Vehicle control system and control device

Abstract

To provide a technique for enabling a remote operator to operate a vehicle in the same way as an operation of a driver in the vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle control system for controlling a vehicle based on an operation amount to be input by a remote operator includes one or more processors. In a case where a stop holding function to hold a stop state of the vehicle is actuated, the one or more processors continue an actuation of the stop holding function when an input of an acceleration operation is not received from the remote operator, and cancel the actuation of the stop holding function when an input of an acceleration operation is received from the remote operator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technology for controlling a vehicle that is a target of remote control. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses technology related to a driving control system that controls the driving of a vehicle. A vehicle controlled by the driving control system has three driving modes: an on-board driving mode, a remote driving mode, and an automatic driving mode. The on-board driving mode is a mode in which a driver on board the vehicle drives the vehicle. The remote driving mode is a mode in which a remote driver located outside the vehicle remotely drives the vehicle by operating a remote driving operation device. The automatic driving mode is a mode in which an automatic driving control unit included in the driving control system automatically drives the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-026558 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A technology is known in which a remote operator remotely controls a vehicle. When remotely controlling a vehicle, it is desirable for the remote operator to be able to operate the vehicle in the same manner as when driving as an in-vehicle driver. If the vehicle's behavior in response to operations performed by the remote operator differs from its behavior in response to operations during manual driving, the remote operator may feel uncomfortable. One object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that enables a remote operator to operate a vehicle in the same manner as an in-vehicle driver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A first aspect relates to a vehicle control system that controls a vehicle based on an operation amount input by a remote operator. The vehicle control system includes one or more processors. When a vehicle stop maintenance function that maintains a stopped state of the vehicle is activated, the one or more processors continue to activate the vehicle stop maintenance function unless an accelerator operation is input by the remote operator, and cancels the activation of the vehicle stop maintenance function when an accelerator operation input by the remote operator is received.

[0006] A second aspect relates to a control device mounted on a vehicle having a vehicle stop maintenance function for maintaining a stopped state. The control device includes a processor. The processor receives an operation amount input by a remote operator from a remote cockpit and executes a first process for determining a required acceleration based on the received operation amount. The first process includes setting the required acceleration to 0 or less if there is no accelerator operation input by the remote operator. The operation of the vehicle stop maintenance function is canceled when the required acceleration determined by the first process becomes higher than 0. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the technology disclosed herein, even when the remote operator is remotely controlling the vehicle, the vehicle stop hold function can be released or continued by the same operation as when the remote operator is driving the vehicle manually, thereby reducing the sense of discomfort felt by the remote operator due to the vehicle behaving differently from when the remote operator is driving the vehicle as a driver. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a remote control system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining vehicle control by the vehicle control system. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle control system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle control system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing performed by the vehicle control system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] 1. Overview of the remote operation system and vehicle control system FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a remote control system 1. The remote control system 1 includes a vehicle 2 and a remote control device 3. The vehicle 2 can be remotely controlled by a remote operator. The vehicle 2 can be controlled by automatic driving or manually driven by a driver in the vehicle 2. The remote control device 3 is a device used by the remote operator to remotely control the vehicle, and is provided in a remote cockpit located in a different location from the vehicle 2. The remote cockpit is an operating seat from which the remote operator operates the remote control device 3. A network 4 is a wireless communication network that connects the vehicle 2 and the remote control device 3. The vehicle 2 and the remote control device 3 may be directly connected via the network 4, or may be connected via a management device that manages the vehicle 2.

[0011] The vehicle 2 includes a vehicle control system 21 , an input device 24 , a sensor 25 , an actuator 26 , and a communication device 27 .

[0012] The input device 24 is a device through which the driver of the vehicle 2 inputs operations, and includes an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a steering wheel, etc. The sensor 25 is an on-board sensor, and includes a recognition sensor, a vehicle state sensor, a position sensor, etc. The recognition sensor is a sensor that detects the situation around the vehicle 2, and includes a LIDAR, a camera, a radar, etc. The vehicle state sensor is a sensor that detects the state of the vehicle 2, and includes a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a steering angle sensor, etc. The position sensor is a sensor that detects the position and orientation of the vehicle 2, and includes a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, etc. The communication device 27 communicates with the outside of the vehicle 2. The connection destinations of the communication device 27 include at least the remote control device 3.

