Air traffic control equipment, control system, control method, and control program

Abstract

To provide a control device which is capable of grasping a situation at an evacuation place beforehand and performs an appropriate instruction in a case where stop is required because of an abnormality of a vehicle or a road-side machine.SOLUTION: A control device 100 comprises: a vehicle information receiving unit 301; a road-side machine information receiving unit 302; a route generation unit 307 for generating a predetermined travel route based on vehicle information, map information and operation information of a vehicle; an evacuation place detection unit 308 for detecting an evacuation place based on the predetermined travel route, the map information and obstacle information; a stop necessity determination unit 309 for determining whether or not stop is required based on an abnormality determination result of the vehicle included in the vehicle information, an abnormality determination result of a road-side machine included in the road-side machine information and the obstacle information; a control instruction decision unit 310; and a control instruction transmission unit 311.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to a control device, a control system, a control method, and a control program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the development of autonomous driving technology for automobiles has been actively carried out. Based on obstacle information detected using sensors mounted on a vehicle and the position information of the host vehicle obtained from GPS (Global Positioning System) and map information mounted on the vehicle, a technology for performing autonomous driving by avoiding collisions with obstacles has been proposed. Furthermore, a control device that communicates between a roadside unit (also called an RSU) installed on a roadside strip or the like and an autonomous driving vehicle has been proposed. In this control device, when a sensor installed on the roadside unit detects an obstacle, the detected obstacle information is transmitted to the autonomous driving vehicle, thereby avoiding a collision between the autonomous driving vehicle and the obstacle.

[0003] In a control device that communicates between an autonomous driving vehicle and a roadside unit, it is necessary to smooth traffic within an intersection. If the control device inadvertently sends an emergency stop instruction to the autonomous driving vehicle within the intersection, it may interfere with the driving of other vehicles. As a conventional control device for smoothing traffic, a control method is disclosed in which a retreat location where an autonomous driving vehicle may stop in advance is set, and when communication between the control device and the autonomous driving vehicle is interrupted, the driving of the autonomous driving vehicle is continued to the retreat location acquired before the communication is interrupted (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, conventional control systems had the problem of not being able to know the status of evacuation areas in advance. Furthermore, they had the problem of not being able to give appropriate instructions to autonomous vehicles when stopping became necessary due to malfunctions in the autonomous vehicle or roadside equipment.

[0006] This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems and aims to provide a control device that can grasp the status of the evacuation site in advance and can give appropriate instructions to the autonomous vehicle when it becomes necessary to stop due to a malfunction of the autonomous vehicle or a malfunction of the roadside equipment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The control device of the present invention comprises: a vehicle information receiving unit that receives vehicle information including obstacle information, vehicle abnormality determination results, and vehicle position information transmitted from a vehicle; a roadside unit information receiving unit that receives roadside unit information including obstacle information, roadside unit abnormality determination results, and installation location information transmitted from a roadside unit; a route generation unit that generates a planned route for the vehicle based on vehicle information, map information of the area around the intersection, and vehicle operation information; a refuge location detection unit that detects a refuge location where the vehicle can evacuate based on obstacle information, planned route, and map information included in the vehicle information and roadside unit information; a stop necessity determination unit that determines the factors causing the vehicle to stop and whether or not it is necessary to stop at a refuge location based on obstacle information included in the vehicle information and roadside unit information, vehicle position information and vehicle abnormality determination results included in the vehicle information, and roadside unit abnormality determination results included in the roadside unit information; a control instruction determination unit that determines a control instruction based on map information, the detection result of the refuge location, and the determination result of whether or not it is necessary to stop; and a control instruction transmission unit that transmits a control instruction to the vehicle. If the control instruction decision unit determines that stopping is necessary based on the determination result of whether stopping is necessary, it will determine whether the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection based on map information and vehicle information. It is. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The control device of the present invention includes a stop necessity determination unit that determines the factors causing the vehicle to stop at a stop location and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on obstacle information included in vehicle information and roadside unit information, the vehicle's own position information and the vehicle abnormality determination result included in the vehicle information, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. If the control instruction decision unit determines that stopping is necessary based on the determination result of whether stopping is necessary, it will determine whether the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection based on map information and vehicle information. Therefore, it is possible to understand the situation at the evacuation site in advance, and to give appropriate instructions to the autonomous vehicle if it becomes necessary to stop due to a malfunction in the autonomous vehicle or a malfunction in the roadside equipment. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating the control system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the hardware configuration of the control system according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the functions of an autonomous vehicle according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram showing the functions of the roadside unit according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing the functions of the control device according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 6] This is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device according to Embodiment 1. [Figure 7] This is a flowchart showing the process for detecting an evacuation location in Embodiment 1. [Figure 8] This flowchart shows the process for determining whether or not to stop at the evacuation location and the cause of stopping in the first embodiment. [Figure 9] This is a flowchart showing the collision prediction process in Embodiment 1. [Figure 10] This is a flowchart showing the control instruction decision process in Embodiment 1. [Figure 11] This is a diagram illustrating the control system according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 12] This diagram shows the hardware configuration of the control system according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 13]It is a block diagram showing the functions of the automated driving vehicle according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 14] It is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device according to Embodiment 2. [Figure 15] It is a flowchart showing the determination process of whether to stop and the cause of stopping at the evacuation location in Embodiment 2. [Figure 16] It is a flowchart showing the control instruction decision process in Embodiment 2. [Figure 17] It is a diagram for explaining the control system according to Embodiment 3. [Figure 18] It is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the control system according to Embodiment 3. [Figure 19] It is a block diagram showing the functions of the control device according to Embodiment 3. [Figure 20] It is a flowchart showing the operation of the control device according to Embodiment 3. [Figure 21] It is a flowchart showing the determination process of whether to stop and the cause of stopping at the evacuation location in Embodiment 3. [Figure 22] It is a flowchart showing the control instruction decision process in Embodiment 3.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, the control device and the control system according to the embodiments for carrying out the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

[0011] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a control system according to Embodiment 1. Figure 1 shows an example of application of the control system of this embodiment. The control system of this embodiment consists of an autonomous vehicle 1, a roadside unit 2, and a control device 3. The roadside unit 2 is installed near the intersection area 6. The control device 3 communicates with the autonomous vehicle 1 and the roadside unit 2, but does not necessarily have to be near the intersection area 6. Communication between the control device 3 and the autonomous vehicle 1 may be performed via the roadside unit 2.

[0012] When autonomous vehicle 1 enters intersection area 6, autonomous vehicle 1 enters a communication state with control device 3 and transmits vehicle information to control device 3. Autonomous vehicle 1 also receives control instructions from control device 3 and performs vehicle control according to the instructions. Roadside unit 2 monitors intersection area 6 and conflict area 5 with roadside sensors and transmits roadside unit information to control device 3. Control device 3 receives vehicle information and roadside unit information, generates a planned route 4 based on this information, and transmits control instructions including the planned route 4 to autonomous vehicle 1.

[0013] Intersection area 6 is an area monitored by roadside unit 2 or an area defined by pre-acquired map data. Here, the map data is road information that includes all information about the intersection area, such as location information of the intersection area for which the coordinates of the four corners have been set in advance, information on the number of branches of the intersection such as T-junctions and crossroads and information on the starting position of the branches, stop line information of the intersection, information on the center line and lane width of the lane in which vehicles travel, and location information of multiple pre-set refuge areas.

[0014] Conflict area 5 is an area defined by pre-acquired map data. For example, as shown in Figure 1, in the case of a crossroads, it is the area inside the rectangle formed by extending the stop line 8. Conflict area 5 is an area at an intersection where there is a high risk of collision between vehicles or between vehicles and pedestrians.

[0015] Evacuation location 7 is location information determined by pre-acquired map data. Evacuation location 7 is outside the conflict area 5 and is a location where the autonomous vehicle 1 may stop driving. Alternatively, evacuation location 7 may be area information that defines the coordinates of the four corners that have been pre-set as places where the autonomous vehicle 1 can take refuge.

[0016] Autonomous vehicle 1 is a vehicle that travels in an area where roadside units 2 are installed or in an intersection area 6. The vehicle's exterior surface (including the inside of the windshield, the back of the bumper, etc.) is equipped with at least one object detection sensor (hereinafter referred to as a surrounding monitoring sensor), such as an image recognition camera, millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), or ultrasonic sensor (sonar), as well as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) sensor and communication means for communicating with a control device. A GNSS antenna is connected to the GNSS sensor. The GNSS sensor receives positioning signals from positioning satellites orbiting in satellite orbit using the GNSS antenna, analyzes the received positioning signals, and outputs information about the phase center of the GNSS antenna (latitude, longitude, altitude, and direction, etc.). Autonomous vehicle 1 detects objects around the vehicle using the surrounding monitoring sensor, and converts the relative position of objects detected by the GNSS sensor into an absolute coordinate system and displays it on a car navigation map to perform autonomous driving control, driving assistance, etc. Furthermore, the autonomous vehicle 1 continuously performs abnormality detection within its own vehicle and transmits the results to the control device 3 via communication means.

[0017] The autonomous vehicle 1 is, for example, an automobile, but is not limited to that; it may also be a truck, a golf cart, or other four-wheeled vehicle. Furthermore, the autonomous vehicle 1 may also be a motorcycle, a PMV (Personal Mobility Vehicle), an AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot), or other mobile device.

