Navigation system, navigation method, navigation program

Abstract

To provide a navigation system which suppresses consumption of electric power energy.SOLUTION: A processor of a navigation system for navigating multiple autonomous mobile devices configured to autonomously travel by power supplied from a battery is configured to perform processes of: optimizing the form of a platoon according to running resistance, which will change in future traveling, of at least one of the autonomous mobile devices to be running in the platoon; and navigating each autonomous mobile device to form the optimized platoon.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to navigation techniques for navigating multiple autonomous driving devices. [Background technology]

[0002] The navigation technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 aims to minimize the total power energy consumed by autonomous mobile devices that travel autonomously using power supplied from a battery by connecting the devices together. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 10108202 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the navigation technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the driving sequence of each electrically connected autonomous mobile device is adjusted to minimize the total electric energy. However, it was found that the total electric energy is influenced by other driving factors than the driving sequence.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a navigation system that reduces power energy consumption. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a navigation method that reduces power energy consumption. Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a navigation program that reduces power energy consumption. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The technical means of the present disclosure for solving the problems will be described below. Note that the claims and the reference characters in parentheses in this section indicate the corresponding relationship with the specific means described in the embodiments described later in detail, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0007] A first aspect of the present disclosure is A navigation system having a processor (131) and configured to navigate a plurality of autonomous mobile devices (1) that autonomously travel using power supplied from a battery (32), comprising: The processor optimizing the platoon formation based on a running resistance (Rr) that changes in future running of at least one of the autonomous driving devices that are caused to run in the platoon formation; and navigating each of the autonomous vehicles into an optimized platoon configuration. 、 The optimization of the formation based on the air resistance (Rra) as the running resistance that depends on the running speed of the autonomous driving device and the wind resistance (Rrw) as the running resistance that depends on the wind speed acting on the autonomous driving device is as follows: In a platoon (Po), where vehicles are lined up vertically, if the autonomous driving device following the autonomous driving device that is leading the way is defined as the following device (1s), then: Optimizing the formation to a tandem formation in at least one of a case where air resistance acts on the following device in a headwind state and a case where air resistance acts on the following device in a no-wind state; This includes optimizing the formation to a horizontally aligned parallel form (Pa) in at least one of the cases where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition and where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a tailwind condition.

[0008] A second aspect of the present disclosure is A navigation method executed by a processor (131) for navigating a plurality of autonomous mobile devices (1) that autonomously travel using power supplied from a battery (32), comprising: optimizing the platoon formation based on a running resistance (Rr) that changes in future running of at least one of the autonomous driving devices that are caused to run in the platoon formation; and navigating each of the autonomous vehicles into an optimized platoon configuration. fruit, The optimization of the formation based on the air resistance (Rra) as the running resistance that depends on the running speed of the autonomous driving device and the wind resistance (Rrw) as the running resistance that depends on the wind speed acting on the autonomous driving device is as follows: In a platoon (Po), where vehicles are lined up vertically, if the autonomous driving device following the autonomous driving device that is leading the way is defined as the following device (1s), then: Optimizing the formation to a tandem formation in at least one of a case where air resistance acts on the following device in a headwind state and a case where air resistance acts on the following device in a no-wind state; This includes optimizing the formation to a horizontally aligned parallel form (Pa) in at least one of the cases where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition and where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a tailwind condition.

[0009] A third aspect of the present disclosure is A navigation program stored in a storage medium (130) for navigating a plurality of autonomous mobile devices (1) that autonomously travel using power supplied from a battery (32), the navigation program including instructions to be executed by a processor (131), The command is, optimizing the formation of the platoon based on a running resistance (Rr) that changes in future running of at least one of the autonomous driving devices that are caused to run in the formation of the platoon; and navigating each of the autonomous driving devices into an optimized platoon configuration. fruit, The optimization of the formation based on the air resistance (Rra) as the running resistance that depends on the running speed of the autonomous driving device and the wind resistance (Rrw) as the running resistance that depends on the wind speed acting on the autonomous driving device is as follows: In a platoon (Po), where vehicles are lined up vertically, if the autonomous driving device following the autonomous driving device that is leading the way is defined as the following device (1s), then: Optimizing the formation to a tandem formation in at least one of a case where air resistance acts on the following device in a headwind state and a case where air resistance acts on the following device in a no-wind state; This includes optimizing the formation to a horizontally aligned parallel form (Pa) in at least one of the cases where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition and where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a tailwind condition.

[0010] According to the first to third aspects, the formation is optimized based on the running resistance that changes in future running of at least one of the autonomous mobile devices that are made to run in the formation. This makes it possible to navigate each autonomous mobile device by giving it a formation that can reduce power consumption from the perspective of running resistance, which affects the total power energy. Therefore, it becomes possible to suppress the total power energy consumption. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a navigation system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a configuration diagram showing an autonomous driving device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram showing an autonomous driving device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a block diagram showing a navigation system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a processing device of the navigation system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing a navigation flow according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing running resistance according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing running resistance according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing running resistance according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing running resistance according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing optimization of a formation configuration according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing optimization of a formation configuration according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing optimization of a formation configuration according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing optimization of a formation configuration according to the first embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing optimization of a formation configuration according to the first embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing optimization of a formation configuration according to the first embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a wind direction assumed in the first embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing optimization constraints on a formation configuration according to the first embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing optimization constraints on a formation configuration according to the first embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a use case of optimizing a formation configuration according to the first embodiment. [Figure 21] 10 is a flowchart showing a navigation flow according to a second embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the optimization of a formation configuration according to a second embodiment. [Diagram 23] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the optimization of a formation configuration according to a second embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing an autonomous driving device according to a third embodiment. [Diagram 25] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an autonomous driving device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 26] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the optimization of a formation configuration according to a third embodiment. [Figure 27] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the optimization of a formation configuration according to a third embodiment. [Figure 28] 13 is a flowchart showing a navigation flow according to a third embodiment. [Figure 29] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the optimization of a formation configuration according to a third embodiment. [Diagram 30] 13 is a flowchart showing a navigation flow according to the fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, multiple embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, by assigning the same reference numerals to corresponding components in each embodiment, duplicated descriptions may be omitted. In addition, when only a part of the configuration is described in each embodiment, the configuration of the other embodiment described above can be applied to the other parts of the configuration. Furthermore, in addition to the combination of configurations explicitly stated in the description of each embodiment, configurations of multiple embodiments can be partially combined together even if not explicitly stated, as long as there is no particular problem with the combination.

[0013] First embodiment The navigation system 10 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 navigates a plurality of autonomous mobile devices 1 that travel autonomously. Each autonomous mobile device 1 that is the target of navigation by the navigation system 10 can travel autonomously in any direction, forward, backward, left or right, according to the navigation. Here, the autonomous mobile device 1 may be a delivery vehicle that travels autonomously on a road to transport luggage to a delivery destination. The autonomous mobile device 1 may be a logistics vehicle that travels autonomously inside and outside a warehouse to transport luggage. The autonomous mobile device 1 may be a disaster support robot that travels autonomously in a disaster area to transport goods or collect information. Of course, the autonomous mobile device 1 may be of a type other than these.

[0014] 2 and 3, each autonomous driving device 1 includes a body 2, a drive system 3, a sensor system 4, a communication system 5, a map database 6, an information presentation system 7, and a control system 8. However, the autonomous driving devices 1 may have completely or substantially the same configuration, or may have different configurations as long as they include the functions of the components 2 to 8.

