Driving assistance device, driving assistance method, and recording medium

Abstract

This driving assistance apparatus for assisting in driving a vehicle is provided with one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively connected to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors perform: a process for acquiring information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle; a process for recognizing the surrounding environment on the basis of the information about the surrounding environment; a process for calculating the level of confidence of the driver of the vehicle in the driving assistance device; a process for displaying at least information about the recognition result of the process for recognizing the surrounding environment; and a process for, as the information about the recognition result is displayed, varying the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the status of detection targets existing around the vehicle according to the level of confidence.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving support device, a driving support method, and a recording medium.

Background Art

[0002] Various driving support devices for assisting the driving of a vehicle driver have been conventionally provided. In recent years, a technique for notifying a driver of control contents in autonomous driving is known. Specifically, when the driver's reliability for autonomous driving is low, a technique for notifying the driver of the control contents and not notifying the driver of the control contents when the reliability is high is known.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique for easily grasping the behavior of autonomous driving and reducing the annoyance of display by suppressing the output of vehicle notification information inside the vehicle according to the reliability for autonomous driving. Specifically, the autonomous driving vehicle described in Patent Document 1 includes an external notification unit that outputs vehicle notification information toward the outside of the vehicle, an internal notification unit that notifies a predetermined information to the passengers inside the vehicle and outputs the vehicle notification information, a reliability estimation unit that estimates the reliability of the passengers for autonomous driving of the vehicle, and a notification control unit that outputs control for outputting the vehicle notification information to the external notification unit and the internal notification unit almost simultaneously and suppresses the output frequency of the vehicle notification information in the internal notification unit according to the reliability.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The technology described in Patent Document 1 allows drivers to easily understand the behavior of autonomous driving. Furthermore, this technology can reduce the inconvenience of displaying vehicle notification information by suppressing the output of vehicle notification information inside the vehicle according to the level of confidence in autonomous driving. However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not provide the driver with an opportunity to improve their state to an appropriate state if they are overconfident or distrustful of autonomous driving. As a result, there is a risk that the state of overconfidence or distrust will not be improved to an appropriate state.

[0006] This disclosure is made in view of the above circumstances, and the purpose of this disclosure is to provide a driver assistance device, a driver assistance method, and a recording medium that can change a driver's state of overconfidence or disconfidence to an appropriate state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, in view of this disclosure, a driver assistance device is provided that assists in driving a vehicle, comprising one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the one or more processors in a communicative manner, wherein the one or more processors perform the following: a process for acquiring information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle; a process for recognizing the surrounding environment based on the information about the surrounding environment; a process for calculating the degree of confidence of the vehicle's driver in the driver assistance device; a process for displaying information of the recognition result of at least the process for recognizing the surrounding environment; and, in conjunction with the display of the recognition result information, a process for varying the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of detectable objects present around the vehicle, according to the degree of confidence.

[0008] Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of this disclosure, a driving assistance method is provided which includes one or more processors: acquiring information about the surrounding environment of a vehicle; recognizing the surrounding environment based on the information about the surrounding environment; calculating the driver's confidence level in the driving assistance system; displaying information about the recognition result of at least the process of recognizing the surrounding environment; and, as the information about the recognition result is displayed, varying the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of detected objects present around the vehicle, according to the confidence level.

[0009] Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, according to another aspect of this disclosure, a non-temporary tangible recording medium is provided which records a computer program that causes a processor to execute a process including acquiring information about the surrounding environment of a vehicle, recognizing the surrounding environment based on the information about the surrounding environment, calculating the driver's confidence level in the vehicle's driver assistance system, displaying information about the recognition result of at least the process of recognizing the surrounding environment, and, in conjunction with the display of the recognition result information, varying the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of detected objects present around the vehicle according to the confidence level. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] As explained above, according to this disclosure, if a driver is in a state of overconfidence or distrust of driver assistance systems, these states can be changed to an appropriate state. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle according to the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a driver assistance system. [Figure 3] This flowchart shows an example of a driver assistance method disclosed herein. [Figure 4] This is an explanatory diagram to facilitate understanding of the above-mentioned driver assistance methods. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing an example of the display process of the driving support method of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] This is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle is in a standard trust state. [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram for explaining a first predetermined area. [Figure 8] This is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle is in a first distrust state. [Figure 9] This is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle is in a second distrust state. [Figure 10] This is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle is in a third distrust state. [Figure 11] This is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle is in a third distrust state. [Figure 12] This is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle is in a third distrust state. [Figure 13] This is a flowchart showing an example of the display process in an overconfidence state. [Figure 14] This is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle is in a first overconfidence state. [Figure 15] This is an explanatory diagram for explaining a second predetermined area. [Figure 16] This is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle is in a second overconfidence state. [Figure 17] This is an explanatory diagram for explaining a third predetermined area. [Figure 18] This is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle is in a third overconfidence state. [Figure 19] This is an explanatory diagram for explaining a fourth predetermined area.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] 1. Embodiment Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure will be described while referring to the accompanying drawings. Note that the dimensions and scales of each part in the drawings are different from the actual ones. Also, the drawings may be schematically shown for easy understanding. Furthermore, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the forms exemplified below unless there is a description to particularly limit the present disclosure.

[0013] [Configuration of Vehicle] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 may be, for example, a two-wheel drive automobile, or may be a four-wheel drive automobile that transmits driving torque to the front and rear wheels. Also, the vehicle 10 may be, for example, an electric vehicle in which a motor for front-wheel drive and a motor for rear-wheel drive are provided separately, or may be an electric vehicle having a driving motor corresponding to each wheel.

[0014] When the vehicle 10 is an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle, the vehicle 10 has a secondary battery and a motor. The secondary battery stores electric power supplied to the driving motor. The motor outputs the driving force of the vehicle 10. Also, the motor functions as a generator that generates electric power charged into the battery during deceleration. In addition, the vehicle 10 may be provided with a power generation device such as a fuel cell, for example.

[0015] The vehicle 10 has a driving power source 17, an electric steering device 15, brake devices 13A to 13D, and a vehicle control unit 23. These are used for driving control of the vehicle 10. Hereinafter, when it is not necessary to particularly distinguish between the brake devices 13A to 13D, they may simply be referred to as "brake device 13".

[0016] The driving power source 17 generates driving torque and transmits the generated driving torque to the left front wheel and the right front wheel. The driving power source 17 outputs the driving torque transmitted to the front-wheel drive shaft F via a transmission (not shown) and a differential mechanism 14. The driving of the driving power source 17 and the transmission is controlled by the vehicle control unit 23.

[0017] The power source 17 may be an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine, or it may be a drive motor. Furthermore, the vehicle 10 may be equipped with both an internal combustion engine and a drive motor as the power source 17.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, the electric steering device 15 is mounted on the front wheel drive shaft F. The electric steering device 15 has an electric motor (not shown) and a gear mechanism, and adjusts the steering angle of the front wheels based on the control of the vehicle control unit 23.

[0019] Each of the brake devices 13A to 13D applies braking force to the corresponding wheel. Brake device 13 is, for example, a hydraulic brake device.

[0020] The vehicle control unit 23 has one or more electronic control units (ECUs). These electronic control units control the drive of the power source 17, the electric steering device 15, and the hydraulic unit 24. If the vehicle 10 has a transmission that changes the speed of the output from the power source 17 and transmits it to the wheels, the vehicle control unit 23 controls the drive of the transmission.

[0021] The vehicle control unit 23 adjusts the hydraulic pressure supplied to each brake device 13 by controlling the drive of the hydraulic unit 24. If the vehicle 10 is an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle, the brake device 13 is used in conjunction with regenerative braking by the drive motor.

