Vehicle control device and vehicle control method

Abstract

To provide a vehicle control device with a function that can appropriately set driving procedures to resume driving after a self vehicle executes an evacuation action.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device includes: an area candidate determination unit 12 for determining a passable area 601, which is a passable area for a self vehicle 2 and an oncoming vehicle 600 around the self vehicle, on a road where there is an area where the self vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 600 cannot pass; an action plan determination unit 13 for determining an action plan indicating a sequence of action steps 602 and 605 for the self vehicle 2; a trajectory generation unit 14 for generating a traveling trajectory of the self vehicle 2 in the passable area; an action plan updating unit 15 capable of updating the action plan based on the position of the oncoming vehicle 600 in the passable area 601 and the traveling trajectory of the self vehicle generated by the trajectory generation unit 14; and a traveling control unit 16 that performs traveling control of the self vehicle 2 according to the action plan.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method, and more particularly to a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method suitable for automatic driving. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, there has been a demand for technology that enables cooperative driving on narrow roads in order to realize comfortable and safe driving assistance and autonomous driving for vehicles. In particular, when encountering an oncoming vehicle on a narrow road, technology has been proposed that enables cooperative passing with the oncoming vehicle by utilizing spaces where it can wait.

[0003] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-151177 (Patent Document 1) discloses a vehicle control device that includes a map generation unit that generates map data around the vehicle and updates the map data as the vehicle moves, and a waiting space detection unit that detects waiting spaces where the vehicle can wait based on the map data and generates waiting space information that is information about the detected waiting space and is used to set a waiting route for the vehicle to wait in order to pass an oncoming vehicle.

[0004] In addition, Patent Publication No. 2019-53646 (Patent Document 2) discloses a vehicle control device that includes a recognition unit that recognizes the road environment including other vehicles present around the host vehicle and waiting spaces around the host vehicle, a passing vehicle determination unit that determines whether or not there is a specific other vehicle that will pass the host vehicle on a one-lane road among the other vehicles recognized by the recognition unit, and a waiting necessity determination unit that determines whether or not the specific other vehicle determined to exist by the passing vehicle determination unit needs to move to a waiting space for the host vehicle or the specific other vehicle based on the road environment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-151177 [Patent Document 2] JP 2019-53646 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, the vehicle control device described in Patent Document 1 searches for a wide waiting space to allow the vehicle to pass an oncoming vehicle on a narrow road environment, and uses that space to take turns driving with the oncoming vehicle to allow the vehicle to pass. Furthermore, the vehicle control device described in Patent Document 2 determines the driving behavior of whether the vehicle or the oncoming vehicle should wait based on the traveling speed of the oncoming vehicle and its relative position to the vehicle.

[0007] However, the vehicle control devices in Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not describe a specific method for determining a driving action plan and updating a driving procedure for resuming driving after the host vehicle has performed an evacuation action. Therefore, there is a need for an appropriate method for updating a driving procedure for resuming driving after the host vehicle has performed an evacuation action.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device and a vehicle control method that are capable of appropriately setting a driving procedure for resuming driving after the host vehicle has performed an evacuation maneuver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention provides an area candidate determination unit that determines a passable area that is an area that can be passed by the host vehicle and the moving object around the host vehicle, on a road where an area that cannot be passed by the host vehicle and the moving object around the host vehicle exists; a behavior plan determination unit that determines a behavior plan indicating a sequence of behavior steps of the host vehicle; a trajectory generation unit that generates a travel trajectory of the host vehicle in the passable area; a behavior plan update unit that updates the behavior plan based on the position of the moving object within the passable area and the traveling trajectory of the host vehicle generated by the trajectory generation unit; and a driving control unit that controls the driving of the vehicle according to the action plan. It is characterized by:

[0010] The present invention also provides A vehicle control device that sets a driving behavior when a host vehicle travels on a narrow road where the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle cannot travel in opposite directions at the same time, The vehicle control device includes at least an area candidate determination unit that determines a passable area that exists on a narrow road and is an area where the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle can pass each other and pass through; a behavior plan determination unit that sets a driving behavior of the host vehicle and determines a behavior plan consisting of a plurality of behavior steps in which an execution order of the driving behavior is set; a travel trajectory generation unit that generates a travel trajectory of the host vehicle from the host vehicle to the passable area and beyond the passable area; a behavior plan update unit that updates the behavior steps up to the passable area to behavior steps beyond the passable area when a first condition that an oncoming vehicle is present in the passable area and a second condition that a traveling trajectory of the host vehicle beyond the passable area can be generated are satisfied by the execution of the behavior steps; and a driving control unit that executes driving behavior of the vehicle in accordance with the updated action steps. It is characterized by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device having a function for appropriately setting a driving procedure for restarting driving after the host vehicle has performed an evacuation maneuver. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle system to which the present invention is applied; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between control functions of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3a]FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a cooperative action plan of an action plan data group. [Figure 3b] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a host vehicle behavior plan of a behavior plan data group. [Figure 4a] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example (one location) of a region candidate data group. [Figure 4b] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example (two locations) of a region candidate data group. [Figure 5] 3 is a flowchart illustrating the processing content of the action plan update unit shown in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 6a] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the first half of the behavior plan update process by the behavior plan update unit in a first operation example (general situation). [Figure 6b] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the latter half of the behavior plan update process by the behavior plan update unit in the first operation example (general scene). [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a behavior plan update process by the behavior plan update unit in a second operation example (unexpected situation). [Figure 8a] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the behavior plan update process of the behavior plan update unit in a first scene in which the behavior plan is not updated. [Figure 8b] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the behavior plan update process of the behavior plan update unit in a first scene in which the behavior plan is not updated. [Figure 9a] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the behavior plan update processing of the behavior plan update unit in a first scene in which a plurality of passable area candidates exist. [Figure 9b] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the latter half of the behavior plan update process of the behavior plan update unit in a second scene in which a plurality of passable area candidates exist. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and various modifications and application examples within the technical concept of the present invention are also included within its scope.

[0014] [Overall system configuration] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle system 1 including a vehicle control device 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] The vehicle system 1 is installed in the vehicle 2, and has the function of checking the status of the road around the vehicle 2, obstacles such as surrounding vehicles, and then providing appropriate driving assistance and driving control.

[0016] 1, the vehicle system 1 includes a vehicle control device 3, an external sensor group 4, a vehicle sensor group 5, a map information management device 6, an actuator group 7, an HMI device group 8, and an external communication device 9. The vehicle control device 3, the external sensor group 4, the vehicle sensor group 5, the map information management device 6, the actuator group 7, the HMI device group 8, and the external communication device 9 are connected to each other via an in-vehicle network N.

