Road division line drawing assistance device and road division line drawing assistance method

Abstract

A collation unit (103) of this road division line drawing assistance device (100) determines, on the basis of the position of a road division line indicated by map data and the position of a road surface painting device (200), whether the drawing position of the road surface painting device (200) and the position of the road division line indicated by the map data match. A drawing plan generation unit (104) of the road division line drawing assistance device (100) generates, on the basis of the result of the determination performed by the collation unit (103), a drawing plan that includes a travel route and a drawing execution point for causing the road surface painting device (200) to draw a road division line.

Description

Road dividing line drawing support device and road dividing line drawing support method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technique for supporting the drawing of road dividing lines on a road surface, and in particular, the redrawing of road dividing lines.

[0002] For example, high-precision map data used for automated driving and other applications includes data showing the positions of road markings and features with sub-meter accuracy. Meanwhile, road markings are painted on road surfaces using painting devices operated by humans, such as hand-operated painting devices and vehicle-mounted painting devices. Therefore, when road markings are redrawn (new road markings are painted in the positions of the original road markings) due to road construction, for example, the positions of the newly drawn road markings may deviate from the positions of the original road markings shown in the high-precision map data.

[0003] Therefore, for roads in sections where road lane markings have been redrawn, there is a possibility that the positions of the road lane markings may differ between the high-precision map data and reality. Therefore, in autonomous vehicles using high-precision map data, a construction flag is set in the data corresponding to the section where the road lane markings have been redrawn, to distinguish the data for that section from the data for other sections and indicate that the data for that section is not up to date. This makes it possible to take measures such as restricting the autonomous driving functions when the vehicle travels through a section with a construction flag.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a road painting device that can draw road markings with high positional accuracy by displaying on a screen the direction in which the road painting device should be moved based on the current position of the road painting device, the mounting position of the paint spray nozzle on the road painting device, and the position at which the road marking is to be painted.

[0005] JP 2015-86590 A

[0006] The technology of Patent Document 1 cannot guarantee that when road dividing lines are redrawn, the positions of the road dividing lines indicated by the high-precision map data will be the same as the positions of the newly drawn road dividing lines. Therefore, in order to maintain the accuracy of the high-precision map data, it is necessary to survey the construction section after redrawing the road dividing lines and update the high-precision map data, which requires cost and time for maintenance of the high-precision map data.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology that makes it possible to draw road dividing lines at the positions of road dividing lines indicated by map data.

[0008] The road dividing line drawing assistance device of the present disclosure includes a map data acquisition unit that acquires map data indicating the positions of road dividing lines; a position information acquisition unit that acquires the positions of road surface painting equipment; a comparison unit that determines whether the drawing position of the road surface painting equipment matches the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data based on the positions of the road dividing lines indicated by the map data and the position of the road surface painting equipment; and a drawing plan generation unit that generates a drawing plan including a driving route and drawing implementation points for the road surface painting equipment to draw the road dividing lines based on the results of the determination by the comparison unit.

[0009] According to the road-dividing line drawing assistance device according to the present disclosure, it is possible to draw road-dividing lines at the positions of the road-dividing lines indicated by the map data.

[0010] The objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a road lane marking drawing system according to embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a road surface painting device according to embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of information on road lane markings included in high-precision map data. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the road lane marking drawing system according to embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a road lane marking drawing system according to embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the road lane marking drawing system according to embodiment 2. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a method for comparing the positions of road lane markings indicated in map data with the positions of road lane markings drawn by a road surface painting device. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a road lane marking drawing assistance device. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a road lane marking drawing assistance device.

[0012] <Embodiment 1> Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of a road-lagging line drawing system according to embodiment 1. As shown in Figure 1, the road-lagging line drawing system includes a road-lagging line drawing assistance device 100, and a road surface painting device 200, a high-precision map server 210, and a positioning device 220 connected thereto. Here, the road-lagging line drawing assistance device 100, the road surface painting device 200, the high-precision map server 210, and the positioning device 220 are shown as independent devices, but the road-lagging line drawing assistance device 100, the high-precision map server 210, and the positioning device 220 may be mounted on the road surface painting device 200.

