Driving assistance device

Abstract

Provided is a driving assistance device capable of appropriately performing determination for driving assistance between a host vehicle and a nearby vehicle even when the types of high-precision map data and standard map data correspond to the positions of these vehicles are different. This driving assistance device: acquires one or both of high-precision map data including road information for each lane and standard map data not including road information for each lane, which are available for the surrounding of the host vehicle; when both the position of the host vehicle and the position of the nearby vehicle are in a high-precision area where high-precision map data is available, sets the high-precision map data as map data for determination; when one or both of the position of the host vehicle and the position of the nearby vehicle are in a standard area where high-precision map data is not available but standard map data is available, sets the standard map data as map data for determination; and determines the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the nearby vehicle on the basis of host vehicle information, nearby vehicle information, and the map data for determination.

Description

Driving assistance devices

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving assistance device.

[0002] In the technology of Patent Document 1, the positions of other vehicles acquired through vehicle-to-vehicle communication are identified by map matching, and the position of the vehicle itself is also identified by map matching. Then, reliability is calculated based on the similarity between the version of map information used in map matching to identify the positions of the other vehicles and the version of map information used in map matching to identify the position of the vehicle itself, and the content of driving assistance between the vehicles is switched based on the reliability.

[0003] JP 2015-118500 A

[0004] Map data includes high-precision map data that includes road information for each lane, and standard map data that does not include road information for each lane. While areas where high-precision map data is available for autonomous driving, driving assistance, and the like are expanding, there are still areas where it is not available. On the other hand, standard map data is available for navigation purposes and covers a wider area than high-precision map data. If the types of map data corresponding to the positions of the vehicle and surrounding vehicles differ, differences in lane information in the map data and discontinuities in the map data may prevent inter-vehicle driving assistance decisions from being made or may result in poor decision accuracy. Patent Document 1 does not disclose any technology for dealing with these differences in the types of map data between vehicles.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a driving assistance device that can appropriately make decisions for inter-vehicle driving assistance even when the types of high-precision map data and standard map data corresponding to the positions of the vehicle and surrounding vehicles are different.

[0006] a surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding vehicle information including the position of the host vehicle; a map data acquisition unit that acquires high-precision map data that has road information for each lane and / or standard map data that does not have road information for each lane, which are available for acquisition around the host vehicle; a map data setting unit that performs a process of setting map data for determination, whereby, if the position of the host vehicle and the positions of the surrounding vehicles are both in a high-precision region where the high-precision map data is available, the high-precision map data is set as map data for determination, and, if one or both of the position of the host vehicle and the positions of the surrounding vehicles are in a standard region where the high-precision map data is unavailable but the standard map data is available, the standard map data is set as map data for determination; and a contact determination unit that determines the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the host vehicle information, the surrounding vehicle information, and the map data for determination.

[0007] According to the driving assistance device of the present disclosure, when the position of the host vehicle is in a high-precision region and the position of the peripheral vehicle is in a standard region, the standard map data is set as the map data for determination. On the other hand, when the position of the peripheral vehicle is in a high-precision region and the position of the host vehicle is in a standard region, the standard map data is set as the map data for determination. Therefore, even when the position of the host vehicle and the position of the peripheral vehicle are in different regions, i.e., the high-precision region and the standard region, the same standard map data can be used to determine the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the peripheral vehicle, and the determination can be made with high accuracy without differences in lane information in the map data or discontinuities in the map data.

[0008] Note that when the position of the host vehicle is in a high-precision region and the positions of the peripheral vehicles are in high-precision regions, high-precision map data is set as the map data for determination. When the position of the host vehicle is in a standard region and the positions of the peripheral vehicles are in a standard region, standard map data is set as the map data for determination. Therefore, when the positions of the host vehicle and the peripheral vehicles are in the same high-precision region or standard region, the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the peripheral vehicles can be determined using the same high-precision map data or standard map data, and there is no difference in lane information in the map data or discontinuity in the map data, allowing for accurate determination.

[0009] 1 is a schematic block diagram of a vehicle control device and a driving assistance device according to embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram of a vehicle control device and a driving assistance device according to embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic hardware configuration diagram of a vehicle control device and a driving assistance device according to embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a case where a boundary line between a high precision area and a standard area exists between a host vehicle and a nearby vehicle according to embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the setting process of determination map data at a boundary link according to embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the setting process of determination map data at a boundary link according to embodiment 1. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the setting process of determination map data for a curved road according to embodiment 1. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the setting process of determination map data at a merging point according to embodiment 1.

