Headlight control device and headlight control method

Abstract

This headlight control device comprises: an orientation detection unit (12) that detects the orientation of a driver of a vehicle (100) on the basis of an image in which the driver is captured; a target object presence / absence judgement unit (14) that judges whether or not a target object is present in the direction in which the driver is oriented, on the basis of orientation information pertaining to the orientation of the driver and vehicle surrounding information; a target object state judgement unit (15) that, if the target object is determined to be present in the direction in which the driver is oriented, judges the state in which the target object is set, on the basis of the vehicle surrounding information; a control content determination unit (16) that determines an irradiation range of light or an irradiation light amount by a headlight (2) mounted to the vehicle (100) on the basis of target object state information and the orientation information; and a light distribution control unit (17) that causes the headlight (2) to emit light on the basis of the irradiation range or the irradiation light amount determined by the control content determination unit (16).

Description

Headlight control device and headlight control method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a headlight control device and a headlight control method.

[0002] Conventionally, in controlling the lighting of vehicle headlights, there is known a technique for controlling the lighting of an area in the direction in which the driver is facing in order to improve the driver's visibility (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] JP 2009-120148 A

[0004] When an object such as an obstacle is present in the direction in which the driver is facing, the range or amount of light emitted by the headlights that is preferable for making the object more visible to the driver varies depending on the situation in which the object is located. Conventional technologies have had the problem of not being able to control the lighting of headlights in consideration of the situation in which an object is located in the direction in which the driver is facing.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a headlight control device that can perform headlight lighting control in a vehicle based on the direction the driver is facing, taking into account the situation where an object is located in the direction the driver is facing.

[0006] The headlight control device according to the present disclosure includes: an orientation detection unit that detects the orientation of the driver based on an image of the driver of the vehicle; an object presence / absence determination unit that determines whether or not there is an object that is estimated to be visible to the driver in the direction the driver is facing, based on orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and information regarding the surroundings of the vehicle; an object situation determination unit that determines the situation in which the object is located, based on the information regarding the surroundings of the vehicle, if the object presence / absence determination unit determines that there is an object in the direction the driver is facing; a control content determination unit that determines the illumination range or illumination amount of light by the headlights provided on the vehicle, based on the object situation information regarding the situation in which the object is located determined by the object situation determination unit and the orientation information; and a light distribution control unit that causes the headlights to emit light based on the illumination range or illumination amount determined by the control content determination unit.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, in a vehicle, when controlling the lighting of headlights based on the direction in which the driver is facing, lighting control can be performed taking into account the situation in which objects are located in the direction in which the driver is facing.

[0008] 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating an example of the configuration of a headlight control device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 9A is a diagram for explaining an example of the illumination range and illumination light intensity determined by the control content determination unit in Embodiment 1. FIG. 9B is a diagram for explaining another example of the illumination range and illumination light intensity determined by the control content determination unit in Embodiment 1. FIG. 9B is a diagram for explaining another example of the illumination range and illumination light intensity determined by the control content determination unit in Embodiment 1. FIG. 9A is a diagram for explaining another example of the illumination range and illumination light intensity determined by the control content determination unit in Embodiment 1. FIG. 9B is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the headlight control device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 9B is a diagram for explaining control to reduce the illumination light intensity when the headlight control device determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing in Embodiment 1.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a headlight control device 1 according to embodiment 1. In embodiment 1, it is assumed that the headlight control device 1 is mounted on a vehicle 100.

[0010] The headlight control device 1 controls the illumination of the headlights 2 provided on the vehicle 100 based on the direction of the driver of the vehicle 100. In the first embodiment, the "direction of the vehicle" is represented by the direction of the driver's face or the direction of the driver's line of sight. Specifically, the headlight control device 1 determines whether or not an object (hereinafter referred to as a "target object") that is estimated to be the visual target of the driver of the vehicle 100 is present in the direction the driver is facing. If it determines that a target object is present, the headlight control device 1 controls the illumination of the headlights 2, taking into account the situation in which the target object is located. In the first embodiment, the illumination control of the headlights 2 performed by the headlight control device 1 is specifically intended to control the illumination range or illumination intensity of light emitted by the headlights 2. In the first embodiment, the target object is assumed to be present in front of the vehicle 100 while the driver is driving the vehicle 100. The target object includes moving objects, including people, and stationary objects, such as objects installed on the road.

[0011] In embodiment 1, it is assumed that the headlight control device 1 controls the illumination of the headlights 2 based on the driver's direction when the headlights 2 are turned on in a dark location, such as a parking lot at night, an urban area at night, or an underground parking lot.

[0012] The headlight control device 1 is connected to a headlight 2, an in-vehicle image capturing device 3, and a surrounding information acquisition device 4. The surrounding information acquisition device 4 includes a millimeter-wave radar 41 and an outside-vehicle image capturing device 42. The headlight 2, the in-vehicle image capturing device 3, and the surrounding information acquisition device 4 are provided in a vehicle 100.

[0013] The headlight 2 is a lighting fixture that illuminates the area ahead of the vehicle 100. The headlight 2 is, for example, a general headlight that can emit a high beam, a low beam, and an auxiliary light, and therefore a detailed configuration example will not be described here. The headlight 2 includes a left light (not shown) mounted on the left side of the vehicle 100 relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, and a right light (not shown) mounted on the right side of the vehicle 100 relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. The left light is composed of a high beam unit (not shown) that illuminates a distant object, a low beam unit (not shown) that illuminates a nearby object, and an auxiliary light unit (not shown). The right light is composed of a high beam unit (not shown) that illuminates a distant object, a low beam unit (not shown) that illuminates a nearby object, and an auxiliary light unit (not shown). The high beam unit, the low beam unit, and the auxiliary light unit are each composed of a plurality of light sources (not shown), such as LED light sources, arranged in an array, and each light source can be turned on individually. In the first embodiment, "arranged in an array" means that the light sources are arranged in a row in the width direction of the vehicle 100. When each light source is turned on, high beam, low beam, or auxiliary light is irradiated onto the area in front of the vehicle 100. Note that, although the headlight 2 is herein configured with a plurality of light sources such as LED light sources arranged in an array, this is merely an example, and the headlight 2 may have a different configuration. For example, the headlight 2 may have a configuration in which a laser excitation light source is used as the light source.

[0014] In the first embodiment, the area in front of the vehicle 100 where the high beam unit can irradiate a high beam is referred to as a "high beam irradiable area." How far forward of the vehicle 100 and how large the area of ​​the high beam irradiable area is is determined in advance according to the specifications of the high beam unit, etc. In the first embodiment, the area in front of the vehicle 100 where the low beam unit can irradiate a low beam is referred to as a "low beam irradiable area." Note that in the first embodiment, low beam is also referred to as a "passing light." How far forward of the vehicle 100 and how large the area of ​​the low beam irradiable area is is determined in advance according to the specifications of the low beam unit, etc. In the first embodiment, the area in front of the vehicle 100 where the auxiliary light unit can irradiate auxiliary light is referred to as an "auxiliary light irradiable area." How far forward of the vehicle 100 and how large the area of ​​the auxiliary light irradiable area is is determined in advance according to the specifications of the auxiliary light unit, etc.

[0015] The headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment controls the illumination or blocking of high beams, low beams, or auxiliary light by, for example, turning on or off each light source. In this way, the headlight control device 1 controls the illumination range of the light from the headlights 2. The headlight control device 1 not only turns on and off each light source, but can also control the amount of light when it is turned on.

[0016] The in-vehicle image capturing device 3 is a camera or the like installed in the vehicle 100 for the purpose of monitoring the interior of the vehicle 100, and is installed so as to be able to capture at least an image of the face of the driver. The in-vehicle image capturing device 3 is an infrared camera or a visible light camera. The in-vehicle image capturing device 3 outputs the captured image (hereinafter referred to as an "in-vehicle image") to the headlight control device 1. In the first embodiment, the in-vehicle image capturing device 3 is assumed to be, for example, a device shared with an image capturing device included in a so-called "driver monitoring system (DMS)" that is installed in the vehicle 100 to monitor the state of the driver inside the vehicle 100.

[0017] The surrounding information acquisition device 4 is a device that acquires information about objects present around the vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle surrounding information”). The surrounding information acquisition device 4 includes a millimeter wave radar 41 and an outside-vehicle image capture device 42.

