Vehicle control device and control method of same

Abstract

This vehicle control device comprises: an operational design domain expansion extraction unit; an automatic driving level setting unit; and an automatic driving control unit. The operational design domain expansion extraction unit extracts a domain in which the automatic driving level can transition to a level higher than the current automatic driving level set for the host vehicle, on the basis of road structures including the structure of each lane of a road on which the host vehicle travels, past driving experience data of at least either the host vehicle or another vehicle on the road, the host vehicle state amount, and the current traveling environment on the road. The automatic driving level setting unit sets an automatic driving level of the host vehicle on the basis of an extraction result obtained from the operational design domain expansion extraction unit. The automatic driving control unit, then, implements travel control of the vehicle in accordance with the automatic driving level.

Description

Vehicle control device and control method

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device and a control method thereof that can expand the application range of an automatic driving function or a driving assistance function by dynamically expanding the operational design domain (ODD) of the automatic driving function or the driving assistance function.

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle control system that uses area information on where autonomous driving is possible using high-precision maps to identify areas where autonomous driving is difficult due to road structure, and uses driving conditions to respond to dynamic conditions such as weather conditions and pedestrians, and sets the autonomous driving level.

[0003] International Publication No. 2022 / 097376

[0004] However, at present, high-precision maps are not sufficiently available for general roads, and the scope of their applicability is limited.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a vehicle control device and a control method thereof that can expand the scope of application of automatic driving functions and driving assistance functions by dynamically expanding the operational design area of ​​the automatic driving functions and driving assistance functions.

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle control device and a control method are provided that determine whether to expand the ODD function based on three factors: road structure including the structure of each lane on the road (a detailed map, not a high-precision map), past driving experience, and the current driving environment, and by combining the results of the three determinations, permits autonomous driving level 3 (AD-Lv. 3) even on ordinary roads depending on the conditions.

[0007] In the present invention, ODD expansion is determined based on three factors: road structure, including the structure of each lane of the road, past driving experience, and the current driving environment. By combining the three determination results, AD-Level 3 can be implemented even on ordinary roads depending on the conditions. Furthermore, by determining ODD expansion based on the road structure using a detailed map, it is possible to identify locations where AD-Level 3 is difficult due to the road structure. Furthermore, because ODD expansion is determined based on the road structure of each lane of the road and the current driving environment, it is possible to appropriately determine ODD expansion even when there is no high-precision map and little experience data. Therefore, according to the present invention, the operational design domain of automated driving functions and driving assistance functions can be dynamically expanded, thereby broadening the scope of application of automated driving functions and driving assistance functions.

[0008] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a system configuration of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing data and processing flows when an ODD expansion area is extracted, a remaining driving time is notified to the driver, and a transition to highly automated driving is proposed in the control ECU shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and showing an example configuration of the control ECU shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a vehicle control method according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a vehicle control method following FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a vehicle control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and showing another example configuration of the control ECU shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a vehicle control method following FIG. 7; FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a vehicle control method according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a vehicle control method following FIG. 10; FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a vehicle control method according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a vehicle control method following FIG. 13;

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system configuration of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This vehicle control device determines whether to expand the ODD function based on three factors: road structure including the structure of each road lane (a detailed map, not a high-precision map), past driving experience, and the current driving environment. By combining these determination results, the vehicle control device can implement autonomous driving level 3 (AD-Lv. 3) even on ordinary roads depending on the conditions.

[0010] A vehicle (host vehicle) 10 includes a control ECU (autonomous driving ECU) 1, a GPS antenna 2, a map ECU 3, an external environment sensor 4, a vehicle behavior sensor 5, and a vehicle control actuator 6. Signal radio waves received from a satellite by the GPS antenna 2 are input to the map ECU 3, which detects the host vehicle's position. The control ECU 1 receives the host vehicle's position and a detailed map from the map ECU 3, receives information about the surrounding environment and white lines from the external environment sensor 4, and receives behavior information (such as vehicle speed and yaw rate) from the vehicle behavior sensor 5.