[0015] The body 2 is formed into a hollow shape from, for example, metal. The body 2 holds other components of the autonomous mobile device 1 inside or straddling from the inside to the outside. The body 2 forms the external shape of the autonomous mobile device 1 in cooperation with wheels 30 (described later) in the drive system 3.

[0016] The drive system 3 includes wheels 30, a battery 32, and an electric actuator 34. The multiple wheels 30 are configured to be able to rotate independently. Of the multiple wheels 30, a pair of drive wheels 300, one on each side of the body 2, are driven independently by individual electric actuators 34. In particular, in this embodiment, the drive state of the autonomous mobile device 1 is switched between straight drive and turning drive depending on the difference in rotational speed between the drive wheels 300 (i.e., the difference in the number of rotations per unit time).

[0017] Specifically, the autonomous mobile device 1 is driven straight when the rotational speed difference between the two left and right drive wheels 300 is zero or can be assumed to be zero. On the other hand, when the rotational speed difference between the left and right drive wheels 300 increases, the turning radius of the autonomous mobile device 1 when it is turned decreases in accordance with the increase in the rotational speed difference. Here, the turning radius means the distance between the vertical center line of the body 2 and the turning center of the turning drive in a plan view, and therefore turning drive in which the turning radius is substantially reduced to zero is particularly called point turning drive.

[0018] 2, the multiple wheels 30 may include at least one driven wheel 301 that rotates following the drive wheels 300. Here, particularly in this embodiment, one driven wheel 301 is located in front of each drive wheel 300, that is, two driven wheels 301 on the left and right.

[0019] 2 and 3 is mainly composed of a storage battery such as a lithium ion battery. The battery 32 stores power by charging from an external source to be supplied to the electrical components of the autonomous traveling device 1 by discharging the power. The battery 32 may collect and store regenerative power generated in an electric actuator 34 capable of regenerative braking of the drive wheels 300. The battery 32 is connected to the electric actuator 34, the sensor system 4, the communication system 5, the map database 6, the information presentation system 7, and the control system 8 via, for example, a wire harness so as to be able to supply power thereto.

[0020] Each of the pair of electric actuators 34 is mainly composed of an electric motor and a motor drive circuit. Each electric actuator 34 drives and rotates the corresponding drive wheel 300 independently by power supply from the battery 32, thereby causing the autonomous driving device 1 to autonomously drive. Each electric actuator 34 may have a regenerative function of applying regenerative braking to the corresponding drive wheel 300 to generate regenerative power. Each electric actuator 34 may be provided with an electric brake unit that mechanically brakes the corresponding drive wheel 300. Each electric actuator 34 may be provided with an electric lock unit that mechanically locks the corresponding drive wheel 300.

[0021] The sensor system 4 acquires sensing information usable for navigation and autonomous driving of the autonomous driving device 1 by sensing the internal and external worlds of the autonomous driving device 1. Specifically, the sensor system 4 includes at least one internal sensor 40 and one external sensor 41. The internal sensor 40 acquires internal information as sensing information from the internal world that is the internal environment of the autonomous driving device 1. The internal sensor 40 may be a motion detection type that acquires internal information by detecting a specific motion physical quantity in the internal world of the autonomous driving device 1. The motion detection type internal sensor 40 is at least one type of sensor among, for example, a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a yaw rate sensor.

[0022] The external sensor 41 acquires external information as sensing information from the external world that is the surrounding environment of the autonomous driving device 1. The external sensor 41 may be an object detection type that acquires external information by detecting an object existing in the external world of the autonomous driving device 1. The object detection type external sensor 41 is at least one of a camera, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), radar, and sonar. The external sensor 41 may be a positioning type that acquires external information by receiving a positioning signal from a satellite of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) existing in the external world of the autonomous driving device 1. The positioning type external sensor 41 is, for example, a GNSS receiver.

[0023] The communication system 5 shown in FIG. 3 transmits and receives communication information related to navigation and autonomous driving of the autonomous driving device 1 through wireless communication with the outside world of the autonomous driving device 1. The communication system 5 may be of a V2X type that transmits and receives communication information with a V2X system that exists in the outside world of the autonomous driving device 1. The V2X type communication system 5 is, for example, at least one of a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) communication device and a cellular V2X (C-V2X) communication device. The communication system 5 may be of a terminal communication type that transmits and receives communication information with a mobile terminal that exists in the outside world of the autonomous driving device 1. The terminal communication type communication system 5 is, for example, at least one of a Bluetooth (registered trademark) device, a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) device, an infrared communication device, and the like.

[0024] The map database 6 acquires map information usable for navigation and autonomous driving of the autonomous driving device 1 from the navigation system 10 via the communication system 5 and stores it. The map database 6 is mainly composed of at least one type of non-transitory tangible storage medium capable of storing map information, such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic medium, or an optical medium.

[0025] The map information stored in the map database 6 is digitized in two or three dimensions as information representing the driving environment of the autonomous driving device 1. The map information may include road information representing at least one of the following: the position, shape, and road surface condition of the road itself. The map information may include marking information representing at least one of the following: the positions and shapes of signs and dividing lines attached to the road. The map information may include structure information representing at least one of the positions and shapes of buildings and traffic lights facing the road.

[0026] The information presentation system 7 presents notification information directed to the outside world of the autonomous driving device 1 regarding navigation and autonomous driving of the autonomous driving device 1. The information presentation system 7 may present the notification information by stimulating the vision of a human being present in the outside world of the autonomous driving device 1. The visual stimulation type information presentation system 7 is at least one of a monitor unit, a light-emitting unit, etc. The information presentation system 7 may present the notification information by stimulating the hearing of a human being present in the outside world of the autonomous driving device 1. The auditory stimulation type information presentation system 7 is at least one of a speaker, a buzzer, a vibration unit, etc.

[0027] 2 and 3 is mainly composed of at least one dedicated computer. The dedicated computer constituting the control system 8 has at least one memory 80 and one processor 81. The memory 80 is at least one type of non-transitory tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic medium, or an optical medium, that non-temporarily stores computer-readable programs and data. The processor 81 includes at least one type of core, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)-CPU.

[0028] The control system 8 is connected to the battery 32, the electric actuator 34, the sensor system 4, the communication system 5, the map database 6, and the information presentation system 7 via at least one of, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) line, a wire harness, and an internal bus. The control system 8 controls each connected object so that the autonomous driving device 1 realizes autonomous driving according to navigation from the navigation system 10 by executing multiple commands of a control program stored in a memory 80 using a processor 81.

[0029] The navigation system 10 shown in Fig. 1 is constructed in a remote center that remotely manages and navigates a plurality of autonomous mobile devices 1. As shown in Fig. 4, the navigation system 10 includes a map database 100, a communication system 110, and a processing device 120, and is at least one of, for example, a cloud server and an edge server.

[0030] The map database 100 stores map information used to navigate each autonomous mobile device 1, and updates it with the latest information as needed. The configuration of the map database 100 in the navigation system 10 is similar to the configuration of the map database 6 in the autonomous mobile device 1, but stores a larger capacity of map information than the latter, capable of covering the autonomous driving areas (hereinafter referred to as navigation areas) of all the autonomous mobile devices 1 to be navigated.