[0018] The millimeter-wave radar 41 acquires information about the distance to an object outside the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "distance information") as vehicle surroundings information. The millimeter-wave radar 41 transmits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the vehicle 100 and receives the reflected waves from the object. The millimeter-wave radar 41 can detect the presence of an object, the distance to the object, the shape of the object, and the like associated with the reflected waves based on the time from when the radio waves are transmitted to when the reflected waves are received. The distance information acquired by the millimeter-wave radar 41 includes information about the presence of an object, the distance to the object, the shape of the object, and the like. The radio waves are irradiated to multiple areas within a predetermined range around the vehicle 100, and the distance information includes information about the presence of an object, the distance to the object, the shape of the object, and the like for the number of areas irradiated with the radio waves.

[0019] The outside-vehicle image capturing device 42 is, for example, a front camera, and acquires, as vehicle surroundings information, an image of the area ahead of the vehicle 100 (hereinafter referred to as a “vehicle front image”). The outside-vehicle image capturing device 42 is an infrared camera or a visible light camera.

[0020] The surrounding information acquisition device 4 outputs the acquired vehicle surrounding information to the headlight control device 1. In detail, the millimeter wave radar 41 outputs distance information to the headlight control device 1, and the outside image capture device 42 outputs an image of the area ahead of the vehicle to the headlight control device 1.

[0021] Next, a description will be given of an example configuration of the headlight control device 1. The headlight control device 1 includes an interior image acquisition unit 11, a direction detection unit 12, a surrounding information acquisition unit 13, a target object presence / absence determination unit 14, a target object situation determination unit 15, a control content determination unit 16, and a light distribution control unit 17.

[0022] The in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 acquires an in-vehicle image from the in-vehicle imaging device 3. The in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired in-vehicle image to the orientation detection unit 12. Note that the orientation detection unit 12 may have the function of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11.

[0023] The orientation detection unit 12 detects the orientation of the driver based on the in-vehicle captured image acquired by the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 from the in-vehicle image capture device 3. The orientation detection unit 12 detects the orientation of the driver, in other words, the facial orientation or gaze direction of the driver, using a known image recognition technology. The image recognition technology for detecting the facial orientation of a person from a captured image in which the person's face is captured and the image recognition technology for detecting the gaze direction of a person from a captured image in which the person's face is captured are known technologies, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0024] In the first embodiment, the driver's orientation is expressed as an angle with respect to a reference direction. In the first embodiment, the reference direction is, for example, a linear direction passing through the center of the driver's head and a point in front of the center of the head. Since the installation position and angle of view of the in-vehicle image capture device 3 are known in advance, the orientation detection unit 12 can calculate the position of the center of the driver's head. The position of the center of the driver's head is a point in real space and is expressed, for example, by coordinate values ​​that can be mapped on a map. The driver's orientation is expressed, for example, by a horizontal angle and a vertical angle with respect to the reference direction. In detail, the driver's orientation is, for example, based on the state (0 degrees) when the driver faces forward in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. The left-right orientation of the driver is expressed as an angle that increases as the driver faces rightward from the state facing forward in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, and an angle that decreases as the driver faces leftward from the state facing forward in the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. The vertical orientation of the driver is expressed as an angle that increases as the driver faces upward relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 from a state in which the driver is facing forward, and decreases as the driver faces downward relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100 from a state in which the driver is facing forward. Note that in the first embodiment, "front" is not limited to being strictly directly forward, but also includes an angle that is approximately forward.

[0025] Furthermore, when the orientation detection unit 12 detects the orientation of the driver, it calculates an estimated position where the driver is attempting to view (hereinafter referred to as an "estimated viewing position") based on the detected orientation of the driver. For example, the estimated viewing position is expressed by an angle and distance from the position of the vehicle 100, in other words, a point in a direction and at a distance from the position of the vehicle 100. Note that the estimated viewing position is a point in real space. In the first embodiment, the point to be defined as the position of the vehicle 100 is determined in advance. For example, the position of the vehicle 100 is a point on the front end of the vehicle. For example, the position of the vehicle 100 may be the installation position of the headlight 2. The installation position of the in-vehicle image capture device 3, the angle of view of the in-vehicle image capture device 3, the orientation of the driver, and the positional relationship between the driver's head position, which serves as a reference for the driver's orientation, and the installation position of the in-vehicle image capture device 3 are known in advance. Furthermore, the positional relationship between the position of the vehicle 100 and the installation position of the in-vehicle image capture device 3 is known in advance. The orientation detection unit 12 can calculate the estimated viewing position of the driver from the orientation of the driver detected based on the in-vehicle captured image. For example, the orientation detection unit 12 determines the intersection of a virtual line indicating the viewing direction of the right eye and a virtual line indicating the viewing direction of the left eye as the estimated viewing position for the driver's viewing direction, and calculates the coordinates of the estimated viewing position. The orientation detection unit 12 outputs information (hereinafter referred to as "orientation information") in which the detected orientation of the driver is associated with the calculated estimated viewing position of the driver to the target object presence / absence determination unit 14.

[0026] The surrounding information acquisition unit 13 acquires vehicle surrounding information from the surrounding information acquisition device 4. Specifically, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13 acquires distance information and an image of the area ahead of the vehicle from the millimeter-wave radar 41 and the outside-vehicle image capture device 42, respectively. The surrounding information acquisition unit 13 outputs the acquired vehicle surrounding information to the target object presence / absence determination unit 14. Note that the function of the surrounding information acquisition unit 13 may be provided by the target object presence / absence determination unit 14.

[0027] The target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines whether or not there is a target object estimated to be viewed by the driver in the direction the driver is facing, based on the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12 and the vehicle surroundings information acquired by the surroundings information acquisition unit 13. For example, if an object is detected within a range (hereinafter referred to as the "target object determination orientation range") centered on the estimated viewing position and extending horizontally and vertically from the estimated viewing position by a predetermined distance relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle 100, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing. If no object is detected within the target object determination orientation range, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing. The target object presence / absence determination unit 14 may determine whether or not an object exists within the target object determination orientation range based on distance information acquired by the millimeter-wave radar 41. The size of the target object determination orientation range can be set as appropriate. The installation position and radio wave irradiation range of the millimeter-wave radar 41, as well as the positional relationship between the position of the vehicle 100 and the installation position of the millimeter-wave radar 41, are known in advance. Based on this information, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 can determine, for example, the direction in which an object detected by the millimeter-wave radar 41 is located as viewed from the vehicle 100 and the distance from the vehicle 100. Therefore, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 can determine whether or not an object has been detected within the target object determination direction range.

[0028] The above-described method for determining whether or not a target object is present in the direction in which the driver is facing is merely an example. The target object presence / absence determination unit 14 may determine whether or not a target object is present in the direction in which the driver is facing, for example, based on a front image of the vehicle acquired by the outside-vehicle image capture device 42.

[0029] The target object presence / absence determination unit 14 generates information indicating whether or not it has been determined that a target object exists in the direction the driver is facing (hereinafter referred to as "target object presence / absence determination information"), and outputs the target object presence / absence determination information to the target object situation determination unit 15. At this time, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 associates the target object presence / absence determination information with the direction information output from the direction detection unit 12 and the vehicle surroundings information output from the surroundings information acquisition unit 13, and outputs the result to the target object situation determination unit 15.

[0030] When the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that a target object is present in the direction the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15 determines the situation in which the target object is located based on the vehicle surroundings information. Note that the target object situation determination unit 15 can determine that the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 has determined that a target object is estimated to be present based on the target object presence / absence determination information.

[0031] In the first embodiment, the situation in which the target object is placed includes the type of the target object, the size of the target object, the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object, or the brightness of the surface of the target object.

[0032] The type of the target object is assumed to be, in detail, a human or a non-human. The target object situation determination unit 15 can determine whether the type of the target object is a human or a non-human by, for example, performing image recognition processing using a known image recognition technology on the image ahead of the vehicle included in the vehicle surroundings information.

[0033] Specifically, the size of the target object is assumed to be the height as seen from the vehicle 100. The target object situation determination unit 15, for example, performs image recognition processing on the image in front of the vehicle using a known image recognition technology, and can determine the height of the target object based on the height of the target object in the image in front of the vehicle and the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Note that the relationship between the installation position and radio wave irradiation range of the millimeter-wave radar 41 and the installation position and angle of view of the outside-vehicle image capture device 42 is known in advance, so the target object situation determination unit 15 can associate the object in the image in front of the vehicle with the object indicated by the distance information. For example, the target object situation determination unit 15 may determine the height of the target object from information regarding the size of the target object included in the distance information.