[0022] The vehicle control unit 23 is configured to acquire information transmitted from the driver assistance device 11. Based on the information acquired from the automatic driving control unit 112D (described later), the vehicle control unit 23 controls each of the multiple control target devices. The vehicle control unit 23 can automatically control part or all of the driving control of the vehicle 10 without driver intervention.

[0023] During manual operation, the vehicle control unit 23 controls the electric steering system 15 based on the steering angle of the steering wheel 16 by the driver. In addition, during manual operation, the vehicle control unit 23 controls the operation of the drive source 17 and the hydraulic unit 24 based on the amount of operation of the accelerator pedal and brake pedal by the driver.

[0024] Vehicle 10 further includes an ambient environment recognition device 12, a vehicle position detection sensor 33, and a display device 18. The ambient environment recognition device 12 includes front-facing cameras 12A, 12B, and a rear-facing camera 12C.

[0025] The front-facing cameras 12A and 12B and the rear-facing camera 12C acquire information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10. The front-facing cameras 12A and 12B capture images of the area in front of the vehicle 10 in the direction of travel and generate image data. The rear-facing camera 12C captures images of the area behind the vehicle 10 in the direction of travel and generates image data.

[0026] The front-facing cameras 12A, 12B and the rear-facing camera 12C have image sensors such as CCDs (Charged Coupled Devices) or CMOSs ​​(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductors) and transmit the generated image data to the driver assistance device 11. In the vehicle 10 shown in Figure 1, the front-facing cameras 12A and 12B are typically stereo cameras including a pair of left and right cameras, but the front-facing cameras 12A and 12B may be monocular cameras.

[0027] In addition to the front cameras 12A and 12B and the rear camera 12C, the surrounding environment recognition device 12 may also have, for example, a camera (not shown) mounted on a side mirror that captures the left rear or right rear of the vehicle 10. Furthermore, the surrounding environment recognition device 12 may have one or more of the following: radar sensors such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), millimeter-wave radar, and ultrasonic sensors.

[0028] The vehicle position detection sensor 33 receives satellite signals from GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning satellites, such as GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites. Based on the received satellite signals, the vehicle position detection sensor 33 detects the current position of the vehicle 10 at a predetermined calculation cycle and transmits information indicating the detected current position to the driver assistance device 11. The information indicating the current position of the vehicle 10 is indicated, for example, by latitude and longitude. In addition to the GPS sensor, the vehicle position detection sensor 33 may also have an antenna that receives satellite signals from other satellite systems that determine the position of the vehicle 10.

[0029] The driver assistance device 11 may generate information indicating the direction of movement of the vehicle 10 and information indicating the speed of movement of the vehicle 10 based on position information obtained from the vehicle position detection sensor 33. For example, the driver assistance device 11 calculates the speed of movement of the vehicle 10 based on changes in the position of the vehicle 10. Specifically, the driver assistance device 11 calculates the speed of movement of the vehicle 10 by dividing the distance from the position of the vehicle 10 obtained in a previous calculation cycle to the current position of the vehicle 10 obtained in the current calculation cycle by a unit time corresponding to the calculation cycle. The driver assistance device 11 also calculates the direction of movement of the vehicle 10 as the direction in which the position of the vehicle 10 changes.

[0030] The display device 18 is driven by the driver assistance device 11 and displays various information visible to the driver. The display device 18 in this embodiment is typically a display device located in the instrument panel, but is not limited thereto. The display device 18 may be, for example, a display device of a navigation system, or it may be another display device different from the said display device.

[0031] The driver assistance device 11 functions as a device that assists the driver in driving the vehicle 10 by having one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) or other processors execute a computer program. The computer program is a computer program that causes the processor to execute the driver assistance method, etc., of this disclosure. The computer program executed by the processor may be recorded on a recording medium that functions as a storage device 113 (memory) provided in the driver assistance device 11, or it may be recorded on a recording medium built into the driver assistance device 11 or on any external recording medium that can be attached to the driver assistance device 11. There may be one storage device 113 or more storage devices.

[0032] Recording media for storing computer programs may include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and Blu-ray®; magneto-optical media such as floppy disks; memory elements such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory); flash memory such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory and SSD (Solid State Drive); and other media capable of storing programs.

[0033] <Functional Configuration of Driver Assistance Systems> Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the driver assistance device 11. The driver assistance device 11 is connected to an ambient environment recognition device 12, a vehicle control unit 23, a vehicle position detection sensor 33, and a display device 18 via a dedicated line, CAN (Controller Area Network), or LIN (Local Internet) communication means. Note that the driver assistance device 11 is not limited to an electronic control unit mounted on the vehicle 10, but may also be a terminal device such as a touchpad or a wearable device.

[0034] The driver assistance system 11 includes a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 111, a processing unit 112, and a storage device 113. The processing unit 112 includes one or more processors such as a CPU and various peripheral components. Part or all of the processing unit 112 may consist of updatable components such as firmware, or it may be a program module that is executed by commands from the CPU, etc.

[0035] (Vehicle-to-vehicle communication device) The vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 111 is an interface for communicating with other vehicles located within a predetermined distance from vehicle 10. The driver assistance device 11 transmits and receives information with other vehicles other than vehicle 10 via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device 111.

[0036] (storage device) The storage device 113 is one or more recording media such as RAM, ROM, HDD (Hard Disk Drive), CD (Compact Disc), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), SSD, USB flash drive, or storage device, which are connected to the processing unit 112 in a communicative manner. However, the type and number of storage devices 113 are not particularly limited. The storage device 113 records computer programs executed by the processing unit 112, various parameters used in arithmetic processing, detection data, and data related to calculation results, etc. A portion of the storage device 113 is used as the work area of ​​the processing unit 112.

[0037] The storage device 113 according to this embodiment stores data of feature point cloud patterns associated with various objects. This data is used for pattern matching, which will be described later. The multiple objects include, for example, vehicles such as passenger cars and trucks, bicycles, and pedestrians. Alternatively, the multiple objects may include guardrails, curbs, roads, buildings, and other stationary objects, as well as lane boundaries.

[0038] (processing device) The processing unit 112 includes an ambient environment information acquisition unit 112A, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication control unit 112B, an ambient environment recognition processing unit 112C, an automatic driving control unit 112D, a reliability calculation unit 112E, and a display control unit 112F. The functions of each of these units are realized by the execution of a computer program by the processor. Some of the ambient environment information acquisition unit 112A, vehicle-to-vehicle communication control unit 112B, ambient environment recognition processing unit 112C, automatic driving control unit 112D, reliability calculation unit 112E, and display control unit 112F may be configured by hardware such as analog circuits.

[0039] The surrounding environment information acquisition unit 112A acquires information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10. This information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10 includes, for example, information showing the measurement results of the surrounding environment recognition device 12.

[0040] The vehicle-to-vehicle communication control unit 112B communicates with other vehicles located within a predetermined distance from vehicle 10 at predetermined calculation cycles and acquires information about those other vehicles. This information includes information indicating the type, location, and speed of the other vehicles.

[0041] The surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C performs a process to recognize the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10 (hereinafter referred to as the surrounding environment recognition process) based on information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10 obtained from the surrounding environment recognition device 12 mounted on the vehicle 10. The surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C recognizes moving and stationary objects around the vehicle 10. The processing of the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C will be described later.

[0042] The automatic driving control unit 112D performs automatic driving control of the vehicle 10. In this specification, “automatic driving control” includes not only fully automatic driving control in which the computer performs all driving operations in a limited area or without limitation of area, but also driving assistance control in which the computer partially replaces either or both of the accelerator and brake operations or steering operations while the driver is driving.

