Traffic management device, control method for traffic management device, and control program for traffic management device

Abstract

To provide an operation management device, etc. that can execute appropriate control of automated vehicles at the discretion of an operation management center.SOLUTION: An operation management device pertaining to an operation management system for remotely managing a vehicle travelling under the control of an automatic operation device provided in the vehicle includes: an acquisition unit for acquiring plural pieces of travelling environment information related to a driving environment of the vehicle; a determination unit for determining whether or not a predetermined condition regarding the travelling environment information is satisfied while the vehicle is in motion; a generation unit for generating a stop instruction indicating that control by the automatic operation system is to be stopped when the predetermined conditions are satisfied; and a transmission unit for transmitting the stop instruction to the automatic operation device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a traffic management device, a control method for a traffic management device, and a control program for a traffic management device. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, so-called autonomous vehicles, which run without the need for driver operation, have become more widespread. Autonomous driving has levels set according to who is responsible for driving and the areas in which it can travel, and it is defined that for autonomous driving level 3 and above, the autonomous driving device takes the lead in driving operations.

[0003] According to the provisions of the Road Transport Vehicle Act, an automatic driving device is "a device whose main components are sensors for detecting the state of a vehicle while it is in operation and the surrounding conditions, which are necessary for automatically driving a vehicle through a program, and a computer and program for processing the information transmitted from the sensors," and "a device that has the function of completely replacing the driver's abilities related to perception, prediction, judgment, and operation related to driving, and is equipped with a device for recording information necessary to confirm the operating status of said functions."

[0004] Here, a level 3 autonomous vehicle is required to have a function for informing the driver or operator on board, or the operation manager who remotely monitors the vehicle at an operation control center, of the operating status of the automatic operation device.For example, currently, a service (e.g., Patent Document 1) has been started in which an autonomous vehicle is used as a public bus for carrying passengers, but it is preferable that such an autonomous vehicle public bus be monitored as necessary by the driver or operation manager, or by a traffic control system (traffic control device) on the side of the operation control center where the operation manager is waiting. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-45502 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In a public bus operated by an autonomous vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as an "autonomous bus") as described in Patent Document 1, the safety of passengers is given top priority. Therefore, in the event that an event occurs in which the autonomous driving device installed in the autonomous bus cannot execute sufficient control to protect the safety of passengers, it is required that the operation management center judges that the autonomous driving should be stopped. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One embodiment of the present invention relates to an operation management system for remotely managing a vehicle that runs under the control of an automatic driving device equipped in the vehicle, and the operation management device includes an acquisition unit that acquires multiple pieces of driving environment information related to the operation of the vehicle, a determination unit that determines whether or not a predetermined condition related to the driving environment information is met while the vehicle is running, a generation unit that generates a stop instruction indicating that control by the automatic driving device should be stopped when the predetermined condition is met, and a transmission unit that transmits the stop instruction to the automatic driving device.

[0008] In the operation control device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the generation unit may generate a stop instruction to include an instruction to switch control of the vehicle from that of the automatic operation device to that of the operation management device.

[0009] In the operation control device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the generation unit may generate a stop instruction to include an instruction to switch control of the vehicle from that of the automatic operation device to that of the user.

[0010] An operating control device according to one embodiment of the present invention controls the driving of a vehicle in accordance with driving environment information acquired by an information acquisition device equipped in the vehicle from among multiple driving environment information, and a judgment unit may determine whether a predetermined condition is met for driving environment information acquired by the acquisition unit that is not acquired by the information acquisition device equipped in the vehicle.

[0011] The driving control device of one embodiment of the present invention further includes a driving control unit that controls the driving of the vehicle, and the driving control unit may determine the control content of the vehicle when control is started, depending on the specified conditions that are met.

[0012] In an operation control device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the driving control unit may determine the vehicle's situation when a specified condition is met based on multiple driving environment information, and determine the control content of the vehicle when control is initiated depending on the situation.

[0013] In an operation control device according to one embodiment of the present invention, the driving control unit may continue control of the vehicle by the automatic operation device depending on the control of the vehicle by the automatic operation device when a specified condition is met.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a control method for a driving management system that remotely manages a driving vehicle by controlling an automatic driving device equipped in the vehicle includes the steps of acquiring multiple driving environment information related to the driving environment of the vehicle, determining whether or not a predetermined condition related to the driving environment information is satisfied while the vehicle is driving, generating a stop instruction indicating that control by the automatic driving device should be stopped when the predetermined condition is satisfied, and transmitting the stop instruction to the automatic driving device.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a control program for an operation management system for remotely managing a vehicle that is traveling under the control of an automatic driving device equipped in the vehicle, provides the operation management device with the following functions: acquiring multiple driving environment information related to the operation of the vehicle; determining whether or not predetermined conditions related to the driving environment information are met while the vehicle is traveling; generating a stop instruction indicating that control by the automatic driving device should be stopped when the predetermined conditions are met; and transmitting the stop instruction to the automatic driving device. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a traffic management device or the like that is capable of executing appropriate control of an autonomous vehicle at the discretion of a traffic management center. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a traffic control system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is an example of a functional block diagram of an autonomous driving vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of a server (operation management device) according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is an example of a table relating to predetermined conditions in the traffic management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of a server according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention (also referred to as the present invention) according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to those shown in the drawings. For example, the illustrated operation management device (server), autonomous vehicles (autonomous driving buses), autonomous operation devices, storage devices, the number of information providing devices (roadside devices, etc.), data sets (tables), flow charts, identifiers, etc. are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

