Lane change display device, lane change display method and program

Abstract

To reduce a burden of a resource caused during detection of a white line of a lane.SOLUTION: A lane change display device 1 includes: an acquisition unit 21 which acquires a position of a front vehicle C2 traveling in the same lane with an own vehicle C1; an estimation unit 22 which estimates a center position in a lateral direction of an adjacent lane L2 from the position of the front vehicle C2; and a display part 23 which displays a design D for urging lane change to the center position of the adjacent lane L2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a lane change display device, a lane change display method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] When a vehicle is traveling on a multi-lane road, a design to encourage the driver to change lanes may be displayed. A multi-lane road includes multiple lanes that go in one direction. In order to display the design to encourage the driver to change lanes, the position of the white lines on the left and right edges of the lane the vehicle is traveling in may be required. The camera takes images up to several tens of meters ahead and generates image data. The white lines are detected from this image data.

[0003] Patent Document 1 displays an offset notice indicating a schedule for offset control. The offset notice is displayed by providing an offset with respect to a white line detected from photographed data. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-172251 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] A lot of resources are used to detect white lines from the captured data.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems inherent in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a lane change display device, a lane change display method, and a program that reduce the resource burden associated with detecting lane lines. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A lane change display device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires the position of a vehicle ahead traveling in the same lane as the vehicle itself, an estimation unit that estimates the center position of the adjacent lane in the lateral direction from the position of the vehicle ahead, and a display unit that displays a design that encourages the vehicle to change lanes to the center position of the adjacent lane.

[0008] In a lane change display method according to one aspect of the present invention, a computer acquires the position of a vehicle ahead that is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle itself, estimates the center position of the adjacent lane in the lateral direction from the position of the vehicle ahead, and displays a design encouraging the vehicle to change lanes to the center position of the adjacent lane.

[0009] A program according to an aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as an acquisition unit that acquires the position of a vehicle ahead traveling in the same lane as the vehicle itself, an estimation unit that estimates the center position of the adjacent lane in the lateral direction from the position of the vehicle ahead, and a display unit that displays a design that encourages the driver to change lanes to the center position of the adjacent lane. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a lane change display device, a lane change display method, and a program that reduce the resource burden associated with detecting white lane lines. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a lane change display device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a lane on which the host vehicle is traveling, as viewed from above. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the center position of adjacent lanes in a top view. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A is an example of a top view displaying a design encouraging a lane change. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B shows an example of a HUD displaying a design encouraging drivers to change lanes. [Figure 5]FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the lane change display process in this embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of a computer used in the lane change display device according to this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The lane change display device according to the present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional proportions in the drawings are exaggerated for the sake of convenience and may differ from the actual proportions.

[0013] The lane change display device 1 according to this embodiment displays a design D prompting a host vehicle C1, such as an automobile traveling on a road, to change lanes. The host vehicle C1 has a function of judging the surrounding conditions and prompting the user driving the host vehicle C1 to change lanes to an adjacent lane L2. When an event prompting a lane change to an adjacent lane L2 occurs, the lane change display device 1 displays the design D prompting the user to change lanes in a form that can be seen by the user. The lane change display device 1 may be installed in the host vehicle C1. Some of the functions of the lane change display device 1 may be implemented in a data center or the like that is capable of communicating with the host vehicle C1.

[0014] In this embodiment, the left-right direction refers to the left-right direction relative to the traveling direction of the host vehicle C1, and is the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction in a top view. Specifically, the left-right direction refers to the width direction of the leading vehicle C2, the width direction of the lane L1 or L2, or the direction of the adjacent lane L2 relative to the lane L1 on which the host vehicle C1 is traveling.

[0015] 1, the lane change display device 1 includes data on forward vehicle coordinates 11, road type 12, and center position 13, as well as functions of an acquisition unit 21, an estimation unit 22, and a display unit 23. Each piece of data is stored in a storage device such as a memory 902 or a storage 903. Each function is implemented in a CPU 901.