[0043] The automatic driving control unit 112D generates information on at least one of the target values ​​for the vehicle 10, such as steering angle, vehicle speed, acceleration, and braking force, in order for the vehicle 10 to travel along the route while avoiding other vehicles, pedestrians, or obstacles, and transmits this information to the vehicle control unit 23.

[0044] The reliability calculation unit 112E calculates the driver's confidence level in the automatic driving or driver assistance functions (hereinafter referred to as "automatic driving control functions") provided by the automatic driving control unit 112D. The method for calculating the confidence level by the reliability calculation unit 112E is not particularly limited, and various methods may be employed. For example, the reliability calculation unit 112E may calculate the confidence level based on how often each driver uses the automatic driving control functions provided by the automatic driving control unit 112D, or it may calculate it based on how often each driver performs driving operations contrary to the operation commands given by the automatic driving control unit 112D while the automatic driving control functions are being executed. Alternatively, the reliability calculation unit 112E may calculate the confidence level in the automatic driving control functions based on information entered by each driver in the form of a questionnaire.

[0045] The display control unit 112F displays the recognition result information of the surrounding environment recognition process (hereinafter simply referred to as "recognition result information") on the display device 18 as information visible to the driver of the vehicle 10. In addition, the display control unit 112F displays the recognition result information and information indicating the state of detected objects present around the vehicle 10, which were recognized by the surrounding environment recognition process (hereinafter simply referred to as "detected object information"), on the display device 18 as information visible to the driver of the vehicle 10.

[0046] [Driving assistance methods] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the driver assistance method described herein. The following explanation of this example of the driver assistance method will be given with reference to Figure 3. Note that the flowchart is executed repeatedly at predetermined calculation cycles when the functions of this disclosure are activated.

[0047] <Step S1: Obtain information about the vehicle's surrounding environment> When the processing unit 112 of the driver assistance device 11 detects the activation of the assistance function, the surrounding environment information acquisition unit 112A acquires information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10 in step S1. Specifically, the surrounding environment information acquisition unit 112A acquires image data from, for example, the surrounding environment recognition device 12 (forward-facing cameras 12A, 12B and rear-facing camera 12C).

[0048] <Step S2: Surrounding Environment Recognition Processing> Next, in step S2, the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C performs a process to recognize the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10 based on the surrounding environment information acquired from the surrounding environment information acquisition unit 112A. Specifically, the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C extracts feature points from image data acquired from the surrounding environment recognition device 12 by edge detection processing, etc., performs matching processing (pattern matching) with data of feature point groups of various objects that have been recorded in advance, recognizes objects to be detected that exist around the vehicle 10, identifies the type of object to be detected, and identifies the position of the object to be detected in real space.

[0049] The surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C recognizes objects present around the vehicle 10 by matching the extracted feature point cloud data with data of feature point cloud patterns representing, for example, moving objects such as vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians, guardrails, curbs, roads, buildings and other stationary objects, and lane boundaries, and identifies the type of object. The surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C also identifies the position of the object in real space based on the position of the object within the measurement range and the distance to the object.

[0050] Next, the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C calculates the movement speed of the detected object in real space. For example, the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C uses the measurement information acquired in the current calculation cycle and the measurement information acquired in previous calculation cycles to calculate the movement speed of the detected object in real space based on the time change in the position of the same detected object.

[0051] The ambient environment recognition processing performed in step S2 can be carried out using conventionally known techniques and is not particularly limited. For example, if one of the ambient environment recognition devices 12 is a LiDAR, the measurement information includes information on the velocity of the measurement point, so the processing to calculate the moving velocity by the ambient environment recognition processing unit 112C may be omitted.

[0052] Next, the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C causes the storage device 113 to record information indicating the type of the identified object and information indicating the identified location as recognition result information, and also causes the storage device 113 to record information indicating the calculated movement speed as detection target information. That is, the recognition result information includes information indicating the type of object and information indicating the location of the object. The detection target information also includes information indicating the movement speed of the object. The above-mentioned "location of the object" means, for example, the relative position of the object with respect to the vehicle 10 in real space.

[0053] <Step S3: Calculate the confidence level R> Next, in step S3, the reliability calculation unit 112E calculates the reliability R of the driver of the vehicle 10 for the automatic driving control function. The method for calculating the reliability R is not particularly limited, and conventionally known calculation methods may be used. For example, the reliability calculation unit 112E calculates the reliability R of the automatic driving control function based on information recorded by the driver while the vehicle 10 is being driven or used.

[0054] Specifically, the reliability calculation unit 112E may calculate the reliability R based on how often individual drivers use the automatic driving control function provided by the automatic driving control unit 112D, or it may calculate the reliability R based on how often individual drivers perform driving operations contrary to the operation commands given by the automatic driving control unit 112D while the automatic driving control function is being executed. Alternatively, the reliability calculation unit 112E may calculate the reliability R for the automatic driving control function based on information entered by individual drivers in the form of a questionnaire.

[0055] <Driver status check> FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for facilitating the understanding of the driving support method of the present disclosure. The processing device 112 of the driving support device 11 according to the present embodiment determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a "standard trust state", "distrust state", or "overtrust state" based on the calculated reliability R.

[0056] The above-mentioned standard trust state is the state of the driver when the calculated reliability R is greater than or equal to the first distrust threshold DTH1 and less than or equal to the first overtrust threshold OTH1 (DTH1 ≤ R ≤ OTH1), and it means a state where the reliability of the driver of the vehicle 10 with respect to the automatic driving control function is appropriate. The "state where the reliability is appropriate" means a state where the driver is not in a state of overtrusting the automatic driving control function (overtrust state), but can be regarded as using the automatic driving control function with confidence.

[0057] The first distrust threshold DTH1 is a predetermined threshold for determining whether the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a state of distrust with respect to the automatic driving control function. The first distrust threshold DTH1 corresponds to the "distrust threshold". Also, the first overtrust threshold OTH1 is a predetermined threshold for determining whether the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a state of overtrust with respect to the automatic driving control function. The first overtrust threshold OTH1 corresponds to the "overtrust threshold".

[0058] The above-mentioned distrust state is the state of the driver when the calculated reliability R is less than the first distrust threshold DTH1 (DTH1 > R), and it is a state where the driver of the vehicle 10 shows distrust with respect to the automatic driving control function. When the driver is in a state of distrust with respect to the automatic driving control function, for example, the driver may stop using the automatic driving control function or drive with a sense of uneasiness.

[0059] The above-mentioned overtrust state is the state of the driver when the calculated reliability R is greater than the first overtrust threshold OTH1 (OTH1 < R), and it is a state where the driver of the vehicle 10 shows overtrust with respect to the automatic driving control function. When the driver is in a state of overtrust with respect to the automatic driving control function, the driver may overly depend on the automatic driving control function, and for example, may not be able to avoid situations that the automatic driving control function cannot handle.

[0060] The processing device 112 according to this embodiment further determines whether the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a distrust state or an overtrust state. Specifically, the processing device 112 determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in one of the "first distrust state", "second distrust state", or "third distrust state" among the distrust states. Similarly, the processing device 112 determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in one of the "first overtrust state", "second overtrust state", or "third overtrust state" among the overtrust states.

[0061] The above-mentioned first distrust state is the state of the driver when the calculated reliability R is equal to or greater than a second distrust threshold DTH2 that is smaller than the first distrust threshold DTH1 and smaller than the first distrust threshold DTH1 (DTH2 ≤ R < DTH1), and it is a state in which the driver of the vehicle 10 shows distrust in the automatic driving control function.

