Vehicle information display device

Abstract

To provide an information presentation device capable of presenting whether a road on which a vehicle will travel is suitable for platooning or not to a vehicle occupant.SOLUTION: A processor 162 of an ECU 160 includes: an acquisition unit 162a that acquires a scheduled route of a vehicle; a platoon running determination unit 162b that determines whether or not the scheduled route includes a road with multiple lanes on one side that is suitable for platooning where one vehicle follows another vehicle; and an information presentation unit 162e that, when the scheduled route includes a road suitable for platooning, presents the information to the occupant.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information presentation device for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in a vehicle driving control device that calculates a target inter-vehicle distance to follow a preceding vehicle and performs acceleration / deceleration control, it is known to correct the target inter-vehicle distance if the target inter-vehicle distance is inappropriate (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-141285 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a vehicle follows another vehicle while traveling in a platoon, the vehicle's air resistance is reduced, which is effective in reducing energy consumption. However, on roads with few lanes, such as roads with one lane in each direction, it is difficult to find other vehicles suitable for platooning, and even if one vehicle does find one, it is difficult to follow it unless it is traveling immediately behind the other vehicle.

[0005] As described above, in order to drive in a convoy, it is preferable to drive on a road with multiple lanes in each direction. However, for example, before starting to drive, the user may not be aware of whether the road they are about to drive on is suitable for convoy driving, and so there is a possibility that they will not be able to drive in a convoy properly even when it is actually possible.

[0006] In view of the above problems, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an information presentation device for a vehicle that can inform the vehicle occupants whether the road on which the vehicle is about to travel is suitable for platooning. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The gist of the present disclosure is as follows.

[0008] (1) an acquisition unit that acquires a planned driving route of a vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether the planned driving route includes a road with multiple lanes in each direction that is suitable for platooning, in which the host vehicle follows other vehicles; a notification unit that notifies a vehicle occupant that the planned travel route includes the road suitable for the platooning; An information presentation device for a vehicle comprising: [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, an information presentation device for a vehicle is provided that can present to a vehicle occupant whether or not the road on which the vehicle is about to travel is suitable for platooning. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which platooning is performed while vehicles are being driven by a platooning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle control system mounted on a vehicle in the platooning system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing functional blocks of a processor 162 of an ECU provided in a vehicle. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing processing performed by a processor of the ECU. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, several embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, these descriptions are intended to merely exemplify preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention to such specific embodiments. In the following description, similar components will be designated by the same reference numerals.

[0012] 1 is a schematic diagram showing how platooning is performed while vehicles are being driven using a platooning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 1, vehicles 100 and 102 are traveling on a two-lane road 200, and when vehicle 100 discovers vehicle 102 traveling in the lane to the left of the lane in which vehicle 100 is traveling, vehicle 100 changes lanes and follows vehicle 102 to travel in platoon.

[0013] Vehicle 100 travels following vehicle 102, thereby reducing the air resistance when vehicle 100 travels. This reduces the amount of energy consumed (fuel consumption or power consumption) when vehicle 100 travels, improving fuel economy or power efficiency, and thereby increasing the cruising range of vehicle 100.

[0014] In order to further reduce air resistance during travel, it is more preferable for vehicle 100 to follow a relatively large vehicle (e.g., a large bus). When vehicle 100 travels on road 200 with multiple lanes in each direction, as shown in FIG. 1, vehicle 100 can freely change lanes from the lane in which it is traveling to another lane. Therefore, if a vehicle suitable for reducing the air resistance of vehicle 100 is traveling, vehicle 100 can improve fuel economy (or electricity consumption) by following that vehicle. Furthermore, when platooning is taking place on road 200 with multiple lanes in each direction, vehicles not participating in platooning can let the platooning vehicles precede or overtake the platooning vehicles depending on the difference between the platooning vehicle speed and the vehicle's own speed. For this reason, road 200 with multiple lanes in each direction is particularly suitable for platooning.