[0011] The control ECU 1 also transmits and uploads the driving experience (driving experience) of the vehicle, such as information on guardrails and white lines, to an empirical map 21 of an external server (server) 20 on the cloud, and receives updated empirical maps by downloading them. The control ECU 1 calculates a control command value while determining whether to expand the ODD, and transmits the calculated control command value to the vehicle control actuator 6. The vehicle control actuator 6 then controls the vehicle 10 in accordance with the input control command value.

[0012] 1 illustrates a case where information on driving experiences and an empirical map 21 is exchanged between the host vehicle 10 and the external server 20. However, the empirical map 21 is successively updated by exchanging information on driving experiences and the empirical map 21 between the external server 20 and many other vehicles other than the host vehicle, and an empirical map 21 is constructed over time by accumulating the driving experiences of the host vehicle and other vehicles. For example, information on the driving trajectory and vehicle behavior when another driver drove the host vehicle (in the past) is transmitted to the external server 20, and the empirical map 21 is processed based on this information. By repeating this processing, the range of the empirical map 21, in other words, the ODD, is expanded.

[0013] 2 is a schematic diagram showing data and a process flow when the control ECU 1 shown in FIG. 1 extracts an ODD expansion area, notifies the driver of a remaining driving time, and proposes transition to highly automated driving. Driving experience data for the vehicle is extracted from information such as white line information, vehicle speed, yaw rate, and vehicle position (F1), and the extracted driving experience data is sent to the server 20 and uploaded (F2). Furthermore, a determination is made as to whether to expand the ODD based on the road structure, based on the detailed map and vehicle position information (F3). The road structure includes, for example, information regarding the width of the road (traffic lane), the curvature of the road, the presence or absence of a center line, the continuity of the road dividing line positions, and the presence or absence of guardrails or curbs.

[0014] Furthermore, driving experience data around the vehicle is acquired from the driving experience data accumulated on the server 20 (F4), and a determination of ODD expansion based on the acquired driving experience data and the vehicle's position is made (F5). The past driving experience data includes, for example, the width of the gap between the vehicle and surrounding objects on the road (driving trajectory), the smoothness of acceleration / deceleration / steering operations on the road, the clarity of white lines on the road, etc. This driving experience data includes the unclearness of road markings recognized by an external sensor, acceleration, and the distance to surrounding objects, all of which are linked to position information during driving.

[0015] The ODD expansion is determined based on the current driving environment using the vehicle speed, yaw rate, etc. and driving environment information (F6). The current driving environment includes the driving state of the vehicle (longitudinal direction such as acceleration / deceleration and lateral direction such as steering), the driving state of surrounding vehicles (forward / backward and left / right acceleration, etc.), the relative distance to surrounding objects, and current weather conditions. In addition, it may also include the gentleness of acceleration / deceleration / steering operation, the clarity of white lines, etc.

[0016] In this way, the ODD expansion area is extracted from the determination information (0 / 1, ratio, etc.) obtained by each ODD expansion determination F3, F5, F6 (F7). The ODD expansion area is basically extracted comprehensively from the three determination results, but in order to deal with changes in the road such as road construction or weather changes such as rainfall or snowfall, it may be set so that the current driving environment takes priority over past driving experience data.

[0017] The driver is notified of the time that autonomous driving can continue based on the expandable area obtained by extracting the ODD expansion area, the available continuation time, etc. (F8). Furthermore, based on the expandable area, the available continuation time, etc., the system suggests to the driver that they transition to a more advanced autonomous driving system, and outputs the current autonomous driving level (F9). Then, control according to the current autonomous driving level is performed based on driving environment information, vehicle speed, yaw rate, etc., the vehicle's position, and a detailed map (F10).

[0018] Next, specific examples of a vehicle control device that realizes dynamic ODD expansion for autonomous driving using the above-mentioned empirical map, detailed map, and driving environment information will be described in more detail in the first to fifth embodiments.

[0019] [First Embodiment] The first embodiment illustrates an example of a situation in which, while traveling on a general road, the system proposes a transition to a more advanced autonomous driving level than the currently set autonomous driving level, and the driver allows the transition. In this embodiment, the autonomous driving transition is always set by the driver to be implemented as a suggested transition.

