Mobile object control device, mobile object control method, and program

Abstract

To provide a moving body control device capable of controlling a moving body more properly, a moving body control method, and a program.SOLUTION: A moving body control device in an embodiment includes: a recognition unit that recognizes the surroundings of a moving body; a trajectory prediction unit that predicts future trajectories of the moving body and an object when there is an object capable of contacting the moving body around the moving body; and a contact unavoidability determination unit that determines whether contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable based on predicted trajectories of the moving body and the object predicted by the trajectory prediction unit. The trajectory prediction unit predicts the future trajectory of the object based on the recognition state of the running wheels of the object by the recognition unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile object control device, a mobile object control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there have been known technologies that recognize the surrounding conditions of a vehicle, detect contact with an object such as an oncoming vehicle approaching the vehicle, and activate safety devices to protect occupants in case of contact with the object (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-200806 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-192164 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-133355 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the future trajectory of an object cannot be predicted properly from the overall orientation of the object, which can lead to erroneous judgments of contact with the object, or the processing load can increase due to the need to predict the trajectory over a wide range of predictions, which can make it difficult to control the moving object appropriately.

[0005] The aspects of the present invention have been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of the objects is to provide a mobile body control device, a mobile body control method, and a program that can more appropriately control a mobile body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A mobile object control device, a mobile object control method, and a program according to the present invention employ the following configuration. (1): A mobile body control device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a recognition unit that recognizes the surrounding conditions of a mobile body; a trajectory prediction unit that predicts a future trajectory of the mobile body and an object when an object that may come into contact with the mobile body is present around the mobile body; and a contact unavoidability determination unit that determines whether or not contact between the mobile body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectories of the mobile body and the object predicted by the trajectory prediction unit, wherein the trajectory prediction unit predicts the future trajectory of the object based on the recognition state of the running wheels of the object by the recognition unit.

[0007] (2): In the above aspect (1), the trajectory prediction unit uses different methods for predicting the future trajectory of the object depending on whether the running wheels of the object can be recognized by the recognition unit or not.

[0008] (3): In the above aspect (1) or (2), the trajectory prediction unit predicts a future trajectory including a trajectory along a clothoid curve when the angle of the running wheels relative to the forward direction of the object recognized by the recognition unit is less than a predetermined angle.

[0009] (4): In any one of the above aspects (1) to (3), an operation control unit is further provided that activates a protection device to protect an occupant of the moving body when the contact unavoidability determination unit determines that contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable.

[0010] (5): In any one of the above aspects (1) to (4), when an object that may come into contact with the moving body is present around the moving body and the recognition result by the recognition unit satisfies a predetermined condition, the contact unavoidability determination unit limits the recognition range by the recognition unit to a predetermined range that includes the object, and determines whether contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable.

[0011] (6): A mobile body control method according to one embodiment of the present invention is a mobile body control method in which a computer recognizes the surrounding conditions of a mobile body, and if there is an object around the recognized mobile body that may come into contact with the mobile body, predicts a future trajectory between the mobile body and the object, determines whether or not contact between the mobile body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectory between the mobile body and the object, and further predicts the future trajectory of the object based on the recognized state of the running wheels of the object.

[0012] (7): A program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a computer to recognize the surrounding conditions of a moving body, and if there is an object around the recognized moving body that may come into contact with the moving body, to predict the future trajectory of the moving body and the object, to determine whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectory of the moving body and the object, and to predict the future trajectory of the object based on the recognized state of the running wheels of the object. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the above aspects (1) to (7), more appropriate moving body control can be performed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle system 1 that uses a mobile object control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] 10 is a diagram for explaining contact possibility determination in contact possibility determination unit 122. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a determination condition table 172. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a contact unavoidable determination unit 124. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram for explaining prediction of another vehicle's predicted trajectory based on the limit avoidance operation of another vehicle m1. FIG. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining differences in limit avoidance trajectories depending on the direction of the wheels. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating extraction of a partial image. [Figure 8] 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a driving control process executed by the vehicle control device 100. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for determining whether or not contact is unavoidable. [Figure 10] 6 is a flowchart showing another example of the processing executed by the vehicle control device 100 of the embodiment. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of another process of the contact unavoidable determination process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of a mobile object control device, a mobile object control method, and a program of the present invention will be described. The mobile object control device is a device that controls the operation of a mobile object and devices mounted on the mobile object. A "mobile object" refers to a structure that can move using its own drive mechanism, such as a vehicle, a micromobile, an autonomous mobile robot, a ship, or a drone. In the following description, it is assumed that the mobile object is a ground vehicle, and the configuration and functions for moving the vehicle on the ground will be described. "Controlling a mobile object" means, for example, mainly manual driving, providing advice on driving operations via voice or display, or performing some degree of interference control. Furthermore, controlling a mobile object may include at least temporarily controlling one or both of the steering and speed of the mobile object to move the mobile object autonomously, or controlling the activation of a protective device that protects the occupants of the mobile object.

[0016] [Overall configuration] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle system 1 that uses a mobile object control device according to an embodiment. The vehicle (hereinafter referred to as the subject vehicle M) on which the vehicle system 1 is mounted is, for example, a two-wheeled, three-wheeled, or four-wheeled vehicle, and its drive source is an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine, an electric motor, or a combination of these. The electric motor operates using power generated by a generator connected to the internal combustion engine, or discharged power from a secondary battery or a fuel cell.

[0017] The vehicle system 1 includes, for example, a camera (an example of an imaging unit) 10, a radar device 12, a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) 14, an object recognition device 16, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, vehicle sensors 40, a driving operator 80, an occupant protection device 90, a vehicle control device 100, a driving force output device 200, a braking device 210, and a steering device 220. These devices and equipment are connected to each other via multiplexed communication lines such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, serial communication lines, a wireless communication network, etc. Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is merely an example, and some of the configuration may be omitted, or other configurations may be added. The HMI 30 is an example of an "output device." The vehicle control device 100 is an example of a "mobile body control device." The occupant protection device 90 is an example of a "protection device."

