In-vehicle equipment, driving evaluation system, and recording program

Abstract

To generate data for conducting driving evaluations that take into account the surrounding conditions of the vehicle. [Solution] The in-vehicle device according to the embodiment has a controller that measures the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front. The controller detects vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes adjacent to the vehicle's own lane and records the distance between the vehicles tagged with the presence or absence of vehicles in adjacent lanes.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device, a driving evaluation system, and a recording program. [Background Art]

[0002] Conventionally, there are driving evaluation systems that evaluate a driver's driving. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that measures the inter-vehicle distance from a host vehicle to a preceding vehicle, and evaluates that the host vehicle is driving considerately toward the preceding vehicle when the inter-vehicle distance exceeds a threshold value. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Literature]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2023-95104 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0004] However, conventional technology has not taken into consideration performing driving evaluation that accounts for the surrounding situation of the host vehicle. Furthermore, when performing driving evaluation that accounts for the surrounding situation, it is required to generate data that includes the surrounding situation.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an in-vehicle device, a driving evaluation system, and a recording program capable of generating data for performing driving evaluation that accounts for the surrounding situation of the host vehicle. [Means for Solving the Problem]

[0006] To solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objective, the in-vehicle device according to the present invention has a controller that measures the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle ahead. The controller detects vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes adjacent to the vehicle's own lane and records the distance between the vehicles tagged with the presence or absence of vehicles in adjacent lanes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the surrounding conditions of the vehicle are detected, and the presence or absence of vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes is tagged and the distance between vehicles is recorded, thereby generating data for driving evaluation that takes into account the surrounding conditions of the vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is an overview diagram of the operation evaluation system. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram of the dashcam. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows a specific example of an entering vehicle. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows a specific example of an approaching vehicle. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a block diagram of the operational evaluation device. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of an evaluation report. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example of an evaluation report. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of an evaluation report. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the processing steps performed by the dashcam. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure performed by the operational evaluation device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the in-vehicle device, driving evaluation system, and recording program will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. In the following description, the in-vehicle device according to the embodiment is a drive recorder 10 mounted on vehicle C. However, the in-vehicle device according to the embodiment is not limited to a drive recorder 10, but may be a device connected to a camera such as a drive recorder.

[0010] First, an overview of the driving evaluation system according to the embodiment will be described using Figure 1. Figure 1 is an overview diagram of the driving evaluation system. As shown in Figure 1, the driving evaluation system S according to the embodiment comprises a driving evaluation device 1 and a drive recorder 10. The driving evaluation device 1 and the drive recorder 10 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a predetermined network. In Figure 1, the driving evaluation system S is shown as one driving evaluation device 1 and one drive recorder 10, but it may include multiple driving evaluation devices 1 and multiple drive recorders 10.

[0011] The driving evaluation device 1 is, for example, a server or cloud, and manages various information transmitted from each drive recorder 10. In this disclosure, the driving evaluation device 1 evaluates the driving of the driver operating vehicle C based on the information regarding the distance between vehicles transmitted from the drive recorder 10.

[0012] The drive recorder 10 is mounted on vehicle C and takes pictures of the area around vehicle C. When certain conditions are met, such as an accident, it records the captured images. In this disclosure, the drive recorder 10 has a function to measure the distance between vehicle C and the vehicle in front of vehicle C and upload the data to the driving evaluation device 1.

[0013] Furthermore, the drive recorder 10 has a function of detecting the surrounding situation of the vehicle C and recording the type of the surrounding situation in association with the inter-vehicle distance. Specifically, the drive recorder 10 detects the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles around the vehicle C as the surrounding situation, and records such information in association with the inter-vehicle distance. Accordingly, the drive recorder 10 can generate data for performing driving evaluation in consideration of the surrounding situation of the own vehicle.

[0014] Therefore, in the driving evaluation system S according to the embodiment, the driver's tendency regarding inter-vehicle distance can be evaluated according to the surrounding situation.

