Vehicle driving assistance system and information processing device

Abstract

To provide a vehicle driving assistance system capable of easily executing various kinds of vehicle automatic driving control according to the taste of the user of the vehicle, and an information processing device.SOLUTION: A vehicle driving assistance system for controlling automatic driving of a vehicle based on control conditions configurable by a user, includes: a control condition calculation unit for calculating the control conditions for automatic driving of the vehicle, based on evaluation information that shows relative positioning of settings by individual users with respect to a distribution of setting of the control conditions by multiple users as a whole; and an automatic driving control unit for controlling automatic driving of the vehicle based on the control conditions calculated by the control condition calculation unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle driving assistance system and an information processing device that control automatic driving of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the practical application of technologies related to automatic driving of vehicles has been progressing. It is considered that the driving conditions in which a passenger feels comfortable or dangerous during automatic driving of a vehicle vary depending on the passenger. For this reason, there is an automatic driving control device that is configured to control the drive system of a vehicle based on control conditions according to the driving tendency of a user such as a passenger when executing automatic driving control of the vehicle.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that periodically acquires the vehicle distance and speed while the driver is manually driving the vehicle, detects the vehicle distance maintained by the user according to the speed and uses this as user information of the vehicle distance, and acquires the vehicle distance and speed at that time each time a braking operation is detected and stores this as user information of the vehicle distance for performing braking operation for each vehicle speed in a user information database on a cloud server, and a control unit of the vehicle downloads this user information to control automatic driving to achieve a vehicle distance and timing of braking operation that gives the user a sense of security.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses an automatic driving device that can easily set the automatic driving mode for a vehicle according to the driver even when the driver changes the vehicle he or she drives. Specifically, the media acquisition unit of the automatic driving device described in Patent Document 2 acquires mode information indicating the automatic driving mode from a portable storage medium brought into the target vehicle, and the mode setting unit sets the automatic driving mode to be executed by the automatic driving control unit by referring to the mode information acquired by the media acquisition unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-043268 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2017-100659 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, since vehicle performance differs depending on the vehicle model, such as a sports-oriented sedan, an SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle), or a light vehicle, the realized vehicle performance may differ even if the control conditions for autonomous driving are the same. In addition, the set values ​​of the control conditions for autonomous driving may differ depending on the vehicle model or the vehicle manufacturer. For example, the physical values ​​such as the vehicle distance and the timing of braking (TTC: Time to Collision) used to set the control conditions, or the number of set stages, may differ depending on the vehicle model or the vehicle manufacturer. For this reason, in the systems disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when autonomous driving is controlled based on the user information stored in the user information database or the information stored in the portable storage medium, the user may feel uncomfortable.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle driving assistance system and an information processing device that can easily execute various vehicle automatic driving controls in accordance with the preferences of the vehicle user. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle driving assistance system that controls automatic driving of a vehicle based on control conditions that can be set by a user is provided, which includes: a control condition calculation unit that calculates control conditions for automatic driving of the vehicle based on evaluation information that indicates the relative positioning of an individual user's settings to the distribution of control condition settings across a plurality of users; and an automatic driving control unit that controls automatic driving of the vehicle based on the control conditions calculated by the control condition calculation unit.

[0009] In addition, in order to solve the above problem, according to another aspect of the present disclosure, an information processing device that calculates control conditions for autonomous driving of a vehicle is provided, which is equipped with a control condition calculation unit that calculates control conditions for autonomous driving of a vehicle based on evaluation information that indicates the relative positioning of an individual user's settings to the distribution of control condition settings of all multiple users. Effect of the Invention

[0010] As described above, according to the present disclosure, various types of vehicle automatic driving control can be easily performed in accordance with the preferences of the vehicle user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle driving assistance system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle driving assistance system according to the embodiment; FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of control condition setting information data to be stored. [Figure 4] 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of evaluation information when the settings of the control conditions indicate a normal distribution. FIG. [Diagram 5] 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of evaluation information when the control condition setting is not a normal distribution. [Figure 6] 5 is a flowchart showing a data accumulation process procedure of the driving assistance device according to the embodiment; [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing a data accumulation process procedure of the server according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing an automatic driving control processing procedure of the driving assistance device according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure of an evaluation information calculation process of the server according to the embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of evaluation information data. [Figure 11]13 is a flowchart showing a control condition calculation process procedure of the server according to the embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of recommended control condition data. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0013] <1. Overview of driving assistance system> First, an overview of a vehicle driving assistance system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a driving assistance system 100 according to the present embodiment.

[0014] The driving assistance system 100 includes driving assistance devices 50a, 50b used on vehicles 1A, 1B such as four-wheeled automobiles, a server 10 configured to be able to communicate with the driving assistance devices 50a, 50b, and mobile devices 30a, 30b. Note that, to facilitate understanding of the technology of the present disclosure, two vehicles 1A, 1B are illustrated and described, but the number of vehicles that can be connected to the server 10 is not limited to two, and there is no restriction on the number of vehicles.

[0015] The vehicles 1A and 1B to which the driving assistance system 100 according to the present embodiment is applied are configured to be capable of running in manual driving and automatic driving. During manual driving, the running control of the vehicles 1A and 1B is executed based on the driving operation of the driver. During automatic driving, the running control of the vehicles 1A and 1B is executed based on the control conditions of automatic driving that can be adjusted by the driver (user). The automatic driving may be an automatic driving at a level where the vehicle control system mainly performs a driving task while monitoring the running environment of the vehicles 1A and 1B, or an automatic driving at a level where the vehicle control system mainly performs automatic brake control, leading vehicle following control (ACC: Adaptive Cruise Control) and lane keeping control under specific conditions while the driver mainly monitors the running environment of the vehicles 1A and 1B. Examples of the control conditions of the automatic driving include a target vehicle speed, a maximum acceleration, a target inter-vehicle distance from the leading vehicle, and a change speed of the steering angle of the wheels when turning. The driver can adjust the control conditions according to the running area, the running environment, and the like.

[0016] In the driving assistance system 100, data accumulation processing and control condition setting processing are performed in the automatic driving mode. While each vehicle 1A, 1B is traveling in the automatic driving mode, the driving assistance devices 50a, 50b mounted on each vehicle 1A, 1B transmit setting information of the control conditions of automatic driving (control condition setting information) and position information of the vehicle 1 on the map data (vehicle position information) together with information for identifying a user (user identification information) and information for identifying a vehicle type (vehicle type information) to the server 10 at a predetermined timing as data accumulation processing. The server 10 acquires the control condition setting information, vehicle position information, user identification information, and vehicle type information transmitted from each driving assistance device 50a, 50b, and stores the control condition setting information in association with the information of the driving scene, the user identification information, and the vehicle type information. The information of the driving scene includes the legal speed of the road identified based on the vehicle position information, and information on the type of road, such as a general road, an urban expressway, or an intercity expressway.

[0017] In addition, the driving support devices 50a, 50b mounted on each vehicle 1A, 1B execute a process for setting control conditions for automatic driving when each vehicle 1A, 1B is set to an automatic driving mode. When evaluation information on the settings of control conditions of each user applicable to the vehicle 1A, 1B to be used is stored in the mobile device 30a, 30b, the driving support devices 50a, 50b set the control conditions for automatic driving based on the control conditions calculated based on the evaluation information. In addition, when the above evaluation information is not stored in the mobile device 30a, 30b, the driving support devices 50a, 50b acquire evaluation information on the settings of control conditions of each user from the server 10 and set the control conditions for automatic driving based on the control conditions calculated based on the evaluation information.