[0034] Note that, for example, when the headlights 2 are not controlled to irradiate light above the cutoff line, the target object may not be illuminated with enough light, making it impossible to determine the type of target object (human or non-human) or the size of the target object from the image ahead of the vehicle. In this case, for example, the target object situation determination unit 15 requests the light distribution control unit 17 to emit light for determining the type or size of the target object (hereinafter referred to as "target object determination lighting"). The illumination range and illumination intensity of the target object determination lighting can be set as appropriate. Note that the arrow from the target object situation determination unit 15 to the light distribution control unit 17 is omitted in FIG. 1 .

[0035] Furthermore, since the positional relationship between the installation position of the millimeter wave radar 41 and the position of the vehicle 100 is known in advance, the target object situation determination unit 15 can determine the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object based on the distance information.

[0036] Furthermore, the target object situation determination unit 15 can determine the brightness of the surface of the target object from the brightness of the range in which the target object is captured on the image ahead of the vehicle. For example, the target object situation determination unit 15 determines the average brightness value of the pixels included in the range in which the target object is captured on the image ahead of the vehicle as the brightness of the range in which the target object is captured on the image ahead of the vehicle, in other words, the brightness of the surface of the target object.

[0037] The target object situation determination unit 15 outputs information relating to the determined situation in which the target object is located (hereinafter referred to as "target object situation information") to the control content determination unit 16. At this time, the target object situation determination unit 15 associates the target object situation information, target object presence / absence determination information, orientation information, and vehicle surroundings information, and outputs them to the control content determination unit 16.

[0038] When the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 outputs target object presence / absence determination information indicating that it has determined that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15 does not need to determine the situation in which the target object is located. In this case, the target object situation determination unit 15 outputs, for example, the target object presence / absence determination information, the direction information, and the vehicle surroundings information in association with each other to the control content determination unit 16.

[0039] When the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that a target object is present in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range and illumination intensity of light by the headlights 2 provided on the vehicle 100 based on target object situation information regarding the situation of the target object determined by the target object situation determination unit 15 and orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit 12. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines the extent of the illumination range of light by the headlights 2 among the high beam illumination range, low beam illumination range, and auxiliary light illumination range in the direction the driver is facing, and the illumination intensity of light to be applied to the illumination range of the headlights 2. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical and horizontal ranges of the illumination range in the direction the driver is facing. The vertical and horizontal ranges of the illumination range are expressed, for example, as angles from the installation position of the headlights 2, with the installation position of the headlights 2 set as a reference (0 degrees). Note that the positional relationship between the driver's head position, which serves as a reference for the direction the driver is facing, and the installation position of the headlight 2 is known in advance, so the control content determination unit 16 can associate the driver's direction with the range of light illuminated by the headlight 2. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine, from the target object presence / absence determination information, that the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 has determined that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing. In the following description, the range of light illuminated by the headlight 2 will also be simply referred to as the "illumination range." Furthermore, the amount of light illuminated in the range of light illuminated by the headlight 2 will also be simply referred to as the "illumination amount."

[0040] An example of a method for determining the illumination range and illumination light intensity by the control content determination unit 16 will be described. The control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range and illumination light intensity in the direction in which the driver is facing, for example, based on target object situation information, orientation information, and control content determination conditions for determining the control content of the headlights 2 in the direction in which the driver is facing. The control content determination conditions are generated in advance by an administrator or the like, and stored in a location that can be referenced by the control content determination unit 16. The control content determination conditions include, for example, the following conditions, <Condition 1> to <Condition 5>.

[0041] <Condition 1> When the distance from the vehicle to the target object is less than the distance determination threshold, the cutoff line is maintained in the vertical direction. In other words, the illumination range is a range below the cutoff line but not above it, and the illumination range is a range expanded to the left and right by the horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's direction. The amount of illumination light is arbitrary. <Condition 2> When the brightness of the surface of the target object is equal to or greater than the brightness determination threshold, the cutoff line is maintained in the vertical direction. In other words, the illumination range is a range below the cutoff line but not above it, and the illumination range is a range expanded to the left and right by the horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's direction. The amount of illumination light is arbitrary. <Condition 3> When the target object is within the illumination range of the passing lights, the cutoff line is maintained in the vertical direction. In other words, the illumination range is a range below the cutoff line but not above it, and the illumination range is a range expanded to the left and right by the horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's direction. The amount of illumination light is arbitrary. <Condition 4> If the type of target object is a person and the distance from the vehicle to the person is equal to or greater than the distance determination threshold, the illumination range is set to a range below the person's head in the vertical direction and a range expanded left and right by the horizontal illumination angle with the driver's orientation as the reference. The amount of illumination light is increased as the distance from the vehicle to the person increases. <Condition 5> If the type of target object is not a person and the distance from the vehicle to the target object is equal to or greater than the distance determination threshold, the illumination range is set to a range below the height of the target object in the vertical direction and a range expanded left and right by the horizontal illumination angle with the driver's orientation as the reference. The amount of illumination light is increased as the distance from the vehicle to the target object increases.

[0042] The distance determination threshold, brightness determination threshold, horizontal illumination angle, and vertical illumination angle in the control content determination conditions are each set to a predetermined value by an administrator or the like. The distance determination threshold, brightness determination threshold, horizontal illumination angle, and vertical illumination angle in the control content determination conditions are stored, along with the control content determination conditions, in a location that can be referenced by the control content determination unit 16. The distance determination threshold in <Condition 1>, the distance determination threshold in <Condition 2>, and the distance determination threshold in <Condition 3> may be the same value or different values. Here, as an example, the distance determination threshold in <Condition 1>, the distance determination threshold in <Condition 2>, and the distance determination threshold in <Condition 3> are assumed to be the same value. In the first embodiment, the "up-down direction" refers to the height direction of the vehicle 100, and the "left-right direction" refers to the width direction of the vehicle 100.

[0043] The above-described content of the control content determination conditions is merely an example, and the administrator or the like can set the content of the control content determination conditions as appropriate.

[0044] Here, an example of the illumination range and illumination light intensity in the direction the driver is facing, determined by the control content determination unit 16 in the first embodiment based on the target object status information, orientation information, and the control content determination conditions, will be described with reference to specific examples using drawings. The control content determination conditions are set to the above-described <Condition 1> to <Condition 5>, and the control content determination conditions are set to a distance determination threshold of "30 (m)," a brightness determination threshold of "B (B is an integer)," a horizontal illumination angle of "0.5 (degrees)," and a vertical illumination angle of "0.5 (degrees)." Figures 2 to 6 are diagrams showing an example of the illumination range and illumination light intensity determined by the control content determination unit 16 in the first embodiment when a target object is present. Figures 2 to 6 show a road on which the vehicle 100 is traveling, viewed from the right side of the roadway. For convenience, FIGS. 2 to 6 are diagrams showing light actually being emitted from the headlights 2 of the vehicle 100. However, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content (illumination range and illumination intensity), but does not actually cause the headlights 2 to emit light. The light emission control of the headlights 2 is performed by the light distribution control unit 17. FIGS. 2 to 6 illustrate the state that would result if light were emitted with the illumination range and illumination intensity determined by the control content determination unit 16. Here, for example, the illumination range of the passing lights is assumed to be a range of 30 m from the vehicle 100. The distances shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 6 refer to the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object.

[0045] <Example 1> For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , assume that a target object is present in the direction the driver is facing, and the distance between the vehicle 100 and the target object is 25 m. That is, the target object is located at a distance of 25 m from the vehicle 100. In this case, the control content determination unit 16 maintains the cutoff line in the vertical direction based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 1> of the control content determination conditions. In other words, the illumination range is set to a range below the cutoff line but not above it, and expanded left and right by the horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's orientation. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine that the distance between the vehicle 100 and the target object is 25 m from the target object situation information. Furthermore, the control content determination unit 16 can determine the driver's orientation from the orientation information. The cutoff line and the vertical range to be maintained are known in advance. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical range of the illumination range in the direction the driver is facing as the range in which the cutoff line is maintained, and the horizontal range of the illumination range as the range of ±0.5 (degrees) from the driver's direction. The control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination light intensity as desired. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination light intensity to be a preset reference value.