[0017] The external sensor group 4, the vehicle sensor group 5, the map information management device 6, the actuator group 7, the HMI device group 8, and the external communication device 9 will be described in detail later. In the following, the vehicle 2 may be referred to as the "host vehicle" to distinguish it from other vehicles.

[0018] The vehicle control device 3 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) mounted on the vehicle 2, and generates driving control information for driving assistance or automatic driving of the vehicle 2 based on various input information provided from an external sensor group 4, a vehicle sensor group 5, a map information management device 6, an external communication device 9, etc., and outputs the information to an actuator group 7 and an HMI device group 8. The vehicle control device 3 has a processing unit 10, a storage unit 30, and a communication unit 40.

[0019] The processing unit 10 includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), which is a central processing unit. However, in addition to the CPU, the processing unit 10 may also include a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like, or may be configured with only one of them.

[0020] The processing unit 10 has, as control functions, an information acquisition unit 11, a region candidate determination unit 12, an action plan determination unit 13, a trajectory determination unit 14, an action plan update unit 15, a travel control unit 16, and an information output unit 17. The processing unit 10 can realize these functions by executing a predetermined control program stored in the memory unit 30.

[0021] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires various pieces of information from other devices connected to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N, and stores the information in the storage unit 30.

[0022] For example, information related to the behavior of the vehicle 2, such as the movement and state, detected by the vehicle sensor group 5, etc., is acquired and stored in the storage unit 30 as a vehicle information data group 31. In addition, information related to the road environment on which the vehicle 2 is traveling is acquired from the map information management device 6, the external communication device 9, etc., and stored in the storage unit 30 as a road environment data group 32. In addition, information related to obstacles around the vehicle 2 detected by the external sensor group 4 and the detection area of ​​the external sensor group 4 is acquired and stored in the storage unit 30 as a sensor recognition data group 33.

[0023] The area candidate determination unit 12 determines a passable area (corresponding to a waiting space) in which the vehicle and a moving object (e.g., another vehicle, hereinafter specifically referred to as an oncoming vehicle) can travel together in opposite directions and pass through on a road where an area where passing is not possible exists, based on the sensor recognition data group 33 acquired by the information acquisition unit 11. Note that the moving object is not limited to another vehicle, and various moving objects exist. For example, a bicycle, a cart, etc.

[0024] A passable area is, for example, a road area that is wide enough for at least one vehicle and an oncoming vehicle to pass each other. Note that, since there may be multiple passable areas on an impassable road, the area candidate determination unit 12 can identify multiple passable areas.

[0025] Furthermore, if the high-precision map information of the surrounding environment managed by the map information management device 6 includes evacuation information such as passable areas, the information on the passable areas may be obtained by referring to the high-precision map information.

[0026] Furthermore, for example, even on a narrow road where there are no oncoming vehicles, a passable area may be searched for and stored in advance in anticipation of detecting an oncoming vehicle in the future. Then, when an oncoming vehicle to be passed appears in the future, the information on the passable area stored in advance may be referenced to identify it as a candidate passable area. In this way, the calculation time can be shortened. The information on the passable area determined by the area candidate determination unit 12 is stored in the storage unit 30 as an area candidate data group 34.

[0027] The action plan determination unit 13 calculates the vehicle information data group 31, the road environment data group 32, the sensor recognition data group 33, and the area candidate data group determined by the area candidate determination unit 12, all of which are acquired by the information acquisition unit 11. 34 Based on each of the above, an oncoming vehicle that is a target of cooperative action around the vehicle is determined, and a travel behavior plan for executing cooperative travel behavior with the oncoming vehicle is determined.

[0028] For example, when a vehicle faces an oncoming vehicle on a narrow road and needs to pass each other, the oncoming vehicle is determined as a target vehicle for cooperative driving behavior, and the position of the vehicle itself, the position of the oncoming vehicle, and a group of area candidate data are stored. 34The cooperative driving behavior is planned based on the positional relationship of each of the passable areas included in the target vehicle. The driving behavior plan may also be determined by referring to a database in which several patterns of positional relationships between the target vehicle, oncoming vehicles, and passable areas are determined in advance. In this way, the "driving behavior plan" represents the driving behavior of how the target vehicle should be driven, taking into account the driving of the target vehicle and oncoming vehicles.

[0029] Here, a driving behavior plan is composed of a combination of multiple consecutive "action steps." These action steps represent the driving behavior of the vehicle to a predetermined location or to a location where a predetermined event occurs. Therefore, the entire driving behavior plan can be executed by updating and executing these action steps in order.

[0030] By specifying an action step, a control program associated with the action step is executed, and driving control is performed so that the vehicle travels along a pre-calculated driving trajectory.

[0031] Furthermore, the travel behavior plan preferably includes the planned travel behavior of the host vehicle and the predicted travel behavior of the oncoming vehicle. This will be explained with reference to FIG. 3. Then, the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle each execute their respective planned travel behaviors for each action step, thereby making it possible to resolve events that cause difficult travel situations, such as passing each other on narrow roads. Note that this embodiment relates to a travel behavior plan for the host vehicle, and therefore the following explanation will be centered on the host vehicle.

[0032] Here, it is particularly necessary for the host vehicle to execute the action steps of the travel action plan in order and update the action steps. As an update condition for this action step, an action step termination condition indicating the achievement of the action step currently being executed can be set. For example, a specific location or specific area that the host vehicle needs to reach in order to achieve the action step can be set. In this embodiment, the action steps are updated by determining this termination condition. In addition, the termination condition for each action step of the oncoming vehicle's travel action plan may be predicted and set.

[0033] In addition, the region candidate data group 34 When multiple passable areas are stored in the behavior plan determination unit 13, a single target passable area can be determined based on the position of the vehicle itself, the position of an oncoming vehicle, and the positions of the multiple passable areas, and a traveling behavior plan can be created. The traveling behavior plan created by the behavior plan determination unit 13 is stored in the storage unit 30 as a behavior plan data group 35.

[0034] The trajectory determination unit 14 generates a driving trajectory for realizing the vehicle's driving behavior plan based on the vehicle information data group 31 acquired by the information acquisition unit 11, the sensor recognition data group 33, the area candidate data group 34 determined by the area candidate determination unit 12, and the behavior plan data group 35 determined by the behavior plan determination unit 13.