[0018] The camera 10 is a digital camera that uses a solid-state imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The camera 10 is attached to any location of the host vehicle M. For example, when capturing an image in front of the host vehicle M, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the front windshield or the back of the rearview mirror. When capturing an image behind the host vehicle M, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the rear windshield or the back door. When capturing an image of the sides and rear of the host vehicle M, the camera 10 is attached to a door mirror or the like. The camera 10 periodically and repeatedly captures images of the surroundings of the host vehicle M, for example. The camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

[0019] The radar device 12 emits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the vehicle M and detects radio waves reflected by an object (reflected waves) to detect at least the position (distance and direction) of the object. The radar device 12 is attached to any location on the vehicle M. The radar device 12 may detect the position and speed of an object using an FM-CW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

[0020] The LIDAR 14 irradiates the surroundings of the vehicle M with light (or electromagnetic waves with wavelengths similar to light) and measures the scattered light. The LIDAR 14 detects the distance to the target based on the time between light emission and light reception. The irradiated light is, for example, pulsed laser light. The LIDAR 14 is attached to any location on the vehicle M.

[0021] The object recognition device 16 performs sensor fusion processing on the detection results from some or all of the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the LIDAR 14 to recognize the position, type, speed, etc. of the object. The object recognition device 16 outputs the recognition results to the vehicle control device 100. The object recognition device 16 may output the detection results from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the LIDAR 14 directly to the vehicle control device 100. The object recognition device 16 may be omitted from the vehicle system 1.

[0022] The HMI 30 presents various information to the occupants of the vehicle M under the control of the HMI control unit 160 and accepts input operations by the occupants. The HMI 30 includes, for example, various display devices, speakers, switches, a microphone, a buzzer, a touch panel, keys, etc. The various display devices are, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display device. The display device is, for example, provided in the instrument panel near the front of the driver's seat (the seat closest to the steering wheel) and is installed in a position where the occupant can see it through the gap in the steering wheel or over the steering wheel. The display device may also be installed in the center of the instrument panel. The display device may also be a HUD (Head Up Display). The HUD projects an image onto a portion of the front windshield in front of the driver's seat, allowing the occupant sitting in the driver's seat to see a virtual image. The display device displays an image generated by the HMI control unit 160, which will be described later. The HMI 30 may also include a driving changeover switch for switching between automatic driving and manual driving by the occupant.

[0023] The vehicle sensors 40 include a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the host vehicle M, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects the angular velocity around a vertical axis, and a direction sensor that detects the orientation of the host vehicle M. The vehicle sensors 40 may also include a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle of the host vehicle M (which may be the angle of the steering wheels or the operating angle of the steering wheel). The vehicle sensors 40 may also include a position sensor that acquires the position of the host vehicle M. The position sensor is, for example, a sensor that acquires position information (longitude and latitude information) from a GPS (Global Positioning System) device. The position sensor may also be, for example, a sensor that acquires position information using a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver of a navigation device (not shown) mounted on the host vehicle M.

[0024] The driving operators 80 include, for example, a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, and other operators. The operators do not necessarily have to be annular, and may be in the form of an irregularly shaped steering wheel, a joystick, a button, or the like. The driving operators 80 are fitted with sensors that detect the amount of operation or the presence or absence of operation, and the detection results are output to the vehicle control device 100 or some or all of the driving force output device 200, the brake device 210, and the steering device 220.

[0025] The occupant protection device 90 operates to protect occupants inside the vehicle when a predetermined condition is met, such as when the host vehicle M comes into contact with another object. The occupant protection device 90 includes, for example, an airbag device 92 and a restraint protection device 94. The airbag device 92 is an airbag device for use in a vehicle interior that reduces the load on occupants inside the vehicle interior when the host vehicle M comes into contact with an object (e.g., another vehicle). The airbag device 92 is folded before inflation and is configured, for example, by controlling an operation control unit (described later) to inject high-pressure gas into a bag-shaped chamber stored in the center of the steering wheel or in the instrument panel, thereby inflating the chamber and deploying it from the folded state into a predetermined shape. The inflated and deployed chamber is positioned in front of the occupant, thereby reducing the load on the occupant when coming into contact with another object and protecting the occupant. In addition, instead of (or in addition to) an interior airbag device, the airbag device 92 may be an exterior airbag device in which a chamber is inflated and deployed on the bumper or hood of the vehicle M, reducing the load not only on the occupants of the vehicle M but also on objects that come into contact with the vehicle M.

[0026] The restraint protection device 94 is, for example, a pretensioner that controls the tension of a seat belt. A seat belt is a belt-like safety device that restrains the body of an occupant to a seat. For example, the restraint protection device 94 has a mechanism that retracts (winds up) the seat belt to remove slack in the seat belt. The pretensioner operates to gradually increase the tension of the seat belt by driving a motor under the control of an operation control unit, thereby increasing the restraining force of the seat belt. The pretensioner is an example of a "tension adjustment mechanism."

[0027] The vehicle control device 100 includes, for example, a recognition unit 110, a determination unit 120, a trajectory prediction unit 130, an operation control unit 140, an avoidance control unit 150, an HMI control unit 160, and a storage unit 170. The recognition unit 110, the determination unit 120, the trajectory prediction unit 130, the operation control unit 140, the avoidance control unit 150, and the HMI control unit 160 are each realized by a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). Furthermore, some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device having a non-transitory storage medium) such as an HDD or flash memory of the vehicle control device 100, or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the HDD or flash memory of the vehicle control device 100 by inserting the storage medium (non-transitory storage medium) into a drive device. The HMI control unit 160 is an example of an "output control unit."

[0028] The storage unit 170 may be realized by the various storage devices described above, or a solid-state drive (SSD), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), or the like. The storage unit 170 stores, for example, a determination condition table 172, map information 174, programs, and various other information. The determination condition table 172 will be described in detail later. The map information 174 is information that represents road shapes using links indicating roads and nodes connected by the links, for example. The map information 174 may include information on road shapes (road width, curvature, gradient), the number of lanes, intersections, lane centers, lane boundaries (dividing lines), and the like. The map information 174 may also include point-of-interest (POI) information, traffic regulation information, address information (address and postal code), facility information, telephone number information, and the like.