[0013] The actuator 26 includes a steering device, a drive device, a braking device, etc. The braking device also includes a vehicle stop maintaining device equipped with a vehicle stop maintaining function. The vehicle stop maintaining function is a function that maintains the vehicle 2 in a stopped state even when the brake pedal is not depressed. The vehicle stop maintaining function is realized, for example, by an electronic parking brake (EPB), automatic brake hold, etc. The vehicle stop maintaining function is activated under predetermined conditions. For example, the EPB is activated when the driver turns on the EPB switch. As another example, the automatic brake hold is activated when the driver depresses the brake and the vehicle 2 is stopped. As yet another example, the EPB may be activated automatically if the automatic brake hold continues for a certain period of time. The activation of such a vehicle stop maintaining function is released when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal.

[0014] The vehicle control system 21 is a system that controls the vehicle 2. For example, the vehicle control system 21 performs automatic driving control. Furthermore, when the vehicle 2 is remotely operated, the vehicle control system 21 controls the vehicle 2 based on an operation amount input by a remote operator. The vehicle control system 21 is connected to an input device 24, a sensor 25, an actuator 26, and a communication device 27 via a predetermined network such as an in-vehicle network. The vehicle control system 21 includes one or more processors 22 (hereinafter simply referred to as the processor 22) and one or more storage devices 23 (hereinafter simply referred to as the storage device 23). Typically, the processor 22 is included in an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted on the vehicle 2. The storage device 23 stores one or more programs including a vehicle control program. The vehicle control program is a program for controlling the vehicle 2 based on various information including an operation amount input by a remote operator. The processor 22 executes one or more programs stored in the storage device 23, thereby realizing control of the vehicle 2, including control by remote operation.

[0015] The remote control device 3 includes a control device 31, an input device 34, an output device 35, and a communication device 37. The input device 34 is a device through which a remote operator inputs operations for remote control. Examples of the input device 34 include a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a turn signal, a touch panel, etc. The output device 35 is a device for outputting information to the remote operator. The remote operator can perform remote control by referring to the information output from the output device 35. Examples of the output device 35 include a monitor, a speaker, etc. The communication device 37 is a device for communicating with the outside of the remote control device 3. The connection destinations of the communication device 37 include at least the vehicle 2.

[0016] The control device 31 is connected to the input device 34, the output device 35, and the communication device 37 via a predetermined network. The control device 31 includes one or more processors 32 (hereinafter simply referred to as processor 32) and one or more storage devices 33 (hereinafter simply referred to as storage devices 33). The storage devices 33 store one or more programs including a remote control program. The remote control program is a program for remotely operating the vehicle 2. The processor 32 executes one or more programs stored in the storage devices 33, thereby causing the remote control device 3 to perform various processes.

[0017] Next, the control of the vehicle 2 by the vehicle control system 21 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0018] In the example of FIG. 2, the vehicle control system 21 includes functional units, an automatic driving control unit 211, a remote operation control unit 212, and a driving control unit 213. Each functional unit of the vehicle control system 21 is realized by the processor 22 executing a program stored in the storage device 23. Note that the functional configuration of the vehicle control system 21 is not limited to the example of FIG. 2. For example, the remote operation control unit 212 may be included in the automatic driving control unit 211. Furthermore, the processor that realizes the multiple functional units included in the vehicle control system 21 may be a single processor 22. Alternatively, each functional unit may be realized by a different processor 22. For example, the vehicle 2 may be equipped with an automatic driving ECU, a remote operation ECU, and a vehicle motion ECU, and each ECU may function individually as the automatic driving control unit 211, the remote operation control unit 212, and the driving control unit 213. In this case, the remote operation control unit 212 may be configured as a standalone device as a remote operation control device. Alternatively, the multiple functional units included in the vehicle control system 21 may be realized by cooperation between multiple processors 22.

[0019] The automatic driving control unit 211 controls the automatic driving of the vehicle 2. The automatic driving control unit 211 calculates a control amount for the vehicle 2 based on information acquired from the sensor 25, and outputs information INF1 including the calculated control amount to the traveling control unit 213. The information INF1 includes a required acceleration of the vehicle 2.

[0020] The remote operation control unit 212 controls the remote operation of the vehicle 2. The remote operation control unit 212 acquires information INF2 from the remote operation device 3 via the network 4, and calculates information necessary for controlling the vehicle 2 based on the acquired information INF2. The information INF2 includes information related to the amount of operation input by the remote operator to the remote operation device 3. For example, the information INF2 includes information such as whether or not the remote operator has input an accelerator operation, whether or not the remote operator has input a brake operation, and the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal. The information calculated by the remote operation control unit 212 includes a required acceleration. Hereinafter, the process performed by the remote operation control unit 212 to determine the required acceleration based on the amount of operation input by the remote operator will be referred to as a "first process." The information calculated by the remote operation control unit 212 is output as information INF3 and input to the driving control unit 213. The information INF3 includes the required acceleration determined by the first process.

