Vehicle control system and computer program

Abstract

The present invention provides a vehicle control device and computer program that can simplify the calculation process in calibration for adjusting the optical axis of a camera device when the vehicle's height temporarily changes. [Solution] A vehicle control device 10 is provided with a control unit 11 that controls a camera device 2A installed on a vehicle 1 with adjustable ride height. The control unit determines, based on the detected ride height of the vehicle, that the ride height is higher than the standard state, and adjusts the optical axis of the camera device using a preset attitude change correction value to correct the optical axis of the camera device according to the ride height.

Description

[[Technical Field]]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control apparatus capable of controlling an external vehicle camera and a computer program. [[Background Art]]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a technology for calibrating an external camera provided on a vehicle. The technology described in Patent Document 1 includes an imaging unit provided on the vehicle, calculates the reliability of an attitude sensor provided on the calculated vehicle, and is configured to, when the reliability is greater than a predetermined threshold, calculate external parameters of the imaging unit based on attitude information output by the attitude sensor and a relationship between a coordinate system of the imaging unit and a vehicle coordinate system. [[Prior Art Literature]] [[Patent Documents]]

[0003] [[Patent Document 1]] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-143417 [[Summary of the Invention]] [[Problem to be Solved by the Invention]]

[0004] A vehicle may sometimes be provided with a vehicle height adjustment device that temporarily increases the vehicle height to allow the vehicle to get over steps and the like on the road surface. According to the conventional technology, when the vehicle height of the vehicle temporarily changes, it is necessary to perform calibration of the external camera based on complicated arithmetic processing. In addition, according to the conventional technology, when performing learning for calibration, a certain speed or higher and a certain amount of time are required. Therefore, when the vehicle height changes based on an operation of a vehicle height adjustment device that operates only temporarily and for a short time, learning for calibrating the optical axis cannot catch up, and as a result, there is a possibility that the accuracy of the system may decrease.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a vehicle control device and a computer program that can simplify the calculation process in calibration for adjusting the optical axis of a camera device when the vehicle height of the vehicle temporarily changes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a vehicle control device comprising a control unit for controlling a camera device installed on a vehicle with adjustable ride height, wherein the control unit, based on a detected value of the vehicle's ride height, determines that the ride height is higher than the standard state, and adjusts the optical axis of the camera device using a preset attitude change correction value to correct the optical axis of the camera device according to the ride height. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the calculation process in calibration for adjusting the optical axis of a camera device can be simplified. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control system. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the vehicle's ride height adjustment process. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows the processing flow of the vehicle control method executed in the vehicle control device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle 1 includes a detection unit 2 for detecting values ​​necessary for driving, a vehicle height adjustment unit 6 for adjusting the vehicle height, and a vehicle control device 10 for performing the necessary controls for driving. The detection unit 2 includes, for example, a camera device 2A for imaging the external environment of the vehicle 1. The camera device 2A is mounted, for example, to image the environment from inside the vehicle 1 toward the front of the vehicle 1. There may be one or more camera devices 2A, and they may be mounted to image the environment to the sides of the vehicle 1 or the environment behind the vehicle 1. The optical axis of the camera device 2A is adjusted by the vehicle control device 10, as will be described later.

[0010] The detection unit 2 includes a vehicle height sensor 2B for detecting the vehicle height of the vehicle 1. The vehicle height sensor 2B detects the vehicle height based on a control signal corresponding to the operating state of the vehicle height adjustment unit 6. The vehicle height sensor 2B may detect the vehicle height in a stepless manner, or it may detect at least two stages of vehicle height in steps, such as a first state indicating a high vehicle height or a second state indicating a standard vehicle height. Other sensors may be used instead of the vehicle height sensor 2B, as long as they can detect the vehicle height of the vehicle 1.

[0011] The detection unit 2 includes an attitude sensor 2C for detecting the attitude of the vehicle 1. The attitude sensor 2C is composed of three or more angular velocity sensors capable of detecting changes in the pitching angle, yaw angle, and roll angle of the vehicle 1. Other sensors may be used instead of the attitude sensor 2C, as long as they can detect changes in the attitude of the vehicle 1. The detection unit 2 outputs the detected values ​​to the vehicle control device 10.

