Vehicle

Abstract

Provided is a vehicle that performs appropriate vehicle control by determining whether provided travel information is reliable information.　A vehicle 100 comprises: a group information acquisition unit 111 that acquires group information which is unique to a host vehicle and in which the host vehicle and a specific vehicle 100 are associated with each other; a travel information acquisition unit 112 that acquires, from other vehicles including the specific vehicle 100, travel information including at least information on an operation of an occupant protection function; a determination unit 113 that determines whether the travel information has been acquired from the specific vehicle 100 on the basis of the group information; and a control unit 114 that controls the host vehicle on the basis of the determination result of the determination unit 113 and the travel information.

Description

vehicle

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, systems that communicate with other vehicles and control the vehicle itself based on driving information acquired from other vehicles have become widespread.

[0003] For example, one such technology proposed is one in which driving information, such as images captured by a camera mounted on a preceding vehicle, is shared among multiple vehicles, and appropriate driving control of the vehicle is performed based on information that cannot be recognized by the vehicle itself (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-145672

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 above cannot determine whether the provided driving information is reliable, and therefore has the problem that even if, for example, incorrect information is sent from a malicious vehicle, the vehicle will be controlled in accordance with the received information.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a vehicle that performs appropriate vehicle control by determining whether the provided driving information is reliable.

[0007] Form 1: One or more embodiments of the present invention include a group information acquisition unit that acquires group information specific to the host vehicle, in which the host vehicle is linked to a specific vehicle; a driving information acquisition unit that acquires driving information including at least information regarding the operation of an occupant protection function from other vehicles including the specific vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether the driving information has been acquired from the specific vehicle based on the group information; and a control unit that controls the host vehicle based on the determination result of the determination unit and the driving information, wherein the control unit, when it is determined by the determination unit that the driving information has been acquired from the specific vehicle, performs control to ensure the safety of the occupants of the host vehicle based on the driving information, and when it is determined by the determination unit that the driving information has been acquired from a vehicle other than the specific vehicle, performs control to notify the driver of the host vehicle of the driving information.

[0008] Form 3: One or more embodiments of the present invention include one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively connected to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors include a group information acquisition unit that acquires group information specific to the host vehicle, in which the host vehicle is linked to a specific vehicle; a driving information acquisition unit that acquires driving information including at least information regarding the operation of an occupant protection function from other vehicles including the specific vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether the driving information has been acquired from the specific vehicle based on the group information; and a control unit that controls the host vehicle based on the determination result of the determination unit and the driving information. When the determination unit determines that the driving information has been acquired from the specific vehicle, the control unit performs control to ensure the safety of the occupants of the host vehicle based on the driving information, and when the determination unit determines that the driving information has been acquired from a vehicle other than the specific vehicle, the control unit performs control to notify the driver of the host vehicle of the driving information.

[0009] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether the provided driving information is reliable, thereby enabling appropriate vehicle control.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the communication configuration of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of travel information acquired by a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a processor of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of group information acquired by a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a registration procedure for group information acquired by a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the flow of processing of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] <Embodiment> A vehicle 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7 .

[0012] <Configuration of vehicle 100> As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 100 according to this embodiment is configured to include a processor 110, a memory 120, a communication unit 130, an alarm unit 140, and an occupant protection function control device 150.

[0013] Processor 110 acquires driving information from vehicle 100 connected to network 200 via communication unit 130. Processor 110 acquires group information from server device 300 connected to network 200 via communication unit 130. The driving information and group information will be described later. The configuration of processor 110 will be described later.

[0014] The memory 120 includes a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), both of which are not shown, and stores, for example, a control program and various data received from the processor 110.

[0015] The communication unit 130 is a wireless communication module connectable to the network 200. The communication unit 130 communicates with the server device 300 and at least one vehicle 100, for example, via the Internet. As shown in FIG. 2 , the communication unit 130 is configured to include a wireless communication module for performing vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V communication), for example. The communication unit 130 transmits and receives driving information to and from vehicles 100 capable of vehicle-to-vehicle communication, without going through the network 200. Hereinafter, vehicles 100 other than the subject vehicle among the vehicles 100 connected to the network 200 will be referred to as "other vehicles."

[0016] The notification unit 140 includes, for example, a display panel such as a liquid crystal display and a speaker. The notification unit 140 displays display information received from the processor 110. The notification unit 140 outputs audio information received from the processor 110.