[0013] The road surface painting device 200 is a painting device that paints road lane markings on road surfaces. The high-precision map server 210 stores high-precision map data with sub-meter-level accuracy and distributes high-precision map data (hereinafter simply referred to as "map data") in response to a request from the road lane marking drawing assistance device 100. The positioning device 220 can measure the current position of the road surface painting device 200 with sub-meter-level accuracy, and is, for example, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, or the like, mounted on the road surface painting device 200.

[0014] 2 shows the configuration of the road surface painting device 200. The road surface painting device 200 is equipped with a drive unit 201 for self-propelling, a painting unit 202 having a painting nozzle for spraying paint onto the road surface, and a control unit 203 for controlling the drive unit 201 and the painting unit 202.

[0015] Here, the position where the road surface painting device 200 applies paint to the road surface, i.e., the position of the paint nozzle of the painting unit 202, is referred to as the "painting position" of the road surface painting device 200. In this embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the position of the antenna of the GNSS receiver mounted on the road surface painting device 200 is the same as the position of the paint nozzle of the painting unit 202. In other words, the position of the road surface painting device 200 measured by the positioning device 220 is the same as the painting position of the road surface painting device 200. In practice, the painting position of the road surface painting device 200 is calculated from the position of the antenna measured by the positioning device 220, taking into account the offset of the paint nozzle position relative to the antenna position of the GNSS receiver.

[0016] Figure 3 shows an example of road-dividing line information included in the high-precision map data held by the high-precision map server 210. Such information exists for the number of shape points of the road-dividing lines. A "road ID" is an ID (identifier) ​​assigned to each road section. A "road-dividing line ID" is an ID assigned to each road-dividing line in the section indicated by the road ID. A single road-dividing line is uniquely identified by the combination of the road ID and the road-dividing line ID. A "sequence number" is a number assigned to each shape point that makes up the road-dividing line. The "color," "width," and "coordinates (latitude, longitude)" of the road-dividing line are recorded for each shape point.

[0017] Returning to FIG. 1, the road-dividing line drawing assistance device 100 includes a map data acquisition unit 101 , a location information acquisition unit 102 , a comparison unit 103 , and a drawing plan generation unit 104 .

[0018] The map data acquisition unit 101 acquires map data including information on road lane markings from the high-precision map server 210. The map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101 includes at least information on the positions (coordinates) of the road lane markings. In this embodiment, the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101 includes information on the color and width of the road lane markings in addition to the positions of the road lane markings. The position information acquisition unit 102 acquires position information indicating the current position of the road surface painting device 200 from the positioning device 220. As described above, in this embodiment, the position of the road surface painting device 200 measured by the positioning device 220 is equal to the drawing position of the road surface painting device 200.

[0019] The matching unit 103 matches the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101 with the position of the road surface painting device 200 acquired by the position information acquisition unit 102, and checks whether the drawing position of the road surface painting device 200 matches the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data. Furthermore, if the drawing position of the road surface painting device 200 does not match the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data, the matching unit 103 identifies the positional relationship between them (for example, the distance and direction from the drawing position of the road surface painting device 200 to the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data).

[0020] Based on the result of the comparison by the comparison unit 103, the drawing plan generation unit 104 generates a drawing plan including a travel route of the road surface painting device 200 and drawing points for drawing road-dividing lines at the positions of the road-dividing lines indicated by the map data. For example, the coordinates of points where the width of the road-dividing lines indicated by the map data is other than 0 (for example, 15 cm) are set as drawing points. The drawing plan generated by the drawing plan generation unit 104 is input to the road surface painting device 200.

[0021] The control unit 203 of the road surface painting device 200 paints road lane markings on the road surface by controlling the driving unit 201 and the painting unit 202 in accordance with the painting plan input from the road lane marking drawing assistance device 100. Specifically, the control unit 203 controls the driving unit 201 to move the road surface painting device 200 along the travel route in the painting plan, and controls the painting unit 202 to apply paint to the road surface at the painting execution points in the painting plan. As a result, the road surface painting device 200 can paint road lane markings at the positions of the road lane markings indicated by the map data.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the road-dividing line drawing system. The flow in FIG. 4 starts when the user specifies to the road-dividing line drawing assistance device 100 a section for which road-dividing lines are to be drawn. Here, the section for which road-dividing lines are to be drawn is specified by a drawing start point and a drawing end point for the road-dividing lines. However, the section for which road-dividing lines are to be drawn may be specified by a road ID as shown in FIG. 3 , or by a road ID and a road-dividing line ID. For example, if the section for which road-dividing lines are to be drawn is specified by a road ID and a road-dividing line ID, the shape point with the smallest sequence number that constitutes the road-dividing line corresponding to the road-dividing line ID is set as the drawing start point, and the shape point with the largest sequence number is set as the drawing end point.

