Vehicle control system, vehicle control method, and program

Abstract

To improve accuracy in detecting a target when road surface drawing is performed.SOLUTION: A control system for a vehicle includes: target detection means for detecting a target in a predetermined detection cycle on the basis of a captured image acquired by image capturing means for capturing an image of a predetermined area in a travel direction of the vehicle; road surface drawing means for irradiating, with drawing light, a road surface in the predetermined area in the travel direction of the vehicle, thereby performing road surface drawing for drawing an indication of a specific pattern on the road surface; and control means for controlling the target detection means and the road surface drawing means. When the target detection means detects the target in a road surface drawing area that is an irradiation area with the drawing light while the road surface drawing is being performed, the control means switches irradiation with the drawing light by the road surface drawing means from a lighting state to a blinking state in a predetermined first cycle, and switches a detection cycle of the target detection means to a second cycle that is an integral multiple of the first cycle, thereby adjusting a target detection timing to a timing at which the drawing light is brought into a lighting-off state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control system, a vehicle control method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for irradiating drawing light from an in-vehicle lamp onto the road surface in front of the vehicle and drawing a pattern display of a pattern having regularity on the road surface, so as to quickly make both the driver and pedestrians aware of the presence.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0004] A vehicle may be equipped with a camera for detecting an object existing around the vehicle. However, in a vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle lamp as described in Patent Document 1, when the road surface drawing and the object overlap, the camera may not be able to appropriately detect the object due to the influence of the drawing light, resulting in undetected or misdetected situations.

[0005] The technology of the present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to effectively improve the detection accuracy of an object when performing road surface drawing.

[0006] The vehicle control system of the present disclosure is an object detection means for detecting an object existing in the predetermined area at a predetermined detection cycle based on a captured image obtained by a capturing means that captures a predetermined area in the traveling direction of the vehicle; a road surface drawing means for executing road surface drawing for irradiating drawing light onto the road surface in a predetermined area in the traveling direction of the vehicle to draw a display of a specific pattern on the road surface; A vehicle control system comprising: a target detection means for detecting the target and a control means for controlling the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, The control means is If, during the execution of the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, the target detection means detects a target within the road surface drawing area which is the area illuminated by the drawing light, The illumination of the drawing light by the road surface drawing means is switched from an illuminated state to a blinking state that repeats between an illuminated state and an off state in a predetermined first cycle, By switching the detection cycle of the target detection means to a second cycle which is an integer multiple of the first cycle, the timing of target detection is synchronized with the timing when the drawing light is turned off. It is characterized by the following:

[0007] The vehicle control method described herein is: A target detection means detects targets present in a predetermined area at a predetermined detection interval based on the captured image acquired by a shooting means that photographs a predetermined area in the direction of travel of a vehicle, A road surface drawing means performs road surface drawing by irradiating a drawing light onto the road surface in a predetermined area in the direction of travel of the vehicle, thereby drawing a specific pattern on the road surface. A vehicle control method comprising: a control means for detecting the object by the object detection means and a control means for controlling the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, If, during the execution of the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, the target detection means detects a target within the road surface drawing area which is the area illuminated by the drawing light, The illumination of the drawing light by the road surface drawing means is switched from an illuminated state to a blinking state that repeats between an illuminated state and an off state in a predetermined first cycle, By switching the detection cycle of the target detection means to a second cycle which is an integer multiple of the first cycle, the timing of target detection is synchronized with the timing when the drawing light is turned off. It is characterized by the following:

[0008] The program disclosed herein is A target detection means detects targets present in a predetermined area at a predetermined detection interval based on the captured image acquired by a shooting means that photographs a predetermined area in the direction of travel of a vehicle, A road surface drawing means performs road surface drawing by irradiating a drawing light onto the road surface in a predetermined area in the direction of travel of the vehicle, thereby drawing a specific pattern on the road surface. A computer in a vehicle control system comprising the above-mentioned target detection means for detecting the target and the above-mentioned road surface drawing means for drawing the road surface, If, during the execution of the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, the target detection means detects a target within the road surface drawing area which is the area illuminated by the drawing light, The illumination of the drawing light by the road surface drawing means is switched from an illuminated state to a blinking state that repeats between an illuminated state and an off state in a predetermined first cycle, By switching the detection cycle of the target detection means to a second cycle which is an integer multiple of the first cycle, a process is executed to synchronize the target detection timing with the timing when the drawing light is turned off. It is characterized by the following: [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of the vehicle according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of road surface drawing according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram showing the software configuration of the control device according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a timing chart illustrating the processing flow of the switching control according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This flowchart illustrates the routines for road surface drawing control, image recognition control, and switching control according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Hereinafter, a vehicle control system, a vehicle control method, and a program according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] [Hardware Configuration] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of a vehicle VH according to the present embodiment.