[0017] The occupant protection function controller 150 is a device that controls, for example, an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). The occupant protection function controller 150 performs vehicle control to ensure the safety of occupants, for example, based on information from various sensors arranged in the vehicle 100. Examples of occupant protection functions controlled by the occupant protection function controller 150 include a collision mitigation brake, a skid prevention assist, a lane departure prevention, and an antilock brake. In this embodiment, when an occupant protection function is activated, the occupant protection function controller 150 transmits driving information to another vehicle via the communication unit 130. The driving information includes at least information regarding the activation of the collision mitigation brake. As shown in FIG. 3 , examples of the driving information include the vehicle ID of the vehicle 100 in which the occupant protection function was activated, the type of the activated occupant protection function, location information when the occupant protection function was activated, and vehicle information at the time the occupant protection function was activated. In this embodiment, the occupant protection function controller 150 performs vehicle control to ensure the safety of the occupants in accordance with instructions from the processor 110. The vehicle control performed by the occupant protection function controller 150 will be described later.

[0018] 4, the processor 110 includes a group information acquisition unit 111, a driving information acquisition unit 112, a determination unit 113, and a control unit 114. The units of the processor 110 and the memory 120 transmit and receive various types of information via the bus line BL.

[0019] The group information acquisition unit 111 acquires group information specific to the host vehicle, which links the host vehicle with a specific vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the group information acquisition unit 111 acquires group information specific to the host vehicle, which links the host vehicle with a specific vehicle 100, when receiving an instruction to acquire group information from the control unit 114, which will be described later. In this embodiment, the group information acquisition unit 111 acquires the group information from the server device 300 via the communication unit 130. The group information is, for example, information linking the vehicle ID of the host vehicle with the vehicle IDs of vehicles driven by people who are mutually trustworthy with the driver of the host vehicle. As shown in FIG. 5 , the group information is, for example, information linking the vehicle ID of the host vehicle with the vehicle IDs of vehicles driven by person A, who drives the host vehicle, and person B and person C, who are mutually trustworthy. Each vehicle 100 connected to the network 200 has unique group information. The driver of the vehicle 100 registers the group information in the server device 300 in advance. The procedure for registering group information in the server device 300 will be described later. In this embodiment, the group information acquisition unit 111 transmits the acquired group information to the control unit 114, which will be described later, via the bus line BL.

[0020] 6 will be used to explain an example of a procedure for registering group information in server device 300. When registering group information, person A, who drives vehicle 100, uses, for example, a mobile terminal or the like carried by person A, to register the vehicle ID of his / her vehicle, the names of members to be registered in the group (e.g., person B and person C), and the email addresses of the members to be registered in server device 300.

[0021] 6 , server device 300 sends a registration approval email to the email address registered by person A (step S110). Server device 300 sends the registration approval email to obtain permission to register in the group information from members whom person A wishes to register in the group information. If the members who received the registration approval email (e.g., person B and person C) approve the registration in the group information, they register in server device 300 information indicating that they approve the registration in the group information and the vehicle ID of the vehicle driven by the member who received the registration approval email. If the members who received the registration approval email (e.g., person B and person C) do not approve the registration in the group information, they register in server device 300 information indicating that they do not approve the registration in the group information.

[0022] The server device 300 determines whether information permitting registration in the group information has been registered (step S120).

[0023] If the server device 300 determines that information permitting registration in the group information has been registered ("YES" in step S120), it links the name of the member who permitted registration with the registered vehicle ID and registers them in the group information (step S130), and then terminates the processing.

[0024] If the server device 300 determines that information indicating that registration in the group information is not permitted has been registered ("NO" in step S120), it deletes the member who is not permitted to register from the group information (step S140) and terminates the process. The procedure for registering group information has been described above, but the procedure for registering group information is not limited to the above-described procedure, as long as it is possible to register members that Mr. A trusts in the group information. For example, the names and vehicle IDs of members that Mr. A trusts may be registered in the server device 300. In this case, only Mr. A can add and delete members to and from the group information.

[0025] The driving information acquisition unit 112 acquires driving information including at least information regarding the operation of an occupant protection function from other vehicles including the specific vehicle 100. Examples of the occupant protection function include a collision mitigation brake, a skid prevention function, a lane departure prevention function, and an anti-lock brake. The driving information acquisition unit 112 acquires driving information from other vehicles including the specific vehicle 100 via the communication unit 130. The driving information acquisition unit 112 transmits the acquired driving information to the control unit 114, which will be described later, via the bus line BL.