[0018] The roadside unit 2 is installed near the intersection area 6 and is responsible for detecting objects on and around the road. For example, the roadside unit 2 is equipped with at least one object detection sensor (hereinafter referred to as a roadside sensor), such as an image recognition camera, millimeter-wave radar, and LiDAR, and a communication means for communicating with the control unit. The roadside unit 2 detects objects such as vehicles, pedestrians, and fallen objects on and around the road using the roadside sensor. The roadside unit 2 also sequentially performs abnormality detection within the roadside unit and transmits the results sequentially to the control unit 3 via the communication means. Hereafter, objects such as vehicles, pedestrians, and fallen objects on and around the road will be referred to as obstacles.

[0019] The control device 3 determines a control instruction to request vehicle control from the autonomous vehicle 1 based on the vehicle information transmitted from the autonomous vehicle 1, the roadside unit information transmitted from the roadside unit 2, the previously acquired map data of the intersection area 6, and the previously acquired operation information of the autonomous vehicle 1, and transmits the control instruction. The autonomous vehicle 1 controls its own vehicle in accordance with the control instruction received from the control device 3. The control instruction is information related to the driving control of the autonomous vehicle 1, and is one of the following: an emergency stop instruction that requests the vehicle to stop immediately at the current location, a stop instruction that requests the vehicle to move to a designated stop location and then stop at the stop location, a continue driving instruction that requests the vehicle to continue driving, or a low-speed continue driving instruction that requests the vehicle to decelerate to a very low speed and continue driving.

[0020] Figure 2 shows the hardware configuration of the control system according to this embodiment. The control system 100 of this embodiment consists of an autonomous vehicle 1, a roadside unit 2, and a control device 3.

[0021] As shown in Figure 2, the autonomous vehicle 1 is equipped with a surrounding monitoring sensor 11, a GNSS sensor 12, and a surrounding monitoring device 13. The surrounding monitoring device 13 is a general-purpose computer or ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and is equipped with a communication interface 14, a processor 15, and memory 16. The communication interface 14 is connected wirelessly to a communication interface 34 in the control device 3, which will be described later.

[0022] The surrounding monitoring device 13 acquires obstacle information around the vehicle using signals received from the surrounding monitoring sensor 11. This obstacle information includes the relative position coordinates, relative velocity, and relative acceleration of objects detected by the surrounding monitoring sensor 11, converted to absolute position coordinates, absolute velocity, and absolute acceleration using signals received by the GNSS sensor 12. The surrounding monitoring device 13 also calculates the absolute position coordinates and orientation of the autonomous vehicle 1 using signals received by the GNSS sensor 12, and uses these as the vehicle's position information. The orientation of the autonomous vehicle 1 refers to the direction of travel. Furthermore, the surrounding monitoring device 13 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the surrounding sensors 11 and GNSS sensor 12 based on their signals, and calculates sensor abnormality information. The autonomous vehicle 1 transmits vehicle information to the control device 3. This vehicle information includes obstacle information, vehicle position information, and sensor abnormality information. The surrounding monitoring device 13 may be implemented in a form that is integrated with or inseparable from other components within the autonomous vehicle 1, or it may be implemented in a form that can be detached from or separated from other components within the autonomous vehicle 1.

[0023] As shown in Figure 2, the roadside unit 2 includes a roadside sensor 21 and an intersection monitoring device 23. The intersection monitoring device 23 is a general-purpose computer or ECU and includes a communication interface 24, a processor 25, and memory 26. The communication interface 24 is connected to the communication interface 34 in the control device 3, which will be described later, by signal lines or wireless communication.

[0024] The intersection monitoring device 23 acquires obstacle information within the intersection area 6 using signals received from the roadside sensor 21. The obstacle information is calculated from the absolute position coordinates of objects detected by the roadside sensor 21 and includes the absolute velocity and absolute acceleration of the detected objects. The intersection monitoring device 23 also determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the roadside sensor 21 based on the signals from the roadside sensor 21 and calculates sensor abnormality information. The intersection monitoring device 23 transmits roadside unit information from the roadside unit 2 to the control device 3. The roadside unit information includes obstacle information and sensor abnormality information. The intersection monitoring device 23 may be implemented in a form that is integrated with other components of the roadside unit 2 or in a form that cannot be separated, or it may be implemented in a form that can be detached from or separated from other components of the roadside unit 2.

[0025] As shown in Figure 2, the control unit 3 is a general-purpose computer or ECU and includes a communication interface 34, a processor 35, and memory 36. The communication interface 34 is connected to the communication interface 14 in the autonomous vehicle 1 and the communication interface 24 in the roadside unit 2 via signal lines or wireless communication. Based on the information received from the autonomous vehicle 1 and the roadside unit 2, the control unit 3 determines a control instruction, which is an instruction to control the autonomous vehicle 1, and transmits the control instruction to the autonomous vehicle 1.

[0026] Processors 15, 25, and 35 are processing devices that read programs stored in memories 16, 26, and 36, respectively, and execute those programs. Processing devices are sometimes called ICs (Integrated Circuits). A specific example of processors 15, 25, and 35 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

[0027] Furthermore, memories 16, 26, and 36 consist of a main memory that stores temporary data when processors 15, 25, and 35 execute programs, and an auxiliary memory that stores programs executed by processors 15, 25, and 35, as well as various parameters such as thresholds. The main memory temporarily stores received signals from the peripheral monitoring sensor 11, GNSS sensor 12, and roadside sensor 21, as well as information received from other devices. A specific example of the main memory is RAM (Random Access Memory). The auxiliary memory stores programs executed by processors 15, 25, and 35, as well as the OS (Operating System). Specific examples of the auxiliary memory include HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and ROM (Read Only Memory). The auxiliary memory may also be a portable recording medium such as NAND flash memory. The programs stored in memories 16, 26, and 36 may be those provided as program products.

[0028] The communication interface 14 of the autonomous vehicle 1 transmits vehicle information signals generated by the processor 15 to the communication interface 34 of the control device 3. The communication interface 24 of the roadside unit 2 transmits roadside unit information signals generated by the processor 25 to the communication interface 34 of the control device 3. Furthermore, the communication interface 34 of the control device 3 transmits control instruction signals generated by the processor 35 to the communication interface 14 of the autonomous vehicle 1. These communication interfaces 14, 24, and 34 may consist of a single interface that transmits and receives multiple types of signals, or they may consist of multiple interfaces each having a specific function as needed.

[0029] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the functions of an autonomous vehicle according to this embodiment. The autonomous vehicle 1 of this embodiment includes a surrounding monitoring sensor information acquisition unit 101, a vehicle position acquisition unit 102, a sensor abnormality detection unit 103, an obstacle detection unit 104, an absolute coordinate transformation unit 105, a vehicle information transmission unit 106, a control instruction receiving unit 107, and a vehicle control unit 108.

[0030] The surrounding monitoring sensor information acquisition unit 101 acquires the signal output by the surrounding monitoring sensor 11. The vehicle position acquisition unit 102 acquires the signal output by the GNSS sensor 12 and outputs the absolute position coordinates and direction of the autonomous vehicle 1 as vehicle position information. The sensor abnormality detection unit 103 analyzes the signal acquired by the surrounding monitoring sensor information acquisition unit 101 and outputs the result of detecting a sensor abnormality. Note that a sensor abnormality refers not only to a state in which the surrounding monitoring sensor 11 has malfunctioned, but also to a state in which the monitoring performance has deteriorated due to dirt or other substances adhering to the surrounding monitoring sensor 11, or a state in which the monitoring area of ​​the surrounding monitoring sensor 11 has shifted, or any other state other than normal. The obstacle detection unit 104 analyzes the signal acquired by the surrounding monitoring sensor information acquisition unit 101 and, if an obstacle is detected, outputs an obstacle detection result including the relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration of the detected obstacle.

[0031] The absolute coordinate transformation unit 105 receives the obstacle detection result from the obstacle detection unit 104 and uses the absolute position coordinates and orientation of the autonomous vehicle 1 acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 102 to convert the relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration of the obstacle, which are the obstacle detection results, into absolute position, absolute velocity, and absolute acceleration, which are obstacle information. Here, relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration refer to the position, velocity, and acceleration of the obstacle in a coordinate system whose origin is the position of the autonomous vehicle 1 or the installation position of the surrounding monitoring sensor 11. Also, here, absolute position, absolute velocity, and absolute acceleration refer to the position, velocity, and acceleration when the relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration are expressed in latitude and longitude. Alternatively, absolute position, absolute velocity, and absolute acceleration refer to the position, velocity, and acceleration that can be commonly interpreted by the autonomous vehicle 1, roadside unit 2, and control device 3 that constitute the control system 100. For example, it refers to a coordinate system defined with a specific location within the area covered by the control system 100 as the origin, and expressing relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration under the assumption that the latitude and longitude of the origin and the definition of the coordinate system are common within the control system 100.

[0032] The vehicle information transmission unit 106 transmits vehicle information to the control device 3. The vehicle information includes sensor anomaly detection information, which is the sensor anomaly detection result output from the sensor anomaly detection unit 103; vehicle position information, which includes the absolute position coordinates and orientation of the autonomous vehicle 1 output from the absolute coordinate transformation unit 105; and obstacle information, which includes the absolute position, absolute speed, and absolute acceleration of obstacles. The vehicle information also includes anomaly detection results from the GNSS sensor 12 and the surrounding monitoring device 13, which are transmitted sequentially.

[0033] The control instruction receiving unit 107 receives control instructions transmitted from the control device 3. The vehicle control unit 108 controls the autonomous vehicle 1 in accordance with the control instructions. If the control instruction receiving unit 107 does not receive control instructions, the vehicle control unit 108 controls the autonomous vehicle 1 in accordance with the action planning unit (not shown) installed in the autonomous vehicle 1. The action planning unit determines the vehicle's actions from information from general sensors installed in the vehicle. General sensors are sensors that detect the surrounding environment or the state of the vehicle that affects the vehicle's driving, and refer to surrounding monitoring sensors, GNSS sensors, weather sensors, vehicle speed sensors, steering angle sensors, and steering torque sensors.