[0010] 1. Embodiment 1 A driving assistance device 1 according to embodiment 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the driving assistance device 1 is provided in a host vehicle. The driving assistance device 1 is incorporated in a vehicle control device 50 provided in the host vehicle.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle is equipped with a surroundings monitoring device 31, a position detection device 32, a vehicle state detection device 33, a map information database 34, a wireless communication device 35, a vehicle control device 50, a drive control device 36, a power motor 8, an electric steering device 7, an electric braking device 9, and a human interface device 37.

[0012] The surroundings monitoring device 31 is a device such as a camera, radar, or ultrasonic sensor that monitors the surroundings of the vehicle. The radar may be a millimeter-wave radar, laser radar, or the like. The wireless communication device 35 performs wireless communication with a base station using a cellular wireless communication standard such as 4G or 5G. The wireless communication device 35 performs wireless communication with surrounding vehicles or roadside devices, etc. The roadside devices are monitoring devices that are installed on roads and monitor road conditions using cameras, etc.

[0013] The position detection device 32 is a device that detects the current position (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the vehicle, and uses a GPS antenna or the like that receives signals output from artificial satellites such as the GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System).

[0014] The map information database 34 stores high-precision map data having road information for each lane, and standard map data not having road information for each lane. An example of high-precision map data is HD (High Definition) three-dimensional map data, which is map data mainly for automatic driving and driving assistance, in which three-dimensional position information is registered with centimeter-level accuracy and road information is registered for each lane. An example of standard map data is SD (Standard) map data, which is map data for navigation, in which two-dimensional position information is registered with meter-level accuracy and road information for each road is registered but not for each lane.

[0015] The road network data of each map data includes information on "road nodes" that represent characteristic points of roads, and information on "road links" that connect the "road nodes" and represent the shape of the roads.

[0016] Each map data has different positional accuracy, but road information such as road shape information, signs, traffic lights, etc. The map information database 34 is mainly composed of a storage device. The map information database 34 may be provided in a server outside the vehicle connected to a network.

[0017] The drive control device 36 includes a power control device, a brake control device, an automatic steering control device, a light control device, etc. The power control device controls the output of a power machine 8 such as an internal combustion engine or a motor. The brake control device controls the braking operation of the electric brake device 9. The automatic steering control device controls the electric steering device 7. The light control device controls turn signals, hazard lights, etc.

[0018] The vehicle state detection device 33 is a detection device that detects the state of the host vehicle, which is the driving state and running state of the host vehicle. In this embodiment, the vehicle state detection device 33 detects the running state of the host vehicle, such as the direction of the host vehicle, the speed, acceleration, yaw rate, steering angle, lateral acceleration, etc. For example, the vehicle state detection device 33 may be provided with a direction sensor, a speed sensor that detects the rotational speed of the wheels, an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a steering angle sensor, etc.

[0019] The vehicle state detection device 33 detects the driver's acceleration / deceleration operations, steering angle operations, and lane change operations as the driving state of the vehicle. For example, the vehicle state detection device 33 may include an accelerator position sensor, a brake position sensor, a steering angle sensor (steering wheel angle sensor), a steering torque sensor, a turn signal position switch, and the like.

[0020] The human interface device 37 is a device that receives input from the driver through a speaker, a display screen, an input device, etc., and transmits information to the driver.

[0021] 1-1. Vehicle control device 50 The vehicle control device 50 includes functional units such as a host vehicle information acquisition unit 51, a surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 52, a map data acquisition unit 53, a determination map data setting unit 54, a contact determination unit 55, a notification unit 56, and a vehicle control unit 57. Each function of the vehicle control device 50 is realized by a processing circuit included in the vehicle control device 50. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 , the vehicle control device 50 includes an arithmetic processing device 90 such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a storage device 91, an input / output device 92 that inputs and outputs external signals to the arithmetic processing device 90, and the like.

[0022] The arithmetic processing device 90 may be an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an IC (Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an AI (Artificial Intelligence) chip, various logic circuits, various signal processing circuits, etc. Furthermore, the arithmetic processing device 90 may be a plurality of the same or different types, and each process may be shared and executed. As the storage device 91, various storage devices such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a flash memory, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), a hard disk, etc. may be used.

