Sensor control system and sensor control method

Abstract

To realize a change into a required sensor setting range without delay.SOLUTION: A sensor control system that controls a sensor installed in a vehicle which travels on a predetermined route, comprises: a sensor setting determination unit that determines a point at which settings of the sensor are changed from a route condition or a target speed pattern; and a sensor setting changing unit that changes the settings of the sensor when the vehicle reaches the point.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sensor control system and a sensor control method, and is suitable for use in a sensor control system and a sensor control method for controlling a sensor mounted on a traveling vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 states that its objective is to "provide an information processing device and processing method capable of performing processing according to the driving conditions of the vehicle" (see paragraph

[0005] of Patent Document 1), and describes as a solution to this objective "changing processing conditions such as the processing, the target of processing to be performed, whether or not processing is necessary, the priority of processing, or the processing period, based on the driving conditions of the vehicle" (see paragraph

[0006] of Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2010 / 038851 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, the time required to change the processing conditions is not taken into consideration, and there is a possibility that processing according to the driving situation cannot be performed immediately after the processing conditions are changed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, one embodiment of the present invention provides a sensor control system for controlling sensors provided in a vehicle traveling along a predetermined route, comprising: changing settings of the sensor as the vehicle progresses; Setting the Sensor of change Start do Change Start point and, A sensor setting determination unit that determines the following from a route condition or a target speed pattern; Change Start When the point is reached, the sensor settings are changed. Get started A sensor setting change unit is provided. the sensor setting determination unit determines the change start point to be before the target range in which the sensor is to be operated with the changed settings by reversely searching the target speed pattern based on a processing time required for changing the settings of the sensor; The present invention relates to a sensor control system.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, one embodiment of the present invention provides a sensor control method using a sensor control system that controls a sensor provided in a vehicle traveling along a predetermined route, the sensor control system comprising: changing settings of the sensor as the vehicle progresses; Setting the Sensor of change Start do Change Start point and, Determined from route conditions or target speed pattern The first step to The sensor control system is configured to Change Start Reaching the spot When To 、 Change the settings of the sensor and a second step of starting the change, in which the sensor control system in the first step determines the change start point before a target range in which the sensor is to be operated with the changed settings by reversely searching the target speed pattern based on a processing time required for changing the settings of the sensor. The sensor control method is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the above-mentioned means, a change to a required sensor setting range can be realized without delay. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a sensor control system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of route conditions in the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between each speed and braking distance in the first embodiment, and an example of the braking distance calculated from the speed at each point. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of settings of each condition and a detection range at that time in the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure for changing a detection range in the first embodiment. [Figure 6]FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a sensor control system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a data format of the surrounding environment in the second embodiment. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure for changing sensitivity related to position estimation in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0010] (1) First embodiment When a sensor is installed in a moving vehicle, it is important to set the sensor appropriately according to the situation.

[0011] For example, in obstacle detection functions using cameras or LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), in order to detect obstacles from a distance, it is necessary to increase the detection distance by increasing the zoom magnification, focal length, etc. In particular, in cases where the braking distance of moving objects (vehicles) is long, such as in trains, a longer detection distance is required compared to other moving objects such as automobiles.

[0012] However, as the detection distance is increased, the sensor's field of view, i.e., the detection area, becomes narrower, and in LiDAR, the point cloud density decreases. As a result, detection accuracy decreases, and there is a tendency for detection to go undetected or to be falsely detected.

[0013] One possible solution to this problem is to install a sensor with a narrow viewing angle but a long detection distance, and a sensor with a short detection distance but a wide viewing angle, thereby improving both the detection distance and the viewing angle. Patent Document 1 also describes a method for changing the detection distance of a vehicle to different values ​​for ordinary roads and expressways in a single sensor.

[0014] However, when changing the detection distance, there is a delay until the change is completed due to focus adjustment, calibration, etc., so there is a possibility that the required detection range may not be satisfied immediately after the change in the detection range. As a result, there is a possibility that the required changes to the sensor settings cannot be made at the appropriate time without delay.