[0034] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the functions of the roadside unit according to this embodiment. The roadside unit 2 of this embodiment includes a roadside sensor information acquisition unit 201, installation location information 202, a sensor abnormality detection unit 203, an obstacle detection unit 204, an absolute coordinate transformation unit 205, and a roadside unit information transmission unit 206.

[0035] The roadside sensor information acquisition unit 201 acquires the signal output by the roadside sensor 21. The installation position information 202 is the absolute position coordinates of the roadside unit 2, which are pre-stored in the memory 26 of the roadside unit 2. The sensor abnormality detection unit 203 analyzes the signal acquired by the roadside sensor information acquisition unit 201 and outputs the result of detecting a sensor abnormality. Note that a sensor abnormality refers not only to a state in which the roadside sensor 21 has malfunctioned, but also to a state in which the monitoring performance has deteriorated due to dirt or other substances adhering to the roadside sensor 21, or a state in which the monitoring area of ​​the roadside sensor 21 has shifted, or any other state other than normal. The obstacle detection unit 204 analyzes the signal acquired by the roadside sensor information acquisition unit 201 and, if an obstacle is detected, outputs an obstacle detection result including the relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration of the detected obstacle. The absolute coordinate transformation unit 205 receives the obstacle detection result from the obstacle detection unit 204 and uses the absolute position coordinates of the roadside unit, which are the installation position information 202, to convert the relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration of the obstacle into absolute position, absolute velocity, and absolute acceleration, which are the obstacle information.

[0036] The roadside unit information transmission unit 206 transmits roadside unit information to the control device 3. Roadside unit information includes sensor anomaly information, which is the sensor anomaly detection result output from the sensor anomaly detection unit 203, and obstacle information output from the absolute coordinate transformation unit 205. The roadside unit information also includes the anomaly detection results from the intersection monitoring device 23, which are transmitted sequentially.

[0037] Obstacle information included in vehicle information and roadside equipment information includes, if an obstacle is detected, information indicating that an obstacle was detected, as well as information on the obstacle's absolute position, absolute velocity, and absolute acceleration; and if no obstacle is detected, information indicating that no obstacle was detected.

[0038] Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the functions of the control device according to this embodiment. The control device 3 of this embodiment includes a vehicle information receiving unit 301, a roadside unit information receiving unit 302, a map information database (hereinafter referred to as map information DB) 303, an operation information database (hereinafter referred to as operation information DB) 304, a vehicle information database (hereinafter referred to as vehicle information DB) 305, a roadside unit information database (hereinafter referred to as roadside unit information DB) 306, a route generation unit 307, an evacuation location detection unit 308, a stop necessity determination unit 309, a control instruction determination unit 310, and a control instruction transmission unit 311.

[0039] The vehicle information receiving unit 301 receives vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle information transmitting unit 106 of the autonomous vehicle 1. The roadside unit information receiving unit 302 receives roadside unit information transmitted from the roadside unit information transmitting unit 206 of the roadside unit 2.

[0040] Map information DB303 contains map data stored in the memory 36 of the control device 3. Operation information DB304 contains operation information of the autonomous vehicle 1 stored in the memory 36 of the control device 3. Operation information is estimated route information indicating which branch at an intersection the autonomous vehicle 1 will take to reach its destination. The control device 3 may determine or change the estimated route information due to factors such as road closures at intersections. Vehicle information DB305 contains vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information receiving unit 301 stored in the memory 36 of the control device 3. Roadside equipment information DB306 contains roadside equipment information acquired by the roadside equipment information receiving unit 302 stored in the memory 36 of the control device 3.

[0041] The route generation unit 307 generates a planned route for when the autonomous vehicle 1 travels within the intersection area 6, based on map data obtained from the map information DB 303, estimated travel route information obtained from the operation information DB 304, and vehicle information obtained from the vehicle information DB 305.

[0042] Multiple evacuation locations are pre-configured in the map information DB303. Evacuation locations are configured as positional coordinates or areas. Pre-configured evacuation locations are outside the conflict area 5 or in places that do not obstruct the movement of other vehicles, such as the roadside. The evacuation location detection unit 308 selects the evacuation location with the shortest planned travel distance from the current position of the autonomous vehicle 1 to the evacuation location from among the evacuation locations on or adjacent to the planned travel route generated by the route generation unit 307. Furthermore, the evacuation location detection unit 308 checks whether obstacles exist on the planned travel route to the selected evacuation location and at the selected evacuation location, based on obstacle information obtained from the vehicle information DB305 and the roadside equipment information DB306.

[0043] The stop necessity determination unit 309 detects abnormalities in the autonomous vehicle 1 and roadside equipment 2 and predicts a collision for the autonomous vehicle 1 based on the vehicle information stored in the vehicle information DB 305 and the roadside equipment information DB 306, and uses the results to determine whether the autonomous vehicle 1 should stop. Here, the collision prediction for the autonomous vehicle 1 is the collision prediction between the autonomous vehicle and the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection units 104 and 204. The stop necessity determination unit 309 also determines whether the stopping cause is a collision prediction for the autonomous vehicle 1, an abnormality in the autonomous vehicle 1, or an abnormality in the roadside equipment 2. Furthermore, the stop necessity determination unit 309 outputs the determination of whether the autonomous vehicle 1 should stop and the stopping cause for the autonomous vehicle to the control instruction determination unit 310.

[0044] Here, an abnormality in autonomous vehicle 1 refers to a case where at least one of the abnormality detection results of the surrounding monitoring sensor 11, GNSS sensor 12, and surrounding monitoring device 13 of autonomous vehicle 1, as included in the vehicle information, is abnormal. Similarly, an abnormality in roadside unit 2 refers to a case where at least one of the abnormality detection results of the roadside sensor 21 and intersection monitoring device 23 of roadside unit 2, as included in the roadside unit information, is abnormal. From this point forward, an abnormality in autonomous vehicle 1 will be simply referred to as a vehicle abnormality, and an abnormality in roadside unit 2 will be simply referred to as a roadside unit abnormality.

[0045] The control instruction decision unit 310 determines a control instruction for the autonomous vehicle 1 based on the map data stored in the map information DB 303, the vehicle information stored in the vehicle information DB 305, the evacuation location detection result output from the evacuation location detection unit 308, and the stop necessity determination result and stop factors input from the stop necessity determination unit 309.

[0046] The control instruction transmission unit 311 transmits the control instruction determined by the control instruction determination unit 310 to the autonomous vehicle 1.

[0047] The operation of the control system configured in this way will be explained. Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control device according to this embodiment.

[0048] When the control device 3 enters a communication state with the autonomous vehicle 1, the control device 3 begins to operate. In step S001, the route generation unit 307 of the control device 3 acquires map data of the intersection area 6 and the conflict area 5 from the map information DB 303. In step S002, the route generation unit 307 of the control device 3 acquires the expected route information of the autonomous vehicle 1 from the operation information DB 304. In step S003, the route generation unit 307 of the control device 3 acquires vehicle information of the autonomous vehicle 1 from the vehicle information DB 305. In step S004, the route generation unit 307 of the control device 3 generates the planned route of the autonomous vehicle 1 based on the map data acquired in step S001, the expected route information acquired in step S002, and the vehicle information acquired in step S003.

[0049] In step S005, the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 acquires roadside equipment information from the roadside equipment information DB 306. In step S006, the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 executes evacuation location detection processing based on the flowchart of the evacuation location detection processing described later. In step S007, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 determines whether to stop at the evacuation location and the cause of stopping based on the flowchart of the stop necessity determination processing described later.

[0050] In step S008, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 determines whether the autonomous vehicle 1 has entered the intersection area 6 based on the map data acquired in step S001 and the vehicle information acquired in step S003. Specifically, the control instruction decision unit 310 determines whether the autonomous vehicle 1 is located within the intersection area 6 based on the absolute position coordinates of the autonomous vehicle 1 obtained from the vehicle information. If it is determined in step S008 that the autonomous vehicle 1 has entered the intersection area 6 (YES), the control device 3 proceeds to step S009. If it is determined in step S008 that the autonomous vehicle 1 has not entered the intersection area 6 (NO), the control device 3 returns to step S003.

[0051] In step S009, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 determines whether or not the autonomous vehicle 1 needs to stop based on the result determined in step S007. If it is determined in step S009 that the autonomous vehicle 1 needs to stop (YES), the control device 3 proceeds to step S010. If it is determined in step S009 that the autonomous vehicle 1 does not need to stop (NO), the control device 3 returns to step S003.

[0052] In step S010, the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 determines a control instruction based on the control instruction determination process flowchart described later. The control instruction transmission unit 311 of the control device 3 transmits the control instruction determined by the control instruction determination unit 310 to the autonomous vehicle 1. After the control instruction transmission unit 311 transmits the control instruction to the autonomous vehicle 1, the control device 3 returns to step S003.

[0053] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the process of detecting the evacuation location in step S006 of the flowchart shown in Figure 6. In step S101, the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3, based on map data acquired from the map information DB 303, selects the evacuation location 7 that has the shortest planned travel distance from the current position of the autonomous vehicle 1 to the evacuation location, from among evacuation locations located on or adjacent to the planned travel route 4 of the autonomous vehicle 1.