[0062] The above-mentioned second distrust state is the state of the driver when the calculated reliability R is equal to or greater than a third distrust threshold DTH3 that is smaller than the second distrust threshold DTH2 and smaller than the second distrust threshold DTH2 (DTH3 ≤ R < DTH2), and it is a state in which the driver of the vehicle 10 shows more distrust in the automatic driving control function than in the first distrust state.

[0063] The above-mentioned third distrust state is the state of the driver when the calculated reliability R is smaller than the third distrust threshold DTH3 (R < DTH3), and it is a state in which the driver of the vehicle 10 shows more distrust in the automatic driving control function than in the second distrust state.

[0064] In this embodiment, the degree to which the driver of the vehicle 10 shows distrust in the automatic driving control function increases in the order of the first distrust state, the second distrust state, and the third distrust state.

[0065] The above-mentioned first overtrust state is the state of the driver when the calculated reliability R is greater than the first overtrust threshold OTH1 and less than or equal to a second overtrust threshold OTH2 that is greater than the first overtrust threshold OTH1 (OTH1 < R ≤ OTH2), and it is a state in which the driver of the vehicle 10 shows overtrust in the automatic driving control function.

[0066] The above-mentioned second over-trust state is the state of the driver when the calculated reliability R is greater than the second over-trust threshold OTH2 and less than or equal to the third over-trust threshold OTH3 that is greater than the second over-trust threshold OTH2 (OTH2 < R ≤ OTH3), and it is a state in which the driver of the vehicle 10 shows more over-trust in the automatic driving control function than in the first over-trust state.

[0067] The above-mentioned third over-trust state is the state of the driver when the calculated reliability R is greater than the third over-trust threshold OTH3 (R > OTH3), and it is a state in which the driver of the vehicle 10 shows more over-trust in the automatic driving control function than in the second over-trust state.

[0068] In the present embodiment, the degree to which the driver of the vehicle 10 shows over-trust in the automatic driving control function increases in the order of the first over-trust state, the second over-trust state, and the third over-trust state.

[0069] <Step S4: Display process><U+ Returning to FIG. 3, in step S4, the display control unit 112F executes a process of displaying at least the information of the recognition result. Hereinafter, step S4 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the display process of the driving support method of the present disclosure.

[0070] (Step S41: DTH1 ≤ R ≤ OTH1?) In step S41, the display control unit 112F determines whether the reliability R calculated in the previous step S3 is greater than or equal to the first disbelief threshold DTH1 and less than or equal to the first over-trust threshold OTH1 (DTH1 ≤ R ≤ OTH1). When the display control unit 112F determines that the calculated reliability R is greater than or equal to the first disbelief threshold DTH1 and less than or equal to the first over-trust threshold OTH1 (YES in step S41), it determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in the standard trust state, and executes the display process of the standard trust state (step S42) described later. On the other hand, when the display control unit 112F determines that the calculated reliability R is not greater than or equal to the first disbelief threshold DTH1 and less than or equal to the first over-trust threshold OTH1 (NO in step S41), it executes step S43 described later.

[0071] (Step S42: Displaying the standard confidence status) Figure 6 shows an example of the display when the driver of vehicle 10 is in a standard confidence state. When the driver of vehicle 10 is in a standard confidence state, the display control unit 112F displays the recognition result information on the display device 18 as information that can be seen by the driver of vehicle 10 in step S42.

[0072] In step S42, the display control unit 112F controls the display range around the vehicle 10 to a first range A1, as shown in Figure 6. The first range A1 is the display range of the display device 18 that displays the measurement results in a first predetermined area A within the measurement range measured by the surrounding environment recognition device 12 in step S1. The first predetermined area A is a predetermined range in real space included in the measurement range. The above-mentioned "display range around the vehicle 10" refers to the display range of the display device 18 that displays an image (e.g., an icon) indicating a detected object recognized within the measurement range of the surrounding environment recognition device 12.

[0073] Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the first predetermined area A, and shows an example of the first predetermined area A. The distance AL1 from the front of the vehicle 10 in the direction of travel toward the front is, for example, 50m, and the distance AL2 from the rear of the vehicle 10 toward the rear is, for example, 10m. In addition, the distances AL3 and AL4 from the vehicle 10 in the direction of travel toward the left and right in the first predetermined area A are longer than the width of the travel lane (vehicle lane) of the road L.

[0074] As a specific application example of step S42, when the driver of vehicle 10 is in a standard confidence state, the display control unit 112F displays images 20A and L1 showing other vehicles 20 and road L recognized within the first predetermined area A among the detected objects recognized within the measurement range of the surrounding environment recognition device 12 in the real space shown in Figure 7, together with image 10A showing vehicle 10, on a display device provided in the instrument panel. This allows the driver of vehicle 10 to understand that other vehicles 20 are present around their vehicle. The "images showing vehicle 10 or other vehicles 20" are not particularly limited, but are typically icons, and the same applies in the following explanation. Note that the display process in the standard confidence state is a display process that makes the driver aware of the position of other vehicles 20 relative to vehicle 10 (front, rear, left, or right), and does not reflect the specific relative position between vehicle 10 and other vehicles 20.

[0075] (Step S43:R) <DTH1?) In step S43, the display control unit 112F determines whether the confidence level R calculated in step S3 is less than the first distrust threshold DTH1. If the display control unit 112F determines that the calculated confidence level R is less than the first distrust threshold DTH1 (YES in step S43), it determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a state of distrust towards the automatic driving control function and performs a distrust state display process to mitigate this state (steps S45 to S49). In the distrust state display process, the display control unit 112F performs a process to display the recognition result information on the display device 18. Furthermore, in the process of step S49 described later in the distrust state display process, the display control unit 112F performs a process to display the recognition result information and the information of the detected object on the display device 18. The distrust state display process will be described below.

[0076] <Displaying the state of distrust> (Step S45: R≧DTH2?) The display control unit 112F determines, in step S45, whether the reliability R calculated in the previous step S3 is greater than or equal to the second disbelief threshold value DTH2. When the display control unit 112F determines that the calculated reliability R is greater than or equal to the second disbelief threshold value DTH2 (DTH2 ≤ R < DTH1) (YES in step S45), it determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in the first disbelief state, and executes the display process for the first disbelief state (step S46) to alleviate this state. On the other hand, when the display control unit 112F determines that the calculated reliability R is not greater than or equal to the second disbelief threshold value DTH2 (NO in step S45), it executes step S47 described later.

[0077] (Step S46: Display process for the first disbelief state) FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver of the vehicle 10 is in the first disbelief state. In step S46, the display control unit 112F causes the display device 18 to display, as information visible to the driver of the vehicle 10, the information of the recognition result including the information indicating the type of the detection object.

[0078] As a specific application example of step S46, when the passenger car 21, the truck 22, and the road L existing around the vehicle 10 are recognized by the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C in the real space shown in FIG. 7, the display control unit 112F, as shown in FIG. 8, causes the images 21A, 22A, and L1 indicating the passenger car 21, the truck 22, and the road L to be displayed on the display device provided in the instrument panel together with the image 10A indicating the vehicle 10. In the display process for the first disbelief state, unlike the display process for the standard reliability state (see FIG. 6) in which only the image 20A indicating the other vehicle 20 is displayed, an image corresponding to the type of the detection object recognized by the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C is displayed, so that the driver of the vehicle 10 can specifically grasp that the other vehicles 20 existing around the own vehicle are the passenger car 21 and the truck 22, and further, can feel that the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C can accurately recognize the surrounding objects. Thereby, the sense of tension of the driver of the vehicle 10 is alleviated and the sense of trust in the automatic driving control function is increased, and the state of the driver can be alleviated from the first disbelief state toward the standard reliability state.