[0023] The input / output device 92 includes a communication device, an A / D converter, an input / output port, a drive circuit, etc. The input / output device 92 is connected to the surroundings monitoring device 31, the position detection device 32, the vehicle state detection device 33, the map information database 34, the wireless communication device 35, the drive control device 36, the human interface device 37, etc., and communicates with these devices.

[0024] The functions of the functional units 51 to 57 of the vehicle control device 50 are realized by the arithmetic processing device 90 executing software (programs) stored in the storage device 91 and cooperating with other hardware of the vehicle control device 50, such as the storage device 91 and the input / output device 92. Note that setting data such as boundary link data used by the functional units 51 to 57 is stored in the storage device 91, such as an EEPROM.

[0025] Alternatively, the vehicle control device 50 may be provided with dedicated hardware 93 as a processing circuit, such as a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a GPU, an AI chip, or a circuit combining these, as shown in Fig. 3. Each function of the vehicle control device 50 will be described in detail below.

[0026] 1-1-1. Vehicle Information Acquisition Unit 51 The vehicle information acquisition unit 51 acquires vehicle information including the position of the vehicle.

[0027] In this embodiment, the host vehicle information acquisition unit 51 acquires the position of the host vehicle from the position detection device 32. The acquired position information includes latitude, longitude, altitude, etc. Note that the host vehicle position may be detected using various methods such as a map matching method, a dead reckoning method, or a method using information detected around the host vehicle by the surroundings monitoring device 31.

[0028] The host vehicle information acquisition unit 51 also acquires the host vehicle state, which is the driving state and traveling state of the host vehicle, from the vehicle state detection device 33. The traveling state of the host vehicle includes the host vehicle's direction, speed, acceleration, yaw rate, steering angle, lateral acceleration, etc. The driving state of the host vehicle includes the driver's acceleration / deceleration operation, steering angle operation, and lane change operation.

[0029] The acquired vehicle information includes the position, direction of movement (azimuth), speed, acceleration, and the like of the vehicle.

[0030] 1-1-2. Surrounding Vehicle Information Acquisition Unit 52 The surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 52 acquires surrounding vehicle information including the positions of surrounding vehicles present around the host vehicle.

[0031] The surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 52 sets surrounding vehicles from other vehicles detected by the surroundings monitoring device 31, other vehicles detected by roadside devices installed around the host vehicle, and other vehicles around the host vehicle that have acquired position information, etc. through direct communication with the host vehicle or communication via a network. The surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 52 sets, as surrounding vehicles, other vehicles that should be determined to have a possibility of contact with the host vehicle. For example, the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 52 sets, as surrounding vehicles, a leading vehicle located in front of the host vehicle in the host vehicle's traveling lane or road, a trailing vehicle located behind the host vehicle, an adjacent vehicle traveling in an adjacent lane of the host vehicle, a merging vehicle located in a merging lane or road where the host vehicle's traveling lane or road merges, a merging vehicle located in a merging lane or road that merges into the host vehicle's traveling lane or road, and an intersecting vehicle traveling on an intersecting road that intersects with the host vehicle's traveling road.

[0032] The surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 52 acquires the position, moving direction (orientation), speed, acceleration, etc. of each surrounding vehicle as surrounding vehicle information of each surrounding vehicle.

[0033] The surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 52 acquires the position, movement direction (orientation), speed, acceleration, etc. of the surrounding vehicles from the surrounding vehicles or roadside devices by direct communication with the host vehicle or communication via a network. The information of the surrounding vehicles acquired from the surrounding monitoring device 31 is the relative position, relative movement direction, relative speed, and relative acceleration with respect to the host vehicle, so the surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit 52 converts the relative position, relative movement direction, relative speed, and relative acceleration of the surrounding vehicles into the position, movement method, speed, and acceleration of the surrounding vehicles based on the position, movement direction, speed, and angular velocity of the host vehicle.

[0034] The acquired surrounding vehicle information includes the position, movement direction (azimuth), speed, acceleration, etc. of the surrounding vehicle.

[0035] 1-1-3. Map Data Acquisition Unit 53 The map data acquisition unit 53 acquires one or both of high-precision map data that includes road information for each lane and standard map data that does not include road information for each lane, both of which are available around the vehicle.