[0035] The driving trajectory is a driving trajectory planned so as not to collide with obstacles, based on, for example, moving object information included in the sensor recognition data group 33 and surrounding obstacle information expressed by OGM, etc. For example, a trajectory to a destination or the like that achieves the termination condition of each action step included in the driving action plan of the vehicle may be generated. Therefore, by connecting the driving trajectories of each action step, it is possible to make the vehicle travel along the driving trajectory and perform autonomous driving.

[0036] Here, the trajectory determination unit 14 always generates a travel trajectory for each action step of the travel action plan of the host vehicle. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, if the travel action plan of the host vehicle is composed of two action steps, the trajectory determination unit 14 generates a travel trajectory from the current position of the host vehicle to satisfy the end condition of the first action step, and a travel trajectory from the current position of the host vehicle to satisfy the end condition of the second action step.

[0037] This is because, when an action step being executed is updated midway, a running trajectory corresponding to the updated action step is selected and the running trajectory is made to follow. The trajectory information generated by the trajectory determination unit 14 is stored in the storage unit 30 as a trajectory data set 36.

[0038] The behavior plan update unit 15 determines whether or not the currently executing behavior step in the vehicle's driving behavior plan should be updated to another next behavior step based on the sensor recognition information data group 33 acquired by the information acquisition unit 11, the area candidate data group 34 determined by the area candidate determination unit 12, the behavior plan data group 35 determined by the behavior plan determination unit 13, and the trajectory data group 36 generated by the trajectory determination unit 14, and if it is determined that an update should be made, updates to the next behavior step.

[0039] In this embodiment, the determination as to whether or not to update is made based on the positional relationship information between the position of the oncoming vehicle and the position of the passable area, and the establishment of the travel trajectory information of the next action step of the host vehicle. (1) There is an oncoming vehicle within the passable area, and (2) The vehicle's driving trajectory corresponding to other action steps other than the currently executed action step is generated correctly (without colliding with oncoming vehicles or other obstacles). If the above condition is met, it is determined that the travel action plan should be updated so that the action steps corresponding to the generable travel trajectory are executed.

[0040] As described above, this update decision does not depend on the action steps planned by the oncoming vehicle, and therefore the following explanation will be directed to the action plan of the vehicle itself. However, if the driving intention of the oncoming vehicle can be predicted with high accuracy, for example, if the action steps of the oncoming vehicle are acquired through vehicle-to-vehicle communication, the predicted information can be used to determine whether or not to update the driving action plan.

[0041] Furthermore, the travel behavior plan can be updated not only based on the currently executed travel behavior plan of the vehicle, but also based on the respective positional relationships between oncoming vehicles, the vehicle, and the passable area, and can change only the target passable area of ​​the behavior step without changing the travel behavior plan of the vehicle.

[0042] If it is determined that the action plan should be updated, the action step currently being executed by the host vehicle is updated to the new action step. The action plan information updated by the action plan update unit 15 is stored in the storage unit 30 as the action plan data group 35, overwriting the existing action plan data group 35.

[0043] The cruise control planning unit 16 determines control command values ​​for the actuator group 7 to control the cruise of the host vehicle so as to follow the cruise trajectory, based on the action plan data group 35 planned by the action plan determination unit 13 and updated by the action plan update unit 15, and the trajectory data group 36 generated by the trajectory determination unit 14. Information on the planned trajectory determined by the cruise control planning unit 16 and the control command values ​​for the actuator group 7 is stored in the memory unit 30 as a cruise control data group 37.

[0044] The information output unit 17 outputs various information to other devices connected to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N. For example, the information output unit 17 outputs a control command value included in the driving control data group 37 to the actuator group 7 to control the driving of the host vehicle.

[0045] Furthermore, for example, the planned trajectory included in the sensor recognition data group 33, the action plan data group 35, and the trajectory data group 36 are output to the HMI device group 8 and presented to the occupants of the vehicle. This allows the occupants of the vehicle to be presented with how the vehicle system 1 interprets the surrounding driving environment (display of the sensor recognition data group 33) and what kind of driving it is planning (display of the action plan and trajectory in the action plan data group 35 and the trajectory data group 36) while the vehicle is being driven autonomously.

[0046] The storage unit 30 includes, for example, storage devices such as a hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory, and read-only memory (ROM), as well as memories such as random access memory (RAM). The storage unit 30 stores programs to be processed by the processing unit 10, data sets necessary for the processing, and the like. The storage unit 30 is also used as a main memory when the processing unit 10 executes a program, temporarily storing data necessary for the program's calculations.

[0047] In this embodiment, the information for realizing the functions of the vehicle control device 3 includes a vehicle information data group 31, a road environment data group 32, a sensor recognition data group 33, a region candidate data group 34, an action plan data group 35, a trajectory data group 36, and a driving control data group 37, which are stored in the memory unit 30.

[0048] The vehicle information data group 31 is a collection of data relating to the behavior of the vehicle itself detected by the vehicle sensor group 5, etc. The data relating to the behavior of the vehicle itself is information that indicates the movement, state, etc. of the vehicle itself, and includes, for example, information such as the position of the vehicle itself, traveling speed, steering angle, accelerator operation amount, brake operation amount, and traveling route.

[0049] The road environment data group 32 is a collection of data relating to the road environment around the vehicle. The data relating to the road environment is information relating to the roads around the vehicle, including the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0050] This includes, for example, information on the shape and attributes (travel direction, speed limit, driving regulations, etc.) of lanes that make up roads around the vehicle, traffic signal information, traffic information on the traffic conditions (average speed, etc.) of each road and lane, statistical knowledge information based on past cases, etc. Static information such as the shape and attributes of roads and lanes is included in map information acquired from, for example, the map information management device 6.

[0051] On the other hand, semi-dynamic or dynamic information such as traffic signal information, traffic information, and statistical knowledge information is acquired via the external communication device 9. The statistical knowledge information includes, for example, information on geographical locations and time periods where accident cases are frequent, and information on the types of those accidents.

[0052] The sensor recognition data group 33 is a collection of data related to detection information or detection status by the external sensor group 4. The detection information is, for example, information related to environmental elements such as obstacles, road markings, signs, and traffic lights around the vehicle 2 that are identified by the external sensor group 4 based on the sensing information, or the sensing information itself around the vehicle by the external sensor group 4 (point cloud information from LiDAR or RADAR, camera images, parallax images from stereo cameras, etc.). The detection status is information indicating the area detected by the sensor and its accuracy, and includes, for example, a grid map such as OGM.

