Autonomous vehicle

Abstract

To provide an automatic traveling vehicle that is able to prevent an obstacle sensor from erroneously detecting an obstacle on a road surface and prevent a decrease in speed due to the erroneous detection.SOLUTION: A first obstacle sensor 34 is provided at a height equal to or lower than a specified height from a road surface. A first obstacle detection area A for detecting an obstacle is set ahead of the first obstacle sensor 34. A vehicle body 11 includes: a second obstacle sensor 35 that detects an obstacle at a position higher than the first obstacle sensor 34 and around the vehicle body 11. A second obstacle detection area B for detecting an obstacle is set ahead of the second obstacle sensor 35. A controller controls the first obstacle sensor 34 to bring a front-end C of the first obstacle detection area A close to the vehicle body 11 so that a road surface does not interfere with the first obstacle detection area A during traveling.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to an autonomous vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] As a conventional technology related to autonomous vehicles, for example, an automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. The automatic guided vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a travel control means for performing travel control, a detection area setting means for setting a detection area for confirming obstacles, and an object detection means for detecting whether an object exists in the detection area. The automatic guided vehicle performs travel control such as slow travel or stop based on the obstacle information from the object detection means. And the detection area setting means sets, as the detection area, a slow travel area for decelerating the travel speed and a stop area for stopping the travel.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, like the autonomous vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1, there may be a case where an obstacle sensor is provided at a position close to the road surface on the vehicle body and the detection area of the obstacle is provided to be parallel to the road surface. In this case, when the autonomous vehicle enters an uphill road or when entering a flat road from a downhill road, the obstacle sensor detects the uphill road or the flat road as an obstacle, and as a result, there is a problem that the autonomous vehicle is braked and decelerated. Also, regarding a rough road with repeated unevenness, the obstacle sensor may erroneously detect the road surface as an obstacle.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous vehicle that can prevent false detection of road surface obstacles by an obstacle sensor and prevent deceleration due to false detection.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a vehicle body, a first obstacle sensor that detects obstacles around the vehicle body, a driving device that is mounted on the vehicle body and generates driving force, and a controller that controls the driving device. When the first obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, in an autonomous vehicle that controls the driving device to at least decelerate, the first obstacle sensor is provided at a height from the road surface that is equal to or lower than a specified height, and a first obstacle detection area for detecting obstacles is set in front of the first obstacle sensor. The vehicle body includes a second obstacle sensor that is at a position higher than the first obstacle sensor and detects obstacles around the vehicle body, and a second obstacle detection area for detecting obstacles is set in front of the second obstacle sensor. It is equipped with an environmental sensor that detects the surroundings of the vehicle body, The controller while estimating the self-position of the vehicle body based on the detection result of the environmental sensor, and grasping whether the vehicle body approaches a position where the road surface and the first obstacle detection area interfere from the estimated self-position of the vehicle body, When the vehicle body approaches a position where the road surface interferes with the first obstacle detection area, the first obstacle sensor is controlled to bring the front end of the first obstacle detection area closer to the vehicle body so that the road surface does not interfere with the first obstacle detection area during driving.

[0007] In the present invention, the vehicle body includes a second obstacle sensor that is at a position higher than the first obstacle sensor and detects obstacles around the vehicle body, and a second obstacle detection area for detecting obstacles is set in front of the second obstacle sensor. The controller while estimating the self-position of the vehicle body based on the detection result of the environmental sensor, and grasping whether the vehicle body approaches a position where the road surface and the first obstacle detection area interfere from the estimated self-position of the vehicle body,When the vehicle body approaches a position where the road surface interferes with the first obstacle detection area, the front end of the first obstacle detection area is brought closer to the vehicle body so that the road surface does not interfere with the first obstacle detection area during driving. Therefore, even if the road surface is an uphill road or a rough road, the interference of the road surface with the first obstacle detection area is prevented by the retreat of the front end of the first deceleration detection area. As a result, false detection of the road surface as an obstacle by the first obstacle sensor can be prevented, and deceleration due to false detection can be prevented.

