Autonomous Driving Assistance Device

Abstract

This autonomous travel assistance device is provided with a server device. The server device receives road condition information from a roadside device. The server device stores map information as a combination of a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links. The server device retains route information about a target vehicle. The server device receives, from the target vehicle, vehicle information relating to the location and travel state of the target vehicle, and selects some nodes as selected nodes and some links as selected links on the basis of the vehicle information and the route information. The server device transmits, as dynamic map information, information in which road condition information relating to the selected nodes and the selected links is added to the map information to the target vehicle, which autonomously travels along a scheduled travel route.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an autonomous driving assistance device. [Background technology]

[0002] In a conventional method of incorporating dynamic objects into a digital map of an autonomous vehicle, the digital map is distributed to the autonomous vehicle, and the distributed digital map is used to assist the autonomous vehicle in traveling. The digital map is map data in which dynamic road information is superimposed on a map. The dynamic road information includes, for example, information about other vehicles on the travel route, road traffic light information, and traffic congestion information (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Pat. No. 1,060,5612 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the conventional methods as described above, the dynamic road information may contain insufficient information, which may make it difficult to provide appropriate driving assistance.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an autonomous driving assistance device that can more appropriately provide autonomous driving assistance to a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The autonomous driving assistance device according to the present disclosure includes a server device that receives road condition information, which is information regarding the conditions surrounding the roadside device, from a roadside device, and transmits dynamic map information, which is information in which the road condition information is added to map information, to a target vehicle that is autonomously driving along a planned driving route, and the server device stores map information as a combination of a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links, each node corresponding to an intersection, and each link corresponding to a road connecting two adjacent intersections. The server device holds route information, which is information regarding the driving route, receives from the target vehicle, vehicle information, which is information regarding the position of the target vehicle and information regarding the driving condition of the target vehicle, and selects some nodes from the plurality of nodes as selected nodes based on the vehicle information and the route information, and selects some links from the plurality of links as selected links, and transmits information in which road condition information regarding the selected nodes and the selected links is added to the map information as dynamic map information to the target vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the autonomous driving assistance device according to the present disclosure, autonomous driving assistance can be provided to a vehicle more appropriately. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an autonomous driving assistance device, a server device, a roadside unit, and a vehicle according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram showing a situation of an intersection to which the autonomous driving support device of FIG. 1 is applied. [Diagram 3] 2 is a flowchart showing an autonomous driving assistance control routine executed by a control unit of the autonomous driving assistance device of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 13 is a diagram for explaining a reaching cost in the autonomous driving assistance device according to the second embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] 13 is a diagram for explaining a reaching cost in the autonomous driving assistance device according to the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 6]10 is a flowchart showing an autonomous driving assistance control routine executed by a control unit of the autonomous driving assistance device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of control by an autonomous driving assistance device according to embodiment 3. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of control by an autonomous driving assistance device according to embodiment 3. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a first example of a processing circuit that realizes the functions of the autonomous driving assistance device according to the first to third embodiments. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram showing a second example of the processing circuit for realizing the functions of the autonomous driving assistance device according to the first to third embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an autonomous driving assistance device, a server device, a roadside unit, and a vehicle according to the first embodiment.

[0010] The autonomous driving assistance device 10 includes a server device 20. The server device 20 includes, as functional blocks, a communication unit 21, a road condition information acquisition unit 22, a vehicle information acquisition unit 23, a control unit 24, a dynamic map transmission unit 25, and a storage unit 26.

[0011] For example, a server located in a core network of a mobile phone network called MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing) is used as the server device 20. In addition, a network built exclusively for a limited area, such as in a factory, may be used for the server device 20. For example, the server device 20 may be connected to a network that can be connected to a 5G network only within a limited site.

[0012] The communication unit 21 receives road condition information from the roadside unit 30. The road condition information is information detected by the sensor 33 of the roadside unit 30, and is information on the surrounding conditions of the roadside unit 30. Examples of the information on the surrounding conditions of the roadside unit 30 include information on traveling vehicles, information on stopped vehicles, information on parked vehicles, information on pedestrians, information on obstacles, and information on road surface conditions.

[0013] Examples of the sensor 33 include a camera, a millimeter wave radar, and a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). Wireless communication or wired communication is used for communication between the server device 20 and the roadside device 30. For wired communication, optical fiber, a LAN cable, or the like is used.

[0014] The communication unit 21 receives vehicle information from the vehicle 40 as a target vehicle. The target vehicle is a vehicle that autonomously drives along a planned driving route and is a vehicle that is a target of autonomous driving assistance. The vehicle information is information related to the position of the vehicle 40 and information related to the driving state of the vehicle 40. The information related to the driving state of the vehicle 40 includes the speed of the vehicle 40, the acceleration of the vehicle 40, the driving history of the vehicle 40, turn signal information of the vehicle 40, and at least a part of the planned driving route of the vehicle 40.