[0031] The communication system 110 is mainly composed of a communication device that is responsible for at least a part of a V2X system capable of communicating with the communication system 5 of each autonomous driving device 1. The processing device 120 is connected to the map database 100 and the communication system 110 via at least one of a wired communication line and a wireless communication line. In addition to the map information in the map database 100, at least one type of environmental information obtained through the communication system 110, such as traffic information, road information, weather information, and scene information, is provided to the processing device 120 as needed for the navigation area of ​​each autonomous driving device 1. Target driving information obtained through the communication system 110, including, for example, destination information, driving route information, and schedule information, for future driving of each autonomous driving device 1, is provided to the processing device 120 as needed or planned by the processing device 120.

[0032] The processing device 120 includes at least one dedicated computer. The dedicated computer constituting the processing device 120 has at least one memory 130 and one processor 131. The configurations of the memory 130 and the processor 131 in the processing device 120 are similar to the configurations of the memory 80 and the processor 81 in the control system 8 in the autonomous driving device 1, but are more highly functional than the latter memory 80 and the latter processor 81.

[0033] In the navigation system 10, the processing device 120 executes multiple instructions of a processing program stored in the memory 130 by the processor 131. In this way, the processing device 120 performs navigation processing for navigating multiple autonomous driving devices 1 (two autonomous driving devices that form a pair in this embodiment) that travel autonomously using power supplied from the battery 32 into a formation. In such a processing device 120, multiple functional blocks for performing the navigation processing are constructed. The functional blocks thus constructed include a planning block 150, an optimization block 160, and a navigation block 170, as shown in FIG. 5.

[0034] A navigation method in which the processing device 120 navigates the autonomous mobile devices 1 traveling in a platoon (hereinafter also referred to as platoon traveling) through cooperation of these blocks 150, 160, and 170 is executed according to the navigation flow shown in Fig. 6. This navigation flow is executed when a request for platoon traveling by a pair of autonomous mobile devices 1 occurs while the navigation system 10 is running. Note that each "S" in this navigation flow refers to multiple steps executed by multiple commands included in the navigation program.

[0035] In S100, the planning block 150 acquires route information as information on a travel route along which each autonomous mobile device 1 travels in a platoon. The route information may include, for example, destination information and waypoint information for each autonomous mobile device 1 to reach by platooning. The route information may include path information for each autonomous mobile device 1 to follow by platooning according to the destination information and waypoint information. The route information may include travel path information representing, for example, the planar shape of the travel path, the gradient angle of the travel path, and the road surface friction coefficient of the travel path for each travel point or travel section according to the path information. The route information may include environmental information representing, for example, wind direction and wind speed for each travel point according to the path information.

[0036] In S101, the planning block 150 acquires device information from the autonomous driving device 1 that is a candidate for selection in order to select an autonomous driving device 1 to be a platooning target based on the route information. The selected candidates may be set to at least two autonomous driving devices 1 that are not currently running tasks at a traveling position that can participate in the platooning according to the path information in the route information. The device information may include battery information representing, for example, a charging state and a deterioration state as the state of the battery 32 in the autonomous driving device 1 of the selected candidate. The device information may include actuator information representing, for example, a deterioration state and a regenerative characteristic due to braking as the state of each electric actuator 34 in the autonomous driving device 1 of the selected candidate. The device information may include shape information representing the external shape of the autonomous driving device 1 of the selected candidate. The device information may include motion information representing, for example, a traveling speed as a motion physical quantity of the autonomous driving device 1 of the selected candidate.

[0037] Next, in S102, the planning block 150 selects a pair of autonomous driving devices 1 to be platooned based on the route information and device information acquired from each of the selected candidate autonomous driving devices 1. At this time, if there are three or more selected candidates, each autonomous driving device 1 to be platooned may be selected in order of the selected candidate with least deterioration of the battery 32. If there are three or more selected candidates, each autonomous driving device 1 to be platooned may be selected in order of the selected candidate with least deterioration of the electric actuator 34. If there are three or more selected candidates, each autonomous driving device 1 to be platooned may be selected in order of the selected candidate with the exterior shape that provides least air resistance when traveling alone.

[0038] In the next S103, optimization block 160 optimizes the platoon form of the platoon based on the running resistance Rr that will change in future running of at least one of the autonomous driving devices 1 that are to travel in the platoon. Specifically, optimization of the platoon form is performed based on the air resistance Rra and wind resistance Rrw shown in Figures 7 to 10 as the running resistance Rr monitored for at least one autonomous driving device 1.

[0039] Here, the air resistance Rra is a running resistance Rr that depends on the running speed Vr generated by the autonomous mobile device 1. For example, as shown in Figs. 7 to 10, the air resistance Rra may be calculated as a resistance value proportional to each of the running direction projected area Ar of the autonomous mobile device 1 and the running speed Vr. Here, the running direction projected area Ar is defined as the projected area of ​​the external shape of the autonomous mobile device 1 projected from the rear side to the front side in the running direction. The running direction projected area Ar is recognized based on the shape information of the device information acquired by S101. The running speed Vr is recognized based on the motion information of the device information acquired by S101.

[0040] On the other hand, the wind resistance Rrw is a running resistance Rr that depends on the wind speed Vw acting on the autonomous mobile device 1. The wind resistance Rrw may be calculated as a resistance value proportional to the wind direction projected area Aw and the wind speed Vw of the autonomous mobile device 1, for example, as shown in Figs. 7 to 10. Here, the wind direction projected area Aw is defined as the projected area of ​​the external shape of the autonomous mobile device 1 projected in the direction opposite to the wind direction. In particular, the wind resistance Rrw in the tailwind state Wt (described in detail later) of Fig. 9, which is opposite to the running direction, is defined as a negative resistance that serves as a driving force for the autonomous mobile device 1. The wind direction projected area Aw is recognized based on the shape information of the device information acquired by S101. The wind direction and wind speed Vw are recognized based on the environmental information of the route information acquired by S100.

[0041] In the optimization in S103, one of the following is selected for each travel point or travel section: a platoon configuration Po in which the autonomous mobile devices 1 are lined up in the vertical direction Lo of the travel path as shown in Figs. 11 to 13 and 15, and a parallel configuration Pa in which the autonomous mobile devices 1 are lined up in the horizontal direction La of the travel path as shown in Figs. 14 and 16. That is, as the platoon configuration that is selectively optimized each time future travel progresses, the platoon configuration Po in which the autonomous mobile devices 1 are lined up in the vertical direction Lo, and the parallel configuration Pa in which the autonomous mobile devices 1 are lined up in the horizontal direction La are assumed. In either the platoon configuration Po or the parallel configuration Pa, the front and rear of the travel direction along the vertical direction Lo of the travel path may always be fixed for each autonomous mobile device 1, or may be switched depending on the travel scene.

[0042] In the optimization in S103, the autonomous mobile device 1 that is made to travel at the front in the tandem formation Po is defined as the leading device 1h, and the autonomous mobile device 1 that is made to travel following the leading device 1h in the tandem formation Po is defined as the following device 1s. Therefore, the optimization block 160 in S103 compares the running resistances Rr that are assumed to act in the independent running formation Ps (see FIG. 19 described later) in which the autonomous mobile devices 1 that are the targets of the platooning are spaced apart by a distance Lo in the vertical direction that is equal to or greater than a set distance. In this way, the optimization block 160 assigns each of the autonomous mobile devices 1 that are the targets of the platooning to the leading device 1h and the following device 1s based on the comparison result of the running resistances Rr of each of them. In this case, the leading device 1h may be assigned to one of the autonomous mobile devices 1 that has a smaller air resistance Rra among the running resistances Rr.

