MOBILE BODY CONTROL DEVICE, MOBILE BODY CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM

Abstract

To flexibly select a merging position according to the state of an occupant of a movable body.SOLUTION: A movable body control device comprises: an image acquisition unit which acquires an image obtained by imaging an external space of a movable body; a first determination unit which determines whether or not the movable body is in a merging lane closer to a merging object lane of the two merging lanes on the basis of the image; a second determination unit which determines whether or not another movable body is in the merging lane farther from the merging object lane of the merging lanes on the front side of the movable body when the first determination unit determines that the movable body is in the closer merging lane; a merging position candidate setting unit which sets a merging position candidate that is at least one or more merging position candidates in which the movable body completes merging to the merging object lane and is set as the relative position between the movable bodies in the merging object lane; and a merging position selection unit which selects the merging position where the movable body completes merging to the merging object lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile object control device, a mobile object control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known technologies that support vehicles traveling in a merging lane to enter a merging lane. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that predicts the behavior of multiple vehicles based on a behavior prediction model when merging into a merging lane, and indicates the merging position based on the prediction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-192233 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not specifically take into consideration cases where there are two merging lanes, and as a result, there are cases where the merging position cannot be properly indicated when there are two merging lanes.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide a mobile body control device, a mobile body control method, and a program that can properly indicate a merging position when there are two merging lanes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The moving object control device according to the present invention employs the following configuration. (1): A mobile object control device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of an external space of a mobile object, a first determination unit that determines whether the mobile object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to the merging lane to be merged based on the image, a second determination unit that determines whether another mobile object is in the merging lane farther from the merging lane in front of the mobile object when the first determination unit determines that the mobile object is in the closer merging lane, and at least one merging lane that the mobile object completes merging into the merging lane to be merged. The method includes a merging position candidate setting unit that sets a merging position candidate that is set as a relative position between moving bodies in the merging lane, and a merging position selection unit that selects a merging position at which the moving body completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates, and when the second determination unit determines that another moving body is present, the merging position selection unit selects the merging position from the at least one or more merging position candidates excluding the merging position candidate that is located at the front in the direction of travel of the moving body.

[0007] (2): In the above aspect (1), the second judgment unit sets a virtual line, on an imaginary plane viewed virtually from above, which is a perpendicular line drawn from the leading merging position candidate to the direction of travel of the moving body, compares a first distance between the moving body and the virtual line with a second distance between the other moving body and the virtual line, and if the second distance is smaller than the first distance, judges that the other moving body is ahead of the moving body.

[0008] (3): In the above aspect (1) or (2), the mobile body control device further includes a third judgment unit that estimates a driving trajectory of the other moving body and judges whether the other moving body can merge with the leading junction position candidate based on the driving trajectory, and when the third judgment unit judges that the other moving body cannot merge with the leading junction position candidate, the junction position selection unit selects the junction position from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding the junction position candidate located at the front and the junction position candidate located second in terms of the moving body's direction of travel.

[0009] (4): In any of the above aspects (1) to (3), the mobile body control device further includes a braking time estimation unit that estimates the time until an occupant of the mobile body operates a braking device of the mobile body, and the merging position selection unit selects the merging position from the at least one merging position candidate without excluding a merging position candidate that is located at the front in the direction of travel of the mobile body when the time estimated by the braking time estimation unit is less than a threshold value.

[0010] (5): In any of the above aspects (1) to (4), the merging position selection unit maintains the selection even if the other moving body decelerates after selecting the merging position from the merging position candidates excluding the merging position candidate located at the front.

[0011] (6): In any of the above aspects (1) to (5), the mobile body control device further includes a driving control unit that generates a target trajectory for the mobile body such that the mobile body will merge at the merging position selected by the merging position selection unit, and controls the steering and acceleration / deceleration of the mobile body without relying on the operation of a driver of the mobile body so that the mobile body travels along the generated target trajectory.

[0012] (7): In one embodiment of the mobile body control method of the present invention, a computer mounted on a mobile body acquires an image of an external space of the mobile body, and determines based on the image whether the mobile body is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to the merging lane to be merged, and if it is determined that the mobile body is in the closer merging lane, determines whether there is another mobile body in front of the mobile body in the merging lane that is farther from the merging lane to be merged, sets at least one or more candidate merging positions where the mobile body completes merging into the merging lane, the candidate merging positions being set as relative positions between the mobile bodies in the merging lane to be merged, and selects a merging position where the mobile body completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more candidate merging positions, and if it is determined that the other mobile body is present, selects the merging position from the at least one or more candidate merging positions excluding the candidate merging position that is located at the head of the mobile body in terms of the direction of travel of the mobile body among the at least one or more candidate merging positions.