[0054] In step S102, the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 determines whether or not there are obstacles on the planned route 4 from the current position of the autonomous vehicle 1 to the evacuation location 7. The presence or absence of obstacles can be determined from the obstacle information included in the vehicle information output from the autonomous vehicle 1 or the obstacle information included in the roadside unit information output from the roadside unit 2. In step S102, if there are obstacles on the planned route 4 from the current position of the autonomous vehicle 1 to the evacuation location 7 (YES), the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S105. In step S102, if there are no obstacles on the planned route 4 from the current position of the autonomous vehicle 1 to the evacuation location 7 (NO), the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S103.

[0055] In step S103, the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 determines whether or not there is an obstacle at the evacuation location 7 acquired in step S101. The presence or absence of an obstacle can be determined in the same way as in step S102. In step S103, if there is an obstacle at the evacuation location 7 (YES), the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S105. In step S103, if there is no obstacle at the evacuation location 7 (NO), the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S104. Furthermore, in steps S102 and S103, the determination of whether or not there are obstacles may include obstacle information included in the vehicle information of other vehicles if the control device 3 can obtain vehicle information of other vehicles traveling in the intersection area 6 directly from those vehicles or via the roadside unit 2.

[0056] If the process proceeds to step S104, the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 outputs to the stop necessity determination unit 309 that evacuation location 7 has been secured and the position coordinates of evacuation location 7 as evacuation location information. If the process proceeds to step S105, the evacuation location detection unit 308 of the control device 3 outputs to the stop necessity determination unit 309 that evacuation location has not been secured as evacuation location information. The evacuation location detection unit 308 outputs the evacuation location information to the control instruction determination unit 310, thereby ending the evacuation location detection process in step S006.

[0057] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing the process for determining whether or not to stop at the evacuation site and the cause of stopping in step S007 of the flowchart shown in Figure 6. In step S201, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 refers to the roadside unit information of the roadside unit 2 and determines whether the roadside unit 2 is operating normally or not. If it is determined in step S201 that the roadside unit 2 is operating normally (YES), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S202. If it is determined in step S201 that the roadside unit 2 is not operating normally (NO), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S208.

[0058] In step S202, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 refers to the vehicle information of the autonomous vehicle 1 and determines whether the autonomous vehicle 1 is operating normally or not. If it is determined in step S202 that the autonomous vehicle 1 is operating normally (YES), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S203. If it is determined in step S202 that the autonomous vehicle 1 is not operating normally (NO), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S207.

[0059] In step S203, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 determines whether a collision is predicted based on the flowchart of the collision prediction process described later. In step S204, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 determines whether a collision between the autonomous vehicle 1 and an obstacle is predicted based on the collision prediction obtained in step S203. In step S204, if a collision between the autonomous vehicle 1 and an obstacle is predicted (YES), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S206. In step S204, if a collision between the autonomous vehicle 1 and an obstacle is not predicted (NO), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S205.

[0060] If the process proceeds to step S205, the control device 3's stop necessity determination unit 309 determines that no stopping action is necessary. If the process proceeds to step S206, the control device 3's stop necessity determination unit 309 determines that no stopping action is necessary and that the stopping cause is collision prediction. If the process proceeds to step S207, the control device 3's stop necessity determination unit 309 determines that no stopping action is necessary and that the stopping cause is vehicle malfunction. If the process proceeds to step S208, the control device 3's stop necessity determination unit 309 determines that no stopping action is necessary and that the stopping cause is roadside equipment malfunction. The stop necessity determination unit 309 outputs the determination of whether no stopping action is necessary and the stopping cause to the control instruction determination unit 310, thereby ending the determination process of whether no stopping action is necessary and the stopping cause at the evacuation site in step S007.

[0061] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the collision prediction process in step S203 of the flowchart shown in Figure 8. In step S301, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 refers to the obstacle information included in the roadside unit information of the roadside unit 2 and determines whether the roadside sensor 21 has detected an obstacle. If it is determined in step S301 that the roadside sensor 21 has detected an obstacle (YES), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S303. If it is determined in step S301 that the roadside sensor 21 has not detected an obstacle (NO), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S302.

[0062] In step S302, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 refers to the obstacle information included in the vehicle information of the autonomous vehicle 1 and determines whether or not the surrounding monitoring sensor 11 has detected an obstacle. If it is determined in step S302 that the surrounding monitoring sensor 11 has detected an obstacle (YES), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S303. If it is determined in step S302 that the surrounding monitoring sensor 11 has not detected an obstacle (NO), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S305. Note that steps S301 and S302 may be swapped.

[0063] In step S303, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 determines whether a collision between the automated driving vehicle 1 and an obstacle is predicted, based on the vehicle information and obstacle information of the automated driving vehicle 1. The prediction of a collision between the automated driving vehicle 1 and an obstacle in step S303 can be performed using the vehicle's position information included in the vehicle information and the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and roadside equipment information. For example, the collision margin time (Time to Collision: hereinafter referred to as TTC) can be calculated based on the absolute position coordinates and orientation of the automated driving vehicle 1 included in the vehicle position information and the absolute position, absolute speed, and absolute acceleration of the obstacle included in the obstacle information, and if the calculated TTC is below a threshold, it can be determined that a collision is predicted. Here, TTC is the time until the vehicle collides with the obstacle, and the time during which driving operations can be performed to avoid the collision. Note that there may be other methods for predicting a collision besides using TTC.

[0064] If it is determined in step S303 that a collision between the autonomous vehicle 1 and an obstacle is predicted (YES), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S304. If it is determined in step S303 that a collision between the autonomous vehicle 1 and an obstacle is not predicted (NO), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S305.

[0065] If the process proceeds to step S304, the control device 3's stop determination unit 309 predicts that the autonomous vehicle 1 will collide with an obstacle. If the process proceeds to step S305, the control device 3's stop determination unit 309 predicts that the autonomous vehicle 1 will not collide with an obstacle.

[0066] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the control instruction decision process in step S010 of the flowchart shown in Figure 6. In step S401, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 obtains the vehicle's position information, including the absolute position coordinates and orientation of the autonomous vehicle 1, from the vehicle information of the autonomous vehicle 1, and map data of the conflict area 5 stored in the map information DB 303, and determines whether or not the autonomous vehicle 1 is in the conflict area. If it is determined in step S401 that the autonomous vehicle 1 is in the conflict area 5 (YES), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S402. If it is determined in step S401 that the autonomous vehicle 1 is not in the conflict area 5 (NO), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S406.

[0067] In step S402, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 checks whether the stopping factor determined in step S007 is a collision prediction. If the stopping factor is a collision prediction in step S402 (YES), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S406. If the stopping factor is not a collision prediction in step S402 (NO), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S403.

[0068] In step S403, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 checks whether the evacuation area determined in step S006 is secured. If an evacuation area is secured in step S403 (YES), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S404. If an evacuation area is not secured in step S403 (NO), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S409.

[0069] In step S404, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 checks whether the stopping cause determined in step S007 is a roadside equipment malfunction. If the stopping cause in step S404 is a roadside equipment malfunction (YES), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S407. If the stopping cause in step S404 is not a roadside equipment malfunction (NO), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S405.

[0070] In step S405, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 checks whether the stopping cause determined in step S007 is a vehicle malfunction. If the stopping cause is a vehicle malfunction (YES) in step S405, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S407. If the stopping cause is not a vehicle malfunction (NO) in step S405, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S408.

[0071] If the process proceeds to step S406, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 outputs an emergency stop instruction to the control instruction transmission unit 311. If the process proceeds to step S407, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 outputs an instruction to the control instruction transmission unit 311 to continue driving to the evacuation area 7 secured in step S006 and then stop at the evacuation area 7. If the process proceeds to step S408, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 outputs an instruction to the control instruction transmission unit 311 to continue driving. If the process proceeds to step S409, the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 outputs an instruction to the control instruction transmission unit 311 to decelerate to an extremely low speed and continue driving. The control instruction transmission unit 311 transmits the input control instruction to the automated driving vehicle 1. Furthermore, if the system proceeds to step S408, the control device 3 will request the autonomous vehicle 1 to continue driving, so the control instruction transmission unit 311 does not need to transmit a control instruction to the autonomous vehicle 1.

[0072] In step S409, the reason for driving at an extremely low speed is that if a safe haven 7 is not available, continuing to drive at an extremely low speed and then moving to safe haven 7 or another safe haven and stopping there is a more appropriate evacuation action than making an emergency stop on the spot. An extremely low speed is, for example, a speed of 10 km / h or less, which is the speed of a slow crawl. An extremely low speed is not limited to this and can be set as appropriate depending on road conditions, etc.

[0073] The control device 3 of this embodiment includes a stop necessity determination unit that determines the factors causing the vehicle to stop at a stop location and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on obstacle information included in vehicle information and roadside unit information, the vehicle's own position information and vehicle abnormality determination results included in vehicle information, and roadside unit abnormality determination results included in roadside unit information. Therefore, it is possible to grasp the situation at the stop location in advance and to give appropriate instructions when stopping becomes necessary due to an abnormality in the autonomous vehicle or a roadside unit.

[0074] For example, if a collision between the autonomous vehicle 1 and an obstacle is predicted, or if the autonomous vehicle 1 is located outside the conflict area, the control device 3 determines that it is appropriate for the autonomous vehicle 1 to stop immediately and sends a control instruction requesting an emergency stop. Furthermore, if an abnormality occurs in the autonomous vehicle or the roadside equipment while an evacuation area is secured, the control device 3 sends a control instruction requesting that the vehicle continue driving to the evacuation area and then stop there. In addition, if no abnormality occurs in the autonomous vehicle or the roadside equipment while an evacuation area is secured, the control device 3 sends a control instruction requesting that the vehicle continue driving. Furthermore, if no evacuation area is secured, the control device 3 sends a control instruction requesting that the vehicle continue driving at a very low speed until a new evacuation area is detected. In this way, in the control system of this embodiment, the autonomous vehicle 1 can take appropriate action according to the surrounding situation by performing vehicle control in accordance with the control instructions.