[0012] The vehicle VH has an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10. The ECU 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an interface device 14, and the like. The CPU 11 is a processor that executes various programs stored in the ROM 12. The ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory that stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various programs. The RAM 13 is a volatile memory that provides a work area in which various programs are expanded when executed by the CPU 11. The interface device 14 is a communication device for communicating with an external device.

[0013] The ECU 10 is a central device that performs various controls of the vehicle VH. For this reason, a drive device 20, a steering device 21, a braking device 22, an in-vehicle sensor device 30, a camera 40, a road surface drawing device 50, and the like are communicably connected to the ECU 10.

[0014] The drive device 20 generates a driving force transmitted to the drive wheels of the vehicle VH. Examples of the drive device 20 include an electric motor and an engine. In the present embodiment, the vehicle VH may be any of a hybrid vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV), a fuel cell vehicle (FCEV), an electric vehicle (BEV), and an engine vehicle. The steering device 21 applies a steering force to the wheels of the vehicle VH. The braking device 22 applies a braking force to the wheels of the vehicle VH.

[0015] The interior sensor device 30 is sensors that acquire the state of the vehicle VH. Specifically, the interior sensor device 30 includes a vehicle speed sensor 31, a brake sensor 32, a steering angle sensor 33, a shift sensor 34, a direction indicator switch sensor 35, and the like.

[0016] The vehicle speed sensor 31 detects the traveling speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle VH. The brake sensor 32 detects the operation amount of a brake pedal (not shown) by the driver. The steering angle sensor 33 detects the rotation angle (steering angle) of a steering wheel or a steering shaft (not shown). The shift sensor 34 detects the shift position (parking P, drive D, reverse R, neutral N, etc.) of the vehicle VH. The direction indicator switch sensor 35 detects the ON and OFF of the direction indicator mounted on the vehicle VH. The interior sensor device 30 transmits the state of the vehicle VH detected by each of the sensors 31 to 35 to the ECU 10 at a predetermined cycle.

[0017] The camera 40 is the imaging means of the present disclosure and captures the surroundings of the vehicle VH. As the camera 40, for example, a digital camera having an imaging element such as a CMOS or a CCD can be used. The camera 40 transmits the captured image data to the ECU 10 at a predetermined cycle.

[0018] The road surface drawing device 50 includes a light source 51, a light deflection device 52, etc. The road surface drawing device 50 draws a predetermined pattern of figures, characters, etc. on the road surface by irradiating the road surface with drawing light from the light source 51. As the light source 51, for example, a semiconductor light-emitting element such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode), LD (Laser Diode), or EL (Electro Luminescence) element can be used. The light deflection device 52 irradiates the road surface with the drawing light emitted from the light source 51. As the light deflection device 52, for example, a DMD (Digital Mirror Device) can be used. The light deflection device 52 includes, for example, a micromirror array in which a plurality of tiny mirror elements are arranged in a matrix. The micromirror array can form displays of various patterns of figures, characters, etc. by controlling the ON and OFF states of each mirror element arranged in the matrix.

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a display drawn on the road surface by the road surface drawing device 50. As shown in Figure 2A, when a vehicle VH starts moving forward, for example, the road surface drawing device 50 draws a notification display, such as a figure composed of two dashed lines or straight lines, on the road surface in front of the vehicle VH, which is the direction of travel. Also, as shown in Figure 2B, when a vehicle VH starts moving backward, for example, the road surface drawing device 50 draws a notification display, such as a figure composed of two dashed lines or straight lines, on the road surface behind the vehicle VH, which is the direction of travel. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2C, when a vehicle VH turns left, for example, the road surface drawing device 50 draws a notification display, such as a figure composed of dashed lines or straight lines, on the road surface to the left front of the vehicle VH, which is the direction of travel. When a vehicle VH turns right, the road surface drawing device 50 draws the notification display from Figure 2C horizontally inverted on the road surface to the right front of the vehicle VH. In this way, by drawing notification displays such as shapes indicating the starting direction and turning direction of the vehicle (VH) on the road surface, it becomes possible to effectively make pedestrians and others in the vicinity aware of the presence and direction of the vehicle (VH).

[0020] [Software Configuration] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the software configuration of the ECU 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the ECU 10 includes a road surface drawing control unit 100, a target recognition unit 110, a switching control unit 120, and other functional elements. Each of these functional elements 100 to 120 is realized by the CPU 11 of the ECU 10 reading a program stored in the ROM 12 into the RAM 13 and executing it. Note that all or part of each of the functional elements 100 to 120 may be provided in another ECU separate from the ECU 10, or in an information processing device of a facility (such as a management center) that can communicate with the vehicle VH.