[0046] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so that light from the headlights 2 is irradiated with the reference value of the irradiation light intensity in the irradiation range shown by "LA1" in Fig. 2. Even if there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, if the target object is located close to the vehicle 100, the driver can see the target object just by having the passing lights illuminate the target object.

[0047] <Example 2> For example, as shown in FIG. 3, assume that a target object is present in the direction the driver is facing. However, as shown in FIG. 3, assume that streetlight light is irradiating the area indicated by "CA" in FIG. 3, and therefore the target object is illuminated by streetlight light. Therefore, the area in the image ahead of the vehicle where the target object is captured has a sufficient brightness value. In other words, assume that the target object is located in a situation where the brightness of the target object's surface is equal to or greater than the brightness determination threshold "B." In this case, based on the target object situation information, orientation information, and <Condition 2> of the control content determination conditions, the control content determination unit 16 maintains the cutoff line in the vertical direction. In other words, the illumination range is set to a range below the cutoff line but not above it, and is expanded left and right by the horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's orientation. Note that the control content determination unit 16 can determine the brightness of the target object's surface from the target object situation information. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical range of the illumination range in the direction the driver is facing as the range in which the cutoff line is maintained, and the horizontal range of the illumination range as the range of ±0.5 (degrees) from the driver's direction. The control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination light intensity as desired. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination light intensity to be a preset reference value.

[0048] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so that light from the headlights 2 is irradiated with the reference value of the irradiation light intensity in the irradiation range shown by "LA2" in Fig. 3. Even if a target object is present in the direction the driver is facing and the target object is located far enough from the vehicle 100 that it is not illuminated by passing lights, for example, if the target object is illuminated by light other than that emitted by the headlights 2 (for example, a street light in this <Example 2>), the driver can see the target object by the light other than that emitted by the headlights 2. In other words, the driver can see the target object even if the headlights 2 do not irradiate light above the cut-off line, and therefore there is no need for the headlights 2 to irradiate light above the cut-off line.

[0049] <Example 3> For example, as shown in FIG. 4 , assume that a target object is present in the direction the driver is facing, and the distance between the vehicle 100 and the target object is 15 m. That is, the target object is located 15 m from the vehicle 100. In this case, the control content determination unit 16 maintains the cutoff line in the vertical direction based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 3> of the control content determination conditions. In other words, the illumination range is determined to be a range below the cutoff line but not above it, and a range expanded left and right by a horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's orientation. Specifically, the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical range of the illumination range in the direction the driver is facing as a range in which the cutoff line is maintained, and the horizontal range of the illumination range as a range ±0.5 degrees from the driver's orientation. The control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination light intensity as desired. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination light intensity as a preset reference value.

[0050] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so that light from the headlights 2 is irradiated with the reference value of the irradiation light intensity in the irradiation range shown by "LA3" in Fig. 4. Even if there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing, if the target object is located within the irradiation range of the passing lights, the driver can see the target object simply by having the passing lights irradiate the target object.

[0051] The following <Example 4> and <Example 5> will be explained using Fig. 5. For convenience, Fig. 5 illustrates a case where a person is located 48 m from the vehicle 100 and a case where a person is located 70 m from the vehicle 100 in the direction the driver is facing. For convenience, the scale in Fig. 5 is different from the actual scale.

[0052] <Example 4> For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , assume that a person (indicated by M1 in FIG. 5 , hereinafter referred to as the "first person") is present in the direction the driver is facing, and that the first person is located 48 m from the vehicle 100 in front of the vehicle 100. That is, the situation in which the target object is located is that the target object is located 48 m from the vehicle 100. Furthermore, the situation in which the target object is located is that the type of the target object is a person. In this case, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 4> of the control content determination conditions, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range to be a range below the head of the first person in the vertical direction and a range expanded left and right by the horizontal illumination angle with the driver's orientation as the reference. Note that, based on the target object situation information, the control content determination unit 16 can determine that the type of the target object is a person and that the distance between the vehicle 100 and the first person is 48 m. In detail, the control content determination unit 16 determines the range of the illumination range in the up-down direction in the direction in which the driver is facing, for example, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, and determines the range of the illumination range in the up-down direction in the direction in which the driver is facing ... based on the installation position of the headlight 2, and determines the range of the illumination range in the up-down direction in the direction in which the driver is facing, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, and determines the range of the illumination range in the up-down direction in the direction in which the driver is facing １ The range is determined as follows:

[0053] Here, the control content determination unit 16 determines whether "θ １ The control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ degrees" based on the height to the head of the first person. For example, the control content determination unit 16 can calculate the height to the head of the first person on the image in front of the vehicle by performing image recognition processing using a known image recognition technique on the image in front of the vehicle. If the control content determination unit 16 can calculate the height to the head of the first person on the image in front of the vehicle, it can calculate the ratio of the height to the head of the first person to the height of the first person on the image in front of the vehicle. Based on the calculated ratio and the height of the first person based on the distance information, the control content determination unit 16 determines "θ degrees". １The above-described method for calculating the height to the first person's head is merely an example, and the control content determination unit 16 may calculate the height to the first person's head using other methods. For example, the control content determination unit 16 may determine the height to the first person's head to be two-thirds of the height of the first person based on the distance information. The control content determination unit 16 sets the left-right range of the illumination range to a range of ±0.5 (degrees) in the driver's direction.

[0054] Furthermore, the control content determination unit 16 determines the amount of irradiation light according to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object. For example, it is assumed that the amount of irradiation light by which the control content determination unit 16 reduces or increases the amount of additional light from the reference value depending on the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object is set in advance.

[0055] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that light from the headlight 2 is irradiated in the illumination range shown by "LA4" in Figure 5 with an illumination amount according to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the first person.

[0056] <Example 5> For example, as shown in FIG. 5 , assume that a person (indicated by M2 in FIG. 5 , hereinafter referred to as "second person") is present in the direction in which the driver is facing, and that the second person is located 70 m from the vehicle 100 in front of the vehicle 100. That is, the situation in which the target object is located is a situation in which the type of the target object is a person. In this case, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range to be a range below the head of the second person in the vertical direction and a range expanded left and right by a horizontal illumination angle with the driver's orientation as the reference, based on the target object situation information, orientation information, and <Condition 4> of the control content determination conditions, in the same manner as in <Example 4> above. In particular, the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical range of the illumination range in the direction in which the driver is facing, for example, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, and determines the illumination range to be θ above the cutoff line as viewed from the installation position. ２The control content determining unit 16 determines the range of "θ ２ The control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ ２ degrees" as explained above, １ The control content determination unit 16 sets the range of the illumination range in the left and right directions to within ±0.5 (degrees) of the driver's direction.

[0057] However, the control content determination unit 16 sets the illumination light intensity to an intensity corresponding to a distance of 70 m from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Based on <Condition 4>, the control content determination unit 16 sets the illumination light intensity in this case to be greater than the illumination light intensity in the above-described <Example 4>. For example, an illumination light intensity corresponding to a distance of 70 m from the vehicle 100 to the target object is set in advance to be greater than an illumination light intensity corresponding to a distance of 48 m from the vehicle 100 to the target object, and the control content determination unit 16 sets the illumination light intensity in accordance with this. Furthermore, for example, a condition for how much the illumination light intensity is increased for each distance from the vehicle 100 may be set in advance and stored in a location that can be referenced by the control content determination unit 16, and the control content determination unit 16 may set the illumination light intensity in accordance with this condition.

[0058] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so that light from the headlights 2 is irradiated in an illumination range such as that indicated by "LA5" in Fig. 5 with an illumination intensity corresponding to the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the second person. The illumination intensity in the illumination range such as that indicated by "LA5" in Fig. 5 is greater than the illumination intensity in the illumination range such as that indicated by "LA4" in Fig. 5. Therefore, in Fig. 5, the illumination range indicated by LA5 is shown darker than the illumination range indicated by LA4.