[0021] The traveling control unit 213 controls the actuator 26 based on the information INF1 received from the automatic driving control unit 211 or the information INF3 received from the remote operation control unit 212. In this way, the vehicle 2 is controlled.

[0022] When remotely operating the vehicle 2, it is desirable for the remote operator that the actuator 26 operates in the same manner as when driving as a driver in the vehicle 2. Therefore, the relationship between the operation by the remote operator and the behavior of the vehicle 2 will be considered, focusing on the operation of the vehicle stop maintenance device 261 included in the actuator 26, in particular the release of the operation of the vehicle stop maintenance function.

[0023] During manual driving, the amount of operation input by the driver to the input device 24 is sent directly to the actuator 26, and the actuator 26 operates in accordance with the amount of operation input by the driver. As for the vehicle stop maintenance device 261, if the driver presses the accelerator pedal while the vehicle stop maintenance function is activated, the operation of the vehicle stop maintenance function is canceled. If the driver does not operate the accelerator, the vehicle stop maintenance function continues to operate.

[0024] On the other hand, during autonomous driving, the traveling control unit 213 cancels the operation of the vehicle stop maintaining function. Specifically, the traveling control unit 213 cancels the operation of the vehicle stop maintaining function when the requested acceleration included in the information INF1 becomes higher than 0, that is, when it is considered that the autonomous driving control unit 211 is requesting that the vehicle 2 be driven.

[0025] Even when the vehicle 2 is remotely operated, it is the traveling control unit 213 that cancels the operation of the vehicle stop maintenance function. The amount of operation by the remote operator is first transmitted to the remote operation control unit 212, which then determines the required acceleration by a first process. The required acceleration determined by the first process is transmitted to the traveling control unit 213, and the traveling control unit 213 determines whether or not to cancel the operation of the vehicle stop maintenance function based on the transmitted required acceleration.

[0026] When the remote operation control unit 212 determines the required acceleration through the first process, it can use a driving torque map that shows the relationship between the accelerator opening and driving force. By using the driving torque map, the relationship between the accelerator pedal operation amount by the remote operator and the acceleration of the vehicle 2 can be made closer to that during manual driving. However, as shown in FIG. 2, due to the occurrence of a creep phenomenon, the driving torque when the accelerator opening is 0 in the driving torque map becomes higher than 0. Hereinafter, in this specification, the driving torque when the accelerator opening is 0 will be referred to as creep driving force.

[0027] It is assumed that the cruise control unit 213 makes the same determination as during autonomous driving and deactivates the vehicle stop maintenance function when the required acceleration included in the information INF3 becomes higher than 0. It is also assumed that at this time, the remote operation control unit 212 outputs the required acceleration according to the drive torque map as information INF3 as is. In this case, even if the remote operator does not input an accelerator operation when the vehicle stop maintenance function is activated, the cruise control unit 213 will deactivate the vehicle stop maintenance function upon receiving an input of a required acceleration corresponding to the creep drive force. The remote operator may feel uncomfortable because the behavior of the vehicle stop maintenance device 261 is different from when the remote operator is in the vehicle 2 and driving as a driver.

[0028] The vehicle control system 21 according to the present embodiment has been made in consideration of such problems, and makes it possible to make the behavior of the vehicle stop maintaining device 261 during remote operation closer to that during manual driving. Three examples for solving the above-mentioned problems will be described below.

[0029] 2. First Example In the first embodiment, the first process performed by the remote operation control unit 212 includes setting (correcting) the required acceleration to 0 or less when there is no accelerator operation input from the remote operator. The conditions under which the traveling control unit 213 cancels the operation of the vehicle stop maintenance function are set in the same way as during autonomous driving. In other words, the traveling control unit 213 cancels the operation of the vehicle stop maintenance function when the required acceleration determined by the first process, i.e., the required acceleration included in information INF3, becomes higher than 0.

[0030] FIG. 3 (1) shows an example of the configuration of the remote operation control unit 212 in the first embodiment. The remote operation control unit 212 further includes a required acceleration calculation unit 221 and a required acceleration cut determination unit 222 as functional units. The required acceleration calculation unit 221 calculates the required acceleration based on information INF2 using a drive torque map. The calculated required acceleration is input to the required acceleration cut determination unit 222. The required acceleration cut determination unit 222 determines whether to cut the required acceleration input from the required acceleration calculation unit 221 based on whether the vehicle stop maintenance function is activated and whether the remote operator has operated the accelerator. When the vehicle stop maintenance function is activated and the remote operator has not operated the accelerator, the required acceleration cut determination unit 222 cuts the required acceleration. In other words, the required acceleration cut determination unit 222 sets the required acceleration to 0 or less and outputs it as information INF3 instead of the required acceleration calculated by the required acceleration calculation unit 221. When the vehicle stop maintaining function is not in operation or when an accelerator operation is input by a remote operator, the required acceleration cut determination unit 222 does not cut the required acceleration, and outputs the required acceleration received from the required acceleration calculation unit 221 as information INF3 as is.