[0019] <System configuration> FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a traffic control system configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention. The traffic control system 700 is a system that executes traffic control of an autonomous bus in a service that provides a public bus (autonomous driving bus) by an autonomous vehicle. That is, the traffic control system 700 may be a system that remotely monitors and manages the operation of a plurality of autonomous vehicles 200 (200A to 200C). In one embodiment of the present invention, the autonomous vehicle 200 may be a level 3 or higher vehicle in which the main driver is not a driver but an automatic driving device, but the autonomous vehicle 200 may be a vehicle in which a driver or operator (hereinafter simply referred to as "operator, etc.") rides and is capable of auxiliary driving operations such as stopping operations at traffic lights. In addition, although only three public buses are shown as autonomous vehicles in FIG. 1, there may be more autonomous vehicles managed by the traffic control system 700. Hereinafter, the autonomous vehicles 200A to 200C may be simply referred to as autonomous vehicles 200 or vehicles 200 when there is no particular need to distinguish them.

[0020] In this specification, the "automatic driving device" is described as a system mounted on the vehicle 200 and controls the steering, braking, etc. of the vehicle 200 based on information acquired from various sensors, road infrastructure, etc. In contrast, the "operation management device" is described as a system on the side of the operation management center that remotely monitors and controls the vehicle 200. Furthermore, the state in which the vehicle 200 runs under the control of the automatic driving device is referred to as "automatic driving," and the state in which the vehicle runs under the control of the operation management device is referred to as "remote control," and the two are distinguished. In addition, "manual driving" is defined as a state in which the vehicle runs under the control of an operator, etc., aboard the vehicle 200 or an operation manager waiting at the operation management center, using a predetermined input device.

[0021] The traffic management system 700 may include at least the vehicles 200A to 200C and a traffic management device (server) 100. The traffic management system 700 may further include a map database (DB) 400 and an information providing device 500 installed in road accessories (road infrastructure) such as roadside devices and traffic lights.

[0022] The traffic management device 100, the vehicle 200, and the information providing device 500 may exchange various information (data) via the network 300. For example, the traffic management device 100 may remotely monitor and control the vehicle 200 via the network 300. The information providing device 500 is a device having a wireless communication function installed on a roadside device, a traffic light, etc., and may provide the vehicle 200 with information on the state of the traffic light, position information of other vehicles, information on pedestrians, etc., via vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication. Furthermore, the vehicles 200A to 200C may exchange various information between vehicles present within a communication range via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication.

[0023] The map database 400 is a dynamic map database, and the vehicle 200 and the server 100 may obtain from the map database 400 a part of driving environment information related to the driving environment in which the vehicle 200 drives, and control the driving speed, lanes, and the like. Conventionally, high definition 3D map data is used to realize automatic driving. The high precision 3D map data is data related to road information such as the number of lanes, division lines, and width, and position information of crosswalks, stop lines, signs, buildings, and the like. Here, in order to drive a vehicle, a dynamic map is used in which high precision 3D map data, which is static information, is combined with quasi-static information (traffic regulations, road construction schedules, wide-area weather forecast information, etc.), dynamic information (surrounding vehicles and pedestrians, traffic light information, etc.), and quasi-dynamic information (traffic accidents, traffic regulations, congestion, narrow-area weather information, etc.) that changes in real time. That is, the driving environment information related to the driving environment may include the static information, quasi-static information, dynamic information, and quasi-dynamic information described above. This information may be acquired in real time from each vehicle 200 traveling on the road and updated, or may be updated by acquiring weather information and traffic information provided by an external service.

[0024] The network 300 includes a wireless network and a wired network. Specifically, for example, the network 300 may be a wireless LAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a long term evolution (LTE), a mobile communication system for fourth generation communication (4G), fifth generation communication (5G), sixth generation communication (6G) or later, or the like. Note that the network 300 is not limited to these examples, and may be, for example, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), Bluetooth (Bluetooth (registered trademark)), an optical line, an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) line, a satellite communication network, or the like. Furthermore, the network 300 may include a wireless communication method for IoT, such as Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT) and enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC). Furthermore, the network 300 may include a communication method used in road-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Note that the network 300 may be a combination of these.