[0015] Next, a configuration example of the drive recorder 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the drive recorder 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the drive recorder 10 includes a communication unit 11, a camera 12, a storage unit 13, and a controller 14.

[0016] The communication unit 11 is implemented by a network adapter or the like. The communication unit 11 is wirelessly connected to a network such as a mobile telephone line network or a C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle to Everything) communication network, and performs data communication with other devices via the network. The communication unit 11 performs data communication with the driving evaluation apparatus 1 and the like.

[0017] The camera 12 is an imaging apparatus provided with an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The camera 12 images the surroundings of the vehicle C.

[0018] The storage unit 13 is implemented by storage devices such as ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and flash memory. The storage unit 13 stores an image recognition AI (Artificial Intelligence).

[0019] The image recognition AI is an AI that detects the surrounding conditions of vehicle C. The image recognition AI detects the surrounding conditions of vehicle C from images captured by camera 12. Specifically, the image recognition AI detects the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles from images captured by camera 12. Surrounding vehicles include vehicles traveling in front of vehicle C, vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes adjacent to the lane in which vehicle C is traveling (hereinafter referred to as vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes), etc.

[0020] Furthermore, the image recognition AI detects whether there are any vehicles in adjacent lanes that wish to enter the lane in front of vehicle C. In this context, an "entering vehicle" refers to a vehicle that wishes to cut in front of vehicle C.

[0021] For example, when using image recognition AI to detect an approaching vehicle, feature data indicating the characteristics of the approaching vehicle's behavior is learned in advance, and the image recognition AI detects vehicles exhibiting similar behavior to the feature data as approaching vehicles. The feature data may include, for example, the vehicle's trajectory, but may also include whether or not the turn signal is activated. In other words, the image recognition AI may detect a vehicle in an adjacent lane with its turn signal activated as an approaching vehicle in the lane where vehicle C is traveling.

[0022] The controller 14 corresponds to a so-called processor. The controller 14 is implemented by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphical Processing Unit), etc. The controller 14 executes a program according to an embodiment not shown in the diagram, which is stored in the memory unit 13, using RAM as the working area. The controller 14 can also be implemented by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0023] The controller 14 measures the distance between its own vehicle and the vehicle in front of it. The controller 14 also detects the surrounding conditions of its own vehicle, tags the type of surrounding conditions, and records the distance between vehicles.

[0024] The controller 14 measures the distance to the vehicle ahead by analyzing the images captured by the camera 12. Alternatively, the controller 14 may use a distance measuring sensor such as a LiDAR to measure the distance.

[0025] Furthermore, the controller 14 detects the surrounding conditions of its own vehicle, for example, using the image recognition AI described above. Specifically, the controller 14 inputs the image captured by the camera 12 to the image recognition AI and detects the surrounding conditions of its own vehicle based on the values ​​output from the image recognition AI.

[0026] The controller 14 detects the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles as part of the surrounding conditions of its own vehicle. Surrounding vehicles include vehicles traveling in front of the vehicle and vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes adjacent to the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. In addition, surrounding vehicles include vehicles in adjacent lanes that wish to enter in front of the vehicle.

[0027] In this way, the controller 14 can detect the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles and record the distance between vehicles tagged with the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles, thereby generating data for driving evaluation that takes the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles into consideration.

[0028] For example, the controller 14 may detect vehicles exhibiting behavior similar to characteristic data indicating the behavior of an approaching vehicle as an approaching vehicle, or it may detect vehicles in adjacent lanes that are signaling a turn signal into the lane in which the controller 14 is traveling as an approaching vehicle.

[0029] In this way, the controller 14 detects an approaching vehicle, tags it to indicate the presence or absence of an approaching vehicle, and records the distance between vehicles. This allows the controller 14 to generate data for driving evaluation that takes into account the presence or absence of an approaching vehicle.