[0075] Embodiment 2. The control system according to Embodiment 2 is capable of determining appropriate control instructions for an autonomous vehicle when an emergency vehicle enters an intersection area. When an emergency vehicle traveling on an urgent mission enters an intersection area, the autonomous vehicle is required not to obstruct the emergency vehicle's movement. In the control system according to this embodiment, the roadside unit is equipped with means for detecting emergency vehicles, and the control device determines control instructions based on whether or not an emergency vehicle is present. Here, an emergency vehicle is a vehicle that is permitted to travel on the road preferentially in the event of an urgent mission, such as a fire truck, ambulance, or police vehicle.

[0076] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the control system according to this embodiment. Figure 11 shows an example of the application of the control system according to this embodiment. The control system according to this embodiment consists of an autonomous vehicle 1, a roadside unit 2, and a control device 3. The roadside unit 2 is installed near the intersection area 6. The control device 3 communicates with the autonomous vehicle 1 and the roadside unit 2, but does not necessarily have to be near the intersection area 6. When an emergency vehicle 10 enters the intersection area 6, the roadside unit 2 according to this embodiment transmits emergency vehicle information, including the absolute position, absolute speed, and absolute acceleration of the emergency vehicle 10, to the control device.

[0077] Figure 12 shows the hardware configuration of the control system according to this embodiment. The control system 100 of this embodiment consists of an autonomous vehicle 1, a roadside unit 2, and a control device 3. The hardware configuration of the control system according to this embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration of the control system shown in Figure 2 of Embodiment 1, but an emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 is added to the roadside unit 2.

[0078] The emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 detects the relative position, relative speed, and relative acceleration of the emergency vehicle 10. The emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 is composed of at least one object detection sensor, such as an image recognition camera, millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR, and ultrasonic sensor. However, the emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 is not limited to these object detection sensors. Furthermore, the emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 has the function of identifying that the detected object is an emergency vehicle traveling on an urgent mission. For example, the emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 is equipped with a microphone, and by recognizing the siren sounded by the detected emergency vehicle 10 with the microphone, it can identify that the detected object is an emergency vehicle traveling on an urgent mission. However, the emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 may be composed only of a microphone that can recognize the siren sounded by an emergency vehicle, and the roadside sensor 21 may be responsible for the object detection function for emergency vehicles. In this embodiment, an emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 is added to the roadside unit 2, so the abnormality detection results from the emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 are added to the roadside unit information.

[0079] Similar to Embodiment 1, the intersection monitoring device 23 acquires obstacle information within the intersection area 6 using signals received from the roadside sensor 21. The intersection monitoring device 23 also generates emergency vehicle information by converting the relative position, relative speed, and relative acceleration of the emergency vehicle 10 received from the emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 into the absolute position, absolute speed, and absolute acceleration of the emergency vehicle 10. The emergency vehicle information includes, if an emergency vehicle is detected, information indicating that an emergency vehicle was detected, as well as the absolute position, absolute speed, and absolute acceleration of the emergency vehicle. If no emergency vehicle is detected, the information indicates that no emergency vehicle was detected.

[0080] Figure 13 is a block diagram showing the functions of the roadside unit according to this embodiment. The roadside unit 2 of this embodiment has an emergency vehicle detection sensor information acquisition unit 207 added to the roadside unit described in Figure 4 of Embodiment 1. The functions of the roadside sensor information acquisition unit 201, installation position information 202, sensor abnormality detection unit 203, obstacle detection unit 204, absolute coordinate transformation unit 205, and roadside unit information transmission unit 206 in the roadside unit 2 of this embodiment are the same as those of the roadside unit in Embodiment 1.

[0081] The emergency vehicle detection sensor information acquisition unit 207 analyzes the signal output by the emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 to acquire the relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration of the emergency vehicle 10. The relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration of the emergency vehicle 10 acquired by the emergency vehicle detection sensor information acquisition unit 207 are sent to the absolute coordinate transformation unit 205. The absolute coordinate transformation unit 205 converts the relative position, relative velocity, and relative acceleration of the emergency vehicle 10 into the absolute position, absolute velocity, and absolute acceleration of the emergency vehicle 10. The absolute position, absolute velocity, and absolute acceleration of the emergency vehicle 10 converted by the absolute coordinate transformation unit 205 are added to the roadside unit information as emergency vehicle information. The roadside unit information with the added emergency vehicle information is transmitted from the roadside unit information transmission unit 206 to the control device.

[0082] Furthermore, if the emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 is configured with only a microphone, and the roadside sensor 21 is responsible for object detection of emergency vehicles, the emergency vehicle detection sensor information acquisition unit 207 acquires both the signal output by the emergency vehicle detection sensor 22 and the signal output by the roadside sensor 21.

[0083] The operation of the control system configured in this way will now be explained. From this point forward, the explanation will assume that emergency vehicles are traveling on an urgent mission. Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control device according to this embodiment. The operation of the control device 3 in this embodiment is the same as the operation of the control device described in Figure 6 of Embodiment 1, but step S007-2 is executed instead of step S007 in Figure 6, and step S010-2 is executed instead of step S010 in Figure 6. In steps other than those shown in Figure 14, the control device according to this embodiment performs the same operation as in the steps shown in Figure 6.

[0084] In this embodiment of the control system, the operation of the control system 3 in steps S001 to S006 and steps S008 to S009 of the flowchart shown in Figure 14 is the same as in Embodiment 1, so its explanation will be omitted. In this embodiment, the operation in the modified steps S007-2 and S010-2 will be described.

[0085] Figure 15 is a flowchart showing the determination process for whether or not to stop at the evacuation location and the cause of stopping in step S007-2 of the flowchart shown in Figure 14. The flowchart showing the determination process in step S007-2 shown in Figure 15 has steps S501 and S502 added to the flowchart showing the determination process in step S007 shown in Figure 8 of Embodiment 1. Step S501 is added before step S201.

[0086] In the control device of this embodiment, the operation of the control device 3's stop necessity determination unit 309 in steps S201 to S208 of the flowchart shown in Figure 15 is the same as in Embodiment 1, so its explanation will be omitted. In this embodiment, the operations in the added steps S501 and S502 will be described.

[0087] In step S501, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 determines whether the emergency vehicle 10 is traveling within the intersection area 6 based on the map data of the intersection area 6 and the emergency vehicle information included in the roadside unit information. If it is determined in step S501 that the emergency vehicle 10 is traveling within the intersection area 6 (YES), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S502. If it is determined in step S501 that the emergency vehicle 10 is not traveling within the intersection area 6 (NO), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S201.

[0088] If the process proceeds to step S502, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 determines that a stop action is necessary and that the cause of the stop is an emergency vehicle. If the process proceeds to step S201, the subsequent operation of the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 is the same as in Embodiment 1. The control device 3, having operated according to the flowchart shown in Figure 15, proceeds to step S008 of the flowchart shown in Figure 14.

[0089] Figure 16 is a flowchart showing the control instruction decision process in step S010-2 of the flowchart shown in Figure 14. The flowchart showing the decision process in step S010-2 shown in Figure 16 has step S503 added to the flowchart showing the decision process in step S010 shown in Figure 10 of Embodiment 1. Step S503 is added between steps S403 and S404.

[0090] In the control device of this embodiment, the operation of the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 in steps S401 to S409 of the flowchart shown in Figure 16 is the same as in Embodiment 1, so the explanation will be omitted. In this embodiment, the operation in the steps related to the added step S503 will be explained.

[0091] In step S403, if an evacuation area is secured (YES), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S503. In step S403, if an evacuation area is not secured (NO), the control instruction decision unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S409.

[0092] In step S503, the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 checks whether the stopping factor determined in step S007-2 is an emergency vehicle. If the stopping factor is an emergency vehicle (YES) in step S503, the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S407. If the stopping factor is not an emergency vehicle (NO) in step S503, the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S404. The operation of the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 from step S404 onward is the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0093] The control device 3 of this embodiment includes a stop necessity determination unit that determines the factors causing the vehicle to stop at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on obstacle information included in the vehicle information and roadside unit information, the vehicle's own position information and the vehicle abnormality determination result included in the vehicle information, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. Therefore, similar to Embodiment 1, it is possible to grasp the situation at the evacuation site in advance and to give appropriate instructions when stopping becomes necessary due to an abnormality in the autonomous vehicle or a roadside unit.

[0094] Furthermore, in the control system of this embodiment, roadside unit information includes emergency vehicle information. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the emergency vehicle 10 is traveling through the intersection area 6 on an urgent mission, and the autonomous vehicle 1 can take actions that do not obstruct the movement of the emergency vehicle 10. For example, when the control device 3 detects the emergency vehicle 10 traveling through the intersection area 6 on an urgent mission while the autonomous vehicle 1 is traveling through the conflict area 5, it can send a control instruction to the autonomous vehicle 1 requesting that it continue driving to the evacuation area 7 and then stop. As a result, it is possible to prevent the autonomous vehicle 1 from obstructing the movement of the emergency vehicle 10 within the conflict area 5.

[0095] In this embodiment of the control system, the roadside unit 2 is equipped with an emergency vehicle detection sensor 22, and the roadside unit 2 transmits roadside unit information, including emergency vehicle information of the emergency vehicle 10, to the control device 3. Instead of the roadside unit 2 transmitting the emergency vehicle information of the emergency vehicle to the control device 3, the emergency vehicle may directly transmit its own information as emergency vehicle information to the control device 3 when it is traveling on an urgent mission.