[0053] The area candidate data group 34 is a collection of area candidates that are passable by the vehicle and moving objects on impassable roads, as determined by the area candidate determination unit 12. The area candidates may include, for example, spaces where the vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, or both vehicles can take shelter. The area candidates may be determined based on, for example, the characteristics of the surrounding environment detected by the external sensor group 4, or may be directly acquired from high-precision map information if it is included therein.

[0054] In order to maintain consistency between the characteristics of the surrounding environment, which are relative information, and the map information, which are geographic coordinates, the information may be stored, for example, in a relative coordinate system relative to the vehicle itself, or in an absolute coordinate system such as geographic coordinates.

[0055] For example, when passable area candidates are stored in advance and the passable area is determined by inheriting past driving experience information, such as an experience value map, it is desirable to store the passable area in a geographic coordinate system. The area characteristics include at least the area identifier, position information, depth width, width width, and inclination information. The area characteristics may further include information such as an upper height limit and a corresponding lane identifier.

[0056] The action plan data group 35 is action plan information including a driving action plan of the host vehicle determined by the action plan determination unit 13. The action plan information is, for example, action steps to be executed and the order in which they should be executed in order to resolve the occurrence of a difficult driving situation, such as when the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle are currently passing each other.

[0057] The driving behavior plan of the vehicle refers to the behavior steps included in the driving behavior plan that apply only to the vehicle itself. As described above, the behavior steps refer to the driving behavior of the vehicle to be executed in order, which are included in the driving behavior plan, the behavior plan of the vehicle itself, etc. Specific contents of the data related to the behavior plan data will be described in FIG. 3.

[0058] The trajectory data group 36 is a collection of data related to travel trajectory information for controlling the travel of the host vehicle, determined by the trajectory determination unit 14. The trajectory data group includes multiple pieces of trajectory information, with travel trajectories generated for each action step of the travel behavior plan of the host vehicle.

[0059] The driving control data group 37 is a data group determined by the trajectory determination unit 14 and used to follow the driving trajectory for the action step currently being executed in the driving action plan of the vehicle, and includes control command values ​​to be output to the actuators 7 of the vehicle. This information in the driving control data group 37 is generated and stored by the driving control unit 16.

[0060] The communication unit 40 has a function of communicating with other devices connected via the in-vehicle network N. When the information acquisition unit 11 acquires various pieces of information from other devices via the in-vehicle network N, or when the information output unit 17 outputs various pieces of information to other devices via the in-vehicle network N, the communication function of the communication unit 40 is used.

[0061] The communication unit 40 includes a network card conforming to a communication standard such as IEEE802.3 or CAN (Controller Area Network), etc. The communication unit 40 transmits and receives data between the vehicle control device 3 and other devices in the vehicle system 1 based on various protocols.

[0062] In this embodiment, the communication unit 40 and the processing unit 10 are described separately, but part of the processing of the communication unit 40 may be executed within the processing unit 10. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which the equivalent of a hardware device in the communication processing exists in the communication unit 40, and other device drivers, communication protocol processing, etc. exist within the processing unit 10.

[0063] The external sensor group 4 is a collection of devices that detect the conditions around the vehicle. Examples of the external sensor group 4 include a camera device, millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR, sonar, etc. The external sensor group 4 detects environmental elements such as visible obstacles, road markings, signs, and traffic lights within a predetermined range from the vehicle, and outputs the detection results to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N.

[0064] "Obvious obstacles" include, for example, other vehicles other than the vehicle itself, pedestrians, objects fallen on the road, road edges, etc. "Road markings" include, for example, white lines, pedestrian crossings, stop lines, etc. Furthermore, the external sensor group 4 outputs information about the detection state to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N based on its own sensing range and state.

[0065] The vehicle sensor group 5 is a collection of devices that detect various conditions of the vehicle itself. Each vehicle sensor detects, for example, the position information, traveling speed, steering angle, accelerator operation amount, brake operation amount, etc. of the vehicle 2, and outputs the information to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N.

[0066] The map information management device 6 is a device that manages and provides digital map information about the surroundings of the vehicle. The map information management device 6 is configured, for example, by a navigation device or the like. The map information management device 6 is provided with digital road map data of a predetermined area including the surroundings of the vehicle, and is configured to identify the current position of the vehicle on a map, i.e., the road and lane on which the vehicle is traveling, based on the vehicle position information output from the vehicle sensor group 5. The map information management device 6 also outputs the identified current position of the vehicle and map data about the surroundings to the vehicle control device 3 via the in-vehicle network N.

[0067] The actuator group 7 is a group of devices that control control elements such as steering, braking, and accelerator that determine the movement of the host vehicle. The actuator group 7 controls the movement of control elements such as steering, braking, and accelerator based on operation information of the steering wheel, brake pedal, accelerator pedal, etc. by the driver and control command values ​​output from the vehicle control device 3, thereby controlling the behavior of the host vehicle and performing autonomous driving.

[0068] The HMI device group 8 is a group of devices for inputting information from the driver and passengers to the vehicle system 1 and notifying the driver and passengers of information from the vehicle system 1. The HMI device group 8 includes a display, a speaker, a vibrator, a switch, etc.

[0069] The external communication device 9 is a communication module that performs wireless communication with the outside of the vehicle system 1. The external communication device 9 is configured to be able to communicate with, for example, a center system (not shown) that provides and distributes services to the vehicle system 1 and the Internet.

[0070] [Explanation of vehicle system operation] Next, the operation of the vehicle system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0071] Based on information acquired from the external sensor group 4, etc., the vehicle control device 3 determines the vehicle's driving behavior plan, as well as the passable area and driving trajectory for determining whether to update the behavior steps, and updates the vehicle's current behavior steps as necessary based on the results of the update determination.

[0072] Then, using the travel trajectory for executing the currently executed action step, a control command value for controlling the travel of the host vehicle is generated and output to the actuator group 7. The actuator group 7 controls each actuator of the host vehicle in accordance with the control command value output by the vehicle control device 3. In this way, travel control of the host vehicle is realized.

[0073] Furthermore, when controlling the driving of the vehicle, the vehicle control device 3 generates HMI information as information to be notified to the driver and passengers, and outputs it to the HMI device group 8. This makes it possible to present the state of the vehicle system 1 during automatic driving to the driver and passengers.

[0074] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the correlation between functions realized by the vehicle control device 3. The vehicle control device 3 is configured so that, for example, the processes of the information acquisition unit 11, area candidate determination unit 12, action plan determination unit 13, trajectory determination unit 14, action plan update unit 15, travel control unit 16, and information output unit 17 shown in Fig. 1 are executed in the order shown in Fig. 2. A series of processes is executed periodically by time interruption, for example, every 100 ms.

