Vehicle emergency call device, vehicle emergency call method, and program

Abstract

A controller (100) of a vehicle emergency call device (10) comprises an object identification unit (102), a collision detection unit (103), and an emergency call unit (104). The object identification unit (102) continuously performs an identification process for identifying an object in front of a vehicle (1) when a braking process for preventing collision with the object has been performed. The collision detection unit (103) detects an occurrence of a collision accident of the vehicle (1) after the braking process has been performed. When the occurrence of the collision accident has been detected by the collision detection unit (103), the emergency call unit (104) performs an emergency call to notify that a collision with the object identified by the object identification unit (102) had occurred.

Description

Vehicle emergency notification device, vehicle emergency notification method and program

[0001] The present invention relates to an emergency notification device for a vehicle, an emergency notification method for a vehicle, and a program.

[0002] There is known a technology for making an emergency call from a vehicle when a collision accident occurs in the vehicle. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an emergency call device for a vehicle that, when detecting the occurrence of a collision accident with a pedestrian, counts the number of pedestrians hit and transmits the counted number to an emergency center.

[0003] JP 2014-174741 A

[0004] The vehicle emergency call device described in Patent Document 1 detects whether or not a collision with a pedestrian has occurred and the number of people involved based on the bumper pressure value detected by a pressure sensor at the time of a collision. However, with this detection method, depending on the circumstances of the collision, such as when the pressure sensor is damaged by the impact of the collision, it may not be possible to identify the object that has been hit, and it may not be possible to make an accurate emergency call.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and aims to provide a vehicle emergency notification device, a vehicle emergency notification method, and a program that can make emergency notifications with higher accuracy than conventional methods when a collision accident occurs.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle emergency call device of the present invention includes an object identification unit, a collision detection unit, and an emergency call unit. The object identification unit continues an identification process to identify the object when a braking process is performed to prevent a collision with an object in front of the vehicle. The collision detection unit detects the occurrence of a vehicle collision accident after the braking process is performed. When the collision detection unit detects the occurrence of a collision accident, the emergency call unit makes an emergency call to notify the user that the vehicle has collided with the object identified by the object identification unit.

[0007] According to the present invention, when a braking process is performed to prevent a collision with an object in front of the vehicle, an identification process to identify the object is continued, making it possible to make an emergency call with higher accuracy than before when a collision accident occurs.

[0008] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle emergency call device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment; FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of emergency call processing according to an embodiment; FIG. 4 is a timing chart for explaining emergency call processing according to an embodiment; FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining emergency call processing according to a first modified example; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of setting a predetermined time according to a vehicle speed; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of setting a predetermined time according to road surface conditions;

[0009] An on-vehicle emergency notification device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0010] An on-vehicle emergency notification device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device that issues an emergency notification when a collision occurs in a vehicle 1. The on-vehicle emergency notification device 10 starts an identification process for identifying an object ahead of the vehicle 1 when the brakes are fully applied due to a braking process for preventing a collision with the object, and then, if a collision occurs, issues an emergency notification to notify that the vehicle has collided with the identified object.

[0011] 1 shows an example of the functional configuration of a vehicle emergency notification device 10 according to this embodiment. The vehicle emergency notification device 10 according to this embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 1. In addition to the vehicle emergency notification device 10, the vehicle 1 also includes a brake actuator 260. Note that the vehicle 1 also includes an engine, a body, a chassis, a drive train, a steering wheel, electrical parts, actuators other than the brake actuator 260, brakes, etc., but the general configuration of these components is not shown and will not be described here.

[0012] The vehicle emergency notification device 10 includes a controller 100 that controls the overall operation of the vehicle emergency notification device 10, a radar sensor 210, a speaker 220, a camera 230, a bumper sensor 240, and a communication device 250. The radar sensor 210, the speaker 220, the camera 230, the bumper sensor 240, and the communication device 250 may be configured to be shared with other systems or devices such as a navigation system.

[0013] The radar sensor 210 is provided at the front of the vehicle 1 and includes a millimeter-wave radar, a lidar, etc. The radar sensor 210 emits millimeter waves ahead of the vehicle 1 and receives the reflected waves, and detects objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles ahead of the vehicle 1 based on the phase difference, attenuation ratio, time difference, etc. between the emitted wave and the reflected wave, and measures the distance to the vehicle 1 and the speed difference (relative speed) between the vehicle 1 and the vehicle 1. While the vehicle 1 is traveling, the radar sensor 210 performs the above measurements at predetermined time intervals, such as 0.1 seconds, and inputs signals indicating the measured distance to the object and the relative speed to the controller 100.

[0014] The speaker 220 outputs various sounds into the interior of the vehicle 1 based on instructions from the controller 100. For example, the speaker 220 outputs a warning sound when there is a risk of the vehicle 1 colliding with an object.

[0015] The camera 230 is an example of a sensor that detects the surroundings of the vehicle 1, and is, for example, an imaging device that captures an image within an imaging range of at least a predetermined angle in front of the vehicle 1. The camera 230 is installed in a position where it can capture images of pedestrians and other vehicles in front of the vehicle 1. While the vehicle 1 is traveling, the camera 230 inputs image data of the captured images to the controller 100 at predetermined time intervals, such as every 0.1 second. Note that the vehicle emergency notification device 10 may be equipped with multiple cameras 230.

[0016] The bumper sensor 240 is an acceleration sensor provided in the front bumper of the vehicle. While the vehicle 1 is traveling, the bumper sensor 240 detects the acceleration acting on the bumper at predetermined time intervals, such as every 0.1 seconds, and inputs an acceleration signal indicating the detected acceleration value to the controller 100. The bumper sensor 240 can detect an impact that the vehicle 1 receives.

[0017] The communication device 250 is a device such as a DCM (Data Communication Module), and is wirelessly connected to be able to communicate with an external emergency call center server 2. When a problem such as a collision accident occurs in the vehicle 1, the communication device 250 transmits an emergency call signal to the emergency call center server 2 based on an instruction from the controller 100.

[0018] The controller 100 is a control device that controls each operation (described later) of the vehicle emergency notification device 10. An example of the hardware configuration of the controller 100 is shown in Fig. 2. In the example of Fig. 2, the controller 100 includes a processor 1011, a memory 1012, a storage 1013, and a communication interface (referred to as "communication I / F" in the figure) 1014, which are connected to each other via a bus 1010.

[0019] The processor 1011 includes, for example, one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) and their peripheral circuits, and executes various types of arithmetic processing. The processor 1011 loads a control program stored in the storage 1013 into the memory 1012 and executes it. The processor 1011 may further include arithmetic circuits such as a logical arithmetic unit and a numerical arithmetic unit.

[0020] The memory 1012 includes, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), and functions as a work memory for the processor 1011. The memory 1012 also temporarily stores the control program read by the processor 1011 from the storage 1013 and various data used in the processor 1011's arithmetic processing.

[0021] The storage 1013 includes, for example, a non-volatile semiconductor memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), a flash memory, etc. The storage 1013 stores the control program executed by the processor 1011 and various data used in the arithmetic processing of the processor 1011.

[0022] The communication interface 1014 includes an interface circuit for connecting the controller 100 to an in-vehicle network that complies with standards such as CAN (Controller Area Network). The communication interface 1014 receives signals from the radar sensor 210, the camera 230, the bumper sensor 240, and other in-vehicle components, and passes the signals to the processor 1011.

[0023] The communication interface 1014 also transmits a brake control signal generated by the processor 1011 to a brake actuator 260 that operates the brakes of the vehicle 1. The communication interface 1014 also passes an audio signal, such as a warning sound, generated by the processor 1011 to the speaker 220, and passes an emergency call signal generated by the processor 1011 to the communication device 250.

[0024] 1 , the brake actuator 260 is an actuator for braking the vehicle 1, and is connected to the vehicle emergency notification device 10 via an in-vehicle network. The brake actuator 260 brakes the vehicle 1 by controlling the brakes based on instructions from the vehicle emergency notification device 10.

[0025] Next, the functions of the controller 100 will be described. In the controller 100, for example, the processor 1011 and the memory 1012 cooperate to realize the functions shown in FIG. 1 . That is, the controller 100 functionally includes a collision prevention unit 101, an object identification unit 102, a collision detection unit 103, and an emergency notification unit 104. Note that the functional configuration of the controller 100 in this embodiment is an example, and the functional units may be integrated or subdivided as desired. Also, while FIG. 1 mainly shows the configuration related to the emergency notification process in the event of a collision accident in this embodiment, additional functional configurations may be added as desired.

[0026] The collision prevention unit 101 performs braking processing to prevent a collision accident of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the collision prevention unit 101 determines whether there is a risk of collision with an object in front of the vehicle 1 based on the distance to the object, the speed difference (relative speed), and the like measured by the radar sensor 210. If it determines that there is a risk of collision, the collision prevention unit 101 outputs an alarm sound from the speaker 220 and activates the brakes via the brake actuator 260 to decelerate the vehicle 1. At this time, the collision prevention unit 101 controls the brake state so that the vehicle 1 safely stops in front of the object according to the distance to the object, the relative speed, and the like. However, if there is a high risk of collision, the collision prevention unit 101 controls the brakes to a full braking state. The full braking state is a state in which the brakes exert their maximum braking force, which is the state when the driver fully depresses the brake pedal.

[0027] When the collision prevention unit 101 controls the brakes to a full braking state, the object identification unit 102 analyzes the image captured by the camera 230 for a predetermined time and continues to perform an identification process to identify an object ahead of the vehicle 1. The predetermined time here is a fixed value, for example, 3 seconds. For example, the object identification unit 102 may use a pattern matching technique to identify whether the object in the image ahead of the vehicle 1 captured by the camera 230 is a pedestrian, a bicycle, or another vehicle.

[0028] The collision detection unit 103 detects the occurrence of a collision accident of the vehicle 1 based on the acceleration signal input from the bumper sensor 240. For example, the collision detection unit 103 may detect the occurrence of a collision accident by comparing the value of the acceleration acting on the bumper indicated by the input acceleration signal with a threshold value for collision determination. Note that the collision detection unit 103 may also obtain the value of the pressure inside the bumper from a pressure sensor (not shown) and detect the occurrence of a collision accident from the obtained pressure value.

[0029] When the collision detection unit 103 detects the occurrence of a collision accident, the emergency notification unit 104 makes an emergency notification to notify that the vehicle has collided with the object identified by the object identification unit 102. Specifically, the emergency notification unit 104 controls the communication device 250 to make the emergency notification by wirelessly transmitting an emergency notification signal and object information indicating the object last identified by the object identification unit 102 to the emergency notification center server 2.

[0030] The operation of the emergency call processing executed by the vehicle emergency call device 10 configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart in Figure 3. While the vehicle 1 is traveling, the collision prevention unit 101 of the vehicle emergency call device 10 detects objects, such as other vehicles or pedestrians, ahead of the vehicle 1 based on detection signals from the radar sensor 210, and constantly acquires the distance and speed difference (relative speed) to the object. Then, when the predicted time to collision (TTC), calculated by dividing the distance to the object by the relative speed, is equal to or less than a predetermined value (e.g., 3 seconds or less) and the driver has not depressed the brake pedal, the vehicle emergency call device 10 starts the emergency call processing. In the following description, the predicted time to collision will also be referred to as TTC.

[0031] First, the collision prevention unit 101 of the controller 100 outputs an alarm sound from the speaker 220 to warn the driver of the risk of a collision (step S101).

[0032] If the driver receives the warning in step S101 and stops the vehicle 1 by operating the brakes or the like (step S102; Yes), there is no need to make an emergency call, and the processing ends. On the other hand, if the vehicle 1 does not stop (step S102; No) and the SST further decreases to 1.8 seconds or less (step S103; Yes), the collision prevention unit 101 transmits a control signal to the brake actuator 260 to activate the brakes in order to prevent a collision with the object (step S104).

[0033] After the processing of step S104, the collision prevention unit 101 controls the brake state according to the TTC to decelerate the vehicle 1. If the vehicle 1 stops before colliding with the object (step S105; Yes), there is no need to make an emergency call, and the processing ends. On the other hand, if the vehicle 1 does not stop (step S105; No) and the TTC further decreases to 1 second or less (step S106; Yes), the collision prevention unit 101 outputs an alarm sound from the speaker 220 to warn the driver again that there is a high risk of collision (step S107). This alarm is stronger than the alarm of step S101. Then, the collision prevention unit 101 sends a control signal to the brake actuator 260 to control the brakes to a full braking state (step S108).

[0034] When the collision prevention unit 101 controls the brakes to a full braking state, the object identification unit 102 starts a timer for measuring the object identification time (step S109). Then, the object identification unit 102 analyzes the image data captured by the camera 230 and starts an identification process for identifying an object ahead that may collide with the vehicle 1 (step S110). After this, the object identification unit 102 continues the object identification process in parallel with other processes.

[0035] Then, if the collision detection unit 103 detects a collision accident (step S112; Yes) before the object identification time measured by the timer has elapsed a predetermined time (e.g., 3 seconds) (step S111; No), the emergency notification unit 104 makes an emergency notification (step S113). At this time, the emergency notification unit 104 makes an emergency notification specifying the object last identified by the object identification unit 102 as the collision object. Specifically, the emergency notification unit 104 controls the communication device 250 to transmit an emergency notification signal and object information indicating the object last identified by the object identification unit 102 to the emergency notification center server 2. Then, the emergency notification process ends.

[0036] On the other hand, if a predetermined time (e.g., 3 seconds) has elapsed without the collision detection unit 103 detecting a collision (step S111; Yes), this means that the vehicle 1 has stopped before colliding with the object due to sudden deceleration caused by full braking. Therefore, the object identification unit 102 clears the timer started in step S109 and stops the object identification process started in step S110 (step S114). Then, the process ends without making an emergency call.

[0037] Next, the above-mentioned emergency call processing will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a timing chart showing the relationship between the brake state of the vehicle 1, the object identification result by the object identification unit 102, and the determination result of the collision detection unit 103 as to whether or not a collision accident has occurred.

[0038] An object ahead is detected while vehicle 1 is traveling, and at time t1 when the TTC is 3 seconds, emergency call processing is initiated and an alarm is output to the driver. Then, at time t2 when the TTC is 1.8 seconds, the brakes are applied, and the braking state is controlled so that the braking force increases gradually from weak braking to medium braking, thereby decelerating vehicle 1. Then, at time t3 when the TTC is 1 second, a second alarm is output and the brakes are applied to full braking, at which point the object identification unit 102 starts processing to identify the object ahead of vehicle 1.

[0039] Although the object is initially identified as a pedestrian by this identification process, it is assumed that the object cannot be identified at time t4 when the collision accident is detected due to some kind of problem, such as backlight entering the lens of camera 230 or sudden deceleration causing camera 230 to lose focus. In this case, emergency notification unit 104 issues an emergency notification to notify that there has been a collision with the pedestrian last identified by object identification unit 102 at time t4, and the emergency notification process ends.

[0040] As described above, in the vehicle emergency call device 10 according to this embodiment, the object identification unit 102 continues the identification process for identifying an object when a braking process is performed to prevent a collision with an object ahead of the vehicle 1. The collision detection unit 103 detects the occurrence of a collision accident of the vehicle 1 after the braking process is performed. Then, when the collision detection unit 103 detects the occurrence of a collision accident, the emergency call unit 104 makes an emergency call to notify the driver that the vehicle has collided with the object identified by the object identification unit 102. That is, in the vehicle emergency call device 10 according to this embodiment, object identification is started from the point in time when a braking process is performed before a collision with the object occurs, and therefore it is possible to reliably identify the object and make an emergency call with higher accuracy than before.

[0041] Furthermore, according to the vehicle emergency notification device 10 of this embodiment, the object identification process continues for a predetermined time after the brakes are fully braked, and therefore the identification process is only executed when the vehicle is fully braked, which increases the risk of collision, thereby reducing the load on the vehicle emergency notification device 10.

[0042] Furthermore, in the vehicle emergency notification device 10 according to this embodiment, when the occurrence of a collision accident is detected by the collision detection unit 103, the emergency notification unit 104 notifies the vehicle of a collision with the object last identified by the object identification unit 102. This makes it possible to make an accurate emergency notification by identifying the last identified object as the object of collision, even if the vehicle has lost sight of the object and is unable to identify it at the time of the collision accident for some reason.

[0043] (Variation 1) Next, a description will be given of a vehicle emergency call device 10 according to Variation 1. In the above embodiment, when a collision accident is detected during the emergency call process, an emergency call is sent to notify the vehicle of a collision with the object last identified by the object identification unit 102. That is, even if the object changes during the identification process and multiple objects are identified, the emergency call is sent for the last identified object as the collision object. In contrast, in the emergency call process according to Variation 1, multiple objects are identified through the continuous identification process performed by the object identification unit 102, and if a vulnerable road user, such as a pedestrian or a cyclist, is among the multiple objects, an emergency call is sent to notify the vulnerable road user of a collision with priority.

[0044] 5 is an example of a timing chart showing the relationship between the brake state, the object identification result by the object identification unit 102, and the collision determination result by the collision detection unit 103 when the emergency call process according to Modification 1 is executed. Only the parts that differ from the timing chart shown in FIG. 4 will be described.

[0045] As shown in Fig. 5, the brakes are applied to full braking at time t3, and the object identification unit 102 starts processing to identify an object ahead of the vehicle 1. This identification processing initially identifies the object as a pedestrian, but for some reason the object changes to a car midway through, and a collision accident is detected in this state at time t4.

[0046] In this case, the emergency notification unit 104 issues an emergency notification to the pedestrian, who is a vulnerable road user, of the pedestrian and the vehicle identified by the object identification unit 102, that the vehicle has collided with the pedestrian. This makes it possible to prioritize vulnerable road users as collision targets, thereby enabling more useful emergency notifications to be sent. Note that how vulnerable road users are prioritized in the emergency notification is arbitrary; for example, in the above example, an emergency notification may be sent to first notify the pedestrian of a collision, and then an emergency notification may be sent to notify the vehicle of a collision.

[0047] (Variation 2) In the above embodiment, the predetermined time period for which the object identification unit 102 continues the identification process is described as a fixed value, such as three seconds. In contrast, in Variation 2, the length of this predetermined time period is set according to the speed of the vehicle 1 when the brakes are fully applied. For example, as shown in the table in FIG. 6 , the length of the predetermined time period is set so that it becomes shorter as the speed during full braking decreases. Note that the length of the predetermined time period may also be set by multiplying the reference value by a coefficient corresponding to the speed during full braking. In this way, it is possible to continue the object identification process for an appropriate time period that takes into account the stopping distance after full braking, which is affected by speed. Note that in Variation 2, the vehicle emergency notification device 10 needs to be equipped with a speed sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle 1.

[0048] (Variation 3) In the above embodiment, the predetermined time period for which the object identification unit 102 continues the identification process is described as a fixed value, such as three seconds. In contrast, in Variation 3, the length of this predetermined time period is set according to the road surface conditions when full braking is applied. For example, as shown in the table in FIG. 7 , the longer the predetermined time period, the worse the road surface conditions are when full braking is applied. Here, the road surface conditions can be determined by obtaining current weather information from an external weather forecast server, and determining the road surface conditions as "very bad" if the current weather is snow or heavy rain, "bad" if it is rain, and "good" otherwise. This makes it possible to continue the object identification process for an appropriate time period that takes into account the stopping distance after full braking, which is affected by road surface conditions. The predetermined time period may also be set by multiplying the reference value by a coefficient corresponding to the road surface conditions when full braking is applied.

[0049] (Other Modifications) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and applications are possible. For example, parts of the above-described embodiment may be omitted or replaced, or any configuration may be added. Furthermore, the hardware configurations, functional configurations, flowcharts, sequences, etc. shown in the above-described embodiment are merely examples and may be modified as appropriate.

[0050] For example, in the above embodiment, the process of identifying an object ahead of the vehicle 1 is started when the brakes are fully applied, but the process of identifying an object may be started at other times, such as when an emergency call process is started (time t1 in FIG. 4), when the brakes are applied to prevent a collision (time t2 in FIG. 4), or when the TTC becomes equal to or less than a preset threshold.

[0051] For example, in the above embodiment, the collision prevention unit 101 is described as performing braking processing to prevent collision with an object ahead of the vehicle 1, but the collision prevention unit 101 may only issue a warning to the driver. In this case, after the TTC decreases and the collision prevention unit 101 issues a warning to the driver, the driver performs braking processing, and when the brakes are fully applied, the controller 100 executes the processing from step S109 onwards of the emergency call processing.

[0052] In the above embodiment, an object ahead is identified from an image captured by camera 230, but the identification method is not limited to this. Instead of camera 230, an object may be identified using any sensor such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging), LRF (Laser Range Finder), or SONAR (Sound Navigation and Ranging).

[0053] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example has been described in which each function is realized by the processor 1011 executing a control program, but the vehicle emergency notification device 10 may also be configured using dedicated hardware that realizes each function.

[0054] Furthermore, the control program for executing the operations of the above-described embodiments may be stored and distributed on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an MO (Magneto Optical Disc), or a memory card, and the program may be installed on a computer to configure the vehicle emergency call device 10 that can realize each function. When each function is realized by sharing the work between an OS (Operating System) and an application, or by cooperation between the OS and an application, only the parts other than the OS may be stored on the recording medium.

[0055] The present invention allows various embodiments and modifications without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are intended to explain the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention. In other words, the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the meaning of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the present invention.

[0056] 1 Vehicle, 2 Emergency call center server, 10 Vehicle emergency call device, 100 Controller, 101 Collision prevention unit, 102 Object identification unit, 103 Collision detection unit, 104 Emergency call unit, 210 Radar sensor, 220 Speaker, 230 Camera, 240 Bumper sensor, 250 Communication device, 260 Brake actuator, 1010 Bus, 1011 Processor, 1012 Memory, 1013 Storage, 1014 Communication interface.

Claims

1. An emergency notification device for a vehicle, comprising: an object identification unit that continues an identification process to identify an object in front of the vehicle when a braking process is performed to prevent a collision with the object; a collision detection unit that detects the occurrence of a collision accident of the vehicle after the braking process is performed; and an emergency notification unit that, when the occurrence of the collision accident is detected by the collision detection unit, makes an emergency notification to notify that the vehicle has collided with the object identified by the object identification unit.

2. The vehicle emergency notification device according to claim 1, wherein the object identification unit continues to perform the identification process for a predetermined time after the braking process has brought the brakes into a full braking state.

3. The vehicle emergency notification device according to claim 1, wherein the emergency notification unit makes an emergency notification to notify the driver that the vehicle has collided with the object last identified by the object identification unit when the occurrence of the collision accident is detected by the collision detection unit.

4. The vehicle emergency notification device according to claim 1, wherein, when a plurality of objects are identified by the identification process continuously performed by the object identification unit and a vulnerable road user is among the plurality of objects, the emergency notification unit makes an emergency notification that gives priority to notifying the vulnerable road user that a collision has occurred.

5. The vehicle emergency notification device according to claim 2, wherein the length of the predetermined time is set based on the speed of the vehicle when the brakes are applied to the full braking state.

6. The vehicle emergency notification device according to claim 2, wherein the length of the predetermined time is set based on road conditions when the brakes are applied to the full braking state.

7. A vehicle emergency call method executed by a controller of a vehicle emergency call device, wherein the controller, when braking to prevent a collision with an object in front of the vehicle, continues to perform an identification process to identify the object, detects the occurrence of a collision accident of the vehicle after the braking process, and, when the occurrence of the collision accident is detected, makes an emergency call to notify that the vehicle has collided with the object identified by the identification process.

8. A program that causes a computer to function as: an object identification unit that continues to perform an identification process to identify an object in front of the vehicle when braking is performed to prevent a collision with the object; a collision detection unit that detects the occurrence of a collision accident of the vehicle after the braking process is performed; and an emergency notification unit that, when the occurrence of a collision accident is detected by the collision detection unit, makes an emergency call to report that the vehicle has collided with the object identified by the object identification unit.

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