[0015] In the first embodiment, a method is described in which the point where the detection range of the sensor is changed is determined from the route conditions or the target speed pattern, and the change of the detection range is completed before the change point is reached. The change of the detection range in this embodiment includes both the change of the detection area and the change of the detection distance, and it is sufficient to change at least one of them. The detection distance in this embodiment is an index of the length indicating how far away an obstacle is to be detected, and the detection area is an index of the viewing angle of the sensor that detects the obstacle. The detection distance and the detection area are basically in a trade-off relationship, and if the zoom factor is increased, the detection distance can be extended, but the detection area will be narrowed in return.

[0016] First, the configuration of the sensor control system and the role of each component will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The obstacle detection unit 101, route condition storage unit 102, detection setting determination unit 104, and detection setting change unit 105 may be installed either inside or outside the vehicle 103. If installed outside, information may be transmitted wirelessly or the like.

[0017] The obstacle detection unit 101 has a function of detecting surrounding obstacles. Examples of the obstacle detection unit 101 include a camera, LiDAR, and an ultrasonic sensor. However, the obstacle detection unit 101 is not limited to these, and may be any other sensor as long as it has a function of detecting surrounding obstacles.

[0018] In addition, the obstacle detection unit 101 can change the detection range of the obstacle detection function by changing detection settings such as zoom magnification and focal length. This change can be made by either hardware processing such as changing the focal length, or software processing such as changing the target area in image processing. In the case of hardware processing, a delay may occur when the detection range is changed.

[0019] The route condition storage unit 102 has a function of storing predetermined route conditions. The route conditions include at least one of speed limit information, curve curvature information, route facility information indicating information on facilities installed along the route such as station positions and railroad crossing positions, and side intrusion risk information at each point. An example of the data format of the route conditions is shown in FIG. 2.

[0020] The vehicle 103 is a vehicle, such as a rail car, a bus, or an LRT (Light Rail Transit), that runs on a predetermined route or on a dedicated track.

[0021] The detection setting determination unit 104 has the function of determining the detection range of the obstacle detection unit 101 and the point at which to start changing the detection range (hereinafter referred to as the detection change point) from the speed limit information, curve curvature information, and lineside facility information such as station positions and railroad crossing positions output from the route condition memory unit 102.

[0022] A possible method for setting the detection range value that the detection setting determination unit 104 can determine when changing the detection range is based on the braking distance calculated from the speed at each point of the vehicle 103. Note that even at the same speed, the braking distance may vary depending on the vehicle conditions and weather, so the braking distance is calculated taking the vehicle conditions and weather into consideration.

[0023] Figure 3 shows the relationship between each speed and braking distance, as well as an image of the braking distance calculated from the speed at each point.

[0024] Here, as an example, an image diagram of a case where the braking distance is calculated based on the speed limit at each point is shown. In FIG. 3(a), the horizontal axis is the speed of the vehicle 103, and the vertical axis is the braking distance. At this time, as the speed increases, the braking distance also increases quadratically. In the upper part of FIG. 3(b), the horizontal axis shows the position on the predetermined route, and the vertical axis shows the speed limit set at each position. At this time, it is possible to calculate the braking distance corresponding to the speed limit at each position shown in the upper part of FIG. 3(b) from the relationship between each speed and the braking distance in FIG. 3(a). The lower part of FIG. 3(b) shows the calculation result. In the lower part of FIG. 3(b), the horizontal axis shows the position on the predetermined route, and the vertical axis shows the braking distance calculated at each position. Such a calculation of the braking distance is performed, for example, by the detection setting determination unit 104, but may be performed by another processing unit not shown in FIG. 1. Then, the detection setting determination unit 104 determines the change of the detection range according to the braking distance calculated in this way.

[0025] In the above example, the speed when calculating the braking distance is the speed limit, but the speed when calculating the braking distance may be set to a value greater than the speed limit, taking into account a safety margin for factors such as delayed brake response. The speed when calculating the braking distance may also be set to a target speed pattern, which is speed information more accurate than the speed limit. By using the target speed pattern, a wider detection area can be secured without having an extra margin in the detection distance, and as a result, detection accuracy can be improved.