[0015] 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle control system mounted on a vehicle 100 in a platooning system according to this embodiment. The vehicle 100 is a manually driven vehicle or an autonomously driven vehicle capable of autonomous driving. The vehicle control system includes an on-board camera 105, a positioning information receiver 110, a vehicle control device 120, a wireless terminal 130, one or more sensors 140, a navigation device 150, an electronic control unit (ECU) 160, a display device 170, and a speaker 180. The on-board camera 105, the positioning information receiver 110, the vehicle control device 120, the wireless terminal 130, the one or more sensors 140, the navigation device 150, the ECU 160, the display device 170, and the speaker 180 are each connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via an in-vehicle network that complies with standards such as a Controller Area Network (CAN) or Ethernet (registered trademark).

[0016] The vehicle-mounted camera 105 includes a two-dimensional detector configured with an array of photoelectric conversion elements, such as a CCD or C-MOS, that are sensitive to visible light, and an imaging optical system that forms an image of the area to be photographed on the two-dimensional detector. The vehicle-mounted camera 105 is installed inside the vehicle, such as on the dashboard, near the windshield, side window, or rear window, and photographs the surroundings of the vehicle 100 (e.g., in front, to the side, or behind the vehicle) at a predetermined photographing interval (e.g., 1 / 30 to 1 / 10 seconds) to generate an image representing the surroundings of the vehicle 100. The images obtained by the vehicle-mounted camera 105 are preferably color images. The vehicle-mounted camera 105 may also be configured as a stereo camera and may be configured to acquire the distance to each structure in the image from the parallax between left and right images. Each time the vehicle-mounted camera 105 generates an image, it outputs the generated image to the ECU 160 via the in-vehicle network.

[0017] The positioning information receiver 110 acquires positioning information that indicates the current position and attitude of the vehicle 100. For example, the positioning information receiver 110 may be a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. Every time the positioning information receiver 110 receives positioning information, the positioning information receiver 110 outputs the acquired positioning information to the ECU 160 via the in-vehicle network.

[0018] Vehicle control device 120 is a variety of devices related to vehicle control, and includes engine 120a and motor 120b as drive sources for driving vehicle 100, and battery 120c for storing power. Vehicle control device 120 also includes a steering device and a braking device. Note that FIG. 1 illustrates the case where vehicle 100 is a PHV; if vehicle 100 is an EV, vehicle control device 120 does not include engine 120a. If the vehicle is an engine vehicle, vehicle control device 120 does not need to include motor 120b.

[0019] The wireless terminal 130 performs communication using a wireless communication network such as 4G or 5G. In particular, in this embodiment, the wireless terminal 130 performs communication between vehicles through vehicle-to-vehicle communication. For example, DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) is used for the vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The wireless terminal 130 transmits and receives information to and from the following vehicle 102 through the vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Note that the vehicle-to-vehicle communication may be performed via an external server. The wireless terminal may also obtain traffic congestion information from the external server.

[0020] The one or more sensors 140 include sensors for monitoring the surroundings of the vehicle 100, such as a Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor, a Radar sensor, and the like.

[0021] The navigation device 150 determines a planned route from the current location of the vehicle 100 to the destination using a predetermined route search method such as the Dijkstra algorithm. For this purpose, the navigation device 150 includes a memory for storing map information. The map information may be stored in the memory 164 of the ECU 160.

[0022] The ECU 160 includes a processor 162, a memory 164, and a communication interface 166. The processor 162 includes one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) and their peripheral circuits. The processor 162 may further include other arithmetic circuits such as a logic operation unit, a numerical operation unit, or a graphics processing unit. The processor 162 provides functions that meet a predetermined purpose by executing a computer program that is executablely deployed in a working area of ​​the memory 164. The memory 164 includes, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory and a non-volatile semiconductor memory. Various types of information are stored in the memory 164. The communication interface 166 includes an interface circuit for connecting the ECU 160 to an in-vehicle network.