[0008] Further, in the above-described autonomous vehicle, the first obstacle detection area and the second obstacle detection area may overlap each other in the vertical direction. and when the controller controls the first obstacle sensor to bring the front end of the first obstacle detection area closer to the vehicle body, the front end of the first obstacle detection area is closer to the vehicle body than the front end of the second obstacle sensor It may be configured as such. In this case, since the first obstacle detection area and the second obstacle detection area overlap each other in the vertical direction, and when the controller controls the first obstacle sensor to bring the front end of the first obstacle detection area closer to the vehicle body, the front end of the first obstacle detection area is closer to the vehicle body than the front end of the second obstacle sensor even if the front end of the first obstacle detection area retreats, an obstacle other than the road surface can be detected in the second obstacle detection area.

[0009] Further, in the above-described autonomous vehicle, the first obstacle detection area is and when the first obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, it generates a braking force to decelerate a deceleration area that is the foremost area of the first obstacle detection area. and a stop area that is closer to the vehicle body than the deceleration area and stops the running when the first obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, The controller may be configured to cause the deceleration area to disappear so that the front end of the first obstacle detection area approaches the vehicle body so that the first obstacle detection area does not interfere with the road surface during driving when the road surface is an uphill road or a rough road. In this case, when the road surface is an uphill road or a rough road, since the deceleration area, which is the foremost area of the first obstacle detection area, is invalidated, the first obstacle sensor does not detect the road surface. Therefore, false detection of the road surface by the first obstacle sensor can be surely prevented.

[0010] Further, in the above-described autonomous vehicle, the first obstacle sensor and the second obstacle sensor may be laser sensors. In this case, since the first obstacle sensor and the second obstacle sensor are laser sensors, an obstacle can be surely detected.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an autonomous vehicle that can prevent false detection of road surface obstacles by an obstacle sensor and prevent deceleration due to false detection.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, a small tractor as an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The small tractor of this embodiment is an autonomous driving type small tractor that creates a surrounding map while estimating its own position and performs autonomous driving. However, since the small tractor of this embodiment can also be driven manually, it is a driverless small tractor equipped with a driver's seat. Note that "front-rear", "left-right", and "up-down" for specifying directions are based on the driver's seat of the small tractor.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, a steering wheel 12 as a front wheel is provided at the front of the vehicle body 11 of the small tractor 10, and a driving wheel 13 as a rear wheel is provided at the rear of the vehicle body 11. A driver's seat 14 is provided near the center of the vehicle body 11. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the driver's seat 14 is equipped with a standing-type driving seat 15 and a steering lever 16 for enabling manned driving.

[0015] A battery room (not shown) is located behind the driver's seat 14 in the vehicle body 11. The battery room is a space capable of accommodating the battery 17. The upper part of the battery room is covered by an openable and closable cover 18 provided on the vehicle body 11. As shown in FIG. 1, a drawbar device 19 for connecting a towed vehicle (not shown) such as a trolley is provided at the rear of the vehicle body 11. By operating the drawbar device 19, the connection or disconnection of the transport trolley, which is the towed vehicle for the small tractor 10, is performed.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 3, the small tractor 10 includes a traveling drive device 20 that generates a driving force for driving the driving wheel 13, and a steering device 21 for steering the steering wheel 12. The traveling drive device 20 includes a traveling drive motor 22 for rotating the driving wheel 13, and a motor driver 23 for driving the drive motor 22. The steering device 21 includes a steering drive motor 24 for driving the steering wheel 12, and a motor driver 25 for driving the drive motor 24.

