Driver assistance systems

Abstract

To provide a driving assist system capable of proposing new functions suited to a user at appropriate timing.SOLUTION: A processing server 110 detects an incident of a vehicle 200 by analyzing one of position information about the vehicle 200, image information about a periphery of the vehicle, and traveling data about the vehicle, which are acquired from the vehicle 200, and selects a new function corresponding to the detected incident. Then, the processing server 110 notifies the vehicle 200 of a proposal for the new function, at an estimated timing when a user having encountered the incident has cooled down while the user's memory about the incident is clear.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance system that proposes recommended functions to a user of a vehicle based on the driving history of the vehicle, etc. [Background technology]

[0002] Many modern vehicles are equipped with driving assistance functions to prevent accidents. However, since the driving habits of each driver vary, it is not realistic to equip a vehicle with a driving assistance function that is compatible with all users.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an invention that provides driving assistance such as notifying appropriate driving information to users such as drivers and passengers, even when they are riding in another vehicle, based on the driving experience history of the users. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-323598 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 selects a function based on the user's driving experience history from among the driving assistance functions pre-installed in the vehicle, so there is a risk that it may not be possible to recommend an appropriate function to the user. Also, since it does not take into account the timing at which the user wants a new function, it is possible that the new function recommended by the user will not be implemented.

[0006] In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a driving assistance system that can propose new functions suited to the user at appropriate timing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objectives According to the first aspect The driving assistance system includes a state analysis unit that detects an incident of the vehicle by analyzing any of position information of the vehicle, image information about the surroundings of the vehicle, and driving data of the vehicle, which are acquired from the vehicle; and a new function selection unit that selects a new function to prevent the occurrence of the incident. The state analysis unit detects the vehicle arrival at either the user's home garage or a destination registered in a car navigation system of the vehicle, and the parking brake of the vehicle is turned on, or the shift position of the vehicle is set to P. and a notification unit that notifies the vehicle of the proposal of the new function.

[0008] First Aspect According to the study, it is estimated that users who encountered an incident have a clear memory of the incident and have calmed down. , the vehicle is in the user's home garage, or the vehicle has arrived at the destination At the right time, new functions can be proposed to users to prevent incidents from occurring.

[0011] The second aspect is the first aspect, The new function selection unit selects the new function by referring to data including weather, traffic conditions, and topography of the location where the incident occurred, which data is obtained from an information server at the time of the incident.

[0012] Second Aspect According to this technology, the optimal new functions can be selected by referring to information such as the weather at the time of the incident in addition to the vehicle's driving conditions.

[0013] The third aspect is the first aspect or the second aspect, The driving data includes information on changes in the vehicle's longitudinal speed, acceleration, steering angle, throttle opening, and brake pedal force, as well as information on objects around the vehicle detected by onboard radar.

[0014] According to a third aspect, Incidents can be detected based on changes in the vehicle's driving conditions. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] As described above, the driving assistance system according to the present invention can propose new functions suited to the user at appropriate times. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a driving assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a specific configuration of a processing server according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing of the driving assistance system according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an incident occurrence. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display of a selected new function proposal displayed on a display device of a vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] A driving assistance system 100 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. The driving assistance system 100 shown in Fig. 1 includes a plurality of vehicles 200, which are so-called connected cars equipped with a constant connection function to a network 62, a processing server 110 that selects and provides new functions suited to the users of each vehicle 200 from driving data and the like of each vehicle 200 acquired via the network 62, a settlement server 120 that performs billing processing associated with the use of the new functions, and an information server 130 that provides information to the processing server 110 that helps the processing server 110 select new functions suited to the users.

[0018] The processing server 110 is a computer capable of executing advanced arithmetic processing at high speed. The payment server 120 is a server at a financial institution or credit card company that processes payments using credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, etc. The information server 130 is, for example, a server such as the Japan Meteorological Agency that can acquire weather data when a user experiences an incident, a server such as the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan that can acquire topographical information, or a server such as the Japan Road Traffic Information Center that can acquire road traffic information. The processing server 110, the payment server 120, and the information server 130 may be standalone servers or clouds that can distribute the processing load.

[0019] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle 200. The vehicle 200 includes a storage device 18 that stores data necessary for the calculations of the calculation device 14 and the results of the calculations by the calculation device 14, an image information processing unit 20 that performs processes such as edge processing on image information acquired by an imaging device 22, and a vehicle speed sensor 24 that detects the image information processed by the image information processing unit 20, the vehicle longitudinal speed detected by a vehicle speed sensor 24, the azimuth angle deviation and acceleration of the vehicle 200 detected by an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) 26, the steering angle of the vehicle 200 detected by a steering angle sensor 28, the throttle opening of the vehicle 200 detected by a throttle sensor, the brake pedal force of the vehicle 200 detected by a brake pedal sensor 32, and a GPS (Global Navigation Satellite System) 36. The vehicle 200 is configured with an input device 12 to which information on the current position of the vehicle 200 detected by a V2X communication system 34, information on objects present around the vehicle 200 detected by an on-board radar 35, and information acquired by a V2X communication unit 36 ​​via wireless communication is input, a calculation device 14 that estimates the traveling state of the vehicle 200 as necessary based on the input data input from the input device 12 and the data stored in a storage device 18, an output device 16 that outputs the results of calculation by the calculation device 14 to the V2X communication unit 36 ​​and a display device 38, and a display device 38 that displays the information output by the output device 16 to a user in the vehicle cabin. In addition to the brake pedal sensor 32, the vehicle 200 may also be provided with a separate master cylinder sensor that detects the pressure in a brake master cylinder.

[0020] As mentioned above, the vehicle 200 is a so-called connected car, but it does not have to be a connected car; the vehicle may be equipped with retrofitted communication equipment such as a translog that analyzes and utilizes driving data transmitted from onboard equipment installed in the vehicle 200, and various sensors that acquire driving data.

[0021] The imaging device 22 according to this embodiment is an in-vehicle camera, a drive recorder, or the like, and acquires image data of the surroundings of the vehicle 200 and the interior of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 24 may be configured to be able to detect the speed of each of the four wheels of the vehicle 200. The display device 38 also has the function of an input device such as a touch screen, and items input on the touch screen are input to the arithmetic device 14 via the input device 12.

[0022] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a specific configuration of the processing server 110 according to this embodiment. The processing server 110 is configured to include a computer 40. The computer 40 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 42, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 44, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 46, and an input / output port 48. As an example, the computer 40 is preferably a model capable of executing advanced arithmetic processing at high speed.

[0023] In the computer 40, the CPU 42, ROM 44, RAM 46, and input / output port 48 are connected to one another via various buses such as an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus. The input / output port 48 is connected to various input / output devices, such as a display 50, a mouse 52, a keyboard 54, a hard disk (HDD) 56, and a disk drive 60 that reads information from various disks (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD, etc.) 58.

[0024] Furthermore, the input / output port 48 is connected to a network 62, and is capable of sending and receiving information to and from various devices connected to the network 62.

[0025] Installed on the HDD 56 of the computer 40 are a program that analyzes the state of the vehicle 200 from the driving data of the vehicle 200 obtained from the vehicle 200, a program that selects new functions to recommend to the user of the vehicle 200 from the state of the vehicle 200, and a program that calculates the notification timing for proposing the selected new functions to the user of the vehicle 200.

[0026] There are several ways to install the machine learning program of this embodiment into the computer 40. For example, the program can be stored on a CD-ROM, DVD, or the like together with a setup program, and the disk can be inserted into the disk drive 60, and the setup program can be executed by the CPU 42 to install the program into the HDD 46. Alternatively, the program can be installed into the HDD 46 by communicating with another information processing device connected to the computer 40 via a public telephone line or the network 62.

[0027] The CPU 42 of the processing server 110 executes a program for analyzing the driving state, a program for selecting a new function, and a program for calculating the notification timing, thereby providing a state analysis function, a new function selection function, and a notification function. By executing these programs, the CPU 42 functions as a state analysis unit, a new function selection unit, and a notification unit.