[0025] <Autonomous vehicles> Next, the hardware configuration and functional configuration of an autonomous vehicle 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The autonomous vehicle 200 includes a driving control unit 210 and a monitoring control unit 240. These control units may typically be realized by an electronic control unit (ECU). Here, the driving control unit 210 performs control related to the driving and running of the vehicle 200, and the monitoring control unit 240 may perform control related to processing executed inside the vehicle.

[0026] The driving control unit 210 includes a driving information acquisition unit 211, a driving force control unit 212, a brake control unit 213, and a steering control unit 214. The driving information acquisition unit 211 is connected to a driving control sensor group 201 and a control vehicle exterior image capture unit 202 that function as information acquisition devices, and acquires data collected by these. The driving control sensor group 201 includes sensors that collect measurement data used for controlling autonomous driving, and includes, for example, a positioning device (GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), odometry, etc.), a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a steering angle sensor, a ranging sensor (LiDAR (light detection and ranging), millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic sensor, infrared sensor, etc.), an IMU (inertial measurement unit), an illuminance sensor, a raindrop sensor, etc. The control exterior imaging unit 207 is, for example, a camera (monocular camera, stereo camera, multi-camera, etc.), and multiple cameras are provided on the front, rear, left and right sides of the vehicle to capture video or still images of the outside of the vehicle 200. The objects captured by the control exterior imaging unit 202 may be information necessary for autonomous driving, such as lanes, obstacles, road construction and traffic regulations, and congestion. Furthermore, the driving information acquisition unit 211 may function as an information acquisition device, and may refer to the map database 400 to acquire driving environment information related to the driving environment of the vehicle, which is used for controlling the vehicle 200.

[0027] The vehicle 200 further includes a driving force output device (engine / motor) 221, a brake device 222, and a steering device 223. The automatic driving device 20 may be a system for controlling the driving force output device (engine / motor) 221, the brake device 222, and the steering device 223. The driving force control unit 212, the brake control unit 213, and the steering control unit 214 control the driving force output device 221, the brake device 222, and the steering device 223, respectively. The driving control unit 210 moves or stops the vehicle 200 along a preset driving route based on the current position, vehicle speed, steering angle, moving images outside the vehicle, the presence or absence of obstacles, and the like of the vehicle 200 acquired from the above-mentioned various sensors and the like. The driving control unit 210 generates control signals for moving or stopping the vehicle 200 along the route, and outputs the control signals to the driving force control unit 212, the brake control unit 213, and the steering control unit 214. Based on the control signals, the driving force control unit 212, the brake control unit 213, and the steering control unit 214 respectively control the driving force output device 221, the brake device 222, and the steering device 223. Note that existing technologies may be used for controlling the autonomous driving vehicle.

[0028] The monitoring control unit 240 executes processes related to monitoring the vehicle 200, and includes a communication control unit 241 and an in-vehicle information acquisition unit 242. The in-vehicle information acquisition unit 242 may acquire driving environment information related to the driving environment of the vehicle, which is used for controlling the vehicle.

[0029] For example, the in-vehicle information acquisition unit 242 acquires data collected by a monitoring sensor group 203 provided in the vehicle 200, which functions as an information acquisition device. The monitoring sensor group 203 is a sensor group that collects data used for monitoring the inside and outside of the vehicle. The sensors for monitoring the inside of the vehicle may be, for example, a human sensor, a breath sensor, a temperature sensor, a heat sensor, a smoke sensor, etc. Furthermore, the sensors for monitoring the outside of the vehicle may be an illuminance sensor, a raindrop sensor, a distance sensor (LiDAR, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic sensor, infrared sensor, etc.), etc.

[0030] The in-vehicle information acquisition unit 242 also acquires data captured by the monitoring vehicle exterior imaging unit 204, which functions as an information acquisition device. The monitoring vehicle exterior imaging unit 204 is, for example, a camera (monocular camera, stereo camera, multi-camera, etc.), and a plurality of cameras are provided outside the vehicle 200, for example, on the front, rear, left and right sides, and captures moving images outside the vehicle. The data captured by the monitoring vehicle exterior imaging unit 204 may be moving images or still images.

[0031] Furthermore, the interior information acquisition unit 242 acquires data captured by the interior imaging unit 205 functioning as an information acquisition device. The interior imaging unit 205 is, for example, a camera, and is provided at the entrance and exit doors of the vehicle, at a place where the interior of the vehicle can be glanced at, and the like, and captures images of the interior of the vehicle 200. The data captured by the interior imaging unit 205 may be a video or a still image. The data captured by the interior imaging unit 205 may be used to determine attributes such as the seating status of passengers in the vehicle, the number of passengers, and whether they are elderly or children.

[0032] In addition, in the interior of the vehicle 200, in addition to the interior imaging unit 205, a speaker, a microphone, a display, and the like (not shown) may be provided as various devices.

