by the driver of vehicle 3 that has stopped at the stop line 2, or so that the driver of vehicle 3 can hear the warning sound clearly.

[0022] ≪First lane 8≫ As shown in Figure 2, the first lane 8 is a lane that intersects with the sidewalk 9. The sidewalk monitoring system 1 in this embodiment is alerted to vehicles 3 traveling on the first lane 8. As mentioned above, a vehicle passage sensor 4 that detects the passage of vehicles 3 is placed in the first lane 8.

[0023] ≪Sidewalk 9≫ As shown in the figure, sidewalk 9 is a pedestrian walkway that intersects with the first roadway 8, and is adjacent to the second roadway 10 on the side opposite to the side of sidewalk 9 that connects to the first roadway 8 (the -x side in the example shown in the figure) (the +x side in the example shown in the figure). For the sake of explaining this embodiment, sidewalk 9 is divided and defined into an intersection 91, a left sidewalk section 92L, a right sidewalk section 92R, a far left sidewalk section 93L, and a far right sidewalk section 93R.

[0024] ≪Intersection 91≫ The intersection 91 is the section of the sidewalk 9 that intersects (connects) with the first roadway 8. For example, the left and right sides of the first roadway 8 may be surrounded by walls or other structures, making it difficult for the vehicle 3 to see the entire sidewalk 9. However, even in such cases, it is assumed that the presence or absence of pedestrians, etc., can be relatively easily confirmed at the intersection 91. The vehicle 3 passes through the intersection 91 and proceeds to the second roadway 10.

[0025] ≪Left sidewalk section 92L≫ The left sidewalk section 92L is a predetermined area of ​​sidewalk located to the left of the intersection 91, as viewed from vehicle 3 in the first lane 8. If the left side of the first lane 8 is enclosed by a wall or the like, it is assumed that the presence of pedestrians, etc., in the left sidewalk section 92L will be difficult to see from the driver of vehicle 3 in the first lane 8. Furthermore, even if vehicle 3 is an autonomous vehicle, if the left side of the first lane 8 is enclosed by a wall or the like, it is assumed that the presence of pedestrians, etc., in the left sidewalk section 92L will be difficult to detect.

[0026] ≪Right sidewalk section 92R≫ The right sidewalk section 92R is a predetermined area of ​​sidewalk located to the right of the intersection section 91, as viewed from vehicle 3 in the first lane 8. If the right side of the first lane 8 is enclosed by a wall or the like, it is assumed that the presence of pedestrians, etc., in the right sidewalk section 92R will be difficult for the driver of vehicle 3 to see. Furthermore, even if vehicle 3 is an autonomous vehicle, if the right side of the first lane 8 is enclosed by a wall or the like, it is assumed that the presence of pedestrians, etc., in the right sidewalk section 92R will be difficult to detect.

[0027] ≪Left sidewalk far section 93L≫ The far left sidewalk 93L is a predetermined area of ​​the sidewalk located further to the left than the far left sidewalk 92L, as viewed from the vehicle 3 in the first roadway 8. Pedestrians in this area may not affect the safe passage of vehicle 3 because it takes time for them to reach the intersection 91, but runners, cyclists, and kick scooters approaching the intersection 91 at high speed from this area may come into contact with vehicle 3. For example, it is preferable to have two of the aforementioned millimeter-wave radars 7, and to position one of them, millimeter-wave radar 7L, in a location where it can monitor the far left sidewalk 93L.

[0028] ≪Right sidewalk, far side 93R≫ The far right sidewalk section 93R is a predetermined range of sidewalk located further to the right than the far right sidewalk section 92R, as viewed from the perspective of vehicle 3 on the first roadway 8. Pedestrians in this area, even if walking towards the intersection 91, will need time to reach the intersection 91, and therefore may not affect the safe passage of vehicle 3. However, runners, cyclists, or scooters approaching the intersection 91 from this area at high speed may, in some cases, come into contact with vehicle 3. As mentioned above, it is preferable to prepare two millimeter-wave radars 7, for example, and position one of them, millimeter-wave radar 7R, in a location where it can monitor the far right sidewalk section 93R.