[0023] The display device 170 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD), and is provided near the meter panel or dashboard to display various information. The speaker 180 outputs various information by voice.

[0024] 3 is a schematic diagram showing functional blocks of the processor 162 of the ECU 160 provided in the vehicle 100. The processor 162 has an acquisition unit 162a, a platooning determination unit 162b, an improvement rate calculation unit 162c, a recommended vehicle determination unit 162d, and an information presentation unit 162e. Each of these units in the processor 162 is a functional module realized by, for example, a computer program running on the processor 162. In other words, each of these units in the processor 162 is configured by the processor 162 and a program (software) for causing the processor 162 to function. The program may be recorded in the memory 164 of the ECU 160 or on a recording medium connected from outside. Alternatively, each of these units in the processor 162 may be a dedicated arithmetic circuit provided in the processor 162.

[0025] The acquisition unit 162a of the processor 162 acquires a planned driving route of the vehicle 100 to the travel destination determined by the navigation device 150. When the vehicle 100 is traveling on a highway, the acquisition unit 162a may acquire a section to the next interchange as the planned driving route, regardless of the planned driving route determined by the navigation device 150.

[0026] The platooning determination unit 162b of the processor 162 determines whether the planned driving route includes a road with multiple lanes in each direction that is suitable for platooning, in which the vehicle follows other vehicles. More specifically, the platooning determination unit 162b determines whether the planned driving route includes a road with multiple lanes in each direction that is suitable for platooning, based on the planned driving route and map information. The platooning determination unit 162b may determine that a road with multiple lanes in each direction (e.g., an expressway) within the planned driving route is suitable for platooning, if the road is travelable at a relatively high speed (e.g., 60 km / h or higher).

[0027] The improvement rate calculation unit 162c of the processor 162 calculates the improvement rate of energy consumption when the vehicles 100 travel in a convoy on a road that is suitable for convoy driving and that is included in the planned travel route, compared to when the vehicles 100 do not travel in a convoy on that road. The improvement rate calculation unit 162c calculates the extent to which fuel (or electricity) efficiency will improve when the vehicles 100 travel in a convoy on a road that is suitable for convoy driving, based on the length of the road, the speed limit, etc.

[0028] Below, we will explain a method by which the improvement rate calculation unit 162c calculates how much fuel efficiency (or electricity efficiency) will improve when platooning on a road suitable for platooning, based on the length of the road, the speed limit, the size of the preceding vehicle, the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle when platooning, etc.

[0029] Here, we will explain the calculation of the improvement in power consumption [kWh] by platooning when the vehicles are electric vehicles (EVs). First, the section distance D [km] of a road with multiple lanes in each direction that is suitable for platooning is obtained.

[0030] Next, when the vehicle 100 does not travel in a convoy for this section distance D [km], that is, when the vehicle 100 travels alone, the power consumption P A [kWh] is estimated. As a premise for the estimation, it is assumed that the vehicle 100 travels the section distance D [km] at a vehicle speed V [km / h]. The vehicle speed V may be a fixed value such as 80 km / h, or may be the speed limit set for the section distance D [km]. The power consumption P when the vehicle 100 travels alone A The estimated value is calculated using the following formula (1) by multiplying the power consumption A [kW] when the vehicle 100 is traveling alone without following another vehicle by the section distance D and the time T (=D / V) that the vehicle 100 travels at the vehicle speed V. The power consumption A [kW] when the vehicle 100 is traveling alone is calculated by applying the vehicle speed V to a map that defines the relationship between the power consumption A [kW] and the vehicle speed V. P A =A×T=A×(D / V) (1)