[0033] The monitoring control unit 240 transmits the acquired various data to the traffic management device 100. When sudden acceleration / deceleration or abrupt turning (sudden steering) occurs in the vehicle 200, the monitoring control unit 240 may acquire data indicating the occurrence and transmit the data to the traffic management device 100. The various data transmitted to the traffic management device 100 may be output to a display device at the traffic management center, with or without processing, as necessary. For example, video data of the inside or outside of the vehicle output to the display device may be used for remote monitoring by the traffic manager at the traffic management center. The various data may be transmitted from the vehicle 200 to the traffic management device 100 at predetermined time intervals, for example, every second.

[0034] The communication control unit 241 controls communication (data exchange) between the vehicle 200 and the traffic management device 100 via the network 300 by the communication I / F (interface) 250. The communication control unit 241 may also control inter-vehicle communication between the vehicles 200, or road-to-vehicle communication between the vehicle 200 and an information providing device 500 provided on road accessories such as roadside devices and traffic lights installed on the road.

[0035] The storage unit 270 is typically realized by various recording media such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an SD card, and a flash memory, and has a function of storing various programs and data required for the operation of the vehicle 200. The storage unit 270 may also temporarily store data acquired from the various sensors described above and moving images captured by each imaging unit.

[0036] In the above description, the sensor and image capturing unit that collect data used for autonomous driving and the sensor and image capturing unit that collect data used for monitoring are separated, but these may be realized by the same hardware or software. Also, in the above description, the driving control unit 210 and the monitoring control unit 240 are separated, but these may be realized by a single control unit.

[0037] <Operation control device> Next, the hardware configuration and the functional configuration of the traffic management device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[0038] (1) Hardware configuration of the traffic management device The traffic management device 100 includes a control unit 110, a communication unit 120, an input / output unit 130, and a memory unit 170.

[0039] The control unit 110 is typically a processor, including a central processing unit (CPU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microprocessor, a processor core, a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc., and is realized by a logic circuit (hardware) or a dedicated circuit formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), etc. Note that it is preferable that the traffic management device 100 has a processor with high computing power for processing a large amount of data.

[0040] The communication unit 120 may be implemented as hardware such as a network adapter, communication software, or a combination of these. The communication unit 120 transmits and receives various types of data to and from the vehicle 200 via the network 300.

[0041] The input / output unit 130 may include an input device (keyboard, touch panel, microphone, etc.) for inputting various operations to the traffic management device 100, and an output device (display device, speaker, etc.) for outputting processing results processed by the traffic management device 100.

[0042] The storage unit 170 stores various programs and various data required for the operation of the traffic management device 100. For example, the storage unit 170 may store predetermined conditions related to the driving environment information described later. The storage unit 170 may include, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 170 may also include a memory (such as a random access memory (RAM) or a read only memory (ROM)) that provides a working area for the control unit 110.

[0043] (2) Functional configuration of the traffic management device The traffic management device 100 may include a communication control unit 111, an input / output control unit 112, an acquisition unit 113, a determination unit 114, a generation unit 115, and a travel control unit 116 as functions realized by the control unit 110. Note that each functional unit shown in FIG. 3 is not essential, and in each embodiment described hereinafter, non-essential functional units may be omitted. Furthermore, the functions or processes of each functional unit may be realized by machine learning or AI to the extent that they can be realized.

[0044] The communication control unit 111 controls communication with the vehicle 200 and the information providing device 500 via the communication unit 120. The input / output control unit 112 controls input / output of information via wired or wireless communication with an external device via the input / output unit 130. For example, the input / output control unit 112 may output a management screen based on various data transmitted from the vehicle 200 to a display device (not shown) installed in an operation control center.

[0045] The acquisition unit 113 may acquire a plurality of pieces of driving environment information related to the driving environment of the vehicle 200, which is used for controlling the vehicle 200, from the vehicle 200, the information providing device 500, and the like. The driving environment information is information related to the environment in which the vehicle 200 is located or the environment in which the vehicle 200 may be located in the future, and may be any information related to the road, the environment around the road, the state of the vehicle 200, and the like. The driving environment information acquired from the vehicle 200 is information collected by various sensors and imaging units of the traveling vehicle 200, and may be, for example, images inside and outside the vehicle, a driving position, a driving time, a driving speed, the number of passengers, the type of passengers, the temperature and humidity inside the vehicle, the amount of carbon dioxide, the weather during driving, the brightness around the road on which the vehicle is traveling, signs on the road on which the vehicle is traveling, a steering history, a braking history, an obstacle on the road, pedestrian information, and the like. In addition, the driving environment information acquired from the information providing device 500 may be traffic light information, temporary traffic restrictions due to construction or accidents, congestion, weather, the approach of an emergency vehicle, and the like.