[0030] Here, we will explain specific examples of an approaching vehicle using Figures 3 and 4. Figures 3 and 4 are diagrams illustrating specific examples of an approaching vehicle. Figures 3 and 4 show scenarios where vehicle Ca is traveling on a road with two lanes in each direction.

[0031] Figure 3 shows a scenario where vehicle Ca is traveling on a highway, where the driving lane La is the right lane (passing lane), and the adjacent lane Lb is the left lane (driving lane).

[0032] Furthermore, Figure 3 shows a scenario where a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane Lb, parallel to vehicle Ca, wishes to change lanes in front of vehicle Ca.

[0033] Furthermore, Figure 4 shows a scenario in which the vehicle Ca is traveling on a highway, where the driving lane La is the left lane (driving lane), and the adjacent lane Lb is the right lane (passing lane).

[0034] Furthermore, Figure 4 shows a case where a branching lane b branches off to the left ahead of the driving lane La. In such a case, a vehicle traveling in the right lane may want to change lanes from the right lane to the left lane as it is heading towards branching lane b.

[0035] In the cases shown in Figures 3 and 4, the controller 14 detects a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane Lb as an intruding vehicle Ct that wishes to enter in front of its own vehicle Ca, based on the behavior of the vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane Lb.

[0036] For example, in the cases shown in Figures 3 and 4, the driver of vehicle Ca may shorten the distance between itself and the vehicle ahead (Cp) to prevent an incoming vehicle (Ct) from cutting in. Therefore, the controller 14 can generate data for evaluating driving that takes into account the surrounding conditions of vehicle Ca by tagging the presence or absence of an incoming vehicle (Ct) and recording the distance between them.

[0037] In the case shown in Figure 4, the driving evaluation device 1, described later, may perform a driving evaluation regarding the distance between vehicles for the section from the branching lane b to within the threshold Thl. This allows the driving evaluation device 1 to accurately determine whether a vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane Lb wishes to change lanes to the driving lane La.

[0038] In addition, the driving evaluation device 1 may also be configured to set a section for driving evaluation when the number of lanes decreases from two lanes in one direction to one lane in one direction, or when the number of lanes temporarily decreases from two lanes in one direction to one lane in one direction due to the effects of construction or on-street parking.

[0039] Specifically, the driving evaluation device 1 may perform a driving evaluation regarding the distance between vehicles, targeting the section within a threshold Thl from the point where the lanes narrow. The controller 14 can determine the point where the lanes narrow by analyzing the images captured by the camera 12. In this case, the controller 14 associates the location information of the point where the distance between vehicles was measured, as well as information regarding the lane narrowing point, with the information tagged with the type of surrounding conditions, and uploads it to the driving evaluation device 1.

[0040] Next, an example of the configuration of the operation evaluation device 1 will be described using Figure 5. Figure 5 is a block diagram of the operation evaluation device 1. As shown in Figure 5, the operation evaluation device 1 comprises a communication unit 2, a storage unit 3, and a controller 4.

[0041] Communication unit 2 is implemented by a network adapter or the like. Communication unit 2 is wirelessly connected to a network such as a mobile phone network or a C-V2X communication network, and performs data communication with other devices via the network. Communication unit 2 performs data communication with devices such as the drive recorder 10.

[0042] The storage unit 3 is implemented by a storage device such as ROM, RAM, or flash memory. The storage unit 3 stores various information transmitted from each drive recorder 10. In this disclosure, the storage unit 3 stores information regarding the distance between vehicles transmitted from each drive recorder 10.

[0043] Controller 4 corresponds to a so-called processor. Controller 4 is implemented by a CPU, MPU, GPU, etc. Controller 4 executes a program according to an embodiment not shown in the diagram, stored in the memory unit 3, using RAM as a working area. Controller 4 can also be implemented by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA.