[0015] The communication unit 41 of the vehicle 40 includes a communication device and an antenna capable of wireless communication. For wireless communication, C-V2X (Cellular V2X) using LTE (Long Term Evolution; registered trademark), 5G, etc. may be used. Wireless communication using OTA (Over The Air), wireless communication based on the Wi-Fi standard, etc. may also be used. The communication unit 41 transmits vehicle information and route information to the server device 20 at regular intervals.

[0016] The road condition information acquisition unit 22 acquires road condition information from the roadside unit 30 via the communication unit 21 .

[0017] The vehicle information acquisition unit 23 acquires vehicle information from the vehicle 40 via the communication unit 21 .

[0018] The memory unit 26 stores map information as a combination of a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links. Each node corresponds to an intersection. Each link corresponds to a road connecting two adjacent intersections. Intersections include three-way intersections, crossroads, five-way intersections, roundabouts, etc.

[0019] The storage unit 26 holds route information of the vehicle 40. The route information is information related to the travel route of the vehicle 40. The server device 20 holds the route information of the target vehicle in the storage unit 26 in association with lane information. The lane information is information related to the lanes of a road. For example, the server device 20 can hold not only information about the link on which the target vehicle is traveling, but also information about which lane of the multiple lanes of the road corresponding to the link the target vehicle is traveling in.

[0020] Furthermore, the storage unit 26 stores a list of vehicles that are targets of autonomous driving assistance. The control unit 24 periodically performs a process of transmitting dynamic map information to each vehicle included in the list.

[0021] The control unit 24 selects some of the nodes as selected nodes and some of the links as selected links based on the received vehicle information and the held route information.

[0022] The control unit 24 generates dynamic map information based on the road condition information related to the selected node and the selected link from the acquired road condition information and the map information stored in the storage unit 26. The dynamic map information is information in which the road condition information is added to the map information. For example, the dynamic map information is point cloud data indicating the positions of pedestrians, the movement route of the pedestrians, the travel route of the vehicle 40 within a certain period of time, and data indicating the positions of parked vehicles, construction works, and obstacles on the road.

[0023] The dynamic map transmission unit 25 transmits the information generated in the control unit 24 to the vehicle 40 as dynamic map information.

[0024] The control unit 32 of the roadside unit 30, for example, acquires road condition information around the roadside unit 30 from the sensor 33, and outputs it to the communication unit 31. The communication unit 31 transmits the acquired road condition information to the server device 20. Furthermore, the control unit 42 of the vehicle 40 controls a drive device, a braking device, a steering device, and the like (not shown) of the vehicle 40 based on the vehicle information and the road condition information received from the server device 20, thereby causing the vehicle 40 to travel autonomously.

[0025] When the vehicle 40 receives the dynamic map information, the received dynamic map information is superimposed on the map information stored in the storage unit 43 of the vehicle 40, and is used to determine acceleration, deceleration, stopping, etc. of the vehicle 40. The server device 20 refers to the position information included in the vehicle information received from the target vehicle that transmits the dynamic map information and the map information stored in the storage unit 26, and acquires the link or node on which the vehicle 40 is traveling.

[0026] The map information stored in the server device 20 and the vehicle 40 is static map information. The static map information includes topography, road information, etc. As the static map information, for example, GDF5.0 (Geographic Data Files 5.0), which is one of the international standards for road maps, is used, but maps based on other international standards or proprietary standards may also be used.

[0027] 1 shows only one roadside unit 30 and one vehicle 40, in the first embodiment, one server device 20 is capable of communicating with a plurality of roadside units and a plurality of vehicles. Therefore, the communication unit 21 receives vehicle information from vehicles that are not the target vehicle as well. In this case, the communication unit 21 asynchronously and periodically receives vehicle information from a plurality of vehicles 40, and asynchronously and periodically receives road condition information from a plurality of roadside units 30.

[0028] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a situation of an intersection to which the autonomous driving assistance device 10 of Fig. 1 is applied. Four roads 61, 62, 63, and 64 are connected to the intersection 50 shown in Fig. 2. That is, in this example, four links are connected to one node. Hereinafter, the intersection 50 is also called node #1, and the roads 61, 62, 63, and 64 are also called link #1, link #2, link #3, and link #4, respectively.

[0029] Roads 61, 62, 63, and 64 are two-lane roads with left-hand traffic. Road 62 is an extension of road 61. In other words, vehicles traveling on road 61 can enter road 62 by going straight, and vehicles traveling on road 62 can enter road 61 by going straight.