[0018] When the server 10 receives a request to transmit evaluation information from the driving support device 50a, 50b, the server 10 calculates evaluation information of the user of the vehicle 1A, 1B, which is the source of the transmission, based on data accumulated about the vehicle 1 of the same model or a similar model as the vehicle 1A, 1B, which is the source of the transmission, and returns the information to the driving support device 50a, 50b. When the server 10 receives a request to transmit recommended control conditions from the driving support device 50a, 50b, the server 10 calculates control conditions for automatic driving based on data accumulated about the vehicle 1 of the same model or a similar model as the vehicle 1A, 1B, which is the source of the transmission, and returns the information to the driving support device 50a, 50b. Then, the driving support device 50a, 50b sets control conditions for automatic driving based on the control conditions transmitted from the server 10, and controls the automatic driving of the vehicle 1A, 1B based on the control conditions.

[0019] The evaluation information is information indicating the relative position of the setting of each user with respect to the distribution of the settings of the control conditions of all the users. This evaluation information is obtained for each user for each vehicle type and for each driving scene associated with the legal vehicle speed or the driving position. For example, the evaluation information includes information indicating the position of the set vehicle speed of each user with respect to the distribution of the set value of the target vehicle speed (hereinafter also referred to as the "set vehicle speed") set in the same driving scene by multiple users using the vehicle 1 of the same or similar vehicle type. The evaluation information also includes information indicating the position of the set vehicle distance of each user with respect to the distribution of the set value of the target vehicle distance (hereinafter also referred to as the "set vehicle distance") according to the vehicle speed set in the same driving scene by multiple users using the vehicle 1 of the same or similar vehicle type. Similarly, the evaluation information may include information indicating the position of the set value of the change speed of the steering angle of each user with respect to the distribution of the set value of the change speed of the steering angle according to the vehicle speed set in the same driving scene by multiple users using the vehicle 1 of the same or similar vehicle type.

[0020] The driving assistance system 100 according to the present embodiment sets the control conditions for automatic driving based on such evaluation information, thereby reducing the user's effort required to set the control conditions at the start of automatic driving control, and can set the control conditions for automatic driving according to the user's driving inclination according to the vehicle type and driving scene. Furthermore, even if the user changes the vehicle they use, the driving assistance system 100 according to the present embodiment can set the control conditions for automatic driving according to the user's driving inclination according to the vehicle type and driving scene. Therefore, the user's effort required to set the control conditions can be reduced, and automatic driving control of various vehicles can be easily performed according to the user's preferences.

[0021] Hereinafter, as the driving assistance system 100 according to the present embodiment, a driving assistance system that assists driving of a vehicle 1 capable of performing preceding vehicle following control (hereinafter also referred to as "ACC control") will be specifically described as an example. During the execution of ACC control, if there is no preceding vehicle, driving control of the vehicle 1 is executed so as to maintain a set target vehicle speed, and if there is a preceding vehicle, driving control of the vehicle is executed so as to maintain a target inter-vehicle distance according to the vehicle speed. However, as described above, the driving assistance system to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied is not limited to a driving assistance system of a vehicle capable of executing ACC control, but may be a driving assistance system of a vehicle capable of executing any level of automatic driving control, such as automatic driving in which a vehicle control system mainly performs a driving task while monitoring the driving environment of the vehicle.

[0022] <2. Configuration of driving assistance system> First, a specific configuration example of the driving assistance system 100 according to this embodiment will be described. In the following description, a case where a target vehicle speed and a target inter-vehicle distance for ACC control are set as control conditions for automatic driving will be described as an example.

[0023] (2-1. Mobile devices) The portable device 30 is a terminal device that is configured to be able to communicate with the driving assistance device 50 and can be carried by a user. The portable device 30 may be, for example, a portable device such as a smartphone or a tablet computer, or a wearable device such as a wristwatch. The portable device 30 is configured to be able to communicate with the driving assistance device 50 via a wired or wireless communication means. Among them, the communication means is preferably a short-range wireless communication represented by Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication, since it can easily establish a connection state that enables communication.

[0024] The portable device 30 includes a communication unit 31, a control unit 33, and a storage unit 35. Of these, the communication unit 31 is a network interface for communicating with the driving assistance device 50. The control unit 33 includes one or more processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and controls the operation of the portable device 30. The storage unit 35 includes one or more storage elements such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory) communicatively connected to the processor, and stores various data.

[0025] In this embodiment, the control unit 33 acquires user evaluation information regarding the setting of the control conditions for ACC control transmitted from the driving assistance device 50, and stores the information in the storage unit 35. When the control unit 33 receives a signal for reading out the user evaluation information from the driving assistance device 50, the control unit 33 transmits the evaluation information stored in the storage unit 35 to the driving assistance device 50. When evaluation information corresponding to the requested evaluation information is not stored in the storage unit 35, the control unit 33 transmits a signal to the driving assistance device 50 indicating that the corresponding evaluation information does not exist.

[0026] (2-2. Server) The server 10 is configured to be able to communicate with the driving assistance device 50 of each vehicle 1 via a wireless communication network 5 such as mobile communication. The server 10 may be a server that utilizes cloud computing technology. In this embodiment, the server 10 has a function as an information processing device including a control condition calculation unit that calculates control conditions for autonomous driving.

[0027] The server 10 includes a communication unit 11, a control unit 13, and a storage unit 15. Of these, the communication unit 11 is a network interface for communicating with the driving assistance device 50. The control unit 13 includes one or more processors such as a CPU, and controls the operation of the server 10. The storage unit 15 includes one or more storage elements such as a RAM or a ROM communicably connected to the processor, or a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a solid state drive (SSD), a universal serial bus (USB) flash, or a storage device, and stores various data.

[0028] In this embodiment, the control unit 13 includes a data collection unit 21, an evaluation information calculation unit 23, and a control condition calculation unit 25. The data collection unit 21, the evaluation information calculation unit 23, and the control condition calculation unit 25 are functions realized by execution of a software program by a processor. Note that part or all of the data collection unit 21, the evaluation information calculation unit 23, and the control condition calculation unit 25 may be configured by hardware.

[0029] The data collection unit 21 acquires the control condition setting information, vehicle position information, user identification information, and vehicle type information transmitted from the driving assistance device 50 as data accumulation processing, and stores the control condition setting information in the storage unit 15 in association with the driving scene information, user identification information, and vehicle type information. The control unit 13 identifies information on the legal vehicle speed and road type of the road based on the vehicle position information, and sets these pieces of information as driving scene information. The legal vehicle speed and road type of the vehicle driving position can be identified based on map data stored in the storage unit 15, for example, but may be identified by other methods. In addition, the control unit 13 stores information on the vehicle performance class classified according to the vehicle type, together with information on the vehicle name, for example, as the vehicle type information in the storage unit 15. The vehicle performance class may be classified by body type, such as a sedan, a wagon, or a minivan, by engine displacement, such as a normal passenger car or a light vehicle (small engine displacement vehicle), by driving performance, such as an eco-car or a sports car, or by a combination of a plurality of these.