[0079] (Step S47: R ≥ DTH3? In step S47, the display control unit 112F determines whether the reliability R calculated in the previous step S3 is equal to or greater than a third disbelief threshold DTH3 that is smaller than the second disbelief threshold DTH2. If the calculated reliability R is determined to be equal to or greater than the third disbelief threshold DTH3 (DTH3 ≤ R < DTH2) (YES in step S47), the display control unit 112F determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a second disbelief state, and executes display processing for the second disbelief state (step S48) to alleviate this state. On the other hand, if the calculated reliability R is determined not to be equal to or greater than the third disbelief threshold DTH3 (R < DTH3) (NO in step S47), the display control unit 112F determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a third disbelief state, and executes display processing for the third disbelief state (step S49) to alleviate this state.

[0080] (Step S48: Display processing for the second disbelief state) FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example when the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a second disbelief state. In step S48, the display control unit 112F causes the display device 18 to display information of the recognition result including information indicating the specific relative position of the detection target as information visible to the driver of the vehicle 10.

[0081] As a specific application example of step S48, when a passenger car 21, a truck 22, and a road L existing around the vehicle 10 are recognized by the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C in the real space shown in FIG. . 、 truck 22 , and road L Images 21A, 22A ,L1 showing the above are displayed on a display device provided in the instrument panel together with an image 10A showing the vehicle 10.

[0082] In the second state of distrust display process, the driver of vehicle 10 can not only specifically understand that passenger car 21 and truck 22 are present around their vehicle, but also understand the relative positions of passenger car 21 and truck 22 to their vehicle. Furthermore, the driver of vehicle 10 can feel even more confident that the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C is accurately recognizing the surrounding objects. As a result, the driver of vehicle 10's tension is reduced and their confidence in the automatic driving control function increases, allowing the driver's state to shift from the second state of distrust to the standard confidence state.

[0083] (Step S49: Display process for the third distrust state) Figures 10-12 show examples of displays when the driver of vehicle 10 is in a third-level distrust state. In step S49, the display control unit 112F displays the recognition result information and information indicating the movement speed of the detected object as information of the detected object on the display device 18 as information visible to the driver of vehicle 10.

[0084] As a specific application example of step S49, when the passenger car 21, truck 22, and road L surrounding the vehicle 10 are recognized by the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C in the real space shown in Figure 7, the display control unit 112F displays images 21A, 22A, and L1 showing the passenger car 21, truck 22, and road L as information of the recognition result, along with text information indicating the movement speed of the other vehicle 20 as information of the detected object, on a display device provided in the instrument panel, as shown in Figure 10.

[0085] As a result, not only can the driver of the vehicle 10 specifically recognize the presence of the passenger car 21 and the truck 22 around the host vehicle, but also can recognize the positions of the passenger car 21 and the truck 22 relative to the host vehicle, and further can recognize the moving speeds of the passenger car 21 and the truck 22. In addition, the driver of the vehicle 10 can feel that the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C can accurately recognize the surrounding objects. Therefore, the tension of the driver of the vehicle 10 is alleviated, the trust in the automatic driving control function is increased, and the state of the driver can be relaxed from the third distrust state toward the standard trust state.

[0086] In the process of step S49, not only the information of the recognition result and the information of the detection target object are simply displayed on the display device 18, but the display control unit 112F executes a process of varying the number of items of the information of the detection target object according to the reliability of the driver of the vehicle 10 in the driving support device 11. Specifically, the display control unit 112F executes a process of increasing the number of items as the reliability of the driver of the vehicle 10 in the driving support device 11 is lower. Hereinafter, specific application examples of this process will be described.

[0087] As a specific application example of step S49, when the reliability R1 calculated by the reliability calculation unit 112E is smaller than the third distrust threshold value DTH3 (R1 < DTH3), as shown in FIG. 10, the display control unit 112F displays character information indicating the moving speeds of the passenger car 21 and the truck 22 existing around the vehicle 10 on the display device provided in the instrument panel, together with the images 21A, 22A, and L1 showing the passenger car 21, the truck 22, and the road L.

[0088] When the reliability R2 calculated by the reliability calculation unit 112E is less than the third disbelief threshold DTH3 and is further less than the above reliability R1 (R2 < R1 < DTH3), as shown in FIG. 11, the display control unit 112F combines the images 21A, 22A, L1 showing the passenger car 21, the truck 22, and the road L with the character information indicating the moving speeds of all the other vehicles 20, and causes the character information indicating the acceleration of the other vehicles 20 to be displayed on the display device provided in the instrument panel.

[0089] Further, when the reliability R3 calculated by the reliability calculation unit 112E is less than the third disbelief threshold DTH3 and is further less than the above reliability R2 (R3 < R2 < R1 < DTH3), as shown in FIG. 12, the display control unit 112F combines the images 21A, 22A, L1 showing the passenger car 21, the truck 22, and the road L with the character information indicating the moving speeds and accelerations of all the other vehicles 20, and causes the character information indicating the types (types such as passenger cars, large vehicles, motorcycles, etc.) of the other vehicles 20 to be displayed on the display device provided in the instrument panel.

[0090] In the display process of the third disbelief state, as described above, the lower the reliability of the driver of the vehicle 10 with respect to the automatic driving control function, the more the character information indicating the other vehicles 20 increases. For this reason, the driver of the vehicle 10 can grasp more information about the other vehicles 20 existing around the own vehicle as the reliability of the driver with respect to the automatic driving control function of the own vehicle is lower. In addition, the driver of the vehicle 10 can further feel that the surrounding environment recognition processing unit 112C can accurately recognize the surrounding objects. Thereby, the sense of tension of the driver of the vehicle 10 is alleviated and the sense of trust in the automatic driving control function is increased, and the state of the driver can be relaxed from the third disbelief state toward the standard trust state.

[0091] Returning to FIG. 5, when the display control unit 112F determines that the reliability R calculated in the previous step S3 is not less than the first disbelief threshold DTH1, that is, when it determines that the reliability R is greater than the first overconfidence threshold OTH1 (NO in step S43), it determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in an overconfident state with respect to the automatic driving control function, and executes an overconfidence state display process to improve this state (step S44). In the overconfidence state display process, the display control unit 112F executes a process of making the display range around the vehicle 10 different from the first range A1. Specifically, the higher the reliability of the driver of the vehicle 10 with respect to the automatic driving control function, the narrower the display range is made (steps S442 to S445). Hereinafter, the overconfidence state display process will be described with reference to FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the overconfidence state display process.

[0092] <Overconfidence state display process> (Step S441: R ≤ OTH2?) In step S441, the display control unit 112F determines whether or not the calculated reliability R is less than or equal to the second overconfidence threshold OTH2. When the display control unit 112F determines that the calculated reliability R is less than or equal to the second overconfidence threshold (OTH1 < R ≤ OTH2) (YES in step S441), it determines that the reliability of the driver of the vehicle 10 is in the first overconfidence state, and executes the first overconfidence state display process (step S

[0093] (Step S442: First overconfidence state display process) FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a display example when the driver is in the first overconfidence state. In step S442, the display control unit 112F executes a process of making the display range around the vehicle 10 narrower than the first range A1 (see FIG. 6).

[0094] [[ID=1,7]] In step S442, the display control unit 112F controls the display range around the vehicle 10 to a second range B1, as shown in Figure 14. The second range B1 is the display range of the display device 18 that displays the measurement results in the second predetermined area B of the measurement range measured by the surrounding environment recognition device 12 in step S1. The second predetermined area B is a range in real space that is narrower than the first predetermined area A within the said measurement range.