[0030] A first road-side device 301 and a second road-side device 302 are installed on the roadside of the intersection 50. Although not shown, a sensor is provided in each of the first road-side device 301 and the second road-side device 302. Each sensor corresponds to the sensor 33 in Fig. 1. Each sensor detects road condition information.

[0031] A detectable area AR1 of the sensor of the first roadside device 301 is an area including part of the intersection 50, part of the road 62, and part of the road 64. The sensor of the first roadside device 301 mainly detects the condition of the road 62. A detectable area AR2 of the sensor of the second roadside device 302 is an area including part of the intersection 50, part of the road 62, part of the road 63, and part of the road 64. The sensor of the second roadside device 302 mainly detects the condition of the road 64.

[0032] In Fig. 2, eight vehicles 401 to 408 are traveling or stopped. The vehicle 401 is traveling straight on the travel lane 61a of the road 61, that is, traveling to the left in Fig. 2. After traveling on the travel lane 61a of the road 61, the vehicle 402 is about to turn right at the intersection 50 and enter the road 64. The vehicles 403 and 404 are traveling straight on the opposite lane 62b of the road 62, that is, traveling to the right in Fig. 2. The vehicles 405, 406, and 407 are stopped on the road 64 while waiting for a traffic light. The vehicle 408 is stopped on the road 63 while waiting for a traffic light.

[0033] Further, a base station 70 is installed near the intersection 50. The base station 70 relays communications between the server device 20 and the first roadside device 301, between the server device 20 and the second roadside device 302, and between the server device 20 and the vehicle 402. Note that relaying by the base station 70 is not necessarily required, and the base station 70 may be omitted. In that case, it is sufficient for the first roadside device 301, the second roadside device 302, and the vehicle 402 to directly communicate with the server device 20, respectively.

[0034] The sensor of the first roadside device 301 can detect the vehicle 403 and the vehicle 404. The server device 20 receives road condition information about the road 62 from the first roadside device 301 via the base station 70. Therefore, the road condition information about the road 62 includes information about the vehicle 403 and the vehicle 404.

[0035] The sensor of the second roadside device 302 can detect a vehicle 405, a vehicle 406, and a vehicle 407. The server device 20 receives road condition information about the road 64 from the second roadside device 302 via the base station 70. Therefore, the road condition information about the road 64 includes information about the vehicle 405, the vehicle 406, and the vehicle 407.

[0036] Here, consider a case where the vehicle 402 is an autonomous vehicle and is a target vehicle for which dynamic map information is transmitted by the server device 20. The travel route of the vehicle 402 is road 61 → intersection 50 → road 64, that is, link #1 → node #1 → link #4.

[0037] The vehicles 403 and 404 are traveling on link #2 which is an extension of the link #1 on which the vehicle 402 was traveling, and are traveling on the opposite lane 62b to the traveling lane 61a of the vehicle 402, in a direction toward the vehicle 402. This traveling mode of the vehicles 403 and 404 is referred to as a first traveling mode.

[0038] Vehicles 405, 406, and 407 detected by the sensor of the second roadside unit 302 are on the route traveled by the vehicle 402, but the road 64 does not exist on an extension of the link on which the vehicle 402 was traveling.

[0039] The control unit 24 of the server device 20 acquires road condition information of the road 62 from the first roadside device 301 via the base station 70. The road condition information of the road 62 includes information on the vehicles 403 and 404. The control unit 24 also acquires vehicle information of the vehicle 402 from the vehicle 402 via the base station 70. The control unit 24 also acquires map information from the storage unit 26. Then, based on the road condition information of the road 62, the vehicle information of the vehicle 402, and the map information, the control unit 24 determines that the vehicles 403 and 404 are traveling in the above-mentioned "first traveling mode".

[0040] Furthermore, the control unit 24 acquires road condition information of the road 64 from the second roadside device 302 via the base station 70. The road condition information of the road 64 includes information on the vehicles 405, 406, and 407. Based on the road condition information of the road 64, the vehicle information of the vehicle 402, and the map information, the control unit 24 determines that the driving manner of the vehicles 404, 406, and 407 does not fall under the above-mentioned "first driving manner."

[0041] In this example, the control unit 24 adds the road condition information from the first roadside device 301 to the static map information, but does not add the road condition information from the second roadside device 302 to the static map information. Then, the dynamic map transmission unit 25 of the server device 20 transmits the map information to which the road condition information from the first roadside device 301 has been added, to the vehicle 402 as dynamic map information.