[0026] In the above explanation, the method of calculating the detection range from only the speed limit information and the target speed pattern has been described, but when the detection setting determination unit 104 determines the change in the detection range (location and change contents), in addition to this information, the intrusion risk estimated from the curvature information and the lineside facility information may also be taken into consideration. By taking these conditions into consideration when setting the detection range, it is expected that the detection range will be a more appropriate value according to the situation.

[0027] Specifically, in sections with large curvature, unlike straight sections where you can see far into the distance, when the curves prevent you from seeing far into the distance, it is possible to set the detection distance to close and the detection area to wide-angle. Also, in sections where the risk of intrusion into the travel lane from the side, such as stations, railroad crossings, and depots, is high according to the lineside facility information, it is possible to set the detection distance to close and the detection area to wide-angle. Figure 4 shows examples of settings for each condition and the detection distance and detection area for each condition.

[0028] The conditions used for setting the detection range are not limited to those shown in Fig. 4, and other conditions such as time of day, weather conditions, and seasonal conditions may also be taken into consideration. For example, it is possible to set the risk of intrusion from the side at a certain point higher depending on the number of passengers, rather than setting it to a uniform value throughout all time periods. In this case, specifically, the intrusion risk is set higher during time periods when there is a lot of movement, such as during school or work hours. Such setting of the intrusion risk may be performed in advance by an administrator or the like before setting the detection range, or may be set appropriately by any processing unit in the sensor control system (such as the detection setting determination unit 104 or a setting unit not shown).

[0029] The detection change point is determined as a point where the vehicle 103 was traveling before the processing time by looking up the target speed pattern backward from the point where the route conditions change, such as the speed limit information and curve curvature information output from the route condition storage unit 102, for the processing time required for the change. In other words, the detection setting determination unit 104 determines the detection change point at which processing of the change is to be started so that the change of the detection range of the obstacle detection unit 101 is completed before the vehicle 103 reaches the point where the route conditions change.

[0030] In addition, in order to reduce the increase in the number of changes, at points where the change in the detection range is small or the length of the section to be changed is short, and the change is not essential for safety, the point is not designated as a detection change point and no change needs to be implemented.

[0031] The detection setting change unit 105 has the function of referring to the position and speed output from the vehicle 103, and starting to change the detection range determined by the detection setting determination unit 104 when the vehicle 103 reaches the detection change point determined by the detection setting determination unit 104.

[0032] The above is an explanation of the configuration of the sensor control system and the role of each component.

[0033] Next, a procedure for changing the detection range in the sensor control system when the method of this embodiment is used will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0034] The detection setting determination unit 104 determines the detection range and the detection change point in the obstacle detection unit 101 by using the route conditions output from the route condition storage unit 102 (step S11). There may be a case where the number of detection change points is not one but multiple.

[0035] The timing for performing the process in step S11 is considered to be before the vehicle departs, but if the processing time required for the change is short, it may be performed after the vehicle departs, i.e., while the vehicle is traveling.

[0036] In step S12, the detection setting change unit 105 refers to the position and speed output from the vehicle 103, and if the current position of the vehicle 103 has not yet reached the detection change point, proceeds to step S13, and if the current position has reached the detection change point, proceeds to step S14.

[0037] In step S13, the vehicle 103 does not change the detection range, proceeds for an operation cycle of the sensor control system, and then returns to step S12.

[0038] In step S14, the detection setting change unit 105 starts changing the detection range of the obstacle detection unit 101 to the detection setting determined by the detection setting determination unit 104, and after confirming the end of the change, the process proceeds to step S15.

[0039] In step S15, the detection setting change unit 105 determines whether there are any detection change points other than the point at the start of the previous step S14 in the section from the current position of the vehicle 103 to a destination point such as a station or bus stop, and if there are any other detection change points, the process returns to step S12, and if there are no other detection change points, the process ends.