[0016] The forward vehicle coordinates 11 are data that identify the position of a forward vehicle C2 traveling in the same lane L1 as the host vehicle C1. The forward vehicle coordinates 11 are generated by an acquisition unit 21, which will be described later. As shown in FIG. 2, the host vehicle C1 and the forward vehicle C2 travel in the same lane L1. When the forward vehicle sensor 2 of the host vehicle C1 detects the forward vehicle C2, the forward vehicle coordinates 11 are coordinates in the coordinate system of the forward vehicle sensor 2. The forward vehicle coordinates 11 may be expressed as coordinates converted from the coordinate system of the sensor that detected the vehicle to another coordinate system.

[0017] The road type 12 is data on the type of road that is taken into consideration in order to identify the width of the lane L1 on which the host vehicle C1 is traveling. The road type 12 is identified in another system, such as a car navigation system. The road type 12 is set with an identifier of an ordinary road or an expressway. For example, it is known that the width of an ordinary road is 3.5 meters, and the width of an expressway is 4.0 meters.

[0018] The center position 13 is data that specifies the center position in the left-right direction of the forward vehicle C2. The center position 13 is generated by an estimation unit 22, which will be described later. The center position 13 may be expressed in the coordinate system of the forward vehicle sensor 2, or may be expressed in another coordinate system.

[0019] The acquisition unit 21 acquires the position of a forward vehicle C2 traveling in the same lane L1 as the host vehicle C1. The acquisition unit 21 identifies the position of the forward vehicle C2, for example, from the forward vehicle sensor 2. The acquisition unit 21 stores the identified position of the forward vehicle C2 in the forward vehicle coordinate system 11. The acquisition unit 21 stores the coordinates of the forward vehicle C2 in the coordinate system of the forward vehicle sensor 2, which are acquired by the forward vehicle sensor 2, in the forward vehicle coordinate system 11. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 21 may convert the coordinates of the forward vehicle C2 in the coordinate system of the forward vehicle sensor 2 into another coordinate system and store the converted coordinates in the forward vehicle coordinate system 11.

[0020] The acquisition unit 21 may further acquire the distance between the forward vehicle C2 and the host vehicle C1 from the forward vehicle sensor 2. The distance between the forward vehicle C2 and the host vehicle C1 is taken into consideration when the display unit 23 determines the display positions of the icons of the forward vehicle C2 and the host vehicle C1, for example.

[0021] The estimation unit 22 estimates the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2 from the position of the forward vehicle C2. The estimation unit 22 stores the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2 in the center position 13. The estimation unit 22 may estimate the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2 in the same coordinate system as the coordinate system of the forward vehicle coordinate system 11, or may estimate it in another coordinate system. The estimation unit 22 estimates the lateral center position of the lane L1 in which the vehicle is traveling from the lateral position of the forward vehicle C2. The estimation unit 22 can reduce the resources required for processing compared to when detecting white lines from captured data.

[0022] For example, the estimation unit 22 estimates a position that is the width of the lane L1 in which the vehicle is traveling in the direction of the adjacent lane L2 from the lateral center position of the vehicle C2 in front as the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2. The vehicle C2 in front is estimated to be traveling in the lateral center of the lane L1. The lateral center position of the vehicle C2 in front is estimated to be the lateral center of the lane L1. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , the estimation unit 22 estimates that a position that is the width of the lane L1 from the lateral center of the vehicle C2 in front is the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2. In this embodiment, the estimation unit 22 estimates the lateral center position of the lane L1 in which the vehicle is traveling from the position of the vehicle C2 in front. The estimation unit 22 further estimates the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2 from the estimated lateral center position of the lane L1 in which the vehicle is traveling and the width of the lane. The estimation unit 22 can reduce the resources required for processing compared to when detecting white lines from captured data.