[0042] When the communication unit of the vehicle 402 receives the dynamic map information from the server device 20, the control unit of the vehicle 402 supports the autonomous driving of the vehicle 402 based on the received dynamic map information. For example, the control unit of the vehicle 402 stops the vehicle 402 until the vehicles 403 and 404 pass through the intersection 50, and makes the vehicle 402 turn right after the vehicles 403 and 404 pass through the intersection 50.

[0043] 2, the target vehicle 402 is traveling on a node, but the target vehicle may also be traveling on a link. Therefore, the autonomous driving support device 10 according to the first embodiment determines whether the target vehicle is traveling on a node or a link, and changes the range of road condition information to be added to the map information as dynamic map information.

[0044] For example, when the vehicle 40 is traveling over a node, the server device 20 adds road condition information included within the range on the map corresponding to the node and the link adjacent to the node to the map information, and transmits the information to the vehicle 40 as dynamic map information.

[0045] On the other hand, when the vehicle 40 is traveling on a link, the server device 20 adds road condition information included within the range on the map corresponding to the link, the next node to be reached, and the link adjacent to the node to the map information, and transmits the information to the vehicle 40 as dynamic map information.

[0046] 2, road condition information for the link where the vehicle corresponding to the first driving mode exists is selected. However, road condition information for the link connected to the node where the target vehicle is currently traveling or road condition information for the link connected to the node where the target vehicle is scheduled to travel next may all be added to the map information. The processing in the control unit 24 of the server device 20 in these cases will be described with reference to FIG.

[0047] Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an autonomous driving assistance routine executed by the control unit 24 of the autonomous driving assistance device 10 of Fig. 1. The routine of Fig. 3 is started, for example, when the ignition key switch of the vehicle is turned on, and is executed every time a certain period of time has elapsed.

[0048] When starting the routine of FIG. 3, the control unit 24 first acquires vehicle information of the vehicle 40 from the vehicle 40 in step S101.

[0049] Next, the control unit 24 acquires road condition information from the road-side unit 30 in step S102.

[0050] Next, in step S103, the control unit 24 determines whether or not the target vehicle for transmitting the dynamic map information is traveling on the link. If the target vehicle for transmitting the dynamic map information is traveling on the link, in step S104, the control unit 24 selects, as the selected links, the link currently traveling and a link connected to the next node to be reached. In addition, the control unit 24 selects, as the selected node, the node to be reached next.

[0051] On the other hand, when the target vehicle for transmitting the dynamic map information is not traveling through a link, i.e., when the target vehicle is traveling through a node, the control unit 24 selects, as the selected link, a link connected to the node through which the target vehicle is currently traveling, in step S105. The control unit 24 also selects, as the selected node, the node through which the target vehicle is currently traveling.

[0052] Next, in step S106, the control unit 24 acquires vehicle information and road condition information included in the map range of the acquired links and nodes.

[0053] Next, in step S107, the control unit 24 transmits the acquired vehicle information and road condition information to the target vehicle 40 as dynamic map information, and temporarily ends this routine.

[0054] As described above, the autonomous driving assistance device 10 according to the first embodiment includes the server device 20. The server device 20 receives road condition information from the roadside device 30 and transmits dynamic map information to the vehicle 40 as a target vehicle. The server device 20 stores map information as a combination of a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links. The server device 20 also holds route information of the target vehicle. The server device 20 receives vehicle information from the vehicle 40. The server device 20 selects some nodes from the plurality of nodes as selected nodes and selects some links from the plurality of links as selected links based on the route information and the received vehicle information. The server device 20 transmits information in which road condition information related to the selected node and the selected link is added to map information to the vehicle 40 as dynamic map information.

[0055] According to this autonomous driving assistance device 10, the dynamic information of the dynamic map information also includes information on routes other than the driving route of the target vehicle, thereby making it possible to prevent a situation in which appropriate autonomous driving assistance cannot be provided due to a lack of information.

[0056] Furthermore, according to the autonomous driving support device 10, the dynamic map information transmitted from the server device 20 to the target vehicle does not include information unnecessary for driving support of the target vehicle. Therefore, there is no risk of the control delay due to a large amount of information increasing the calculation processing load in the control unit of the target vehicle, and there is no risk of unnecessary information becoming noise and causing errors in the calculation results. In other words, according to the autonomous driving support device 10, autonomous driving support for the vehicle can be performed more appropriately.

[0057] Furthermore, according to the autonomous driving assistance device 10, when the target vehicle is traveling on one link among a plurality of links, the selected link is a link that satisfies the following condition 1. Condition 1: One link on which the target vehicle is currently traveling and one or more links that are connected to the one link and are connected to the node that the target vehicle will next reach and are different from the one link

[0058] The selected node is a node that is connected to one link on which the target vehicle is currently traveling and that the target vehicle will reach next.