[0043] Furthermore, the optimization block 160 in S103 optimizes the platoon configuration according to the correlation between air resistance Rra and wind resistance Rrw, which is assumed as the running resistance Rr in the independent running configuration Ps of the following device 1s. At this time, the leading device 1h that runs ahead of the following device 1s focusing on the air resistance Rra and wind resistance Rrw may be set to the one with the smaller air resistance Rra according to the external shape based on the shape information among the device information acquired in S101. The leading device 1h running ahead may be set to the one with the larger free charge capacity according to the charging state of the battery 32 based on the battery information among the device information acquired in S101.

[0044] With respect to the following device 1s, in the case where air resistance Rra acts on wind resistance Rrw, which is substantially zero, in windless state Wn in Fig. 7, the optimization block 160 optimizes the formation form to the vertical formation Po shown in Fig. 11 in S103, regardless of the magnitude relationship between the wind resistance Rrw and the air resistance Rra. Here, the windless state Wn may be defined as a state in which the wind speed Vw based on the environmental information in the route information acquired in S100 is zero or less than a wind judgment threshold value (e.g., 1.4 m / s) that can be assumed to be zero. As a result, in the windless state Wn in which the wind resistance Rrw is zero or can be assumed to be zero, the vertical formation Po is selected as the formation form, and the arrangement direction of each device 1h, 1s is optimized to the vertical direction Lo.

[0045] In the case where the following device 1s is in a headwind state Wf in Fig. 8 and air resistance Rra acts together with the wind resistance Rrw, the optimization block 160 optimizes the formation form to the vertical formation Po shown in Fig. 12 in S103, regardless of the magnitude relationship between the wind resistance Rrw and the air resistance Rra. Here, the headwind state Wf may be defined as a state in which the wind speed Vw based on the environmental information acquired in S100 exceeds zero or exceeds a wind judgment threshold, and the wind direction based on the environmental information is within a left / right headwind judgment angle α (e.g., 10 degrees) based on the traveling direction as shown in Fig. 17. In other words, the headwind state Wf may be assumed to be a state in which the following device 1s receives a vertical Lo component or a wind that can be assumed to be the same component from the front. As a result, in a headwind condition Wf in which the direction of wind resistance Rrw acts in the opposite direction to the traveling direction or can be assumed to be the opposite direction, the vertical formation Po is selected as the formation form, and the arrangement direction of each device 1h, 1s is optimized to the vertical direction Lo.

[0046] In the case where the air resistance Rra is greater than the absolute value of the wind resistance Rrw acting on the following device 1s in the tailwind state Wt of Fig. 9, the optimization block 160 optimizes the formation form to the vertical formation Po shown in Fig. 13 in S103. Here, the tailwind state Wt may be defined as a state in which the wind speed Vw based on the environmental information acquired in S100 exceeds zero or exceeds a wind judgment threshold, and the wind direction based on the environmental information is within a left / right tailwind judgment angle β (e.g., 10 degrees) based on the opposite direction to the traveling direction as shown in Fig. 17. In other words, the tailwind state Wt may be assumed as a state in which the following device 1s receives a wind that is a vertical Lo component or can be assumed to be the same component. As a result, in a tailwind state Wt where the direction of action of wind resistance Rrw, which has an absolute value smaller than that of air resistance Rra, is the opposite direction to the direction of travel or can be assumed to be the opposite direction, the vertical formation Po is selected as the formation form, and the arrangement direction of each device 1h, 1s is optimized to the vertical direction Lo.

[0047] In the case where the air resistance Rra is smaller than the absolute value of the wind resistance Rrw acting in a tailwind state Wt for the following device 1s, in S103 the optimization block 160 optimizes the platoon form to the parallel form Pa shown in Fig. 14. Here, the tailwind state Wt may be defined in the same manner as described above. As a result, in a tailwind state Wt where the acting direction of the wind resistance Rrw, which has an absolute value larger than the air resistance Rra, is the opposite direction to the traveling direction or can be assumed to be the opposite direction, the parallel form Pa is selected as the platoon form, and it can be said that the arrangement direction of each device 1h, 1s is optimized in the lateral direction La.

[0048] When the air resistance Rra is substantially equal to the wind resistance Rrw in a tailwind state Wt, the formation may be optimized to a tandem formation Po as shown in Figure 13. When the air resistance Rra is substantially equal to the wind resistance Rrw in a tailwind state Wt, the formation may be optimized to a parallel formation Pa as shown in Figure 14.

[0049] In the case where the air resistance Rra is larger than the wind resistance Rrw acting in the crosswind state Wc of Fig. 10 for the following device 1s, in S103, the optimization block 160 optimizes the formation to the vertical formation Po shown in Fig. 15. Here, the crosswind state Wc may be defined as a state in which the wind speed Vw based on the environmental information acquired in S100 exceeds zero or exceeds the wind judgment threshold, and the wind direction based on the environmental information is outside the headwind judgment angle α and outside the tailwind judgment angle β in Fig. 17. In other words, the crosswind state Wc may be assumed as a state in which the following device 1s receives at least the horizontal La component of wind outside the headwind judgment angle α and outside the tailwind judgment angle β. As a result, in the crosswind state Wc in which the horizontal La component of the wind resistance Rrw, which is smaller than the air resistance Rra, increases, the vertical formation Po is selected as the formation, and the arrangement direction of each device 1h, 1s is optimized to the vertical direction Lo.

[0050] In the case where the air resistance Rra of the following device 1s is smaller than the wind resistance Rrw acting in the crosswind state Wc, the optimization block 160 optimizes the formation form to the parallel form Pa shown in FIG. 16 in S103. The crosswind state Wc may be defined in the same manner as described above. As a result, in the crosswind state Wc in which the horizontal La component of the wind resistance Rrw, which is larger than the air resistance Rra, increases, the parallel form Pa is selected as the formation form, so that the arrangement direction of each device 1h, 1s is optimized in the horizontal direction La. In particular, the formation form may be optimized to the parallel form Pa in which the representative points (e.g., center points, etc.) of the leading device 1h and the following device 1s in the vertical direction Lo are arranged in this order, as shown in FIG. 16, along the horizontal La component of the wind direction based on the environmental information acquired in S100. Note that the representative points of the leading device 1h and the following device 1s in the vertical direction Lo may be optimized to the parallel form Pa in which the representative points of the leading device 1h and the following device 1s in the vertical direction Lo are arranged in the reverse order along the horizontal La component of the wind direction.

[0051] When the air resistance Rra is substantially equal to the wind resistance Rrw in the crosswind condition Wc, the formation may be optimized to the tandem formation Po shown in Fig. 15. When the air resistance Rra is substantially equal to the wind resistance Rrw in the crosswind condition Wc, the formation may be optimized to the parallel formation Pa shown in Fig. 16.

[0052] 14 and 16, if the width in the lateral direction La of the travel path on which each of the devices 1h, 1s travels is narrower than the width in the lateral direction La required for the parallel form Pa, the optimization block 160 in S103 restricts the optimization of the platoon form to the parallel form Pa. In this case, the platoon form selected may be a vertical platoon form Po as shown in Fig. 18, or a solo travel form Ps in which the platooning itself is cancelled and a distance in the longitudinal direction Lo between each of the devices 1h, 1s is set to a value equal to or greater than the set distance as shown in Fig. 19. Both Figs. 18 and 19 show an example corresponding to the case of Fig. 14.