[0017] A controller 26 for controlling the motor drivers 23 and 25 is mounted on the vehicle body 11. The motor driver 23 controls the rotational speed of the drive motor 22 according to a command from the controller 26. Therefore, the controller 26 controls the acceleration and deceleration (braking) of the small tractor 10 by controlling the traveling drive device 20. Also, the motor driver 25 controls the rotation amount of the drive motor 24 according to a command from the controller 26.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 26 includes a CPU 27 and a storage unit 28 composed of a RAM, a ROM, and the like. The controller 26 may include dedicated hardware for executing at least some of various processes, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The controller 26 can be configured as a circuit including one or more processors that operate according to a computer program, one or more dedicated hardware circuits such as an ASIC, or a combination thereof.

[0019] The storage unit 28 stores program codes or instructions configured to cause the CPU 27 to execute processes. The storage unit 28 stores various programs for controlling the small tractor 10, and also stores an environmental map regarding the moving space in which the small tractor 10 moves. The environmental map is a map created while the small tractor 10 moves in the moving space. A technique for simultaneously estimating the self-position of the small tractor 10 and constructing the environmental map is called SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). The storage unit 28, that is, the computer-readable medium, includes anything that can be accessed by a general-purpose or dedicated computer.

[0020] Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 2, in the vicinity of the front portion of the vehicle body 11, a gantry frame 30 having a pair of left and right columns 31 and a cross member 32 horizontally mounted on the top of the column 31 is provided. An environmental sensor 33 is provided forward on the gantry frame 30. The environmental sensor 33 is a sensor that detects the surroundings including the front of the vehicle body 11, and is, for example, a 3D-LiDAR. The environmental sensor 33 is connected to the controller 26. The controller 26 estimates the self-position of the small tractor 10 and generates an environmental map based on the point cloud detected by the environmental sensor 33.

[0021] Near the road surface F at the front of the vehicle body 11, a first obstacle sensor 34 is provided. The first obstacle sensor 34 is provided on the vehicle body 11 so as to be at a predetermined height (200 mm) or less from the road surface F. The first obstacle sensor 34 is a laser sensor, and as shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 5, it scans a preset first obstacle detection area A with laser light. The optical axis of the laser light emitted from the first obstacle sensor 34 extends substantially horizontally when the vehicle body 11 is in a horizontal state, and inclines according to the inclination of the vehicle body 11 in the front-rear direction. The first obstacle detection area A set by the first obstacle sensor 34 is a rectangular area, and the left-right width is substantially the same as the width of a towing cart (not shown) towed by the small tractor 10. The first obstacle sensor 34 is connected to the controller 26.

[0022] The first obstacle detection area A is divided into a protection area A0, a stop area A1, and a deceleration area A2. The protection area A0 is the area closest to the vehicle body 11 in the first obstacle detection area A, and is the area where the small tractor 10 is abnormally stopped when an obstacle is detected. That is, when an obstacle is detected in the protection area A0, the controller 26 determines that it is abnormal and abnormally stops the small tractor 10. If the abnormal state of the small tractor 10 is not released after the abnormal stop, the small tractor 10 cannot resume autonomous driving.

[0023] The stop area A1 is an area set in front of the protection area A0, and is the area where the small tractor 10 is normally stopped when an obstacle is detected. That is, when an obstacle is detected in the stop area A1, the controller 26 determines that it is not abnormal and stops the small tractor 10. When the obstacle is removed after the stop, the small tractor 10 can resume autonomous driving.

[0024] The deceleration area A2 is an area set in front of the stop area A1, is the area farthest from the vehicle body 11 in the first obstacle detection area A, and corresponds to the foremost area. The deceleration area A2 is an area where the small tractor 10 is braked and decelerated when an obstacle is detected. That is, when an obstacle is detected in the deceleration area A2, the controller 26 determines that deceleration is necessary and brakes the small tractor 10 to decelerate it. When the obstacle is removed from the deceleration area A2 during deceleration, the small tractor 10 can increase its speed.