[0059] If a target object is located in the direction the driver is facing, but at a distance from the vehicle 100 that would prevent the passing light from illuminating it, it is necessary to brightly illuminate the target object with light irradiated above the cutoff line, making the target object easier for the driver to see. On the other hand, if the target object is a person, irradiating the person's head with light may cause glare to the person. As in the above-described <Example 4> and <Example 5>, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so that the vertical illumination range, i.e., the height direction of the irradiated light, is limited to the height of the person's head, thereby preventing glare from being irradiated on the person. Note that the actual light illumination control of the headlights 2 is performed by the light distribution control unit 17. The driver can adequately recognize the presence of a person as long as the light is irradiated below the person's head, even if the light is not irradiated on the person's head. Furthermore, when the driver attempts to visually recognize a target object, the farther the target object is located from the vehicle 100, the greater the amount of light required to illuminate the target object. The control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so as to reduce the amount of light illuminated when the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object is small, and increase the amount of light illuminated as the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object increases, thereby causing the headlights 2 to illuminate light with an amount of light illuminated that corresponds to the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object, thereby achieving power saving.

[0060] The following <Example 6> and <Example 7> will be explained using Fig. 6. For convenience, Fig. 6 illustrates a case where a target object (stationary object) other than a person is located 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 in the direction the driver is facing, and a case where a target object (stationary object) other than a person is located 70 (m) from the vehicle 100. For convenience, the scale in Fig. 5 is different from the actual scale.

[0061] <Example 6> For example, as shown in FIG. 6 , assume that a stationary object (indicated by M3 in FIG. 6 , hereinafter referred to as the "first stationary object") is present in the direction the driver is facing, and that the first stationary object is located 48 m from the vehicle 100 in front of the vehicle 100. That is, the situation in which the target object is located is that it is located 48 m from the vehicle 100. Furthermore, the situation in which the target object is located is that its type is other than a human. In this case, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 5> of the control content determination conditions, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range to be a range below the height of the first stationary object in the vertical direction and a range expanded left and right by the horizontal illumination angle with the driver's orientation as the reference. Note that, based on the target object situation information, the control content determination unit 16 can determine that the type of the target object is other than a human and that the distance between the vehicle 100 and the first stationary object is 48 m. In detail, the control content determination unit 16 determines the range of the illumination range in the up-down direction in the direction in which the driver is facing, for example, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, and determines the range of the illumination range in the up-down direction in the direction in which the driver is facing ... based on the installation position of the headlight 2, and determines the range of the illumination range in the up-down direction in the direction in which the driver is facing, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, and determines the range of the illumination range in the up-down direction in the direction in which the driver is facing ３ Here, the control content determining unit 16 determines the range of "θ ３ The control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ degrees" based on the height of the first stationary object. For example, based on the height of the first stationary object based on the distance information, ３ The control content determination unit 16 determines the range of the illumination range in the left and right directions to be within ±0.5 (degrees) of the driver's direction.

[0062] Furthermore, the control content determination unit 16 determines the amount of light to be irradiated according to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object.

[0063] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that light from the headlight 2 is irradiated into the illumination range shown by "LA6" in Figure 6 with an illumination amount corresponding to the distance 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the first stationary object.

[0064] <Example 7> For example, as shown in FIG. 6 , assume that a stationary object (indicated by M4 in FIG. 6 , hereinafter referred to as a "second stationary object") is present in the direction in which the driver is facing, and that the second stationary object is located 70 m from the vehicle 100 in front of the vehicle 100. That is, the situation in which the target object is located is a situation in which the type of the target object is other than a person. In this case, the control content determination unit 16 determines, in the same manner as in the above-described <Example 6>, based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and <Condition 5> of the control content determination conditions, the illumination range to be a range below the height of the second stationary object in the vertical direction and a range expanded left and right by a horizontal illumination angle with respect to the driver's orientation. In detail, the control content determination unit 16 determines, in the direction in which the driver is facing, for example, based on the installation position of the headlight 2, to be θ above the cutoff line as viewed from the installation position. ４ The control content determining unit 16 determines the range of "θ ４ The control content determination unit 16 calculates "θ ４ degrees" as explained above, ３ The control content determination unit 16 sets the range of the illumination range in the left and right directions to within ±0.5 (degrees) of the driver's direction.

[0065] However, the control content determination unit 16 sets the amount of light to be irradiated according to the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object. Based on <Condition 5>, the control content determination unit 16 sets the amount of light to be irradiated in this case to be greater than the amount of light to be irradiated in the above-mentioned <Example 6>.

[0066] As a result, the control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so that light from the headlights 2 is irradiated in an illumination range such as that indicated by "LA7" ​​in Fig. 6 with an illumination amount corresponding to the distance 70 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the second stationary object. The illumination amount in the illumination range such as that indicated by "LA7" ​​in Fig. 6 is greater than the illumination amount in the illumination range such as that indicated by "LA6" in Fig. 6. Therefore, in Fig. 6, the illumination range indicated by LA7 is shown darker than the illumination range indicated by LA6.

[0067] When a target object is located in the direction the driver is facing, but at a distance from the vehicle 100 where the passing lights are not irradiated, the target object needs to be brightly illuminated by light irradiated above the cutoff line, making the target object more visible to the driver. The control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlights 2 so that the vertical direction of the illumination range, i.e., the height direction of the irradiated light, is up to the height of the target object, thereby making it easier for the driver to see the target object. If the target object is an object other than a person, there is no risk of glare being caused to the target object even if light is irradiated entirely onto the target object. Furthermore, when the driver attempts to see the target object, the farther the target object is from the vehicle 100, the greater the amount of illumination light required to see the target object. The control content determination unit 16 determines the control content for the headlight 2 so that the amount of light emitted is reduced when the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object is small, and the amount of light emitted is increased as the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object increases, thereby making it possible to cause the headlight 2 to emit light with an amount of light emitted that corresponds to the distance from the vehicle 100 to the target object, thereby achieving power savings.

[0068] When the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines, based on the direction information regarding the driver's direction detected by the direction detection unit 12, the illumination range and illumination light intensity of light to be preset as the illumination range and illumination light intensity for when there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, as the illumination range and illumination light intensity of light to be emitted by the headlights 2 provided in the vehicle 100. For example, information defining the illumination range and illumination light intensity for when there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing (hereinafter referred to as "no target object control content information") is generated in advance and stored in a location that can be referenced by the control content determination unit 16. For example, the no target object control content information defines the following content: "When there is no target object, the illumination range is a range expanded upward from the cutoff line by the vertical illumination angle, and a range expanded left and right by the horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's direction. The illumination light amount is arbitrary." Note that, for example, based on the target object presence / absence determination information output from the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16 can determine that the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 has determined that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing. Note that the vertical illumination angle and horizontal illumination angle in the target object no-existence control content information may be the same as or different from the vertical illumination angle and horizontal illumination angle in the control content determination conditions. Here, as an example, the vertical illumination angle and horizontal illumination angle in the target object no-existence control content information are assumed to be the same as the vertical illumination angle and horizontal illumination angle in the control content determination conditions.

[0069] Example 8: For example, if there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range as a range expanded upward from the cutoff line by a vertical illumination angle and a range expanded left and right by a horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's orientation, based on the orientation information and the no-target-object control content information. For example, if the horizontal illumination angle is set to "0.5 degrees" and the vertical illumination angle is set to "0.5 degrees," the control content determination unit 16 determines the vertical range of the illumination range in the direction the driver is facing to be a range of cutoff line +0.5 degrees, and the horizontal range of the illumination range in the direction the driver is facing to be a range of ±0.5 degrees from the driver's orientation. The control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination light intensity as desired. Here, for example, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination light intensity to be a preset reference value. Even if there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the driver can recognize, for example, a sudden jump out of the road by irradiating light in the direction the driver is facing.

[0070] When the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range and illumination amount of light by the headlight 2 as in the above-mentioned examples (<Example 1> to <Example 8>), it outputs the determined control content for the headlight 2, in this case, information indicating the illumination range and illumination amount (hereinafter referred to as "determined control content information") to the light distribution control unit 17.

