MOBILE BODY CONTROL DEVICE, MOBILE BODY CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

Abstract

To recognize a sidewalk using no peripheral image of a mobile body.SOLUTION: A control device controls a mobile body that can move on both drive way and predetermined area different from the drive way, and has a road type recognition unit that recognizes whether or not the mobile body is moving on the drive way or in the predetermined area based on an output of an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration of the mobile body. The road type recognition unit recognizes that the mobile body is moving in the predetermined area when the moving body is determined to be positioned in a braille block based on the output of the acceleration sensor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, practical applications of mobile objects that can move on both sidewalks and roadways have been promoted, and in such cases, the mobile objects are required to recognize whether they are moving on a sidewalk or a roadway. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for recognizing sidewalks based on surrounding images captured of the surrounding conditions of the mobile object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-168953 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, conventional technologies rely solely on surrounding images captured of the surroundings of a moving object to recognize sidewalks, and there have been cases where the sidewalks could not be recognized without using surrounding images.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objects is to provide a control device for a mobile body, a control method for a mobile body, and a storage medium that can recognize sidewalks without using images of the mobile body's surroundings. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The control device for a moving body, the control method for a moving body, and the storage medium according to the present invention employ the following configurations. (1): A control device for a moving body according to one embodiment of the present invention is a control device for a moving body that can move both on a roadway and in a specified area different from the roadway, and is equipped with a road type recognition unit that recognizes whether the moving body is moving on a roadway or in the specified area based on the output of an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the moving body, and the road type recognition unit recognizes that the moving body is moving in the specified area when it determines, based on the output of the acceleration sensor, that the moving body is located on a tactile paving block.

[0007] (2): In the above aspect (1), when the road type recognition unit recognizes a candidate object for the tactile paving block based on the output of an external detection device that detects the external situation of the moving body, the road type recognition unit further includes a control unit that causes the moving body to pass over the candidate object, and the road type recognition unit determines whether the moving body is located on the tactile paving block based on the output of the acceleration sensor when the moving body passes over the candidate object.

[0008] (3): In the above-mentioned aspect (1) or (2), the road type recognition unit determines whether the moving body is located on the tactile paving block based on the similarity between the output vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor and a reference vibration pattern stored in advance when the moving body travels on the tactile paving block.

[0009] (4): In the above aspect (3), the tactile paving blocks include linear tactile paving blocks and dotted tactile paving blocks, and the road type recognition unit determines whether the moving object is located on the tactile paving block based on the similarity between the output vibration pattern and each of the reference vibration pattern for the linear tactile paving blocks and the reference vibration pattern for the dotted tactile paving blocks.

[0010] (5): In the above aspect (1) or (2), the road type recognition unit determines whether the moving object is located on the tactile paving block by inputting the output vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor into a trained model that has been trained to output an index value indicating whether the vibration pattern is the vibration pattern when the moving object travels on the tactile paving block when the vibration pattern is input.

[0011] (6): In the above aspect (5), the tactile paving blocks include linear tactile paving blocks and dotted tactile paving blocks, and the road type recognition unit determines whether the moving object is located on the tactile paving block by inputting the output vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor into a trained model that is trained to output an index value indicating whether the vibration pattern is a vibration pattern when the moving object travels on the linear tactile paving blocks or the dotted tactile paving blocks when a vibration pattern is input.

[0012] (7): Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for controlling a moving body, in which a computer controlling a moving body capable of moving both on a roadway and in a predetermined area different from the roadway recognizes, based on the output of an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the moving body, whether the moving body is moving on the roadway or in the predetermined area, and limits the speed of the moving body when moving on the roadway to a first speed and limits the speed of the moving body when moving in the predetermined area to a second speed lower than the first speed, and the recognition includes recognizing that the moving body is moving in the predetermined area when it is determined, based on the output of the acceleration sensor, that the moving body is located on a tactile paving block.