[0031] Next, when the vehicle 100 travels in a convoy over this section distance D [km], that is, when the vehicle 100 travels following other vehicles, the power consumption P B The estimation is based on the assumption that the vehicle 100 travels over a distance D [km] at a speed V [km / h], and that the following vehicle (preceding vehicle) is a large vehicle with a distance E [m] between the vehicle 100 and the preceding vehicle. B The estimated value is calculated using the following formula (2) by multiplying the power consumption B [kW] when vehicle 100 travels in a convoy following another vehicle by the time T (=D / V) that vehicle 100 travels at vehicle speed V over the section distance D. The power consumption B [kW] when vehicle 100 travels in a convoy is calculated by applying vehicle speed V and inter-vehicle distance E to a map that defines the relationship between power consumption B [kW], vehicle speed V, and inter-vehicle distance E [m]. This map may be defined according to the size of the other vehicle (large vehicle, medium-sized vehicle, small vehicle). P B =B×T=B×(D / V) (2)

[0032] In this way, the power consumption P A and power consumption P B Once the estimated value of is obtained, the improvement rate calculation unit 162c calculates the power consumption amount P A and power consumption P B The difference D is calculated as the improvement in energy consumption. D = (AB)D / V (3)

[0033] In the above explanation, the vehicle 100 is an electric vehicle, but if the vehicle 100 is a hybrid (HEV) vehicle or a gasoline vehicle, a similar calculation is performed using the power consumption A, B [kW] as the fuel consumption [L / h].

[0034] In addition, the improvement rate calculation unit 162c may calculate the SOC improvement rate by calculating the SOC of the battery 120c when the vehicle 100 is traveling in a convoy and when it is not traveling in a convoy, based on the amount of power consumed when the vehicle 100 is traveling in a convoy and when it is not traveling in a convoy.

[0035] When the vehicle 100 is traveling on a road suitable for platooning, the recommended vehicle determination unit 162d of the processor 162 determines a recommended vehicle that the vehicle 100 should follow, based on an image generated by the on-board camera 105. In this case, the recommended vehicle determination unit 162d recognizes vehicles traveling around the vehicle 100 from the image generated by the on-board camera 105, for example, by template matching between a template image depicting various vehicles and the image generated by the on-board camera 105, or by inputting the image generated by the on-board camera 105 into a classifier that has been machine-learned for vehicle detection.

[0036] The recommended vehicle determination unit 162d may use, as the classifier, a segmentation classifier that is pre-trained to output, for each pixel of an input image, the likelihood that the pixel represents an object for each type of object that may be represented at that pixel, and to identify the object with the highest likelihood as the object represented. The recommended vehicle determination unit 162d may use, as such a classifier, a deep neural network (DNN) having a convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture for segmentation, such as a fully convolutional network (FCN). Alternatively, the recommended vehicle determination unit 162d may use a segmentation classifier based on other machine learning techniques, such as a random forest or a support vector machine. In this case, the recommended vehicle determination unit 162d inputs an image into the segmentation classifier to identify pixels in the image that contain a given object. The recommended vehicle determination unit 162d then determines a group of pixels containing the same type of object as the region in which the object is represented.

[0037] When the recommended vehicle determination unit 162d recognizes vehicles traveling around the vehicle 100, it determines that the vehicle with the largest projected area from the direction of travel is the recommended vehicle that the vehicle 100 should follow, since the larger the projected area of ​​the preceding vehicle from the direction of travel, the smaller the air resistance of the vehicle itself.

[0038] When the planned driving route includes a road suitable for platooning, the information presenting unit 162e of the processor 162 presents this information to an occupant (such as the driver) of the vehicle 100. When the improvement rate (amount of improvement) calculated by the improvement rate calculation unit 162c is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the information presenting unit 162e may present to the occupant of the vehicle 100 that the planned driving route includes a road suitable for platooning. Furthermore, the information presenting unit 162e may present to the occupant the improvement rate calculated by the improvement rate calculation unit 162c.

[0039] The information presentation by the information presentation unit 162e may be performed after the driver gets into the vehicle 100 and inputs the destination into the navigation device 150, but before the vehicle 100 starts traveling. If a road suitable for platooning is congested, the information presentation unit 162e may not present information.