[0013] (8): A program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer mounted on a moving body to acquire an image of an external space of the moving body, and based on the image, determine whether the moving body is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to the merging lane, and if it is determined that the moving body is in the closer merging lane, determine whether there is another moving body in front of the moving body in the merging lane that is farther from the merging lane, set at least one or more candidate merging positions where the moving body will complete merging into the merging lane, the candidate merging positions being set as relative positions between the moving bodies in the merging lane, select a merging position where the moving body will complete merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more candidate merging positions, and if it is determined that the other moving body is present, select the merging position from the at least one or more candidate merging positions excluding the candidate merging position that is located at the front in the moving body's direction of travel. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to aspects (1) to (8), it is possible to appropriately indicate the merging position when there are two merging lanes. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle system 1 that uses a mobile object control device according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which processing of a mobile object control device according to the present embodiment is executed; [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which a merging position is selected from a merging position selection unit 130E when a third determination unit 130D determines that the other vehicle cannot merge at the merging position candidate CP1 in which the other vehicle is located at the front. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a situation in which the host vehicle M is positioned in front of another vehicle as a result of the other vehicle decelerating after the merging position selection unit 130E has selected a merging position. [Figure 6] 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a process flow of a mobile object control device according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a mobile object control device, a mobile object control method, and a program of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The mobile object in the present invention is a four-wheeled vehicle, a two-wheeled vehicle, micromobility, a robot, etc. In the following description, the mobile object is a four-wheeled vehicle.

[0017] [Overall configuration] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle system 1 that uses a mobile object control device according to this embodiment. The vehicle on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted is, for example, a two-wheeled, three-wheeled, or four-wheeled vehicle, and its drive source is an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine, an electric motor, or a combination of these. The electric motor operates using power generated by a generator connected to the internal combustion engine, or discharged power from a secondary battery or a fuel cell.

[0018] The vehicle system 1 includes, for example, a camera 10, a radar device 12, a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) 14, an object recognition device 16, a communication device 20, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, a vehicle sensor 40, a navigation device 50, an MPU (Map Positioning Unit) 60, a driving operator 80, an automatic driving control device 100, a driving force output device 200, a brake device 210, and a steering device 220. These devices and equipment are connected to each other by multiple communication lines such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network, etc. Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and some of the configuration may be omitted, or other configuration may be added.

[0019] The camera 10 is, for example, a digital camera using a solid-state imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The camera 10 is attached to an arbitrary location of a vehicle (hereinafter, the vehicle M) in which the vehicle system 1 is mounted. When capturing an image of the front, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the front windshield, the back of the rearview mirror, or the like. The camera 10, for example, periodically and repeatedly captures images of the surroundings of the vehicle M. The camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

[0020] The radar device 12 emits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the vehicle M and detects radio waves reflected by an object (reflected waves) to detect at least the position (distance and direction) of the object. The radar device 12 is attached to an arbitrary location of the vehicle M. The radar device 12 may detect the position and speed of an object by an FM-CW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

[0021] The LIDAR 14 irradiates light (or electromagnetic waves with a wavelength close to that of light) around the vehicle M and measures the scattered light. The LIDAR 14 detects the distance to the target based on the time between light emission and light reception. The irradiated light is, for example, a pulsed laser light. The LIDAR 14 is attached to an arbitrary location of the vehicle M.

[0022] The object recognition device 16 performs sensor fusion processing on some or all of the detection results from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the LIDAR 14 to recognize the position, type, speed, etc. of an object. The object recognition device 16 outputs the recognition result to the automatic driving control device 100. The object recognition device 16 may output the detection results from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the LIDAR 14 directly to the automatic driving control device 100. In this embodiment, the object recognition device 16 includes an image acquisition unit 16A, which acquires an image of the external space of the vehicle captured by the camera 10, and outputs the image to the automatic driving control device 100 described later.

[0023] The communication device 20 communicates with other vehicles in the vicinity of the vehicle M, for example, using a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), etc., or communicates with various server devices via a wireless base station.

[0024] The HMI 30 presents various information to an occupant of the vehicle M and accepts input operations by the occupant. The HMI 30 includes various display devices, a speaker, a buzzer, a touch panel, switches, keys, and the like.

[0025] The vehicle sensor 40 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the host vehicle M, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects the angular velocity around a vertical axis, a direction sensor that detects the direction of the host vehicle M, and the like.