[0040] In addition, even if the process is once terminated in the judgment of step S15, if route conditions change, such as a change in the speed limit due to the operating situation, the process of this flowchart may be executed again from step S11.

[0041] The above is an explanation of the procedure for changing the detection range in the sensor control system.

[0042] As described above, according to this embodiment, the point at which the sensor's detection range is changed is determined based on route conditions or target speed pattern, and the change of the detection range is completed before the change point is reached, thereby making it possible to achieve a change to the required detection range without delay while still satisfying the required detection range.

[0043] (2) Second embodiment The second embodiment is a sensor control system in which a position estimation unit 201, a sensitivity determination unit 204, and a sensitivity change unit 205 are newly added to the configuration of the sensor control system according to the first embodiment, instead of the obstacle detection unit 101, instead of the detection setting determination unit 104, and instead of the detection setting change unit 105. In the first embodiment, an application example of the present invention was described with respect to an obstacle detection function, but since the present invention is applicable not only to an obstacle detection function but also to a position estimation function, an application example thereof will be described in the second embodiment.

[0044] One example of a sensor that realizes a position estimation function is a position estimation sensor that uses satellite observation such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). For example, GNSS has the following characteristics: when the antenna sensitivity is increased, the noise increases but the number of GNSS satellites that can be used for position estimation increases, whereas when the antenna sensitivity is decreased, the number of GNSS satellites that can be used for position estimation decreases but the noise decreases.

[0045] Specifically, in areas with few surrounding buildings and an open sky, such as near rice fields, the number of GNSS satellites that can be observed is large, so by lowering the sensitivity, it is possible to reduce noise and improve the accuracy of position estimation. On the other hand, in areas with many surrounding buildings and an obscured sky, such as near city centers and factories, the number of GNSS satellites that can be used for position estimation is reduced, meaning that the probability of position estimation being impossible increases. In this case, by changing the sensitivity to a higher level, it is possible to increase the number of GNSS satellites that can be used for position estimation and reduce the probability of position estimation being impossible. Therefore, changing the antenna sensitivity according to the vehicle situation contributes to improving the position estimation function.

[0046] Therefore, in the second embodiment, the objective is to accurately grasp in advance the location and timing of changing the sensor sensitivity, and a method is described in which the location where the sensor sensitivity setting is changed is determined from route conditions or target speed patterns, and the change of the sensor sensitivity setting is completed before the change location is reached.

[0047] 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a sensor control system according to the second embodiment. However, in the sensor control system according to the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted as described above.

[0048] The sensor control system according to the second embodiment is a sensor control system in which a position estimation unit 201 is newly added in place of the obstacle detection unit 101, a sensitivity determination unit 204 is newly added in place of the detection setting determination unit 104, and a sensitivity change unit 205 is newly added in place of the detection setting change unit 105, compared to the configuration of the sensor control system according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1. The following mainly describes the added position estimation unit 201, sensitivity determination unit 204, and sensitivity change unit 205.

[0049] The position estimation unit 201 has a function of estimating the current position of the vehicle 103 by using a sensor. In this embodiment, an example in which the position estimation unit 201 uses GNSS will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other sensors may be used as long as they have a function of estimating a position, such as LiDAR or a camera using map matching. Furthermore, the position estimation unit 201 has a function of changing antenna sensitivity in the case of GNSS.

[0050] The route condition storage unit 102 stores, as route conditions, information on the surrounding environment at each point on the route in addition to the information described in the first embodiment. An example of a data format of the surrounding environment is shown in FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, the number of surrounding structures at each point is shown in four stages: "very many", "many", "few", and "very few". For example, at point 0 m, the number of surrounding structures is "very many", while at point 1002 m, it is shown as "very few". FIG. 7 is merely an example, and any information describing the surrounding environment that affects the setting of the sensor sensitivity may be used.