[0030] FIG. 3 shows an example of data stored in the storage unit 15 based on the control condition setting information, vehicle position information, user identification information, and vehicle model information transmitted from the driving assistance device 50. The stored data includes user identification information, vehicle model information, driving scene information, and control condition setting information, respectively. That is, a database of control condition setting information (hereinafter also referred to as "control condition setting information database") is formed in the storage unit 15. The vehicle model information includes information on the vehicle name and vehicle performance. The vehicle model information may include information on the car manufacturer. The driving scene information includes information on the legal speed and road type. The driving scene information may include information on the number of lanes, road width, and time period (daytime, evening, nighttime) depending on the level of autonomous driving. In addition, the driving scene information may include information on the driving environment such as traffic congestion, school routes during school hours, and shopping streets in the evening. The control condition setting information includes information on the set vehicle speed and set vehicle distance. The control condition setting information may include information on the set value of the maximum acceleration. The control condition setting information database may also include appropriate information that reflects the driver's driving inclination.

[0031] As illustrated in Fig. 3, even for the same user, the preference for a target vehicle speed relative to the legal vehicle speed or the preference for a target vehicle distance according to the vehicle speed may differ depending on the vehicle model or driving scene used. Also, even when the same vehicle model of vehicle 1 is used, the preference for a target vehicle speed relative to the legal vehicle speed or the preference for a target vehicle distance according to the vehicle speed may differ depending on whether the user tends to emphasize ecological driving or sporty driving. Similarly, even for the same driving scene, the preference for a target vehicle speed relative to the legal vehicle speed or the preference for a target vehicle distance according to the vehicle speed may differ depending on whether the user tends to emphasize ecological driving or sporty driving.

[0032] Furthermore, when the evaluation information calculation unit 23 receives a signal (hereinafter, "evaluation information request signal") requesting transmission of evaluation information of the driver (hereinafter, also referred to as the "target user") from the driving support device 50, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 refers to the control condition setting information database formed in the storage unit 15 and calculates evaluation information for each driving scene. The evaluation information request signal transmitted from the driving support device 50 includes user identification information of the target user and vehicle type information of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter, also referred to as "used vehicle type information"). The evaluation information calculation unit 23 extracts data corresponding to the vehicle type that corresponds to the used vehicle type information from the control condition setting information database, and calculates evaluation information of the target user for each driving scene.

[0033] Specifically, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 classifies the extracted data by driving scene, and for each driving scene, obtains evaluation information indicating the position of the target user's set vehicle speed or set vehicle distance relative to the distribution of all users' set vehicle speeds or set vehicle distances. The evaluation information calculation unit 23 obtains the target user's evaluation information for each driving scene, such as an ordinary road with a legal speed of 60 km / h, an ordinary road with a legal speed of 40 km / h, an urban expressway with a legal speed of 80 km / h, and an intercity expressway with a legal speed of 120 km / h. In this embodiment, an example of obtaining evaluation information using percentiles will be described.

[0034] 4 and 5 are explanatory diagrams showing an example of calculating evaluation information P using percentile Pt. Fig. 4 shows a method of calculating evaluation information P when the setting values ​​of control conditions for all of a plurality of users show a normal distribution, and Fig. 5 shows an example of a method of calculating evaluation information P when the setting values ​​of control conditions for all of a plurality of users do not show a normal distribution.

[0035] As shown in Fig. 4, when the distribution of the control condition settings of all the users shows a normal distribution, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 sets the percentile Pt of the setting of the target user as the evaluation information P. Specifically, on a general road with a legal speed of 60 km / h, the 1st percentile 1Pt of the vehicle speeds set by the multiple users is 40 km / h, the 100th percentile 100Pt is 80 km / h, and the distribution of the vehicle speeds set by all the users shows a normal distribution. In this case, if the vehicle speed set by the target user is 55 km / h, the 30th percentile 30Pt, which is the percentile of the 55 km / h, is set as the evaluation information P_v of the vehicle speed set by the target user on a general road with a legal speed of 60 km / h.

[0036] Similarly, on a general road with a legal speed of 60 km / h, the 1st percentile 1Pt of the set inter-vehicle distances by multiple users is 10 m, the 100th percentile 100Pt is 30 m, and the distribution of the set inter-vehicle distances of all users shows a normal distribution. In this case, if the set inter-vehicle distance of a target user is 16 m, the 20th percentile 20Pt, which is the percentile of 16 m, is set as the evaluation information P_d of the set inter-vehicle distance of the target user on a general road with a legal speed of 60 km / h.

[0037] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, when the distribution of the control condition settings of all the users is not a normal distribution, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 determines the relative position of the setting of the target user in the region from the 1st percentile 1Pt to the peak of the distribution, or in the region from the peak of the distribution to the 100th percentile 100Pt, as the evaluation information P. To explain this in detail using the set vehicle speed as an example, on a general road with a legal speed of 60km / h, the 1st percentile 1Pt of the set vehicle speeds of the multiple users is 40km / h, and the 100th percentile 100Pt is 70km / h, and the distribution of the set vehicle speeds of all the users is not a normal distribution. In this case, if the set vehicle speed of the target user is 47km / h, the set vehicle speed of the target user is a value smaller than the peak of the distribution (=60km / h), so the evaluation information calculation unit 23 determines the relative position of the set vehicle speed of the target user in the region from the 1st percentile 1Pt to the peak of the distribution as the evaluation information P_v. Specifically, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 sets the ratio (b / a) of the size b of the area from the 1st percentile 1Pt to the target user's set vehicle speed of 47km / h to the size a of the area from 40km / h, which corresponds to the 1st percentile 1Pt, to 60km / h, which corresponds to the peak of the distribution, as the evaluation information P_v=X(0.35).

[0038] Similarly, if the target user's set vehicle speed is 64km / h, the target user's set vehicle speed is a value greater than the peak of the distribution (=60km / h), so the evaluation information calculation unit 23 sets the relative position of the target user's set vehicle speed in the region from the peak of the distribution to the 100th percentile 100Pt as evaluation information P_v. Specifically, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 sets the ratio (b / a) of the size b of the region from the 100th percentile 100Pt to the target user's set vehicle speed of 64km / h to the size a of the region from 60km / h corresponding to the distribution peak to 70km / h corresponding to the 100th percentile 100Pt as evaluation information P_v=Y(0.6).

[0039] In the above example, when the distribution of control condition settings across multiple users is not a normal distribution, the evaluation information P = X(b / a) indicates that the setting value of the target user is smaller than the peak of the distribution, and the evaluation information P = Y(b / a) indicates that the setting value of the target user is larger than the peak of the distribution.

[0040] Although not shown, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 calculates the evaluation information P_d by the same method even when the distribution of the set inter-vehicle distances of all the users is not a normal distribution. In addition, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 calculates the evaluation information P_v of the set vehicle speed and the evaluation information P_d of the set inter-vehicle distance for each driving scene.