[0026] The navigation device 50 includes, for example, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 51, a navigation HMI 52, and a route determination unit 53. The navigation device 50 holds first map information 54 in a storage device such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory. The GNSS receiver 51 identifies the position of the vehicle M based on a signal received from a GNSS satellite. The position of the vehicle M may be identified or complemented by an INS (Inertial Navigation System) using the output of the vehicle sensor 40. The navigation HMI 52 includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys, and the like. The navigation HMI 52 may be partially or entirely shared with the above-mentioned HMI 30. The route determination unit 53, for example, determines a route (hereinafter, a route on a map) from the position of the vehicle M identified by the GNSS receiver 51 (or an arbitrary position input) to a destination input by a driver using the navigation HMI 52, with reference to the first map information 54. The first map information 54 is, for example, information in which road shapes are expressed by links indicating roads and nodes connected by the links. The first map information 54 may include road curvature and POI (Point Of Interest) information. The route on the map is output to the MPU 60. The navigation device 50 may perform route guidance using the navigation HMI 52 based on the route on the map. The navigation device 50 may be realized by, for example, a function of a terminal device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal owned by a passenger. The navigation device 50 may transmit a current position and a destination to a navigation server via the communication device 20, and obtain a route equivalent to the route on the map from the navigation server.

[0027] The MPU 60 includes, for example, a recommended lane determination unit 61, and holds second map information 62 in a storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory. The recommended lane determination unit 61 divides the route on the map provided by the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, by dividing it into 100 m intervals in the vehicle travel direction), and determines a recommended lane for each block by referring to the second map information 62. The recommended lane determination unit 61 determines which lane from the left the vehicle should travel in. When a branch point is present on the route on the map, the recommended lane determination unit 61 determines a recommended lane so that the host vehicle M can travel along a reasonable route to proceed to the branch point.

[0028] The second map information 62 is map information with higher accuracy than the first map information 54. The second map information 62 includes, for example, information on the center of lanes or information on boundaries of lanes. The second map information 62 may also include road information, traffic regulation information, address information (address and zip code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like. The second map information 62 may be updated as needed by the communication device 20 communicating with another device.

[0029] The driving operators 80 include, for example, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a steering wheel, an irregular steering wheel, a joystick, and other operators. The driving operators 80 are fitted with sensors that detect the amount of operation or the presence or absence of operation, and the detection results are output to the automatic driving control device 100, or some or all of the driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220.

[0030] The automatic driving control device 100 includes, for example, a first control unit 120 and a second control unit 160. The first control unit 120 and the second control unit 160 are each realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). In addition, some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (storage device having a non-transient storage medium) such as an HDD or flash memory of the automatic driving control device 100, or 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 automatic driving control device 100 by mounting the storage medium (non-transient storage medium) in a drive device. The combination of the object recognition device 16 and the automatic driving control device 100 is an example of a "mobile body control device", and the combination of the action plan generation unit 140 and the second control unit 160 is an example of a "driving control unit".

[0031] FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the first control unit 120 and the second control unit 160. The first control unit 120 includes, for example, a recognition unit 130 and an action plan generation unit 140. The first control unit 120 realizes, for example, a function based on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and a function based on a pre-given model in parallel. For example, the function of "recognizing an intersection" may be realized by executing in parallel recognition of an intersection by deep learning or the like and recognition based on pre-given conditions (such as traffic lights and road markings that can be pattern matched), and by scoring both and evaluating them comprehensively. This ensures the reliability of the autonomous driving.

[0032] The recognition unit 130 recognizes the position, speed, acceleration, and other states of objects around the vehicle M based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the LIDAR 14 via the object recognition device 16. The position of the object is recognized as a position on an absolute coordinate system with a representative point of the vehicle M (such as the center of gravity or the center of the drive shaft) as the origin, and is used for control. The position of the object may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or a corner of the object, or may be represented by a represented area. The "state" of the object may include the acceleration or jerk of the object, or the "behavior state" (for example, whether or not the object is changing lanes or is about to change lanes).

[0033] The recognition unit 130 also recognizes, for example, the lane in which the vehicle M is traveling (driving lane). For example, the recognition unit 130 recognizes the driving lane by comparing a pattern of road dividing lines (for example, an arrangement of solid lines and dashed lines) obtained from the second map information 62 with a pattern of road dividing lines around the vehicle M recognized from an image captured by the camera 10. The recognition unit 130 may recognize the driving lane by recognizing road boundaries (road boundaries) including not only road dividing lines but also road dividing lines, shoulders, curbs, median strips, guard rails, etc. In this recognition, the position of the vehicle M obtained from the navigation device 50 and the processing results by the INS may be taken into consideration. The recognition unit 130 also recognizes stop lines, obstacles, red lights, toll booths, and other road phenomena.

[0034] When recognizing the driving lane, the recognition unit 130 recognizes the position and attitude of the host vehicle M with respect to the driving lane. For example, the recognition unit 130 may recognize the deviation of the reference point of the host vehicle M from the center of the lane and the angle with respect to a line connecting the centers of the lanes in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M as the relative position and attitude of the host vehicle M with respect to the driving lane. Alternatively, the recognition unit 130 may recognize the position of the reference point of the host vehicle M with respect to either side end of the driving lane (a road dividing line or a road boundary) as the relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the driving lane.