[0059] On the other hand, if the target vehicle is traveling through one of the multiple nodes, the selected link is a link that is connected to the node through which the target vehicle is currently traveling and is different from the link that the target vehicle has passed through. Also, the selected node is the node through which the target vehicle is currently traveling.

[0060] This makes it possible to more appropriately provide autonomous driving assistance to the target vehicle, regardless of whether the target vehicle is traveling on a link or a node.

[0061] Furthermore, according to the autonomous driving assistance device 10, the server device 20 stores route information in association with lane information, which is information related to the lanes of the road. This allows, for example, vehicles traveling in the oncoming lane to be stored separately from vehicles traveling in other lanes, making it possible to more appropriately provide autonomous driving assistance to the vehicle.

[0062] Embodiment 2 Next, an autonomous driving support device according to a second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, a reach cost is defined for each link of map information defined by links and nodes. The reach cost is a numerical representation of the difficulty of a vehicle moving between two nodes connected by one link. For example, the longer the link distance, the higher the reach cost tends to be. Also, for example, when congestion occurs on a link, the reach cost increases.

[0063] Here, the reach cost is defined as the cost of travel based on the average travel time between two nodes and the distance between the two nodes, or in other words, the relative weighting of each link.

[0064] The configuration other than the introduction of the arrival cost is the same as the configuration of the autonomous driving assistance device 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0065] 4 is a diagram for explaining the reaching cost in the autonomous driving assistance device according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 4, eight nodes N1 to N8 and thirteen links L1 to L13 connected thereto are shown. A link L1 is connected between the nodes N1 and N2. The reaching cost of the link L1 is 3. Furthermore, a link L13 is connected between the nodes N7 and N8. The reaching cost of the link L13 is 6.

[0066] For example, if the travel cost is based on time, link L13 takes twice as long to travel as link L1. If the travel cost is based on distance, link L13 is twice as far as link L1.

[0067] Also, for example, when a vehicle moves from node N1 to node N3 via node N2, the arrival cost of the route "A→B→G" is calculated as the total value of the arrival cost of L1 and the arrival cost of link L2. In this example, the total arrival cost is calculated as the integrated value of each arrival cost. In other words, the arrival cost of the route "A→B→G" is 5.9.

[0068] Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the arrival cost in the autonomous driving support device according to the second embodiment. The route "S → C → D → G" shown in Fig. 5 is a route with the smallest total arrival cost when moving from node N4, which is the start point of the vehicle, to node N3, which is the destination of the vehicle. In this example, the vehicle passes through link L8, link L9, and link L7, and the total arrival cost is 6.3.

[0069] The server device 20 according to the second embodiment determines a selected node and a selected link based on the vehicle information of the target vehicle, the route information of the target vehicle, and the arrival cost of each link. For example, a link in a range in which the sum of the arrival cost of the link on which the target vehicle is currently traveling and the arrival cost of the link starting from the node that the target vehicle will next reach is equal to or less than a judgment value is selected as the selected link. Note that if the arrival cost of the link on which the target vehicle is currently traveling exceeds the judgment value, only that link is selected as the selected link.

[0070] 4, an example will be described in which the judgment value is set to "4" and the vehicle travels along the route "S → C → D → G." When the vehicle starts from node N4 and travels along link L8, the arrival cost of the traveled link is 4. Therefore, the server device 20 selects only the traveled link as the selected link.

[0071] Next, when the vehicle is traveling on link L9, the travel link's arrival cost is 1.3, which is 2.7 less than the judgment value. In this case, the server device 20 selects, as the selected link, a link with an arrival cost of 2.7 or less from among the links connected to node N6, which the vehicle will reach next. Therefore, the server device 20 selects, as the selected link, link L9, link L6 with an arrival cost of 1.5, and link L7 with an arrival cost of 1.

[0072] When the vehicle is traveling on link L7, the travel link's arrival cost is 1, which is 3 less than the judgment value. In this case, the server device 20 selects, as the selected link, a link whose arrival cost is 3 or less among the links connected to node N3, which the vehicle will reach next. Therefore, the server device 20 selects, as the selected link, link L7 and link L2, whose arrival cost is 2.9.

[0073] If the costs of links L12 and L13 are both 1, when the vehicle is traveling along link L9, the total of the arrival costs of links L9, L12, and L13 is 3.3, which is smaller than the judgment value. Therefore, at this time, the server device 20 selects links L12 and L13 as selected links in addition to links L9, L6, and L7.