[0029] The recognition unit 110 recognizes the type, position, speed, acceleration, etc. of objects present around the vehicle M based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the LIDAR 14 via the object recognition device 16. Objects include, for example, other vehicles, traffic participants such as pedestrians and cyclists, and road structures. Road structures include, for example, road signs, traffic signals, curbs, medians, guardrails, fences, walls, and railroad crossings. The position of an object is recognized as a position on an absolute coordinate system with a representative point of the vehicle M (such as the center of gravity or the center of the drive shaft) as the origin, and is used for control. The position of an object may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or a corner of the object, or by a represented area. The "state" of an object may include the acceleration or jerk of the object, or its "behavioral state" (for example, whether it is changing lanes or about to change lanes). In the following description, the object is assumed to be an "other vehicle."

[0030] Furthermore, the recognition unit 110 may, for example, recognize road dividing lines (hereinafter referred to as dividing lines) that divide each lane included in the road on which the host vehicle M is traveling, or may recognize the traveling lane of the host vehicle M from the nearest dividing lines that exist on each side of the host vehicle M. The recognition unit 110 may recognize the dividing lines by analyzing an image captured by the camera 10, or may refer to map information 174 from the position information of the host vehicle M detected by the vehicle sensor 40 and recognize information on surrounding dividing lines and traveling lanes from the position of the host vehicle M, or may combine both recognition results.

[0031] The recognition unit 110 also recognizes the position and attitude of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane. For example, the recognition unit 110 may recognize the deviation of the reference point of the host vehicle M from the center of the lane and the angle of the vehicle body with respect to a line connecting the centers of the lanes in the traveling direction of the host vehicle M as the relative position and attitude of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane. Alternatively, the recognition unit 110 may recognize the position of the reference point of the host vehicle M with respect to either side edge of the traveling lane (a road dividing line or a road boundary) as the relative position of the host vehicle M with respect to the traveling lane.

[0032] Furthermore, the recognition unit 110 may analyze the image captured by the camera 10 and recognize the orientation of the body of the other vehicle relative to the front direction of the vehicle M or the direction in which the lane extends, the vehicle width, the position and orientation of the wheels of the other vehicle, the wheelbase (distance between the front and rear axles), etc., based on feature information (for example, edge information, color information, information on the shape and size of the object, etc.) obtained from the analysis results. The orientation of the body is, for example, the yaw angle of the other vehicle (the angle of the body relative to a line connecting the centers of the lanes in the direction in which the other vehicle is traveling). The recognition unit 110 may also acquire the recognition status (whether or not the wheels of the other vehicle are recognized).

[0033] The determination unit 120 includes, for example, a contact possibility determination unit 122 and a contact unavoidable determination unit 124. The contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether or not there is a possibility of contact between the host vehicle M and another vehicle in the future, based on, for example, a determination condition that corresponds to a state of the other vehicle that is set in advance.

[0034] When the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines that there is a possibility of future contact between the host vehicle M and another vehicle, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines whether contact between the host vehicle M and another vehicle is unavoidable (whether contact cannot be avoided) based on the predicted trajectories of the host vehicle M and the other vehicle over a certain future period of time by the trajectory prediction unit 130. The functions of the contact possibility determination unit 122 and the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 will be described in detail later.

[0035] The trajectory prediction unit 130 predicts the future traveling trajectory of the host vehicle M for a certain period of time (hereinafter referred to as the "host vehicle predicted trajectory") based on the position, speed, traveling direction, etc. of the host vehicle M detected by the vehicle sensor 40, etc. Furthermore, the trajectory prediction unit 130 predicts the future traveling trajectory of the other vehicle M for a certain period of time (hereinafter referred to as the "other vehicle predicted trajectory") based on the position, speed, traveling direction, etc. of the other vehicle recognized by the recognition unit 110. For example, when determining whether contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle is unavoidable, the trajectory prediction unit 130 predicts the host vehicle predicted trajectory and the other vehicle predicted trajectory (critical avoidance trajectory) in a state in which the host vehicle M or the other vehicle is steered to the maximum to avoid contact (critical avoidance operation). These predicted trajectories are, for example, trajectories through which a reference point (e.g., center of gravity or center) of the target vehicle passes. Furthermore, the trajectory prediction unit 130 may predict the host vehicle predicted trajectory and the other vehicle predicted trajectory assuming that the current speed and traveling direction will continue for a certain period of time.

[0036] When the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines that contact between the host vehicle M and another vehicle is unavoidable, the operation control unit 140 activates the airbag device 92 and the restraint protection device 94 of the occupant protection device 90. Note that the operation control unit 140 may activate only the restraint protection device 94 or control the chamber that the airbag device 92 inflates and deploys based on the relative speeds of the host vehicle M and the other vehicle at the time of contact, the position of contact, etc.

[0037] When the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines that there is a possibility of future contact between the host vehicle M and another vehicle, and when the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines that contact between the host vehicle M and another vehicle is not unavoidable (can be avoided), the avoidance control unit 150 executes avoidance control such as control to control the brake device 210 to bring the host vehicle M to a sudden stop, or control to control the driving force output device 200 to suddenly accelerate the host vehicle M. Furthermore, instead of (or in addition to) a sudden stop or sudden acceleration, the avoidance control unit 150 may execute avoidance control to control the steering device 220 to move the host vehicle M in a direction away from the other vehicle by steering control.

[0038] The HMI control unit 160 notifies the occupant of predetermined information via the HMI 30, and acquires information received by the HMI 30 through the operation of the occupant. For example, the predetermined information notified to the occupant includes information related to the traveling of the host vehicle M, such as information on the state of the host vehicle M and information on driving control. The information on the state of the host vehicle M includes, for example, the speed, engine speed, shift position, etc. of the host vehicle M. Furthermore, the information on driving control includes, for example, information on the operation of the occupant protection device 90 and information on the execution of contact avoidance control. Furthermore, the predetermined information may include information that prompts the driver to perform a driving operation to avoid contact. Furthermore, the predetermined information may include information unrelated to the traveling control of the host vehicle M, such as television programs, content (e.g., movies) stored on a storage medium such as a DVD, etc.

[0039] For example, the HMI control unit 160 may generate an image containing the above-mentioned specified information and display the generated image on the display device of the HMI 30, or may generate audio indicating the specified information and output the generated audio from the speaker of the HMI 30.