[0026] The determination unit 113 determines whether the travel information has been acquired from a specific vehicle 100 based on the group information. In other words, the determination unit 113 determines whether the travel information has been acquired from a vehicle 100 driven by a trustworthy person. The determination unit 113 determines whether the travel information has been acquired from a specific vehicle 100 based on the group information and travel information received from the control unit 114, which will be described later. The determination unit 113 determines whether the vehicle ID included in the received travel information is included in the group information. The determination unit 113 transmits the determination result to the control unit 114, which will be described later, via the bus line BL.

[0027] In the present embodiment, the control unit 114 controls the entire vehicle 100 in accordance with a control program stored in the memory 120. In the present embodiment, the control unit 114, for example, transmits an instruction to acquire group information to the group information acquisition unit 111, causing the group information to be acquired. In the present embodiment, the control unit 114, for example, transmits the group information to the determination unit 113, causing the determination unit 113 to determine whether or not the traveling information has been acquired from a specific vehicle 100. In the present embodiment, the control unit 114 controls the host vehicle based on the determination result received from the determination unit 113 and the traveling information received from the traveling information acquisition unit 112. In the present embodiment, when the determination unit 113 determines that the traveling information has been acquired from a specific vehicle 100, the control unit 114 performs control to ensure the safety of the occupants of the host vehicle based on the traveling information received from the traveling information acquisition unit 112. For example, when the control unit 114 receives driving information from a specific vehicle 100 indicating that a collision mitigation brake has been activated 150 meters ahead, the control unit 114 transmits to the occupant protection function control device 150 an instruction to execute control to retract the slack in the seat belt of the vehicle. For example, the control unit 114 controls the notification unit 140 to notify the driver of the vehicle of information that a collision mitigation brake has been activated 150 meters ahead. The control unit 114 transmits a warning display to the notification unit 140, such as, for example, "A vehicle with an activated collision mitigation brake has been detected 150 meters ahead, so the seat belt pretensioner will be activated." The control unit 114 transmits a warning sound to the notification unit 140 simultaneously with the warning display. When the determination unit 113 determines that the driving information has been acquired from a vehicle other than the specific vehicle 100, the control unit 114 controls to notify the driver of the vehicle of the driving information received from the driving information acquisition unit 112. The control unit 114 transmits a warning message to the notification unit 140, such as, for example, "A vehicle with its collision damage mitigation brake activated has been detected 150 meters ahead. Please drive with caution." The control unit 114 transmits a warning sound to the notification unit 140 simultaneously with the warning message.

[0028] <Processing of Vehicle 100> The flow of processing when the control unit 114 receives driving information from the driving information acquisition unit 112 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 114 transmits an instruction to the group information acquisition unit 111 to acquire group information, causing the group information acquisition unit 111 to acquire the group information (step S210).

[0030] The control unit 114 transmits the group information and the traveling information to the determination unit 113, and causes the determination unit 113 to determine whether the traveling information has been acquired from a specific vehicle 100 (step S220). If the determination unit 113 determines that the traveling information has been acquired from a specific vehicle 100 ("YES" in step S220), the control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S230. If the determination unit 113 determines that the traveling information has been acquired from a vehicle other than the specific vehicle 100 ("NO" in step S220), the control unit 114 shifts the processing to step S240.

[0031] The control unit 114 performs vehicle control to ensure the safety of the occupants based on the driving information received from the driving information acquisition unit 112 (step S230), and then ends the process.

[0032] The control unit 114 transmits the driving information received from the driving information acquisition unit 112 to the notification unit 140 (step S240), and ends the process.

[0033] <Actions and Effects> As described above, the vehicle 100 according to this embodiment includes the group information acquisition unit 111 that acquires group information specific to the vehicle, linking the vehicle with a specific vehicle 100; the driving information acquisition unit 112 that acquires driving information including at least information regarding the activation of an occupant protection function from other vehicles including the specific vehicle 100; the determination unit 113 that determines whether the driving information has been acquired from the specific vehicle 100 based on the group information; and the control unit 114 that controls the vehicle based on the determination result of the determination unit 113 and the driving information. In other words, the vehicle 100 determines whether the driving information has been acquired from a vehicle 100 driven by a person who is mutually trustworthy with the driver of the vehicle. This allows the vehicle 100 to determine whether the driving information acquired by the driving information acquisition unit 112 is reliable. The driving information includes at least information regarding the activation of an occupant protection function. This allows the vehicles 100 in the group to share information for ensuring the safety of occupants, thereby enabling appropriate vehicle control based on the driving information.