[0044] The controller 4 evaluates the driving of the vehicle drivers for each surrounding condition tag based on the following distance recorded by the drive recorder 10. The controller 4 receives information regarding the following distance of each vehicle from each drive recorder 10 via the communication unit 2.

[0045] Information regarding the distance between vehicles includes an identifier for identifying the vehicle (drive recorder 10) or driver, information regarding the distance between vehicles tagged with the type of surrounding conditions, and information regarding the measurement point of the distance between vehicles. The controller 4 registers the information regarding the distance between vehicles in the storage unit 3.

[0046] Subsequently, the controller 4 evaluates the driving of each vehicle's driver at predetermined intervals. Specifically, the controller 4 calculates the trend of the following distance of the target driver for each type of surrounding situation.

[0047] The types of surrounding conditions here include the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles, the presence or absence of vehicles in adjacent lanes, the presence or absence of vehicles entering the lane, etc. The driver's tendency for following distance is, for example, the average following distance calculated for each type of surrounding conditions for the target driver.

[0048] Subsequently, the controller 4 generates an evaluation report that assesses the driver's tendency in maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles. Here, specific examples of evaluation reports are explained using Figures 6 to 8. Figures 6 to 8 are diagrams showing examples of evaluation reports. Note that the evaluation reports shown in Figures 6 and 8 correspond to an example of the overall screen, while the evaluation report shown in Figure 7 corresponds to an example of the detailed screen.

[0049] As shown in Figure 6, the evaluation report includes evaluation items such as "cutting in while driving straight," "cutting in before a junction," "cutting in at lane reductions," and "cutting in at merging lanes." "Cutting in while driving straight" is an evaluation item related to the distance between vehicles while the vehicle Ca is driving straight.

[0050] Furthermore, "cutting in before a junction" is an evaluation item related to the following distance of your vehicle Ca while traveling before a junction. "Cutting in at a lane reduction" is an evaluation item related to the following distance of your vehicle Ca while traveling before a lane reduction.

[0051] Furthermore, "merging cut-ins" is an evaluation item related to the distance between vehicles when the vehicle Ca is traveling just before a merging point where multiple lanes merge. For each evaluation item, for example, the wider the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front, the higher the evaluation, and the shorter the distance, the lower the evaluation.

[0052] In other words, each evaluation item is assessed based on whether the driver of vehicle Ca maintains a sufficient distance to allow an intruding vehicle Ct to cut in during each situation.

[0053] In this way, the controller 4 can help the driver understand their own tendency regarding the distance between vehicles by evaluating the trend of the distance between vehicles for each type of surrounding situation.

[0054] More specifically, by providing such evaluation reports, the controller 4 can appropriately identify, for example, self-centered driving tendencies that the driver themselves may not be aware of.

[0055] In addition to the overall screen shown in Figure 6, the evaluation report also includes a detailed screen in Figure 7. The detailed screen displays the details of the corresponding evaluation item when an evaluation item is selected on the overall screen shown in Figure 6. Figure 6 shows the detailed screen when "Cutting in while driving straight" is selected.

[0056] In the example shown in Figure 7, the details screen displays trends regarding following distance, advice, the average following distance when there is another vehicle next to the vehicle, and the average following distance when there is no other vehicle next to the vehicle.

[0057] Such a detailed screen allows the driver to appropriately recognize trends in vehicle distance due to differences in surrounding conditions, such as the presence or absence of surrounding vehicles. The overall screen shown in Figure 6 may also be configured to display the evaluation results for each evaluation item as a radar chart, as shown in Figure 8.

[0058] For example, as shown in Figure 8, the controller 4 can provide the driver with an evaluation report that is easy to understand visually by displaying the evaluation results for each evaluation item as a radar chart.

[0059] Next, the processing procedure performed by the drive recorder 10 according to this embodiment will be explained using Figure 9. Figure 9 is a flowchart of the processing procedure performed by the drive recorder 10. Note that the following processing is repeatedly performed by the controller 14 of the drive recorder 10 while the vehicle is in motion.