[0095] Figure 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the second predetermined area B, and shows an example of the second predetermined area B. The distance BL1 from the front of the vehicle 10 in the direction of travel toward the front is, for example, 25m, and the distance BL2 from the rear of the vehicle 10 toward the rear in the direction of travel toward the rear is, for example, 10m. In addition, the distances BL3 and BL4 from the vehicle 10 in the left and right directions in the second predetermined area B are longer than the width of the travel lane (vehicle lane) of the road L.

[0096] As a specific application example of step S442, when the driver of vehicle 10 is in a first overconfidence state, the display control unit 112F displays images 20A and L1 showing other vehicles 20 and road L recognized within the second predetermined area B among the detected objects recognized within the measurement range of the surrounding environment recognition device 12 in the real space shown in Figure 15, together with image 10A showing vehicle 10, on a display device provided in the instrument panel. In the display process for the first overconfidence state, the display range around vehicle 10 is narrowed, which encourages a sense of vigilance in the driver of vehicle 10. This makes it possible to improve the state of the driver of vehicle 10 from the first overconfidence state to the standard confidence state.

[0097] (Step S443: R≦OTH3?) The display control unit 112F determines, in step S443, whether or not the reliability R calculated in the previous step S3 is less than or equal to the third overconfidence threshold OTH3. When the display control unit 112F determines that the calculated reliability R is less than or equal to the third overconfidence threshold OTH3 (OTH2 < R ≤ OTH3) (YES in step S443), it determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in the second overconfidence state, and executes display processing for the second overconfidence state to improve this state (step S444). On the other hand, when the display control unit 112F determines that the calculated reliability R is not less than or equal to the third overconfidence threshold OTH3, that is, when it determines that the reliability R is greater than the third overconfidence threshold OTH3 (R > OTH3) (NO in step S443), it determines that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in the third overconfidence state, and executes display processing for the third overconfidence state to improve this state (step S445).

[0098] (Step S444: Display processing for the second overconfidence state) FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of display when the driver is in the second overconfidence state. In step S444, the display control unit 112F executes processing to make the display range around the vehicle 10 narrower than the second range B1 (see FIG. 14).

[0099] In the processing of step S443, as shown in FIG. 16, the display control unit 112F controls the display range around the vehicle 10 to the third range C1. The third range C1 is the display range of the display device 18 that displays the measurement result in the third predetermined region C among the measurement ranges in which the surrounding environment recognition device 12 measures the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10 in the previous step S1. The third predetermined region C is a range in the real space that is narrower than the second predetermined region B in the measurement range.

[0100] FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the third predetermined region C, and is a diagram showing an example of the third predetermined region C. The distance from the front end of the vehicle 10 in the third predetermined region C toward the front in the traveling direction is 0 m, and the distance CL1 from the rear end of the vehicle 10 toward the rear in the traveling direction is, for example, 10 m. Also, the distances CL2 and CL3 from the vehicle 10 in the third predetermined region C in the left-right direction are distances longer than the width of the driving lane (vehicle passing zone) of the road L.

[0101] As a specific application example of step S443, when the driver of vehicle 10 is in a second overconfidence state, the display control unit 112F displays images 20A and L1 showing other vehicles 20 and road L recognized within the third predetermined area C among the detected objects recognized within the measurement range of the surrounding environment recognition device 12 in the real space shown in Figure 17, together with image 10A showing vehicle 10, on a display device provided in the instrument panel. In the display processing for the third overconfidence state, the image showing other vehicles 20 located in front of the vehicle 10 in the direction of travel is not displayed on the display device 18, thus encouraging the driver of vehicle 10 to focus their attention on what is ahead in the direction of travel. This makes it possible to improve the state of the driver of vehicle 10 from the second overconfidence state to the standard confidence state.

[0102] (Step S445: Display process for the third overconfidence state) Figure 18 shows an example of the display when the driver is in a third overconfidence state. In step S445, the display control unit 112F performs a process to narrow the display range around the vehicle 10 to the third range C1 (see Figure 16).

[0103] In step S445, the display control unit 112F controls the display range around the vehicle 10 to a fourth range D1, as shown in Figure 18. The fourth range D1 is the display range of the display device 18 that displays the measurement results in the fourth predetermined area D of the measurement range measured by the surrounding environment recognition device 12 in step S1. The fourth predetermined area D is a range in real space that is narrower than the third predetermined area C of the measurement range and does not include other vehicles 20 present around the vehicle 10.

[0104] Figure 19 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the fourth predetermined region D, and shows an example of the fourth predetermined region D. The distance DL1 from the front of the vehicle 10 in the fourth predetermined region D toward the front in the direction of travel is shorter than the distance between the vehicle 10 and another vehicle 20 located in front of the vehicle 10 in the direction of travel. Also, the distance DL2 from the rear end of the vehicle 10 in the fourth predetermined region D toward the rear in the direction of travel is shorter than the distance between the vehicle 10 and another vehicle 20 located behind the vehicle 10 in the direction of travel. Furthermore, the distances DL3 and DL4 from the side of the vehicle 10 in the left-right direction in the fourth predetermined region D are shorter than the distance between the vehicle 10 and other vehicles 20 located in the left-right direction toward the vehicle 10.

[0105] As a specific application example of step S445, when the driver of vehicle 10 is in a third overconfidence state, the display control unit 112F displays an image L1 showing a road L recognized within the fourth predetermined area D among the detected objects recognized within the measurement range of the surrounding environment recognition device 12 in the real space shown in Figure 19, along with an image 10A showing vehicle 10, on a display device provided in the instrument panel as recognition result information. In the display process for the third overconfidence state, images showing other vehicles 20 present around vehicle 10 are not displayed on the display device 18, thus encouraging the driver of vehicle 10 to be more aware of the surroundings of their own vehicle. This improves the state of the driver of vehicle 10 from the third overconfidence state to the standard confidence state.

[0106] As described above, the driver assistance device 11 according to this embodiment includes one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the one or more processors in a communicative manner, and the one or more processors perform the following: a process for acquiring information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10; a process for recognizing the surrounding environment based on the information about the surrounding environment; a process for calculating the confidence level of the driver of the vehicle 10 in the automatic driving control function by the automatic driving control unit 112D; a process for displaying at least the recognition result information; and, in conjunction with the display of the recognition result information, a process for changing the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle 10 or the state of detected objects present around the vehicle 10 according to the confidence level.

[0107] According to the above-described driver assistance device 11, even if the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a state of distrust, showing distrust towards the automatic driving control function, the display control unit 112F can mitigate the driver's state of distrust toward a standard confidence state by adjusting the number of items to match the state of distrust. Furthermore, even if the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a state of overconfidence, showing overconfidence towards the automatic driving control function, the display control unit 112F can improve the driver's state of overconfidence toward a standard confidence state by adjusting the display range around the vehicle 10 to match the state of overconfidence. In other words, according to the driver assistance device 11 of this embodiment, if the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a state of overconfidence or distrust towards the automatic driving control function, these states can be brought to an appropriate state.

[0108] Furthermore, if the calculated confidence level R is greater than the first overconfidence threshold OTH1, one or more processors according to this embodiment determine that the driver of the vehicle 10 is in an overconfident state with respect to the automatic driving control function. If the driver of the vehicle 10 is in an overconfident state, the display range around the vehicle 10 is changed to differ from the first range A1. As a result, even if the driver of the vehicle 10 is in an overconfident state with respect to the automatic driving control function, the display control unit 112F can improve the driver's overconfidence state toward a standard confidence state by changing the display range around the vehicle 10 to a range corresponding to the overconfidence state, which differs from the first range A1.

[0109] Furthermore, one or more processors according to this embodiment narrow the display range around the vehicle 10 as the driver of the vehicle 10's confidence in the automatic driving control function increases. In this embodiment, narrowing the display range around the vehicle 10 encourages a sense of vigilance in the driver of the vehicle 10. This can improve the driver's overconfidence towards a standard confidence state.