[0025] The protection area A0, the stop area A1, and the deceleration area A2 in the first obstacle detection area A vary according to the vehicle speed of the small tractor 10. As the vehicle speed of the small tractor 10 increases, the protection area A0, the stop area A1, and the deceleration area A2 increase in length in the front-rear direction, respectively, and as the vehicle speed decreases, the length in the front-rear direction decreases. For the protection area A0 and the stop area A1, requirements are defined in the international standard ISO3691-4 "Automated Guided Vehicles and Systems - Safety Requirements and Verification". When the first obstacle sensor 34 detects an obstacle, the controller 26 controls the traveling drive device 20 to generate a braking force to at least decelerate.

[0026] A second obstacle sensor 35 is mounted on the vehicle body 11. The second obstacle sensor 35 is provided at a position sufficiently higher than the first obstacle sensor 34 (for example, a height of about 900 mm from the road surface F). In this embodiment, assuming that the small tractor 10 may run parallel to a cargo truck (not shown), the height of the second obstacle sensor 35 is set so that the vehicle body of the cargo truck can be reliably detected.

[0027] The second obstacle sensor 35 is a laser sensor. As shown in FIGS. 4(b) and 5, it scans a laser beam in a preset second obstacle detection area B. The optical axis of the laser beam emitted from the second obstacle sensor 35 is substantially parallel to the optical axis of the laser beam of the first obstacle sensor 34. The second obstacle detection area B set by the second obstacle sensor 35 is a rectangular area, which is approximately the same size as the first obstacle detection area A, and the second obstacle detection area B overlaps with the first obstacle detection area A in the vertical direction. The first obstacle sensor 34 is connected to the controller 26.

[0028] The second obstacle detection area B is divided into a stop area B1 and a deceleration area B2. The stop area B1 is the area closest to the vehicle body 11 in the first obstacle detection area A, and it is the area where the small tractor 10 is normally stopped when an obstacle is detected. That is, when the controller 26 detects an obstacle in the stop area B 1, it determines that it is normal and stops the small tractor 10. When the obstacle is removed after the stop, the small tractor 10 can resume autonomous driving.

[0029] The deceleration area B2 is an area set in front of the stop area B1, and it is an area farther from the vehicle body 11 than the stop area B1 in the second obstacle detection area B. The deceleration area B2 is the area where the small tractor 10 is braked and decelerated when an obstacle is detected. That is, when the controller 26 detects an obstacle in the deceleration area B2, it determines that deceleration is necessary and brakes the small tractor 10 to decelerate it. When the obstacle is removed from the deceleration area B2 during deceleration, the small tractor 10 can increase its speed.

[0030] Incidentally, since the first obstacle sensor 34 is provided close to the road surface F at the front part of the vehicle body 11, there is a possibility that the first obstacle sensor 34 may detect the ascending slope road S as an obstacle before the small tractor 10 enters the ascending slope road S. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the controller 26 performs control to vary the first obstacle detection area A so that the first obstacle sensor 34 does not erroneously detect the road surface (ascending slope road S) as an obstacle. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, before entering the ascending slope road S, the controller 26 moves the front end C of the deceleration area A2 closer to the vehicle body 11 and reduces the deceleration area A2, thereby avoiding the erroneous detection of the ascending slope road S as the road surface by the first obstacle sensor 34. That is, when the vehicle body 11 approaches a position where the road surface F and the first obstacle detection area A interfere with each other, the controller 26 controls the first obstacle sensor 34 to move the front end C of the first obstacle detection area A closer to the vehicle body 11 so that the road surface F does not interfere with the first obstacle detection area A during traveling. Since the controller 26 grasps the position of the ascending slope road S based on the pre-stored environmental map, it can grasp the position at which the vehicle body 11 reaches the position where the road surface F and the first obstacle detection area A interfere with each other. In FIG. 6, the section in which the deceleration area A2 is reduced is denoted as section L. The section L is a section based on the position of the first obstacle sensor 34 and is a section in which the first obstacle sensor 34 is highly likely to detect the ascending slope road S (road surface). As the position at the time of approach (before entering the ascending slope road S), it is a position where the first obstacle sensor 34 does not detect the ascending slope road S as an obstacle, and the operation of moving the front end C of the deceleration area A2 closer to the vehicle body 11 and reducing the deceleration area A2 can be completed before entering the ascending slope road S.