[0075] The information acquisition unit 11 acquires necessary information from other devices via the in-vehicle network N and stores it in the storage unit 30. Specifically, it acquires information of a vehicle information data group 31 from the vehicle sensor group 5, information of a road environment data group 32 from the map information management device 6 and the external communication device 9, and information of a sensor recognition data group 33 from the external sensor group 4, stores this information in the storage unit 30, and passes it on to the area candidate determination unit 12 at the subsequent stage.

[0076] The area candidate determination unit 12 identifies candidates for passable areas in narrow roads around the vehicle based on information from the sensor recognition data group 33 and the road environment data group 32, stores them in the memory unit 30, and further passes the information on the passable areas to the action plan determination unit 15.

[0077] The action plan determination unit 13 includes a vehicle information data group 31, a road environment data group 32, a sensor recognition data group 33, and a region candidate data group. 34 Based on each piece of information, a process is performed to generate a driving behavior plan to resolve the current difficult driving situation, such as passing each other, and the plan is stored in the memory unit 30, and then passed to the trajectory determination unit 14 together with the area candidate data group 34.

[0078] The trajectory determination unit 14 performs processing to generate trajectories for multiple action steps that make up the vehicle's driving action plan based on the vehicle information data group 31, the sensor recognition data group 33, the area candidate data group 34, and the action plan data group 35, stores the trajectories in the memory unit 30, and then passes them on to the action plan update unit 15 together with the area candidate data group 34 and the action plan data group 35.

[0079] The behavior plan update unit 15 performs a determination process to determine whether or not the behavior plan of the vehicle should be updated based on each of the information of the sensor recognition information data group 33, the area candidate data group 34, the behavior plan data group 35, and the trajectory data group 36, and updates the behavior plan data group 35 already stored in the memory unit 30.

[0080] This update involves canceling the currently executing action step and executing the next action step instead. At this time, the trajectory data for the currently executing action step included in the action plan of the vehicle is passed to the driving control unit.

[0081] The driving control unit 16 generates control command values ​​and the like for tracking the driving trajectory of the vehicle based on the vehicle information data group 31, the road environment data group 32, the sensor recognition data group 33, and the trajectory data group 36. Then, the driving control unit 16 performs processing to generate driving control data group 37 from the generated driving trajectory of the vehicle and the control command values, stores the data in the memory unit 30, and further transfers the driving control data group 37 to the information output unit 17.

[0082] The information output unit 17 outputs a control command value to the actuator group 7 based on the driving control data group 37. In addition, based on each of the information in the sensor recognition data group 33, the area candidate data group 34, the action plan data group 35, the trajectory data group 36, and the driving control data group 37, the information output unit 17 outputs presentation information to the HMI device group 8 to present information such as the driving environment around the vehicle, the driving action plan being executed, and the driving trajectory to the occupants of the vehicle.

[0083] [Explanation of the action plan data set] Next, an example of the behavior plan data group 34 will be described. Fig. 3a shows an example of the behavior plan data group 34, called a traveling behavior plan, which includes information about the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle. Note that this traveling behavior plan also includes the traveling behavior plan of the oncoming vehicle, and is therefore a cooperative traveling behavior plan for the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle. Fig. 3b shows an example of a traveling behavior plan for the host vehicle, which is part of the cooperative behavior plan shown in Fig. 3a.

[0084] The overall driving behavior plan shown in Figure 3a includes the driving behavior of the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle, but the processing of this embodiment (especially the update processing of the behavior plan update unit 15) does not depend on the driving behavior plan for the oncoming vehicle, so below we will explain the case where the driving behavior plan of the host vehicle (host vehicle behavior plan) shown in Figure 3b is used.

[0085] In the behavior plan data group 34 in Figure 3a, each row represents one behavior step. As described above, an behavior step is a driving behavior performed by the vehicle itself or an oncoming vehicle, and the entire driving behavior plan is composed of a combination of these behavior steps. By performing all the behavior steps in order, it is possible to eliminate difficult driving situations such as passing each other.

[0086] These action steps and the order in which they are executed may be determined, for example, based on an algorithm that utilizes the positional relationship between the vehicle's position, the position of the oncoming vehicle, and the passable area, or may be determined by referring to a database in which several patterns are predetermined.

[0087] The driving action plan is, for example, as shown in Figure 3a: (1) the overall action sequence 301 (shown as 1 to 4) of the driving behavior that should be performed cooperatively by a vehicle and an oncoming vehicle; (2) Vehicle ID 302 corresponding to each action step (indicated as 400 (oncoming vehicle) and 2 (own vehicle)), (3) The sequence of driving behaviors corresponding to each vehicle ID 303 (shown as 1, 2), (4) Judgment conditions 304 (indicated by the specific driving state of the vehicle) for judging that the execution of each action step has been completed; (5) If there are multiple passable area candidates, an identifier 305 (denoted by A) of the target passable area to be used for the current driving behavior; (6) A flag 306 indicating the currently executed action step for each action step (displayed as YES or NO / applies only to action steps for the host vehicle; if YES, the associated control program is executed; if NO, the execution of the associated control program is stopped). It is composed of the following:

[0088] When the coordinated driving behavior plan shown in FIG. 3a is updated by the behavior plan update unit 15 due to the establishment of the judgment condition 304, for example, the value (data indicating the area) of the target passable area 305 or a flag included in the currently executed behavior step 306 is updated to a value indicating another target passable area, or a flag indicating the currently executed behavior step is updated to a flag indicating the next behavior step.

[0089] The vehicle's own vehicle action plan shown in Fig. 3b is a travel action plan that extracts only the action steps that correspond to the vehicle's own vehicle's vehicle ID 302 from the coordinated travel coordinated action plan shown in Fig. 3a. The vehicle's own vehicle action plan represents, for example, the overall action sequence 301 and the action plan data group 34 excluding the vehicle ID 302, and is the expression used in explaining the embodiments of the present invention.

[0090] [Explanation of passable area] 4a and 4b show examples of passable areas included in the area candidate data group 34. Fig. 4a shows an example where there is one passable area in a narrow road, while Fig. 4b shows an example where there are multiple passable areas. Therefore, when there are multiple passable areas as in Fig. 4b, the appropriate area will be selected.