[0029] ≪Second roadway 10≫ As illustrated in Figure 2, the second lane 10 is the lane adjacent to the sidewalk 9 on the opposite side (the +x side in the example shown) from the side of the sidewalk 9 that connects to the first lane 8 (the -x side in the example shown), and is the lane that vehicle 3 is about to travel on in this embodiment. The second lane 10 is often a public road.

[0030] ≪Vehicle Driving Support System 11≫ The vehicle driving support system 11 is a system that assists a vehicle 3 that is attempting to enter the second roadway 10 by passing through the sidewalk 9 from the first roadway 8. The vehicle driving support system 11 is the central system of the sidewalk monitoring system 1 and is a system consisting of one or more devices that aggregate information from each device (sensor), generate alarms, and transmit them. The vehicle driving support system 11 may be implemented by a single computer or the like, or by a combination of multiple computers or the like.

[0031] The functional configuration of the vehicle driving support system 11 will be described below with reference to Figure 3. As shown in the figure, the vehicle driving support system 11 of this embodiment includes a density acquisition unit 111, a transmittance acquisition unit 112, a hazard determination unit 113, a distance measurement / speed information receiving unit 114, a warning determination unit 115, a warning information transmission unit 116, and a dynamic digitization information transmission unit 117. The operation of each component will be described below with reference to Figure 4.

[0032] <Density acquisition section 111> First, when the vehicle passage sensor 4 detects the passage of vehicle 3, it transmits the sensor information to the vehicle driving support system 11. When the vehicle driving support system 11 receives the sensor information (vehicle passage? → Y), the density acquisition unit 111 acquires the density of pedestrians and the like moving between the left sidewalk section 92L and the right sidewalk section 92R based on the imaging information captured by the camera 6 (S111). In step S111, the density acquisition unit 111 may acquire the density by performing analysis processing such as image processing and pattern recognition after acquiring imaging information from the camera 6, or it may simply acquire the density already determined by the camera 6.

[0033] The density acquisition unit 111 may acquire density by pattern recognition of the image captured by the camera 6, or it may acquire density by inputting the image into a pre-trained model and obtaining an output from the model.

[0034] <Transparency acquisition unit 112> Next, the transmittance acquisition unit 112 acquires transmittance based on imaging information, which indicates the distance between pedestrians, etc., in the extension direction of the sidewalk 9 (y-axis direction in Figure 2) or in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction (x-axis direction) (S112). In step S112, the transmittance acquisition unit 112 may acquire transmittance by performing analysis processing such as image processing and pattern recognition after acquiring imaging information from the camera 6, or it may simply acquire the transmittance already determined by the camera 6.

[0035] The transmittance acquisition unit 112 may acquire transmittance by pattern recognition of the image captured by the camera 6, or it may acquire transmittance by inputting the image captured by the camera 6 into a pre-trained model and obtaining an output from the model.

[0036] Hereinafter, the transparency indicating the distance between pedestrians, etc. in the direction of extension of sidewalk 9 (y-axis direction) will be referred to as the first transparency, and the transparency indicating the distance between pedestrians, etc. in the direction perpendicular to the direction of extension of sidewalk 9 (x-axis direction) will be referred to as the second transparency.

[0037] <The difference between the first and second levels of transmittance> As will be explained in more detail later, in this specification, transparency is an index used to determine whether runners, bicycles, kick scooters, etc., will pass through pedestrians and jump out into the intersection 91. Therefore, the second transparency (distance between pedestrians, etc., in the x-axis direction) is more intuitively usable as an index than the first transparency (distance between pedestrians, etc., in the y-axis direction). In order to determine the second transparency, it is necessary to place the camera 6 on the sidewalk 9, which is a public road, facing the y-axis direction, but this may not be possible in some cases due to licensing issues.

[0038] Therefore, as illustrated in Figure 2, it is likely that in many cases the camera 6 will be placed within the facility grounds. In such cases, the orientation of the camera 6 will be perpendicular to the direction of extension of the sidewalk 9, and it is likely that pedestrians will be photographed from a diagonal upward angle. In such cases, it is reasonable to design the system based on the first transparency (the distance between pedestrians in the y-axis direction).