[0053] From a different perspective, in the case of Figs. 14 and 16 where the width of the travel path in the lateral direction La exceeds the required width for the parallel configuration Pa, it can be said that optimization to the parallel configuration Pa is realized. Also, in the case of Figs. 11 to 13 and 15, it can be said that optimization to the tandem configuration Po is realized where the distance in the longitudinal direction Lo between the devices 1h and 1s is reduced to less than the above-mentioned set distance. Furthermore, for example, as shown in Fig. 20, when the devices 1h and 1s in the tandem configuration Po turn right (example in Fig. 20) or left in a headwind state Wf, the parallel configuration Pa (example in Fig. 20) or tandem configuration Po is realized according to the magnitude relationship between the air resistance Rra and the wind resistance Rrw in a crosswind state Wc.

[0054] 6, in S104 following S103, the navigation block 170 navigates each of the devices 1h, 1s to the platoon configuration selected for each travel point or travel section in S103 according to the path information in the route information acquired in S100. At this time, the navigation block 170 may monitor the navigation state of each of the devices 1h, 1s based on the device information of each of the devices 1h, 1s acquired in accordance with S101. Note that the end of S104 also ends the current execution of the navigation flow.

[0055] (Action and effect) The effects of the first embodiment described above will be described below.

[0056] According to the first embodiment, the platoon formation is optimized based on the running resistance Rr that will change in future running of at least one of the autonomous mobile devices 1 that are made to run in the platoon formation. This makes it possible to navigate each autonomous mobile device 1 by giving it a platoon formation that can reduce power consumption from the perspective of the running resistance Rr, which affects the total power energy. This makes it possible to suppress the total power energy consumption.

[0057] According to the first embodiment, the formation is optimized based on air resistance Rra as the running resistance Rr that depends on the running speed Vr generated on the autonomous mobile device 1, and wind resistance Rrw as the running resistance Rr that depends on the wind speed Vw acting on the autonomous mobile device 1. This makes it possible to navigate each autonomous mobile device 1 to a formation that can reduce power consumption from the perspective of the running resistance Rr, particularly the air resistance Rra and wind resistance Rrw that affect the total power energy. Therefore, it becomes possible to appropriately suppress the total power energy consumption.

[0058] In the first embodiment, in the tandem formation Po, which is a formation formed by arranging in the vertical direction Lo, the autonomous mobile device 1 traveling at the front and the autonomous mobile device 1 traveling behind it are defined as the leading device 1h and the following device 1s, respectively. Therefore, according to the first embodiment, when the air resistance Rra acts on the following device 1s in a windless state Wn, the platoon formation is optimized to the tandem formation Po arranged in the vertical direction Lo. According to this, in a windless state Wn in which the total power energy is limited to and influenced by the air resistance Rra, the tandem formation Po in which the devices 1h and 1s are arranged in the vertical direction Lo can reduce the air resistance Rra on the following device 1s side as much as possible, thereby reducing power consumption. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of suppressing the consumption of total power energy.

[0059] According to the first embodiment, when air resistance Rra acts on the following device 1s in a headwind state Wf, the formation is optimized to the vertical formation Po. According to this, in a headwind state Wf in which the total power energy is affected by both air resistance Rra and wind resistance Rrw, the vertical formation Po in which the devices 1h, 1s are aligned in the vertical direction Lo can reduce both resistances Rra, Rrw on the following device 1s side as much as possible, thereby reducing power consumption. Therefore, it is possible to increase the accuracy of suppressing the total power energy consumption.

[0060] According to the first embodiment, when the air resistance Rra for the following device 1s is greater than the wind resistance Rrw (absolute value) in a tailwind state Wt, the platoon form is optimized to the vertical formation Po. According to this, in a tailwind state Wt in which the total power energy is more affected by the air resistance Rra than the wind resistance Rrw, the vertical formation Po in which the devices 1h, 1s are lined up in the vertical direction Lo can reduce the air resistance Rra on the following device 1s side as much as possible and reduce power consumption. Therefore, it is possible to increase the accuracy of suppressing the consumption of total power energy.

[0061] According to the first embodiment, when the air resistance Rra for the following device 1s is greater than the wind resistance Rrw in a crosswind state Wc, the formation is optimized to the vertical formation Po. According to this, in a crosswind state Wc in which the total power energy is more affected by the air resistance Rra than the wind resistance Rrw, the vertical formation Po in which the devices 1h, 1s are aligned in the vertical direction Lo can reduce the air resistance Rra on the following device 1s side as much as possible and reduce power consumption. Therefore, it is possible to increase the accuracy of suppressing the total power energy consumption.

[0062] According to the first embodiment, when the air resistance Rra for the following device 1s is smaller than the wind resistance Rrw (absolute value) in a tailwind state Wt, the formation is optimized to a parallel formation Pa arranged in the lateral direction La. According to this, in a tailwind state Wt in which the total power energy is more greatly influenced by the wind resistance Rrw than by the air resistance Rra, the parallel formation Pa in which the devices 1h, 1s are arranged in the lateral direction La makes it possible to use the wind resistance Rrw on the following device 1s side as a propulsive force and reduce power consumption. Therefore, it is possible to increase the accuracy of suppressing the total power energy consumption.

[0063] According to the first embodiment, when the air resistance Rra for the following device 1s is smaller than the wind resistance Rrw in a crosswind state Wc, the platoon configuration is optimized to the parallel configuration Pa. According to this, in a crosswind state Wc in which the total power energy is more affected by the wind resistance Rrw than by the air resistance Rra, the parallel configuration Pa in which the devices 1h, 1s are aligned in the lateral direction La can reduce the wind resistance Rrw on the following device 1s side as much as possible, thereby reducing power consumption. Therefore, it is possible to increase the accuracy of suppressing the total power energy consumption.

[0064] According to the first embodiment, when the lateral width of the road on which each of the devices 1h, 1s travels is narrower than the lateral width required for the parallel form Pa, optimization to the parallel form Pa is limited. This makes it possible to realize the preferential continuation of the platoon in a driving scene where continuation of the platooning should be prioritized over reducing total power energy consumption.

[0065] Second Embodiment The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment.

[0066] In the navigation flow of the second embodiment, as shown in Fig. 21, S2103 is executed instead of S103 of the first embodiment. Specifically, in S2103, the optimization block 160 optimizes the formation form to the staggered parallel form Pao as shown in Fig. 22 when the air resistance Rra for the following device 1s is smaller than the wind resistance Rrw in a crosswind state Wco containing a vertical Lo component. Here, the crosswind state Wco containing a vertical Lo component may be defined as a state in which the wind direction based on the environmental information acquired in S100 is outside the front and rear crosswind judgment angle γ (e.g., 10 degrees) based on the horizontal direction La. In other words, the crosswind state Wco may be assumed as a state in which the following device 1s is subjected to an oblique wind containing a vertical Lo component as well as a horizontal La component.

[0067] The staggered parallel configuration Pao optimized for such a crosswind state Wco including a longitudinal component Lo is a parallel configuration in which the devices 1s, 1h aligned in the transverse direction La are shifted forward and backward in the running direction along the longitudinal direction Lo. In particular, the platoon configuration is optimized to the staggered parallel configuration Pao in which the representative points (e.g., center points, etc.) of the leading device 1h and the trailing device 1s in the longitudinal direction Lo are aligned in this order along the wind direction based on the environmental information acquired by S100, and the representative points are shifted in the same direction Lo. Note that the staggered parallel configuration Pao may also be optimized to the staggered parallel configuration Pao in which the representative points of the leading device 1h and the trailing device 1s in the longitudinal direction Lo are aligned in the reverse order along the wind direction.