[0012] The vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is configured to change the height of the vehicle body relative to the ground based on the operation of the driver of the vehicle 1. The vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is provided, for example, in the damper device that supports the front wheels of the vehicle 1. The vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is configured to extend the damper device and raise the height of the front of the vehicle body relative to the ground. The vehicle height adjustment unit 6 includes, for example, an actuator that extends or retracts based on the inflow or outflow of a working fluid.

[0013] The vehicle height adjustment unit 6 may be configured to adjust the vehicle height steplessly based on the extension state of the actuator. The vehicle height adjustment unit 6 may be configured to adjust the vehicle height in two stages based on the extension state of the actuator so that it reaches a predetermined vehicle height compared to the standard vehicle height. The vehicle height adjustment unit 6 may be configured to adjust the vehicle height in two or more stages. The vehicle height adjustment unit 6 may also be provided in the damper device supporting the rear wheels of the vehicle 1. The vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is controlled by the vehicle control device 10.

[0014] The vehicle control device 10 comprises a control unit 11 that performs calculations and controls necessary for the driving of the vehicle 1, and a storage unit 12 that stores data and computer programs necessary for control. The control unit 11 is composed of at least one hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 11 may be implemented by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or by the cooperation of software and hardware.

[0015] The storage unit 12 is composed of non-transient storage media such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state disk (SSD). The computer program may be stored in advance in the storage device (a storage device equipped with a non-transient storage medium) such as the HDD or flash memory of the storage unit 12, or it may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM and installed in the HDD or flash memory of the storage unit 12 when the storage medium (non-transient storage medium) is mounted on a drive device.

[0016] The control unit 11 is configured to control a camera device 2A installed on a vehicle 1 with adjustable ride height. The control unit 11 is configured to perform driving assistance control while the vehicle 1 is in motion, based on the image data captured by the camera device 2A. The control unit 11 is configured to recognize objects present around the vehicle 1 by pre-running machine learning, such as deep learning, using captured images of the road environment as training data.

[0017] The control unit 11 recognizes objects necessary for the vehicle 1's operation, such as other vehicles, road structures, pedestrians, objects, lanes, and signs, captured in the image data captured by the camera device 2A, and is configured to execute the driving assistance functions installed in the vehicle 1. The driving assistance functions are executed based on the image data and include, for example, a lane departure prevention function that prevents the vehicle 1 from deviating from its lane, an automatic braking function that prevents the vehicle 1 from approaching an object within a predetermined distance, and an automatic follow-me driving function that follows a preceding vehicle.

[0018] The control unit 11 performs driving learning based on the image data while the vehicle 1 is in motion to improve its ability to recognize the environment around the vehicle 1. The control unit 11 is configured to perform driving learning based on the image data and adjust the optical axis of the camera device 2A in order to prevent changes in the judgment criteria for the driving assistance function. The control unit 11 is configured to perform driving learning based on the relationship between the attitude detection value and the environmental conditions captured in the image data and adjust the optical axis of the camera device 2A.

[0019] Based on the image data, for example, in urban areas with recognizable buildings and lanes, highways with clearly defined lanes, and rural roads with few objects such as buildings and clearly defined lanes, the control unit 11 performs driving learning in areas where the environment around the vehicle 1 can be easily recognized, and adjusts the optical axis of the camera device 2A.

[0020] The control unit 11 is configured not to perform travel learning in areas where it is difficult to recognize the environment surrounding the vehicle 1. For example, the control unit 11 does not perform travel learning in areas where it is difficult to recognize the environment surrounding the vehicle 1, such as traffic jams, environments with many objects such as other vehicles and pedestrians, curved roads, unpaved roads, environments with changed weather conditions, lane changes on expressways, road environments without lanes, and road environments with insufficient light or backlighting. The control unit 11 does not perform travel learning when the posture detection value of the posture sensor 2C is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0021] The control unit 11 executes travel learning based on imaging data and adjusts the optical axis of the camera device 2A in a state where travel learning is possible. The control unit 11 executes driving assistance control based on imaging data captured based on the adjusted optical axis.