[0046] The determination unit 114 may determine whether or not a predetermined condition related to the driving environment information is satisfied while the vehicle 200 is traveling. The predetermined condition related to the driving environment information may be a preset condition that causes the automatic operation device 20 to stop controlling the vehicle 200. In other words, the predetermined condition may be a condition that makes it possible to determine that an event may occur in which the automatic operation device 20 cannot execute sufficient control to protect the safety of passengers of the vehicle 200.

[0047] FIG. 4 shows an example of the predetermined condition table TB10 stored in the storage unit 170. The predetermined condition table TB10 stores an identifier (condition ID (IDentifieer)) for identifying each condition, the type of driving environment information, and the content for determining that the predetermined condition is satisfied, in association with each other. The determination unit 114 may refer to the predetermined condition table TB10 and determine whether the driving environment information satisfies the predetermined condition for each of the vehicles 200A to 200C. The traffic management device 100 acquires the above-mentioned driving environment information from each vehicle 200 traveling in various places and the information providing device 500 installed in various places. For this reason, the amount of information acquired by the traffic management device 100 is greater than the amount of information acquired by a single vehicle 200, and the traffic environment information can be acquired over a wide geographical range. Taking this into consideration, the specified condition table TB10 may store information that enables the operation management device 100 to determine, based on the driving environment information acquired, events that require attention when driving the vehicle 200, such as the need to reduce the driving speed or change lanes, but that may not be recognized by the vehicle 200 alone.

[0048] For example, when the content of the "road information" in the driving environment information regarding the vehicle 200A indicates "approach of an emergency vehicle", the determination unit 114 may determine that the predetermined condition is satisfied for the vehicle 200A. Also, when the content of the "weather information" in the driving environment information regarding the vehicle 200A indicates "rainfall of 〇 mm / h or more", the determination unit 114 may determine that the predetermined condition is satisfied for the vehicle 200A. For example, a sudden downpour, a sudden snowfall, irradiation of the afternoon sun due to the solar radiation angle, etc. may reduce the accuracy of information acquired by the distance measuring sensor and the outside image capturing unit of the vehicle 200, or cause malfunction. For this reason, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined condition may be set, and these events may be detected in advance based on information acquired by other vehicles 200 and the information providing device 500 while a certain vehicle 200 is traveling. The "instructions to the vehicle" in the predetermined condition table TB1 will be described later.

[0049] Furthermore, when the content of the "in-vehicle information" among the driving environment information related to the vehicle 200A indicates "abnormal operation by the controller", the determination unit 114 may determine that a predetermined condition is established for the vehicle 200A. This may be a condition that can detect, for example, a sudden steering operation or a control contrary to the traffic light information (for example, no stop operation even though the light is red) when an operator is in the vehicle 200 and operating a controller that inputs a control signal to the vehicle 200.

[0050] 4 is an example, and the information stored in the predetermined condition table TB10 may be more or less than this. Also, the traffic management device 100 may further include a learning unit (not shown) that learns driving environment information when automatic driving by the automatic driving device 20 is switched to remote control by the traffic management device 100 or manual driving by an operator or the like, and updates the predetermined condition table TB10.

[0051] When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the generation unit 115 may generate a stop instruction (stop signal) indicating that control by the automatic driving device 20 is to be stopped. The communication control unit 111 may transmit the stop instruction generated by the generation unit 115 to the vehicle 200 via the communication unit 120. The driving control unit 210 of the vehicle 200 may control the brake device 222 and the steering device 223 in response to the received stop instruction to stop the vehicle 200.

[0052] In this way, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the operation management device 100 can remotely determine that an event that cannot be appropriately handled by the automatic operation device 20 alone may occur, and transmit to the vehicle 200 a stop instruction to stop the vehicle 200. This contributes to safer driving of the automatic operation vehicle 200, and can reduce the load on the vehicle 200 in the determination process.

[0053] The generating unit 115 may generate the stop instruction by including an instruction to switch the control of the vehicle 200 from the automatic operation device 20 to the control of the operation management device 100. The predetermined condition table TB1 may further store the instruction content to the vehicle when a predetermined condition is established, as shown in FIG. 4. For example, when the predetermined condition determined by the determining unit 114 is that the content of the "road information" indicates "traffic control xx km ahead", the generating unit 115 may refer to the predetermined condition table TB1 and include an instruction to switch from the control by the automatic operation device 20 to the remote control by the operation management device 100.

[0054] This allows a smooth transition to control by the traffic management device 200 when an event occurs that requires control by the automatic traffic device 20 to be stopped.

[0055] Furthermore, the generation unit 115 may generate the stop instruction by including an instruction to switch the control of the vehicle 200 from that of the automatic operation device 20 to that of a user (operation manager, operator, etc.). That is, the predetermined condition table TB1 may further include a condition for switching from control by the automatic operation device 20 to control by a user, and the generation unit 115 may refer to the predetermined condition table TB1 to include an instruction to switch from control by the automatic operation device 20 to manual driving by a user. The stop instruction may include information notifying the user that the subject of control of the vehicle 200 will be switched. For example, the instruction to switch from automatic driving to manual driving may be notified by voice.