[0091] 4a shows a situation in which the host vehicle 2 is traveling on a narrow road 401, and the oncoming vehicle 400 is traveling on a narrow road 403, and the two vehicles encounter each other facing each other. Between the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400, there is a road area 402 that is wide enough for both vehicles to pass. Within this area, a passable area candidate 404 is set that includes a place where the host vehicle 2 can pull over. Using this passable area candidate 404, the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400 can pass each other on the narrow road and drive their respective vehicles accordingly.

[0092] 4b, like Fig. 4a, shows a situation in which the host vehicle 2 is traveling on a narrow road 405 and the oncoming vehicle 400 is traveling on a narrow road 409, and the two vehicles encounter each other facing each other. However, in Fig. 4b, there are two passable area candidates 406 and 408 between the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400, each wide enough for both vehicles to pass through, and they are separated by a narrow road area 407.

[0093] Therefore, in this case, the candidate passable area 404A and the candidate passable area 404B are set. Then, using either the candidate passable area 404A or the candidate passable area 404B, the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400 can pass each other on the narrow road and travel accordingly.

[0094] 4a and 4b, the passable area is between the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 400, but it may be set behind the host vehicle 2 or behind the oncoming vehicle 400. In this case, one of the vehicles can back up into the passable area behind it, allowing the two vehicles to pass each other on the narrow road.

[0095] [Control flow of action plan update process] Next, the action step update process executed by the action plan update unit 15 of the vehicle control device 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In this case, the update of the two action steps shown in Fig. 3b is taken as an example, and the action sequence "1" is the first action step, and the action sequence "2" is the second action step.

[0096] <Step S501> In step S501, data necessary for the update process of the behavior plan update unit 15 is collected. The data necessary for the update process are the sensor recognition information data group 33 acquired by the information acquisition unit 11, the area candidate data group 34 determined by the area candidate determination unit 12, the behavior plan data group 35 determined by the behavior plan determination unit 13, and the trajectory data group 36 generated by the trajectory determination unit 14. When the data collection is completed, the process proceeds to step S502.

[0097] <Step S502> In step S502, execution of the first action step of the action plan of the host vehicle, which is included in the action plan data group 35, is started. For example, if an end condition is set for the first step of the action plan, such as the host vehicle "stopping within a passable area," the host vehicle begins to take action to achieve this condition, for example, by starting to travel toward a space in the passable area where it can be evacuated. Once execution of the first action step has started, the process proceeds to step S503.

[0098] <Step S503> In step S503, it is confirmed using images from a camera or the like whether or not an oncoming vehicle is present in the target passable area included in the action plan data group 35. Here, the presence of an oncoming vehicle in the passable area means that the oncoming vehicle is present in a place wide enough for both the oncoming vehicle and the subject vehicle to pass each other, and the first condition for the oncoming vehicle and the subject vehicle to pass each other is satisfied.

[0099] If the oncoming vehicle is not in the passable area targeted by the travel behavior plan, the process returns to step S503, where the host vehicle continues to monitor the above conditions while executing the current first action step. On the other hand, if the oncoming vehicle is in the passable area targeted by the travel behavior plan, the process proceeds to step S504.

[0100] <Step S504> In step S504, among the travel trajectory point sequence included in the trajectory data group 36, the generation state of the travel trajectory for the second action step that the host vehicle will execute next to the first action step currently being executed is confirmed.

[0101] Checking the generation status of the travel trajectory for the second action step means checking the travel trajectory for the second action step if the host vehicle is executing the first action step, and checking whether the travel trajectory generated from the trajectory data group 36 has been generated without colliding with surrounding obstacles, etc. Obstacles refer to, for example, stationary obstacles such as walls and curbs, and moving objects such as pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles.

[0102] In step S504, if a termination condition such as "passing through the passable area" is set, it is confirmed whether the host vehicle can travel through the passable area after the condition in step S503 that an oncoming vehicle exists in the passable area is satisfied. This can be determined by whether a travel trajectory can be generated.

[0103] If the robot collides with an obstacle or the like and is unable to satisfy the termination condition for the next second action step, the process returns to step S503 and moves to the condition confirmation process again. On the other hand, if the robot does not collide with an obstacle and is able to satisfy the termination condition for the next second action step, the process moves to step S505.

[0104] <Step S505> In the final step S505, the action plan is updated so that the host vehicle executes the second action step following the first action step currently being executed. Updating the action plan means updating the information contained in the action plan data group 35 shown in Figure 3b and overwriting and storing it in the memory unit 30. In the case of the control flow shown in Figure 5, the information to be updated is the flag information of the currently executed action step 306 in Figure 3b.

[0105] In Figure 3b, when the first action step is being executed in step S502, the flag information for the first action step is "YES" and the flag information for the second action step is "NO." Meanwhile, in step S505, the flag information for the first action step is updated to "NO" and the flag information for the second action step is updated to "YES." Therefore, the second action step is executed instead of the first action step.

[0106] Also, for example, if the area candidate data group 34 includes multiple passable areas as shown in Figure 4b, the information on the target passable area 305 shown in Figure 3b may also be updated in step S505 based on changes in the positional relationship between the vehicle, the oncoming vehicle, and the passable area.

[0107] [First example: Explanation of updating the action plan in a general situation] Next, the specific operation of the update process of the action plan update unit 15 explained in Fig. 5 will be explained using Fig. 6. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the driving action plan of the host vehicle is composed of two action steps shown in Fig. 3b, Fig. 6a shows an example of executing the first action step 602, and Fig. 6b shows an example of updating to and executing the second action step 605. In other words, these show driving actions in which the host vehicle passes an oncoming vehicle.

[0108] In Fig. 6a, the host vehicle 2 encounters an oncoming vehicle 600 on a narrow road. In step S501 of Fig. 5, information necessary for passing the vehicle on the narrow road is collected. In step S502, the host vehicle 2 sets the passable area 601 as the target and starts to execute a first action step 602 in which the host vehicle 2 retreats to within the passable area 601. In the second action step 605, the flag information is "NO," and control corresponding to this second action step 605 is not executed.

[0109] Therefore, the first action step 602 is enabled (flag information of YES) as the currently executed action step. Then, the host vehicle 2 retreats within the passable area 601, and a travel trajectory 603 is generated so that the host vehicle 2 leaves sufficient space for the oncoming vehicle 600.

[0110] The travel trajectory 603 may be generated, for example, by predicting the specific travel behavior and travel intention of the oncoming vehicle 600 so as not to obstruct the passing route of the oncoming vehicle 600. Also, if included in the map information, the travel trajectory 603 may be generated so as to stop within the turning-off area by using information on a turning-off area that exists within the passable area.