[0040] The driving force output device 200 outputs a driving force (torque) for the vehicle to travel to the driving wheels. The driving force output device 200 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a transmission, etc., and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls these. The ECU controls the above components in accordance with information input from the avoidance control unit 150 or information input from the driving operator 80.

[0041] Braking device 210 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor according to information input from avoidance control unit 150 or information input from driving operation device 80, so that a brake torque corresponding to the braking operation is output to each wheel. Braking device 210 may include a backup mechanism that transmits hydraulic pressure generated by operation of a brake pedal included in driving operation device 80 to the cylinder via a master cylinder. Note that braking device 210 is not limited to the configuration described above, and may also be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that controls an actuator according to information input from avoidance control unit 150 to transmit hydraulic pressure from a master cylinder to the cylinder.

[0042] The steering device 220 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor changes the direction of the steered wheels by, for example, applying a force to a rack and pinion mechanism. The steering ECU drives the electric motor to change the direction of the steered wheels in accordance with information input from the avoidance control unit 150 or information input from the driving operator 80.

[0043] [Function of the judgment unit] The following describes in detail the functions of the determination unit 120 (contact possibility determination unit 122, contact unavoidable determination unit 124). FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the contact possibility determination in the contact possibility determination unit 122. The example of FIG. 2 shows a road RD1 having a lane L1 and a lane L2 that is an oncoming lane of lane L1. Lane L1 is demarcated by dividing lines RL1 and RL2, and lane L2 is demarcated by dividing lines RL2 and RL3. In the example of FIG. 2, the host vehicle M is traveling at a speed VM along the extension direction of lane L1 (the X-axis direction in the figure), and another vehicle m1 is entering lane L1 from lane L2 at a speed Vm1. In the example of FIG. 2, time t1 is the earliest, followed by times t2 and t3. In the example of FIG. 2, the position and speed of the host vehicle M at time t* are represented as M(t*) and VM(t*), and the position and speed of the other vehicle m1 are represented as m1(t*) and Vm1(t*).

[0044] 2, the recognition unit 110 recognizes the position, speed VM, and traveling direction (orientation) of the host vehicle M as the surrounding conditions of the host vehicle M, and also recognizes the position, speed Vm1, and traveling direction of another vehicle m1 that is present ahead of the host vehicle M (within a predetermined distance ahead). The contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether or not there is a possibility of contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 based on a predetermined determination condition (determination condition table 172). For example, the contact possibility determination unit 122 refers to the determination condition table 172 stored in the storage unit 170, and determines that there is a possibility of contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 if the determination condition included in the referenced determination condition table 172 is satisfied, and determines that there is no possibility of contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle if the determination condition is not satisfied.

[0045] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the judgment condition table 172. In the judgment condition table 172, for example, a pattern ID, which is identification information for identifying a judgment pattern, is associated with a judgment content and a confirmation count. The judgment content includes, for example, one or more judgment conditions. In the example of FIG. 3, three judgment conditions (condition 1 to condition 3) are shown. The confirmation count is the number of times that it is confirmed that the same judgment condition is consecutively satisfied when the contact possibility judgment process (process for determining whether the judgment condition is satisfied) is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle. For example, in the case where the pattern ID in FIG. 3 is "1," if the judgment conditions 1 to 3 of the pattern ID "1" are satisfied three times consecutively, it is determined that there is a possibility of contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1, but if they are satisfied only once or twice, it is not determined that there is a possibility of contact. Note that the judgment conditions and the confirmation count are not limited to the example of FIG. 3 and may be changed depending on the vehicle type and number of occupants of the host vehicle M, road conditions (road shape and surrounding weather), etc., and may be changed as desired by the manufacturer.

[0046] The contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether or not the conditions are met for each determination pattern as shown in Figure 3, and if the state in which the same conditions are met is confirmed consecutively by repeated processing the number of times set as the number of confirmations, it determines that there is a possibility of contact between the vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 in the future.

[0047] To explain this in more detail using the examples of FIGS. 2 and 3, first, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines, as condition 1, whether or not another vehicle m1 is present on the lane L1 of the host vehicle M. If it is determined that another vehicle m1 is present on the lane L1 of the host vehicle M, the contact possibility determination unit 122 derives, as condition 2, a time to collision (TTC) using the relative position (relative distance) and relative speed between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 traveling on lane L2, and determines whether or not the derived time to collision TTC is less than a threshold. The time to collision TTC is a value calculated, for example, by dividing the relative speed from the relative distance. The threshold in this case is, for example, approximately 1.0 to 2.0 [s], but may be variably set depending on the speed VM of the host vehicle M, the speed Vm1 of the other vehicle m1, road conditions, etc.

[0048] If the time to contact TTC is less than the threshold, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether at least one of the conditions of each determination pattern is satisfied as condition 3. For example, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether the pattern IDs "1" to "4" satisfy the conditions in order. Alternatively, the contact possibility determination unit 122 may determine whether the conditions are satisfied in the order of the IDs, and if a condition is satisfied, it may not be necessary to perform determinations regarding the conditions of the subsequent IDs.

[0049] 2, it is assumed that the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines that the state satisfies conditions 1 to 3 of pattern ID "1." At this time, the contact possibility determination unit 122 sets the number of confirmations to one, and performs the determination process again in the next cycle (time t2).

[0050] At time t2, the contact possibility determination unit 122 makes the same determination as at time t1 and determines that the condition of pattern ID "1" shown in Fig. 3 is satisfied. In this case, the contact possibility determination unit 122 sets the number of confirmations to two and performs the determination process again in the next cycle (time t3).

[0051] At time t3, the contact possibility determination unit 122 makes the same determination as at time t1 and determines that the condition of pattern ID "1" shown in Fig. 3 is satisfied. In this case, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines that there is a possibility of contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 at time t3 because the number of confirmations is three and the state satisfying the condition was confirmed three times in a row. When the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines that there is a possibility of contact, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines whether contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable.