[0023] When a section for drawing road lane markings is designated, the map data acquisition unit 101 acquires map data for the designated section from the high-precision map server 210, and the position information acquisition unit 102 acquires position information of the road surface painting device 200 from the positioning device 220 (step S101). The comparison unit 103 compares the position of the road lane markings indicated in the map data with the position of the road surface painting device 200, and checks whether the position of the road surface painting device 200 matches the drawing start point (initial shape point) (step S102).

[0024] If the position of the road surface painting equipment 200 does not match the drawing start point (NO in step S102), the drawing plan generation unit 104 generates a travel route for moving the road surface painting equipment 200 from the current position of the road surface painting equipment 200 to the drawing start point as a drawing plan based on the positional relationship between the two (step S103). The control unit 203 of the road surface painting equipment 200 moves the road surface painting equipment 200 along the travel route generated by the drawing plan generation unit 104 (step S104). Note that if the position of the road surface painting equipment 200 matches the drawing start point (YES in step S102), steps S103 and S104 are skipped.

[0025] Thereafter, the drawing plan generating unit 104 generates a drawing plan up to the next shape point on the road lane-dividing line based on the information on the road lane-dividing line included in the map data (step S105). The control unit 203 of the road surface painting device 200 draws the road lane-dividing line in accordance with the drawing plan generated by the drawing plan generating unit 104 (step S106). That is, the control unit 203 controls the driving unit 201 so that the road surface painting device 200 moves along the travel route of the drawing plan, and controls the painting unit 202 so that paint is applied to the road surface when the position of the road surface painting device 200 (= drawing position) is located at the drawing execution point.

[0026] Thereafter, the collation unit 103 checks whether the road surface painting device 200 has reached the drawing end point (step S107). If the road surface painting device 200 has not reached the drawing end point (NO in step S107), steps S105 and S106 are repeatedly executed. If the road surface painting device 200 has reached the drawing end point (NO in step S107), drawing of the road dividing line ends.

[0027] In steps S104, S106, and S107, as in step S102, the matching unit 103 matches the positions of the road dividing lines indicated by the map data with the position of the road surface painting device 200, and checks whether the drawing position of the road surface painting device 200 deviates from the positions of the shape points of the road dividing lines indicated by the map data. However, if the distance and direction in which the road surface painting device 200 is moved can be controlled with high precision and there is a low possibility that the position of the road surface painting device 200 will deviate from the driving route in the drawing plan, the matching by the matching unit 103 may be omitted in part or all of steps S104, S106, and S107.

[0028] In this way, in the road dividing line drawing system of embodiment 1, road dividing lines are drawn while comparing the positions of the road dividing lines indicated by the high-precision map data with the drawing positions of the road surface painting device 200, so that road dividing lines can be drawn with high precision at the positions of the road dividing lines indicated by the high-precision map data.

[0029] <Embodiment 2> During actual road construction work, it is conceivable that road lane-dividing lines may be intentionally drawn at positions different from those indicated by the high precision map data of the high precision map server 210. The color or width of the road lane-dividing lines may also be changed. In embodiment 2, a road lane-dividing line drawing system is proposed that, in such cases, updates the high precision map data held by the high precision map server 210 to match the road lane-dividing lines that have actually been drawn.

[0030] Fig. 5 is a configuration diagram of a road-dividing line drawing system according to embodiment 2. The configuration in Fig. 5 is obtained by adding a determination unit 105 and a map data update unit 106 to the road-dividing line drawing assistance device 100 in addition to the configuration in Fig. 1 .

[0031] The judgment unit 105 judges whether there is a difference between the position of the road dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device 200 based on the drawing plan generated by the drawing plan generation unit 104 and the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101.

[0032] If the judgment unit 105 determines that there is a difference between the road dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device 200 and the road dividing line indicated by the map data, the map data update unit 106 instructs the high-precision map server 210 to update the map data so that the position of the road dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device 200 is reflected in the map data.