[0051] The sensitivity determination unit 204 has the function of determining the sensitivity of the position estimation unit 201 and the point at which the sensitivity change begins (hereinafter referred to as the sensitivity change point) from the speed limit information, curve curvature information, and lineside facility information such as station positions and railroad crossing positions output from the route condition memory unit 102.

[0052] Specifically, in areas with few surrounding structures and an open sky, the sensitivity is changed to a lower level to reduce noise and improve the accuracy of position estimation. On the other hand, in areas with many surrounding structures and an obstructed sky, the sensitivity is changed to a higher level to increase the number of GNSS satellites that can be used for position estimation and reduce the probability of position estimation being impossible.

[0053] The sensitivity change point is determined as the point where the vehicle 103 was traveling before the processing time by looking up the target speed pattern backward from the point where the surrounding environment changes output from the route condition storage unit 102 by the processing time required for the change. In other words, the sensitivity determination unit 204 determines the sensitivity change point at which the processing of the change is started so that the change of the sensitivity of the position estimation unit 201 is completed before the vehicle 103 reaches the point where the route conditions change.

[0054] In addition, in order to reduce the increase in the number of changes, at points where the change in sensitivity is small or the length of the section to be changed is short, and the change is not essential for safety, the points are not designated as sensitivity change points and no change needs to be made.

[0055] The sensitivity change unit 205 has the function of referring to the position and speed output from the vehicle 103, and starting to change the sensitivity to the one determined by the sensitivity determination unit 204 when the vehicle 103 reaches the sensitivity change point determined by the sensitivity determination unit 204.

[0056] The above is an explanation of the newly added configuration in this embodiment and the role of each component.

[0057] Next, a procedure for changing the sensitivity relating to position estimation in the sensor control system when the method of this embodiment is used will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0058] In step S21, the sensitivity determination unit 204 determines the sensitivity and sensitivity change points in the position estimation unit 201 by using the route conditions including the surrounding environment information or the target speed pattern output from the route condition storage unit 102. There may be multiple sensitivity change points instead of one.

[0059] The timing for performing the process in step S21 is considered to be before the vehicle departs, but if the processing time required for the change is short, it may be performed after the vehicle departs, i.e., while the vehicle is traveling.

[0060] In step S22, the sensitivity change unit 205 refers to the position and speed output from the vehicle 103, and if the current position of the vehicle 103 has not yet reached the sensitivity change point, proceeds to step S23, and if the current position has reached the sensitivity change point, proceeds to step S24.

[0061] In step S23, the vehicle 103 does not change the sensitivity, proceeds for an operation cycle of the sensor control system, and then returns to step S22.

[0062] In step S24, the sensitivity change section 205 starts changing the sensitivity in the position estimation section 201 to the sensitivity determined by the sensitivity determination section 204, and after confirming the end of the change, the process proceeds to step S25.

[0063] In step S25, the sensitivity change unit 205 determines whether there are any sensitivity change points other than the point at the start of the previous step S24 in the section from the current position of the vehicle 103 to a destination point such as a station or bus stop, and if there are any other sensitivity change points, the process returns to step S22, and if there are no other sensitivity change points, the process ends.

[0064] In addition, even if the process is once terminated in the judgment of step S25, if route conditions change, such as a change in the speed limit due to the operating situation, the process of this flowchart may be executed again from step S21.

[0065] This concludes the description of the procedure for changing the sensitivity related to position estimation in the sensor control system.

[0066] As described above, according to this embodiment, in sections with few surrounding structures, the accuracy of position estimation can be improved by lowering the sensitivity of the sensor, and in sections with many surrounding structures, the probability of position estimation being impossible can be reduced by increasing the sensitivity of the sensor. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately set the sensor sensitivity according to the vehicle situation, and to improve the position estimation function.

[0067] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modified examples. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to easily explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. It is also possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace other configurations in part of the configuration of each embodiment.

[0068] In addition, the above-mentioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing procedures, etc. may be realized in part or in whole by hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits, or the above-mentioned configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as the programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk or SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD.