[0060] As shown in Figure 9, the controller 4 first measures the distance to the vehicle in front while the vehicle is in motion (step S101). The distance is measured by analyzing images captured by the camera 12.

[0061] Next, the controller 14 detects the surrounding conditions of its own vehicle Ca (step S102). The detection of the surrounding conditions is performed by analyzing the images captured by the camera 12. Subsequently, the controller 14 tags and records the type of surrounding conditions in relation to the distance between vehicles (step S103).

[0062] Then, the controller 4 transmits the inter-vehicle distance tagged with the type of surrounding conditions to the driving evaluation device 1 at a predetermined timing (step S104), and terminates the process.

[0063] Next, the processing procedure performed by the operation evaluation device 1 according to the embodiment will be explained using Figure 10. Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure performed by the operation evaluation device 1. The following processing is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle by the controller 4 of the operation evaluation device 1.

[0064] First, the controller 4 receives the following distance from the drive recorder 10, tagged with the type of surrounding conditions (step S201). Next, the controller 4 analyzes the trend of the following distance for each tag (step S202).

[0065] Next, the controller 4 generates a report analyzing the trend of the distance between vehicles for each tag (step S203). Then, the controller 4 provides the generated report to the driver (step S204) and terminates the process.

[0066] As described above, the drive recorder 10 (an example of an in-vehicle device) according to this embodiment has a controller 14 that measures the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front. The controller 14 detects the surrounding conditions of the vehicle and records the distance between vehicles tagged with the type of surrounding conditions.

[0067] Therefore, according to the drive recorder 10 of this embodiment, the surrounding conditions are tagged and the distance between vehicles is recorded, so it is possible to generate data for driving evaluation that takes into account the surrounding conditions of the vehicle.

[0068] Further effects and modifications can be readily derived by those skilled in the art. Therefore, broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments expressed and described above. Accordingly, various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the overall concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims and equivalents. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0069] 1. Operation evaluation device 2,11 Communications Department 3,13 Storage part 4,14 Controllers 10. Dashcam 12 cameras Ca (Car) S Driving Evaluation System

Claims

1. It has a controller that measures the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front, The aforementioned controller, The system detects vehicles traveling in adjacent lanes that are adjacent to the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, The distance between vehicles is recorded, tagged with the presence or absence of vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane. In-vehicle device.

2. The aforementioned controller, The system detects whether there is an approaching vehicle that wishes to enter in front of the aforementioned vehicle, The distance between vehicles, tagged with the presence or absence of the aforementioned entering vehicle, is recorded. The in-vehicle device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned controller, Among the vehicles traveling in the adjacent lane, the vehicle that puts on its turn signal in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling is detected as the entering vehicle. The in-vehicle device according to claim 2.

4. The aforementioned controller, Vehicles exhibiting behavior similar to that of the aforementioned approaching vehicle are detected as the aforementioned approaching vehicle. The in-vehicle device according to claim 2.

5. An in-vehicle device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, A driving evaluation device that evaluates the driving of the vehicle's driver for each tag of the vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane, based on the distance between vehicles recorded by the in-vehicle device, A driving evaluation system equipped with the following features.

6. The aforementioned operation evaluation device is An evaluation report is provided that assesses the trend of the distance between vehicles for each tag of the vehicle traveling in the adjacent lane. The operation evaluation system according to claim 5.

7. The aforementioned evaluation report is, The overall screen showing the overall evaluation results, A detail screen showing the evaluation details for the selected tag in the overall screen. The operation evaluation system according to claim 6, including the following:

8. A recording program executed by a controller that measures the distance between its own vehicle and the vehicle in front of it, A procedure for detecting a vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane adjacent to the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, A procedure for recording the distance between vehicles, tagged with the presence or absence of vehicles in the adjacent lane. A recording program that includes this.

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