[0041] The determination of whether the distribution of the settings of all the users is a normal distribution is performed by an appropriate determination process set in advance. For example, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 can determine that the distribution of the settings is a normal distribution when the conformity with the normal distribution estimated based on the proportion of plotted data on a standard normal distribution line using a normal QQ plot (Quantile-Quantile Plot) of the setting value of the vehicle speed or the following distance is a predetermined value or more. Alternatively, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 can determine that the distribution of the settings is a normal distribution when the skewness or kurtosis when the distribution of the setting value of the vehicle speed or the following distance is expressed as an approximation curve is a predetermined value or less. In addition, the determination of whether the distribution of the settings of all the users is a normal distribution may be performed according to a known data processing method.

[0042] At this time, with regard to the data of the control condition setting information of the entire plurality of users, if the control condition setting information database does not contain enough data on the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information, for example, if the number of accumulated data does not reach a preset number of data, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 may calculate the evaluation information using data on the vehicle model registered as a vehicle model similar to the vehicle model. For example, if the data on the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information does not reach a preset number of data, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 calculates the evaluation information including data on other vehicle models classified as having the same vehicle performance as the vehicle model. This makes it possible to calculate evaluation information reflecting the target user's inclination toward driving based on data on vehicle models having vehicle performance similar to that of the vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as "used vehicle") 1 used by the target user.

[0043] In addition, regarding the control condition setting information data of the target user, if the control condition setting information database does not contain data of the target user for the vehicle model corresponding to the vehicle used information, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 may calculate the evaluation information using the control condition setting information that the target user previously set in the vehicle used 1, which is transmitted from the driving assistance device 50 together with the evaluation information request signal.

[0044] In addition, with regard to the data of the control condition setting information of the target user, if the control condition setting information database does not contain data of the target user for a vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 may calculate the evaluation information using data of the target user for a vehicle model registered as a vehicle model similar to the vehicle model. For example, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 calculates the evaluation information including data of the target user for other vehicle models classified as having the same vehicle performance as the vehicle model. In addition, if there is no data of other vehicle models classified as having the same vehicle performance as the vehicle model, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 may calculate the evaluation information including data of the target user for vehicle models with different vehicle performance. This makes it possible to calculate evaluation information that reflects the driving inclination of the target user, even though the vehicle models are different.

[0045] When the evaluation information calculation unit 23 receives an evaluation information request signal for the target user from the driving assistance device 50, it refers to the control condition setting information database formed in the memory unit 15, calculates the evaluation information of the target user for each driving scene according to the above example, and transmits it to the driving assistance device 50.

[0046] In addition, when the control condition calculation unit 25 receives a signal (hereinafter also referred to as a "control condition request signal") requesting the transmission of information on control conditions together with the evaluation information and the vehicle type information from the driving assistance device 50, the control condition calculation unit 25 refers to the control condition setting information database formed in the storage unit 15, and obtains a setting value corresponding to the evaluation information based on the distribution data of the control condition setting information of the vehicle type corresponding to the vehicle type information. In this embodiment, when the distribution of the set vehicle speed and the set vehicle distance of all users of the vehicle type shows a normal distribution, the control condition calculation unit 25 obtains the recommended vehicle speed and the recommended vehicle distance corresponding to the percentile Pt as the evaluation information P_v, P_d, respectively. In addition, when the distribution of the set vehicle speed and the set vehicle distance of all users of the vehicle type does not show a normal distribution, the control condition calculation unit 25 obtains the recommended vehicle speed and the recommended vehicle distance based on the information of the ratio X(b / a) or Y(b / a) obtained as the evaluation information P_v, P_d, respectively. The control condition calculation unit 25 calculates the recommended vehicle speed and the recommended vehicle distance for all driving scenes, respectively.

[0047] As in the case of calculating the evaluation information, if the control condition setting information database does not contain sufficient data on a vehicle model corresponding to the vehicle model information used, the control condition calculation unit 25 may calculate the control conditions using data on a vehicle model registered as being similar to the vehicle model in question.

[0048] After calculating the control conditions for all driving scenes, the control condition calculation unit 25 transmits information on the calculated recommended vehicle speed and recommended inter-vehicle distance to the driving assistance device 50.

[0049] (2-3. Driving support devices) The driving support device 50 used on the vehicle 1 is configured to be able to communicate with the mobile device 30 via a wired or wireless communication means. In addition, the driving support device 50 is configured to be able to communicate with the server 10 via a wireless communication network 5.

[0050] Further, the driving assistance device 50 is connected to a display device 41, a speaker 42, a vehicle drive control unit 43, an input unit 45, a vehicle position detection unit 47, and a surrounding environment detection unit 49 directly or via communication means such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or a LIN (Local Inter-Net). The display device 41 is, for example, a display device provided in an instrument panel or a display device of a navigation system, or a HUD (Head Up Display) that displays on the front window, and visually presents various information to the user. The speaker 42 is, for example, a speaker of an audio system provided in the vehicle 1, and audibly presents various information to the user.

[0051] The vehicle drive control unit 43 includes at least one control system that controls the running of the vehicle. A vehicle to which the driving assistance device 50 according to this embodiment can be applied is configured to be able to execute at least ACC control. The vehicle drive control unit 43 includes an engine control system or a motor control system that controls the driving force of the vehicle, and a brake system that controls the braking force of the vehicle. The vehicle drive control unit 43 may also include a transmission system that changes the speed of the output output from the engine or the drive motor and transmits it to the drive wheels. Furthermore, the vehicle drive control unit 43 may also include an electric steering system that controls the steering angle of the steering wheel or the steering wheels depending on the level of executable autonomous driving control.

[0052] In this embodiment, the vehicle drive control unit 43 controls the driving force or braking force of the vehicle based on information on the target acceleration or target deceleration transmitted from the automatic driving control unit 65 of the driving assistance device 50, and controls the drive of the vehicle 1 while maintaining the vehicle speed at a set vehicle speed or while maintaining the distance from the preceding vehicle at a set distance.

[0053] The input unit 45 receives an operation input from a user and transmits the input information to the driving support device 50. The input unit 45 may be, for example, a touch panel display or a dial-type operation device. The input unit 45 may be a voice recognition device that receives an input by the voice of an occupant or an image recognition device that receives an input by a gesture. The input unit 45 is configured to be able to receive an input for starting execution of ACC control.

[0054] The vehicle position detection unit 47 receives a positioning signal transmitted from a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) such as a global positioning system (GPS) and measures the position of the vehicle. The vehicle position detection unit 47 may receive a positioning signal transmitted from another system such as a quasi-zenith satellite system instead of or in addition to the GNSS and measures the position of the vehicle. The vehicle position detection unit 47 detects the vehicle position and inputs it to the driving assistance device 50.

[0055] The surrounding environment detection unit 49 is a device for recognizing the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1, and is configured to include at least one of a stereo camera, a monocular camera, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), and a radar sensor. The surrounding environment detection unit 49 recognizes objects around the vehicle, such as other vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, road signs, and other obstacles, based on the detected data, and calculates the distance to these objects and the relative speed. In this embodiment, the surrounding environment detection unit 49 recognizes at least a preceding vehicle, and calculates the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed to the recognized preceding vehicle.

[0056] The driving support device 50 includes a first communication unit 51, a second communication unit 53, a control unit 55, and a storage unit 57. Of these, the first communication unit 51 is a network interface for communicating with the server 10, and the second communication unit 53 is a network interface for communicating with the mobile device 30. The control unit 55 includes one or more processors such as a CPU, and controls the operation of the driving support device 50. The storage unit 57 includes one or more storage elements such as a RAM or a ROM connected to the processor so as to be able to communicate with the processor, or a storage medium such as an HDD, CD, DVD, SSD, USB flash, or storage device, and stores various data.