[0022] As shown in Figure 2, the vehicle height of the vehicle 1 changes based on the operation of the vehicle height adjustment unit 6. In the illustrated example, the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is provided on the front wheel side of the vehicle 1, and the vehicle 1 is configured such that the front wheel 1A side of the vehicle body rises upward relative to the ground T. For example, based on a driver's operation, the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 adjusts the vehicle height within about several tens of seconds to change from a low state, which is the vehicle height in a standard state, to a high state, which is a predetermined vehicle height higher than the standard state.

[0023] When the vehicle height is in the high state, the front shaft 1C side of the front wheels 1A of the vehicle body rises around the rear shaft 1D of the rear wheels 1B, and the posture of the vehicle body changes. When the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 operates, the vehicle height changes in a short period of time, so there is a possibility that the travel learning executed by the control unit 11 cannot keep up with the change. Therefore, when the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 operates, the control unit 11 is configured to adjust the optical axis of the camera device 2A in the vehicle height adjustment mode.

[0024] The control unit 11 determines whether the vehicle height is higher than the standard state based on the detected vehicle height. If the control unit 11 determines that the vehicle height is higher than the standard state, it adjusts the optical axis of the camera device 2A using a preset attitude change correction value for adjusting the optical axis of the camera device 2A. The attitude change correction value is a preset correction value used to correct the optical axis of the camera device 2A according to the vehicle height.

[0025] When the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is activated, the control unit 11 acquires the detected vehicle height value from the vehicle height sensor 2B. As shown in the figure, when the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 of 1C is activated, the vehicle height is increased by a predetermined vehicle height H compared to the standard state (low state), resulting in a predetermined vehicle height (high state). The control unit 11 calculates a posture change correction value based on the relationship between the dimensions of the vehicle body and the detected vehicle height value. The change in the vehicle's posture is determined by the amount of change in vehicle height due to the lift-up on the front axle 1C side (predetermined vehicle height H) / wheelbase L.

[0026] For example, when the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is in operation, if the vehicle height increases at the front axle 1C with respect to the rear axle 1D, the amount of change in the vehicle's posture θ is calculated based on the wheelbase L of the vehicle 1 and the predetermined vehicle height H using the relationship θ = arctan(H / L). If the amount of change in vehicle height is constant, the amount of change in posture θ can be set in advance as a vehicle posture change correction value.

[0027] As shown in the figure, when the attitude angle of vehicle 1 changes by an attitude change amount θ, the optical axis of camera device 2A changes from the low state optical axis 2G to the high state optical axis 2H by an attitude change amount θ. At this time, the attitude change correction value of the optical axis of camera device 2A is equal to the attitude change amount θ of the attitude angle. When the detected value is a predetermined detected value (predetermined vehicle height: H) that indicates a predetermined vehicle height, the control unit 11 calculates an attitude change correction value (= attitude change amount: θ) based on the relationship between the change in vehicle height and the change in the attitude of the vehicle body of vehicle 1.

[0028] The control unit 11 calculates the amount of change in the vehicle's attitude θ based on a predetermined vehicle height H and a set value for the vehicle's wheelbase L, and calculates a preset attitude change correction value to correct the optical axis of the camera device 2A based on the amount of change in attitude. If the detected vehicle height is a predetermined detected value indicating a preset predetermined vehicle height, the control unit 11 adjusts the optical axis of the camera device 2A using the attitude change correction value corresponding to the predetermined detected value. The control unit 11 adjusts the optical axis 2H after the change in vehicle height to match the optical axis 2G before the change in vehicle height using the attitude change correction value.

[0029] Figure 3 shows the processing flow of the optical axis adjustment method for the camera device 2A, which is performed in the vehicle control device 10. The optical axis adjustment method is performed by the control unit 11, which controls the camera device 2A installed on the vehicle height adjustable vehicle 1, based on a computer program installed in the computer mounted on the vehicle control device 10.