[0039] As mentioned above, the first transparency can be derived from pattern recognition or a pre-trained model, but it can also be easily calculated by measuring the percentage of the curb, guardrail, etc., within the field of view of camera 6 that are obscured by the bodies of pedestrians, etc.

[0040] <Risk Assessment Unit 113> Next, the risk determination unit 113 determines the risk level based on the density and transmittance described above (S113). A specific example of the risk determination method will be explained with reference to Figures 5 and 6. As shown in Figure 5, in the relationship between density and first transmittance (distance between pedestrians, etc., in the y-axis direction), it is preferable for the risk determination unit 113 to determine the risk level to be lower the higher the density, and to determine the risk level to be lower the higher the first transmittance.

[0041] For example, in the example in Figure 5, when the density is above a predetermined threshold β and the first transmittance is above a predetermined threshold α (the example in the upper left of the same figure), pedestrians tend to spread out across the entire width of the sidewalk 9 without any gaps, and it is judged that there is little risk of runners, cyclists, kick scooters, etc. slipping through pedestrians and jumping out into the intersection 91, so the risk level can be judged as low, with a risk level of 1.

[0042] Furthermore, as shown in the example in the upper right of the same figure, if the density is above a predetermined threshold β and the first transmittance is below a predetermined threshold α, it is determined that although the density of pedestrians, etc. is high, it is not so high that there are no gaps in the width direction, and there is a possibility that runners, bicycles, kick scooters, etc. may slip through the pedestrians, etc. and jump out into the intersection 91, so the risk level can be determined to be 2, indicating a moderate level of danger.

[0043] Furthermore, as shown in the lower left example of the same figure, when the density is below a predetermined threshold β and the first transmittance is above a predetermined threshold α, pedestrians tend to spread out across the entire width of the sidewalk 9 without any gaps. However, because the density of pedestrians is low, as indicated by the white dashed arrows, it is judged that paths of runners, cyclists, and kick scooters are constantly being created, and therefore the risk level can be determined to be 3, indicating a moderate risk. In this example, the situation in the lower left (risk level = 3) is judged to be more dangerous than the situation in the upper right (risk level = 2).

[0044] Furthermore, as shown in the example in the lower right of the same figure, when the density is less than a predetermined threshold β and the first transmittance is less than a predetermined threshold α, the density of pedestrians, etc. is low and pedestrians, etc. are not moving without leaving gaps in the width direction. Therefore, it is judged that there is a high possibility that runners, bicycles, kick scooters, etc. will suddenly appear at the intersection 91 without slowing down, and thus the risk level can be determined to be 4, indicating a high risk.

[0045] Figure 6 shows an example based on a second transmittance, which is the distance between pedestrians and other objects in the x-axis direction, and is similar to the example in Figure 5. That is, the higher the density, the lower the risk level is judged to be, and the lower the second transmittance, the lower the risk level is judged to be. More specifically, the risk level is judged to be low when the density is above a predetermined threshold δ and the second transmittance is below a predetermined threshold γ (example in the upper left of the figure, risk level = 1), the risk level is judged to be medium when the density is above a predetermined threshold δ and the second transmittance is above a predetermined threshold γ (example in the upper right of the figure, risk level = 2), the risk level is judged to be medium when the density is below a predetermined threshold δ and the second transmittance is below a predetermined threshold γ (example in the lower left of the figure, risk level = 3), and the risk level is judged to be high when the density is below a predetermined threshold δ and the second transmittance is above a predetermined threshold γ (example in the lower right of the figure, risk level = 4).

[0046] <Alarm determination unit 115> The alarm determination unit 115 determines an alarm based on the degree of danger (S115). If the degree of danger is low, the alarm content may be text information (or audio information) such as "proceed slowly and exit," or a green light (yellow light). If the degree of danger is high, the alarm content may be text information (or audio information) such as "Caution! Risk of approaching bicycle!", or a red light (yellow light).

[0047] <Alarm Information Transmission Unit 116> The alarm information transmission unit 116 transmits the alarm information, which is the determined alarm information, to the alarm device 5 or the vehicle 3 (S116).