[0110] Furthermore, one or more processors according to this embodiment determine that the driver of vehicle 10 is in a state of distrust towards the automatic driving control function if the calculated confidence level R is smaller than the first distrust threshold DTH1, and if the driver of vehicle 10 is in a state of distrust, the number of items is changed. According to this embodiment, even if the driver of vehicle 10 is in a state of distrust indicating distrust towards the automatic driving control function, the display control unit 112F can increase the confidence in the automatic driving control function and mitigate the driver's state of distrust toward a standard confidence state by changing the number of items according to the state of distrust.

[0111] Furthermore, in this embodiment, one or more processors increase the number of items as the driver of the vehicle 10's level of trust in the automatic driving control function decreases. According to this embodiment, even if the driver of the vehicle 10 is in a state of distrust, indicating distrust in the automatic driving control function, the display control unit 112F can mitigate the driver's state of distrust toward a standard trust state by increasing the number of items.

[0112] Furthermore, in the driving assistance method for assisting the driving of the vehicle 10 according to this embodiment, one or more processors perform the steps of: acquiring information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle 10; recognizing the surrounding environment based on the information about the surrounding environment; calculating the confidence level of the vehicle 10 driver in the automatic driving control function of the automatic driving control unit 112D; displaying at least the recognition result information; and, in conjunction with the display of the recognition result information, varying the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle 10 or the state of detected objects present around the vehicle 10 according to the confidence level.

[0113] According to the above driving assistance method, even if the driver of vehicle 10 is in a state of distrust, showing distrust of the automatic driving control function, the display control unit 112F can mitigate the driver's state of distrust toward a standard confidence state by adjusting the number of items to match the state of distrust. Furthermore, even if the driver of vehicle 10 is in a state of overconfidence, showing overconfidence of the automatic driving control function, the display control unit 112F can improve the driver's state of overconfidence toward a standard confidence state by adjusting the display range around vehicle 10 to match the state of overconfidence. In other words, according to the driving assistance method of this embodiment, if the driver of vehicle 10 is in a state of overconfidence or distrust of the automatic driving control function provided by the automatic driving control unit 112D, these states can be brought to an appropriate state.

[0114] 2. Variations While embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above and various modifications may be made. Specific examples of modifications that may be given to the above embodiments are given below. The above embodiments may be modified to one or more embodiments arbitrarily selected from the following examples, to the extent that they do not contradict each other.

[0115] [Example 1] In the above embodiment, when the driver is in a state of distrust, the display control unit 112F displays information about the other vehicle 20 in text format, but it is not limited to this. For example, the display control unit 112F may display information about the other vehicle 20's speed and acceleration using a level meter, or display it in different sizes depending on the magnitude of the value.

[0116] [Differentiation 2] In the above embodiment, the type and location of the detected object are identified by the surrounding environment recognition process, and the movement speed of the detected object is calculated, but the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the driver assistance device may obtain information indicating the type, location, and movement speed of the detected object from the recognized object via vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and display this information during the distrust status display process.

[0117] [Difference 3] In the specific application examples of the above embodiment, the objects to be detected recognized in the surrounding environment recognition process are vehicles and roads, but are not limited to these. In the surrounding environment recognition process of the above embodiment, objects other than vehicles and roads may be recognized. In this case, the driver assistance device may display information on the recognition results for objects other than vehicles and roads, as well as information on the objects themselves, during the display process for distrust or overconfidence.

[0118] 3. Supplement The driver assistance devices and driver assistance methods exemplified in the above embodiments are applicable to passenger cars, but the driver assistance devices and driver assistance methods of this disclosure may also be applied to mobile vehicles other than passenger cars, and the uses of this disclosure are not particularly limited.

[0119] Furthermore, the effects described herein are merely descriptive or illustrative and not limiting. In other words, the present invention may produce other effects that will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description herein, in addition to or instead of the effects described herein.

[0120] While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the attached drawings, the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. It is clear that a person with ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs may conceive of various modifications or alterations within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and these will naturally be understood to fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0121] For example, some of the functions of the driver assistance device exemplified in the above embodiment may be provided in other devices. Specifically, for example, some or all of each step (steps S1 to S4) in the driver assistance method of this disclosure may be performed by other vehicles that are mutually communicateable with the vehicle to be assisted via vehicle-to-vehicle communication, or by an information processing device (e.g., a cloud server) that is mutually communicateable with the vehicle to be assisted via a communication network.

[0122] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the driver assistance device is an electronic control unit mounted on the vehicle, but the technology of this disclosure is not limited to this example. For example, the driver assistance device may be a portable terminal configured to communicate with a device other than the vehicle and to issue drive commands to any display device. Examples of such portable terminals include laptop computers, mobile phones, smartphones, or tablet devices.

[0123] Furthermore, the technology of this disclosure can also be realized as a vehicle equipped with the driver assistance device described in the above embodiment, a driver assistance method using the driver assistance device, a computer program that causes a computer to function as the above driver assistance device, and a non-temporary tangible recording medium on which the computer program is recorded.

[0124] 4. Addendum From the forms exemplified above, the following aspects can be understood.

[0125] A driver assistance device according to one aspect of the present disclosure (Aspect 1) is a driver assistance device for assisting the driving of a vehicle, comprising one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the one or more processors in a communicative manner, wherein the one or more processors perform the following: a process for acquiring information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle; a process for recognizing the surrounding environment based on the information about the surrounding environment; a process for calculating the degree of confidence of the vehicle's driver in the driver assistance device; a process for displaying information of the recognition result of at least the process for recognizing the surrounding environment; and, in conjunction with the display of the recognition result information, a process for varying the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of detectable objects present around the vehicle, according to the degree of confidence.

[0126] According to the driver assistance device of Embodiment 1, even if the vehicle driver is in a state of distrust towards the driver assistance device, the driver assistance device can mitigate the driver's state of distrust toward a standard confidence state by adjusting the number of items to match the state of distrust. Furthermore, even if the vehicle driver is in a state of overconfidence towards the driver assistance device, the driver assistance device can improve the driver's state of overconfidence toward a standard confidence state by adjusting the display range around the vehicle to match the state of overconfidence. In other words, according to the driver assistance device of this disclosure, if the vehicle driver is in a state of overconfidence or distrust towards the driver assistance device, these states can be brought to an appropriate state.

[0127] According to a specific example of Embodiment 1 (Embodiment 2), if the calculated reliability is less than or equal to a predetermined overconfidence threshold for determining whether the driver is in an overconfident state with the driver assistance system, and greater than or equal to a distrust threshold for determining whether the driver is in a distrust state with the driver assistance system, then the one or more processors determine that the driver's state with respect to the driver assistance system is a standard confidence state, and if the driver is in the standard confidence state, the display range is set to the first range. According to this embodiment, by displaying information about objects within an appropriate range around the vehicle with an appropriate amount of information, the driver of the vehicle can use the driver assistance system with peace of mind without becoming overconfident.

[0128] According to a specific example of Embodiment 2 (Embodiment 3), if the calculated confidence level is greater than the overconfidence threshold, one or more processors determine that the driver is in an overconfident state with respect to the driver assistance system, and if the driver is in an overconfident state, the display range is changed to differ from the first range. According to this embodiment, even if the vehicle driver is in an overconfident state with respect to the driver assistance system, the driver assistance system can improve the driver's overconfidence state toward a standard confidence state by changing the display range around the vehicle from the first range to a range corresponding to the overconfidence state.