[0023] Here, the width of the lane L1 on which the vehicle is traveling may be determined from the road type 12 on which the vehicle is traveling. For example, if the road type 12 is set to an identifier for an ordinary road, the width of the lane L1 on which the vehicle is traveling is 3.5 meters. Alternatively, if the road type 12 is set to an identifier for an expressway, the width of the lane L1 on which the vehicle is traveling is 4.0 meters. When the road type 12 on which the vehicle is traveling is an ordinary road, the estimation unit 22 estimates that the center position of the adjacent lane L2 is 3.5 meters away from the center position of the vehicle C2 in the lateral direction in the direction of the adjacent lane L2. When the road type 12 on which the vehicle is traveling is an expressway, the estimation unit 22 estimates that the center position of the adjacent lane L2 is 4.0 meters away from the center position of the vehicle C2 in the lateral direction in the direction of the adjacent lane L2. The road type 12 on which the vehicle is traveling is determined by another system, such as a car navigation system. In this embodiment, the estimation unit 22 determines the width of the lane L1 on which the vehicle is traveling from the road type determined by the other system. The estimation unit 22 can easily identify the lane width.

[0024] In this embodiment, the lane L2 adjacent to the lane L1 in which the host vehicle C1 is traveling is to the right of the host vehicle C1's direction of travel, as shown in Figure 2 etc. The direction of the adjacent lane L2 is identified from an event that prompts the host vehicle C1 to change lanes from another system. The direction of the adjacent lane L2 is the direction of the lane change destination specified in the event.

[0025] The display unit 23 displays the lane L1 in which the host vehicle C1 is traveling and the adjacent lane L2, as well as a design D that prompts the vehicle to change lanes to the adjacent lane L2. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B , the design D that prompts the vehicle to change lanes is an arrow pointing from the lane L1 in which the host vehicle C1 is traveling toward the adjacent lane L2 to which the vehicle will change lanes. The display unit 23 displays the design D that prompts the vehicle to change lanes to the center position of the adjacent lane L2. Displaying the design D for changing lanes to the center position of the adjacent lane L2 means that the design D prompts the vehicle C1 to change direction to the center position of the adjacent lane L2.

[0026] The display unit 23 displays the design D encouraging the driver to change lanes in a coordinate system designated by the user. The coordinate system is, for example, a top-view coordinate system as shown in Fig. 4A or a coordinate system of a HUD (Head Up Display) as shown in Fig. 4B. The display unit 23 converts the center position in the lateral direction of the adjacent lane L2 estimated by the estimation unit 22 into a position in the coordinate system to be displayed, and displays the design D encouraging the driver to change lanes at the converted position.

[0027] The display unit 23 displays the tip of the design D, which encourages the driver to change lanes to the adjacent lane L2, at a position within a predetermined distance from the center of the adjacent lane L2. More specifically, the display unit 23 displays the tip of the design D, which encourages the driver to change lanes, at the center of the adjacent lane L2 in the horizontal direction. The tip of the design D is the part of the design D that is farthest from the vehicle C1. In the example shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the tip of the design D is an arrowhead. By displaying the tip of the design D, which indicates the destination of the lane change, at the center of the adjacent lane L2 in the horizontal direction, the user can orient the vehicle C1 at the center of the adjacent lane L2 in the horizontal direction, making it easier for the user to drive in the center of the lane even after changing lanes.

[0028] 4A and 4B, the display unit 23 displays the design D between the rear end position of the preceding vehicle C2 and the leading end position of the host vehicle C1. In addition, as shown in Fig. 4B, the display unit 23 displays the leading end of the design D within a predetermined range from the intersection of the rear end position of the preceding vehicle C2 and the center position of the adjacent lane L2 in the HUD coordinate system.

[0029] A lane change display method using the lane change display device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0030] In step S1, the lane change display device 1 waits for the occurrence of an event that displays a lane change. When an event that displays a lane change occurs, the process proceeds to step S2.