[0048] <Distance measurement / speed information receiving unit 114> As shown in the operation example 2 in Figure 7, the distance measurement / speed information receiving unit 114 receives distance measurement / speed information, which is information on the distance and speed of things traveling on the sidewalk 9, from the millimeter-wave radar 7, and the warning information transmitting unit 116 may transmit warning information to the warning device 5 or vehicle 3 only when the distance measurement / speed information satisfies predetermined conditions (i.e., when the distance measurement / speed information indicates the presence of runners, bicycles, kick scooters, etc. that could be dangerous to vehicle 3) (S116a).

[0049] <Dynamic digitizing information transmission unit 117> Although the dynamic digitizing information transmission unit 117 is not a mandatory component, it is preferable to incorporate it into the vehicle driving support system 11 because it allows for more detailed support of the vehicle 3.

[0050] The dynamic digitization information transmission unit 117 aggregates imaging information from the camera 6 and distance measurement and speed information from the millimeter-wave radar 7 into a digital space to generate dynamic digitization information, which represents the current state of the sidewalk. This information is then transmitted to the vehicle 3, which is a connected car or an autonomous vehicle (S117). The vehicle 3 is preferable because displaying the dynamic digitization information on an in-car monitor allows the driver to see information in areas that would otherwise be in the driver's blind spot. The dynamic digitization information transmission unit 117 may also be incorporated into the vehicle driving support system 11 as a separate device called the dynamic digitization device 117.

[0051] <Note> The functions realized by the components described herein may be implemented in a circuitry or processing circuitry, including general-purpose processors, application-specific processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), CPUs (a Central Processing Unit), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, programmed to realize the functions described herein. A processor includes transistors and other circuits and is considered a circuitry or processing circuitry. A processor may be a programmed processor that executes a program stored in memory.

[0052] In this specification, circuitry, unit, and means are hardware programmed to perform or execute the functions described herein. Such hardware may be any hardware disclosed herein, or any hardware known to be programmed to perform or execute the functions described herein.

[0053] If the hardware is a processor that is considered to be a type of circuitry, then the circuitry, means, or unit is a combination of hardware and software used to constitute the hardware and / or processor.

[0054] The various processes described above can be carried out by loading a program that executes each step of the above method into the recording unit 10020 of the computer shown in Figure 8, and then causing the control unit 10010, input unit 10030, output unit 10040, etc. to operate.

[0055] The program describing this process can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Any computer-readable recording medium can be used, such as a magnetic recording device, optical disc, magneto-optical recording medium, or semiconductor memory.

[0056] Furthermore, this program may be distributed, for example, by selling, transferring, or lending portable recording media such as DVDs or CD-ROMs on which the program is recorded. Alternatively, the program may be stored in the storage device of a server computer and distributed by transferring the program from the server computer to other computers via a network.

[0057] A computer executing such a program may, for example, first store the program recorded on a portable storage medium or a program transferred from a server computer in its own storage device. Then, when processing is to be executed, the computer reads the program stored on its own storage medium and executes the processing according to the read program. Alternatively, the computer may directly read the program from the portable storage medium and execute the processing according to that program, or it may sequentially execute the processing according to the received program each time a program is transferred to it from a server computer. Furthermore, the processing may be executed by a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) type service, where the processing function is realized only by execution instructions and result acquisition, without transferring the program from the server computer to this computer. Furthermore, the processing may be executed using a so-called SaaS (Software as a Service) type service, where a part of the server computer is made available to the user along with the program. In this form, the program includes information used for processing by an electronic computer that is equivalent to a program (data that is not a direct instruction to the computer but has the property of defining the computer's processing).

[0058] Furthermore, in this configuration, the device is configured by executing a predetermined program on a computer, but at least a part of these processes may be implemented in hardware.