[0057] The control unit 55 includes a data transmission control unit 61, a control condition setting unit 63, and an automatic driving control unit 65. The data transmission control unit 61, the control condition setting unit 63, and the automatic driving control unit 65 are functions realized by the execution of a software program by a processor. A part or all of the data transmission control unit 61, the control condition setting unit 63, and the automatic driving control unit 65 may be configured by hardware.

[0058] While the ACC control is in an execution state, the data transmission control unit 61 transmits control condition setting information for the ACC control and vehicle position information to the server 10 together with user identification information and vehicle type information at a predetermined timing as a data accumulation process. The control condition setting information includes information on a set vehicle speed and a set following distance, and is set by the control condition setting unit 63 and stored in the storage unit 57. The user identification information may be acquired from the connected mobile device 30 and stored in the storage unit 57, for example, may be input by the user and stored in the storage unit 57, or may be assigned to an individual user identified based on image data captured by a driver-capturing camera and stored in the storage unit 57. The vehicle type information is stored in advance in the storage unit 57.

[0059] For example, at a predetermined timing, the data transmission control unit 61 reads out information on the set vehicle speed and set inter-vehicle distance at that time, and vehicle position information detected at that time, as well as the user identification information of the driver and the vehicle type information of the vehicle 1, and transmits them to the server 10. The timing of transmitting data is not particularly limited. For example, the data transmission control unit 61 may transmit data such as control condition setting information at a preset time interval, may transmit data every time an intersection is passed, or may transmit data every time the driving scene changes. The timing of passing an intersection or the timing of the driving scene change may be specified based on, for example, the vehicle position information and map data, or may be specified based on the display contents of road signs or the number of lanes recognized by the surrounding environment detection unit 49.

[0060] Alternatively, the data transmission control unit 61 may read out, at a predetermined timing, the control condition setting information, vehicle position information, user identification information, and vehicle type information at one or more appropriate times from the control condition setting information, vehicle position information, user identification information, and vehicle type information stored in the storage unit 57 since the previous data transmission, and transmit them to the server 10. For example, the data transmission control unit 61 may read out the data stored in the storage unit 57 and transmit it to the server 10 when the user finishes driving the vehicle 1 and stops the activation of the vehicle system.

[0061] The control condition setting unit 63 sets a target vehicle speed and a target inter-vehicle distance while the ACC control is in an execution state. In this embodiment, the control condition setting unit 63 sets the target vehicle speed and the target inter-vehicle distance according to the driving scene.

[0062] When the evaluation information of the target user applicable to the vehicle model of the vehicle 1 is stored in either the storage unit 57 of the driving assistance device 50 or the storage unit 35 of the connected mobile device 30, the control condition setting unit 63 transmits a control condition request signal to the server 10 together with the evaluation information and vehicle model information. On the other hand, when the evaluation information of the target user applicable to the vehicle model of the vehicle 1 is not stored in either the storage unit 57 of the driving assistance device 50 or the storage unit 35 of the connected mobile device 30, the control condition setting unit 63 transmits an evaluation information request signal to the server 10. When the control condition setting unit 63 receives evaluation information from the server 10, the control condition setting unit 63 transmits the evaluation information to the mobile device 30 and stores it in the mobile device 30. The control condition setting unit 63 may store the acquired evaluation information in the storage unit 57. The control condition setting unit 63 transmits a control condition request signal to the server 10 together with the acquired evaluation information and vehicle model information.

[0063] The control condition setting unit 63 transmits a control condition request signal to the server 10 together with the evaluation information and vehicle type information of the target user, and then sets the control conditions for ACC control based on the recommended vehicle speed and recommended following distance returned from the server 10. The control condition setting unit 63 may use the recommended vehicle speed and recommended following distance returned from the server 10 as the setting values ​​of the control conditions as they are, but when the set vehicle speed and set following distance are changed (adjusted) by the user, the control condition setting unit 63 may set the changed set vehicle speed and set following distance as the control conditions for ACC. In this case, the control condition setting information transmitted to the server 10 by the data transmission control unit 61 at a predetermined timing reflects the information on the set vehicle speed and set following distance changed at the user's will.

[0064] The set vehicle speed may be set in units of 1 km / h, or in appropriate vehicle speed units such as 5 km / h or 10 km / h. The inter-vehicle distance may be set to a constant distance, or may be set to change according to the vehicle speed. When the inter-vehicle distance changes according to the vehicle speed, the set inter-vehicle distance may be set to one of standards expressing distance in multiple stages, such as "large / medium / small" or "close / medium / far", rather than to a specific target inter-vehicle distance value.

[0065] The control condition setting unit 63 presents information on the set vehicle speed and set following distance to the user using at least one of the display device 41 and the speaker 42. For example, the control condition setting unit 63 may constantly display the set target vehicle speed and target following distance on the display device 41 while ACC control is being executed, and may also output the information on the set vehicle speed and set following distance by voice when the target vehicle speed and target following distance are set or changed. This allows the user to recognize the set target vehicle speed and target following distance.

[0066] The automatic driving control unit 65 executes ACC control based on the set vehicle speed and set inter-vehicle distance set by the control condition setting unit 63. Specifically, when the automatic driving control unit 65 has not recognized a preceding vehicle based on the information on the surrounding environment transmitted from the surrounding environment detection unit 49, it sets a target acceleration or target deceleration of the vehicle 1 so as to maintain the vehicle speed at the set vehicle speed, and transmits information on the target acceleration or target deceleration to the vehicle drive control unit 43. When the automatic driving control unit 65 has recognized a preceding vehicle based on the information on the surrounding environment transmitted from the surrounding environment detection unit 49, it sets a target acceleration or target deceleration of the vehicle 1 so as to maintain the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle at the set inter-vehicle distance, and transmits information on the target acceleration or target deceleration to the vehicle drive control unit 43.

[0067] <3. Operation of driving assistance system> Next, the operation of the driving assistance system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart. Below, the operation of the driving assistance system will be described separately for data accumulation processing and automatic driving control processing.

[0068] (3-1. Data accumulation processing) Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the data accumulation process executed on the driving support device 50 side. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the data accumulation process executed on the server 10 side.

[0069] First, the data transmission control unit 61 of the driving assistance device 50 determines whether or not the automatic driving control of the vehicle 1 is in an execution state (step S11). In this embodiment, the data transmission control unit 61 determines whether or not the ACC control is in an execution state. If the ACC control is not in an execution state (S11 / No), this routine ends and returns to the start.

[0070] On the other hand, when the ACC control is in an active state (S11 / Yes), the data transmission control unit 61 determines whether or not to transmit data such as control condition setting information to the server 10 (step S13). For example, the data transmission control unit 61 determines to transmit data to the server 10 when the timing for transmitting preset data arrives. The timing for transmitting data may be set at a predetermined time interval, may be the timing of passing an intersection, or may be the timing of a change in the driving scene.

[0071] If the data transmission control unit 61 does not want to transmit data (S13 / No), it ends this routine and returns to the start. On the other hand, if the data transmission control unit 61 wants to transmit data (S13 / Yes), it acquires the current control condition setting information and vehicle position information stored in the memory unit 57 (step S15). The control condition setting information includes information on the set vehicle speed and set inter-vehicle distance set by the control condition setting unit 63 and stored in the memory unit 57. In addition, the vehicle position information is acquired based on data output from the vehicle position detection unit 47.