[0052] 4 is a diagram for explaining the contact unavoidability determination unit 124. For example, assuming that the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 each perform a limit avoidance maneuver from their current positions, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines that contact is unavoidable if it is predicted that the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 will come into contact in the future, and determines that contact is not unavoidable if it is predicted that the limit avoidance maneuver will not result in contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1. The limit avoidance maneuver is, for example, an operation to increase the steering angle of the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 in a direction away from each other from their current positions up to a limit value. The contact unavoidability determination unit 124 causes the trajectory prediction unit 130 to predict the host vehicle's predicted trajectory and the other vehicle's predicted trajectory based on the limit avoidance maneuver.

[0053] The contact unavoidability determination unit 124 acquires the predicted vehicle trajectory K10 and the predicted other vehicle trajectory K20 predicted by the trajectory prediction unit 130, sets offset areas for each predicted trajectory K10, K20 that are offset laterally according to the vehicle width, and if it is determined that the set offset areas will result in future contact (overlap on the trajectory), it determines that contact between the vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable.

[0054] When predicting the predicted other vehicle trajectory based on the limit avoidance operation of the other vehicle m1, the trajectory prediction unit 130 may perform limit avoidance prediction depending on whether the direction of the wheels of the other vehicle m1 can be recognized. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining the prediction of the predicted other vehicle trajectory based on the limit avoidance operation of the other vehicle m1. For example, when predicting the other vehicle's predicted trajectory limit avoidance trajectory based on the limit avoidance operation from the current direction of the body of the other vehicle m1, two limit avoidance trajectories K21a and K21b are derived when the other vehicle m1 is steered to the maximum left and right with respect to the current trajectory when traveling straight. This makes it necessary to determine whether contact is unavoidable for each of them, which increases the processing load and may make it impossible to accurately determine whether contact is unavoidable.

[0055] Therefore, the trajectory prediction unit 130 uses different methods (techniques) for predicting the predicted trajectory of the other vehicle (critical avoidance trajectory) depending on whether or not the direction (steering angle) of the wheels (an example of running wheels) of the other vehicle m1 can be recognized. The wheels to be recognized are wheels provided on the other vehicle m1 whose direction can be changed. For example, when the recognition unit 110 cannot recognize the direction of the wheels of the other vehicle m1, the trajectory prediction unit 130 predicts, as the critical avoidance trajectory, a turning trajectory that would result if a critical avoidance operation (maximum steering operation) were performed based on the current vehicle position and direction.

[0056] In addition, if the recognition unit 110 is able to recognize the wheels (at least one of the front wheels WFR and WFL) of the other vehicle m1, the trajectory prediction unit 130 derives the angle θ1 of the wheel relative to the forward direction of the other vehicle m1, and predicts the limit avoidance trajectory based on the derived angle θ1.

[0057] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating differences in the limit avoidance trajectory depending on the wheel orientation. For example, when the wheel angle θ1 is less than a predetermined angle θth, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines the limit avoidance trajectory via a trajectory along a clothoid curve before the other vehicle m1 begins a turning operation. A clothoid curve is, for example, a curve whose curvature increases based on a certain proportionality constant. Therefore, the limit avoidance trajectory K22a when the wheel angle θ1 is less than the predetermined angle θth includes a trajectory along a clothoid curve, and therefore the avoidance travel range is narrower than the limit avoidance trajectory K22b when the angle θ1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle θth. In this way, by deriving the limit avoidance trajectory based on the wheel orientation, it is possible to more accurately grasp the limit avoidance trajectory of the other vehicle m1 and more accurately determine whether contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable.

[0058] In addition, the trajectory prediction unit 130 may predict the limit avoidance trajectory based on the road shape around the host vehicle M, the friction coefficient μ between the wheels and the road surface, the wheelbase (distance between the front wheel axle and the rear wheel axle) of the other vehicle m1, etc., instead of (or in addition to) the wheel angle.

[0059] In addition, when determining whether contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 may change the recognition range of the surroundings of the host vehicle M by the recognition unit 110 if a predetermined condition is satisfied in order to reduce the processing load and perform the contact unavoidability determination more quickly. For example, when there are no objects that may come into contact with the host vehicle M other than the other vehicle m1 that is the target of the determination of whether contact with the host vehicle M is unavoidable based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 110, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines whether contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable by limiting the recognition range by the recognition unit 110 to a predetermined range including the other vehicle m1 that may come into contact with the host vehicle M. Examples of cases where there are no objects that may come into contact with the host vehicle M include when the recognition unit 110 cannot recognize an object, or when the recognition unit 110 recognizes an object but the distance between the host vehicle M and the object is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance. Limiting the recognition range means, for example, extracting a partial image of a predetermined area including the other vehicle m1 from the entire image area captured by the camera 10.

[0060] Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining extraction of a partial image. In the example of Fig. 7, the example of Fig. 11 shows an image IM10 captured by the camera 10 before determining that contact is unavoidable. The image IM10 also includes the lane L1 in which the host vehicle M is traveling, another vehicle m1 approaching the host vehicle M from the oncoming lane L2, and a pedestrian TP1 stopped on the shoulder of the road. It is assumed that the pedestrian TP1 is stationary at a location at least a predetermined distance away from the host vehicle M.

[0061] In the example of FIG. 7, the contact unavoidable determination unit 124 extracts a partial image IM20 including another vehicle m1 from the image IM10. The size of the partial image may be set according to the relative distance between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1. In this case, for example, the larger the relative distance, the smaller the area, and the smaller the relative distance, the larger the area. The size of the partial image area may also be set according to the speed, distance, direction of movement, road conditions, and vehicle type of the other vehicle m1, for example. By using the partial image in this way, the processing load can be reduced and the determination that contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable can be made more quickly.

[0062] The contact unavoidable determination unit 124 may increase the sampling rate (the number of processes executed in a predetermined time) of the recognition process and the determination process, since using a partial image reduces the processing load compared to performing object determination on the entire image captured by the camera 10. This allows for more detailed determination to be made in important situations regarding whether or not contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable, while suppressing the processing load.