[0020] Fig. 3 shows a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the control ECU 1 shown in Fig. 1. This vehicle control device includes an operation design area expansion extraction unit 11, an autonomous driving level setting unit 12, and an autonomous driving control unit 13. The operation design area expansion extraction unit 11 executes "determining ODD expansion based on road structure" F3, "acquiring experience data around the vehicle" F4, "determining ODD expansion based on past driving experience" F5, "determining ODD expansion based on the current driving environment" F6, and "extracting an ODD expandable area" F7 in Fig. 2.

[0021] The autonomous driving level setting unit 12 executes "notifying the driver of the time that autonomous driving can be continued" F8 and "proposing to the driver to transition to a more advanced autonomous driving" F9 in Fig. 2. The autonomous driving level setting unit 12 acts as a suggestion unit that suggests to the driver of the host vehicle to transition to a higher autonomous driving level than the current autonomous driving level set for the host vehicle. The autonomous driving control unit 13 executes "control according to the current autonomous driving level" F10 in Fig. 2.

[0022] The operation design area expansion extraction unit 11 includes a first determination unit 14, a second determination unit 15, a third determination unit 16, and an extraction unit 17 that extracts an area where more advanced automated driving is possible based on the results of these determinations. A detailed map and information on the vehicle's position are input to the first determination unit 14, and the first determination unit 14 determines whether to expand the ODD based on the road structure. The second determination unit 15 receives input of the vehicle's position and past driving experience data, and the second determination unit 15 determines whether to expand the ODD based on the past driving experience. The third determination unit 16 receives input of vehicle speed, yaw rate, etc., and driving environment information, and the third determination unit 16 determines whether to expand the ODD based on the current driving environment.

[0023] The autonomous driving level setting unit 12 includes a high-level autonomous driving duration calculation unit 18 that calculates the amount of time that autonomous driving more highly automated than the current level can be continued, and a high-level autonomous driving duration notification / transition proposal unit 19 that notifies the driver of the possible continuation time and proposes a transition to highly automated driving when the predicted possible continuation time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time. The duration calculation unit 18 receives the extraction result from the extraction unit 17, and the calculation result is input to the notification / transition proposal unit 19. The duration calculation unit 18 and the notification / transition proposal unit 19 function as a high-level autonomous driving duration notification unit and a high-level autonomous driving transition proposal unit. A signal indicating the current autonomous driving level output from the notification / transition proposal unit 19 is input to the autonomous driving control unit 13. The notification / transition proposal unit 19 receives a signal indicating the driver's transition permission operation, thereby instructing the transition to be switched.

[0024] The autonomous driving control unit 13 receives input of detailed maps, the vehicle's position, vehicle speed, yaw rate, etc., as well as driving environment information, and calculates and outputs control command values ​​to the vehicle control actuator 6 based on the currently set autonomous driving level.

[0025] 4 and 5 are flowcharts of a vehicle control method according to a first embodiment of the present invention. First, the control ECU 1 acquires state variables of the host vehicle, road structure for each lane based on the map, past driving experiences of the host vehicle and other vehicles, and current driving environment information from the map ECU 3, the external sensor 4, and the vehicle behavior sensor 5 (step S101). The state variables of the host vehicle include, for example, the host vehicle's position, vehicle speed, yaw rate, longitudinal acceleration, steering angle, etc. Furthermore, the road structure for each lane is acquired, for example, if the road being traveled has three lanes on each side, the road structure for three lanes is acquired, and if the road has one lane on each side, the road structure for one lane is acquired. Experience data related to past driving experiences may be exchanged with an external server. Furthermore, the experience data of the host vehicle may be stored in the memory of the ECU and dynamically updated. Furthermore, experience data of other vehicles may be stored in the memory of the ECU at the time of shipping from the factory or may be received from other vehicles via vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

[0026] Next, the status of whether the system is allowed to automatically transition to the autonomous driving level is acquired (step S102). This step S102 is for confirming whether the transition to autonomous driving is permitted. Note that in this embodiment, the proposed transition is always set as the default state.