[0035] In this embodiment, the recognition unit 130 particularly includes a first judgment unit 130A, a second judgment unit 130B, a merging position candidate setting unit 130C, a third judgment unit 130D, a merging position selection unit 130E, and a braking position estimation unit 130F, and the functions of these units will be described in detail later.

[0036] The action plan generating unit 140 generates a target trajectory along which the host vehicle M will travel in the future automatically (without relying on the driver's operation) so that the host vehicle M will travel in the recommended lane determined by the recommended lane determining unit 61 in principle and can further respond to the surrounding conditions of the host vehicle M. The target trajectory includes, for example, a speed element. For example, the target trajectory is expressed as a sequence of points (trajectory points) to be reached by the host vehicle M. The trajectory points are points to be reached by the host vehicle M at each predetermined travel distance (for example, about several [m]) along the road, and separately, the target speed and target acceleration for each predetermined sampling time (for example, about a few tenths [sec]) are generated as part of the target trajectory. The trajectory points may also be positions to be reached by the host vehicle M at each sampling time for each predetermined sampling time. In this case, the information on the target speed and target acceleration is expressed as the interval between the trajectory points.

[0037] The behavior plan generating unit 140 may set an event of autonomous driving when generating the target trajectory. The autonomous driving events include a constant speed driving event, a low speed following driving event, a lane change event, a branching event, a merging event, a takeover event, etc. The behavior plan generating unit 140 generates a target trajectory according to the activated event.

[0038] The second control unit 160 controls the traveling driving force output device 200, the braking device 210, and the steering device 220 so that the host vehicle M passes the target trajectory generated by the action plan generating unit 140 at the scheduled time.

[0039] Returning to FIG. 2, the second control unit 160 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 162, a speed control unit 164, and a steering control unit 166. The acquisition unit 162 acquires information on the target trajectory (trajectory points) generated by the action plan generation unit 140, and stores it in a memory (not shown). The speed control unit 164 controls the traveling driving force output device 200 or the brake device 210 based on a speed element associated with the target trajectory stored in the memory. The steering control unit 166 controls the steering device 220 according to the curvature of the target trajectory stored in the memory. The processing of the speed control unit 164 and the steering control unit 166 is realized, for example, by a combination of feedforward control and feedback control. As an example, the steering control unit 166 executes a combination of feedforward control according to the curvature of the road ahead of the host vehicle M and feedback control based on the deviation from the target trajectory.

[0040] The driving force output device 200 outputs a driving force (torque) for the vehicle to travel to the driving wheels. The driving force output device 200 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a transmission, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls these. The ECU controls the above components according to information input from the second control unit 160 or information input from the driving operation device 80.

[0041] The brake device 210 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor according to information input from the second control unit 160 or information input from the driving operation element 80, so that a brake torque corresponding to a braking operation is output to each wheel. The brake device 210 may include a backup mechanism that transmits hydraulic pressure generated by operation of a brake pedal included in the driving operation element 80 to the cylinder via a master cylinder. Note that the brake device 210 is not limited to the configuration described above, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that controls an actuator according to information input from the second control unit 160 to transmit hydraulic pressure in the master cylinder to the cylinder.

[0042] The steering device 220 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor changes the direction of the steered wheels by applying a force to, for example, a rack and pinion mechanism. The steering ECU drives the electric motor in accordance with information input from the second control unit 160 or information input from the driving operator 80 to change the direction of the steered wheels.

[0043] [Operation] Next, the processing of the mobile body control device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 8. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which the processing of the mobile body control device according to this embodiment is executed. In Fig. 3, the vehicle M is traveling in the merging lane L2 closer to the merging lane L3 of the merging lane ML having two lanes L1 and L2, and the other vehicle M1 is traveling in the merging lane L1 farther from the merging lane L3. Furthermore, the other vehicles M2 and M3 are traveling in the merging lane L3. The mobile body control device determines a merging position on the merging lane L3 so that the vehicle M can enter the merging lane L3. However, since the other vehicle M1 also attempts to enter the merging lane L3, the mobile body control device needs to determine a merging position on the merging lane L3 in consideration of the entry of the other vehicle M1 into the merging lane L3. The present invention is intended to determine a merging position under such circumstances and utilize it for automatic driving or driving assistance.

[0044] When the image acquisition unit 16A acquires an image of the external space of the vehicle M captured by the camera 10, the first determination unit 130A determines whether the vehicle M is in the merging lane L2 (hereinafter, the merging lane closer to the merging lane L3 is simply referred to as the "merging lane L2") of the two merging lanes ML based on the image. Specifically, for example, when the second map information 62 indicates the merging lane L2, when the image of the external space of the vehicle M indicates the merging lane L2, or when the image indicates a broken line shape specific to a merging road having two lanes, the first determination unit 130A determines that the vehicle M is in the merging lane L2. In the case of FIG. 3, the first determination unit 130A determines that the vehicle M is in the merging lane L2.

[0045] When the first determination unit 130A determines that the host vehicle M is in the merging lane L2, the second determination unit 130B determines whether or not there is another vehicle in the merging lane L1 (hereinafter, the merging lane farther from the merging lane L3 is simply referred to as the "merging lane L1") in front of the host vehicle M among the merging lanes ML. Specifically, for example, the second determination unit 130B uses the camera 10 to determine whether or not there is another vehicle in the merging lane L1 in front of the host vehicle M. Here, "in front of the host vehicle M" means, for example, that the front end of the other vehicle is in front of the front end of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling direction of the host vehicle M. In the case of FIG. 3, the other vehicle M1 is in the merging lane L1 with its front end in front of the front end of the host vehicle M, so the second determination unit 130B determines that there is another vehicle in the merging lane L1 in front of the host vehicle M. Alternatively, "in front of the host vehicle M" may mean that the center of gravity of the other vehicle is in front of the center of gravity of the host vehicle M, or that the front end of the other vehicle is in front of the rear end of the host vehicle.

[0046] The merging position candidate setting unit 130C sets at least one or more merging position candidates CP where the vehicle M completes merging into the merging lane L3, and the merging position candidates CP are set as relative positions between the vehicles in the merging lane L3. Specifically, for example, the merging position candidate setting unit 130C identifies multiple other vehicles in the merging lane L3 captured in an image captured by the camera 10, and determines whether or not the vehicle M can enter the merging lane L3 based on the relative distance and relative speed between the vehicle M and the multiple other vehicles, on the premise that the constraints (upper and lower limits) on the speed, acceleration, and yaw rate are satisfied, and if it is determined that the vehicle M can enter the merging lane L3, extracts the merging position candidates CP as relative positions between the other vehicles existing before and after the space where the vehicle M can enter. In the case of FIG. 3, the merging position candidate setting unit 130C sets a position CP1 between the vehicle M2 and the vehicle M3, and a position CP2 behind the vehicle M3, as the merging position candidates CP.

[0047] The second determination unit 130B can utilize the merging position candidate CP set by the merging position candidate setting unit 130C to determine whether or not another vehicle is ahead of the host vehicle M. For example, in the case of Fig. 3, the second determination unit 130B sets a perpendicular line drawn from the merging position candidate CP1 located at the front in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M on an imaginary plane viewed virtually from the sky to the traveling direction of the host vehicle M as a virtual line VL, compares a first distance D1 between the host vehicle M and the virtual line VL with a second distance D2 between the other vehicle M1 and the virtual line VL, and can determine that the other vehicle M1 is ahead of the host vehicle M when the second distance D2 is smaller than the first distance D1.

[0048] The third determination unit 130D estimates the travel trajectory of the other vehicle, and determines whether the other vehicle can merge into the merging position candidate CP1 at the front based on the estimated travel trajectory. Specifically, for example, the third determination unit 130D measures the speed vector and acceleration vector of the other vehicle using the camera 10, the radar device 12, or the LIDAR 14, and generates the trajectory of the other vehicle as a straight line or a curve based on the measurement information. In the case of FIG. 3, the third determination unit 130D estimates the travel trajectory PT of the other vehicle M1 that merges into the merging position candidate CP1, and therefore determines that the other vehicle M1 can merge into the merging position candidate CP1.

[0049] The merging position selection unit 130E selects a merging position where the host vehicle M completes merging into the merging lane L3 from at least one or more merging position candidates CP set by the merging position candidate setting unit 130C. At this time, when the second determination unit 130B determines that there is another vehicle in the merging lane L1 ahead of the host vehicle M, the merging position selection unit 130E selects a merging position from at least one or more merging position candidates CP excluding the merging position candidate CP1 located at the front in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M. In the case of FIG. 3, since the other vehicle M1 is traveling ahead of the host vehicle M on the left, the merging position selection unit 130E selects a merging position from the merging position candidates CP excluding the merging position candidate CP1. That is, the merging position selection unit 130E selects the merging position candidate CP2 as the merging position.

[0050] On the other hand, even if the second determination unit 130B determines that there is another vehicle in the merging lane L1 ahead of the host vehicle M, if the other vehicle cannot draw a driving trajectory to the merging position candidate CP1 located at the front, the other vehicle may not be able to reach the merging position candidate CP1. In such a case, if the merging position selection unit 130E selects the merging position candidate CP2 as the merging position, the other vehicle cannot change lanes into the to-be-merged lane L3.

[0051] Therefore, when the third determination unit 130D determines that the other vehicle cannot merge into the merging position candidate CP1 located at the front, the merging position selection unit 130E selects a merging position from among at least one or more merging position candidates CP, excluding the merging position candidate CP1 located at the front and the merging position candidate CP2 located at the second position in the traveling direction of the vehicle M. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which a merging position is selected from the merging position selection unit 130E, when the third determination unit 130D determines that the other vehicle cannot merge into the merging position candidate CP1 located at the front. In FIG. 4, the third determination unit 130D determines that a travel trajectory from the other vehicle M1 to the merging position candidate CP1 cannot be drawn. Therefore, the merging position selection unit 130E selects the merging position candidate CP3 as a merging position from among the merging position candidates CP, excluding the merging position candidate CP1 located at the front and the merging position candidate CP2 located at the second position in the traveling direction of the vehicle M. This allows both the host vehicle M and the other vehicle M1 to change lanes into the merging lane L3.

[0052] In addition, even if the other vehicle decelerates and the host vehicle M is positioned ahead of the other vehicle after selecting a merging position from the merging position candidates CP excluding the merging position candidate CP1 located at the top, the merging position selection unit 130E maintains the selection. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a scene in which the host vehicle M is positioned ahead of the other vehicle as a result of the other vehicle decelerating after the merging position selection unit 130E selects a merging position. In FIG. 5, the merging position selection unit 130E selects the merging position candidate CP2 as the merging position, and then the other vehicle M1 decelerates, resulting in the host vehicle M being positioned ahead of the other vehicle M1. In this case, the merging position selection unit 130E maintains the result of selecting the merging position candidate CP2 as the merging position. This prevents hunting in the selection operation of the merging position, and stabilizes the behavior of the host vehicle M.

[0053] Next, the flow of processing of the mobile body control device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing of the mobile body control device according to this embodiment. The processing of this flowchart is executed by the mobile body control device at every predetermined control cycle (for example, 10 milliseconds).

[0054] First, the mobile object control device uses the image acquisition unit 16A to acquire an image of the external space of the vehicle M captured by the camera 10 (step S100). Next, the mobile object control device uses the first determination unit 130A to determine whether the vehicle M is in the merging lane L2, which is closer to the merging lane L3, of the two merging lanes ML, based on the image acquired from the image acquisition unit 16A (step S101). If it is determined that the vehicle M is not in the merging lane L2, the mobile object control device returns the process to step S100.

[0055] On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle M is in the merging lane L2, the mobile object control device uses the merging position candidate setting unit 130C to set at least one or more merging position candidates CP where the vehicle M completes merging into the merging lane L3 (step S102). Next, the mobile object control device uses the second determination unit 130B to determine whether or not there is another vehicle in the merging lane L1, which is farther from the merging lane L3, in front of the vehicle M. If it is determined that there is no other vehicle in the merging lane L1 in front of the vehicle M, the mobile object control device uses the merging position selection unit 130E to select the leading merging position candidate CP1 as the merging position from among the at least one or more merging position candidates CP (step S104).

[0056] On the other hand, when it is determined that there is another vehicle in the merging lane L1 ahead of the host vehicle M, the mobile object control device estimates the travel trajectory of the other vehicle using the third determination unit 130D, and determines whether the other vehicle can merge at the leading merging position candidate CP1 based on the estimated travel trajectory (step S105). When it is determined that the other vehicle can merge at the merging position candidate CP1, the mobile object control device uses the merging position selection unit 130E to select a merging position from among at least one or more merging position candidates CP, excluding the leading merging position candidate CP1 (step S106).

[0057] On the other hand, if it is determined that the other vehicle cannot merge at the merge position candidate CP1, the mobile object control device uses the merge position selection unit 130E to select a merge position candidate from among at least one or more merge position candidates CP, excluding the merge position candidate CP1 located at the front in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M and the merge position candidate CP2 located at the second position (step S107). Next, the mobile object control device uses the action plan generation unit 140 to generate a target trajectory of the host vehicle M that will merge at the selected merge position. This ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0058] In the above flowchart, a case where there is one other vehicle ahead of the vehicle M has been described. However, application of the present invention is not limited to this situation. For example, when there are multiple other vehicles ahead of the vehicle M, the merging position selection unit 130E may select a merging position according to the number of other vehicles. Specifically, for example, when it is determined in step S105 that multiple other vehicles can merge at the merging position candidate CP1, the merging position selection unit 130E may select a merging position from among the merging position candidates CP, excluding the merging position candidates CP of the same number as the number of other vehicles from the leading merging position candidate CP1.

[0059] <Modification> In the above embodiment, an example in which the mobile body control device of the present invention is applied to automatic driving has been described. However, the mobile body control device of the present invention is not limited to this configuration and can also be applied to manual driving. In that case, the mobile body control device of the present invention may further include a driving instruction unit, instead of the driving control unit, that generates a target trajectory based on a selected merging position and gives at least one of a steering instruction and an acceleration / deceleration instruction so that the occupant of the host vehicle M drives along the generated target trajectory. The driving instruction unit can be realized, for example, as a part of the function of the navigation device 50.

[0060] When the mobile object control device of the present invention is applied to manual driving, the mobile object control device may further include a braking time estimation unit that estimates the time until the occupant of the host vehicle M operates the braking device 210, i.e., TTD (Time To Brake). In this case, if the time estimated by the braking time estimation unit is less than a threshold value, the merging position selection unit 130E may determine that the occupant of the host vehicle M does not have time to operate the braking device 210, and may select a merging position from all the merging position candidates CP without excluding the merging position candidate CP1 located at the front in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M. This allows the merging position to be flexibly selected depending on the situation of the occupant of the host vehicle M.

[0061] According to the present invention described above, when the merging lane on which the vehicle M is traveling is two lanes, the mobile object control device determines whether or not there is another vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle M on the merging lane farther from the merging lane, and selects the merging position according to the determination result. This makes it possible to appropriately indicate the merging position when the merging lane is two lanes.

[0062] The above-described embodiment can be expressed as follows. A storage device storing a program; a hardware processor; The hardware processor executes the program stored in the storage device, Acquire an image of the external space of the moving object; determining whether the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to the merging lane based on the image; When it is determined that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, it is determined whether or not another moving object is in front of the moving object in a merging lane farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; setting at least one or more merging position candidates at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidates being set as relative positions between the moving objects in the merging lane; selecting a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates; A mobile body control device, when it is determined that another moving body is present, selects the junction position from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding the junction position candidate that is located at the front in the moving body's direction of travel.

[0063] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 10. Camera 16 Object recognition device 16A Image acquisition unit 100 Automatic driving control device 120 First Control Section 130 Recognition part 130A 1st judgment section 130B 2nd judgment section 130C Merging position candidate setting section 130D Third Judgment Section 130E Merge position selection section 160 Second Control Section

Claims

1. an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of an external space of the moving object; a first determination unit that determines whether the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to a lane to be merged, based on the image; a second determination unit that, when the first determination unit determines that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, determines whether or not another moving object is in a merging lane in front of the moving object that is farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; a merging position candidate setting unit that sets at least one merging position candidate where the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidate being set as a relative position between the moving objects in the merging lane; a merging position selection unit that selects a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates, when the second determination unit determines that the other moving body is present, the junction position selection unit selects the junction position from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding a junction position candidate located at the front in a traveling direction of the moving body; a third determination unit that estimates a travel trajectory of the other moving object and determines whether or not the other moving object can meet up with the meeting position candidate located at the front based on the travel trajectory; when the third determination unit determines that the other moving body cannot merge with the leading joining position candidate, the meeting position selection unit selects the meeting position from among the at least one or more meeting position candidates, excluding the joining position candidate located at the leading position and the joining position candidate located at the second position in a traveling direction of the moving body. Mobile control device.

2. an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of an external space of the moving object; a first determination unit that determines whether the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to a lane to be merged, based on the image; a second determination unit that, when the first determination unit determines that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, determines whether or not another moving object is in a merging lane in front of the moving object that is farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; a merging position candidate setting unit that sets at least one merging position candidate where the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidate being set as a relative position between the moving objects in the merging lane; a merging position selection unit that selects a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates, when the second determination unit determines that the other moving body is present, the junction position selection unit selects the junction position from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding a junction position candidate located at the front in a traveling direction of the moving body; A braking time estimation unit that estimates a time until a passenger of the moving body operates a brake device of the moving body, when the time estimated by the braking time estimation unit is less than a threshold value, the merging position selection unit selects the merging position from the at least one merging position candidate without excluding a merging position candidate located at the front in the traveling direction of the moving body. Mobile control device.

3. an image acquisition unit that acquires an image of an external space of the moving object; a first determination unit that determines whether the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to a lane to be merged, based on the image; a second determination unit that, when the first determination unit determines that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, determines whether or not another moving object is in a merging lane in front of the moving object that is farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; a merging position candidate setting unit that sets at least one merging position candidate where the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidate being set as a relative position between the moving objects in the merging lane; a merging position selection unit that selects a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates, when the second determination unit determines that the other moving body is present, the junction position selection unit selects the junction position from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding a junction position candidate located at the front in a traveling direction of the moving body; the junction position selection unit selects the junction position from the junction position candidates excluding the junction position candidate located at the front, and then maintains the selection even if the other moving body decelerates and as a result, the moving body is located in front of the other moving body. Mobile control device.

4. the second determination unit sets a virtual line, on an imaginary plane viewed virtually from above, that is a perpendicular line drawn from the leading joining position candidate to a traveling direction of the moving body, compares a first distance between the moving body and the virtual line with a second distance between the other moving body and the virtual line, and determines that the other moving body is ahead of the moving body when the second distance is smaller than the first distance; The mobile object control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. a driving control unit that generates a target trajectory of the moving body so that the moving body merges with the merging position selected by the merging position selection unit, and controls steering and acceleration / deceleration of the moving body without depending on an operation of a driver of the moving body so that the moving body runs along the generated target trajectory, The mobile object control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A computer installed in a vehicle Acquire an image of the external space of the moving object; determining whether the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to the merging lane based on the image; When it is determined that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, it is determined whether or not another moving object is in front of the moving object in a merging lane farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; setting at least one or more merging position candidates at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidates being set as relative positions between the moving objects in the merging lane; selecting a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates; When it is determined that the other moving object is present, the junction position is selected from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding a junction position candidate located at the front in a traveling direction of the moving object; Estimating a travel trajectory of the other moving object, and determining whether or not the other moving object can merge with the merging position candidate located at the front based on the travel trajectory; when it is determined that the other moving body cannot meet at the leading meeting position candidate, selecting the meeting position from among the at least one or more meeting position candidates, excluding the leading meeting position candidate and the second-leading meeting position candidate in the traveling direction of the moving body; A method for controlling a moving object.

7. A computer installed in a moving vehicle Acquire an image of the external space of the moving object; determining whether or not the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to a lane to be merged, based on the image; When it is determined that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, it is determined whether or not another moving object is in front of the moving object in a merging lane farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; setting at least one or more merging position candidates at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidates being set as relative positions between the moving objects in the merging lane; selecting a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates; When it is determined that the other moving body is present, the junction position is selected from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding a junction position candidate located at the front in a traveling direction of the moving body; estimating a travel trajectory of the other moving object, and determining whether or not the other moving object can meet up with the meeting position candidate located at the front based on the travel trajectory; when it is determined that the other moving body cannot meet up with the leading joining position candidate, the meeting position is selected from among the at least one or more meeting position candidates, excluding the joining position candidate located at the leading position and the joining position candidate located at the second position in the traveling direction of the moving body; program.

8. A computer installed in a vehicle Acquire an image of the external space of the moving object; determining whether the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to the merging lane based on the image; When it is determined that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, it is determined whether or not another moving object is in front of the moving object in a merging lane farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; setting at least one or more merging position candidates at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidates being set as relative positions between the moving objects in the merging lane; selecting a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates; When it is determined that the other moving object is present, the junction position is selected from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding a junction position candidate located at the front in a traveling direction of the moving object; Estimating a time until an occupant of the moving body operates a brake device of the moving body; If the estimated time is less than a threshold, a meeting position candidate located at the front in the traveling direction of the moving object is not excluded, and the meeting position is selected from the at least one meeting position candidate. A method for controlling a moving object.

9. A computer installed in a moving vehicle Acquire an image of the external space of the moving object; determining whether or not the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to a lane to be merged, based on the image; When it is determined that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, it is determined whether or not another moving object is in front of the moving object in a merging lane farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; setting at least one or more merging position candidates at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidates being set as relative positions between the moving objects in the merging lane; selecting a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates; When it is determined that the other moving body is present, the junction position is selected from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding a junction position candidate located at the front in a traveling direction of the moving body; A time until a passenger of the moving body operates a brake device of the moving body is estimated; if the estimated time is less than a threshold, a meeting position candidate located at the front in the traveling direction of the moving object is not excluded, and the meeting position is selected from the at least one meeting position candidate. program.

10. A computer installed in a vehicle Acquire an image of the external space of the moving object; determining whether the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to the merging lane based on the image; When it is determined that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, it is determined whether or not another moving object is in front of the moving object in a merging lane farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; setting at least one or more merging position candidates at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidates being set as relative positions between the moving objects in the merging lane; selecting a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates; When it is determined that the other moving object is present, the junction position is selected from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding a junction position candidate located at the front in a traveling direction of the moving object; maintaining the selection even if the moving body is positioned ahead of the other moving body as a result of decelerating the other moving body after the moving body has selected the junction position from among the junction position candidates excluding the junction position candidate located at the front; A method for controlling a moving object.

11. A computer installed in a moving vehicle Acquire an image of the external space of the moving object; determining whether or not the moving object is in one of two merging lanes that is closer to a lane to be merged, based on the image; When it is determined that the moving object is in the closer merging lane, it is determined whether or not another moving object is in front of the moving object in a merging lane farther from the merged lane among the merging lanes; setting at least one or more merging position candidates at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane, the merging position candidates being set as relative positions between the moving objects in the merging lane; selecting a merging position at which the moving object completes merging into the merging lane from the at least one or more merging position candidates; When it is determined that the other moving body is present, the junction position is selected from among the at least one or more junction position candidates, excluding a junction position candidate located at the front in a traveling direction of the moving body; after selecting the junction position from the junction position candidates excluding the junction position candidate located at the front, even if the other moving body decelerates and as a result, the moving body is located ahead of the other moving body, the selection is maintained; program.

Images