[0031] Even if the deceleration area A2 in the first obstacle detection area A is reduced, the deceleration area B2 of the second obstacle detection area B set by the second obstacle sensor 35 covers the deceleration area A2 before reduction. For this reason, even if the deceleration area A2 is reduced, if there is an obstacle in the deceleration area B2, the second obstacle sensor 35 detects the obstacle.

[0032] As the deceleration area A2 in the first obstacle detection area A is reduced, the section including before entering the uphill road S is set as the section, but there are other sections where the deceleration area A2 is reduced. The section where the deceleration area A2 is reduced is, for example, a section including before the small tractor 10 descends the uphill road S and enters the flat road surface F, and is also a section of a corrugated road where the road surface has continuous unevenness. The controller 26 grasps the positions of these sections based on the pre-stored environmental map, and reduces the deceleration area A2 in the section including before the small tractor 10 descends the uphill road S and enters the flat road surface F and the section of the corrugated road with continuous unevenness.

[0033] Next, the operation of the small tractor 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. When the small tractor 10 travels on the flat road surface F, the first obstacle sensor 34 scans the first obstacle detection area A with laser light, and the second obstacle sensor 35 scans the second obstacle detection area B with laser light. On the flat road surface F, the deceleration area A2 in the first obstacle detection area A is not reduced, and the first obstacle sensor 34 scans the first obstacle detection area A with laser light (see FIG. 6). Also, the second obstacle sensor 35 scans the second obstacle detection area B with laser light.

[0034] When the first obstacle sensor 34 detects an obstacle in the deceleration area A2, the controller 26 controls the travel drive device 20 to decelerate the small tractor 10. When the first obstacle sensor 34 detects the stop area A1, the controller 26 controls the travel drive device 20 to stop the travel of the small tractor 10. When the first obstacle sensor 34 detects an obstacle in the protection area A0, the controller 26 controls the travel drive device 20 to abnormally stop the small tractor 10. If the abnormal state of the small tractor 10 is not released after the abnormal stop, the small tractor 10 cannot resume autonomous driving.

[0035] Also, when the second obstacle sensor 35 detects an obstacle in the deceleration area B2, the controller 26 controls the travel drive device 20 to decelerate the small tractor 10. When the second obstacle sensor 35 detects the stop area B1 by an obstacleWhen an obstacle is detected, the controller 26 controls the travel drive device 20 to stop the travel of the small tractor 10. Even if an obstacle is detected in the deceleration areas A2 and B2 and the stop areas A1 and B1, when the obstacle no longer exists in the deceleration areas A2 and B2 and the stop areas A1 and B1, the deceleration and stop are released, and the small tractor 10 continues to travel.

[0036] When the small tractor 10 approaches the uphill road S, the controller 26 controls the first obstacle sensor 34 to reduce the deceleration area A2 of the first obstacle detection area A. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, when the first obstacle sensor 34 enters the section L, the controller 26 moves the front end C of the deceleration area A2 closer to the vehicle body 11 side and controls the first obstacle sensor 34 to reduce the deceleration area A2. By reducing the deceleration area A2, in the section L, the first obstacle sensor 34 does not detect the uphill road S. On the other hand, the second obstacle sensor 35 located above the first obstacle sensor 34 has no possibility of detecting the uphill road S. The second obstacle sensor 35 can detect an obstacle in the deceleration area B2 that overlaps with the deceleration area A2 before reduction.

[0037] When the first obstacle sensor 34 passes through the section L, the optical axis of the first obstacle sensor 34 becomes substantially parallel to the uphill road S. When the first obstacle sensor 34 passes through the section L, the controller 26 releases the reduction of the deceleration area A2. Therefore, the deceleration area A2 is enlarged.