[0021] When predetermined execution conditions are met, the road surface drawing control unit 100 transmits a drawing instruction signal to the road surface drawing device 50 (turns the drawing instruction signal ON), thereby executing road surface drawing control that causes the road surface drawing device 50 to draw a notification display of a pattern appropriate to the situation on the road surface in the direction of travel of the vehicle VH. Examples of execution conditions include when the vehicle VH starts moving forward, when the vehicle VH starts moving backward, and when the vehicle VH turns right or left.

[0022] When vehicle VH starts moving forward, the road surface drawing control unit 100 causes the road surface drawing device 50 to draw a notification display of the pattern shown in Figure 2A on the road surface in front of vehicle VH. Whether vehicle VH starts moving forward can be determined based on the detection results of the shift sensor 34 and brake sensor 32. Also, when vehicle VH starts moving backward, the road surface drawing control unit 100 causes the road surface drawing device 50 to draw a notification display of the pattern shown in Figure 2B on the road surface behind vehicle VH. Whether vehicle VH starts moving backward can be determined based on the detection results of the shift sensor 34 and brake sensor 32. Furthermore, when vehicle VH turns left, the road surface drawing control unit 100 causes the road surface drawing device 50 to draw a notification display of the pattern shown in Figure 2C on the road surface in front of vehicle VH to the left. Whether vehicle VH turns left can be determined based on the detection results of the turn signal switch sensor 35, steering angle sensor 33, vehicle speed sensor 31, etc. Furthermore, when vehicle VH makes a right turn, the road surface drawing control unit 100 causes the road surface drawing device 50 to draw the notification display shown in Figure 2C on the road surface to the right front of vehicle VH, with the display horizontally inverted.

[0023] The object recognition unit 110 processes image data transmitted from the camera 40 to recognize object information, which is information about objects (surrounding vehicles, pedestrians, fallen objects, etc.) present around the vehicle VH, at a predetermined recognition cycle (hereinafter referred to as the reference recognition cycle). The object information represents information such as the type of object detected around the vehicle VH, the relative distance between the vehicle VH and the object, and the relative speed between the vehicle VH and the object. The type of object can be recognized, for example, by machine learning such as pattern matching. The object information recognized by the object recognition unit 110 is used for driver assistance control such as parking support brake (PKSB), rear camera detection (RCD), and pre-collision safety (PCS). Driver assistance control is a concept that includes autonomous driving control.

[0024] Incidentally, when recognizing objects around the vehicle VH based on image data captured by camera 40, if the object overlaps with a notification display drawn on the road surface, the influence of the drawing light may lead to misdetection of the object or misrecognition of its relative distance. Performing various driving assistance controls based on such misdetection or misrecognition can lead to a decrease in the accuracy of the control.

[0025] When the switching control unit 120 detects that a target is drawn on the road surface and overlaps with the notification display area (hereinafter referred to as the road surface drawing area) during the execution of road surface drawing control, it switches the road surface drawing to a blinking state that alternates between an lit state and an off state at a predetermined blinking cycle (the first cycle in this disclosure). At the same time, it synchronizes the recognition cycle of the target based on image data with the blinking cycle of the road surface drawing, thereby executing switching control to prevent the target from not being detected or misrecognized. The details of the switching control process by the switching control unit 120 will be described below.

[0026] Figure 4 is a timing chart illustrating the processing flow of the switching control. When the road surface drawing execution conditions are met at time t0, the road surface drawing control unit 100 starts drawing the road surface (i.e., turns on the drawing instruction signal). Time t1 is the timing when a target within the camera 40's shooting area overlaps with the road surface drawing area, that is, the timing when the target enters the road surface drawing area. The road surface drawing control unit 100 keeps the light source 51 of the road surface drawing device 50 continuously lit (i.e., keeps the drawing instruction signal continuously ON) for the period from time t0 to time t1. Also, from before time t0 to time t1, the target recognition unit 110 recognizes targets around the vehicle VH at a reference recognition cycle based on the image data captured by the camera 40.

[0027] At time t1, when the target overlaps with the road surface drawing area, the switching control unit 120 switches the light source 51 of the road surface drawing device 50 to a blinking state, blinking at a predetermined blinking cycle. That is, it repeatedly turns the drawing instruction signal transmitted from the road surface drawing control unit 100 to the road surface drawing device 50 ON / OFF. Also at time t1, when the target overlaps with the road surface drawing area, the switching control unit 120 switches the target recognition cycle of the target recognition unit 110 to a specific recognition cycle (the second cycle in this disclosure) that is an integer multiple of the blinking cycle, so that the timing of target recognition matches the timing of the road surface drawing turning off. That is, the target can be recognized without being affected by the drawing light emitted from the road surface drawing device 50. This makes it possible to effectively prevent misdetection of targets that overlap with notification displays drawn on the road surface, as well as misrecognition of relative distances, etc.