[0028] 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing by the driving assistance system 100 according to this embodiment. In step S100, the vehicle 200 acquires traveling data such as the longitudinal speed of the vehicle 200, the azimuth angle deviation and acceleration of the vehicle 200, the steering angle of the vehicle 200, the throttle opening of the vehicle 200, the brake pedal force of the vehicle 200, information about objects present around the vehicle 200 detected by the on-board radar 35, and information about the current position of the vehicle 200 detected by the GNSS device 34. Then, in step S101, the vehicle 200 transmits the acquired traveling data to a processing server.

[0029] In step S102, the processing server 110 analyzes the acquired driving state as a function of the state analysis unit. Then, in step S103, the processing server 110 requests data such as weather, traffic conditions, and topography of the location where the vehicle 200 was located when an incident that caused a near miss for the user of the vehicle 200 occurred from the information server 130. The occurrence of an incident is detected based on a change in the vehicle's longitudinal speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 24, a change in the acceleration of the vehicle 200 detected by the IMU 26, a change in the steering angle of the vehicle 200 detected by the steering angle sensor 28, a change in the throttle opening detected by the throttle sensor 30, and a change in the brake pedal force detected by the brake pedal sensor 32. For example, it is determined that an incident may have occurred when the throttle opening suddenly becomes zero, the brake pedal force suddenly increases, the vehicle's longitudinal speed suddenly decreases, and the acceleration of the vehicle 200 suddenly becomes a negative value, or when the steering angle suddenly changes. Furthermore, it is determined that an incident has occurred when an obstacle or abnormal approach to another vehicle is detected from image information around the vehicle 200 acquired by the imaging device 22 or from the detection results of the on-board radar 35. If the imaging device 22 is capable of capturing an image of the facial expression of a user inside the vehicle, the occurrence of an incident may be detected from a change in the user's facial expression.

[0030] The location where the vehicle 200 was at the time of the incident is based on the position information of the vehicle 200 detected by the GNSS device 34. The occurrence of an incident may be determined when the vehicle 200 approaches an accident-prone location such as an intersection or a curve in a mountainous area with poor visibility, and the vehicle exhibits the above-described driving state.

[0031] In step S104, the information server 130 transmits data such as weather, traffic conditions, and terrain at the time of the incident to the processing server 110.

[0032] In step S105, the processing server 110 selects a new function corresponding to the circumstances of the incident as a function of the new function selection unit. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a case where a rider 300 on a motorcycle 310 is nearly hit when the vehicle 200 makes a left turn. In Fig. 5, the line of sight 210 of the user 220 of the vehicle 200, estimated from changes in the facial expression of the user 220 acquired by the imaging device 22, is not directed toward image information around the vehicle 200, or toward the rider 300 on the motorcycle 310 or the left side mirror 202 of the vehicle 200 detected by the on-board radar 35 or the like. In such a case, as an example, the processing server 110 selects an "intersection hit-and-run automatic braking function" that prevents hit-and-run accidents at intersections.

[0033] In step S106, the processing server 110 calculates the timing for notifying the user of the selected new function as a function of the notification unit. The condition for the timing of the notification is that the user who encountered the incident still has a clear memory of the incident, has calmed down after the incident, and is still in the vehicle. As an example, the processing server 110 notifies the user of the proposal of the selected new function based on the driving data transmitted from the vehicle 200 at any time when the vehicle 200 arrives at the user's home garage and the parking brake of the vehicle 200 is turned on or the shift position is shifted to P. If the vehicle 200 is equipped with a car navigation system linked to the GNSS device 34, the proposal of the selected new function may be notified when the vehicle 200 arrives at a destination registered in the car navigation system and the parking brake of the vehicle 200 is turned on or the shift position is shifted to P.