[0031] In step S2, the lane change display device 1 determines whether or not there is a vehicle ahead of the host vehicle C1. For example, if the front vehicle sensor 2 detects a vehicle, it determines that there is a vehicle ahead. If there is a vehicle ahead, the process proceeds to step S3. If there is no vehicle ahead, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0032] In step S3, the lane change display device 1 acquires the position of the preceding vehicle C2. In step S4, the lane change display device 1 determines the type of road on which the host vehicle C1 is traveling. If the type of road is an ordinary road, the process proceeds to step S5. If the type of road is an expressway, the process proceeds to step S6.

[0033] In steps S5 to S8, the lane change display device 1 estimates the position of the center in the lateral direction of the adjacent lane L2 according to the state of the host vehicle C1 identified in steps S2 to S4.

[0034] When the host vehicle C1 is traveling on a general road and there is a vehicle C2 ahead, the lane change display device 1 estimates the position of the horizontal center of the adjacent lane L2 in step S5. In step S5, the lane change display device 1 estimates that the horizontal center of the adjacent lane L2 is a position 3.5 meters away from the horizontal center of the vehicle C2 ahead in the direction of the adjacent lane L2.

[0035] When the host vehicle C1 is traveling on a highway and there is a vehicle C2 ahead, the lane change display device 1 estimates the position of the horizontal center of the adjacent lane L2 in step S6. In step S6, the lane change display device 1 estimates that the horizontal center of the adjacent lane L2 is a position 4.0 meters away from the horizontal center of the vehicle C2 ahead in the direction of the adjacent lane L2.

[0036] If there is no vehicle ahead, the lane change display device 1 estimates the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2 in steps S7 and S8. In step S7, the lane change display device 1 detects the white line between the lane L1 and the adjacent lane L2 from image data captured by a camera (not shown) of the lane L1 on which the vehicle is traveling. In step S8, the lane change display device 1 estimates the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2 from the white line detected in step S7.

[0037] In step S9, the lane change display device 1 displays the design D encouraging the driver to change lanes, based on the center in the horizontal direction of the adjacent lane L2 estimated in the processing of steps S5 to S8. The lane change display device 1 displays the design D encouraging the driver to change lanes together with the lane L1 in which the vehicle is traveling, the adjacent lane L2, the vehicle C1, and the vehicle ahead C2, as shown in, for example, FIG. 4A or 4B .

[0038] If it is determined in step S10 that driving will continue, the process returns to step S1, and the lane change display device 1 waits for the occurrence of a new event that displays a lane change. If driving will end, the lane change display device 1 ends the process.

[0039] A general-purpose computer system is used as the lane change display device 1 of the present embodiment described above. The lane change display device 1 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit, processor) 901, a memory 902, a storage 903, a communication device 904, an input device 905, and an output device 906. The storage 903 is, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). In this computer system, the CPU 901 executes a program loaded on the memory 902, thereby realizing each function of the lane change display device 1.

[0040] The lane change display device 1 may be implemented in one computer or in multiple computers, or may be a virtual machine implemented in a computer.

[0041] The program for the lane change display device 1 can be stored in a computer-readable recording medium or distributed via a network. The computer-readable recording medium is, for example, a non-transitory recording medium. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include an HDD, an SSD, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a CD (Compact Disc), and a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc).

[0042] As described above, the lane change display device 1 according to this embodiment includes an acquisition unit 21 that acquires the position of the vehicle C2 ahead that is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle C1, an estimation unit 22 that estimates the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2 from the position of the vehicle C2 ahead, and a display unit 23 that displays a design D that prompts the vehicle to change lanes to the center position of the adjacent lane L2. The lane change display device 1 estimates the lateral center position of the lane L1 in which the vehicle is traveling from the position of the vehicle C2 ahead. Compared to detecting white lines from photographed data, the lane change display device 1 can reduce the resources required for processing.