[0056] This allows for a smooth transition to user control when an event occurs that requires control by the automatic driving device 20 to be stopped.

[0057] As described above, the automatic operation device 20 controls the traveling of the vehicle according to the traveling environment information acquired by the information acquisition device provided in the vehicle 200 among the multiple traveling environment information. The information acquisition device may include, for example, the above-mentioned driving control sensor group 201, the control vehicle exterior imaging unit 202, the monitoring sensor group 203, the monitoring vehicle exterior imaging unit 204, the vehicle interior imaging unit 205, and the driving information acquisition unit 211. The determination unit 114 of the operation management device 100 may determine whether or not a predetermined condition is established for the traveling environment information not acquired by the information acquisition device provided in the vehicle 200 among the traveling environment information acquired by the acquisition unit 113.

[0058] As described above, the traffic management device 100 can acquire a large amount of driving environment information from each vehicle 200 traveling in various places and the information providing device 500 installed in various places, so the amount of information acquired by the traffic management device 100 can be greater than the amount of information acquired by the vehicle 200 alone. For example, the vehicle 200A alone cannot detect the approach of an emergency vehicle, but the traffic management device 100 can detect the presence of an emergency vehicle on the route along which the vehicle 200A is scheduled to travel, based on information acquired from other vehicles 200B, 200C, the roadside device 500, etc. In addition, the traffic management device 100 can acquire information about accidents on the route along which the vehicle 200 is scheduled to travel, sudden changes in local weather, etc., before the vehicle 200 does.

[0059] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the establishment of the above-mentioned predetermined condition may be determined based on driving environment information that is not acquired by the vehicle 200. This makes it possible to detect in advance an event that the vehicle 200 may encounter in the future and to stop the vehicle 200, thereby contributing to safer driving.

[0060] The travel control unit 116 of the traffic management device 100 may remotely control the travel of the vehicle 200. That is, the travel control unit 116 may control the travel of the vehicle 200 after the automatic driving is stopped and then the control is shifted to remote control. Here, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the travel control unit 116 may determine the control content of the vehicle 200 when the control is started according to the established predetermined condition. For example, in the "instruction to the vehicle" in the predetermined condition table TB1, information on the speed at the time of stopping and the stop position may be further stored as information on the control content at the time of starting the control. The travel control unit 116 may control the vehicle 200 by referring to information on the control content associated with the established predetermined condition. For example, when the automatic driving is stopped due to the approach of an emergency vehicle, the travel control unit 116 may quickly stop the vehicle 200 by pulling over to the shoulder of the road. Also, when the automatic driving is stopped due to snowfall, the travel control unit 116 may gently stop the vehicle 200. The speed and speed of the brakes may be realized by setting the degree of fluctuation in acceleration in advance. The stopping of the vehicle 200 may be performed in consideration of the traffic around the vehicle 200. For example, if the location where the vehicle 200 is traveling when the predetermined condition is satisfied is an intersection, the traveling control unit 115 may stop the vehicle 200 after passing through the intersection without stopping the vehicle 200 by applying sudden brakes.

[0061] In this way, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the behavior of the vehicle 200 when switching from autonomous driving to remote control is determined according to the content of the event that stops the autonomous driving. Therefore, it is possible to realize safer driving of the vehicle 200.

[0062] Furthermore, the traveling control unit 116 may determine the control content of the vehicle 200 when the control is started, depending on the state of the vehicle 200 when a predetermined condition determined based on a plurality of pieces of traveling environment information is established. The state of the vehicle 200 is information indicating the state inside and outside the vehicle 200, the state of the road on which the vehicle 200 is traveling, etc., and may be, for example, information indicating the state of the passengers of the vehicle 200 (number of passengers, standing / sitting, elderly / children, etc.), intersections, waiting at traffic lights, etc. The state of the vehicle 200 may be acquired from the above-mentioned in-vehicle imaging unit 205, the control exterior imaging unit 202, the monitoring exterior imaging unit 204, etc.

[0063] For example, when a predetermined condition is met and there is a standing passenger inside the vehicle 200, the traveling control unit 116 may gently stop the vehicle 200. Furthermore, when a predetermined condition is met and the vehicle 200 is traveling through an intersection, the traveling control unit 116 may stop the vehicle 200 after passing through the intersection.

[0064] Thus, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the behavior of the vehicle 200 when switching from autonomous driving to remote control is determined according to the state of the vehicle 200 when it is determined to stop autonomous driving. Therefore, safer driving of the vehicle 200 can be achieved without affecting traffic.

[0065] The driving control unit 116 may allow the automatic operation device 20 to continue the control of the vehicle 200 depending on the control of the vehicle 200 by the automatic operation device 20 when a predetermined condition is satisfied. In other words, when the determination unit 114 determines that a predetermined condition is satisfied and the server 100 detects that the automatic operation device 20 has performed control to stop the vehicle 200, the driving control unit 116 may not perform remote control and the automatic operation by the automatic operation device 20 may be allowed to continue.