[0036] If high-precision map data including the vehicle's position is available, the map data acquisition unit 53 acquires high-precision map data of the vicinity of the vehicle, including the vehicle's position. For example, high-precision map data that can be acquired within a predetermined distance range centered on the vehicle's position is acquired. The predetermined distance range is set to be wider than the distance range in which nearby vehicles, for which a collision possibility needs to be determined, may exist (for example, a range of 5 km).

[0037] If standard map data including the vehicle's position is available, the map data acquisition unit 53 acquires standard map data of the area around the vehicle, including the vehicle's position. Standard map data is map data for navigation, and is compiled over a wider range than high-precision map data, regardless of whether high-precision map data is available. For example, standard map data that can be acquired within a predetermined distance range centered on the vehicle's position is acquired. For navigation purposes, the predetermined distance range for acquiring standard map data is set wider than the processing distance range for acquiring high-precision map data.

[0038] 1-1-4. Determination Map Data Setting Unit 54 The determination map data setting unit 54 performs a determination map data setting process in which, if both the position of the host vehicle and the positions of the surrounding vehicles are in a high-precision area where high-precision map data can be acquired, the determination map data setting unit 54 sets high-precision map data as the map data for determination, and, if one or both of the position of the host vehicle and the positions of the surrounding vehicles are in a standard area where high-precision map data cannot be acquired but standard map data can be acquired, the determination map data setting unit 54 sets standard map data as the map data for determination. The determination map data setting process is performed, for example, at every predetermined calculation cycle.

[0039] When there are a plurality of surrounding vehicles, the determination map data setting process is performed for each surrounding vehicle, and the determination map data is set.

[0040] 4, when the position of the host vehicle is in the high-precision area and the position of the nearby vehicle is in the standard area, in the comparative example, the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the nearby vehicle is determined using high-precision map data around the host vehicle and standard map data around the nearby vehicle. On the other hand, when the position of the nearby vehicle is in the high-precision area and the position of the host vehicle is in the standard area, in the comparative example, the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the nearby vehicle is determined using high-precision map data around the nearby vehicle and standard map data around the host vehicle. Therefore, in the comparative example, different types of map data are used for the determination, and due to differences in lane information in the map data and discontinuities in the map data, the determination cannot be made or the determination accuracy deteriorates.

[0041] On the other hand, according to the configuration of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4, when the position of the host vehicle is in the high-accuracy region and the position of the peripheral vehicle is in the standard region, the standard map data is set as the map data for determination. On the other hand, when the position of the peripheral vehicle is in the high-accuracy region and the position of the host vehicle is in the standard region, the standard map data is set as the map data for determination. Therefore, even when the position of the host vehicle and the position of the peripheral vehicle are in different regions, i.e., the high-accuracy region and the standard region, the same standard map data can be used to determine the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the peripheral vehicle, and accurate determination can be made without differences in lane information in the map data or discontinuities in the map data.

[0042] Note that when the position of the host vehicle is in a high-precision region and the positions of the peripheral vehicles are in high-precision regions, high-precision map data is set as the map data for determination. When the position of the host vehicle is in a standard region and the positions of the peripheral vehicles are in a standard region, standard map data is set as the map data for determination. Therefore, when the positions of the host vehicle and the peripheral vehicles are in the same high-precision region or standard region, the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the peripheral vehicles can be determined using the same high-precision map data or standard map data, and there is no difference in lane information in the map data or discontinuity in the map data, allowing for accurate determination.

[0043] <Determination at Boundary Link> In this embodiment, the determination map data setting unit 54 performs a process of setting determination map data when either or both of the position of the host vehicle and the position of the surrounding vehicle are located on a boundary link, which is a road link before or after the boundary line between the high-precision area and the standard area. If neither the position of the host vehicle nor the position of the surrounding vehicle are located on a boundary link, the setting of the determination map data that was last set is maintained. For example, if either or both of the position of the host vehicle and the position of the surrounding vehicle are located on a boundary link, the process of setting determination map data is performed, for example, at a predetermined calculation cycle.

[0044] According to this configuration, it is not necessary to constantly perform the process of setting the determination map data, and the load of the calculation process can be reduced.