[0028] At time t2, when the target no longer overlaps with the road surface drawing area, the switching control unit 120 terminates the switching control. That is, it keeps the light source 51 of the road surface drawing device 50 continuously lit (continuously turns on the drawing instruction signal) and returns the target recognition timing to the normal reference recognition cycle. Then, at time t3, when a predetermined termination condition is met, the road surface drawing control unit 100 terminates the road surface drawing (i.e., turns off the drawing instruction signal). The termination condition is not particularly limited, but for example, if vehicle VH was reversing, it should be met when the shift sensor 34 detects a shift position other than reverse R. Also, if vehicle VH was turning right or left, for example, the termination condition should be met when the turn signal switch sensor 35 detects OFF.

[0029] Next, based on Figure 5, the routines for road surface drawing control, image recognition control, and switching control performed by the CPU 11 of the ECU 10 will be explained. This routine starts when the conditions for executing road surface drawing are met and ends when the conditions for ending road surface drawing are met.

[0030] In step S100, the ECU 10 performs road surface drawing control by turning on the drawing instruction signal, causing the road surface drawing device 50 to draw a notification display of a pattern appropriate to the situation on the road surface in the direction of travel of the vehicle VH. Next, in step S110, the ECU 10 determines whether or not an object in the camera 40's shooting area has entered the road surface drawing area. If the object has entered the road surface drawing area (Yes), the ECU 10 proceeds to the process in step S120. On the other hand, if the object has not entered the road surface drawing area (No), the ECU 10 returns to the process in step S100.

[0031] In step S120, the ECU 10 switches the light source 51 of the road surface drawing device 50 to a blinking state, blinking at a predetermined blinking period. In step S130, the ECU 10 switches the target recognition period to a specific recognition period that is an integer multiple of the blinking period. The processes in steps S120 and S130 may be performed in any order and may be performed simultaneously. Thereafter, the ECU 10 repeatedly executes the processes in steps S100 to S130 described above until the road surface drawing termination condition is met.

[0032] Although the vehicle control system, vehicle control method, and program according to the present embodiment have been described above, this disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the purpose of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A target detection means detects targets present in a predetermined area at a predetermined detection interval based on the captured image acquired by a shooting means that photographs a predetermined area in the direction of travel of a vehicle, A road surface drawing means performs road surface drawing by irradiating a drawing light onto the road surface in a predetermined area in the direction of travel of the vehicle, thereby drawing a specific pattern on the road surface. A vehicle control system comprising: a target detection means for detecting the target and a control means for controlling the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, The control means is If, during the execution of the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, the target detection means detects a target within the road surface drawing area which is the area illuminated by the drawing light, The illumination of the drawing light by the road surface drawing means is switched from an illuminated state to a blinking state that repeats between an illuminated state and an off state in a predetermined first cycle, By switching the detection cycle of the target detection means to a second cycle which is an integer multiple of the first cycle, the timing of target detection is synchronized with the timing when the drawing light is turned off. A vehicle control system characterized by the following features.

2. A target detection means detects targets present in a predetermined area at a predetermined detection interval based on the captured image acquired by a shooting means that photographs a predetermined area in the direction of travel of a vehicle, A road surface drawing means performs road surface drawing by irradiating a drawing light onto the road surface in a predetermined area in the direction of travel of the vehicle, thereby drawing a specific pattern on the road surface. A vehicle control method comprising: a control means for detecting the object by the object detection means and a control means for controlling the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, If, during the execution of the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, the target detection means detects a target within the road surface drawing area which is the area illuminated by the drawing light, The illumination of the drawing light by the road surface drawing means is switched from an illuminated state to a blinking state that repeats between an illuminated state and an off state in a predetermined first cycle, By switching the detection cycle of the target detection means to a second cycle which is an integer multiple of the first cycle, the timing of target detection is synchronized with the timing when the drawing light is turned off. A vehicle control method characterized by the following features.

3. A target detection means detects targets present in a predetermined area at a predetermined detection interval based on the captured image acquired by a shooting means that photographs a predetermined area in the direction of travel of a vehicle, A road surface drawing means performs road surface drawing by irradiating a drawing light onto the road surface in a predetermined area in the direction of travel of the vehicle, thereby drawing a specific pattern on the road surface. A computer in a vehicle control system comprising the detection of the target by the target detection means and the control means for controlling the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, If, during the execution of the road surface drawing by the road surface drawing means, the target detection means detects a target within the road surface drawing area which is the area illuminated by the drawing light, The illumination of the drawing light by the road surface drawing means is switched from an illuminated state to a blinking state that repeats between an illuminated state and an off state in a predetermined first cycle, By switching the detection cycle of the target detection means to a second cycle that is an integer multiple of the first cycle, a process is executed to synchronize the timing of target detection with the timing when the drawing light is turned off. A program characterized by the following features.

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