Claims

1. A vehicle driving support system that assists the driving of a vehicle that is attempting to enter a second roadway adjacent to a sidewalk, passing through the sidewalk from a first roadway that intersects with the sidewalk, A density acquisition unit acquires the density of pedestrians, etc., based on imaging information captured by a camera that images the movement of pedestrians, etc., in the left sidewalk section, which is a predetermined range of the sidewalk located to the left of the intersection of the first roadway and the sidewalk, and the right sidewalk section, which is a predetermined range of the sidewalk located to the right of the intersection, as viewed from the vehicle located in the first roadway. Transmittance indicating the distance between pedestrians, etc., in the direction of extension of the sidewalk or in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension, and a transmittance acquisition unit that acquires the transmittance based on the imaging information, A risk determination unit that determines the risk level based on the density and transmittance, An alarm determination unit that determines an alarm based on the aforementioned risk level, Includes a warning information transmission unit that transmits the determined warning information, which is the warning information, to the warning device or the vehicle. Vehicle driving assistance system.

2. A vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, It includes a distance measurement and speed information receiving unit that receives distance measurement and speed information, which is information about the distance and speed of things traveling on the aforementioned sidewalk, The aforementioned alarm information transmission unit is The warning information is transmitted to the warning device or the vehicle only if the distance measurement and speed information meets the predetermined conditions. Vehicle driving assistance system.

3. A vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, The aforementioned risk determination unit, The higher the density, the lower the perceived risk, and the higher the first transparency, which indicates the distance between pedestrians and the like in the direction of extension of the sidewalk, the lower the perceived risk. Vehicle driving assistance system.

4. A vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, The aforementioned risk determination unit, The higher the density, the lower the perceived risk, and the lower the second transmittance, which indicates the distance between pedestrians in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the sidewalk, the lower the perceived risk. Vehicle driving assistance system.

5. A vehicle driving support system according to claim 3, The risk level is determined to be low if the density is above a predetermined threshold and the first transmittance is above a predetermined threshold; the risk level is determined to be medium if the density is above a predetermined threshold and the first transmittance is below a predetermined threshold; the risk level is determined to be medium if the density is below a predetermined threshold and the first transmittance is above a predetermined threshold; and the risk level is determined to be high if the density is below a predetermined threshold and the first transmittance is below a predetermined threshold. Vehicle driving assistance system.

6. A vehicle driving support system according to claim 4, The risk level is determined to be low if the density is above a predetermined threshold and the second transmittance is below a predetermined threshold; the risk level is determined to be medium if the density is above a predetermined threshold and the second transmittance is above a predetermined threshold; the risk level is determined to be medium if the density is below a predetermined threshold and the second transmittance is below a predetermined threshold; and the risk level is determined to be high if the density is below a predetermined threshold and the second transmittance is above a predetermined threshold. Vehicle driving assistance system.

7. A vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, The density acquisition unit, The density is obtained by performing pattern recognition on the image captured by the camera. The aforementioned transmittance acquisition unit is The transmittance is obtained by pattern recognition of the image captured by the aforementioned camera. Vehicle driving assistance system.

8. A vehicle driving support system according to claim 1, The density acquisition unit, The density is obtained by inputting the image captured by the camera into a pre-trained first model and obtaining an output from the model. The aforementioned transmittance acquisition unit is The transmittance is obtained by inputting the image captured by the aforementioned camera into a pre-trained second model and obtaining an output from the model. Vehicle driving assistance system.

9. A vehicle driving support system that assists the driving of a vehicle attempting to enter a second roadway adjacent to a sidewalk, passing through the sidewalk from a first roadway intersecting the sidewalk, is a vehicle driving support method performed by a vehicle driving support system, A density acquisition step in which a camera captures images of pedestrians and the like in the left sidewalk section, which is a predetermined range of the sidewalk located to the left of the intersection of the first roadway and the sidewalk, and the right sidewalk section, which is a predetermined range of the sidewalk located to the right of the intersection, as viewed from the vehicle located in the first roadway, and acquires the density of pedestrians and the like based on the image information captured by the camera. Transmittance indicating the distance between pedestrians, etc., in the direction of extension of the sidewalk or in a direction perpendicular to the direction of extension, a transmittance acquisition step of acquiring the transmittance based on the imaging information, A risk determination step in which the risk level is determined based on the density and transmittance, A warning determination step in which a warning is determined based on the aforementioned risk level, The alarm transmission step includes transmitting alarm information, which is the determined alarm information, to an alarm device or the vehicle. A method for assisting vehicle operation.

10. A program that causes a computer to function as a vehicle driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images