[0063] Furthermore, when extracting partial images and making a determination as to whether contact is unavoidable between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1, the unavoidable contact determination unit 124 may adjust the frame rate (fps; frames per second) of the time-series image frames captured by the camera 10 to be larger than the frame rate before making the unavoidable contact determination. In this case, for example, in the process of determining the possibility of contact by the contact possibility determination unit 122 (an example of processing before making the unavoidable contact determination), the determination unit 120 thins out the time-series image frames captured by the camera 10 at predetermined intervals and performs processing using images with a first frame rate that is less than the threshold, and in the determination as to whether contact is unavoidable by the contact unavoidable contact determination unit 124 using the partial images, extracts partial images with a second frame rate that is equal to or greater than the threshold (i.e., the second frame rate>the first frame rate) from the time-series image frames captured by the camera 10 and performs processing. In this way, by reducing the frame rate when processing using the entire area of ​​the camera image captured by the camera 10, and performing detailed analysis using partial images with a higher frame rate in important situations where it is important to determine whether or not contact between the vehicle M and another vehicle m1 is unavoidable, it is possible to make faster and more detailed judgments while reducing the processing load.

[0064] The operation control unit 140 activates the occupant protection device 90 when the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines that contact of the host vehicle M with the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable. This causes the chamber of the airbag device 92 to inflate and deploy, and the restraining force of the seat belt on the occupant is made stronger than usual, thereby mitigating the impact on the occupant at the time of contact. As a result, the number of consecutive confirmations is changed according to the contact possibility determination pattern, so that even if an erroneous detection occurs due to a sensor error or other reason, the occupant protection device 90 is prevented from erroneously operating, and the occupant can be protected more appropriately.

[0065] Furthermore, when the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines that contact is not unavoidable, the avoidance control unit 150 performs avoidance control to avoid contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1. This makes it possible to execute more appropriate driving control depending on the situation. Note that when the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines that contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable, the vehicle control device 100 may perform both the operation control by the operation control unit 140 and the avoidance control by the avoidance control unit 150. This makes it possible to protect the occupants more safely.

[0066] For example, when the determination condition in the determination pattern by the contact possibility determination unit 122 is satisfied but the number of consecutive confirmations is less than a predetermined number, the HMI control unit 160 may cause the HMI 30 to output a warning sound or the like, or may cause the HMI 30 to output information urging the occupant to perform driving operations to avoid contact. Furthermore, the HMI control unit 160 may cause the HMI 30 to output information about the determination pattern based on which it has been determined that there is a possibility of contact.

[0067] [Processing flow] Next, a flow of processing executed by the vehicle control device 100 of the embodiment will be described. Note that, of the processing executed by the vehicle control device 100, the following mainly focuses on the processing of determining the possibility of contact between the host vehicle M and another vehicle and the unavoidable contact determination, and the processing of vehicle control (activation of the occupant protection device 90, avoidance control) based on the determination results. Also, the processing of this flowchart may be executed repeatedly at a predetermined timing, for example.

[0068] FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the driving control process executed by the vehicle control device 100. In the example of FIG. 8, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether or not another vehicle m1 is present ahead of the host vehicle M (within a predetermined distance) based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 110 (step S100). If it is determined that another vehicle m1 is present ahead of the host vehicle M, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether or not the time to contact TTC between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle is less than a threshold (step S102). If it is determined that the time to contact TTC is less than the threshold, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether or not the other vehicle m1 is entering the host vehicle lane (the lane in which the host vehicle M is traveling) (step S104). If it is determined that the other vehicle m1 is entering the host vehicle lane, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether or not the number of consecutive confirmations is three (step S106). If it is determined that the number of consecutive confirmations is not three, the process returns to step S100.

[0069] Furthermore, if it is determined in the processing of step S104 that the other vehicle m1 has not entered the host vehicle lane, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether the traffic light (traffic signal) in the driving lane of the other vehicle m1 is red (step S108). In the processing of step S108, for example, based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 110, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines that the traffic light in the driving lane of the other vehicle m1 is red when the host vehicle M is driving in the host vehicle lane toward an intersection, the other vehicle m1 is driving in a lane intersecting the host vehicle lane toward the intersection, and the traffic light near the intersection of the host vehicle lane is green. Furthermore, the contact possibility determination unit 122 may determine that the traffic light in the driving lane of the other vehicle m1 (oncoming lane) is red when the other vehicle m1 is driving in the oncoming lane of the host vehicle M and the traffic light in the driving lane between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is red. If it is determined that the traffic light in the lane of the other vehicle m1 is red, it is determined whether the number of consecutive confirmations is three (step S110). If the number of consecutive confirmations is not three, the process returns to step S100.

[0070] Furthermore, if it is determined in the processing of step S108 that the traffic light in the driving lane of the other vehicle m1 is not red, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether or not an accident has occurred ahead of the host vehicle M (within a predetermined distance) (for example, step S112). Accidents include, for example, contact between other vehicles, contact between other vehicles and road structures, and other vehicles traveling with smoke emitting from them. In the embodiment, image features for each predetermined accident are stored in the storage unit 170 or the like (not shown), and the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether or not an accident has occurred by comparing the feature obtained from the image captured by the camera 10 with the feature stored in the storage unit 170. For example, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines that an accident has occurred when the degree of match between the feature features is equal to or greater than a threshold.

[0071] When it is determined that an accident has occurred ahead of the host vehicle M, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether the yaw angle of the other vehicle m1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 110 (step S114). When the yaw angle of the other vehicle m1 is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle, the contact possibility determination unit 122 determines whether the number of consecutive confirmations is two (step S116). Under circumstances in which it is determined that an accident has occurred at the host vehicle M, it is highly likely that the other vehicle M is approaching the host vehicle M due to some influence of the accident. Therefore, by changing the number of confirmations in this case to a number smaller than the other numbers, it is possible to more quickly and accurately determine the possibility of contact. When it is determined in the processing of step S116 that the number of consecutive confirmations is not two, the processing returns to the processing of step S100.

[0072] Furthermore, if it is determined in the process of step S112 that no accident has occurred ahead of the host vehicle M, or if it is determined in the process of step S114 that the yaw angle of the other vehicle m1 is not equal to or greater than a predetermined angle, it is determined whether the number of consecutive confirmations is four (step S118). If it is determined that the number of consecutive determinations is not four, the process returns to the process of step S100.