[0034] In step S107, the processing server 110 notifies the vehicle 200 of the proposal for the selected new function at the calculated timing as a function of the notification unit. In step S108, the vehicle 200 receives the proposal from the processing server 110. Figure 6 is an example of the display of the proposal for the new function displayed on the display device 38 of the vehicle 200.

[0035] In step S109, a response to the received proposal is transmitted from the vehicle 200 to the processing server 110. For example, when a display such as that shown in Fig. 6 is displayed on the display device 38, the user responds to the processing server 110 by touching "Yes" or "No."

[0036] In step S110, SOTA (Software Updates Over The Air) is executed to supply software from the processing server 110 to the vehicle 200 via wireless communication. Then, in step S111, the vehicle 200 installs the software acquired by SOTA into the storage device 18 so that the software can be executed by the computing device 14.

[0037] In step S112, if the response sent from the vehicle 200 is "Yes," the processing server 110 sends a payment request to the payment server 120. The payment request is a request for credit card payment, debit card payment, or prepaid card payment. Then, in step S113, the payment server performs a predetermined payment process and ends the process.

[0038] As described above, according to this embodiment, a new paid function that addresses an incident that the user feels is dealt with can be proposed to the user, and the user can be encouraged to adopt the proposed new function.

[0039] The new function is proposed to the user when the incident has been resolved, that is, when the user's memory of the incident is still fresh and they are likely to have calmed down. This can increase the user's willingness to adopt the new function even if it is a paid function.

[0040] In this embodiment, the occurrence of an incident in the vehicle 200 is detected by the processing server 110, but the present invention is not limited to this. The occurrence of an incident may be detected by the arithmetic device 14 of the vehicle 200.

[0041] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the program is described as being pre-stored (installed) in the disk drive 50 or the like, but this is not limiting. The program may be provided in a form stored in a non-transitory storage medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. The program may also be downloaded from an external device via a network.

[0042] In the above embodiments, the processing performed by the CPU after reading the software (program) may be performed by various processors other than the CPU. Examples of such processors include programmable logic devices (PLDs) whose circuit configuration can be changed after fabrication, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and dedicated electrical circuits, such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), which are processors with circuit configurations specifically designed to perform specific processing. The processing may be performed by one of these processors, or by a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (e.g., multiple FPGAs, or a combination of a CPU and an FPGA). The hardware structure of these processors is, more specifically, an electrical circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor devices.

[0043] (Additional note 1) Memory and at least one processor coupled to said memory; Including, The processor: Detecting an incident involving the vehicle by analyzing any of location information of the vehicle, image information of the surroundings of the vehicle, and driving data of the vehicle, which are acquired from the vehicle; Select new functions to address the incident, notifying the vehicle of the proposal for the new function when the incident is resolved; A driving assistance system configured as follows. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 22 Imaging device 24 Vehicle speed sensor 28 Steering angle sensor 30 Throttle sensor 32 Brake pedal sensor 34 GNSS equipment 35 Automotive Radar 36 V2X communication unit 38 Display device 42 CPU 62 Network 100 Driver Assistance Systems 110 Processing Server 130 Information Server 200 vehicles

Claims

1. a state analysis unit that analyzes any of location information of the vehicle, image information of the surroundings of the vehicle, and driving data of the vehicle, which are acquired from the vehicle, to detect an incident of the vehicle; a new function selection unit that selects a new function for preventing the occurrence of the incident; a notification unit that notifies the vehicle of the proposal of the new function when the state analysis unit detects that the vehicle has arrived at either the user's home garage or a destination registered in a car navigation system of the vehicle, and the parking brake of the vehicle is turned on, or the shift position of the vehicle is set to P; Driver assistance systems including.

2. A driving assistance system as described in claim 1, wherein the new function selection unit selects the new function by referring to data including the weather, traffic conditions, and topography of the location where the incident occurred at the time of the incident, which data is obtained from an information server.

3. A driving assistance system as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the driving data includes changes in the vehicle's longitudinal speed, changes in acceleration, changes in steering angle, changes in throttle opening, changes in brake pedal force, and information on objects present around the vehicle detected by on-board radar.

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