[0031] FIG. 3 (2) is a time chart showing the relationship between the accelerator operation amount input to the remote operation control unit 212 and the requested acceleration output when the remote operation control unit 212 is configured as in (1). At time T1, a predetermined condition required for the operation of the vehicle stop maintenance function is met, and the vehicle stop maintenance function is activated. Between time T1 and time T2, the vehicle stop maintenance function is activated, and there is no accelerator operation input by the remote operator, so the requested acceleration cut determination unit 222 cuts the requested acceleration. Therefore, the requested acceleration is a value of 0 or less. Because the requested acceleration is 0 or less, the driving control unit 213 continues to operate the vehicle stop maintenance function.

[0032] After time T2, the remote operator inputs an accelerator operation, so the requested acceleration cut determination unit 222 no longer cuts the requested acceleration, and the requested acceleration output from the remote operation control unit 212 becomes higher than 0. Therefore, the traveling control unit 213 cancels the operation of the vehicle stop maintaining function. Note that, as shown in FIG. 3, the requested acceleration cut determination unit 222 may gradually change the requested acceleration to prevent a sudden change in the requested acceleration.

[0033] The configuration of the remote operation control unit 212 is not limited to the example in FIG. 3. For example, the remote operation control unit 212 may include a gain determination unit, a calculation unit, and a selection unit instead of the required acceleration cut determination unit 222. The gain determination unit determines the gain to be 0 when the vehicle stop maintenance function is active and there is no accelerator operation input by the remote operator, and determines the gain to be 1 in other cases. The calculation unit receives as input the required acceleration calculated by the required acceleration calculation unit 221 and the gain determined by the gain determination unit. The calculation unit multiplies the gain by the required acceleration. The selection unit receives as input the required acceleration calculated by the required acceleration calculation unit 221 and the result of calculation by the calculation unit. The selection unit selects the smallest value from the input values ​​and outputs it to the driving control unit 213 as information INF3.

[0034] In this case, if an accelerator operation similar to that in the time chart of (2) in Fig. 3 is input, the gain determined by the gain determiner is 1 from time T0 to time T1 and from time T2 onwards, and is 0 from time T1 to time T2. In other words, the required acceleration to be output is the required acceleration calculated by required acceleration calculation unit 221 from time T0 to time T1 and from time T2 onwards, and is 0 from time T1 to time T2. Note that the gain determiner may output a gain that has been gradually changed at time T2.

[0035] Even in this configuration, the driving control unit 213 continues to operate the stop maintenance function from time T1 to time T2 because the required acceleration is 0, and then cancels the operation of the stop maintenance function when the required acceleration becomes higher than 0 at time T2.

[0036] As described above, it is possible to prevent the vehicle stop maintaining function from being deactivated even when there is no accelerator operation input from the remote operator. Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, there is no need to output additional information other than information INF3 from the remote operation control unit 212 to the traveling control unit 213. In other words, there is no need to change the interface between the remote operation control unit 212 and the traveling control unit 213. This is preferable from a design perspective.

[0037] 3. Second Example In the second embodiment, the remote operation control unit 212 includes a required acceleration calculation unit 221 but does not include a required acceleration cut determination unit 222. The remote operation control unit 212 outputs the required acceleration calculated by the required acceleration calculation unit 221 as information INF3.

[0038] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle control system 21 in the second embodiment. The remote operation control unit 212 outputs an identification signal SIG1 to the traveling control unit 213 together with the required acceleration determined by the first processing. The identification signal SIG1 indicates that the required acceleration has been determined by the remote operation control unit 212 (first processing). The traveling control unit 213 can identify, by the identification signal SIG1, that the received required acceleration is the required acceleration determined by the first processing.

[0039] When the driving control unit 213 receives the required acceleration determined by the first process while the stop maintenance function is operating, the driving control unit 213 determines whether the received required acceleration is higher than a threshold value. The threshold value here is a required acceleration corresponding to a creep driving force. If the required acceleration determined by the first process is equal to or lower than the threshold value, the required acceleration may be due to a creep driving force that is not caused by accelerator operation. Therefore, if the required acceleration determined by the first process is equal to or lower than the threshold value, the driving control unit 213 determines that the remote operator has not operated the accelerator and continues operating the stop maintenance function. On the other hand, if the required acceleration determined by the first process is higher than the threshold value, the driving control unit 213 determines that the remote operator has operated the accelerator and cancels the operation of the stop maintenance function. This method also prevents the stop maintenance function from being canceled even if the remote operator has not operated the accelerator.