[0068] However, in S2103, when the air resistance Rra for the following device 1s is smaller than the wind resistance Rrw in a crosswind state Wc where the wind direction is within the crosswind judgment angle γ, the optimization block 160 optimizes the formation form to the completely parallel form Pa as shown in Fig. 23. As a result, in a crosswind state Wc where the acting direction of wind resistance Rrw, which is larger than the air resistance Rra, can be assumed to be the lateral direction La or the same direction La, it can be said that the formation form is optimized to the completely parallel form Pa which does not substantially deviate from the traveling direction along the longitudinal direction Lo, as in the first embodiment.

[0069] When the air resistance Rra is substantially equal to the wind resistance Rrw in crosswind conditions Wco, Wc, the formation form may be optimized to the vertical formation Po corresponding to Figures 22 and 23. When the air resistance Rra is substantially equal to the wind resistance Rrw in crosswind conditions Wco, Wc, the formation form may be optimized to the parallel formation Pa corresponding to Figure 15 of the first embodiment. Note that S2103 is executed in the same manner as S103 in the first embodiment, except for the points described above.

[0070] According to the second embodiment described above, when the air resistance Rra for the following device 1s is smaller than the wind resistance Rrw in a crosswind state Wco containing a vertical Lo component, the formation is optimized to a staggered parallel formation Pao in which the devices are aligned in the horizontal direction La, shifted in the vertical direction Lo, among the parallel formations. According to this, in a scene in which the total power energy is significantly affected by the wind resistance Rrw due to crosswinds, particularly oblique winds, a formation formation in which the devices 1h, 1s are shifted in the vertical direction Lo according to the ratio of the horizontal La component and the vertical Lo component of the oblique wind can be realized. Therefore, the wind resistance Rrw due to the oblique wind on the following device 1s side can be reduced to reduce power consumption, and therefore it is possible to ensure high accuracy in suppressing the total power energy consumption.

[0071] Third embodiment The third embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment.

[0072] 24 to 27, the drive system 3003 of the third embodiment includes coupling units 3036 and 3037. The vertical coupling units 3036 are held on the front and rear of the body 2 to couple the devices 1h and 1s arranged in the vertical direction Lo in the vertical row configuration Po. The horizontal coupling units 3037 are held on the left and right of the body 2 to couple the devices 1h and 1s arranged in the horizontal direction La in the parallel configuration Pa.

[0073] Each of the connecting units 3036, 3037 is mainly composed of, for example, an electric coupler that can electrically control the mechanical connection and release of the complementary units. Each of the connecting units 3036, 3037 is connected to a control system 8. Thus, the control system 8 controls the connection and release of the devices 1h, 1s by each of the connecting units 3036, 3037.

[0074] In the navigation flow of the third embodiment, as shown in Fig. 28, S3105 to S3109 are added between S103 and S104 described in the first embodiment. Specifically, in S3105, the optimization block 160 judges whether or not there is a downhill section as a travel section where the travel road along which each of the devices 1h and 1s will travel in the future is a downhill road, based on the travel road information among the route information acquired in S100. At this time, if there is a downhill section where the gradient angle of the travel road is equal to or greater than the gradient judgment threshold value on the downhill side (e.g., 3 degrees), a positive judgment is made, whereas a negative judgment is made otherwise.

[0075] If a negative determination is made as a result of S3105, the navigation flow skips S3106 to S3109 and proceeds to S104, thereby restricting optimization to the interconnection topology Pc by S3109, which will be described later. On the other hand, if a positive determination is made, the navigation flow proceeds to S3106.

[0076] In S3106, the optimization block 160 estimates the regenerative power generated by the electric actuator 34 of each of the devices 1h and 1s due to regenerative braking in a downhill section, based on the actuator information among the device information acquired in S101.

[0077] In S3107, which is executed in parallel with S3106 or before or after (the example of FIG. 28), the optimization block 160 selects the collection device 1c as shown in the examples of FIG. 26 and 27 for one of the devices 1h and 1s that has a large free charge capacity in the battery 32. At this time, the free capacity in the battery 32 of each of the devices 1h and 1s is estimated for the downhill section based on the battery information in the device information acquired in S101 and the path information in the route information acquired in S100.

[0078] In S3108, which is performed after S3106 and S3107, the optimization block 160 determines whether the free capacity of the battery 32 of the recovery device 1c is insufficient for the total regenerative power generated in each of the devices 1h and 1s. If a positive determination is made, the navigation flow skips S3109 and proceeds to S104, thereby restricting the optimization to the interconnection configuration Pc by S3109. On the other hand, if a negative determination is made, that is, if the free capacity of the battery 32 of the recovery device 1c exceeds the total regenerative power generated in each of the devices 1h and 1s, the navigation flow proceeds to S3109.

[0079] In S3109, the optimization block 160 optimizes the platooning configuration in the downhill section to an interconnection configuration Pc that recovers the regenerative power generated in each of the interconnected devices 1h, 1s to the battery 32 of the recovery device 1c. In this interconnection configuration Pc, the platooning configuration optimized in S103 for the travel point or travel section corresponding to the downhill section is maintained as shown in Figs. 26, 27, and 29. Therefore, the interconnection configuration Pc is selected as a platooning configuration in which the devices 1h, 1s are connected to each other by one of the connecting units 3036 and 3037 that corresponds to the optimization configuration in S103. Note that Figs. 26 and 29 show an example of recovery of regenerative power in an interconnection configuration Pc that maintains the vertical configuration Po as the optimization configuration of Fig. 13 described in the first embodiment. Also, Fig. 27 shows an example of recovery of regenerative power in an interconnection configuration Pc that maintains the parallel configuration Pa as the optimization configuration of Fig. 14 described in the first embodiment.

[0080] When S3109 ends in this manner, the navigation flow proceeds to S104. However, in S104 of the third embodiment, each of the devices 1h and 1s is navigated to the formation selected for each travel point or travel section by the route step of S103 or S3109.

[0081] According to the third embodiment described above, when each of the devices 1h, 1s travels on a downhill road, the platoon configuration is optimized to the interconnection configuration Pc in which the regenerative power generated in each of the interconnected devices 1h, 1s is recovered in one of the batteries 32 of the devices 1h, 1s. According to this, in a scene in which regenerative power can be generated in each of the devices 1h, 1s, one of the batteries 32 is shared by the interconnection configuration Pc, and the regenerative power can be efficiently recovered. Therefore, it is possible to further supplement the total power energy consumption suppressed by optimizing the platoon configuration based on the air resistance Rra and the wind resistance Rrw through regeneration, thereby enhancing the apparent suppression effect.

[0082] Here, particularly in the third embodiment, the one of the devices 1h, 1s with the larger free capacity in the battery 32 is defined as the recovery device 1c that recovers the regenerative power. Therefore, according to the third embodiment, when the free capacity of the battery 32 of the recovery device 1c, which is one of the devices 1h, 1s, is insufficient for the total regenerative power generated in each device 1h, 1s, the optimization to the interconnection configuration Pc is limited. According to this, in a scene where the recovery effect of the regenerative power is reduced due to a lack of free capacity on the recovery device 1c side, the optimization of the formation configuration from the viewpoint of the air resistance Rra and the wind resistance Rrw can be prioritized over the optimization to the interconnection configuration Pc. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to prevent the overcharging of the battery 32 in the recovery device 1c, which is caused by the apparent suppression of the total consumption of electric energy.

[0083] (Fourth embodiment) The fourth embodiment is a modification of the third embodiment.