[0069] In addition, the control lines and information lines in the drawings are those that are considered necessary for the explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines in the product. In reality, it can be considered that almost all components are connected to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 101 Obstacle detection unit 102 Route condition memory unit 103 vehicles 104 Detection setting determination unit 105 Detection setting change section 201 Position estimation part 204 Sensitivity determination unit 205 Sensitivity change section

Claims

1. A sensor control system for controlling sensors provided in a vehicle traveling along a predetermined route, a sensor setting determination unit that determines the sensor settings to be changed as the vehicle travels and a change start point at which the change of the sensor settings starts based on a route condition or a target speed pattern; a sensor setting change unit that starts changing the settings of the sensor when the vehicle reaches the change start point; Equipped with The sensor setting determination unit reversely searches the target speed pattern based on a processing time required to change the sensor settings, and determines the change start point to be before a target range in which the sensor is to be operated with the changed settings. A sensor control system comprising:

2. 2. The sensor control system according to claim 1, The sensor is a sensor for detecting an obstacle, the sensor setting determination unit determines an obstacle detection range of the sensor and a change start point at which to start changing the obstacle detection range of the sensor, based on a route condition or a target speed pattern; The sensor setting change unit starts changing the obstacle detection range when the vehicle reaches the change start point. A sensor control system comprising:

3. The sensor control system according to claim 2, The route conditions include speed limit information, curve curvature information, and route facility information indicating information on facilities installed along the route. A sensor control system comprising:

4. The sensor control system according to claim 2, The route conditions include speed limit information. A sensor control system comprising:

5. The sensor control system according to claim 2, The route conditions include curve curvature information. A sensor control system comprising:

6. The sensor control system according to claim 2, The route conditions include route facility information indicating information on facilities installed along the route. A sensor control system comprising:

7. The sensor control system according to claim 3 or 5, The sensor setting determination unit determines a change in the obstacle detection range by using an intrusion risk into a route estimated from the curve curvature information. A sensor control system comprising:

8. The sensor control system according to claim 3 or 6, The sensor setting determination unit determines a change to the obstacle detection range by using a risk of intrusion into a route estimated from the lineside facility information. A sensor control system comprising:

9. The sensor control system according to claim 7 or 8, The risk of intrusion into the route is set high according to the number of passengers in the vehicle. A sensor control system comprising:

10. 5. The sensor control system according to claim 3, The sensor setting determination unit determines a change in the obstacle detection range by using a braking distance of the vehicle calculated from a speed of the vehicle at a predetermined point. A sensor control system comprising:

11. The sensor control system according to claim 10, Calculating the braking distance from the speed limit information or the target speed pattern A sensor control system comprising:

12. 2. The sensor control system according to claim 1, the sensor is a sensor for performing position estimation; the sensor setting determination unit determines a sensitivity of the sensor and a change start point at which a change in the sensitivity of the sensor starts based on a route condition or a target speed pattern; The sensor setting change unit starts changing the sensitivity of the sensor when the vehicle reaches the change start point. A sensor control system comprising:

13. The sensor control system according to claim 12, The route conditions include information on the surrounding environment at each point on the route, and at least one of speed limit information, curve curvature information, and routeside facility information indicating information on facilities installed along the route. A sensor control system comprising:

14. The sensor control system according to claim 13, The sensor setting determination unit determines a change in sensitivity of the sensor using information about the surrounding environment. A sensor control system comprising:

15. A sensor control method for a sensor control system that controls sensors provided in a vehicle traveling along a predetermined route, comprising: a first step in which the sensor control system determines, based on a route condition or a target speed pattern, the sensor settings to be changed as the vehicle travels and a change start point at which to start changing the sensor settings; a second step of the sensor control system initiating a change in the setting of the sensor when the vehicle reaches the change start point; Equipped with In the first step, the sensor control system reversely searches the target speed pattern based on a processing time required to change the settings of the sensor, and determines the change start point to be before a target range in which the sensor is to be operated with the changed settings. A sensor control method comprising:

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