[0034] When the determination unit 113 determines that the driving information has been acquired from a specific vehicle 100, the control unit 114 of the vehicle 100 according to this embodiment performs control based on the driving information to ensure the safety of the occupants of the vehicle. That is, the vehicle 100 determines that the driving information received from a vehicle 100 driven by a trustworthy person is reliable information, and performs vehicle control based on the received driving information to ensure the safety of the occupants of the vehicle. This allows the vehicle 100 to perform appropriate vehicle control, thereby ensuring the safety of the occupants of the vehicle.

[0035] When the determination unit 113 determines that the driving information has not been acquired from a specific vehicle 100, the control unit 114 of the vehicle 100 according to this embodiment performs control to notify the driver of the vehicle of the driving information. In other words, the vehicle 100 determines that the driving information received from a vehicle 100 other than one driven by a trustworthy person is not reliable information, and notifies the driver of the received driving information. This allows the vehicle 100 to alert the driver.

[0036] The driving information includes at least information regarding the activation of a collision mitigation brake. In other words, when vehicle 100 is traveling behind a reliable specific vehicle 100 in the same direction as the specific vehicle 100 and receives information regarding the activation of a collision mitigation brake from the specific vehicle 100, vehicle 100 can activate its own collision mitigation brake before the point at which the specific vehicle 100 activated the brake. This allows vehicle 100 to ensure the safety of the occupants of its own vehicle.

[0037] <Modification 1> The vehicle 100 according to this embodiment may perform vehicle control to slow down the speed of the vehicle when the driving information received from a vehicle driven by a trusted person includes activation of the skid prevention assist or antilock brakes. This allows the vehicle 100 to safely travel through a point where an occupant protection function has been activated in another vehicle.

[0038] <Variation 2> The driver of vehicle 100 may register driver information (such as name and vehicle ID) in advance in server device 300, and when registering group information, members may be selected from the driver information. This makes it possible to easily select mutually trustworthy members when registering group information in server device 300.

[0039] The processing of the determination unit 113 and the control unit 114 of the vehicle 100 described above can be recorded on a recording medium readable by a computer system, and the program recorded on this recording medium can be read into memory and executed to realize the vehicle 100 of the present invention. The computer system described above includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices.

[0040] The above computer system also includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) if it utilizes a WWW (World Wide Web) system. The above program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by transmission waves in the transmission medium. The transmission medium for transmitting the above program refers to a medium having the function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line.

[0041] The above program may be for realizing some of the above functions, or may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can realize the above functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0042] The above describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0043] 100; Vehicle 110; Processor 111; Group information acquisition unit 112; Travel information acquisition unit 113; Determination unit 114; Control unit 120; Memory 130; Communication unit 140; Notification unit 150; Passenger protection function control device 200; Network 300; Server device

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising: a group information acquisition unit that acquires group information specific to the host vehicle linking the host vehicle with a specific vehicle; a driving information acquisition unit that acquires driving information including at least information regarding the operation of an occupant protection function from other vehicles including the specific vehicle; a judgment unit that judges whether the driving information has been acquired from the specific vehicle based on the group information; and a control unit that controls the host vehicle based on the judgment result of the judgment unit and the driving information, wherein the control unit, when it is determined by the judgment unit that the driving information has been acquired from the specific vehicle, performs control to ensure the safety of occupants of the host vehicle based on the driving information, and when it is determined by the judgment unit that the driving information has been acquired from a vehicle other than the specific vehicle, performs control to notify the driver of the host vehicle of the driving information.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the driving information includes at least information regarding operation of a collision mitigation brake.

3. A vehicle comprising one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively connected to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors include: a group information acquisition unit that acquires group information specific to the host vehicle linking the host vehicle to a specific vehicle; a driving information acquisition unit that acquires driving information including at least information regarding the operation of an occupant protection function from other vehicles including the specific vehicle; a judgment unit that judges whether the driving information has been acquired from the specific vehicle based on the group information; and a control unit that controls the host vehicle based on the judgment result of the judgment unit and the driving information, wherein the control unit, when it is determined by the judgment unit that the driving information has been acquired from the specific vehicle, performs control to ensure the safety of occupants of the host vehicle based on the driving information, and when it is determined by the judgment unit that the driving information has been acquired from a vehicle other than the specific vehicle, performs control to notify the driver of the host vehicle of the driving information.

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