[0013] (8): A storage medium storing a program according to another aspect of the present invention causes a computer that controls a mobile object capable of moving both on the roadway and in a predetermined area different from the roadway to recognize, based on the output of an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the mobile object, whether the mobile object is moving on the roadway or in the predetermined area, and limits the speed of the mobile object when moving on the roadway to a first speed and the speed of the mobile object when moving in the predetermined area to a second speed lower than the first speed. The recognizing step includes recognizing that the mobile object is moving in the predetermined area when it is determined, based on the output of the acceleration sensor, that the mobile object is located on a tactile paving block. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to aspects (1) to (8), the sidewalk can be recognized without using an image of the surroundings of the moving object. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a moving object and a control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of a scene in which the road type recognition unit detects braille blocks. [Figure 4] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a graph of a vibration pattern of acceleration output by an acceleration sensor when a moving object travels on a guide block; FIG. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a graph of a vibration pattern of acceleration output by an acceleration sensor when a moving object travels on a guide block; FIG. [Figure 6] A diagram for explaining how the road type recognition unit detects braille blocks using a trained model. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by a road type recognition unit 120. [Figure 8]10 is a flowchart showing another example of the flow of the process executed by the road type recognition unit 120. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of a mobile body control device, a mobile body control method, and a program of the present invention will be described. A mobile body moves both on roadways and in a predetermined area different from the roadway. A mobile body is sometimes referred to as micromobility. An electric kick scooter is a type of micromobility. A mobile body may be a vehicle that can carry a passenger, or may be an autonomous mobile body that can travel autonomously without a driver. The latter type of autonomous mobile body is used, for example, to transport luggage, etc. An example of a predetermined area is a sidewalk. Furthermore, a predetermined area may be part or all of a sidewalk, bicycle lane, public open space, etc., or may include all of a sidewalk, sidewalk, bicycle lane, public open space, etc. In the following description, the predetermined area is assumed to be a sidewalk. In the following description, the term "sidewalk" can be appropriately replaced with "predetermined area."

[0017] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a mobile object 1 and a control device 100 according to an embodiment. The mobile object 1 is equipped with, for example, an external environment detection device 10, a mobile object sensor 12, an operator 14, an internal camera 16, a positioning device 18, an acceleration sensor 20, a mode selector switch 22, a dial switch 24, a movement mechanism 30, a drive unit 40, an external notification device 50, a storage device 70, and a control device 100. Note that some of these components that are not essential for realizing the functions of the present invention may be omitted.

[0018] The external environment detection device 10 is a device of various types whose detection range is in the traveling direction of the moving object 1. The external environment detection device 10 includes an external camera, a radar device, a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a sensor fusion device, etc. The external environment detection device 10 outputs information indicating the detection result (images, object positions, etc.) to the control device 100.

[0019] The mobile body sensor 12 includes, for example, a speed sensor, a yaw rate (angular velocity) sensor, a direction sensor, and an operation amount detection sensor attached to the operator 14. The operator 14 includes, for example, an operator for instructing acceleration / deceleration (e.g., an accelerator pedal or a brake pedal), and an operator for instructing steering (e.g., a steering wheel). In this case, the mobile body sensor 12 may include an accelerator opening sensor, a brake depression amount sensor, a steering torque sensor, etc. The mobile body 1 may also be provided with an operator 14 of a type other than those described above (e.g., a non-annular rotary operator, a joystick, a button, etc.).

[0020] Internal camera 16 captures an image of at least the head of an occupant of vehicle 1 from the front. Internal camera 16 is a digital camera that uses an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). Internal camera 16 outputs the captured image to control device 100.

[0021] The positioning device 18 is a device that measures the position of the mobile object 1. The positioning device 18 is, for example, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, and identifies the position of the mobile object 1 based on signals received from GNSS satellites and outputs the position information. Note that the position information of the mobile object 1 may be estimated from the position of a Wi-Fi base station to which a communication device (described later) is connected.

[0022] The acceleration sensor 20 detects the acceleration of the moving body 1 and outputs a signal corresponding to the detected acceleration to the control device 100. The acceleration sensor 20 detects acceleration acting on the moving body 1 in the horizontal direction as well as in the vertical direction (height direction).

[0023] The mode selector switch 22 is a switch operated by the occupant. The mode selector switch 22 may be a mechanical switch or a GUI (Graphical User Interface) switch set on a touch panel. The mode selector switch 22 accepts an operation to switch the driving mode between, for example, Mode A: an assist mode in which one of steering operation and acceleration / deceleration control is performed by the occupant and the other is performed automatically; Mode A-1: ​​in which steering operation is performed by the occupant and acceleration / deceleration control is performed automatically; Mode A-2: in which acceleration / deceleration operation is performed by the occupant and steering control is performed automatically; Mode B: a manual driving mode in which steering operation and acceleration / deceleration operation are performed by the occupant; and Mode C: an automatic driving mode in which operation control and acceleration / deceleration control are performed automatically.

[0024] The locomotion mechanism 30 is a mechanism for moving the mobile object 1 on a road. The locomotion mechanism 30 is, for example, a group of wheels including steering wheels and drive wheels. The locomotion mechanism 30 may also be legs for multi-legged walking.

[0025] The drive unit 40 outputs force to the movement mechanism 30 to move the moving body 1. For example, the drive unit 40 includes a motor that drives the drive wheels, a battery that stores power to be supplied to the motor, a steering device that adjusts the steering angle of the steering wheels, etc. The drive unit 40 may also include an internal combustion engine or a fuel cell as a driving force output means or a power generation means. The drive unit 40 may also include a brake device that utilizes frictional force or air resistance.

[0026] The external notification device 50 is, for example, a lamp, a display device, a speaker, or the like, provided on an outer panel of the mobile object 1, and configured to notify information to the outside of the mobile object 1. The external notification device 50 operates differently depending on whether the mobile object 1 is traveling on a sidewalk or a roadway. For example, the external notification device 50 is controlled to emit a lamp when the mobile object 1 is traveling on a sidewalk and not emit a lamp when the mobile object 1 is traveling on a roadway. The light color of this lamp is preferably a color specified by law. The external notification device 50 may be controlled to emit a green lamp when the mobile object 1 is traveling on a sidewalk and emit a blue lamp when the mobile object 1 is traveling on a roadway. If the external notification device 50 is a display device, the external notification device 50 displays a message in text or graphics indicating that the mobile object 1 is traveling on a sidewalk when the mobile object 1 is traveling on a sidewalk.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the moving body 1 as seen from above. In the figure, FW denotes steering wheels, RW denotes drive wheels, SD denotes a steering device, MT denotes a motor, and BT denotes a battery. The steering device SD, motor MT, and battery BT are included in a drive device 40. AP denotes an accelerator pedal, BP denotes a brake pedal, WH denotes a steering wheel, SP denotes a speaker, and MC denotes a microphone. The moving body 1 shown in the figure is a single-seater moving body, and an occupant P is seated in the driver's seat DS and wearing a seat belt SB. Arrow D1 indicates the direction of travel (velocity vector) of the moving body 1. The external environment detection device 10 is located near the front end of the moving body 1, the internal camera 16 is located in a position where it can capture an image of the occupant P's head from in front of the occupant P, and the mode selector switch 22 is located in the boss portion of the steering wheel WH. An external notification device 50 serving as a display device is also located near the front end of the moving body 1.

[0028] 1, the storage device 70 is a non-transitory storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory, or random access memory (RAM). The storage device 70 stores map information 72, a program 74 executed by the control device 100, and the like. In the figure, the storage device 70 is illustrated outside the frame of the control device 100, but the storage device 70 may be included in the control device 100.

[0029] [Control device] The control device 100 includes, for example, a road type recognition unit 120, an object recognition unit 130, and a control unit 140. For example, the control device 100 is realized by a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software) 74. 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 the storage device 70 in advance, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the storage device 70 by inserting the storage medium into a drive device.

[0030] The road type recognition unit 120 recognizes whether the moving object 1 is moving on a roadway or a sidewalk. For example, the road type recognition unit 120 recognizes whether the moving object 1 is moving on a roadway or a sidewalk by analyzing an image captured by an external camera of the external environment detection device 10. The road type recognition unit 120 further determines whether the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block based on the output of the acceleration sensor 20, and if it is determined that the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block, it recognizes that the moving object 1 is moving on a sidewalk. A specific method for determining whether the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block will be described later.

[0031] The object recognition unit 130 recognizes objects present around the mobile object 1 based on the output of the external environment detection device 10. The objects include some or all of the following obstacles: moving objects such as vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians; road boundary structures such as road markings, steps, guardrails, road shoulders, and median strips; road structures such as road signs and billboards; and objects lying (fallen) on the road. The object recognition unit 130 acquires information such as the presence, position, and type of other moving objects by inputting images captured by an external camera of the external environment detection device 10 into a trained model that is trained to output information such as the presence, position, and type of an object when an image captured by the external camera is input. The type of other moving objects can also be estimated based on the size in the image or the intensity of reflected waves received by the radar device of the external environment detection device 10. The object recognition unit 130 also acquires the speed of other moving objects detected by the radar device using, for example, Doppler shift.

[0032] The control unit 140 controls the drive unit 40 according to the set driving mode, for example. The moving object 1 may execute only some of the driving modes described below, but in all cases, the control unit 140 sets different speed limits for when the moving object 1 moves on a roadway and when it moves on a sidewalk. In this case, the mode selector switch 22 may be omitted.

[0033] In mode A-1, the control unit 140 references road type information based on the output of the road type recognition unit 120 and lane and object information based on the output of the object recognition unit 130, and controls the motor MT of the drive unit 40 so that when the moving body 1 travels on a roadway, the distance to an object ahead of the moving body 1 is maintained at a certain level or more, and when the distance to the object ahead of the moving body 1 is sufficiently long, the moving body 1 travels at a first speed V1 (for example, a speed of at least 10 km / h and less than several tens of km / h). When the moving body 1 travels on a sidewalk, the control unit 140 controls the motor MT of the drive unit 40 so that the distance to an object ahead of the moving body 1 is maintained at a certain level or more, and when the distance to the object ahead of the moving body 1 is sufficiently long, the moving body 1 travels at a second speed V2 (for example, a speed of less than 10 km / h). This function is similar to the adaptive cruise control (ACC) function of a vehicle in which the first speed V1 or the second speed V2 is set as a set speed, and technology used in ACC can be utilized. In mode A-1, the control unit 140 controls the steering device SD to change the steering angle of the steered wheels based on the amount of operation of the operator 14, such as a steering wheel. This function is similar to that of a power steering device, and the technology used in power steering devices can be used. Note that, instead of electronically controlling steering, the mobile object 1 may have a steering device in which the operator 14 and a steering mechanism are mechanically connected.

[0034] In mode A-2, the control unit 140 references road type information based on the output of the road type recognition unit 120 and path and object information based on the output of the object recognition unit 130, generates a target trajectory that allows the moving object 1 to avoid objects on the path, and controls the steering device SD of the drive unit 40 so that the moving object 1 moves along the target trajectory. Regarding acceleration and deceleration, the control unit 140 controls the motor MT of the drive unit 40 based on the speed of the moving object 1 and the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal or brake pedal. When the moving object 1 is moving on a roadway, the control unit 140 controls the motor MT of the drive unit 40 with a first speed V1 as the upper limit speed (in mode A-2, this means that the moving object 1 will not accelerate even if a further acceleration command is received once the upper limit speed has been reached), and controls the drive unit 40 with a second speed V2 as the upper limit speed when the moving object 1 is moving on a sidewalk.

[0035] In mode B, the control unit 140 controls the motor MT of the drive unit 40 based on the speed of the moving object 1 and the operation amount of the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal. Based on road type information obtained from the output of the road type recognition unit 120, the control unit 140 controls the motor MT of the drive unit 40 with a first speed V1 as the upper limit speed when the moving object 1 is moving on a roadway (in mode B, this means that the moving object 1 will not accelerate even if a further acceleration command is given once the upper limit speed has been reached), and controls the motor MT of the drive unit 40 with a second speed V2 as the upper limit speed when the moving object 1 is moving on a sidewalk. Steering is the same as in mode A-1.

[0036] In mode C, the control unit 140 references road type information based on the output of the road type recognition unit 120 and path and object information based on the output of the object recognition unit 130, generates a target trajectory that allows the moving body 1 to avoid objects on the path, and controls the drive unit 40 so that the moving body 1 moves along the target trajectory. Even in mode C, the control unit 140 controls the drive unit 40 with a first speed V1 as the upper limit speed when the moving body 1 is moving on a roadway, and controls the drive unit 40 with a second speed V2 as the upper limit speed when the moving body 1 is moving on a sidewalk.

[0037] [Braille block detection] As described above, when the road type output by the road type recognition unit 120 is a sidewalk, the control unit 140 reduces the moving speed of the moving object 1 compared to when the road type is a roadway. That is, to enable the moving object 1 to travel on both roadways and sidewalks, the road type recognition unit 120 is required to accurately recognize the road type. Therefore, as described above, the road type recognition unit 120 recognizes whether the moving object 1 is traveling on a roadway or a sidewalk by analyzing images captured by an external camera of the external environment detection device 10, but image analysis is not always highly accurate. In this embodiment, the road type is recognized by detecting tactile paving blocks installed on the sidewalk without relying on images captured by an external camera.

[0038] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a situation in which the road type recognition unit 120 detects tactile paving blocks. The tactile paving blocks include, for example, guide blocks 202 (an example of "linear tactile paving blocks") and warning blocks 203 (an example of "dot-like tactile paving blocks"). The guide blocks 202 have multiple linear protrusions. These protrusions are provided on the surface of the blocks, and the longitudinal direction of the protrusions indicates the direction in which a specific pedestrian will move. The warning blocks 203 have multiple dot-like protrusions. These protrusions are provided on the surface of the blocks. The multiple dot-like protrusions alert or warn a specific pedestrian. For example, the warning blocks 203 are installed in front of stairs, in front of a crosswalk, at a junction where guide blocks 202 intersect, in front of a guide board, in front of an obstacle, at the edge of a station platform, etc. FIG. 3 illustrates, as an example, a warning block 203 installed in front of a crosswalk.

[0039] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a graph of the vibration pattern of acceleration output by the acceleration sensor 20 when the moving object 1 travels on the guide block 202. In the graph of FIG. 4, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents acceleration. The road type recognition unit 120 calculates, for example, the similarity between the vibration pattern of acceleration output by the acceleration sensor 20 (in other words, time-series data of the output values ​​of the acceleration sensor 20) and a pre-stored reference vibration pattern when the moving object 1 travels on the guide block 202. If the calculated similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold, the road type recognition unit 120 determines that the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block (in this case, "located" includes both cases where the moving object 1 is stopped on a tactile paving block and where the moving object 1 has passed over a tactile paving block), and recognizes the road type as a sidewalk. In this case, the similarity of the waveforms may be calculated by any method. For example, the similarity may be calculated as the reciprocal of the integrated value of the Euclidean distance (with respect to the sampling data) between the output vibration pattern and the reference vibration pattern. Furthermore, for example, a plurality of reference vibration patterns may be prepared for each angle at which the moving object 1 is expected to enter the guide block 202.

[0040] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a graph of the vibration pattern of acceleration output by the acceleration sensor 20 when the moving object 1 passes over the warning block 203. In the graph of FIG. 5, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents acceleration. As in the case of the guide block 202, the road type recognition unit 120 calculates, for example, the similarity between the vibration pattern of acceleration output by the acceleration sensor 20 and a pre-stored reference vibration pattern when the moving object 1 passes over the warning block 203. If the calculated similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold, the road type recognition unit 120 determines that the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block and recognizes the road type as a sidewalk. Generally, unlike the guide block 202, which is arranged with thick linear protrusions, the warning block 203 is arranged with fine dot-like protrusions. Therefore, as an example, the vibration pattern shown in FIG. 5 is described as having a smaller amplitude and a higher frequency than the vibration pattern shown in FIG. 4, but the waveform of the reference vibration pattern is not limited to such a shape.

[0041] 4 and 5, the road type recognition unit 120 detects braille blocks and recognizes the road type by comparing the vibration pattern of acceleration output by the acceleration sensor 20 with a reference vibration pattern prepared in advance on a rule basis. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the road type recognition unit 120 may detect braille blocks using a trained model that has been trained to output an index value indicating whether or not a vibration pattern is a vibration pattern occurring when the mobile object 1 travels on braille blocks when a vibration pattern is input.

[0042] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method in which the road type recognition unit 120 detects tactile paving blocks using a trained model. For example, the manager of the mobile object 1 collects data on vibration patterns when the mobile object 1 enters tactile paving blocks (guidance blocks 202 and / or warning blocks 203) in advance as training data, and generates a trained model by training an arbitrary machine learning model on the training data. FIG. 6 shows, as an example, a trained model that, when a vibration pattern is input, outputs a probability value (an example of an "index value") that the vibration pattern is a vibration pattern when the mobile object 1 travels on a tactile paving block. If the probability value output by the trained model is equal to or greater than a threshold, the road type recognition unit 120 determines that the mobile object 1 is located on a tactile paving block and recognizes the road type as a sidewalk. Note that trained models may be generated separately for the guidance blocks 202 and the warning blocks 203.

[0043] 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the road type recognition unit 120. First, the road type recognition unit 120 receives output values ​​of the acceleration sensor 20 in time series and measures a vibration pattern (step S100). Next, the road type recognition unit 120 calculates a similarity by comparing the measured vibration pattern with a reference vibration pattern of a braille block stored in advance (step S102).

[0044] Next, the road type recognition unit 120 determines whether the calculated similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold (step S104). If it is determined that the calculated similarity is not equal to or greater than the threshold, the road type recognition unit 120 returns the process to step S100. On the other hand, if it is determined that the calculated similarity is equal to or greater than the threshold, the road type recognition unit 120 determines that the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block, and recognizes that the road type is a sidewalk (step S106). This ends the process of this flowchart.

[0045] 8 is a flowchart showing another example of the flow of processing executed by the road type recognition unit 120. First, the road type recognition unit 120 receives output values ​​of the acceleration sensor 20 in time series and measures a vibration pattern (step S200). Next, the road type recognition unit 120 inputs the measured vibration pattern into the trained model described above, thereby obtaining an index value indicating whether or not the vibration pattern is a vibration pattern when the mobile object 1 travels on a tactile paving block (step S202).

[0046] Next, the road type recognition unit 120 determines whether the output index value is equal to or greater than a threshold value (step S204). If it is determined that the calculated index value is not equal to or greater than the threshold value, the road type recognition unit 120 returns the process to step S200. On the other hand, if it is determined that the calculated similarity is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the road type recognition unit 120 determines that the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block, and recognizes that the road type is a sidewalk (step S206). This ends the process of this flowchart.

[0047] According to the processing of the flowchart described above, the road type recognition unit 120 can recognize the road type by detecting the tactile paving blocks installed on the sidewalk without relying on images captured by an external camera. The processing of the flowcharts described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 may be combined. For example, the road type recognition unit 120 may execute the determination processing in step S104 and the determination processing in step S204 together, and determine that the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block if positive results are obtained in both the determination processing in step S104 and the determination processing in step S204. Alternatively, the road type recognition unit 120 may determine that the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block if positive results are obtained in at least one of the determination processing in step S104 and the determination processing in step S204.

[0048] Furthermore, the road type recognition unit 120 may recognize the road type by utilizing the output from the object recognition unit 130 (the external camera of the external environment detection device 10). More specifically, when the object recognition unit 130 recognizes a tactile paving block, the road type recognition unit 120 sets the recognized tactile paving block as a candidate object for the tactile paving block. Next, the road type recognition unit 120 outputs a command value to the control unit 140 to cause the moving object 1 to pass over (or come into contact with) the candidate object. The road type recognition unit 120 measures the vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor 20 when the moving object 1 passes over the candidate object, and determines whether the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block by comparing it with a reference vibration pattern or inputting it into a trained model, as described above. This makes it possible to determine whether the road type is a sidewalk by utilizing an image captured by the external camera.

[0049] According to the present embodiment described above, it is determined whether or not the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block based on the vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor 20, and if it is determined that the moving object 1 is located on a tactile paving block, it is possible to recognize that the road type of the road on which the moving object 1 is located is a sidewalk. This makes it possible to recognize a sidewalk without using an image of the moving object's surroundings.

[0050] The above-described embodiment can be expressed as follows. a storage medium for storing computer-readable instructions; a processor connected to the storage medium; The processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: Based on the output of an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the moving object, it is recognized whether the moving object is moving on a roadway or in the predetermined area; The recognizing step includes recognizing that the moving object is moving in the predetermined area when it is determined that the moving object is located on a tactile paving block based on an output of the acceleration sensor. Control device for a moving object.

[0051] 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]

[0052] 10. External sensing devices 12 Mobile Sensor 14 Controls 16 Internal Camera 18 Positioning equipment 20 Acceleration sensor 22 Mode switch 30 Moving mechanism 40 Drive unit 50 External alarm device 70 Storage device 100 control device 120 Road type recognition unit 130 Object recognition section 140 Control Unit

Claims

1. A control device for a mobile body that can move on both a roadway and a predetermined area different from the roadway, a road type recognition unit that determines whether the moving object is located on a tactile paving block based on an output from an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the moving object, and recognizes that the moving object is moving in the predetermined area when it is determined that the moving object is located on a tactile paving block; the road type recognition unit determines whether the moving object is located on the tactile paving block based on a similarity between an output vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor and a pre-stored reference vibration pattern when the moving object travels on the tactile paving block; The braille blocks include linear braille blocks, The reference vibration pattern is provided for each approach angle to the linear braille block, Control device for a moving object.

2. A control device for a mobile body that can move on both a roadway and a predetermined area different from the roadway, a road type recognition unit that determines whether the moving object is located on a tactile paving block based on an output from an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the moving object, and recognizes that the moving object is moving in the predetermined area when it is determined that the moving object is located on a tactile paving block; The road type recognition unit further includes a control unit that, when recognizing a candidate object of the Braille block based on the output of an external environment detection device that detects the external situation of the moving body, causes the moving body to pass over the candidate object, the road type recognition unit determines whether the moving object is located on the braille block based on an output of the acceleration sensor when the moving object passes over the candidate object. Control device for a moving object.

3. The braille blocks include linear braille blocks and dotted braille blocks, the road type recognition unit determines whether the moving object is located on the tactile paving block based on a similarity between the output vibration pattern and each of a reference vibration pattern for the linear tactile paving block and a reference vibration pattern for the dotted tactile paving block; The control device for a moving body according to claim 1 .

4. A control device for a mobile body that can move on both a roadway and a predetermined area different from the roadway, a road type recognition unit that determines whether the moving object is located on a tactile paving block based on an output from an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the moving object, and recognizes that the moving object is moving in the predetermined area when it is determined that the moving object is located on a tactile paving block; The road type recognition unit determines whether the moving object is located on the tactile paving block by inputting the output vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor into a trained model that has been trained to output an index value indicating whether the vibration pattern is a vibration pattern when the moving object travels on the tactile paving block, when a vibration pattern is input. Control device for a moving object.

5. The braille blocks include linear braille blocks and dotted braille blocks, The road type recognition unit determines whether the moving object is located on the tactile paving block by inputting the output vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor into a trained model that has been trained to output an index value indicating whether the vibration pattern is a vibration pattern when the moving object travels on the linear tactile paving block or the dotted tactile paving block. The control device for a moving body according to claim 4.

6. A computer that controls a mobile object that can move on both a roadway and a predetermined area different from the roadway, Based on the output of an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the moving object, it is determined whether the moving object is located on a braille block, and when it is determined that the moving object is located on a braille block, it is recognized that the moving object is moving in the predetermined area; The recognizing step includes determining whether the moving object is located on the braille block based on a similarity between an output vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor and a pre-stored reference vibration pattern when the moving object travels on the braille block, The braille blocks include linear braille blocks, The reference vibration pattern is provided for each approach angle to the linear braille block, A method for controlling a moving object.

7. A computer that controls a mobile object that can move on both a roadway and a predetermined area different from the roadway, A program that determines whether the moving object is located on a braille block based on an output of an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the moving object, and recognizes that the moving object is moving in the predetermined area when it is determined that the moving object is located on a braille block, The recognizing step includes determining whether the moving object is located on the braille block based on a similarity between an output vibration pattern output by the acceleration sensor and a pre-stored reference vibration pattern when the moving object travels on the braille block, The braille blocks include linear braille blocks, The reference vibration pattern is provided for each approach angle to the linear braille block, A storage medium that stores a program.

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