[0072] Next, the data transmission control unit 61 transmits the acquired information on the set vehicle speed and set inter-vehicle distance and the vehicle position information to the server 10 together with the user identification information and vehicle type information of the driver (target user) (step S17). The user identification information may be acquired from the connected mobile device 30 and stored in the storage unit 57, or may be input by the user and stored in the storage unit 57, or may be assigned to an individual user identified based on image data captured by the driver-capturing camera and stored in the storage unit 57. The vehicle type information is stored in advance in the storage unit 57.

[0073] The data transmission control unit 61 of the driving support device 50 repeatedly executes the above-mentioned processes of steps S11 to S17 while the driving support device 50 is running.

[0074] The data collection unit 21 of the server 10 acquires the data to be saved transmitted from the driving support device 50 (step S21). The data to be saved includes control condition setting information, vehicle position information, user identification information, and vehicle type information.

[0075] Next, the data collection unit 21 stores the acquired data for storage in the memory unit 15 (step S23). At this time, the data collection unit 21 classifies and stores the vehicle 1 identified from the vehicle type information according to vehicle performance. The data collection unit 21 also classifies the driving scene of the vehicle 1 by checking the vehicle position information against map data. For example, the data collection unit 21 acquires information on the legal speed and road type of the road on which the vehicle 1 is traveling, and stores the information on the legal speed and road type together. In this embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the control condition setting information is stored in association with the user identification information, the vehicle type information, and the driving scene.

[0076] The data collection unit 21 of the server 10 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S21 to S23 described above, and stores the data to be saved transmitted from each vehicle 1 equipped with the driving assistance device 50 in the storage unit 15. As a result, the control conditions of the ACC control by a plurality of users are accumulated in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 in association with the users, vehicle types, and driving scenes, and a control condition setting information database is formed.

[0077] (3-2. Automatic Driving Control Processing) Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing an automatic driving control process executed on the driving support device 50 side. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an evaluation information calculation process executed on the server 10 side, and Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing a control condition calculation process executed on the server 10 side.

[0078] First, the control condition setting unit 63 of the driving assistance device 50 determines whether or not the automatic driving control of the vehicle 1 is in an execution state, similarly to the above-mentioned step S11 (step S31). If the ACC control is not in an execution state (S31 / No), this routine is ended and the process returns to the start.

[0079] On the other hand, when the ACC control is in an execution state (S31 / Yes), the control condition setting unit 63 determines whether or not evaluation information P applicable to the vehicle 1 equipped with the driving support device 50 is stored (step S33). For example, the control condition setting unit 63 transmits a signal to the portable device 30 connected to the driving support device 50 to read out the evaluation information of the driver (target user), and acquires the evaluation information P returned from the portable device 30. When a signal indicating that the evaluation information P is not stored in the portable device 30 is returned from the portable device 30, the control condition setting unit 63 determines whether or not the evaluation information P of the target user is stored in the storage unit 57 of the driving support device 50. When the evaluation information P of the target user is stored in the storage unit 57, the evaluation information P is acquired.

[0080] If evaluation information P applicable to the vehicle 1 in use is not stored in either the portable device 30 or the driving assistance device 50 (S31 / No), the control condition setting unit 63 reads out the control condition setting information, vehicle position information, user identification information, and vehicle model information stored in the memory unit 57 when ACC control was previously performed, and transmits an evaluation information request signal together with this information to the server 10 (step S35).

[0081] Here, the process performed by the server 10 upon receiving the evaluation information request signal will be described. 9, when the evaluation information calculation unit 23 of the server 10 receives an evaluation information request signal (step S61), it determines whether or not a sufficient amount of data corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the vehicle model information is stored in the control condition setting information database stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 (step S63). For example, when the number of pieces of data corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the vehicle model information reaches a preset number of pieces of data, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 determines that a sufficient amount of data is stored. This number of pieces of data is preset to an appropriate value.

[0082] If there is sufficient data stored corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information (S63 / Yes), the evaluation information calculation unit 23 extracts data corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information, compares the extracted data with the control condition setting information and vehicle position information received from the driving support device 50, and calculates evaluation information P (step S65). On the other hand, if there is not sufficient data stored corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information (S63 / No), the evaluation information calculation unit 23 extracts data corresponding to a vehicle model similar to the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information, and compares the extracted data with the control condition setting information and vehicle position information received from the driving support device 50, and calculates evaluation information P (step S67).

[0083] In this embodiment, in step S65 or step S67, if the distribution of the control condition settings of the entire plurality of users indicates a normal distribution, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 sets the percentile Pt of the control condition settings of the target user as evaluation information P (see FIG. 4). On the other hand, if the distribution of the control condition settings of the entire plurality of users is not a normal distribution, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 sets the relative position of the control condition settings of the target user in the region from the 1st percentile 1Pt to the peak of the distribution, or in the region from the peak of the distribution to the 100th percentile 100Pt, as evaluation information P (see FIG. 5). The evaluation information calculation unit 23 calculates the evaluation information P_v, P_d for each driving scene for each set vehicle speed and set inter-vehicle distance. Next, the evaluation information calculation unit 23 transmits the calculated evaluation information P_v, P_d to the driving assistance device 50 (step S79).

[0084] FIG. 10 shows an example of data of the evaluation information P_v, P_d calculated by the evaluation information calculation unit 23 (hereinafter, also referred to as "evaluation information data"). The evaluation information data includes vehicle model information including the user identification number of the target user, the vehicle name, and information on vehicle performance. The evaluation information data also includes evaluation information P_v of the set vehicle speed and evaluation information P_d of the set vehicle distance for each driving scene. In the example shown in FIG. 10, evaluation information P of the control conditions of the ACC control when the target user specified by the user identification number "ddddd" uses a standard vehicle with the vehicle name "WWW" is required. In the evaluation information data, on a general road with a legal speed of 40 km / h, the evaluation information P_v of the set vehicle speed is 45 percentile 45 Pt, and the evaluation information P_d of the set vehicle distance is 50 percentile 50 Pt. On a general road with a legal speed of 60 km / h, the evaluation information P_v of the set vehicle speed is 40 percentile 40 Pt, and the evaluation information P_d of the set vehicle distance is 60 percentile 60 Pt. In addition, on an urban expressway with a legal speed limit of 80km / h, the evaluation information P_v for the set vehicle speed is "X (0.80)" and the evaluation information P_d for the set vehicle distance is the 60th percentile 60Pt. In addition, on an intercity expressway with a legal speed limit of 120km / h, the evaluation information P_v for the set vehicle speed is "X (0.75)" and the evaluation information P_d for the set vehicle distance is "Y (0.5)".

[0085] Furthermore, from such evaluation information data, it can be understood that, as a control condition for ACC control when the target user uses a passenger vehicle, the faster the legal speed, the more the set vehicle speed is set to be lower than the peak of the distribution, and the set vehicle distance is set to be higher than the peak of the distribution.