[0038] Incidentally, when the small tractor 10 descends the uphill road S and enters the flat road surface F, the first obstacle sensor 34 may detect the road surface F as an obstacle. Similar to the case of entering the uphill road S, by reducing the deceleration area A2 in the section (not shown) corresponding to the section L, the detection of the road surface F can be avoided.

[0039] In addition to the entry from the flat road surface F to the uphill road S and the entry from the uphill road S to the flat road surface F, when it is a rough road (not shown) with continuous unevenness, since the posture of the vehicle body 11 swings back and forth, there is a possibility that the first obstacle sensor 34 may detect the road surface. Therefore, also in this case, the deceleration area A2 of the first obstacle detection area A may be reduced to avoid detecting the road surface.

[0040] The small tractor 10 according to the present embodiment has the following effects. (1) The vehicle body 11 is at a position higher than the first obstacle sensor 34 and includes a second obstacle sensor 35 that detects obstacles around the vehicle body 11. A second obstacle detection area B for detecting obstacles is set in front of the second obstacle sensor 35. When the vehicle body 11 approaches a position where the road surface and the first obstacle detection area A interfere with each other, the controller 26 causes the front end C of the first obstacle detection area A to approach the vehicle body 11 so that the road surface does not interfere with the first obstacle detection area A during traveling. Therefore, even if the road surface is an uphill road S or a rough road, the interference of the road surface with the first obstacle detection area A is prevented by the rearward movement of the front end C of the first obstacle detection area A. As a result, false detection of the road surface as an obstacle by the first obstacle sensor 34 can be prevented, and deceleration due to false detection can be prevented.

[0041] (2) Since the first obstacle detection area A and the second obstacle detection area B overlap each other in the vertical direction, even if the front end C of the first obstacle detection area A moves backward, obstacles other than the road surface can be detected in the second obstacle detection area B.

[0042] (3) Since the first obstacle sensor 34 and the second obstacle sensor 35 are laser sensors, obstacles can be reliably detected.

[0043] When the small tractor 10 runs parallel to a cargo truck (not shown), the first obstacle sensor 34 can detect the wheels of the cargo truck. However, when the first obstacle sensor 34 scans the space below the vehicle body of the cargo truck between the wheels, there is a possibility that the cargo truck cannot be detected as an obstacle. In the present embodiment, the second obstacle sensor 35 is provided at a position sufficiently higher than the first obstacle sensor 34 (for example, at a height of about 900 mm from the road surface F). Therefore, even when the small tractor 10 runs parallel to a cargo truck (not shown), the vehicle body of the cargo truck can be reliably detected.

[0044] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. For example, the following modifications may be made.

[0045] ○ In the above embodiment, the drive wheels are driven by a traveling drive device that receives power supply from a battery, but the present invention is not limited to this. The traveling drive source of the autonomous vehicle may be, for example, an engine. Further, instead of the battery, a power generation device using a fuel cell may be mounted on the vehicle body. ○ In the above embodiment, a small tractor is exemplified as the autonomous vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. The autonomous vehicle may be, for example, an industrial vehicle capable of autonomous driving such as an autonomous forklift, an automated guided vehicle, or an unmanned towing tractor. Further, the present invention is applicable not only to vehicles capable of autonomous driving by SLAM but also to vehicles capable of autonomous driving by a guidance method using a magnetic tape or an electronic tag. ○ In the above embodiment, the front end of the deceleration area in the first obstacle detection area is brought closer to the vehicle body side to reduce the first obstacle detection area, but it is not limited thereto. For example, not only the deceleration area but also the front and rear of the stop area may be reduced to reduce the first obstacle detection area. Alternatively, by eliminating the deceleration area in the first obstacle detection area, the front end of the first obstacle detection area can be brought closer to the vehicle body, and the first obstacle detection area can be reduced to only the protection area and the stop area. Since the deceleration area of the first obstacle detection area disappears, the first obstacle sensor does not detect the road surface. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent false detection of the road surface by the first obstacle sensor. ○ In the above embodiment, a laser sensor is used as the second obstacle detection sensor, but it is not limited thereto. As the second obstacle detection sensor, a 3D-LiDAR or a stereo camera for autonomous driving may be used. An obstacle may be detected in the second deceleration area based on the point cloud detected by the 3D-LiDAR or the image data acquired by the stereo camera. ○ In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the controller grasps the position of the uphill road where the road surface interferes with the first obstacle detection area based on the pre-stored environmental map, but it is not limited thereto. For example, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) or an RFID tag may be provided on the road surface, and a reader mounted on the autonomous vehicle may read the two-dimensional code or the RFID tag. Thereby, the controller can grasp the position of the uphill road where the road surface interferes with the first obstacle detection area, and can grasp the position at the time when the vehicle body approaches the position where the road surface and the first obstacle detection area interfere.