[0084] In the navigation flow of the fourth embodiment, as shown in Fig. 30, S4108, which replaces S3107 and S3108 of the third embodiment, and S4109, which replaces S3109 of the third embodiment, are executed. Specifically, in S4108, the optimization block 160 determines whether or not the total free capacity of the battery 32 of each of the devices 1h and 1s is insufficient for the total regenerative power generated in each of the devices 1h and 1s. At this time, the free capacity of the battery 32 of each of the devices 1h and 1s is estimated for the downhill section based on the battery information of the device information acquired in S101 and the path information of the route information acquired in S100.

[0085] If a positive determination is made as a result of S4108, the navigation flow skips S4109 and proceeds to S104, thereby restricting optimization to the interconnection configuration Pc by S4109, which will be described later. Note that if a negative determination is made as a result of S3105, the navigation flow skips S3106, S4108, and S4109 and proceeds to S104, thereby restricting optimization to the interconnection configuration Pc by S4109.

[0086] On the other hand, if a negative determination is made as a result of S4108, that is, if the total of the regenerative power generated in each of the devices 1h, 1s exceeds the total free capacity of the batteries 32 of those devices 1h, 1s, the navigation flow proceeds to S4109. In S4109, the optimization block 160 optimizes the platoon configuration in the downhill section to an interconnection configuration Pc that recovers the regenerative power generated in each of the interconnected devices 1h, 1s to at least one of the batteries 32 of those devices 1h, 1s that has free capacity. Even in this case, the interconnection configuration Pc maintains the platoon configuration optimized in S103 for the travel point or travel section corresponding to the downhill section, and becomes a configuration in which the devices 1h, 1s are interconnected.

[0087] When S4109 ends in this manner, the navigation flow proceeds to S104. However, in S104 of the fourth embodiment, each of the devices 1h and 1s is navigated to the formation selected for each travel point or travel section by the route step of S103 or S4109.

[0088] According to the fourth embodiment described above, when each of the devices 1h, 1s travels on a downhill road, the platoon configuration is optimized to the interconnection configuration Pc in which the regenerative power generated in each of the interconnected devices 1h, 1s is recovered in at least one battery 32 of the devices 1h, 1s. According to this, in a scene in which regenerative power can be generated in each of the devices 1h, 1s, at least one battery 32 is shared by the interconnection configuration Pc, and the regenerative power can be efficiently recovered. Therefore, it is possible to further supplement the total power energy consumption suppressed by optimizing the platoon configuration based on the air resistance Rra and the wind resistance Rrw through regeneration, thereby enhancing the apparent suppression effect.

[0089] Here, particularly according to the fourth embodiment, when the total free capacity of the batteries 32 of the devices 1h, 1s is insufficient relative to the total regenerative power generated in each device 1h, 1s, optimization to the interconnection configuration Pc is limited. According to this, in a scene in which the efficiency of recovering regenerative power decreases due to a total insufficient free capacity of the batteries 32, optimization of the platoon configuration from the viewpoint of air resistance Rra and wind resistance Rrw may be prioritized over optimization to the interconnection configuration Pc. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to prevent overcharging of the batteries 32 in both devices 1h, 1s, which is caused by the apparent suppression of the total consumption of electric energy.

[0090] (Other embodiments) Although several embodiments have been described above, the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to those embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments and combinations within the scope not departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0091] In a modified example, the dedicated computer constituting the control system 8 of the navigation system 10 and / or the processing device 120 of the autonomous driving device 1 may have at least one of a digital circuit and an analog circuit as a processor. Here, the digital circuit is at least one of, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an SOC (System on a Chip), a PGA (Programmable Gate Array), and a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device). In addition, such a digital circuit may have a memory that stores a program.

[0092] In the windless state Wn of the modified example, the parallel configuration Pa may be selected. In the windless state Wn of the modified example, the independent running configuration Ps of each of the devices 1h, 1s may be selected. In the headwind state Wf of the modified example, the parallel configuration Pa may be selected. In the headwind state Wf of the modified example, the independent running configuration Ps of each of the devices 1h, 1s may be selected.

[0093] In a tailwind state Wt of the modified example, optimization of the platoon form may be limited to the tandem form Po, regardless of the magnitude relationship between the wind resistance Rrw and the air resistance Rra. In a tailwind state Wt of the modified example, optimization of the platoon form may be limited to the parallel form Pa (including switching between the complete parallel form Pa and the staggered parallel form Pao according to the second embodiment), regardless of the magnitude relationship between the wind resistance Rrw and the air resistance Rra. In a tailwind state Wt of the modified example, the independent traveling form Ps of each device 1h, 1s may be selected instead of at least one of the tandem form Po and the parallel form Pa according to the magnitude relationship between the wind resistance Rrw and the air resistance Rra.

[0094] In a crosswind state Wc of a modified example, optimization of the platoon form may be limited to the vertical formation Po, regardless of the magnitude relationship between the wind resistance Rrw and the air resistance Rra. In a crosswind state Wc of a modified example, optimization of the platoon form may be limited to the parallel formation Pa (including switching between the complete parallel formation Pa and the staggered parallel formation Pao according to the second embodiment), regardless of the magnitude relationship between the wind resistance Rrw and the air resistance Rra. In a crosswind state Wc of a modified example, the independent traveling formation Ps of each device 1h, 1s may be selected instead of at least one of the vertical formation Po and the parallel formation Pa according to the magnitude relationship between the wind resistance Rrw and the air resistance Rra.

[0095] In a modified example, the platoon configuration of three or more autonomous mobile devices 1 may be optimized. The autonomous mobile device 1 in the modified example may be, other than a two-wheel drive type capable of turning according to a rotational speed difference, a two-wheel drive type or a four-wheel drive type capable of turning according to steering, for example. Furthermore, in this modified example, at least one driven wheel 301 may be included.

[0096] In a modified example, the second embodiment may be combined with the third and fourth embodiments. However, in this modified example, it is preferable that the mutual connection form Pc is switched from the staggered parallel form Pao immediately before becoming the mutual connection form Pc to the complete parallel form Pa that is not substantially shifted in the vertical direction Lo.

[0097] In addition to the above description, the above-mentioned embodiments and variations may be implemented in the form of a processing circuit (e.g., a processing ECU, etc.) or a semiconductor circuit (e.g., a semiconductor chip, etc.) as a navigation system that is configured to be mounted on the autonomous driving device 1 and replaces the functions of the processing device 120 with a control system 8.

[0098] (Additional remarks) This specification discloses the following technical ideas and combinations thereof.

[0099] (Technical thought 1) A navigation system having a processor (131) and configured to navigate a plurality of autonomous mobile devices (1) that autonomously travel using power supplied from a battery (32), comprising: The processor, optimizing the platoon formation based on a running resistance (Rr) that changes in future running of at least one of the autonomous driving devices that are caused to run in the platoon formation; and navigating each of the autonomous vehicles into the optimized platoon configuration.

[0100] Incidentally, this technical idea 1 and the following technical ideas 2 to 10 may be realized in the form of a method and a program.

[0101] (Technical thought 2) The optimization of the formation configuration includes: A navigation system as described in technical idea 1, which includes optimizing the formation based on air resistance (Rra) as the running resistance that depends on the running speed generated by the autonomous driving device, and wind resistance (Rrw) as the running resistance that depends on the wind speed acting on the autonomous driving device.