[0066] When the automatic operation by the automatic operation device 20 is stopped and the subject of control is transferred, there is a risk of a time lag occurring due to communication delays, switching processing, etc. Therefore, even if a predetermined condition is met, if safety is ensured by continuing the control by the automatic operation device 20, the control by the automatic operation device 20 may be continued as is. This has the advantage of avoiding unnecessary switching of the subject of driving and avoiding the generation of a load due to switching.

[0067] <Control flow chart of the traffic management device> Here, the control method of the traffic management device 100 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5. First, the acquisition unit 113 of the traffic management device 100 may acquire a plurality of pieces of driving environment information related to the driving environment of the vehicle 200, which is used for controlling the vehicle 200 (step S11). The acquired driving environment information may be stored in the storage unit 170 or an external storage device (not shown). The determination unit 114 of the traffic management device 100 may determine whether a predetermined condition related to the driving environment information is satisfied while the vehicle 200 is traveling (step S12). If it is determined that the predetermined condition is not satisfied (NO in step S12), the process may return to step S11 and continue acquiring the driving environment information. If it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied (YES in step S12), the generation unit 115 may generate a stop instruction indicating that the control by the automatic operation device 20 is to be stopped (step S13). Then, the communication control unit 111 may transmit the stop instruction to the automatic operation device 20 (step S14). As described above, the stop control of the vehicle 200 may be performed so as not to affect the traffic around the vehicle 200.

[0068] Although the present invention has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that a person skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and corrections are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, the functions included in each component, each step, etc. can be rearranged so as not to cause logical contradictions, and multiple components, steps, etc. can be combined into one or divided. In addition, the configurations shown in the above embodiments may be appropriately combined. For example, each component described as being included in the traffic management device 100 may be realized by being distributed to multiple servers.

[0069] For example, in the above description, a remote control is performed by the traffic management device 100 after the automatic driving by the automatic driving device 20 is stopped. However, after the automatic driving is stopped, manual driving via a controller by an operator or the like who rides in the vehicle 200, or manual driving remotely by an operation manager waiting at an operation management center may be performed.

[0070] In the above, the automatic driving by the automatic operation device 20 is stopped by the determination by the operation management device 100. However, the priority of the subject that determines whether or not to stop the automatic driving may differ depending on the contents of the predetermined condition. For example, when an operator or the like is on board the vehicle 200, the operator or the like is the one who can best grasp the driving environment of the vehicle 200. Therefore, even if the operation management device 100 determines that the automatic driving should be stopped, the automatic driving may be controlled to continue by an input operation by the operator or the like.

[0071] Each functional unit of the traffic management device 100 and the vehicle 200 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) or a dedicated circuit formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)), or may be realized by software using a CPU (Central Processing Unit). Each functional unit may be realized by one or more integrated circuits, and the functions of multiple functional units may be realized by one integrated circuit. Furthermore, the above-mentioned traffic management device 100 may be realized by multiple traffic management device computers, and depending on the function, it may be realized by calling an external platform, etc., using an API (Application Programming Interface), etc.

[0072] When each functional unit of the traffic management device 100 is realized by software, the traffic management device 100 includes a CPU that executes instructions of a program that is software that realizes each function, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a storage device (these are referred to as "recording media") in which the above program and various data are recorded so as to be readable by a computer (or CPU), and a RAM (Random Access Memory) in which the above program is expanded. The object of the present invention is achieved by the computer (or CPU) reading and executing the above program from the recording medium. That is, the traffic management device 100 according to the present invention functions as each of the above-mentioned components by the CPU executing the program loaded on the RAM. As the recording medium, a "non-transient tangible medium", for example, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, etc. can be used. In addition, the above program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or a broadcast wave) capable of transmitting the program. The present invention may also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the above program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[0073] The above program may be implemented using, for example, a scripting language such as ActionScript, JavaScript (registered trademark), Python, or Ruby, an object-oriented programming language such as C language, C++, C#, Objective-C, Swift, or Java (registered trademark), or a markup language such as HTML5. Furthermore, the term "section, module, or unit" in the claims may be read as "means" or "circuit." For example, a communication section may be read as a communication means or a communication circuit.

[0074] In addition, the program of the present disclosure may be provided to the fleet management device 100 via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or broadcast waves) capable of transmitting the program.

[0075] As mentioned above, the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, but it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, and each claim may include combinations, modifications, and similar arrangements.