[0027] Next, a determination is made as to whether to expand the ODD based on the road structure of the map (step S103). This determination is made for each autonomous driving level, taking into consideration factors such as the clarity of the center line, the width of the lane, the height of traffic flow relative to road standards, and the risk of vehicles running out into the road, as shown in Table 1 below. Table 1 below shows the first determination condition for expanding the ODD, and defines three types of determination conditions for each autonomous driving level: apps expected to operate, assumed operating areas, and transition conditions to each level. Also, for example, as shown in Table 2 below, whether or not ODD expansion is possible may be classified into three types of determination levels and used in step S106. Table 2 below shows the second determination conditions for ODD expansion, and defines the determination conditions for ODD expansion by further classifying the three conditions for whether or not ODD expansion is possible, i.e., road structure, past driving experience, and current driving environment, at each autonomous driving level, into three types according to the degree of their respective conditions.

[0028] Next, based on past driving experience, it is determined whether or not ODD can be extended (step S104). In this step S104, it is determined whether or not ODD can be extended at each autonomous driving level based on the criteria shown in Table 1, such as whether or not a sudden steering operation by the driver has caused a sudden change in longitudinal acceleration or steering angle, whether or not the vehicle is close to a surrounding object, etc. Alternatively, as shown in Table 2, for example, the feasibility of ODD extension may be classified into three types of determination levels, which are used in step S106.

[0029] Next, a determination is made as to whether or not to extend the ODD based on the current driving environment (step S105). In this step S105, the determination is made based on, for example, whether the environment is such that sensor performance can be fully demonstrated, whether pedestrians and the like are far from the path of the vehicle, whether the speed of the vehicle is sufficiently low, and whether the time to collision (TTC) with surrounding objects is sufficiently long, as shown in Table 1. Alternatively, for example, as shown in Table 2, whether or not the ODD can be extended may be classified into three determination levels, which may be used in step S106. Making a determination based on the speed of the vehicle and the TTC with objects has the effect of enabling a high level of automated driving depending on the conditions, even in a residential area where low-speed driving that allows for immediate stopping is expected.

[0030] Next, using the determination results of steps S103 to S105, an area where autonomous driving at a higher level than the current autonomous driving level is possible is extracted (step S106). For example, when the determination is made in steps S103 to S105 using Table 2, this extraction is performed by determining the ODD expansion permitted area based on the number of satisfactions of "◯", "△", and "×" for the requirements at each autonomous driving level in the ODD expansion availability information classified into three determination levels as shown in Table 3 below. Alternatively, ODD expansion may be permitted at the highest level where all the determination results of ODD expansion permission according to Table 1 satisfy the conditions.

[0031] Table 3 below shows the transition conditions to each AD level, and defines the conditions for transitioning between automated driving levels using the judgment conditions in Table 2. If all three conditions in Table 2 - road structure, past driving experience, and current driving environment - are met to a high level, the vehicle is at AD-Level 3. As the conditions worsen, the vehicle will be at AD-Level 2+ or AD-Level 2, and if none of the conditions are met, the vehicle will be below AD-Level 2.

[0032] Thereafter, the continuation time is calculated from the area where more advanced automated driving is possible, which was determined in step S106 (step S107). The continuation time can be calculated, for example, by dividing the distance from the vehicle's current driving point to the continuous area where more advanced automated driving is possible by the current average vehicle speed.

[0033] Next, it is determined whether the expected continuation time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time (step S108). If the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S109; if the condition is not met, the process proceeds to step S111. The predetermined value used for the determination may be a constant value, or the predetermined value may be varied so that the degree of system initiative in the autonomous driving level is higher, for example, by decreasing it for AD-Level 2 and increasing it for AD-Level 3. This has the effect of mitigating the problem of the impact of the driver taking the initiative in driving switching between the driver and the system becoming greater as the AD level becomes higher.

[0034] Next, the estimated remaining time is notified to the driver. The notification is performed, for example, by voice guidance or by displaying a message on a display (step S109). Next, a proposal to transition to a more advanced autonomous driving mode is made to the driver. The proposal is made, as in the notification, by voice guidance or by displaying a message on a display (step S110). Then, the driver's permission for the transition proposed in step S110 is obtained (step S111).