[0086] 8, when the control condition setting unit 63 receives the data of the evaluation information P_v, P_d applicable to the vehicle 1 in use from the server 10 (step S37), the control condition setting unit 63 stores the data of the evaluation information P_v, P_d in the storage unit 57 and transmits the data to the portable device 30 to be stored in the portable device 30 (step S39). As a result, if the evaluation information P applicable to the vehicle 1 in use is not stored in either the portable device 30 or the driving assistance device 50, the evaluation information P applicable to the vehicle 1 in use is stored in the portable device 30 and the driving assistance device 50.

[0087] Next, the control condition setting unit 63 transmits a control condition request signal together with the evaluation information P_v, P_d and the vehicle type information to the server 10 (step S41).

[0088] Here, the process performed by the server 10 upon receiving the control condition request signal will be described. 11, when the control condition calculation unit 25 of the server 10 receives a control condition request signal (step S71), it determines whether or not the control condition setting information database stored in the storage unit 15 of the server 10 has sufficient data stored corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the vehicle model information in use (step S73). For example, the control condition calculation unit 25 determines that sufficient data has been stored when the number of pieces of data corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the vehicle model information in use reaches a preset number of pieces of data. This number of pieces of data is preset to an appropriate value.

[0089] If there is sufficient data stored corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information (S73 / Yes), the control condition calculation unit 25 extracts data corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information, and calculates recommended control conditions based on the accumulated data of the vehicle model (step S75). Specifically, the control condition calculation unit 25 obtains the vehicle speed and the following distance corresponding to the evaluation information P_v, P_d of the target user in the distribution of the set vehicle speed and the set following distance of the entire multiple users based on the accumulated data of the vehicle model, and sets them as the recommended vehicle speed and the recommended following distance. On the other hand, if there is not sufficient data stored corresponding to the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information (S73 / No), the control condition calculation unit 25 extracts data corresponding to a vehicle model similar to the vehicle model corresponding to the used vehicle model information, and calculates recommended control conditions based on the accumulated data of the similar vehicle model (step S77). Specifically, the control condition calculation unit 25 obtains the vehicle speed and the following distance corresponding to the evaluation information P_v, P_d of the target user in the distribution of the set vehicle speed and the set following distance of the entire multiple users based on the accumulated data of the similar vehicle model, and sets them as the recommended vehicle speed and the recommended following distance. The control condition calculation unit 25 calculates the recommended vehicle speed and the recommended following distance for each driving scene. Next, the control condition calculation unit 25 transmits the calculated recommended vehicle speed and the recommended following distance to the driving assistance device 50 (step S79).

[0090] FIG. 12 shows an example of data of recommended control conditions calculated by the control condition calculation unit 25 (hereinafter, also referred to as “recommended control condition data”). The recommended control condition data includes vehicle model information including vehicle name and vehicle performance information. The recommended control condition data also includes information on recommended vehicle speed and recommended vehicle distance for each driving scene. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the recommended control condition for ACC control when the target user uses a regular car with the vehicle name "WWW" is requested. In the recommended control condition data, the recommended vehicle speed is 35 km / h and the recommended vehicle distance is 20 m on a general road with a legal speed of 40 km / h. Also, the recommended vehicle speed is 55 km / h and the recommended vehicle distance is 30 m on a general road with a legal speed of 60 km / h. Also, the recommended vehicle speed is 75 km / h and the recommended vehicle distance is 90 m on an urban expressway with a legal speed of 80 km / h. Also, the recommended vehicle speed is 100 km / h and the recommended vehicle distance is 110 m on an intercity expressway with a legal speed of 120 km / h.

[0091] It is understood that the recommended vehicle speeds and recommended following distances of the recommended control condition data reflect the driving preferences of the target user, in that the faster the legal speed, the lower the set vehicle speed is set below the peak of the distribution, and the higher the set following distance is set above the peak of the distribution.

[0092] 8, when the control condition setting unit 63 receives the data of the recommended control conditions from the server 10 (step S43), it presents information on the recommended vehicle speed and recommended following distance corresponding to the current driving scene to the target user (step S45). For example, the control condition setting unit 63 causes the display device 41 to display the information on the recommended vehicle speed and recommended following distance corresponding to the current driving scene, and notifies the target user using the speaker 42 that the recommended vehicle speed and recommended following distance should be set as the target vehicle speed and target following distance.

[0093] Next, the control condition setting unit 63 determines whether or not the target user has performed a modification operation of the control conditions (step S47). If the target user has not performed a modification operation of the control conditions (S47 / No), the set values ​​of the target vehicle speed and the target inter-vehicle distance are maintained, whereas if the target user has performed a modification operation of the control conditions (S47 / Yes), the control condition setting unit 63 updates the set values ​​of the target vehicle speed and the target inter-vehicle distance (step S49). Note that information on the set target vehicle speed and target inter-vehicle distance is sequentially transmitted to and stored in the server 10 by executing a data storage process.

[0094] Next, the automatic driving control unit 65 executes ACC control based on the set vehicle speed and set vehicle distance set by the control condition setting unit 63 (step S51). Specifically, when the automatic driving control unit 65 has not recognized a preceding vehicle based on the information on the surrounding environment transmitted from the surrounding environment detection unit 49, it sets a target acceleration or target deceleration of the vehicle 1 so as to maintain the vehicle speed at the set vehicle speed, and transmits information on the target acceleration or target deceleration to the vehicle drive control unit 43. When the automatic driving control unit 65 has recognized a preceding vehicle based on the information on the surrounding environment transmitted from the surrounding environment detection unit 49, it sets a target acceleration or target deceleration of the vehicle 1 so as to maintain the vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle at the set vehicle distance, and transmits information on the target acceleration or target deceleration to the vehicle drive control unit 43.

[0095] In the driving assistance system 100 according to this embodiment, after the ACC control is put into an execution state, the driving assistance device 50 transmits evaluation information to the server 10, and after receiving the recommended control conditions calculated by the server 10, changes the settings of the target vehicle speed and the target following distance based on the data of the recommended control conditions each time the driving scene specified from the vehicle position information and the map data is changed. This makes it possible to execute the ACC control under the control conditions that reflect the driver's driving inclination according to the driving scene. At that time, the control condition setting unit 63 may cause the display device 41 to display the data of the set vehicle speed and the set following distance, and may cause the speaker 42 to output an announcement to inform the user that the control conditions will be switched.

[0096] 4. Effects of this embodiment As described above, the driving assistance system 100 according to this embodiment calculates the recommended control conditions for the automatic driving of the vehicle 1 based on the evaluation information indicating the relative positioning of the settings of each user with respect to the distribution of the settings of the control conditions of the entire plurality of users, and controls the automatic driving of the vehicle 1 based on the calculated recommended control conditions. Therefore, when the target user uses a specific vehicle 1, it is possible to reduce the user's effort required for setting the control conditions for automatic driving and set the control conditions for automatic driving according to the user's inclination for driving. In addition, since the evaluation information of the target user is stored not only in the driving assistance device 50 but also in the portable device 30 that the user can carry, even if the target user changes the vehicle used, it is possible to reduce the user's effort and set the control conditions for automatic driving according to the user's inclination for driving. Therefore, it is possible to easily execute the automatic driving control of various vehicles according to the user's preferences.