[0096] For example, the control unit 3 is equipped with means for communicating with the emergency vehicle 10, and the emergency vehicle 10 is equipped with a GNSS sensor and means for communicating with the control unit 3. The emergency vehicle 10 uses the signals received by the GNSS sensor to calculate its absolute position coordinates, absolute speed, absolute acceleration, and direction, and transmits emergency vehicle information, including these, to the control unit 3. The control unit 3 can also determine control instructions based on the emergency vehicle information received from the emergency vehicle 10. In this case, the roadside unit 2 does not necessarily have to be equipped with an emergency vehicle detection sensor. Even with a control system configured in this way, it is possible to prevent the autonomous vehicle 1 from obstructing the movement of the emergency vehicle 10 within the conflict area 5.

[0097] Embodiment 3. The control system according to Embodiment 3 is equipped with a remote monitoring terminal operated by a monitor who monitors the intersection in order to further improve the understanding of the situation within the intersection. The monitor monitors the situation within the intersection, and when the monitor determines that it is necessary for the autonomous vehicle to stop immediately, the monitor can transmit remote monitoring information to the control device using the remote monitoring terminal.

[0098] Figure 17 is a diagram illustrating the control system according to this embodiment. The control system according to this embodiment includes a remote monitoring terminal 9 that can communicate with the control device 3. The remote monitoring terminal 9 is a terminal operated by a monitor who is monitoring the situation within the intersection.

[0099] Figure 18 shows the hardware configuration of the control system according to this embodiment. The control system 100 of this embodiment consists of an autonomous vehicle 1, a roadside unit 2, a control device 3, and a remote monitoring terminal 9. The hardware configuration of the control system 100 according to this embodiment is the same as the hardware configuration of the control system shown in Figure 12 of Embodiment 2, with the addition of a remote monitoring terminal 9. The control device 3 can acquire remote monitoring information from the remote monitoring terminal 9.

[0100] As shown in Figure 18, the remote monitoring terminal 9 is a general-purpose computer or ECU and includes a monitor operation input unit 91 for receiving input from a monitor, a communication interface 94, a processor 95, and memory 96. The communication interface 94 is connected to the communication interface 34 in the control device 3 by signal lines or wireless communication. The remote monitoring terminal 9 transmits remote monitoring information to the control device 3 based on the monitor's input. The remote monitoring information transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal 9 to the control device 3 is a stop request for the autonomous vehicle 1. Note that communication between the control device 3 and the remote monitoring terminal 9 may be performed via the roadside unit 2.

[0101] Figure 19 is a block diagram showing the functions of the control device according to this embodiment. The control device 3 of this embodiment is the control device shown in Figure 5 of Embodiment 1 with the addition of a remote monitoring information receiving unit 312. The remote monitoring information receiving unit 312 receives remote monitoring information transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal 9 and outputs the received remote monitoring information to the stop necessity determination unit 309. The stop necessity determination unit 309 determines whether a stop is necessary and the cause of the stop based on vehicle information, roadside equipment information, and remote monitoring information.

[0102] The operation of the control system configured in this way will be explained. Figure 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control device according to this embodiment. The operation of the control device 3 in this embodiment is the same as the operation of the control device described in Figure 14 of Embodiment 2, but step S601 is added between steps S002 and S003 in Figure 14. Also, step S007-3 is executed instead of step S007-2 in Figure 14, and step S010-3 is executed instead of step S010-2 in Figure 14. In steps other than those shown in Figure 20, the control device according to this embodiment performs the same operation as in the steps shown in Figure 14.

[0103] In this embodiment of the control device, the operation of the control device 3 in steps S001 to S006 and steps S008 to S009 of the flowchart shown in Figure 20 is the same as in Embodiment 1, so its explanation will be omitted. In this embodiment, the operation in the added step S601 and the modified steps S007-3 and S010-3 will be described.

[0104] In this embodiment, the control device 3 acquires remote monitoring information transmitted from the remote monitoring terminal 9 by the operator in step S601.

[0105] Figure 21 is a flowchart showing the determination process for whether or not to stop at the evacuation location and the cause of stopping in step S007-3 of the flowchart shown in Figure 20. The flowchart showing the determination process in step S007-3 shown in Figure 21 is the flowchart showing the determination process in step S007-2 shown in Figure 15 of Embodiment 2, with steps S602 and S603 added. Step S602 is added before step S501.

[0106] In this embodiment of the control device, the operation of the control device 3's stop necessity determination unit 309 in steps S201 to S208 of the flowchart shown in Figure 21 is the same as in Embodiment 1, so its explanation is omitted. Also, the operation of the control device 3's stop necessity determination unit 309 in steps S501 and S502 of the flowchart shown in Figure 21 is the same as in Embodiment 2, so its explanation is omitted. In this embodiment, the operations in the added steps S602 and S603 will be described.

[0107] In step S602, the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 determines whether the remote monitoring information requests the autonomous vehicle 1 to stop. If it is determined in step S602 that the remote monitoring information requests the autonomous vehicle 1 to stop (YES), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S603. If it is determined in step S602 that the remote monitoring information does not request the autonomous vehicle 1 to stop (NO), the stop necessity determination unit 309 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S501.

[0108] If the process proceeds to step S603, the control device 3's stop necessity determination unit 309 determines that a stop action is necessary and that the cause of the stop is a remote instruction. If the process proceeds to step S501, the subsequent operation of the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 is the same as in Embodiment 2. The control device 3, having operated according to the flowchart shown in Figure 21, proceeds to step S008 of the flowchart shown in Figure 20.

[0109] Figure 22 is a flowchart showing the control instruction decision process in step S010-3 of the flowchart shown in Figure 20. The flowchart showing the decision process in step S010-3 shown in Figure 22 has step S604 added to the flowchart showing the decision process in step S010-2 shown in Figure 16 of Embodiment 2. Step S604 is added before step S401.

[0110] In the control device of this embodiment, the operation of the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 in steps S401 to S409 of the flowchart shown in Figure 22 is the same as in Embodiment 2, so the explanation will be omitted. In this embodiment, the operation in the steps related to the added step S604 will be explained.

[0111] In step S604, the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 checks whether the stop cause determined in step S007-3 is a remote instruction. If the stop cause is a remote instruction in step S604 (YES), the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S406. If the stop cause is not a remote instruction in step S604 (NO), the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 proceeds to step S401. The operation of the control instruction determination unit 310 of the control device 3 from step S401 onward is the same as in Embodiment 2.

[0112] The control device 3 of this embodiment includes a stop necessity determination unit that determines the factors causing the vehicle to stop at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on obstacle information included in the vehicle information and roadside unit information, the vehicle's own position information and the vehicle abnormality determination result included in the vehicle information, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. Therefore, similar to Embodiment 1, it is possible to grasp the situation at the evacuation site in advance and to give appropriate instructions when stopping becomes necessary due to an abnormality in the autonomous vehicle or a roadside unit.

[0113] Furthermore, in the control system of this embodiment, roadside unit information includes emergency vehicle information. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the emergency vehicle 10 is traveling within the intersection area 6 for an urgent purpose, and the autonomous vehicle 1 can take actions that do not interfere with the movement of the emergency vehicle 10.

[0114] Furthermore, in the control system of this embodiment, an emergency stop command can be sent from the remote monitoring terminal 9 to the autonomous vehicle 1 based on remote instructions from a monitor monitoring the intersection area. Therefore, the autonomous vehicle 1 can perform vehicle control according to the control instructions and take emergency stop actions in accordance with the remote instructions from the monitor.

[0115] In this embodiment, the control system configuration was described as the control system configuration of Embodiment 2 with the addition of a remote monitoring terminal. However, a configuration in which a remote monitoring terminal is added to the control system configuration of Embodiment 1 is also acceptable.

[0116] Although this application describes various exemplary embodiments and examples, the various features, aspects, and functions described in one or more embodiments are not limited to the application of a particular embodiment, but are applicable to the embodiments individually or in various combinations. Accordingly, countless variations not illustrated are conceivable within the scope of the art disclosed herein. These include, for example, modifications, additions, or omissions of at least one component, as well as the extraction of at least one component and its combination with components of other embodiments.

[0117] The various aspects of this disclosure are summarized below as an appendix.