[0035] Next, it is determined whether the driver has performed an operation to permit the transition (step S112). If the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S113; if the condition is not met, the process proceeds to step S115. In addition, in step S110, it is determined whether the system is proposing an autonomous driving level to the driver (step S113). If the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S114; if the condition is not met, the process proceeds to step S115. After that, the current autonomous driving level is set to the autonomous driving level proposed by the system in step S110 (step S114). Then, control is carried out according to the set current autonomous driving level (step S115).

[0036] The vehicle control device and control method described above determine whether to expand the ODD function based on three factors: road structure, past driving experience, and the current driving environment, and determines whether to expand the function by combining these three factors. This makes it possible to permit AD-Level 3 when it is determined that a general road is sufficiently safe.

[0037] [Second embodiment] The second embodiment is an example of a situation in which the system automatically transitions to a more advanced autonomous driving level while the vehicle is traveling on a highway. Here, the transition of the autonomous driving in this embodiment is set by the driver to perform a suggested transition on ordinary roads and an automatic transition on highways.

[0038] Fig. 6 shows a vehicle control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and is a block diagram illustrating another example of the configuration of the control ECU 1 shown in Fig. 1. This vehicle control device includes an operation design domain expansion extraction unit 11, an autonomous driving level setting unit 12, and an autonomous driving control unit 13, similar to the first embodiment.

[0039] As in the first embodiment, the operation design area expansion extraction unit 11 includes a first determination unit 14, a second determination unit 15, a third determination unit 16, and an extraction unit 17 that extracts an area where more advanced automated driving is possible based on the results of these determinations. The first determination unit 14 receives input of a detailed map and vehicle position information, and determines whether to expand the ODD based on the road structure. The second determination unit 15 receives input of the vehicle position and past driving experience data, and determines whether to expand the ODD based on the past driving experience. The third determination unit 16 receives input of vehicle speed, yaw rate, and other driving environment information, and determines whether to expand the ODD based on the current driving environment.

[0040] The autonomous driving level setting unit 12 includes a high-level autonomous driving duration calculation unit 18 that calculates the time for which autonomous driving at a higher level than the current level can be continued, and a high-level autonomous driving transition unit 19A that automatically transitions to autonomous driving at a higher level than the current level. The extraction result by the extraction unit 17 is input to this duration calculation unit 18, and the calculation result is input to the autonomous driving transition unit 19A. A signal indicating the current autonomous driving level output from this autonomous driving transition unit 19A is input to the autonomous driving control unit 13. In this way, the autonomous driving level setting unit 12 automatically transitions to autonomous driving at a higher level than the current level based on the output of the operation design area expansion extraction unit 11.

[0041] The autonomous driving control unit 13 receives input of detailed maps, the vehicle's position, vehicle speed, yaw rate, etc., as well as driving environment information, and calculates and outputs control command values ​​to the vehicle control actuator 6 based on the currently set autonomous driving level.

[0042] 7 and 8 are flowcharts of a vehicle control method according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Here, an example will be described in which the system automatically transitions to a more advanced autonomous driving level while the vehicle is traveling on a highway. Note that the processes other than steps S202, S209, and S210 are similar to steps S101 to S108 and steps S111 to S115 in the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described here.

[0043] In step S202, the system acquires the status of whether or not the system can automatically transition between autonomous driving levels. In this second embodiment, the driver's preference is set to suggestive transition on ordinary roads and automatic transition on expressways. This has the effect of reducing the driver's switching operations on ordinary roads, where the driving initiative frequently switches between the driver and the system.

[0044] In step S209, it is checked whether the road currently being traveled is an expressway, and whether the vehicle is in an automatic mode transition state. If the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S210; if the condition is not met, the process proceeds to step S211. In the second embodiment, the automatic mode transition / proposed mode transition is switched between expressways and ordinary roads, but if the automatic mode transition is set to be always automatic, the condition in step S209 is always met, and the process proceeds to step S210. In the next step S210, the current automatic driving level is set to a more advanced level than the current level determined in steps S206 and S207, and the vehicle automatically transitions to highly advanced automatic driving.