[0074] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an autonomous driving assistance routine executed by the control unit 24 of the autonomous driving assistance device 10 according to the second embodiment. The routine in Fig. 6 is started, for example, when the ignition key switch of the vehicle is turned on, and is executed every time a certain period of time has elapsed. In Fig. 6, the same steps as those in the routine in Fig. 3 are assigned the same step numbers. Descriptions of these same steps will be omitted.

[0075] When the control unit 24 of the autonomous driving assistance device starts the routine, it executes the processes from step S101 to step S103.

[0076] When a target vehicle for transmitting dynamic map information is traveling on a link, the control unit 24 selects a selected link in step S201 as follows: The control unit 24 selects, as the selected link, a link within a range in which the total value of the arrival cost of the currently traveling link and the link starting from the next node to be reached is equal to or less than a judgment value.

[0077] On the other hand, when the target vehicle for transmitting the dynamic map information is not traveling on the link, i.e., when the target vehicle is traveling on the node, the control unit 24 selects the selected link in step S202 as follows. The control unit 24 selects, as the selected link, a link in a range in which the total value of the arrival cost of the link starting from the currently traveling node is equal to or less than a judgment value. In addition, the control unit 24 selects, as the selected node, a node between the next node to be reached and the selected link.

[0078] After executing the process of step S104 or the process of step S105, the control unit 24 executes the process of step S106 and the process of step S107 in this order, and then ends this routine.

[0079] As described above, in the autonomous driving assistance device 10 according to the second embodiment, a reach cost that is a relative weighting is assigned to each link. The server device 20 determines a selected node and a selected link based on the vehicle information of the target vehicle, the route information of the target vehicle, and the reach cost.

[0080] Even if the link is different from the link on which the target vehicle is traveling, it is expected that the closer the distance between the link on which the target vehicle is traveling and the different link, the greater the need to consider road condition information about the different link for the purpose of assist control of the target vehicle. Therefore, by considering the arrival cost when determining the selected node and selected link as in the autonomous driving assistance device according to the second embodiment, autonomous driving assistance for the target vehicle can be more appropriately performed.

[0081] In addition, in the autonomous driving assistance device 10 according to the second embodiment, the arrival cost is determined in accordance with the time required for the target vehicle to move between two nodes connected by each link, which makes it possible to more appropriately provide autonomous driving assistance to the target vehicle.

[0082] Furthermore, in the autonomous driving assistance device 10 according to the second embodiment, the arrival cost is determined in accordance with the distance of each link, which makes it possible to more appropriately provide autonomous driving assistance for the target vehicle.

[0083] In the autonomous driving assistance device 10 according to the second embodiment, the selected link is a group of links in which the total value of the arrival cost of each link in the selected link is equal to or less than the judgment value. Therefore, the autonomous driving assistance of the target vehicle can be more appropriately performed.

[0084] Although the total value of the arrival costs is simply an integrated value of each arrival cost, the total value of the arrival costs may be the sum of the squares of each arrival cost, or may be integrated by other methods.

[0085] In addition, the arrival cost was calculated based on the average travel time required to travel between two nodes and the distance between the two nodes, but it may also be calculated taking into account other variable factors such as weather, road conditions, etc. in addition to time and distance.

[0086] Embodiment 3 Next, an autonomous driving support device according to embodiment 3 will be described. In the autonomous driving support device according to embodiment 3, an example of autonomous driving support when a target vehicle turns right or left at an intersection will be described. Note that the configuration of the autonomous driving support device according to embodiment 3 is similar to that of the autonomous driving support device 10 according to embodiment 1 and the autonomous driving support device 10 according to embodiment 2.

[0087] Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of control by the autonomous driving support device according to embodiment 3. Fig. 7 shows an intersection 50 as a node, and four roads 61, 62, 63, and 64 as links connected to the intersection 50. Note that the four roads 61, 62, 63, and 64 are two-lane roads with left-hand traffic.

[0088] Furthermore, roadside units 311, 312, and 313 are installed at three of the four corners of the intersection 50. A detectable area AR3 of the sensor of the roadside unit 311 is a partial area of ​​the road 64. A detectable area AR4 of the sensor of the roadside unit 312 is a partial area of ​​the road 61. A detectable area AR5 of the sensor of the roadside unit 313 is a partial area of ​​the road 63.

[0089] A vehicle 411 is traveling on a road 62 toward an intersection 50, and a vehicle 412 is traveling on a road 61 toward the intersection 50. The vehicle 411 is a vehicle capable of autonomous driving, and is a target vehicle for autonomous driving assistance. The vehicle 411 is then scheduled to turn left at the intersection 50 and travel on a road 64. A vehicle 411a represents a future vehicle 411 traveling along a planned driving route.