[0076] According to each aspect of the present disclosure described above, safe operation of autonomous vehicles will be possible, which will contribute to achieving Goal 11 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), "Sustainable cities and communities." [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 100 Operation management device (server) 110 Control section 111 Communication control section 112 Display processing unit 113 Acquisition Department 114 Judgment section 115 Generation part 116 Driving control unit 120 Communications Department 130 Input / output section 170 Storage section 200 Self-driving vehicles 201 Sensors for driving control 202 Vehicle exterior imaging unit for control 203 Monitoring Sensors 204 Surveillance exterior imaging unit 205 In-vehicle imaging unit 210 Operation control unit 211 Driving Information Acquisition Department 212 Driving force control section 213 Brake control unit 214 Steering control unit 221 Driving force output device 222 Brake equipment 223 Steering device 240 Monitoring and control section 241 Communication Control Unit 242 In-vehicle information acquisition unit 250 Communication I / F 260 Display 270 Storage section 300 Network 400 map database 500 Information provision device 700 Traffic Control System

Claims

1. A traffic management device for a traffic management system that remotely manages a vehicle traveling under the control of an automatic driving device provided in the vehicle, A storage unit that stores a predetermined condition that is set in advance to stop control by the automatic operation device; An acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of pieces of driving environment information relating to a driving environment of the vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied with respect to the driving environment information while the vehicle is traveling; A generation unit that generates a stop instruction indicating that control by the automatic operation device is to be stopped when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the stop instruction including an instruction to switch the control of the vehicle from the automatic operation device to the control by the operation management device; A transmission unit that transmits the stop instruction to the automatic operation device; A driving control unit that remotely controls the driving of the vehicle, determines that the automatic driving device has performed control to stop the vehicle as the state of the vehicle when the predetermined condition is satisfied, based on at least the driving speed of the vehicle included in the plurality of driving environment information acquired by the acquisition unit, and determines the control content when the device starts to control the vehicle according to the state, The driving control unit, in response to the automatic driving device performing control to stop the vehicle as the control content of the automatic driving device of the vehicle that was performed when the specified condition, which is determined according to the situation, is satisfied, does not remotely control the vehicle, but allows the automatic driving device to continue control of the vehicle.

2. The operation management device according to claim 1 , wherein the generation unit generates the stop instruction by including an instruction to switch control of the vehicle from control by the automatic operation device to control by a user in the stop instruction.

3. The automatic operation device controls the traveling of the vehicle according to the traveling environment information acquired by an information acquisition device provided in the vehicle among the plurality of traveling environment information, The operation management device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit determines whether the predetermined condition is satisfied for driving environment information acquired by the acquisition unit that is not acquired by an information acquisition device equipped in the vehicle.

4. A method for controlling a traffic management device in a traffic management system that remotely manages a vehicle traveling by controlling an automatic driving device provided in the vehicle, comprising: The operation management device, A step of storing a preset predetermined condition for stopping control by the automatic operation device; acquiring a plurality of pieces of driving environment information relating to a driving environment of the vehicle; determining whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied with respect to the driving environment information while the vehicle is traveling; generating a stop instruction indicating that control by the automatic operation device is to be stopped when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the stop instruction including an instruction to switch the control of the vehicle from the automatic operation device to the control by the operation management device; transmitting the stop instruction to the automatic operation device; a step of remotely controlling the traveling of the vehicle, determining that the automatic operation device has performed control to stop the vehicle as the state of the vehicle when the predetermined condition is satisfied, based on at least the traveling speed of the vehicle included in the plurality of traveling environment information acquired in the acquiring step, and determining the control content when the device starts to control the vehicle, based on the state; In response to the control of the vehicle by the automatic operation device being performed when the predetermined condition is satisfied, which is determined according to the situation, stopping the vehicle by the automatic operation device, the step of continuing the control of the vehicle by the automatic operation device without remotely controlling the vehicle; A method for controlling an operation management device.

5. A control program for a traffic management device related to a traffic management system that remotely manages a vehicle traveling under the control of an automatic driving device provided in the vehicle, The traffic management device includes: A function of storing a predetermined condition that is set in advance to stop control by the automatic operation device; A function of acquiring a plurality of pieces of driving environment information relating to a driving environment of the vehicle; a function of determining whether or not the predetermined condition is satisfied with respect to the driving environment information while the vehicle is traveling; a function of generating a stop instruction indicating that control by the automatic operation device is to be stopped when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the stop instruction including an instruction to switch the control of the vehicle from the automatic operation device to the control by the operation management device; A function of transmitting the stop instruction to the automatic operation device; a driving control function that remotely controls the driving of the vehicle, determines that the automatic driving device has performed control to stop the vehicle as the state of the vehicle when the predetermined condition is satisfied, based on at least the driving speed of the vehicle included in the plurality of driving environment information acquired by the acquiring function, and determines the control content when the device starts to control the vehicle, based on the state; Realize this, The driving control function is a control program for an operation management device that, in response to the automatic operation device performing control to stop the vehicle as the control content of the automatic operation device of the vehicle that was performed when the specified condition, which is determined depending on the situation, is satisfied, does not perform remote control of the vehicle, but continues control of the vehicle by the automatic operation device.

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