[0045] This vehicle control method achieves the same effects as the first embodiment, but does not require the driver to give permission when transitioning to an autonomous driving level where the driving subject does not change, thereby reducing the burden on the driver more than in the first embodiment.

[0046] [Third Embodiment] The third embodiment is an example of a situation in which the driver requests a transition to a more advanced automated driving mode before the system proposes a transition. Figures 9 and 10 show an example system configuration of a vehicle control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Here, the processes other than steps S313, S315, and S316 are the same as steps S101 to S115 in the first embodiment, so their explanations will be omitted and only the differences will be described.

[0047] In step S313, it is determined whether the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling is included in the area determined in step S307 where more advanced autonomous driving is possible. If the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S314; if the condition is not met, the process proceeds to step S315. In step S315, it is also determined whether the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling is within the ODD range of the autonomous driving level to which the driver wishes to transition. If the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S316; if the condition is not met, the process proceeds to step S317. Then, in the next step S316, the current autonomous driving level is set to the autonomous driving level to which the driver wishes to transition.

[0048] With this control method, if the driver attempts to transition to a more advanced automated driving mode before the system suggests a transition, the system will transition to the more advanced automated driving mode as long as the vehicle is traveling in an area where the more advanced automated driving mode is possible, even if the time it can be maintained is short. Also, if the driver attempts to transition to a more advanced automated driving mode while traveling in an area where the ODD cannot be expanded, the system will transition to the more advanced automated driving mode based on the original ODD conditions set in the vehicle. This provides the effect of being able to flexibly reflect the driver's intentions and expand the ODD, in addition to the effect of the first embodiment.

[0049] [Fourth Embodiment] The fourth embodiment is an example in which a threshold value for the continuation time required to transition to a more advanced autonomous driving state is dynamically set in an environment similar to that of the third embodiment. Figures 11 and 12 show an example of the system configuration of a vehicle control device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Here, the processing other than step S402 is the same as steps S301 to S317 of the third embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted and only the differences will be described.

[0050] In step S402, a first threshold value to be used in the determination in step S409 is set. The first threshold value may be changeable via a human-machine interface (HMI) according to the driver's preferences. Alternatively, the first threshold value may be automatically set according to the driver's driving tendencies, such as the driver's previous settings and the transition status of the autonomous driving level. For example, if the driver's autonomous driving history indicates that AD-Level 2 is frequently used, the threshold range for AD-Level 2 can be widened to reflect the driver's preferences.

[0051] This control method allows the system to suggest a transition to highly automated driving at an appropriate frequency based on the driver's preferences and driving tendencies, thereby reducing the driver's operations required for the transition and easing the burden on the driver.

[0052] [Fifth Embodiment] The fifth embodiment illustrates an example of a situation in which the system determines that the currently set autonomous driving level cannot be maintained on the road currently being traveled and proposes transitioning to a lower autonomous driving level. Figures 13 and 14 show an example system configuration of a vehicle control device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The processes other than steps S506 to S508, S510, S513, S514, and S516 are the same as steps S101 to S105, S109, S111 to S113, and S115 of the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described here, and only the differences will be described.

[0053] In step S506, the results of the determinations made in steps S504 to S506 are used to extract low-level areas where the current autonomous driving level cannot be maintained. This extraction is performed, for example, by executing only the processing for "autonomous driving levels lower than the current level" in the method described in step S106.

[0054] In the next step S507, the remaining time for the current autonomous driving level is calculated using the extraction result of step S506. The remaining time for the current autonomous driving level can be calculated, for example, by dividing the distance from the vehicle's current driving point that is the continuous area where autonomous driving is currently possible by the current average vehicle speed.

[0055] In the next step S508, it is determined whether the predicted continuation time is equal to or less than the second threshold value and whether the current level of autonomous driving will be lower than the current level after the current level of autonomous driving ends. If the conditions are met, the process proceeds to step S509, and if the conditions are not met, the process proceeds to step S511.

[0056] In step S510, the driver is suggested to transition to a lower autonomous driving level. In step S513, the current autonomous driving level is set to the suggested autonomous driving level, which is lower than the current level. In the next step S514, it is determined whether the time that the current autonomous driving level can be maintained is greater than a third threshold. If the condition is met, the process proceeds to step S516; if the condition is not met, the process proceeds to step S515. Note that the third threshold is a value smaller than the second threshold used in step S508.

[0057] In step S516, if the current autonomous driving level cannot be maintained but no response is received from the driver, the autonomous driving function is stopped or the vehicle is safely stopped. The autonomous driving function is stopped when there is no problem in stopping driving assistance, such as in AD-Level 2, where the driver operates the steering wheel. The vehicle is stopped in accordance with MRM (Minimum Risk Maneuver), when the driver is not operating the steering wheel, such as in AD-Level 3, where the system autonomously controls the vehicle.

[0058] According to this control method, if it is not possible to continue driving at the current autonomous driving level, it becomes possible to drive at a lower level, stop the driving assistance function, or stop the vehicle in accordance with the MRM, thereby enabling autonomous driving and driving assistance to be performed at an autonomous driving level appropriate for the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

[0059] Next, the effects of the invention necessary to realize "permitting AD-Level 3 depending on conditions even on ordinary roads by determining whether to expand the ODD based on three factors: road structure, past driving experience, and current driving environment, and determining whether to expand by combining the three determinations" will be described below.

[0060] By making judgments based on three levels - road structure, past driving experience, and current driving environment - and using all three comprehensively to extract the ODD expandable area, it is possible to determine whether a general road is sufficiently safe from the three-level perspective, and to use AD-Level 3 on general roads depending on the conditions. This has the effect of expanding the ODD when a road is determined to be sufficiently safe based on the road structure, your own / other people's past driving experience, and the current driving environment, making it possible to use AD-Level 3 on general roads depending on the conditions.

[0061] Judgment is made in three stages, road structure (high-resolution map), past driving experience, and current driving environment, and by using the three judgment results comprehensively, judgments can be made in which each judgment result complements the other, so that a highly accurate map is not required and ODD can be appropriately expanded even when there is little driving experience data. In this way, by judging ODD expansion for autonomous driving in three stages, there is an effect that ODD can be appropriately expanded even when there is little driving experience data.

[0062] If the possible driving time at an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level exceeds a predetermined time, the system notifies the driver of the possible driving time and suggests transitioning to a higher autonomous driving level, thereby reducing the frequency of switching the driver's role in driving. By suggesting transitioning to an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the vehicle, the system has the effect of reducing the frequency of switching the driver's role in transitioning to AD-Level 3 (eyes off), thereby reducing the burden on the driver.

[0063] By automatically transitioning to the proposed autonomous driving level, the system has the effect of reducing the burden on the driver, as it does not require any operation from the driver in cases where the driving role does not change.

[0064] Since the driver can freely set the proposed transition and the automatic transition, an appropriate transition according to the driver is proposed, which has the effect of realizing a burden-free operation.

[0065] Since the information necessary to determine road structure that makes AD difficult is presented, by determining ODD expansion based on the road structure in a detailed map, it is possible to grasp locations where road structure makes automated driving difficult.

[0066] Since the information necessary to determine potentially dangerous roads using driving operations is presented, the effect is that potentially dangerous places can be identified by determining ODD expansion based on past driving experience.

[0067] Since the information necessary to respond to dynamic conditions such as weather conditions and pedestrians is presented, the effect is that by using the "current" driving environment obtained from the sensor, it is possible to respond to dynamic conditions such as weather conditions and pedestrians.

[0068] The AD continuation time can be set based on the driver's preferred settings and driving tendencies, which has the effect of reflecting the driver's preferences and suggesting a transition to high-level autonomous driving at an appropriate frequency depending on the driver.

[0069] By reflecting the driver's driving tendencies, the system has the effect of suggesting transitions at an appropriate frequency depending on the driver.

[0070] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device and a control method thereof that can expand the scope of application of automatic driving functions and driving assistance functions by dynamically expanding the operational design area of ​​the automatic driving functions and driving assistance functions.

[0071] The configurations, methods, etc. described in the first to fifth embodiments are merely schematic illustrations to enable understanding and implementation of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiments, and can be modified in various forms without departing from the scope of the technical ideas set forth in the claims.