[0097] In addition, in the driving assistance system 100 according to this embodiment, when the distribution of the settings of the control conditions of the entire plurality of users indicates a normal distribution, the control condition calculation unit 25 of the server 10 calculates the recommended control conditions using the percentile of the settings of each user as evaluation information. In addition, when the distribution of the settings of the control conditions of the entire plurality of users does not indicate a normal distribution, the control condition calculation unit 25 calculates the recommended control conditions using the relative position of the settings of each user in the region from the 1st percentile to the peak of the distribution, or in the region from the peak of the distribution to the 100th percentile, as evaluation information. By calculating the recommended control conditions based on the percentile information in this way, even if the vehicle performance or the physical values ​​or the number of setting stages used for setting the control conditions are different for each vehicle 1, it is possible to calculate the recommended control conditions that reflect the driver's driving inclination. In particular, the more the setting value of the control conditions deviates from the 50th percentile, the more the effect of suppressing the deviation of the control conditions due to the difference in vehicle performance can be obtained.

[0098] In addition, in the driving assistance system 100 according to the present embodiment, the evaluation information is obtained for each driving scene. Therefore, even if the user's driving inclination differs for each driving scene, it is possible to set a control condition that reflects the user's driving inclination according to the driving scene.

[0099] In addition, in the driving assistance system 100 according to this embodiment, the distribution of control condition settings for all of the users is obtained for each vehicle type, and when data on the distribution of control condition settings for all of the users for a vehicle type used by the target user is not accumulated, the control condition calculation unit 25 calculates recommended control conditions using evaluation information obtained based on the distribution data on the control condition settings for all of the users for a vehicle type registered as a vehicle type similar to the vehicle type used by the target user. As a result, even when data corresponding to the vehicle 1 in use is not accumulated, it is possible to calculate recommended control conditions using accumulated data on vehicle types with similar vehicle performance, etc., and to set control conditions that reflect the user's driving preferences.

[0100] <5. Application Examples> The driving assistance system 100 according to this embodiment sets the control conditions for autonomous driving using information stored in a portable device 30 that the user can carry around. For this reason, information other than the evaluation information stored in the portable device 30 can also be reflected in the control conditions for autonomous driving.

[0101] For example, when the portable device 30 has a function for managing the user's physical condition, the evaluation information or the control conditions may be corrected according to the user's physical condition. For example, the control condition setting unit 63 of the driving assistance device 50 corrects the evaluation information or the control conditions so that the worse the driver's physical condition, the safer the automatic driving control becomes, and ensures a collision grace period. Specifically, the control condition setting unit 63 corrects the evaluation information or the control conditions so that the set vehicle speed becomes slower or the set inter-vehicle distance becomes larger. This makes it possible to avoid a collision or mitigate the impact of a collision even if the driver's reaction is delayed. The portable device 30 with the physical condition management function may be a portable device having sensors such as a heart rate monitor, a blood oxygen meter, and a thermometer, and having a function for determining abnormalities in physical condition based on the measurement data from these sensors.

[0102] Furthermore, if the mobile device 30 has a schedule management function, the evaluation information or control conditions may be corrected according to the estimated arrival time and the required travel time. For example, if there is not much time before the estimated arrival time, the evaluation information or control conditions are corrected so that the set vehicle speed in the section where automatic driving control is executed is increased. This allows the driver to perform driving operations with a margin of error in the manual driving section, thereby improving safety during manual driving.

[0103] Although the preferred embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs can conceive of various modified or amended examples within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0104] For example, the driving assistance system 100 according to the above embodiment includes a server 10 capable of communicating with the driving assistance device 50, and the server 10 has a function of calculating evaluation information and recommended control conditions, but the present disclosure is not limited to such an example. The driving assistance system may be configured without using a server. In this case, a control condition setting information database in which data of multiple users is accumulated in advance is stored in the storage unit 57 of the driving assistance device 50, and the driving assistance device 50 also functions as an information processing device including the above-mentioned evaluation information calculation unit 23 and control condition calculation unit 25. According to such a driving assistance system, the in-vehicle driving assistance device 50 can set control conditions for automatic driving that reflect the user's driving inclination while communicating with a portable device 30 that the user can carry, and the same effect as that of the driving assistance system 100 according to the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0105] In the driving assistance system 100 according to the above embodiment, the driving assistance device 50 acquires recommended control conditions for all driving scenes calculated based on the target user's evaluation information for the vehicle 1 when the autonomous driving is executed from the server 10, and presents the recommended control conditions each time the driving scene of the vehicle 1 changes, but the present disclosure is not limited to such an example. For example, the driving assistance device 50 may acquire and present the recommended control conditions for the driving scene from the server 10 each time the driving scene of the vehicle 1 changes.

[0106] The following forms also fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure. The processor: Calculating control conditions for autonomous driving of a vehicle based on evaluation information indicating a relative position of settings of each user with respect to a distribution of settings of control conditions across a plurality of users; A computer program that executes processing including controlling the automatic driving of a vehicle based on the calculated control conditions, and a recording medium having the computer program recorded thereon. [Explanation of symbols]

[0107] 1...vehicle, 10...server, 13...control unit, 15...memory unit, 21...data collection unit, 23...evaluation information calculation unit, 25...control condition calculation unit, 30...portable device, 33...control unit, 35...memory unit, 41...display unit, 42...speaker, 43...vehicle drive control unit, 45...input unit, 47...vehicle position detection unit, 49...surrounding environment detection unit, 50...driving assistance device, 55...control unit, 57...memory unit, 61...data transmission control unit, 63...control condition setting unit, 65...automatic driving control unit, 100...driving assistance system

Claims

1. A vehicle driving assistance system that controls automatic driving of a vehicle based on control conditions that can be set by a user, a control condition calculation unit that calculates the control conditions for the autonomous driving of the vehicle based on evaluation information that indicates a relative position of each user's setting with respect to a distribution of the control condition settings of all users stored as information for each vehicle type; and an automatic driving control unit that controls automatic driving of the vehicle based on the control conditions calculated by the control condition calculation unit; A vehicle driving assistance system comprising:

2. The control condition calculation unit When the distribution of the control condition settings across the plurality of users indicates a normal distribution, the control condition is calculated using a percentile of the settings of each of the users as the evaluation information; When the distribution of the control condition settings of the plurality of users is not a normal distribution, the relative position of the setting of each user in the region from the 1st percentile to the peak of the distribution, or in the region from the peak to the 100th percentile of the distribution, is used as the evaluation information. The vehicle driving assistance system according to claim 1 , wherein the control condition is calculated using a vehicle driving assistance system.

3. The vehicle driving assistance system according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation information is obtained for each driving scene associated with a legal vehicle speed or a driving position.

4. A distribution of the control condition settings across the plurality of users is obtained for each vehicle type; The control condition calculation unit A vehicle driving assistance system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, when data on the distribution of control condition settings across the multiple users for a vehicle type used by the individual user is not accumulated, the control conditions are calculated using the evaluation information obtained based on data on the distribution of control condition settings across the multiple users for a vehicle type registered as a vehicle type similar to the vehicle type used by the individual user.

5. In an information processing device that calculates control conditions for automatic driving of a vehicle, An information processing device comprising: a control condition calculation unit that calculates the control conditions for autonomous driving of the vehicle based on evaluation information indicating the relative positioning of an individual user's settings to the distribution of the control condition settings of a plurality of users as a whole, which is stored as information for each vehicle type.

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