[0090] Here, the vehicle 412 is traveling in the opposite direction to the vehicle 411 and is approaching the vehicle 411. Such a vehicle will be hereinafter referred to as an "oncoming vehicle."

[0091] In FIG. 7, a pedestrian 81 is crossing a road 64 , and a pedestrian 82 is crossing a road 63 .

[0092] Although not shown in Fig. 7, the server device 20 receives road condition information within the detectable area AR3 from the roadside device 311. Therefore, the road condition information from the roadside device 311 includes information on the pedestrian 81. The server device 20 receives road condition information within the detectable area AR4 from the roadside device 312. Therefore, the road condition information from the roadside device 312 includes information on the vehicle 412.

[0093] The server device 20 receives road condition information within the detectable area AR5 from the roadside device 313. Therefore, the road condition information from the roadside device 313 includes information on the pedestrian 82. In addition, the server device 20 receives vehicle information of the vehicle 411 and the driving route of the vehicle 411 from the vehicle 411.

[0094] The server device 20 holds route information of the vehicle 411. In addition, the server device 20 receives vehicle information of the vehicle 411.

[0095] The server device 20 selects, as the selected links, a link corresponding to the road 62 and a link corresponding to the road 64. The server device 20 adds road condition information of the selected links to the map information stored in the server device 20, and transmits the added information to the vehicle 411 as dynamic map information.

[0096] As a result, the control unit of the vehicle 411 recognizes the presence of the pedestrian 81 crossing the road 64, and the vehicle 411 stops in front of the pedestrian 81, as in the case of the vehicle 411a. In this way, when the target vehicle turns left on a road with left-hand traffic, only the links on the travel route are selected as the selected links from among the links connected to the node that the target vehicle will reach next. Similarly, when the target vehicle turns right on a road with right-hand traffic, only the links on the travel route are selected as the selected links.

[0097] In other words, when the target vehicle 411 is traveling on a link and plans to turn right or left at the next node that the vehicle 411 will reach, the server device 20 transmits to the vehicle 411 road condition information about a link that is connected to the next node that the vehicle 411 will reach and that is in the direction in which the vehicle 411 will turn, as dynamic map information.

[0098] This prevents unnecessary road condition information from being transmitted to the target vehicle, making it possible to more appropriately provide autonomous driving assistance.

[0099] Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining an example of control by the autonomous driving support device according to embodiment 3. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing a case where a vehicle 411 is planning to turn right at an intersection 50. This is the same as Fig. 7 except that the vehicle 411 is planning to turn right.

[0100] In this example, the server device 20 selects, as the selected links, a link corresponding to the road 62, a link corresponding to the road 63, and a link corresponding to the road 61. The server device 20 adds road condition information of the selected links to the map information stored in the server device 20, and transmits the information to the vehicle 411 as dynamic map information.

[0101] As a result, the control unit of the vehicle 411 recognizes the presence of the pedestrian 82 crossing the road 63, and also recognizes the presence of the vehicle 412 traveling on the road 61 and approaching the vehicle 411. The vehicle 411 stops just before the pedestrian 82, like the vehicle 411b.

[0102] In this way, when the target vehicle turns right on a road with left-hand traffic and there is an oncoming vehicle, among the links connected to the node the target vehicle will reach next, links on the travel route and links corresponding to roads on an extension of the road on which the target vehicle is currently travelling are selected as selected links. Also, links in the direction in which the vehicle 411 is turning are selected as selected links. The same applies when the target vehicle turns left on a road with right-hand traffic.

[0103] In other words, when the target vehicle 411 is traveling on a link and plans to turn right or left at the next node that the vehicle 411 will reach, if the planned traveling route of the oncoming vehicle 412 and the planned traveling route of the vehicle 411 intersect, the server device 20 transmits the vehicle information of the vehicle 412 to the vehicle 411 as dynamic map information.

[0104] This prevents unnecessary road condition information from being transmitted to the target vehicle, enabling more appropriate autonomous driving assistance.

[0105] In addition, if one or more vehicles are traveling in the opposite direction to the target vehicle's direction of travel and away from the target vehicle, the server device 20 does not need to transmit information regarding the positions of the one or more vehicles and the traveling conditions of the one or more vehicles to the target vehicle.

[0106] This further reduces unnecessary information, allowing the server device 20 to provide more appropriate autonomous driving assistance.

[0107] In addition, in the first to third embodiments, a MEC is used as the server device 20, but the server device 20 is not particularly limited to a MEC.

[0108] Moreover, the functions of the autonomous driving support device according to the first to third embodiments are realized by a processing circuit. Fig. 9 is a configuration diagram showing a first example of a processing circuit that realizes the functions of the autonomous driving support device according to the first to third embodiments. The processing circuit 100 of the first example is dedicated hardware.