[0073] Furthermore, if it is determined in the processing of step S106, S110, S116, or S118 that the number of consecutive determinations has reached the designated number, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines whether contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is unavoidable (step S120). If it is determined that contact is unavoidable, the operation control unit 140 activates the occupant protection device 90 (step S122). If it is determined that contact is not unavoidable, the avoidance control unit 150 controls one or both of the steering and speed of the host vehicle M to execute driving control to avoid contact between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 (step S124). This ends the processing of this flowchart. Furthermore, if it is determined in the processing of step S100 that the other vehicle m1 does not exist ahead of the host vehicle M, or if it is determined in the processing of step S102 that the time to contact TTC is not less than the threshold (TTC<threshold), the processing of this flowchart ends.

[0074] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the contact unavoidability determination process. FIG. 9 illustrates, for example, details of the process of step S120. In the example of FIG. 9, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines whether the wheels of the other vehicle m1 have been recognized by the recognition unit 110 (step S120a). If it is determined that the wheels of the other vehicle m1 have been recognized, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 acquires the angle of the recognized wheel (step S120b) and determines whether the acquired angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle (step S120c). If it is determined that the wheel angle is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 causes the trajectory prediction unit 130 to predict a critical avoidance trajectory based on the wheel angle (step S120d). If it is determined that the wheel angle is not equal to or greater than the predetermined angle, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 causes the trajectory prediction unit 130 to predict a critical avoidance trajectory including a trajectory based on a clothoid curve (step S120e). Furthermore, if it is determined in step S120a that the wheels of the other vehicle m1 have not been recognized, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 causes the trajectory prediction unit 130 to predict a limit avoidance trajectory assuming that the steering angle (wheel direction) of the other vehicle m1 is maximized (step S120f). After processing step S120d, S120e, or S120f, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 compares the limit avoidance trajectories of the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1, and determines whether contact is unavoidable (step S120g). This ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0075] In the embodiment, at least a part of the contact possibility determination process in the process shown in FIG. 8 may be omitted. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing another example of the process executed by the vehicle control device 100 of the embodiment. In the example of FIG. 10, steps S104 to S118 are omitted from the process of steps S100 to S124 shown in FIG. 8. That is, in the process shown in FIG. 10, when it is determined in the process of step S102 that the time to contact TTC between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 is less than the threshold, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 immediately executes a contact unavoidability determination. In addition, for example, the process shown in FIG. 9 may be executed as the process of step S120. In addition, the process shown in FIG. 8 and the process shown in FIG. 10 may be switched between depending on the traveling situation of the host vehicle M. For example, when the subject vehicle M or the other vehicle m1 is traveling at a low speed (less than a predetermined speed) on an ordinary road or the like, the process shown in Fig. 8 is executed with a certain amount of time to spare, whereas when the subject vehicle M or the other vehicle m1 is traveling at a high speed (above a predetermined speed) on an expressway or the like, there is no time to spare and the process shown in Fig. 10 is executed. This allows a more appropriate unavoidable collision determination to be made according to the traveling situation, and enables the occupant protection device 90 to be activated more reliably before contact.

[0076] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing another example of the process for determining whether or not contact is unavoidable. The process shown in FIG. 11 is executed, for example, at the start of the process of step S120 in FIG. 8 or 10 described above, or before step S120a shown in FIG. 9. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines whether or not a traffic participant (an example of an object) other than the other vehicle m1 (target object) for which a determination of whether or not contact is unavoidable is made is present within the forward viewing angle, which is set by the angle of view of the camera 10 capturing an image of the area ahead of the host vehicle M, based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 110 (step S200). Here, traffic participants include, for example, pedestrians, bicycles, two-wheeled vehicles, and vehicles other than the other vehicle m1, traveling at a predetermined speed or faster. Note that in the case of bicycles, two-wheeled vehicles, and vehicles other than the other vehicle m1, traveling at a speed less than the predetermined speed (including stopped) may also be included. Furthermore, in the case of a pedestrian moving, the amount of movement in the width direction (lateral direction) of the lane in which the host vehicle M is traveling may also be included.

[0077] If it is determined in step S200 that no traffic participants other than the other vehicle m1 are present within the forward viewing angle of the camera 10, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines whether or not there are any traffic participants within a predetermined range on both sides of the traveling lane in the direction of travel (step S202). The "within the processing distance on both sides" refers to, for example, a range of the vehicle width plus several meters from the side edge of the host vehicle M or the lane marking in the direction away from the host vehicle M, in a direction perpendicular to the front direction of the host vehicle M1. If it is determined that no traffic participants are present within the predetermined range on both sides of the traveling lane, the contact unavoidability determination unit 124 determines whether or not there are any objects that may cause a blind spot within the forward viewing angle (step S204). Examples of objects include obstacles such as parked vehicles, telephone poles, signs, shrubs, walls, and fences.

[0078] If it is determined that no object causing a blind spot exists within the forward field of view, the collision unavoidability determination unit 124 extracts a partial image area including the other vehicle m1 from the entire area of ​​the camera image captured by the camera 10 (step S206). Next, the collision unavoidability determination unit 124 increases the sampling rate for the partial image area recognized by the recognition unit 110 (step S208), limits target recognition for tracking, etc., to the other vehicle m1, and performs an unavoidable collision determination between the host vehicle M and the other vehicle m1 (step S210). This ends the process of this flowchart. Furthermore, if it is determined in the process of step S200 that a traffic participant other than the other vehicle m1 exists within the forward field of view, if it is determined in the process of step S202 that no traffic participant exists within a predetermined range on either side of the lane of the host vehicle M, or if it is determined in the process of step S204 that an object causing a blind spot exists within the forward field of view, the process of this flowchart ends without extracting the partial image area.

[0079] According to the above-described process, when certain conditions are met (for example, visibility is good and pedestrians are not present or are far away), the image to be processed is made into a partial image, thereby reducing the processing load and speeding up the external environment recognition process. Furthermore, by reducing the processing load, the target vehicle recognition cycle can be accelerated, enabling a quicker and more accurate determination of unavoidable collisions. This ensures time to protect the occupants, and reduces the burden on the occupants due to collisions with other vehicles.