[0033] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the road-dividing line drawing system according to embodiment 2. The flow of Fig. 6 is carried out after the drawing of the road-dividing lines shown in Fig. 4 is completed.

[0034] When the drawing of the road dividing line is completed, the judgment unit 105 judges, based on the information of the drawing plan used to draw the road dividing line, whether there is a difference between the information (position, color, width) of the road dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device 200 and the information of the road dividing line indicated by the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101 (step S201).

[0035] 7 , when comparing the position 310 of the road-dividing line indicated by the map data with the position 320 of the road-dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device 200, the determination unit 105 calculates the difference 330 between the position 311 of the shape point of the road-dividing line indicated by the map data and the position 321 of the shape point of the road-dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device 200. If this difference 330 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the determination unit 105 determines that there is a difference between the position 310 of the road-dividing line indicated by the map data and the position 320 of the road-dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device 200.

[0036] If it is determined that there is no difference between the information on the road dividing lines drawn by the road surface painting device 200 and the information on the road dividing lines indicated by the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101 (NO in step S201), the processing of Figure 6 is terminated.

[0037] If it is determined that there is a difference between the information on the road lane-dividing lines drawn by the road surface painting device 200 and the information on the road lane-dividing lines indicated in the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101 (YES in step S201), the map data update unit 106 sends the road ID and road lane-dividing line ID indicating the section in which the road surface painting device 200 has drawn the road lane-dividing lines, and the information on the road lane-dividing lines drawn by the road surface painting device 200, to the high precision map server 210, and instructs the high precision map server 210 to update the map data. Based on the information received from the map data update unit 106, the high precision map server 210 updates the map data by rewriting the information on the road lane-dividing lines in the map data for the section in which the road surface painting device 200 has drawn the road lane-dividing lines with the information on the road lane-dividing lines drawn by the road surface painting device 200 (step S202).

[0038] The road-lagging line drawing system according to the second embodiment can update the high-precision map data stored in the high-precision map server 210 to match the road-lagging lines that have actually been drawn. This makes it possible to keep the high-precision map data stored in the high-precision map server 210 up to date without having to survey the construction zone after redrawing the road-lagging lines.

[0039] In the present embodiment, an example has been shown in which the high precision map server 210 performs the update process for the high precision map data, but the update process for the high precision map data may also be performed by the road lane drawing assistance device 100. For example, the map data update unit 106 may update the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 101 and provide the updated map data to the high precision map server 210.

[0040] [Variation] In actual construction work, it is assumed that road lane markings will not be drawn based on high-precision map data, but will be drawn based on a blueprint of a road that has been designed in advance. In this case, the map data acquisition unit 101 may acquire road design data, including information on the color, width, and position of the road lane markings, instead of the map data from the high-precision map server 210. In this case, the data updated by the map data update unit 106 may update the map data from the high-precision map server 210, or may update the road design data. The updated road design data can be used the next time road lane markings are redrawn.

[0041] The map data held by the high precision map server 210 also includes information indicating the positions of road edges and signs. For example, a sensor such as a camera or LiDAR that measures the positions of surrounding features may be attached to the road surface painting device 200, and when drawing road lane lines, the positions of the features around the road surface painting device 200 may be measured. The map data update unit 106 of the road lane line drawing assistance device 100 may then reflect the positions of those features in the map data held by the high precision map server 210.

[0042] 8 and 92 are diagrams illustrating examples of the hardware configuration of the road-dividing line drawing assistance device 100. The functions of the components of the road-dividing line drawing assistance device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 are realized, for example, by a processing circuit 50 illustrated in FIG. 8. That is, the road-dividing line drawing assistance device 100 includes a processing circuit 50 that acquires map data indicating the positions of the road-dividing lines, acquires the position of the road surface painting device 200, and determines, based on the positions of the road-dividing lines indicated in the map data and the position of the road surface painting device 200, whether the drawing position of the road surface painting device 200 matches the position of the road-dividing lines indicated in the map data. Based on the results of this determination, the processing circuit 50 generates a drawing plan including a travel route and drawing execution points for drawing the road-dividing lines by the road surface painting device 200. The processing circuit 50 may be dedicated hardware, or may be configured using a processor (also referred to as a central processing unit (CPU), processing device, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP (digital signal processor)) that executes a program stored in memory.