[0071] Returning to the description of the exemplary configuration of the headlight control device 1 shown in Fig. 1, the light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlight 2 to emit light based on the illumination range or illumination amount determined by the control content determination unit 16. In detail, the light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlight 2 to emit light to the illumination range indicated by the determined control content information output from the control content determination unit 16, with the illumination amount indicated by the determined control content information. For example, if the illumination range indicated by the determined control content information is located above the cutoff line in the vertical direction by θ as viewed from the installation position of the headlight 2, １In the case where the range of the illumination light intensity is within ±0.5 (degrees) in the left-right direction and ±0.5 (degrees) in the direction of the driver, and the illumination light intensity is in accordance with the distance of 48 (m) from the vehicle 100 to the target object (see Example 4 above), the light distribution control unit 17 sets θ 0 above the cutoff line as viewed from the installation position of the headlight 2 in the up-down direction. １ The light source irradiates a range of up to 100 degrees and irradiates a range of ±0.5 degrees from the driver's direction in the left-right direction, with a light intensity corresponding to the distance of 48 meters from the vehicle 100 to the target object. For example, if the determined control content information indicates an irradiation range in which the cutoff line is maintained in the vertical direction and a range of ±0.5 degrees from the driver's direction in the horizontal direction, and the irradiation light intensity is a reference value (see Example 1 above), the light distribution control unit 17 turns on light sources that irradiate areas below the cutoff line in the vertical direction and irradiate a range of ±0.5 degrees from the driver's direction in the horizontal direction, with a light intensity that is the reference value. Regarding the control by the light distribution control unit 17 to set the vertical range of the irradiation range within the range in which the cutoff line is maintained, for example, if the headlights 2 each have separate light sources for low beam, high beam, and auxiliary light, the light distribution control unit 17 may turn on a light source for low beam that irradiates a range in which the cutoff line is maintained, and turn off the other light sources. Also, for example, if the light sources for low beam, high beam, and auxiliary light are integrated in the headlight 2, the light distribution control unit 17 simply turns on those of the integrated light sources that are necessary to illuminate the area below the cut-off line, and turns off the other light sources.

[0072] The operation of the headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for describing the operation of the headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment. For example, when the headlights 2 are turned on, the headlight control device 1 determines to perform lighting control of the headlights 2 based on the driver's orientation, and starts the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7. The headlight control device 1 repeats the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 until, for example, the headlights 2 are turned off or the power supply of the vehicle 100 is turned off. For example, a control unit (not shown) of the headlight control device 1 obtains information indicating the state of the headlights 2 from a headlight switch mounted on the vehicle 100, and determines whether the headlights 2 are on. When the control unit determines that the headlights 2 are on, it determines to start control of the lighting of the headlights 2 based on the driver's orientation, and outputs information instructing the start of control of the lighting of the headlights 2 to the interior image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17. When the control unit determines that the headlights 2 are off or that the vehicle 100 has been turned off, it determines to end control of the lighting of the headlights 2 based on the driver's orientation, and outputs information instructing the end of control of the lighting of the headlights 2 to the interior image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17.

[0073] The in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 acquires an in-vehicle image from the in-vehicle image capture device 3, and the orientation detection unit 12 detects the orientation of the driver based on the in-vehicle image acquired by the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11 from the in-vehicle image capture device 3 (step ST1). Furthermore, when the orientation detection unit 12 detects the orientation of the driver in step ST1, it calculates an estimated viewing position of the driver based on the detected orientation of the driver. The orientation detection unit 12 outputs the orientation information to the target object presence / absence determination unit 14.

[0074] The target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines whether or not there is a target object that is estimated to be a visual target for the driver in the direction the driver is facing, based on the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12 in step ST1 and the vehicle periphery information acquired by the periphery information acquisition unit 13 (step ST2). Note that the periphery information acquisition unit 13 has acquired the vehicle periphery information before the processing of step ST2 is performed. The target object presence / absence determination unit 14 generates target object presence / absence determination information and outputs the target object presence / absence determination information to the target object situation determination unit 15. At this time, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 associates the target object presence / absence determination information with the orientation information output from the orientation detection unit 12 and the vehicle periphery information output from the periphery information acquisition unit 13, and outputs the result to the target object situation determination unit 15.

[0075] If the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines in step ST2 that a target object is present in the direction the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15 determines the situation in which the target object is located based on the vehicle surroundings information (step ST3). At this time, the target object situation determination unit 15 may, for example, request the light distribution control unit 17 to emit target object determination lighting, and determine the situation in which the target object is located based on the vehicle surroundings information, more specifically, the vehicle forward image, acquired after the target object determination lighting is emitted. The target object situation determination unit 15 outputs the target object situation information to the control content determination unit 16. At this time, the target object situation determination unit 15 associates the target object situation information, the target object presence / absence determination information, the orientation information, and the vehicle surroundings information, and outputs them to the control content determination unit 16. In addition, if the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines in step ST2 that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the target object situation determination unit 15, for example, associates the target object presence / absence determination information, orientation information, and vehicle surroundings information, and outputs them to the control content determination unit 16.

[0076] If the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines in step ST2 that a target object is present in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range and illumination intensity of light by the headlights 2 provided on the vehicle 100 based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object is located determined by the target object situation determination unit 15 in step ST3 and the orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit 12 in step ST1 (step ST4). For example, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range and illumination intensity in the direction in which the driver is facing based on the target object situation information, the orientation information, and the control content determination conditions. If the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines in step ST2 that a target object is not present in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range and illumination intensity of light by the headlights 2 provided on the vehicle 100 based on the orientation information and the no-target-object control content information. The control content determination unit 16 outputs the determined control content information to the light distribution control unit 17 .

[0077] The light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlight 2. In detail, the light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlight 2 to irradiate the illumination range determined by the control content determination unit 16 in step ST4 with the illumination amount determined by the control content determination unit 16 (step ST5).

[0078] In this way, the headlight control device 1 determines whether or not there is a target object presumed to be a visual target for the driver in the direction in which the driver is facing, based on the direction information regarding the driver's orientation detected based on an image (in-vehicle image) captured of the driver of the vehicle 100 and the vehicle surroundings information. If it determines that there is a target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the headlight control device 1 determines the situation in which the target object is located based on the vehicle surroundings information. Then, the headlight control device 1 determines the illumination range and illumination intensity of light by the headlights 2 based on the target object situation information and the orientation information regarding the situation in which the target object is located, and causes the headlights 2 to emit light based on the determined illumination range and illumination intensity. Therefore, in controlling the illumination of the headlights 2 in the vehicle 100 based on the direction in which the driver is facing, the headlight control device 1 can perform illumination control that takes into account the situation in which an object (target object) existing in the direction in which the driver is facing is located. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can control the headlights 2 in a manner that is preferable for making the object more easily visible to the driver, depending on the situation in which the object existing in the direction in which the driver is facing is located. Furthermore, the headlight control device 1 can emit light only when additional light, such as light above the cutoff line, is needed in the direction the driver is facing, which limits the situations in which the driver needs to be aware of the movement of light from the headlights 2. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that the movement of light from the headlights 2 can cause to the driver.

[0079] In the first embodiment described above, for example, when there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 in the headlight control device 1 sets an illumination range that is expanded upward from the cutoff line by a vertical illumination angle and that is expanded left and right by a horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's orientation as the illumination range, and sets a reference value for the illumination light intensity. Then, in accordance with the control content determined by the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlight 2 to irradiate light at the reference value of the controlled light intensity into an illumination range that is expanded upward from the cutoff line by a vertical illumination angle, including an area above the cutoff line, and that is expanded left and right by a horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's orientation as the illumination range (see Example 8 above). For example, the headlight control device 1 may further perform control to reduce the amount of light emitted when the light irradiation range moves a predetermined distance in the direction the driver is facing during a predetermined period of time while there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, and when it is expected that the light will annoy the driver. This will be described in detail below.

[0080] For example, if the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the light distribution control unit 17 first causes the headlights 2 to emit light in a range including an area above the cutoff line (see Example 8 above). Thereafter, the control content determination unit 16 determines, based on the image ahead of the vehicle, that the luminance value of the range in which the light is captured on the image ahead of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (hereinafter referred to as the "luminance determination threshold"), that the range in which the light is captured has moved by more than a predetermined threshold (hereinafter referred to as the "movement determination threshold") during a predetermined period (hereinafter referred to as the "luminance determination period"), and that the luminance in the range in which the light is captured has not changed during the luminance determination period, and if the control content determination unit 16 determines that the headlights 2 should dim their light. For example, the no-target-object control content information defines the following content: "When it is determined that the luminance value of the range in which light is captured on the image ahead of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, that the range in which light is captured has moved by equal to or greater than the movement determination threshold during the luminance determination period, and that the luminance in the range in which light is captured has not changed during the luminance determination period, the light of the headlights 2 is dimmed. The illumination range is set to a range expanded upward by a vertical illumination angle from the cutoff line in the up-down direction, and a range expanded left and right by a horizontal illumination angle with the driver's orientation as the reference." The control content determination unit 16 may determine to dim the light of the headlights 2 in accordance with the no-target-object control content information.