[0040] Furthermore, the information presentation unit 162e presents information about the recommended vehicle determined by the recommended vehicle determination unit 162d to the occupants of the vehicle 100 while the vehicle 100 is traveling. Note that the information about the recommended vehicle may include the model of the recommended vehicle, the position of the recommended vehicle relative to the vehicle 100 (the positional relationship of the traveling lane, the positional relationship in the traveling direction), and the like.

[0041] More specifically, the information presenter 162e performs processing for displaying the information on the display device 170 or processing for outputting the information as sound from the speaker 180.

[0042] The driver of vehicle 100 who has received the presented information can recognize in advance that the planned driving route includes a road suitable for platooning, and can configure vehicle 100 for platooning before vehicle 100 reaches a road suitable for platooning. For example, the driver of vehicle 100 can configure vehicle 100 in advance to perform platooning when vehicle 100 reaches a road suitable for platooning. In particular, by recognizing before vehicle 100 starts traveling that the planned driving route includes a road suitable for platooning, the driver of vehicle 100 can configure vehicle 100 for platooning before vehicle 100 starts traveling.

[0043] If vehicle 100 is an autonomous vehicle, when the planned route includes a road suitable for platooning, processor 162 of ECU 160 may control vehicle control device 120 to have a preceding vehicle follow vehicle 100 and drive in platoon when vehicle 100 reaches a road suitable for platooning.

[0044] Furthermore, by recognizing in advance that the planned route includes roads suitable for platooning, the driver of vehicle 100 can drive vehicle 100 to follow the preceding vehicle and drive in platoon when the driver reaches a road suitable for platooning.

[0045] Furthermore, the driver of the vehicle 100 can make the recommended vehicle follow the vehicle 100 based on the information about the recommended vehicle. If the vehicle 100 is an autonomous vehicle, the processor 162 of the ECU 160 may make the recommended vehicle follow the vehicle 100 by controlling the vehicle control device 120 based on the information about the recommended vehicle.

[0046] Furthermore, based on the improvement rate, the driver of vehicle 100 can choose to drive in a convoy on a road suitable for convoy driving if the improvement rate is large, or not drive in a convoy on a road suitable for convoy driving if the improvement rate is small.

[0047] 4 is a flowchart showing the processing performed by the processor 162 of the ECU 160. First, the acquisition unit 162a acquires the planned driving route of the vehicle 100 to the destination determined by the navigation device 150 (step S10). Next, the convoy driving determination unit 162b determines whether the planned driving route includes a road suitable for convoy driving (step S12). If it is determined in step S12 that a road suitable for convoy driving is included, the improvement rate calculation unit 162c calculates the improvement rate of energy consumption when the vehicle drives in convoy driving (step S14). Next, the information presentation unit 162e presents to the occupant information such as the fact that the planned driving route includes a road suitable for convoy driving and the improvement rate of energy consumption (step S16). Note that if it is determined in step S12 that the planned driving route does not include a road suitable for convoy driving, the processing ends. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 100,102 vehicles 105 In-vehicle camera 110 Positioning information receiver 120 Vehicle control equipment 120a engine 120b motor 120c battery 130 Wireless Terminal 140 sensors 150 Navigation equipment 160 Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 162 processors 162a Acquisition Department 162b Platooning Judgment Unit 162c Improvement rate calculation part 162d Recommended Vehicle Judgment Section 162e Information presentation section 164 memory 166 Communication Interface 170 Display device 180 speakers 200 road

Claims

[Claim 1] an acquisition unit that acquires a planned driving route of the vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether the planned travel route includes a road that is suitable for platooning in which the vehicle follows other vehicles and that can be traveled at a predetermined speed or higher and has multiple lanes in each direction; a recommended vehicle determination unit that determines a recommended vehicle that the vehicle should follow based on an image generated by an in-vehicle camera while the vehicle is traveling on the road suitable for platooning; a presentation unit that, when the planned travel route includes the road suitable for the convoy travel, presents this to a vehicle occupant and presents information about the recommended vehicle determined by the recommended vehicle determination unit to the vehicle occupant; An information presentation device for a vehicle comprising:

Images