[0045] For example, as shown in Figure 5, when the position of the host vehicle and the positions of the surrounding vehicles are in the high-precision area and the positions of the surrounding vehicles enter the boundary link, the process of setting the determination map data is started. If the positions of the surrounding vehicles are in the boundary link on the high-precision area side of the boundary line, the positions of the surrounding vehicles are in the high-precision area, so the determination map data is maintained as high-precision map data. If the positions of the surrounding vehicles subsequently move across the boundary line to the boundary link on the standard area side, the positions of the surrounding vehicles are in the standard area, so the determination map data is changed to standard map data.

[0046] 6, when the host vehicle is located in the standard area, the nearby vehicles are located in the high-precision area, and the host vehicle enters a boundary link, the process of setting the determination map data is started. When the host vehicle is located on a boundary link closer to the standard area than the boundary line, the determination map data is maintained as the standard map data. If the host vehicle subsequently crosses the boundary line and moves to a boundary link on the high-precision area side, the nearby vehicles are located in the high-precision area, and the determination map data is changed to the high-precision map data.

[0047] In this embodiment, the determination map data setting unit 54 references boundary link data in which information on boundary links is registered in advance to acquire information on boundary links around the vehicle. The boundary link information includes information on boundary links on the high-precision region side of the boundary line and information on boundary links on the standard region side of the boundary line.

[0048] According to this configuration, it is only necessary to refer to the boundary link data, and there is no need to constantly determine the boundary links, thereby reducing the computational load.

[0049] A large number of boundary links existing in a service area (e.g., a country or region) for which high-precision map data and standard map data are provided are registered in advance in the boundary link data. The boundary link data may be stored in a storage device of the vehicle control device 50, or may be obtained from an external server connected to the network.

[0050] <Prediction of Switching> In this embodiment, when the position of one of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles enters a boundary link, the determination map data setting unit 54 predicts, through the determination map data setting process, whether or not the determination map data will switch between high-precision map data and standard map data after the position of the one vehicle crosses the boundary line.

[0051] For example, when the position of one of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles enters a boundary link, the determination map data setting unit 54 determines whether the position of the one vehicle has entered a boundary link on the high-precision region side of the boundary line or on the standard region side of the boundary line. As shown in Fig. 5 , when the position of one vehicle (the surrounding vehicle in this example) enters the boundary link on the high-precision region side, the determination map data setting unit 54 predicts that the position of the one vehicle will move from the high-precision region to the standard region after crossing the boundary line. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 6 , when the position of one vehicle (the host vehicle in this example) enters the boundary link on the standard region side, the determination map data setting unit 54 predicts that the position of the one vehicle will move from the standard region to the high-precision region after crossing the boundary line.

[0052] As shown in Fig. 5, if the position of the other of the host vehicle and the peripheral vehicles (the host vehicle in this example) is in a high-precision area and the position of one of the vehicles is predicted to move from the high-precision area to the standard area, the determination map data setting unit 54 predicts that the map data for determination will be switched from high-precision map data to standard map data. Also, as shown in Fig. 6, if the position of the other of the host vehicle and the peripheral vehicles (the peripheral vehicle in this example) is in a high-precision area and the position of one of the vehicles is predicted to move from the standard area to the high-precision area, the determination map data setting unit 54 predicts that the map data for determination will be switched from standard map data to high-precision map data. On the other hand, if the position of the other of the host vehicle and the peripheral vehicles is in a standard area, the determination map data setting unit 54 predicts that the switching will not occur and that the map data for determination will remain as the standard map data.

[0053] If there are multiple surrounding vehicles, a prediction of a change in the map data for determination is made for each surrounding vehicle.

[0054] 1-1-5. Contact Determination Unit 55 The contact determination unit 55 determines the possibility of contact between the subject vehicle and a nearby vehicle based on the subject vehicle information, the nearby vehicle information, and map data for determination.

[0055] If there are multiple surrounding vehicles, the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and each surrounding vehicle is determined for each surrounding vehicle.

[0056] As the subject vehicle information, in addition to the position of the subject vehicle, the direction of movement (azimuth), speed, acceleration, etc. of the subject vehicle are used. As the subject vehicle information, a target driving route, etc. may be used. As the surrounding vehicle information, in addition to the position of the surrounding vehicle, the direction of movement (azimuth), speed, acceleration, etc. of the surrounding vehicle are used. As the surrounding vehicle information, a target driving route, etc. may be used.