[0081] The control content determination unit 16 then instructs the light distribution control unit 17 to dim the emitted light. The amount of light dimming that the control content determination unit 16 instructs the light distribution control unit 17 to dim can be set as appropriate. The vehicle front image is included in the vehicle surroundings information. For example, the control content determination unit 16 stores the vehicle surroundings information in a storage unit (not shown) in association with the acquisition date and time of the vehicle surroundings information. The control content determination unit 16 acquires vehicle surroundings information going back a luminance determination period from the storage unit, and can determine whether the luminance value of the range in which light is captured on the vehicle front image is equal to or greater than a luminance determination threshold, whether the range in which light is captured on the vehicle front image has moved by more than a movement determination threshold during the luminance determination period, and whether the luminance of the range in which light is captured on the vehicle front image has changed during the luminance determination period. The luminance determination threshold is set to, for example, a luminance value that indicates a level of brightness that is annoying to the driver. Furthermore, if the range in which light is captured on the image in front of the vehicle moves by more than the movement determination threshold during the brightness determination period, and the brightness in the range in which light is captured does not change during the brightness determination period, it is estimated that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing.

[0082] When there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, if light of a brightness that the driver finds annoying moves frequently in the driver's direction, the driver may feel annoyed. For example, when vehicle 100 is traveling in an underground parking lot, the light from headlight 2 may hit the wall of the underground parking lot. When the light from headlight 2 hits the wall, the light appears bright to the driver. That is, the brightness of the area captured in the image ahead of the vehicle increases. Meanwhile, in an underground parking lot, for example, the driver may frequently turn around to look for a suitable parking spot or to check if someone is coming out from behind another parked vehicle. In this case, if the light from headlight 2 is projected in the direction the driver is facing, the position of the light that hits the wall of the underground parking lot and appears bright to the driver will frequently move in accordance with the driver's direction. When there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing and the position of the light that hits the wall of the underground parking lot moves frequently, the movement of the light may distract the driver and cause annoyance to the driver.

[0083] Therefore, as described above, when it is determined that the luminance value of the range in which light is captured on the image ahead of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, that the range in which light is captured has moved by equal to or greater than the movement determination threshold during the luminance determination period, and that the luminance in the range in which light is captured has not changed during the luminance determination period, the control content determination unit 16 may decide to dim the light and instruct the light distribution control unit 17 to dim the light being emitted. This allows the headlight control device 1 to reduce the annoyance that may be caused to the driver by frequent movements of the illumination range of light emitted by the headlights 2. By dimming the light emitted by the headlights 2, the headlight control device 1 can make light that may be annoyed to the driver less noticeable.

[0084] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the control performed by the headlight control device 1 in the first embodiment to reduce the amount of light emitted when it is determined that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing, as described above. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of the illumination range and illumination amount of light emitted by the headlight 2, assuming a situation in which the light emitted by the headlight 2 hits a wall, for example, in an underground parking lot. In FIG. 8 , the illumination range in which the light distribution control unit 17 of the headlight control device 1 causes the headlight 2 to illuminate is indicated by "LA8." The wall is also indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 8 . The left diagram in FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a state in which the light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlight 2 to illuminate a range including an area above the cutoff line when the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction in which the driver is facing. For example, when the driver turns left or right, the illumination range is shifted left or right accordingly.

[0085] Here, the control content determination unit 16 determines to dim the light when, based on the image ahead of the vehicle, it determines that the luminance value of the range in which the light is captured (the range LA8 in the left diagram in the example of FIG. 8 ) on the image ahead of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, that the range in which the light is captured has moved by equal to or greater than the movement determination threshold during the luminance determination period, and that the luminance in the range in which the light is captured has not changed during the luminance determination period. The control content determination unit 16 then instructs the light distribution control unit 17 to dim the light being emitted. As a result, the amount of light irradiated in the illumination range is reduced, as shown in the right diagram in FIG. 8 . Note that in FIG. 8 , the magnitude of the amount of light irradiated is indicated by the intensity of the color. Because the amount of light irradiated in the illumination range shown in the left diagram in FIG. 8 is greater than the amount of light irradiated in the illumination range shown in the right diagram in FIG. 8 , the illumination range shown in the left diagram in FIG. 8 appears darker.

[0086] When the headlight control device 1 performs control to reduce the amount of light irradiated when it determines that no target object is present in the direction the driver is facing, as described above, the control content determination unit 16 first determines the illumination range and the amount of light irradiated in step ST4 of the operation of the headlight control device 1 described using the flowchart in Figure 7. For example, if no target object is present in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range as a range expanded upward by a vertical illumination angle from the cutoff line in the up-down direction and a range expanded left and right by a horizontal illumination angle relative to the driver's orientation in the left-right direction, and sets the illumination amount to a reference value. Then, in step ST5, the light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlight 2 to irradiate the illumination range determined by the control content determination unit 16 with the illumination amount determined by the control content determination unit 16.

[0087] Thereafter, the operation of the headlight control device 1 returns to the processing of step ST1. In step ST4, the control content determination unit 16 determines whether the luminance value of the range in which the light is captured on the image ahead of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, the range in which the light is captured has moved by equal to or greater than the movement determination threshold during the luminance determination period, and the luminance of the range in which the light is captured has not changed during the luminance determination period. If it is determined that the luminance value of the range in which the light is captured on the image ahead of the vehicle is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, the range in which the light is captured has moved by equal to or greater than the movement determination threshold during the luminance determination period, and the luminance of the range in which the light is captured has not changed during the luminance determination period, the control content determination unit 16 outputs determined control content information to dim the irradiated light to the light distribution control unit 17. Note that the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range to be, for example, a range expanded upward by a vertical illumination angle from the cutoff line in the up-down direction, and a range expanded left and right by a horizontal illumination angle based on the driver's orientation. The light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlight 2 to reduce the amount of light emitted.

[0088] Thereafter, the operation of the headlight control device 1 returns to the processing of step ST1. If the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines in step ST2 that a target object is present in the direction the driver is facing, the control content determination unit 16 determines the illumination range and illumination light intensity according to the situation of the target object so that light is illuminated on the target object, and the light distribution control unit 17 controls the headlights 2 in accordance with the control content determined by the control content determination unit 16.

[0089] As described above, in the first embodiment, when the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is no target object in the direction the driver is facing, the light distribution control unit 17 causes the headlight 2 to emit light in a range that includes an area above the cutoff line, and the control content determination unit 16 determines, based on the image ahead of the vehicle, that the luminance value of the range in which the light is captured is equal to or greater than the luminance determination threshold, that the range in which the light is captured has moved by equal to or greater than the movement determination threshold during the luminance determination period, and that the luminance in the range in which the light is captured has not changed during the luminance determination period, and may determine to dim the light and cause the light distribution control unit 17 to dim the light being emitted. This allows the headlight control unit 1 to reduce the annoyance that may be caused to the driver by frequent movements of the illumination range of the light emitted by the headlight 2.

[0090] In the first embodiment described above, the headlight control device 1 determines the illumination range and illumination intensity of the headlight 2 and controls the illumination range and illumination intensity of the headlight 2. However, this is merely an example. For example, the headlight control device 1 may determine the illumination range or illumination intensity of the headlight 2 and control the illumination range or illumination intensity of the headlight 2.

[0091] In the first embodiment described above, the headlight control device 1 is an in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle 100, and the interior image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and a control unit (not shown) are provided in the in-vehicle device. However, without being limited to this, some of the interior image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and a control unit (not shown) may be provided in the in-vehicle device of the vehicle 100, and the rest may be provided in a server connected to the in-vehicle device via a network. In addition, the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, orientation detection unit 12, surrounding information acquisition unit 13, target object presence / absence determination unit 14, target object situation determination unit 15, control content determination unit 16, light distribution control unit 17, and all of the control units not shown may be provided on the server.

[0092] 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the functions of the interior image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the peripheral information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and a control unit (not shown) are realized by a processing circuit 1001. That is, the headlight control device 1 includes the processing circuit 1001 for determining the situation of an object present in the direction in which the driver is facing based on the orientation of the driver detected based on an interior image acquired from the interior image acquisition device 3 and vehicle peripheral information acquired from the peripheral information acquisition device 4, and for controlling the illumination of the headlights 2 in consideration of the situation of the object present in the direction in which the driver is facing. The processing circuit 1001 may be dedicated hardware as shown in FIG. 9A or a processor 1004 that executes a program stored in a memory 1005 as shown in FIG. 9B.