[0111] FIG. 6b shows a situation in which the host vehicle 2 executes the first action step 602, reaches the target passable area 601, and takes a back seat in this passable area 601 to allow an oncoming vehicle 600 to pass.

[0112] While the host vehicle 2 is performing the first action step 602, it determines whether or not the oncoming vehicle 600 is present within the passable area 601, based on the determination condition in step S503 in Fig. 5, and it also determines whether or not the host vehicle 2 can generate a travel trajectory 604 that satisfies the next second action step 605, based on the determination condition in step S504. The host vehicle 2 performs travel behavior while continuously monitoring these two determination conditions.

[0113] Then, as a result of the traveling behavior, the two judgment conditions described above are already satisfied in Figure 6b, so the process proceeds to step S505 in Figure 5, where the second action step 605 is enabled and the action plan is updated. In Figure 6b, the flag information for the first action step 602 is updated from "YES" to "NO", and the flag information for the second action step 605 is updated from "NO" to "YES" (that is, the flag information of "YES" transitions from action step 602 to action step 605 as indicated by arrow 606). Then, as soon as the flag information for the second action step 605 becomes enabled (YES), the host vehicle 2 starts traveling so as to follow the traveling trajectory 604 that satisfies the second action step 605.

[0114] The timing of updating the second action step 605 may be changed by adding the driving intention prediction information of the oncoming vehicle 600. For example, in the situation shown in Fig. 6a, if it is possible to predict that the oncoming vehicle 600 will back up into a parking space or the like at the edge of a narrow road, the action plan may be updated so that it is updated after the oncoming vehicle 600 enters the parking space or the like, rather than the timing shown in Fig. 6b. In this case, blinking information of turn signals or the like may be used as the driving intention prediction information. The driving intention prediction information may also be acquired by communicating with the oncoming vehicle (vehicle-to-vehicle communication).

[0115] In this way, the vehicle control device 3 can also be equipped with a behavior estimation unit (driving intention prediction information estimation unit) that estimates the behavior (driving intention prediction information) of oncoming vehicles (which may include bicycles, carts, etc.), and the behavior plan update unit 15 can decide whether to update the behavior plan depending on the estimation results of the behavior estimation unit.

[0116] Then, as soon as the host vehicle 2 satisfies the termination condition of the second action step 605 (determination that the host vehicle 2 has passed through the passable area), the passing travel with the oncoming vehicle 600 is completed.

[0117] [Second example: Explanation of updating the action plan in unexpected situations] Next, using Fig. 7, another specific operation of the update process of the action plan update unit 15 described in Fig. 5 will be described. Fig. 7 shows an example of a case where another unexpected situation occurs when performing the update process described in Fig. 6b.

[0118] FIG. 7 shows a situation in which a pedestrian 702 crosses a narrow road behind the vehicle 2 when an oncoming vehicle 700 is about to pass through the passable area 701 after the vehicle 2 has stopped within the passable area 701.

[0119] When a pedestrian 702 crosses in front of the oncoming vehicle 700, the oncoming vehicle 700 cannot travel through the passable area 701 and waits for the pedestrian 702 to cross the narrow road before transitioning to a driving behavior. In contrast, the update process for the driving behavior plan of the host vehicle 2 does not depend on the driving behavior of the oncoming vehicle 700, and therefore whether or not to update is determined based on the judgment conditions in steps S503 and S504 in Fig. 5, so the behavior steps of the host vehicle 2 can be updated. This allows the host vehicle 2 to continue driving smoothly.

[0120] In Fig. 7, the oncoming vehicle 700 is present within the passable area 701, so the judgment condition in step S503 in Fig. 5 is satisfied. Furthermore, in Fig. 7, the host vehicle 2 is able to generate a travel trajectory 703 for the next second action step 706, so the judgment condition in step S504 is also satisfied. Because these two judgment conditions are satisfied, in the update process of step S505, the action step being executed is updated from the first action step 705 to the second action step 706, as indicated by the arrow 704. Note that it is also possible to delay the timing of updating the action steps by, for example, obtaining predicted driving intention information of the oncoming vehicle 700 via vehicle-to-vehicle communication or the like.

[0121] 7 illustrates a situation in which the appearance of a pedestrian 702 prevents the oncoming vehicle 700 from passing through the passable area, but the action steps may be updated based on other factors or a prediction of the intention of the factor. For example, if a following vehicle suddenly appears behind the host vehicle 2 instead of the pedestrian 702 and it is determined that the oncoming vehicle 700 cannot pass, the action steps of the host vehicle 2 and the timing of the update may be determined taking into consideration the driving intention and positional relationship of the following vehicle, etc.

[0122] Specifically, the action steps of the host vehicle 2 may be updated so that the host vehicle 2 and the oncoming vehicle 700 can be stopped in parallel. In this case, the evacuation space for the host vehicle 2 may be determined from the shape of the passable area.

[0123] [Explanation for cases where the conditions for updating the action plan are not met] Next, using Fig. 8, another specific operation of the update process of the action plan update unit 15 described in Fig. 5 will be described. Fig. 8 shows an example of a case where a situation occurs in which the judgment conditions in steps S503 and S504 in Fig. 5 are not satisfied.

[0124] 8a shows a situation in which the first action step included in the driving behavior plan of the host vehicle 2 is being executed, and the host vehicle 2 has taken refuge within the passable area 801. In FIG. 8a, an oncoming vehicle 800 is traveling on a narrow road, but is unable to reach the passable area 801 and is not present within the passable area 801. Therefore, the condition of step S503 in FIG. 5 is not met, and the behavior plan is not updated.

[0125] Although the processing of step S504 is not executed, if it were executed, the condition of step S504 would be satisfied because a travel trajectory for passing through the passable area 801 of the host vehicle 2 would be generated. However, in order to update the action plan, the two judgment conditions of step S503 and step S504 must be satisfied, so the action step would not be updated.

[0126] FIG. 8b is a continuation of FIG. 8a, and shows a situation in which an oncoming vehicle 800 is moving through the passable area 801. In this situation, the oncoming vehicle 800 is present within the passable area 801, and therefore the judgment condition of step S503 is satisfied. However, a travel trajectory 803 for the host vehicle 2 to pass through the passable area 801 is not generated correctly due to interference with the oncoming vehicle 800, and therefore the judgment condition of step S504 is not satisfied. As a result, the two conditions are not satisfied at the same time, and therefore the action plan is not updated.

[0127] [Explanation of updating the action plan when there are multiple passable area candidates] Next, another specific operation of the update process of the action plan update unit 15 described in Fig. 5 will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 shows an example in which a plurality of passable areas exist around the host vehicle 2, and a target passable area is updated while the host vehicle 2 is traveling.

[0128] In Figure 9a, for example, based on the positional relationship between the host vehicle 2, the oncoming vehicle 900, the passable area 902A, and the passable area 902B, the action plan determination unit 13 determines an action plan such that the host vehicle 2 takes shelter within the passable area 902B.

[0129] 5, a travel trajectory 901 for traveling into the passable area 902B is generated by the first action step, and the host vehicle 2 starts traveling by following the travel trajectory 901. However, in this state, the situation shown in FIG. 9b may occur.

[0130] That is, the vehicle 2 and the vehicle 3 are located at the exits of the two passable areas 902A and 902B. Opposite This is the case when vehicle 900 arrives. In this state, there is a risk that the vehicles will not be able to pass each other.

[0131] 9b, for example, while the host vehicle 2 is traveling following the travel trajectory 901, it is determined that the oncoming vehicle 900 has passed through the passable area 902B based on the positional relationship between the oncoming vehicle 900 and the passable area 902B. In this case, the target passable area (see FIG. 3b) in the action plan of the host vehicle 2 may be updated from "902B" to "902A."

[0132] This changes the target passable area of ​​the first action step currently being executed by the host vehicle 2, and a travel trajectory 903 is generated to satisfy the termination condition of the action step, "stop within the passable area" (see Fig. 3b). In this case, for example, as shown in Fig. 9b, the host vehicle 2 may travel backward to follow the travel trajectory 903.

[0133] Furthermore, in order to satisfy the termination condition of the action step as described above, for example, it is possible to use predicted information about oncoming vehicles to determine the stopping position and posture of the vehicle so as not to obstruct the oncoming vehicle, and to generate a driving trajectory to achieve that position and posture (for example, stopping diagonally).

[0134] It should be noted that the embodiment described above is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the present invention is applicable to various applications, and all embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the passable area is a road area wide enough for the host vehicle and an oncoming vehicle to pass through. In some cases, an intersection, a subsidiary road, or a part of a sidewalk may be used to determine the passable area.

[0135] For example, in the above embodiment, the end condition of the action step of the host vehicle may be a point indicated in a geographic coordinate system, or may be an area expressed in coordinates relative to the host vehicle.

[0136] For example, in the above embodiment, passable areas may be constantly searched for and stored during normal driving, and when an oncoming vehicle is encountered in the future, the passable areas stored in advance may be used to determine whether or not to update the action plan and generate a trajectory.

[0137] For example, in the above embodiment, the external communication device 9 may be used to communicate with oncoming vehicles using wireless communication means or the like to understand the driving intention of the oncoming vehicle and notify the driver of the intention of the own vehicle to avoid the oncoming vehicle.

[0138] For example, in the above embodiment, when driving into or exiting a passable area, the vehicle may communicate its intention to drive to the target oncoming vehicle or nearby oncoming vehicles using visual means such as a turn signal or auditory means such as voice.

[0139] For example, in the above embodiment, in order to convey the driving intention and notices to the user in the vehicle, drawings, characters, etc. may be output via the HMI device group 8.

[0140] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modifications. The above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. It is also possible to add, delete, or replace other configurations with respect to the configuration of each embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0141] 1...vehicle system, 2...vehicle, 3...vehicle control device, 4...external sensor group, 5...vehicle sensor group, 6...map information management device, 7...actuator group, 8...HMI device group, 9...external communication device, 10...processing unit, 11...information acquisition unit, 12...area candidate determination unit, 13...action plan determination unit, 14...trajectory determination unit, 15...action plan update unit, 16...driving control unit, 17...information output unit, 30...memory unit, 31...vehicle information data group, 32...road environment data group, 33...sensor recognition data group, 34...area candidate data group, 35...action plan data group, 36...trajectory data group, 37...driving control data group, 40...communication unit, N...in-vehicle network

Claims

1. A vehicle control device that sets driving behavior when a vehicle travels on a narrow road where the vehicle and an oncoming vehicle cannot travel in opposite directions, comprising: The vehicle control device includes at least an area candidate determination unit that determines a passable area that exists on the narrow road and is an area where the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle can pass each other; a behavior plan determination unit that sets the traveling behavior of the host vehicle and determines a behavior plan including a plurality of behavior steps in which an execution order of the traveling behavior is set; a travel trajectory generation unit that generates a travel trajectory of the host vehicle from the host vehicle to the passable area and beyond the passable area; a behavior plan update unit that updates the behavior steps up to the passable area to the behavior steps beyond the passable area when a first condition that the oncoming vehicle is present in the passable area and a second condition that the traveling trajectory of the host vehicle beyond the passable area can be generated without colliding with an obstacle on the traveling trajectory of the host vehicle beyond the passable area are satisfied by the execution of the behavior steps; a driving control unit that performs the driving behavior of the host vehicle in accordance with the updated action steps; A vehicle control device characterized by:

2. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, When the region candidate determination unit determines a plurality of passable regions, the behavior plan update unit determines whether to update the behavior plan using a passable region through which the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle pass among the plurality of passable regions. A vehicle control device characterized by:

3. 2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, a behavior estimation unit that estimates the behavior of the obstacle around the host vehicle; The behavior plan update unit determines whether to update the behavior plan depending on the estimation result of the behavior estimation unit. A vehicle control device characterized by:

4. A vehicle control method for a vehicle control device that sets driving behavior when a vehicle travels on a narrow road where the vehicle and an oncoming vehicle cannot travel in opposite directions, comprising: The vehicle control device includes: determining a passable area on the narrow road, the passable area being an area where the host vehicle and the oncoming vehicle can pass each other; a step of setting the driving behavior of the host vehicle and determining an action plan consisting of a plurality of action steps in which an execution order of the driving behavior is set; generating a travel trajectory of the host vehicle from the host vehicle to the passable area and beyond the passable area; updating the action steps up to the passable area to the action steps beyond the passable area when a first condition that the oncoming vehicle is present in the passable area and a second condition that the traveling trajectory of the host vehicle beyond the passable area can be generated without colliding with an obstacle on the traveling trajectory of the host vehicle beyond the passable area are satisfied by the execution of the action steps; and executing the driving behavior of the host vehicle in accordance with the updated behavior steps. A vehicle control method for a vehicle control device.

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