[0109] Furthermore, the processing circuit 100 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination of these.

[0110] 10 is a configuration diagram showing a second example of the processing circuit that realizes the functions of the autonomous driving support device according to the first to third embodiments. The processing circuit 200 of the second example includes a processor 201 and a memory 202.

[0111] In the processing circuit 200, the functions of the autonomous driving assistance device are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software and firmware are written as programs and stored in the memory 202. The processor 201 realizes the functions by reading and executing the programs stored in the memory 202.

[0112] It can be said that the programs stored in the memory 202 cause the computer to execute the procedures or methods of each of the above-mentioned parts. Here, the memory 202 is, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a flash memory, an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (EEPROM), etc. In addition, a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, a DVD, etc. also fall under the category of the memory 202.

[0113] It should be noted that some of the functions of the autonomous driving assistance device described above may be realized by dedicated hardware, and some by software or firmware.

[0114] In this way, the processing circuitry can realize the functions of the autonomous driving assistance device described above through hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of these. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 10 autonomous driving support device, 20 server device, 24 control unit, 25 dynamic map transmission unit, 26 memory unit, 30 roadside unit, 31 communication unit, 32 control unit, 33 sensor, 40 vehicle (target vehicle), 41 communication unit, 42 control unit, 43 memory unit, 50 intersection (node), 61 to 64 road (link), 311 to 313 roadside units, 401 to 408, 411, 412 vehicle, L1 to L13 links, N1 to N9 nodes.

Claims

1. A server device that receives road condition information, which is information relating to the surrounding conditions of the roadside device, from the roadside device, and transmits dynamic map information, which is information obtained by adding the road condition information to map information, to a target vehicle that is autonomously traveling along a scheduled traveling route. Equipped with The server device stores the map information as a combination of a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links, Each of the nodes corresponds to an intersection; Each of the links corresponds to a road connecting two adjacent intersections, The server device includes: The device holds route information, which is information about the travel route, receiving vehicle information from the target vehicle, the vehicle information being information regarding a position of the target vehicle and information regarding a traveling state of the target vehicle; selecting some nodes from among the plurality of nodes as selected nodes and selecting some links from among the plurality of links as selected links based on the vehicle information and the route information; transmitting, to the target vehicle, information obtained by adding the road condition information included in a range on a map corresponding to the selected node and the selected link to the map information as the dynamic map information; A travel cost is assigned to each link, which is a relative weighting for each link and quantifies the difficulty of a vehicle traveling between two nodes connected by one link; The server device determines the selected node and the selected link based on the vehicle information, the route information, and the arrival cost. Autonomous driving assistance device.

2. The arrival cost is determined in accordance with the time required for the target vehicle to travel between two of the nodes connected by each of the links. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 1 .

3. The arrival cost is determined in accordance with the distance of each of the links. The autonomous driving support device according to claim 1 .

4. The selected link is a group of links in which the total value of the reaching cost of each of the links in the selected link is equal to or less than a judgment value. The autonomous driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The server device does not transmit to the target vehicle information regarding the positions of one or more vehicles and the traveling conditions of the one or more vehicles, which are received from one or more vehicles traveling in a direction away from the target vehicle, among the one or more vehicles traveling in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the target vehicle along the scheduled traveling route. The autonomous driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. When the target vehicle is traveling on the link and is planning to make a right turn or a left turn at the node that the target vehicle will next reach, the server device transmits, to the target vehicle, the road condition information for the link that is connected to the node that the target vehicle will next reach and that is in the direction in which the target vehicle will turn, as the dynamic map information. The autonomous driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. When the target vehicle is traveling on the link and is planning to make a right or left turn at the node that the target vehicle will next reach, if a planned travel route of an oncoming vehicle, which is one or more vehicles traveling in the opposite direction to the target vehicle and approaching the target vehicle, intersects with the planned travel route of the target vehicle, the server device transmits the vehicle information of the oncoming vehicle to the target vehicle as the dynamic map information. The autonomous driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The server device stores the route information in association with lane information, which is information about lanes of the road. The autonomous driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. When the target vehicle is traveling on one link among the plurality of links, the selected link is the one link on which the target vehicle is currently traveling and one or more links that are connected to the one link and are connected to a node that the target vehicle will next reach, and are different from the one link; the selected node is a node that is connected to the one link on which the target vehicle is currently traveling and that the target vehicle will next reach, When the target vehicle is traveling through one of the plurality of nodes, the selected link is connected to a node through which the target vehicle is currently traveling and is different from a link that the target vehicle has passed through; The selected node is the node through which the target vehicle is currently traveling. The autonomous driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images