Explanation of Signs

[0046] 10 Small tractor 11 Vehicle body 12 Steering wheel 13 Driving wheel 14 Driver's seat 20 Travel driving device 21 Steering device 22 Driving motor (for travel) 23 Motor driver (for travel) 24 Driving motor (for steering) 25 Motor Driver (for Steering) 26 Controller 33 Environment Sensor 34 First Obstacle Sensor 35 Second Obstacle Sensor A First Obstacle Detection Area A0 Protection Area A1 Stop Area A2 Deceleration Area B Second Obstacle Detection Area B1 Stop Area B2 Deceleration Area C Front End F Road Surface (Flat Road) S Uphill Road

Claims

1. A vehicle body, a first obstacle sensor for detecting obstacles around the vehicle body, a traveling drive device mounted on the vehicle body for generating a driving force, and a controller for controlling the traveling drive device, and in the autonomous vehicle in which the controller controls the traveling drive device to at least decelerate when the first obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, the first obstacle sensor is provided at a height from the road surface that is equal to or less than a specified height, a first obstacle detection area for detecting an obstacle is set in front of the first obstacle sensor, the vehicle body is at a position higher than the first obstacle sensor and includes a second obstacle sensor for detecting obstacles around the vehicle body, a second obstacle detection area for detecting an obstacle is set in front of the second obstacle sensor, an environment sensor for detecting the surroundings of the vehicle body is provided, the controller estimates the self-position of the vehicle body based on the detection result by the environment sensor, and while estimating the self-position of the vehicle body, determines whether the vehicle body has approached a position where the road surface and the first obstacle detection area interfere with each other. When the vehicle body approaches a position where the road surface and the first obstacle detection area interfere with each other, the controller controls the first obstacle sensor so that the road surface does not interfere with the first obstacle detection area during traveling, and causes the front end of the first obstacle detection area to approach the vehicle body. An autonomous vehicle characterized by this.

2. The first obstacle detection area and the second obstacle detection area overlap each other in the vertical direction, When the controller controls the first obstacle sensor to bring the front end of the first obstacle detection area closer to the vehicle body, the front end of the first obstacle detection area is closer to the vehicle body than the front end of the second obstacle sensor. The autonomous vehicle according to Claim 1, characterized by this.

3. The first obstacle detection area is a deceleration area that is the foremost area of the first obstacle detection area and generates a braking force to decelerate when the first obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, and an area closer to the vehicle body than the deceleration area, and a stop area for stopping the traveling when the first obstacle sensor detects an obstacle. When the road surface is an uphill road or a rough road, the controller approaches the front end of the first obstacle detection area to the vehicle body by disappearing the deceleration area so that the first obstacle detection area does not interfere with the road surface during driving. The automatic driving vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that.

4. The first obstacle sensor and the second obstacle sensor are laser sensors. The automatic driving vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that.

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