[0129] According to a specific example of Embodiment 3 (Embodiment 4), the one or more processors narrow the display range as the vehicle driver's level of confidence in the driver assistance system increases. In this embodiment, narrowing the display range around the vehicle encourages a sense of vigilance in the vehicle driver. This can improve the driver's overconfidence towards a standard confidence state.

[0130] According to one specific example of embodiments 2 to 4 (embodiment 5), if the calculated reliability is less than the distrust threshold, one or more processors determine that the driver is in a state of distrust towards the driver assistance system, and if the driver is in a state of distrust, they change the number of items. According to this embodiment, even if the vehicle driver is in a state of distrust towards the driver assistance system, the driver assistance system can mitigate the driver's state of distrust toward a standard confidence state by adjusting the number of items to a number appropriate to the state of distrust.

[0131] According to a specific example of Embodiment 5 (Embodiment 6), the lower the driver's level of trust in the driver assistance system, the more items are included. In this embodiment, even if the driver of the vehicle is in a state of distrust, the driver assistance system can mitigate the driver's state of distrust toward a standard level of trust by increasing the number of items included.

[0132] A driving assistance method according to one aspect of the present disclosure (Aspect 7) includes the steps of: one or more processors acquiring information about the surrounding environment of a vehicle; recognizing the surrounding environment based on the information about the surrounding environment; calculating the driver's confidence level in the driving assistance device; displaying information about the recognition result of at least the process of recognizing the surrounding environment; and, in conjunction with the display of the recognition result information, varying the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of detectable objects present around the vehicle, according to the confidence level.

[0133] According to the driver assistance method of Embodiment 7, even if the vehicle driver is in a state of distrust towards the driver assistance device, the driver assistance device can mitigate the driver's state of distrust toward a standard confidence state by adjusting the number of items to match the state of distrust. Furthermore, even if the vehicle driver is in a state of overconfidence towards the driver assistance device, the driver assistance device can improve the driver's state of overconfidence toward a standard confidence state by adjusting the display range around the vehicle to match the state of overconfidence. In other words, according to the driver assistance method of this disclosure, if the vehicle driver is in a state of overconfidence or distrust towards the driver assistance device, these states can be brought to an appropriate state.

[0134] A computer program according to one aspect of the present disclosure (Aspect 8) causes a processor to execute a process that includes acquiring information about the surrounding environment of a vehicle, recognizing the surrounding environment based on the information about the surrounding environment, calculating the driver's confidence level in the vehicle's driver assistance system, displaying information about the recognition result of at least the process of recognizing the surrounding environment, and, in conjunction with the display of the recognition result information, varying the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of detected objects present around the vehicle according to the confidence level.

[0135] The computer program of embodiment 8, when executed by the processor, can adjust the number of items to a level appropriate to the driver's level of distrust, even if the driver of the vehicle is in a state of distrust, indicating distrust of the driver assistance system. This mitigates the driver's state of distrust toward a standard confidence state. Furthermore, the computer program of embodiment 8, when executed by the processor, can adjust the display range around the vehicle to a level appropriate to the driver's level of overconfidence, even if the driver of the vehicle is in a state of overconfidence, indicating overconfidence of the driver assistance system. This improves the driver's state of overconfidence toward a standard confidence state.

[0136] A non-temporary tangible recording medium according to one aspect of the present disclosure (Aspect 9) records a computer program that causes a processor to execute a process including acquiring information about the surrounding environment of a vehicle, recognizing the surrounding environment based on the information about the surrounding environment, calculating the degree of confidence the vehicle's driver has in the driver assistance system, displaying information about the recognition result of at least the process of recognizing the surrounding environment, and, in conjunction with the display of the recognition result information, varying the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of detected objects present around the vehicle according to the degree of confidence.

[0137] According to the recording medium of embodiment 9, even if the vehicle driver is in a state of distrust, the number of items will be adjusted by the processor executing the program to a number appropriate for the state of distrust, thereby mitigating the driver's state of distrust toward a standard confidence state. Furthermore, even if the vehicle driver is in a state of overconfidence, the display range around the vehicle will be adjusted by the processor to a range appropriate for the state of overconfidence, thereby improving the driver's state of overconfidence toward a standard confidence state. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0138] 10…Vehicles eligible for support 11…Driving assistance systems 12…Surrounding environment recognition device 18...Display device 20... Other vehicles

Claims

1. In a driver assistance system that assists in the operation of a vehicle, It comprises one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the one or more processors in a communicative manner, The aforementioned one or more processors are A process for acquiring information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle, Based on the information of the surrounding environment, a process is performed to recognize the surrounding environment, A process for calculating the driver's confidence in the driver assistance system of the vehicle, At least a process to display information of the recognition result of the process of recognizing the surrounding environment, As the information of the recognition result is displayed, the following process is performed to change the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of the detected object present around the vehicle, according to the confidence level: If the calculated confidence level is less than or equal to a predetermined overconfidence threshold for determining whether the driver is in a state of overconfidence with the driver assistance system, and greater than or equal to a predetermined disconfidence threshold for determining whether the driver is in a state of distrust with the driver assistance system, then it is determined that the driver's state with respect to the driver assistance system is in a standard confidence state. A driving assistance device that sets the display range to a first range when the driver is in the standard confidence state.

2. The aforementioned one or more processors If the calculated confidence level is greater than the predetermined overconfidence threshold, it is determined that the driver is in a state of overconfidence with the driver assistance system. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the display range is made different from the first range when the driver is in the overconfident state.

3. The aforementioned one or more processors The driver assistance device according to claim 2, wherein the display range is narrowed as the driver of the vehicle has higher confidence in the driver assistance device.

4. The aforementioned one or more processors If the calculated confidence level is less than the predetermined distrust threshold, it is determined that the driver is in a state of distrust towards the driver assistance system. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the number of items is changed when the driver is in the distrust state.

5. The aforementioned one or more processors The driver assistance device according to claim 4, wherein the number of items is increased as the driver of the vehicle's level of trust in the driver assistance device decreases.

6. One or more processors, Steps include acquiring information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle, Based on the information about the surrounding environment, the steps include: recognizing the surrounding environment; A step of calculating the driver's confidence in the vehicle's driver assistance system, The steps include at least the step of recognizing the surrounding environment and displaying information of the recognition result of the process, As the information of the recognition result is displayed, the following steps are performed: the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of the detected object present around the vehicle is changed according to the confidence level, If the calculated confidence level is less than or equal to a predetermined overconfidence threshold for determining whether the driver is in a state of overconfidence with the driver assistance system, and greater than or equal to a predetermined disconfidence threshold for determining whether the driver is in a state of distrust with the driver assistance system, then it is determined that the driver's state with respect to the driver assistance system is in a standard confidence state. A driving assistance method in which, when the driver is in the standard confidence state, the display range is set to a first range.

7. To acquire information about the surrounding environment of the vehicle, Based on the information about the surrounding environment, the surrounding environment is recognized, To calculate the driver's confidence level in the driver assistance system of the aforementioned vehicle, At a minimum, the system recognizes the surrounding environment and displays information about the recognition results of the process. As the information of the recognition result is displayed, the number of items of information indicating the display range around the vehicle or the state of the detected object present around the vehicle will be varied according to the confidence level, If the calculated confidence level is less than or equal to a predetermined overconfidence threshold for determining whether the driver is in an overconfident state with the driver assistance system, and greater than or equal to a predetermined distrust threshold for determining whether the driver is in a distrust state with the driver assistance system, then it is determined that the driver's state with respect to the driver assistance system is in a standard confidence state, and if the driver is in the standard confidence state, then the display range is set to the first range. A non-temporary, tangible recording medium that stores a computer program that causes a processor to perform a specific process.

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