[0040] When the traveling control unit 213 does not receive the identification signal SIG1, the traveling control unit 213 does not make a determination regarding the threshold value of the required acceleration. In other words, when the traveling control unit 213 receives the required acceleration from the autonomous driving control unit 211, the traveling control unit 213 cancels the operation of the vehicle stop maintaining function if the required acceleration is higher than 0.

[0041] 4. Third Example FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle control system 21 in a third embodiment. The third embodiment is a modified example of the second embodiment. The remote operation control unit 212 outputs a signal SIG2 to the cruise control unit 213 together with the required acceleration determined by the first processing. In addition to indicating the same information as the above-mentioned identification signal SIG1, the signal SIG2 indicates whether or not the remote operator has operated the accelerator. When the cruise control unit 213 receives the required acceleration determined by the first processing while the vehicle stop maintenance function is activated, it determines whether or not to deactivate the vehicle stop maintenance function based on the signal SIG2.

[0042] When the signal SIG2 indicates that the remote operator has not input an accelerator operation, the cruise control unit 213 continues to operate the vehicle stop maintaining function even if the required acceleration determined by the first processing becomes higher than 0. When the signal SIG2 indicates that the remote operator has input an accelerator operation, the cruise control unit 213 cancels the operation of the vehicle stop maintaining function when the required acceleration determined by the first processing becomes higher than 0. According to the third embodiment, the cruise control unit 213 does not need to perform a process of comparing the required acceleration with a threshold value.

[0043] 5. Flowchart To summarize the three embodiments described above, the flow of processing performed by the vehicle control system 21 can be represented by the flowchart of Fig. 6. The processing shown in Fig. 6 is realized by the processor 22 executing a vehicle control program.

[0044] In step S110, the vehicle control system 21 accepts an input of an operation amount from a remote operator. This process is executed by the remote operation control unit 212. When the input is accepted, the process proceeds to step S120.

[0045] In step S120, the vehicle control system 21 determines whether the vehicle stop maintenance function is operating. If the vehicle stop maintenance function is operating (step S120; Yes), the process proceeds to step S130. If the vehicle stop maintenance function is not operating (step S120: No), the process ends. This determination is made by the traveling control unit 213. The traveling control unit 213 can determine whether the vehicle stop maintenance function is operating by acquiring information from the vehicle stop maintenance device 261.

[0046] In step S130, the vehicle control system 21 determines whether or not there is an accelerator operation input from the remote operator. If there is an accelerator operation input (step S130; Yes), the process proceeds to step S140. If there is no accelerator operation input (step S130; No), the process proceeds to step S150. This determination is made by the remote operation control unit 212 or the traveling control unit 213.

[0047] In step S140, the vehicle control system 21 releases the vehicle stop maintenance function. This process is executed by the traveling control unit 213. When the vehicle stop maintenance function is released, the process ends.

[0048] In step S150, the vehicle control system 21 continues the vehicle stop maintenance function. That is, the processing ends without the traveling control unit 213 releasing the vehicle stop maintenance function.

[0049] The above processing prevents the vehicle stop maintenance function from being deactivated even when the remote operator does not operate the accelerator pedal when the vehicle stop maintenance function is activated. This reduces the sense of discomfort felt by the remote operator due to the behavior of vehicle 2 being different from when the remote operator is driving vehicle 2 as a driver. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1...Remote operation system 2...Vehicle 3...Remote operation device 4...Network 21...Vehicle control system 22...Processor 23...Storage device 24...Input device 25...Sensor 26...Actuator 27...Communication device 31...Control device 32...Processor 33...Storage device 34...Input device 35...Output device 37...Communication device 211...Automatic driving control unit 212...Remote operation control unit 213...Travel control unit 221...Requested acceleration calculation unit 222...Requested acceleration cut determination unit 261...Vehicle stop maintenance device

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle control system that controls a vehicle based on an operation amount input by a remote operator, one or more processors that execute a first process of determining a required acceleration based on the operation amount input by the remote operator; When a vehicle stop maintaining function for maintaining a stopped state of the vehicle is activated, the one or more processors When the required acceleration determined by the first process is equal to or less than a threshold value, the operation of the vehicle stop maintaining function is continued; When the required acceleration determined by the first process becomes higher than the threshold value, the operation of the vehicle stop maintaining function is cancelled. It was configured as Vehicle control system.

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