[0072] 1...Control ECU, 2...GPS antenna, 3...Map ECU, 4...External sensor, 5...Vehicle behavior sensor, 6...Vehicle control actuator, 10...Vehicle (host vehicle), 11...Operation design area expansion extraction unit, 12...Autonomous driving level setting unit, 13...Autonomous driving control unit, 14...First judgment unit, 15...Second judgment unit, 16...Third judgment unit, 17...Extraction unit, 18...High-level autonomous driving duration calculation unit, 19...High-level autonomous driving duration notification / transition proposal unit, 19A...Autonomous driving transition unit, 20...External server (server), 21...Empirical map

Claims

1. A vehicle control device comprising: an operation design area expansion extraction unit that extracts an area in which transition to an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the host vehicle is possible based on a road structure including a structure for each lane of a road on which the host vehicle is traveling, past driving experience data of at least one of the host vehicle and another vehicle on the road, state quantities of the host vehicle, and the current driving environment on the road; an autonomous driving level setting unit that sets the autonomous driving level of the host vehicle based on the extraction result by the operation design area expansion extraction unit; and an autonomous driving control unit that performs driving control of the host vehicle in accordance with the autonomous driving level.

2. A vehicle control device as described in claim 1, wherein the operation design area expansion extraction unit comprises: a first determination unit that determines the possibility of transitioning to an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the host vehicle based on the road structure and the position of the host vehicle among the state quantities; a second determination unit that determines the possibility of transitioning to an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the host vehicle based on the driving experience data and the position of the host vehicle; a third determination unit that determines the possibility of transitioning to an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the host vehicle based on the current driving environment and the motion state quantity of the host vehicle among the state quantities; and an extraction unit that extracts the transition possible area on the road based on the first determination result by the first determination unit, the second determination result by the second determination unit, and the third determination result by the third determination unit.

3. A vehicle control device as described in claim 1, wherein the autonomous driving level setting unit comprises: a high-level autonomous driving duration calculation unit that calculates the possible driving time at an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the vehicle, which is included in the information on the possible transition area; and a high-level autonomous driving duration notification / proposal unit that, if the possible driving time at an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the vehicle, which is included in the information on the possible transition area, exceeds a predetermined time, notifies the driver of the possible driving time and proposes to the driver to transition to an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the vehicle.

4. A vehicle control device as described in claim 1, wherein the autonomous driving level setting unit is equipped with a high-level autonomous driving transition unit that automatically transitions to an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the vehicle when the amount of time that driving can continue at an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the vehicle, which is included in the information on the transition-possible area, exceeds a predetermined time.

5. A vehicle control device as described in claim 1, wherein the autonomous driving level setting unit allows the driver to select between a suggested transition, which suggests a transition to an autonomous driving level to the driver, and an automatic transition, which changes depending on the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

6. A vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the road structure includes information on the width of the road, the curvature of the road, the presence or absence of a center line on the road, the continuity of the positions of road dividing lines, and the presence or absence of guardrails or curbs.

7. A vehicle control device as described in claim 1, wherein the driving experience data includes the following: unclearness of road markings recognized by an external sensor, acceleration, and distance to surrounding objects, all linked to position information during driving.

8. A vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the current driving environment includes the driving state of the vehicle itself, the driving state of surrounding vehicles, the relative distance to surrounding objects, and current weather conditions.

9. A vehicle control device according to claim 3, wherein the threshold value at which the driving continuation time exceeds the predetermined time can be set by the driver.

10. A vehicle control device according to claim 3, wherein the threshold value at which the driving continuation time exceeds the predetermined time is set according to the driving tendencies of each driver when using the vehicle.

11. A vehicle control method comprising: extracting an area in which a transition to an autonomous driving level higher than the current autonomous driving level set for the host vehicle is possible based on a road structure including a structure for each lane of a road on which the host vehicle is traveling, past driving experience data of at least one of the host vehicle and another vehicle on the road, state quantities of the host vehicle, and the current driving environment on the road; setting the autonomous driving level of the host vehicle based on the extracted area in which a transition can be made; and implementing driving control of the host vehicle in accordance with the autonomous driving level.

Images