[0102] (Technical Thought 3) The optimization of the formation configuration includes: In the vertical formation (Po), the autonomous mobile device that follows the autonomous mobile device that is driven in the lead is defined as the following device (1s). A navigation system described in Technical Idea 2, which includes optimizing the formation form to the vertical formation in at least one of the cases where the air resistance acts on the following device in a headwind condition and where the air resistance acts on the following device in a calm condition.

[0103] (Technical Thought 4) The optimization of the formation configuration includes: A navigation system as described in technical idea 3, which includes optimizing the formation form to the vertical formation in at least one of the cases where the air resistance for the following device is greater than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition and where the air resistance for the following device is greater than the wind resistance in a tailwind condition.

[0104] (Technical Thought 5) The optimization of the formation configuration includes: A navigation system described in technical idea 3 or 4, which includes optimizing the formation form to a horizontally arranged parallel form (Pa) in at least one of the cases where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition and where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a tailwind condition.

[0105] (Technical Thought 6) The optimization of the formation configuration includes: The navigation system described in Technical Idea 5 includes optimizing the formation to a staggered parallel formation (Pao) in which the vehicles are aligned horizontally and offset vertically when the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition including a vertical component.

[0106] (Technical Thought 7) The optimization of the formation configuration includes: A navigation system described in Technical Idea 5 or 6, which includes limiting optimization to the parallel form when the lateral width of the path traveled by each of the autonomous driving devices is narrower than the lateral width required for the parallel form.

[0107] (Technical Thought 8) The optimization of the formation configuration includes: A navigation system described in any one of technical ideas 1 to 7, which includes optimizing the platoon configuration to an interconnection configuration (Pc) in which regenerative power generated in each of the interconnected autonomous driving devices is recovered by the battery of at least one of the autonomous driving devices when each of the autonomous driving devices travels downhill.

[0108] (Technical Thought 9) The optimization of the formation configuration includes: If the autonomous driving device with the larger free capacity in the battery is defined as a recovery device (1c) that recovers the regenerative power, A navigation system as described in technical idea 8, which includes limiting optimization of the interconnection configuration when the free capacity of the battery of the recovery device is insufficient relative to the sum of the regenerative power generated by each of the autonomous driving devices.

[0109] (Technical Thought 10) The optimization of the formation configuration includes: A navigation system as described in technical idea 8, which includes limiting optimization of the interconnection configuration when the total free capacity of the batteries of each of the autonomous driving devices is insufficient compared to the total regenerative power generated in each of the autonomous driving devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0110] 1: autonomous driving device, 1s: following device, 1c: recovery device, 32: battery, 130: memory, 131: processor, Pa: parallel configuration, Pao: staggered parallel configuration, Pc: interconnected configuration, Po: tandem configuration, Rr: running resistance, Rra: air resistance, Rrw: wind resistance

Claims

1. A navigation system having a processor (131) and navigating a plurality of autonomous mobile devices (1) that autonomously travel using power supplied from a battery (32), comprising: The processor, optimizing the platoon formation based on a running resistance (Rr) that changes in future running of at least one of the autonomous driving devices that are caused to run in the platoon formation; and navigating each of the autonomous vehicles into the optimized platoon configuration; The optimization of the formation based on the air resistance (Rra) as the running resistance dependent on the running speed generated in the autonomous driving device and the wind resistance (Rrw) as the running resistance dependent on the wind speed acting on the autonomous driving device, In the vertical formation (Po), the autonomous mobile device that follows the autonomous mobile device that is driven in the lead is defined as the following device (1s). optimizing the formation configuration to the tandem configuration in at least one of a case where the air resistance acts on the following device in a headwind state and a case where the air resistance acts on the following device in a no wind state; optimizing the formation to a horizontally aligned parallel form (Pa) in at least one of the cases where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition and where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a tailwind condition.

2. The optimization of the formation configuration includes:

2. The navigation system of claim 1, further comprising optimizing the formation configuration to the tandem configuration in at least one of a case where the air resistance for the following device is greater than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition and a case where the air resistance for the following device is greater than the wind resistance in a tailwind condition.

3. The optimization of the formation configuration includes:

2. The navigation system of claim 1, further comprising optimizing the formation to a longitudinally offset, laterally aligned, staggered geese (Pao) among the parallel configurations when the air resistance for the following device is less than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition having a longitudinal component.

4. The optimization of the formation configuration includes: The navigation system according to claim 1 , further comprising limiting optimization to the parallel configuration when a lateral width of a path traveled by each of the autonomous vehicles is narrower than a lateral width required for the parallel configuration.

5. The optimization of the formation configuration includes: A navigation system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, which includes optimizing the platoon configuration to an interconnection configuration (Pc) that allows regenerative power generated in each of the interconnected autonomous driving devices to be recovered by the battery of at least one of the autonomous driving devices when each of the autonomous driving devices travels downhill.

6. The optimization of the formation configuration includes: If the autonomous driving device with the larger free capacity in the battery is defined as a recovery device (1c) that recovers the regenerative power, The navigation system according to claim 5, further comprising limiting optimization of the interconnection configuration when the remaining capacity of the battery of the recovery device is insufficient relative to the sum of the regenerative power generated in each of the autonomous driving devices.

7. The optimization of the formation configuration includes: The navigation system of claim 5, further comprising limiting optimization of the interconnection topology when a total of free capacity in the batteries of the autonomous mobile devices is insufficient relative to a total of the regenerative power generated in each of the autonomous mobile devices.

8. A navigation method executed by a processor (131) for navigating a plurality of autonomous mobile devices (1) that autonomously travel using power supplied from a battery (32), comprising: optimizing the platoon formation based on a running resistance (Rr) that changes in future running of at least one of the autonomous driving devices that are caused to run in the platoon formation; and navigating each of the autonomous vehicles into the optimized platoon configuration; The optimization of the formation based on the air resistance (Rra) as the running resistance dependent on the running speed generated in the autonomous driving device and the wind resistance (Rrw) as the running resistance dependent on the wind speed acting on the autonomous driving device, In the vertical formation (Po), the autonomous mobile device that follows the autonomous mobile device that is driven in the lead is defined as the following device (1s). optimizing the formation configuration to the tandem configuration in at least one of a case where the air resistance acts on the following device in a headwind state and a case where the air resistance acts on the following device in a no wind state; and optimizing the formation form to a horizontally aligned parallel form (Pa) in at least one of the cases where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition and where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a tailwind condition.

9. A navigation program stored in a storage medium (130) for navigating a plurality of autonomous mobile devices (1) that autonomously travel using power supplied from a battery (32), the navigation program including instructions to be executed by a processor (131), The instruction: optimizing the formation of the platoon based on a running resistance (Rr) that changes in future running of at least one of the autonomous driving devices that are caused to run in the formation; and navigating each of the autonomous vehicles into the optimized platoon configuration; The optimization of the formation based on the air resistance (Rra) as the running resistance dependent on the running speed generated in the autonomous driving device and the wind resistance (Rrw) as the running resistance dependent on the wind speed acting on the autonomous driving device, In the vertical formation (Po), the autonomous mobile device that follows the autonomous mobile device that is driven in the lead is defined as the following device (1s). optimizing the formation configuration to the tandem configuration in at least one of a case where the air resistance acts on the following device in a headwind state and a case where the air resistance acts on the following device in a no-wind state; A navigation program including: optimizing the formation form to a horizontally aligned parallel form (Pa) in at least one of the cases where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a crosswind condition and where the air resistance for the following device is smaller than the wind resistance in a tailwind condition.

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