[0080] According to the embodiment described above, the vehicle control device 100 (an example of a mobile body control device) is equipped with a recognition unit 110 that recognizes the surrounding conditions of the host vehicle M (an example of a mobile body), a trajectory prediction unit 130 that predicts the future trajectory of the host vehicle M and the object when an object that may come into contact with the host vehicle M is present around the host vehicle M, and a contact unavoidability determination unit 124 that determines whether or not contact between the host vehicle M and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectory of the host vehicle M and the object predicted by the trajectory prediction unit 130, and the trajectory prediction unit 130 can perform more appropriate mobile body control by predicting the future trajectory of the object based on the recognition state of the object's running wheels by the recognition unit 110.

[0081] Furthermore, according to the embodiment, when predicting the future trajectory of another vehicle, by changing the prediction method based on whether the running wheels of the other vehicle can be recognized, a more accurate determination of the inevitability of contact can be made, and occupants can be protected without excessive stress, allowing for a more favorable situation for contact. Furthermore, according to the embodiment, by changing the conditions for determining whether there is a possibility of future contact between the host vehicle M and an object based on the state of the object and determining the possibility of future contact between the host vehicle M and the object based on the changed conditions, the reliability of the inevitability of contact determination can be improved, and unnecessary operation of the occupant protection device 90 can be suppressed and the occupant protection device 90 can be operated appropriately. Furthermore, according to the embodiment, when determining that a contact is unavoidable, if predetermined conditions are met, a determination is made using a partial image, temporarily stopping recognition of white lines, pedestrians, etc. and limiting recognition processing to only the surroundings of the target vehicle, thereby enabling determination processing to be performed quickly and in a short cycle according to processing performance.

[0082] The above-described embodiment can be expressed as follows. a storage device storing a program; a hardware processor; The hardware processor executes the program, Recognize the surrounding situation of the moving object, If an object that may come into contact with the recognized moving body is present around the recognized moving body, a future trajectory of the moving body and the object is predicted; determining whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectories of the moving body and the object; and predicting a future trajectory of the object based on the recognized state of the running wheels of the object. The mobile object control device is configured as follows.

[0083] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 1...vehicle system, 10...camera, 12...radar device, 14...LIDAR, 16...object recognition device, 30...HMI, 40...vehicle sensor, 80...driving operator, 90...occupant protection device, 100...vehicle control device, 110...recognition unit, 120...determination unit, 122...contact possibility determination unit, 124...contact unavoidable determination unit, 130...trajectory prediction unit, 140...operation control unit, 150...avoidance control unit, 160...HMI control unit, 170...memory unit, 200...driving force output device, 210...brake device, 220...steering device, M...host vehicle

Claims

1. a recognition unit that recognizes the surrounding situation of the moving object; a trajectory prediction unit that predicts a future trajectory of the moving body and an object when an object that may come into contact with the moving body is present around the moving body; a contact unavoidability determination unit that determines whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectories of the moving body and the object predicted by the trajectory prediction unit, the trajectory prediction unit predicts a future trajectory of the object based on a recognition state of the running wheels of the object by the recognition unit; the trajectory prediction unit uses different methods for predicting a future trajectory of the object depending on whether the running wheels of the object have been recognized by the recognition unit or not. Mobile control device.

2. a recognition unit that recognizes the surrounding situation of the moving object; a trajectory prediction unit that predicts a future trajectory of the moving body and an object when an object that may come into contact with the moving body is present around the moving body; a contact unavoidability determination unit that determines whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectories of the moving body and the object predicted by the trajectory prediction unit, the trajectory prediction unit predicts a future trajectory of the object based on a recognition state of the running wheels of the object by the recognition unit; the contact unavoidability determination unit, when an object that may come into contact with the moving body is present around the moving body and the recognition result by the recognition unit satisfies a predetermined condition, limits the recognition range by the recognition unit to a predetermined range that includes the object, and determines whether contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable. Mobile control device.

3. the trajectory prediction unit predicts a future trajectory including a trajectory along a clothoid curve when an angle of the running wheels with respect to a front direction of the object recognized by the recognition unit is less than a predetermined angle. The mobile object control device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. an operation control unit that activates a protection device to protect an occupant of the moving body when the contact unavoidability determination unit determines that contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable; The mobile object control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The computer Recognize the surrounding situation of the moving object, If an object that may come into contact with the recognized moving body is present around the recognized moving body, a future trajectory of the moving body and the object is predicted; determining whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectories of the moving body and the object; Further, predicting a future trajectory of the object based on the recognized state of the running wheels of the object; A method for predicting the future trajectory of the object is made different depending on whether the running wheels of the object are recognized or not. A mobile object control method.

6. The computer Recognize the surrounding situation of the moving object, If an object that may come into contact with the recognized moving body is present around the recognized moving body, a future trajectory of the moving body and the object is predicted; determining whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectories of the moving body and the object; Further, predicting a future trajectory of the object based on the recognized state of the running wheels of the object; When an object that may come into contact with the moving body is present around the moving body and the recognition result of the surrounding situation of the moving body satisfies a predetermined condition, the recognition range of the surrounding situation is limited to a predetermined range that includes the object, and it is determined whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable. A mobile object control method.

7. On the computer, It allows the moving object to recognize its surroundings, When an object that may come into contact with the recognized moving body is present around the recognized moving body, a future trajectory of the moving body and the object is predicted; determining whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectories of the moving body and the object; Furthermore, a future trajectory of the object is predicted based on the recognition state of the running wheels of the object; A method for predicting the future trajectory of the object is made different depending on whether the running wheels of the object are recognized or not. program.

8. On the computer, It allows the moving object to recognize its surroundings, When an object that may come into contact with the recognized moving body is present around the recognized moving body, a future trajectory of the moving body and the object is predicted; determining whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable based on the predicted trajectories of the moving body and the object; Furthermore, a future trajectory of the object is predicted based on the recognition state of the running wheels of the object; When an object that may come into contact with the moving body is present around the moving body and the recognition result of the surrounding situation of the moving body satisfies a predetermined condition, the recognition range of the surrounding situation is limited to a predetermined range that includes the object, and a determination is made as to whether or not contact between the moving body and the object is unavoidable. program.

Images