[0030] The control unit 11 determines whether or not there is an abnormal condition in the vehicle height of vehicle 1 (S100). If the control unit 11 determines that there is an abnormal condition in the vehicle height of vehicle 1 (S100: Yes), it performs driving learning based on the image data captured by the camera device 2A and adjusts the optical axis of the camera device 2A (S102). If the control unit 11 determines that there is no abnormality in the vehicle height of vehicle 1 (S100: No), it determines whether or not the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is operating based on the driver's operation (S104). If the control unit 11 determines that the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is not operating (S104: No), it proceeds to S102, performs a determination process based on the image data from the camera device 2A and adjusts the optical axis of the camera device 2A (S102).

[0031] If the control unit 11 determines that the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 is operating (S104: Yes), it determines whether the detected value of the vehicle height sensor 2B is a predetermined detected value indicating a predetermined vehicle height (S106). If the vehicle height sensor 2B does not detect a value, i.e., the vehicle height of the vehicle 1 is in a low state (S106 vehicle height value: None), the control unit 11 proceeds to S102, executes a determination process based on the image data of the camera device 2A, and adjusts the optical axis of the camera device 2A (S102).

[0032] If the control unit 11 detects a value from the vehicle height sensor 2B and determines that the vehicle height is higher than the standard state (S106 Vehicle height value: Yes), it adjusts the optical axis of the camera device 2A using a preset attitude change correction value to correct the optical axis of the camera device according to the vehicle height (S108). The control unit 11 returns to processing S100 and continues the process of adjusting the optical axis of the camera device 2A.

[0033] As described above, with the vehicle control device 10, when the vehicle height of the vehicle 1 equipped with the vehicle height adjustment unit 6 changes temporarily, the calculation process in calibration for adjusting the optical axis of the camera device 2A can be simplified compared to the normal process of performing driving learning based on imaging data to adjust the optical axis of the camera device 2A. With the vehicle control device 10, when the vehicle height of the vehicle 1 is lifted up to a predetermined vehicle height H, the optical axis of the camera device 2A can be easily adjusted by adjusting the optical axis of the camera device 2A using a predetermined attitude change correction value θ according to the predetermined vehicle height H.

[0034] In the embodiments described above, the computer programs executed in each configuration of the vehicle control device 10 may be provided in the form of being recorded on a computer-readable portable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic recording medium, or an optical recording medium. The computer program product including the computer programs according to the above embodiments may be stored on a storage medium or provided via a communication line. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0035] 1 Vehicle, 1A Front wheel, 1B Rear wheel, 1C Front axle, 1D Rear axle, 2 Detection unit, 2A Camera device, 2B Vehicle height sensor, 2C Attitude sensor, 2G, 2H Optical axis, 6 Vehicle height adjustment unit, 10 Vehicle control device, 11 Control unit, 12 Memory unit, H Predetermined vehicle height, L Wheelbase, T Ground, θ Attitude change correction value

Claims

1. It includes a control unit that controls a camera device installed on a vehicle with adjustable ride height, The control unit, If it is determined that the vehicle height is higher than the standard state based on the detected vehicle height, the optical axis of the camera device is adjusted using a preset attitude change correction value to correct the optical axis of the camera device according to the vehicle height. Vehicle control system.

2. The control unit, If the detected value is a predetermined detected value indicating a predetermined vehicle height, the optical axis is adjusted using the attitude change correction value that is predetermined according to the predetermined detected value. The vehicle control device according to claim 1.

3. The control unit, Based on the predetermined detection value and the set value of the vehicle's wheelbase, the amount of change in the vehicle's attitude is calculated. Based on the amount of change in posture, the posture change correction value is calculated. The vehicle control device according to claim 2.

4. The control unit, If the aforementioned detection value is not obtained, the camera device performs a determination process based on the imaging data and adjusts the optical axis of the camera device. The vehicle control device according to claim 1.

5. A computer program installed on a computer that controls a camera device installed on a vehicle with adjustable ride height, If, based on the detected vehicle height, it is determined that the vehicle height is higher than the standard state, the computer is instructed to perform a process to adjust the optical axis of the camera device using a preset attitude change correction value to correct the optical axis of the camera device according to the vehicle height. Computer program.

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