[0118] (Note 1) A vehicle information receiving unit that receives vehicle information including obstacle information transmitted from the vehicle, the result of determining an abnormality of the vehicle, and the vehicle's own position information, A roadside unit information receiving unit receives roadside unit information including obstacle information transmitted from the roadside unit, abnormality detection results of the roadside unit, and installation location information, A route generation unit generates a planned route for the vehicle based on the vehicle information, map information of the area around the intersection, and the vehicle's operation information. A rescue location detection unit detects a rescue location where the vehicle can take refuge based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside equipment information, the planned route, and the map information. A stop necessity determination unit that determines the cause of stopping the vehicle at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, the vehicle's position information included in the vehicle information and the vehicle abnormality determination result, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. A control instruction determination unit that determines a control instruction based on the aforementioned map information, the detection result of the evacuation location, and the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, A control device characterized by comprising a control instruction transmission unit that transmits the control instructions to the vehicle. (Note 2) The control device according to Appendix 1, characterized in that the evacuation location detection unit selects an evacuation location on or adjacent to the planned travel route based on the map information, which has the shortest planned travel distance from the vehicle's current position to the evacuation location, and determines whether or not an obstacle exists on the planned travel route from the vehicle's current position to the selected evacuation location and at the selected evacuation location, thereby detecting whether or not the evacuation location has been secured. (Note 3) The control device according to Appendix 1 or 2, characterized in that the stop necessity determination unit determines whether a collision between the vehicle and an obstacle is predicted based on the vehicle position information included in the vehicle information and the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, and determines whether the vehicle needs to be stopped based on the abnormality determination result of the vehicle included in the vehicle information and the abnormality determination result of the roadside unit included in the roadside unit information. (Note 4) The control device according to any one of the appendices 1 to 3, characterized in that, if the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not a stop is necessary, it determines whether or not the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection based on the map information and the vehicle information. (Note 5) The control device according to any one of the items 1 to 4, characterized in that the control instruction is one of the following: an emergency stop instruction requiring the vehicle to stop immediately; a stop instruction requiring the vehicle to move to the stop location and then stop at the stop location; a continue driving instruction requiring the vehicle to continue driving; and a continue low-speed driving instruction requiring the vehicle to continue driving at a reduced speed. (Note 6) The control device according to Appendix 5, characterized in that the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not a stop is necessary that a stop is necessary and that the vehicle is not located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection, the control instruction is set to the emergency stop instruction. (Note 7) The control device according to Appendix 5, characterized in that, when the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not a stop is necessary that a stop is necessary and the vehicle is determined to be in a conflict area within the intersection, and the cause of the stop is a collision prediction, the control instruction is set to the emergency stop instruction. (Note 8) The control device according to Appendix 5, characterized in that, when the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not to stop that stopping is necessary and determines that the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection, and the evacuation area detection unit does not have an evacuation area available, the control instruction is set to the instruction to continue driving at low speed. (Note 9) The control device according to Appendix 5, characterized in that, when the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not to stop that stopping is necessary and determines that the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection, and the evacuation area detection unit determines that the evacuation area is secured and the cause of stopping is an abnormality of the roadside equipment or an abnormality of the vehicle, the control instruction is set to an evacuation area stop instruction. (Note 10) The control device according to Appendix 5, characterized in that, when the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not to stop that stopping is necessary and determines that the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection, and the evacuation location detection unit has secured the evacuation location and the cause of stopping is neither a malfunction of the roadside equipment nor a malfunction of the vehicle, the control instruction is set to the instruction to continue driving. (Note 11) An autonomous vehicle equipped with surrounding monitoring sensors, GNSS sensors, and a surrounding monitoring device, which transmits vehicle information including obstacle information obtained from the surrounding monitoring sensors, vehicle position information obtained from the GNSS sensors, and abnormality detection results from the surrounding monitoring sensors, A roadside unit equipped with a roadside sensor and an intersection monitoring device, which transmits roadside unit information including obstacle information obtained from the roadside sensor, abnormality detection results from the roadside sensor, and installation location information, A control system characterized by comprising a control device described in any one of the appendices 1 to 10. (Note 12) The control device described in Appendix 1, characterized in that it receives emergency vehicle information from an emergency vehicle. (Note 13) The control device according to Appendix 1, characterized in that the roadside unit information includes emergency vehicle information of an emergency vehicle detected by the roadside unit. (Note 14) The control device according to Appendix 12 or 13, characterized in that the emergency vehicle information includes the absolute position, absolute speed, and absolute acceleration of the emergency vehicle. (Note 15) The control device according to any one of the appendices 12 to 14, characterized in that the stop necessity determination unit determines whether the emergency vehicle is traveling in the intersection area based on the emergency vehicle information, and if it determines that the emergency vehicle is traveling in the intersection area, it determines that the vehicle needs to stop and determines that the cause of the stop is the emergency vehicle. (Note 16) An autonomous vehicle equipped with surrounding monitoring sensors, GNSS sensors, and a surrounding monitoring device, which transmits vehicle information including obstacle information obtained from the surrounding monitoring sensors, vehicle position information obtained from the GNSS sensors, and abnormality detection results from the surrounding monitoring sensors, A roadside unit comprising a roadside sensor, an emergency vehicle detection sensor, and an intersection monitoring device, which transmits roadside unit information including obstacle information obtained from the roadside sensor, emergency vehicle information obtained from the emergency vehicle detection sensor, abnormality determination results from the roadside sensor, and installation location information, A control system characterized by comprising a control device as described in any one of the appendices 13 to 15. (Note 17) The control device according to Appendix 1, further comprising a remote monitoring information receiving unit that receives remote monitoring information transmitted from a remote monitoring terminal. (Note 18) The control device according to Appendix 17, characterized in that the remote monitoring information includes an emergency stop instruction. (Note 19) The control device according to Appendix 17 or 18, characterized in that the stop necessity determination unit determines whether the remote monitoring information instructs the vehicle to make an emergency stop, and if it determines that the remote monitoring information instructs the vehicle to make an emergency stop, it determines that the vehicle needs to stop and determines that the cause of the stop is a remote instruction. (Note 20) An autonomous vehicle equipped with surrounding monitoring sensors, GNSS sensors, and a surrounding monitoring device, which transmits vehicle information including obstacle information obtained from the surrounding monitoring sensors, vehicle position information obtained from the GNSS sensors, and abnormality detection results from the surrounding monitoring sensors, A roadside unit equipped with a roadside sensor and an intersection monitoring device, which transmits roadside unit information including obstacle information obtained from the roadside sensor, abnormality detection results from the roadside sensor, and installation location information, A remote monitoring terminal includes a monitor operation input unit that receives input from a monitor, and transmits remote monitoring information based on the monitor's input to the monitor operation input unit, A control system characterized by comprising a control device as described in any one of the appendices 17 to 19. (Note 21) A control method performed by an air traffic control device, A vehicle information receiving step includes receiving vehicle information including obstacle information transmitted from the vehicle, the result of determining an abnormality of the vehicle, and the vehicle's own position information. A roadside unit information receiving step, which receives roadside unit information including obstacle information transmitted from the roadside unit, abnormality determination result of the roadside unit, and installation location information, A route generation step that generates a planned route for the vehicle based on the vehicle information, map information of the area around the intersection, and the vehicle's operation information, A rescue location detection step for detecting a rescue location where the vehicle can take refuge based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside equipment information, the planned route, and the map information, A stop necessity determination step that determines the cause of stopping the vehicle at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, the vehicle's position information included in the vehicle information and the vehicle abnormality determination result, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. A control instruction determination step in which a control instruction is determined based on the map information, the detection result of the evacuation location, and the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, A control method characterized by comprising a control instruction transmission step of transmitting the control instruction to the vehicle. (Note 22) A control program characterized by causing a computer to execute the control method described in Appendix 21. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0119] 1 Autonomous vehicle, 2 Roadside unit, 3 Control device, 4 Planned route, 5 Conflict area, 6 Intersection area, 7 Evacuation area, 8 Stop line, 9 Remote monitoring terminal, 10 Emergency vehicle, 11 Surroundings monitoring sensor, 12 GNSS sensor, 13 Surroundings monitoring device, 14, 24, 34, 94 Communication interface, 15, 25, 35, 95 Processor, 16, 26, 36, 96 Memory, 21 Roadside sensor, 22 Emergency vehicle detection sensor, 91 Monitor operator input unit, 100 Control system, 101 Surroundings monitoring sensor information acquisition unit, 102 Vehicle position acquisition unit, 103 Sensor anomaly detection unit, 104 Obstacle detection unit, 105 Absolute coordinate transformation unit, 106 Vehicle information transmission unit, 107 Control instruction reception unit, 108 Vehicle control unit, 201 Roadside sensor information acquisition unit, 202 Installation location information, 203 Sensor abnormality detection unit, 204 Obstacle detection unit, 205 Absolute coordinate transformation unit, 206 Roadside unit information transmission unit, 207 Emergency vehicle detection sensor information acquisition unit, 301 Vehicle information reception unit, 302 Roadside unit information reception unit, 303 Map information DB, 304 Operation information DB, 305 Vehicle information DB, 306 Roadside unit information DB, 307 Route generation unit, 308 Evacuation location detection unit, 309 Stop necessity determination unit, 310 Control instruction determination unit, 311 Control instruction transmission unit, 312 Remote monitoring information reception unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle information receiving unit that receives vehicle information including obstacle information transmitted from the vehicle, the result of determining an abnormality of the vehicle, and the vehicle's own position information, A roadside unit information receiving unit receives roadside unit information including obstacle information transmitted from the roadside unit, abnormality detection results of the roadside unit, and installation location information, A route generation unit generates a planned route for the vehicle based on the vehicle information, map information of the area around the intersection, and the vehicle's operation information. A rescue location detection unit detects a rescue location where the vehicle can take refuge based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside equipment information, the planned route, and the map information. A stop necessity determination unit that determines the cause of stopping the vehicle at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, the vehicle's position information included in the vehicle information and the vehicle abnormality determination result, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. A control instruction determination unit that determines a control instruction based on the aforementioned map information, the detection result of the evacuation location, and the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, A control device comprising a control instruction transmission unit that transmits the control instruction to the vehicle, The control instruction determination unit is characterized in that, if it is determined from the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, it determines whether or not the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection based on the map information and the vehicle information.