[0093] If the processing circuit 1001 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 1001 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

[0094] When the processing circuit is the processor 1004, the functions of the interior image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and a control unit (not shown) are realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is written as a program and stored in the memory 1005. The processor 1004 reads and executes the program stored in the memory 1005 to execute the functions of the interior image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and a control unit (not shown). In other words, the headlight control device 1 includes the memory 1005 for storing a program that, when executed by the processor 1004, results in the execution of steps ST1 to ST5 of FIG. 7 described above. In addition, the program stored in memory 1005 can also be said to cause the computer to execute the processing procedures or methods of the in-vehicle image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the surrounding information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and a control unit not shown. Here, the memory 1005 may be, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc).

[0095] Note that the functions of the interior image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, the peripheral information acquisition unit 13, the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, the light distribution control unit 17, and a control unit (not shown) may be partially implemented by dedicated hardware and partially implemented by software or firmware. For example, the functions of the interior image acquisition unit 11, the orientation detection unit 12, and the peripheral information acquisition unit 13 may be implemented by a processing circuit 1001 as dedicated hardware, and the functions of the target object presence / absence determination unit 14, the target object situation determination unit 15, the control content determination unit 16, and the light distribution control unit 17 may be implemented by a processor 1004 reading and executing a program stored in a memory 1005. The headlight control device 1 also includes an input interface device 1002 and an output interface device 1003 that perform wired or wireless communication with devices such as the headlight 2, the interior image capture device 3, or the peripheral information acquisition device 4.

[0096] As described above, the headlight control device 1 according to the first embodiment is configured to include: an orientation detection unit 12 that detects the orientation of the driver based on an image (in-vehicle image) captured of the driver of the vehicle 100; a target object presence / absence determination unit 14 that determines whether or not there is a target object that is estimated to be a target for the driver to view in the direction the driver is facing, based on orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit 12 and information about the surroundings of the vehicle; a target object situation determination unit 15 that determines the situation in which the target object is located, based on the information about the surroundings of the vehicle, when the target object presence / absence determination unit 14 determines that there is a target object in the direction the driver is facing; a control content determination unit 16 that determines the illumination range or illumination amount of light by the headlight 2 provided on the vehicle 100, based on the target object situation information regarding the situation in which the target object is located determined by the target object situation determination unit 15 and the orientation information; and a light distribution control unit 17 that causes the headlight 2 to emit light based on the illumination range or illumination amount determined by the control content determination unit 16. Therefore, in controlling the illumination of the headlights 2 in the vehicle 100 based on the direction in which the driver is facing, the headlight control device 1 can perform illumination control that takes into account the situation of an object present in the direction in which the driver is facing. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can control the headlights 2 in a manner that is preferable for making the object more easily visible to the driver, depending on the situation of an object present in the direction in which the driver is facing. Furthermore, because the headlight control device 1 can emit light in the direction in which the driver is facing only when additional light, such as light above the cutoff line, is needed, the situations in which the driver is aware of the movement of light from the headlights 2 are limited. As a result, the headlight control device 1 can reduce the annoyance that the movement of light from the headlights 2 may cause to the driver.

[0097] In addition, in the present disclosure, any of the components of the embodiments may be modified or omitted.

[0098] The headlight control device according to the present disclosure can perform lighting control taking into consideration the situation of objects present in the direction in which the driver is facing.

[0099] 1 Headlight control device, 11 In-vehicle image acquisition unit, 12 Orientation detection unit, 13 Surrounding information acquisition unit, 14 Target object presence / absence determination unit, 15 Target object situation determination unit, 16 Control content determination unit, 17 Light distribution control unit, 2 Headlight, 3 In-vehicle imaging device, 4 Surrounding information acquisition device, 41 Millimeter wave radar, 42 Outside-vehicle imaging device, 1001 Processing circuit, 1002 Input interface device, 1003 Output interface device, 1004 Processor, 1005 Memory.

Claims

1. A direction detection unit that detects a direction of a driver of a vehicle based on a captured image of the driver; a target object presence / absence determination unit that determines whether or not there is a target object that is estimated to be a visual target of the driver in a direction in which the driver is facing, based on orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and vehicle surroundings information; a target object situation determination unit that determines a situation in which the target object is located based on the vehicle surroundings information when the target object presence / absence determination unit determines that the target object is present in a direction in which the driver is facing; and a control content determination unit that determines an illumination range or an illumination amount of light by a headlight provided on the vehicle based on target object situation information regarding a situation in which the target object is located determined by the target object situation determination unit and the orientation information; a light distribution control unit that causes the headlight to emit light based on the illumination range or the illumination amount determined by the control content determination unit; A headlight control device comprising:

2. The situation in which the target object is placed includes at least one of the type of the target object, the size of the target object, the distance from the vehicle to the target object, or the brightness of the surface of the target object.

2. The headlight control device according to claim 1.

3. the situation in which the target object is located includes a type of the target object, a size of the target object, and a distance from the vehicle to the target object; When the type of the target object is a person, the control content determination unit determines, based on the distance from the vehicle to the person and the size of the person, that when the distance from the vehicle to the person is equal to or greater than a distance determination threshold, the range below the head of the person is set as the illumination range, and that the amount of illumination light is increased as the distance from the vehicle to the person increases.

2. The headlight control device according to claim 1.

4. the situation in which the target object is located includes a type of the target object, a size of the target object, and a distance from the vehicle to the target object; When the type of the target object is not a person, the control content determination unit determines, based on the distance from the vehicle to the target object and the size of the target object, that when the distance from the vehicle to the target object is equal to or greater than a distance determination threshold, the range below the height of the target object is set as the irradiation range, and that the amount of irradiation light is increased as the distance from the vehicle to the target object increases.

2. The headlight control device according to claim 1.

5. The situation in which the target object is located includes a distance from the vehicle to the target object; When the distance from the vehicle to the target object is less than a distance determination threshold, the control content determination unit determines, as the illumination range, a range that is below a cut-off line but does not include a range above the cut-off line in a direction in which the driver is facing.

2. The headlight control device according to claim 1.

6. The situation in which the target object is placed includes the brightness of the surface of the target object; When the control content determination unit determines that the brightness of the surface of the target object is equal to or greater than a brightness determination threshold, the control content determination unit determines, as the illumination range, a range that is below the cutoff line but does not include an area above the cutoff line in the direction in which the driver is facing.

2. The headlight control device according to claim 1.

7. The situation in which the target object is located includes a distance from the vehicle to the target object; When the control content determination unit determines that the target object is within an illumination range of the passing light based on a distance from the vehicle to the target object, the control content determination unit determines, as the illumination range, a range that is below the cut-off line but does not include an area above the cut-off line in the direction in which the driver is facing.

2. The headlight control device according to claim 1.

8. the vehicle surroundings information includes a vehicle front image obtained by capturing an image of the area ahead of the vehicle, When the target object presence / absence determination unit determines that the target object is not present in the direction in which the driver is facing, the light distribution control unit causes the headlight to irradiate the light in a range including an area above a cutoff line, When the control content decision unit determines, based on the vehicle forward image, that a luminance value of a range in which the light is captured on the vehicle forward image is equal to or greater than a luminance determination threshold, that the range in which the light is captured has moved by equal to or greater than a movement determination threshold during a luminance determination period, and that the luminance in the range in which the light is captured has not changed during the luminance determination period, the control content decision unit decides to dim the light and instructs the light distribution control unit to dim the light being irradiated.

8. The headlight control device according to claim 1, wherein the headlight control device is a headlight control device.

9. A direction detection unit detects a direction of a driver of a vehicle based on a captured image of the driver; a step of determining whether or not a target object presence / absence determination unit determines whether or not a target object estimated to be a visual target of the driver is present in a direction in which the driver is facing, based on orientation information regarding the orientation of the driver detected by the orientation detection unit and vehicle surroundings information; a step of determining a situation in which the target object is located based on the vehicle surroundings information when the target object presence / absence determination unit determines that the target object is present in a direction in which the driver is facing; a control content determination unit determining an illumination range or an illumination amount of light by a headlight provided on the vehicle based on target object situation information relating to a situation in which the target object is located determined by the target object situation determination unit and the orientation information; A light distribution control unit causes the headlight to emit the light based on the illumination range or the illumination amount determined by the control content determination unit. A headlight control method comprising: