Vehicle control device and system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device capable of reducing an influence of communication delay that occurs between a vehicle and the cloud when controlling the vehicle using a control device provided on the cloud.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device that communicates with a vehicle includes a communication unit that transmits and receives a plurality of signals to and from a vehicle using a plurality of communication lines, an acquisition unit that acquires a communication delay amount for each of the plurality of communication lines, and a determination unit that determines a communication line to be assigned to each of the plurality of signals on the basis of the communication delay amount acquired by the acquisition unit, and the communication unit transmits / receives each of the plurality of signals to / from the vehicle using the communication line assigned by the determination unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device that communicates with a vehicle and controls the vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses an autonomous vehicle service platform that is connected via a network to a plurality of autonomous vehicles that automatically drive on a road network so as to be able to communicate with each other. This autonomous vehicle service platform remotely controls the plurality of autonomous vehicles and provides users with various services using the autonomous vehicles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-505059 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a system in which a vehicle and a control device provided on a cloud are connected via a network, a communication delay occurs between the vehicle and the cloud. For this reason, when the control device controls the vehicle, it is desirable to reduce the effect of the communication delay that occurs between the vehicle and the cloud.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a vehicle control device, etc. that can reduce the effects of communication delays that occur between a vehicle and the cloud when controlling a vehicle using a control device provided on the cloud. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the disclosed technology is a vehicle control device that communicates with a vehicle, and includes a communication unit that transmits and receives multiple signals to and from the vehicle using multiple communication lines, an acquisition unit that acquires the amount of communication delay for each of the multiple communication lines, and a determination unit that determines the communication line to be assigned to each of the multiple signals based on the amount of communication delay acquired by the acquisition unit, and the communication unit transmits and receives each of the multiple signals to and from the vehicle using the communication line assigned by the determination unit. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the vehicle control device and the like of the present disclosure, when controlling a vehicle using a control device provided on the cloud, it is possible to reduce the effects of communication delays that occur between the vehicle and the cloud. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a system including a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] A functional block diagram showing an example of the general configuration of the vehicle control device. [Diagram 3] A flowchart of the communication line determination control process executed by the vehicle control device [Figure 4] Schematic diagram of a system configuration of an application example including the vehicle control device DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The vehicle control device disclosed herein acquires the amount of communication delay for each of a plurality of communication lines used for communication with the vehicle, and determines the communication line to be assigned to each of a plurality of signals transmitted and received between the vehicle and the vehicle based on the amount of communication delay. The communication lines are assigned with priority to communication lines with smaller communication delays for high-priority signals than to communication lines with smaller communication delays for low-priority signals. This allows high-priority signals to be assigned with priority to stable communication lines with smaller communication delays, thereby ensuring communication stability for high-priority functions. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <Embodiment> [composition] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle system 10 including a vehicle control device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and one or more vehicles 200. The vehicle system 10 is a system configured such that the vehicle control device 100 and each vehicle 200 are communicably connected via a plurality of communication lines 501, 502, and 503, respectively, and, for example, the vehicle control device 100 can remotely control at least one vehicle 200. Note that the number of vehicles 200 with which the vehicle control device 100 can communicate is not limited to the number shown in FIG. 1.

[0011] Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of the vehicle control device 100 in Fig. 1. The vehicle control device 100 shown in Fig. 2 includes a plurality of applications 111, 112, and 113, a communication arbitration unit 120, a communication unit 130, a communication delay amount acquisition unit 140, and a communication line determination unit 150. This vehicle control device 100 may be configured on a cloud (such as a cloud server), for example.

[0012] A plurality of applications 111, 112, and 113 are implemented in the vehicle control device 100, and realize various functions (or services) related to the vehicle 200. Examples of the realized functions include functions related to the "safety / security" of the vehicle 200, functions related to the "eco" of the vehicle 200, functions related to the "comfort" of the vehicle 200, and functions related to the "enjoyment" of the vehicle 200. Functions related to "safety / security" include, for example, functions related to the movement (running, stopping, turning) of the vehicle 200. Functions related to "eco" include, for example, functions related to the fuel / electricity consumption of the vehicle 200. Functions related to "comfort" include, for example, functions related to the air conditioning in the vehicle cabin. Functions related to "enjoyment" include, for example, functions related to entertainment in the vehicle 200.

[0013] Priorities are set in advance for the functions (or services) that the applications 111, 112, and 113 realize. That is, priorities for signal communication for realizing each function are set in advance for the functions related to "safety / security", the functions related to "eco", the functions related to "comfort", and the functions related to "enjoy". As an example, the highest priority [1] is set for the functions related to safety, and thereafter, priority [2] is set for the functions related to "security", priority [3] is set for the functions related to "eco", priority [4] is set for the functions related to "comfort", and priority [5] is set for the functions related to "enjoy". These priorities are assigned to the applications 111, 112, and 113 as tag information, and each of the applications 111, 112, and 113 can express the priority of the request by embedding the tag information assigned in advance in a part of the signals or data to be communicated with the vehicle 200. In addition, it is desirable to make the priority unchangeable for functions related to the "safety / security" of vehicle 200, since these are important items, whereas the priority may be changeable for functions related to the ECO of vehicle 200, functions related to "comfort," and functions related to "enjoyment" according to the preferences of the user of vehicle 200 (such as the driver).

[0014] In this embodiment, three applications are exemplified: application 111 (high priority) having the highest priority, application 113 (low priority) having the lowest priority, and application 112 (medium priority) having a priority intermediate between application 111 and application 113. However, the number of priority classifications is not limited to the number shown in Fig. 2. Furthermore, the number of applications of each priority level implemented in the vehicle control device 100 is not limited to the number shown in Fig. 2.

[0015] The communication arbitration unit 120 has a function for arbitrating a plurality of requests related to communication with the vehicle 200 received from the plurality of applications 111, 112, and 113. This arbitration function includes a function for determining the priority order of signals requested from each of the applications 111, 112, and 113, a function for thinning out the communication volume of signals requested from each of the applications 111, 112, and 113, and the like. These functions are executed based on the communication delay amount provided by the communication delay amount acquisition unit 140 described later. The result of arbitrating the plurality of requests is output to the communication unit 130 and the communication line determination unit 150. In addition, the communication arbitration unit 120 can output the signal received from the vehicle 200 via the communication unit 130 to the plurality of applications 111, 112, and 113.

[0016] The communication unit 130 can communicate with the vehicle 200, which is the communication target, through a plurality of communication lines 501, 502, and 503. It is preferable that the plurality of communication lines 501, 502, and 503 are all different line environments, but a plurality of communication lines of the same type may be provided physically independent of each other. As an example, the plurality of communication lines 501, 502, and 503 may use different networks, may be provided by different service providers that provide communication, or may have different communication bands. The communication unit 130 transmits a signal corresponding to the request to the vehicle 200 based on a request for communication with the vehicle 200 received from each application 111, 112, and 113. In addition, the communication unit 130 outputs a signal received from the vehicle 200 to a corresponding application or the communication delay amount acquisition unit 140. In the present embodiment, an example in which three communication lines 501, 502, and 503 are provided between the vehicle control device 100 and the vehicle 200 has been described. However, the number of communication lines is not limited to the number shown in Fig. 2. Furthermore, when multiple vehicles 200 configure the vehicle system 10, all of the vehicles 200 do not necessarily need to use the same multiple communication lines 501, 502, and 503.

[0017] The communication delay amount acquisition unit 140 acquires a communication delay amount for communication performed between the vehicle control device 100 and the vehicle 200 via the communication unit 130. The communication delay amount acquisition unit 140 acquires, as the communication delay amount, a communication delay amount when the multiple communication lines 501, 502, and 503 are combined into one (when considered as one communication line) and a communication delay amount of each of the multiple communication lines 501, 502, and 503. As an example, these communication delay amounts can be obtained from a result obtained by executing a communication delay amount measurement tool previously implemented in the vehicle control device 100 or a communication delay amount measurement application software previously installed in the vehicle control device 100 and transmitting a predetermined test signal from the vehicle control device 100 to the vehicle 200 at a predetermined period. The communication delay amount acquisition unit 140 outputs the acquired communication delay amount to the communication arbitration unit 120.

[0018] The communication line determination unit 150 determines, based on the arbitration result by the communication arbitration unit 120, one or more of the communication lines 501, 502, and 503 to be used for communication of the signals requested by the applications 111, 112, and 113. The method of determining the communication line will be described later.

[0019] The above-mentioned vehicle control device 100 is typically configured as a device equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), and a readable / writable storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and realizes predetermined processing by executing a program read by the CPU from the storage device using the RAM as a working area.

[0020] Furthermore, the vehicle control device 100 may form a digital twin in a storage device using a communication delay time with the vehicle 200 based on the amount of communication delay acquired by the communication delay acquisition unit 140. This digital twin is a reproduction of a virtual world (virtual space) time-synchronized with the real world (real space) on a cloud computer by updating and storing data related to the current and past vehicle states (vehicle position, driving time, etc.) collected about the vehicle 200 in real time.

[0021] [control] Next, the process executed by the vehicle control device 100 according to this embodiment will be described with further reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the process procedure of the communication line determination control executed by each component of the vehicle control device 100. The communication line determination control illustrated in Fig. 3 is started when the vehicle control device 100 is communicatively connected to the vehicle 200, and is repeatedly executed every time signal communication (one or both of transmission and reception) is requested from at least one of the multiple applications 111, 112, and 113, or periodically, until communication with the vehicle 200 is terminated.

[0022] (Step S301) The communication delay amount acquisition unit 140 acquires an "overall communication delay amount" which is a communication delay amount when the multiple communication lines 501, 502, and 503 connecting the vehicle 200 and the vehicle control device 100 are combined into one. The communication delay amount acquisition unit 140 can acquire the overall communication delay amount from a result obtained by transmitting and receiving a predetermined test signal to the vehicle 200 using all of the multiple communication lines 501, 502, and 503 via the communication unit 130, for example. Note that instead of the communication delay amount, a communication delay time may be acquired. When the overall communication delay amount obtained by combining the multiple communication lines into one is acquired, the process proceeds to step S302.

[0023] (Step S302) The communication delay amount acquisition unit 140 acquires "individual communication delay amounts", which are communication delay amounts for each of the multiple communication lines 501, 502, and 503 connecting the vehicle 200 and the vehicle control device 100. The communication delay amount acquisition unit 140 can acquire the individual communication delay amount for each communication line from a result obtained by, for example, transmitting and receiving a predetermined test signal to the vehicle 200 using any one of the communication lines 501, 502, and 503 via the communication unit 130. Note that, instead of the communication delay amount, the communication delay time may be acquired. When the individual communication delay amount for each communication line is acquired, the process proceeds to step S303.

[0024] (Step S303) The communication arbitration unit 120 judges the magnitude of the total communication delay acquired by the communication delay acquisition unit 140. Specifically, the communication arbitration unit 120 judges whether the total communication delay is less than a predetermined threshold T1, is equal to or greater than the threshold T1 and less than a predetermined threshold T2, or is equal to or greater than the threshold T2 (threshold T1<threshold T2). The threshold T1 is set with a delay amount for judging whether or not it is necessary to arbitrate the allocation of communication lines for a plurality of signals requested by each of the applications 111, 112, and 113. The threshold T2 is set with a delay amount for judging whether or not it is necessary to thin out the communication amount for a plurality of signals requested by each of the applications 111, 112, and 113.

[0025] If the total communication delay amount is less than the threshold T1 (step S303, less than the threshold T1), the process proceeds to step S304. If the total communication delay amount is equal to or greater than the threshold T1 and less than the threshold T2 (step S303, equal to or greater than the threshold T1 and less than the threshold T2), the process proceeds to step S305. If the total communication delay amount is equal to or greater than the threshold T2 (step S303, equal to or greater than the threshold T2), the process proceeds to step S306.

[0026] (Step S304) Regardless of the priority of each signal requested by each application 111, 112, and 113, the communication line determination unit 150 determines the communication line to be used for communication by each signal from among the communication lines 501, 502, and 503. Typically, the communication line determination unit 150 allocates each signal requested by each application 111, 112, and 113 equally to the multiple communication lines 501, 502, and 503. The definition of "equal" is not particularly limited, and may include equal data amount, equal intervals, and the like. When the communication line to be used for communication by each signal of each application 111, 112, and 113 is determined, the process proceeds to step S308.

[0027] (Step S305) The communication arbitration unit 120 judges not to perform (not performed) thinning of the communication volume for a low priority signal among the signals requested by the applications 111, 112, and 113. This judgment is based on the reason that if the total communication delay amount is less than the threshold T2, it is possible to allocate sufficient communication resources to a high priority signal. If it is judged not to perform (not performed) thinning of the communication volume for a low priority signal, the process proceeds to step S307.

[0028] (Step S306) The communication arbitration unit 120 performs thinning of the communication amount for low-priority signals among the signals requested by the applications 111, 112, and 113. This determination is based on the reason that it is impossible to allocate communication resources to high-priority signals when the total communication delay amount is equal to or greater than the threshold T2. Here, low priority means a priority lower than a predetermined priority that is a criterion. Therefore, low-priority signals are, for example, medium-priority signals and low-priority signals when the predetermined criterion is a high-priority signal, and low-priority signals when the predetermined criterion is a medium-priority signal. Examples of thinning of the communication amount for low-priority signals include reducing the total communication data amount, lowering the communication rate, and lengthening the communication cycle. When the thinning of the communication amount for low-priority signals is performed, the process proceeds to step S307.

[0029] (Step S307) The communication line determination unit 150 determines the communication lines 501, 502, and 503 used by each signal for communication, giving priority to signals with higher priority among the signals requested by the applications 111, 112, and 113. Here, high priority means a priority higher than a predetermined priority as a criterion. Therefore, a signal with a high priority becomes a high priority signal when the predetermined criterion is a medium priority signal, and becomes a medium priority signal and a high priority signal when the predetermined criterion is a low priority signal. Note that the predetermined criterion determined in this step S307 may be the same as or different from the predetermined criterion determined in the above step S306. Typically, the communication line determination unit 150 preferentially assigns a communication line with a small individual communication delay amount acquired by the communication delay amount acquisition unit 140 to a signal with a high priority. When the communication line used by each signal for communication is determined based on the priority, the process proceeds to step S308.

[0030] (Step S308) The communication unit 130 executes communication of each signal requested by each application 111, 112, and 113, using one or more communication lines, the allocation of which has been determined by the communication line determination unit 150, from among the multiple communication lines 501, 502, and 503. When communication of each signal has been executed, this communication line determination control process ends.

[0031] In the above-described process flow, a case has been described in which an overall communication delay amount combining multiple communication lines 501, 502, and 503 is acquired (step S301), and then individual communication delay amounts for each of the communication lines 501, 502, and 503 are acquired (step S302). However, the order of acquiring the overall communication delay amount and the individual communication delay amount may be reversed. Also, the overall communication delay amount may be estimated and derived based on the multiple individual communication delay amounts acquired for each of the communication lines 501, 502, and 503, without acquiring the overall communication delay amount separately.

[0032] <Application Examples> 1, it is assumed that the vehicle control device 100 realizes functions (or services) when multiple applications 111, 112, and 113 are implemented. For this reason, only the vehicle control device 100 has the configurations of the communication arbitration unit 120, the communication unit 130, the communication delay amount acquisition unit 140, and the communication line determination unit 150.

[0033] However, in order to realize one function (or service), there may be cases where one application is divided and implemented (placed) in the vehicle control device 100 on the cloud side and the vehicle 200 on the mobility side. In such a case, as illustrated in Fig. 4, a system including each of the components of a communication arbitration unit 120, a communication unit 130, a communication delay amount acquisition unit 140, and a communication line determination unit 150 may be used on the vehicle 200 side as well as on the vehicle control device 100 side.

[0034] <Actions and Effects> As described above, according to a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, communication with a vehicle is performed using multiple communication lines. During communication, the vehicle control device acquires the communication delay amounts (total and individual) of the multiple communication lines, and determines the communication lines to be assigned to the multiple signals transmitted and received between the vehicle and the vehicle based on the acquired communication delay amounts. In determining the communication lines, signals with relatively high priority are assigned preferentially to communication lines with smaller communication delay amounts than signals with relatively low priority.

[0035] This process enables high priority signals to be assigned to one or more stable communication lines with little communication delay, thereby ensuring communication stability for high priority functions related to the safety / security of the vehicle.

[0036] Furthermore, according to the vehicle control device of this embodiment, when there are few surplus communication resources in a communication line with a small amount of communication delay, the communication volume of signals with relatively low priority is thinned out.

[0037] By performing this process, the amount of communication for low-priority functions other than functions related to the safety / security of the vehicle can be reduced, thereby securing communication resources for high-priority functions and ensuring the stability of the functions.

[0038] The above describes one embodiment of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure can be viewed as a system including a vehicle control device, a method executed by a vehicle control device having a processor and a memory, a control program for executing the method, a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium storing the control program, and a vehicle control device and a vehicle. [Industrial Applicability]

[0039] The present disclosure is useful in cases where it is desired to reduce the effects of communication delays that occur between a vehicle and the cloud when controlling a vehicle using a vehicle control device provided on the cloud. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 10 Vehicle Systems 100 Vehicle control device 111, 112, 113 Applications 120 Communications Arbitration Department 130 Communications Department 140 Communication delay amount acquisition unit 150 Communication Line Determination Unit 200 vehicles 501, 502, 503 communication lines

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that communicates with a vehicle, a communication unit that transmits and receives a plurality of signals, each of which has a communication priority set in advance, to and from the vehicle using a plurality of communication lines; an acquisition unit that acquires a communication delay amount for each of the plurality of communication lines and an overall communication delay amount for the plurality of communication lines; a determination unit that determines a communication line to be assigned to each of the plurality of signals based on the communication delay amount, the total communication delay amount, and the priority, The determination unit is If the total communication delay amount is less than a first threshold, assigning the plurality of signals to the plurality of communication lines regardless of the priority; When the total communication delay amount is equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold, the plurality of signals are assigned to the plurality of communication lines by giving priority to signals having a higher priority than a first criterion; When the total communication delay amount is equal to or greater than the second threshold, after thinning out the communication amount of the signals having a lower priority than a second criterion, assigning the signals to the plurality of communication lines by giving priority to signals having a higher priority than the first criterion; The communication unit transmits and receives each of the plurality of signals to and from the vehicle using the communication line allocated by the determination unit.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit preferentially allocates a signal having a higher priority than a predetermined criterion to a communication line having a smaller amount of communication delay.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of signals include signals whose priorities cannot be changed by a user of the vehicle and signals whose priorities can be changed by a user of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the signal whose priority cannot be changed by the user of the vehicle is a high-priority signal related to safety and security of the vehicle.

5. It has multiple applications The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of signals are signals based on requests from the plurality of applications.

6. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which forms a digital twin in a virtual space that is time-synchronized with a real space using a communication delay time between the vehicle and the vehicle control device based on the communication delay amount.

7. A system including a plurality of vehicles and a vehicle control device that communicates with the plurality of vehicles, The vehicle control device, for each target vehicle with which communication is to be performed among the plurality of vehicles, A communication unit that transmits and receives a plurality of signals, each of which has a priority level set with respect to communication, to and from the target vehicle using a plurality of communication lines; an acquisition unit that acquires a communication delay amount for each of the plurality of communication lines and an overall communication delay amount for the plurality of communication lines; a determination unit that determines a communication line to be assigned to each of the plurality of signals based on the communication delay amount, the total communication delay amount, and the priority, The determination unit is If the total communication delay amount is less than a first threshold, assigning the plurality of signals to the plurality of communication lines regardless of the priority; When the total communication delay amount is equal to or greater than the first threshold and less than the second threshold, the plurality of signals are assigned to the plurality of communication lines by giving priority to signals having a higher priority than a first criterion; When the total communication delay amount is equal to or greater than the second threshold, after thinning out the communication amount of the signals having a lower priority than a second criterion, assigning the signals to the plurality of communication lines by giving priority to signals having a higher priority than the first criterion; The communication unit transmits and receives each of the plurality of signals to and from the target vehicle using the communication line assigned by the determination unit.

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