2. A vehicle information receiving unit that receives vehicle information including obstacle information transmitted from a vehicle, an abnormality determination result of the vehicle, and the vehicle's own position information, A roadside unit information receiving unit receives roadside unit information including obstacle information transmitted from the roadside unit, abnormality detection results of the roadside unit, and installation location information, A route generation unit generates a planned route for the vehicle based on the vehicle information, map information of the area around the intersection, and the vehicle's operation information. A rescue location detection unit detects a rescue location where the vehicle can take refuge based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside equipment information, the planned route, and the map information. A stop necessity determination unit that determines the cause of stopping the vehicle at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, the vehicle's position information included in the vehicle information and the vehicle abnormality determination result, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. A control instruction determination unit that determines a control instruction based on the aforementioned map information, the detection result of the evacuation location, and the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, A control device comprising a control instruction transmission unit that transmits the control instruction to the vehicle, The control device is characterized in that the control instruction is one of the following: an emergency stop instruction requiring the vehicle to stop immediately; a stop instruction requiring the vehicle to move to the stop location and then stop at the stop location; a continue driving instruction requiring the vehicle to continue driving; and a continue low-speed driving instruction requiring the vehicle to continue driving at a reduced speed.

3. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the evacuation location detection unit selects an evacuation location on or adjacent to the planned travel route based on the map information, which has the shortest planned travel distance from the vehicle's current position to the evacuation location, and determines whether or not an obstacle exists on the planned travel route from the vehicle's current position to the selected evacuation location and at the selected evacuation location, thereby detecting whether or not the evacuation location has been secured.

4. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the stop necessity determination unit determines whether a collision between the vehicle and an obstacle is predicted based on the vehicle position information included in the vehicle information and the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, and determines whether the vehicle needs to be stopped based on the abnormality determination result of the vehicle included in the vehicle information and the abnormality determination result of the roadside unit included in the roadside unit information.

5. The control device according to claim 2, characterized in that the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not a stop is necessary that a stop is necessary and that the vehicle is not located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection, the control instruction is set to the emergency stop instruction.

6. The control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, when the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not stopping is necessary that stopping is necessary and the vehicle is determined to be in a conflict area within the intersection, and the cause of stopping is a collision prediction, the control instruction is set to the emergency stop instruction.

7. The control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, when the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not to stop that stopping is necessary and determines that the vehicle is in a conflict area within the intersection, and the evacuation area detection unit does not have an evacuation area available, the control instruction is set to the instruction to continue driving at low speed.

8. The control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, when the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not a stop is necessary that a stop is necessary and the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection, and the evacuation area detection unit determines that an evacuation area has been secured and the cause of the stop is an abnormality of the roadside equipment or an abnormality of the vehicle, the control instruction is set to an evacuation area stop instruction.

9. The control device according to claim 2, characterized in that, when the control instruction determination unit determines from the result of the determination of whether or not to stop that stopping is necessary and determines that the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection, and the evacuation location detection unit has secured the evacuation location and the cause of stopping is neither a malfunction of the roadside equipment nor a malfunction of the vehicle, the control instruction is set to the instruction to continue driving.

10. An autonomous vehicle equipped with surrounding monitoring sensors, GNSS sensors, and a surrounding monitoring device, which transmits vehicle information including obstacle information obtained from the surrounding monitoring sensors, vehicle position information obtained from the GNSS sensors, and abnormality detection results from the surrounding monitoring sensors, A roadside unit equipped with a roadside sensor and an intersection monitoring device, which transmits roadside unit information including obstacle information obtained from the roadside sensor, abnormality detection results from the roadside sensor, and installation location information, A control system characterized by comprising a control device according to claim 1 or 2.

11. A vehicle information receiving unit that receives vehicle information including obstacle information transmitted from a vehicle, an abnormality determination result of the vehicle, and the vehicle's own position information, A roadside unit information receiving unit receives roadside unit information including obstacle information transmitted from the roadside unit, abnormality detection results of the roadside unit, and installation location information, A route generation unit generates a planned route for the vehicle based on the vehicle information, map information of the area around the intersection, and the vehicle's operation information. A rescue location detection unit detects a rescue location where the vehicle can take refuge based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside equipment information, the planned route, and the map information. A stop necessity determination unit that determines the cause of stopping the vehicle at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, the vehicle's position information included in the vehicle information and the vehicle abnormality determination result, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. A control instruction determination unit that determines a control instruction based on the aforementioned map information, the detection result of the evacuation location, and the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, A control device comprising a control instruction transmission unit that transmits the control instruction to the vehicle, The control device receives emergency vehicle information from the emergency vehicle. The control device is characterized in that the stop necessity determination unit determines whether or not the emergency vehicle is traveling in the intersection area based on the emergency vehicle information, and if it determines that the emergency vehicle is traveling in the intersection area, it determines that the vehicle needs to stop and determines that the cause of the stop is the emergency vehicle.

12. A vehicle information receiving unit that receives vehicle information including obstacle information transmitted from a vehicle, an abnormality determination result of the vehicle, and the vehicle's own position information, A roadside unit information receiving unit receives roadside unit information including obstacle information transmitted from the roadside unit, abnormality detection results of the roadside unit, and installation location information, A route generation unit generates a planned route for the vehicle based on the vehicle information, map information of the area around the intersection, and the vehicle's operation information. A rescue location detection unit detects a rescue location where the vehicle can take refuge based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside equipment information, the planned route, and the map information. A stop necessity determination unit that determines the cause of stopping the vehicle at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, the vehicle's position information included in the vehicle information and the vehicle abnormality determination result, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. A control instruction determination unit that determines a control instruction based on the aforementioned map information, the detection result of the evacuation location, and the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, A control device comprising a control instruction transmission unit that transmits the control instruction to the vehicle, The roadside unit information includes emergency vehicle information of emergency vehicles detected by the roadside unit, The control device is characterized in that the stop necessity determination unit determines whether or not the emergency vehicle is traveling in the intersection area based on the emergency vehicle information, and if it determines that the emergency vehicle is traveling in the intersection area, it determines that the vehicle needs to stop and determines that the cause of the stop is the emergency vehicle.

13. The control device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the emergency vehicle information includes the absolute position, absolute speed, and absolute acceleration of the emergency vehicle.

14. An autonomous vehicle equipped with surrounding monitoring sensors, GNSS sensors, and a surrounding monitoring device, which transmits vehicle information including obstacle information obtained from the surrounding monitoring sensors, vehicle position information obtained from the GNSS sensors, and abnormality detection results from the surrounding monitoring sensors, A roadside unit comprising a roadside sensor, an emergency vehicle detection sensor, and an intersection monitoring device, which transmits roadside unit information including obstacle information obtained from the roadside sensor, emergency vehicle information obtained from the emergency vehicle detection sensor, abnormality determination results from the roadside sensor, and installation location information, A control system characterized by comprising a control device according to claim 11 or 12.

15. A vehicle information receiving unit that receives vehicle information including obstacle information transmitted from a vehicle, an abnormality determination result of the vehicle, and the vehicle's own position information, A roadside unit information receiving unit receives roadside unit information including obstacle information transmitted from the roadside unit, abnormality detection results of the roadside unit, and installation location information, A route generation unit generates a planned route for the vehicle based on the vehicle information, map information of the area around the intersection, and the vehicle's operation information. A rescue location detection unit detects a rescue location where the vehicle can take refuge based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside equipment information, the planned route, and the map information. A stop necessity determination unit that determines the cause of stopping the vehicle at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, the vehicle's position information included in the vehicle information and the vehicle abnormality determination result, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. A control instruction determination unit that determines a control instruction based on the aforementioned map information, the detection result of the evacuation location, and the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, A control instruction transmission unit that transmits the control instruction to the vehicle, A control device characterized by comprising a remote monitoring information receiving unit that receives remote monitoring information transmitted from a remote monitoring terminal.

16. The control device according to claim 15, characterized in that the remote monitoring information includes an emergency stop instruction.

17. The control device according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the stop necessity determination unit determines whether the remote monitoring information has instructed the vehicle to make an emergency stop, and if it determines that the remote monitoring information has instructed the vehicle to make an emergency stop, it determines that the vehicle needs to stop and determines that the cause of the stop is a remote instruction.

18. An autonomous vehicle equipped with surrounding monitoring sensors, GNSS sensors, and a surrounding monitoring device, which transmits vehicle information including obstacle information obtained from the surrounding monitoring sensors, vehicle position information obtained from the GNSS sensors, and abnormality detection results from the surrounding monitoring sensors, A roadside unit equipped with a roadside sensor and an intersection monitoring device, which transmits roadside unit information including obstacle information obtained from the roadside sensor, abnormality detection results from the roadside sensor, and installation location information, A remote monitoring terminal includes a monitor operation input unit that receives input from a monitor, and transmits remote monitoring information based on the monitor's input to the monitor operation input unit, A control system characterized by comprising a control device according to claim 15 or 16.

19. A control method performed by an air traffic control device, A vehicle information receiving step includes receiving vehicle information including obstacle information transmitted from the vehicle, the result of determining an abnormality of the vehicle, and the vehicle's own position information. A roadside unit information receiving step, which receives roadside unit information including obstacle information transmitted from the roadside unit, abnormality determination result of the roadside unit, and installation location information, A route generation step that generates a planned route for the vehicle based on the vehicle information, map information of the area around the intersection, and the vehicle's operation information, A rescue location detection step for detecting a rescue location where the vehicle can take refuge based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside equipment information, the planned route, and the map information, A stop necessity determination step that determines the cause of stopping the vehicle at the evacuation site and whether or not it is necessary to stop, based on the obstacle information included in the vehicle information and the roadside unit information, the vehicle's position information included in the vehicle information and the vehicle abnormality determination result, and the roadside unit abnormality determination result included in the roadside unit information. A control instruction determination step in which a control instruction is determined based on the map information, the detection result of the evacuation location, and the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, The system includes a control instruction transmission step for transmitting the control instruction to the vehicle, The control instruction determination step is characterized in that, if it is determined from the determination result of whether or not a stop is necessary, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is located within the conflict area of ​​the intersection based on the map information and the vehicle information.

20. A control program characterized by causing a computer to execute the control method described in claim 19.

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