[0043] In the lane change display device 1, the estimation unit 22 may estimate a position that is the width of the lane L1 the vehicle is traveling on in the direction of the adjacent lane L2 from the lateral center position of the vehicle C2 ahead as the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2. The lane change display device 1 estimates the lateral center position of the lane L1 the vehicle is traveling on from the lateral center position of the vehicle C2 ahead, and estimates the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2 from the width of the lane. Compared to detecting white lines from captured data, the lane change display device 1 can reduce the resources required for processing.

[0044] In the lane change display device 1, the width of the lane L1 on which the vehicle is traveling may be identified from the type of road the vehicle is traveling on. Since the width of the lane L1 on which the vehicle is traveling is identified from the road type identified by another system, the estimation unit 22 can easily identify the lane width.

[0045] In the lane change display device 1, the display unit 23 may display the tip of the design D in the center position in the horizontal direction of the adjacent lane L2. By the lane change display device 1 displaying the tip of the design indicating the lane change destination in the center position in the horizontal direction of the adjacent lane L2, the user can determine the traveling direction of the host vehicle C1 to be the center position in the horizontal direction of the adjacent lane L2. Furthermore, the host vehicle C1 will be more likely to travel in the center of the lane L2 even after changing lanes.

[0046] In the lane change display method according to this embodiment, a computer acquires the position of a vehicle C2 ahead that is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle C1, estimates the center position of the adjacent lane L2 in the lateral direction from the position of the vehicle C2 ahead, and displays a design D that prompts the vehicle to change lanes to the center position of the adjacent lane L2.

[0047] The program relating to this embodiment causes a computer to function as an acquisition unit 21 that acquires the position of a preceding vehicle C2 traveling in the same lane as the vehicle C1, an estimation unit 22 that estimates the lateral center position of the adjacent lane L2 from the position of the preceding vehicle C2, and a display unit 23 that displays a design D that encourages the driver to change lanes to the center position of the adjacent lane L2.

[0048] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist of the present embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1 Lane change indicator 21 Acquisition Department 22 Estimation part 23 Display section C1 Vehicle C2 Front vehicle D. Design L2 adjacent lane

Claims

1. an acquisition unit that acquires the position of a vehicle ahead that is traveling in the same lane as the host vehicle; an estimation unit that estimates a center position in the left-right direction of an adjacent lane from the position of the forward vehicle; A display unit that displays a design encouraging a lane change to the center position of the adjacent lane between a line in the width direction passing through the rear end position of the preceding vehicle and a line in the width direction passing through the front end position of the own vehicle. A lane change display device comprising:

2. The estimation unit estimates a position that is separated from the center position of the preceding vehicle in the left-right direction by the width of the lane in which the preceding vehicle is traveling in the direction of the adjacent lane as the center position of the adjacent lane in the left-right direction. The lane change indicator device according to claim 1 .

3. The width of the lane on which the vehicle is traveling is determined based on the type of road on which the vehicle is traveling. The lane change indicator device according to claim 2 .

4. The display unit displays the tip of the design at the center position in the left-right direction of the adjacent lane.

4. The lane change display device according to claim 1.

5. The computer acquires the position of the vehicle ahead that is traveling in the same lane as the vehicle, a computer estimating the center position of the adjacent lane in the lateral direction from the position of the vehicle ahead; The computer displays a design encouraging the driver to change lanes to the center of the adjacent lane between a line in the width direction passing through the rear end position of the preceding vehicle and a line in the width direction passing through the front end position of the vehicle. Lane change indication method.

6. Computer, an acquisition unit that acquires the position of a vehicle ahead that is traveling in the same lane as the host vehicle; an estimation unit that estimates a center position in the left-right direction of an adjacent lane from the position of the forward vehicle; A display unit that displays a design encouraging a lane change to the center position of the adjacent lane between a line in the width direction passing through the rear end position of the preceding vehicle and a line in the width direction passing through the front end position of the own vehicle. A program to function as a

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