[0043] When the processing circuitry 50 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuitry 50 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination of these. The functions of the components of the road lane drawing assistance device 100 may be realized by individual processing circuits, or these functions may be realized together by a single processing circuit.

[0044] 9 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the road-dividing line drawing assistance device 100 when the processing circuit 50 is configured using a processor 51 that executes a program. In this case, the functions of the components of the road-dividing line drawing assistance device 100 are realized by software (software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware). The software is written as a program and stored in memory 52. ​​The processor 51 realizes the functions of each unit by reading and executing the program stored in memory 52. ​​That is, the road-dividing line drawing assistance device 100 includes memory 52 for storing a program that, when executed by the processor 51, results in the following processes: acquiring map data indicating the positions of road-dividing lines; acquiring the position of the road surface painting device 200; determining, based on the positions of the road-dividing lines indicated in the map data and the position of the road surface painting device 200, whether the drawing position of the road surface painting device 200 matches the positions of the road-dividing lines indicated in the map data; and generating, based on the results of this determination, a drawing plan including a driving route and drawing execution points for causing the road surface painting device 200 to draw road-dividing lines. In other words, this program causes a computer to execute the procedures and methods of operation of the components of the road dividing line drawing assistance device 100.

[0045] Here, the memory 52 may be, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a mini disk, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), and a drive device for such a disk, or any other storage medium that will be used in the future.

[0046] The above describes a configuration in which the functions of the components of the road-lagging line drawing assistance device 100 are realized either by hardware or software, etc. However, this is not a limitation, and the configuration may be such that some of the components of the road-lagging line drawing assistance device 100 are realized by dedicated hardware and other components are realized by software, etc. For example, the functions of some of the components may be realized by the processing circuit 50 as dedicated hardware, and the functions of other components may be realized by the processing circuit 50 as the processor 51 reading and executing a program stored in the memory 52.

[0047] As described above, the road lane marking drawing assistance device 100 can realize the above-described functions by hardware, software, or a combination of these.

[0048] It is possible to freely combine the embodiments, and to modify or omit the embodiments as appropriate.

[0049] The above description is illustrative in all respects, and it is understood that countless variations not illustrated can be envisioned.

[0050] 100 Road dividing line drawing support device, 101 Map data acquisition unit, 102 Location information acquisition unit, 103 Matching unit, 104 Drawing plan generation unit, 105 Determination unit, 106 Map data update unit, 200 Road surface painting device, 201 Drive unit, 202 Painting unit, 203 Control unit, 210 High-precision map server, 220 Positioning device, 50 Processing circuit, 51 Processor, 52 Memory.

Claims

1. A road dividing line drawing assistance device comprising: a map data acquisition unit that acquires map data indicating the position of road dividing lines; a position information acquisition unit that acquires the position of a road surface painting device; a comparison unit that determines whether the drawing position of the road surface painting device matches the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data, based on the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data and the position of the road surface painting device; and a drawing plan generation unit that generates a drawing plan including a driving route and drawing implementation points for causing the road surface painting device to draw the road dividing lines, based on the result of the determination by the comparison unit.

2. The road dividing line drawing assistance device of claim 1, further comprising: a judgment unit that judges whether there is a difference between the position of the road dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device based on the drawing plan and the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data; and a map data update unit that, when it is judged that there is a difference between the position of the road dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device and the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data, updates the map data by reflecting the position of the road dividing line drawn by the road surface painting device in the map data.

3. The road dividing line drawing assistance device according to claim 2, wherein the road surface painting device is equipped with a sensor that measures the positions of surrounding features, and the map data update unit further updates the map data by reflecting the positions of the features measured by the sensor in the map data.

4. A road dividing line drawing support method, in which a map data acquisition unit of the road dividing line drawing support device acquires map data indicating the positions of road dividing lines, a position information acquisition unit of the road dividing line drawing support device acquires the position of a road surface painting device, a comparison unit of the road dividing line drawing support device determines whether the drawing position of the road surface painting device matches the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data, based on the position of the road dividing line indicated by the map data and the position of the road surface painting device, and a drawing plan generation unit of the road dividing line drawing support device generates a drawing plan including a driving route and drawing implementation points for causing the road surface painting device to draw the road dividing lines, based on the result of the determination by the comparison unit.

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