[0057] For example, when the subject vehicle and a surrounding vehicle are traveling in front of and behind each other on the same road, the contact determination unit 55 calculates the relative distance between the subject vehicle and the surrounding vehicle along the road based on the position of the subject vehicle, the position of the surrounding vehicle, and map data for determination, calculates the relative speed between the subject vehicle and the surrounding vehicle based on the speed of the subject vehicle and the speed of the surrounding vehicle, calculates the time to collision by dividing the relative distance by the relative speed, and determines the possibility of contact based on the time to collision.

[0058] In this case, if high-precision map data is used as the map data for determination, road information for each lane can be used, so if the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and the lane in which the surrounding vehicles are traveling are different, the possibility of contact is determined to be low regardless of the time to collision, and if the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and the lane in which the surrounding vehicles are traveling are the same, the possibility of contact is determined based on the time to collision.On the other hand, if standard map data is used as the map data for determination, road information for each lane is not available, so the possibility of contact is determined based on the time to collision regardless of whether the lanes in which the vehicles are traveling are the same.

[0059] For example, as shown in Figure 7, in the case where there is a nearby vehicle stopped in the right lane ahead on a curved road that cannot be detected by the surroundings monitoring device 31 such as a camera, and the host vehicle is traveling in the left lane, if high-precision map data is used for the map data for determination, the traveling lanes of each vehicle are taken into consideration, and since the traveling lanes of each vehicle are different, the possibility of contact can be determined to be low. If standard map data is used for the map data for determination, the possibility of contact is determined based on the time to collision without taking into consideration whether the traveling lanes of each vehicle are the same. Note that, if the surroundings monitoring device 31 such as a camera can detect nearby vehicles, the possibility of contact may be determined based on the detection information from the surroundings monitoring device 31 regardless of the type of map data.

[0060] In this case, when there is a boundary line between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, the position of the host vehicle is in the high-precision area, and the positions of the surrounding vehicles are in the standard area, in a comparative example in which each map data obtainable for each vehicle is used as is for the determination, the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling can be determined but the lane in which the surrounding vehicles are traveling cannot be determined, and the difference in lane information and discontinuity in the map data make it impossible to perform the determination or the determination accuracy deteriorates. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, when there is a boundary line between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, the same standard map data is used for the map data used to determine the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles, and there is no difference in lane information in the map data or discontinuity in the map data, so that an appropriate determination can be made.

[0061] Alternatively, if the subject vehicle and the surrounding vehicles are traveling on different roads and passing through the same merging point, the contact determination unit 55 calculates the distance along the road from the subject vehicle to the merging point based on the position of the subject vehicle and the map data for determination, divides the distance by the speed of the subject vehicle to calculate the arrival time at the merging point, calculates the distance along the road from the surrounding vehicles to the merging point based on the positions of the surrounding vehicles and the map data for determination, divides the distance by the speed of the surrounding vehicles to calculate the arrival time at the merging point, calculates the time difference between the arrival time of the subject vehicle and the arrival time of the surrounding vehicles as the collision margin time, and determines the possibility of contact based on the collision margin time.

[0062] In this case, if high-precision map data is used as the map data for determination, if the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling at the merging point is different from the lane in which the surrounding vehicles are traveling, the possibility of contact is determined to be low regardless of the time to collision, and if the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling at the merging point is the same as the lane in which the surrounding vehicles are traveling, the possibility of contact is determined based on the time to collision.On the other hand, if standard map data is used as the map data for determination, since it does not have road information for each lane, the possibility of contact is determined based on the time to collision regardless of whether the lanes in which the vehicles are traveling are the same.

[0063] 8, when a nearby vehicle is traveling in the right lane of a merging road where the road on which the vehicle is traveling merges, and the vehicle is merging into the left lane of the merging road, if high-precision map data is used, the possibility of contact can be determined to be low because the lanes on which the vehicles are traveling at the merging point are different, whereas if standard map data is used, the possibility of contact is determined based on the time to collision without taking into account whether the lanes on which the vehicles are traveling at the merging point are different. Note that if nearby vehicles can be detected by a surroundings monitoring device 31 such as a camera, the possibility of contact may be determined based on detection information from the surroundings monitoring device 31 regardless of the type of map data.

[0064] The possibility of contact between the host vehicle and a nearby vehicle may be determined using various known determination methods. In addition to rule-based determination, the possibility of contact may be determined using a machine learning model such as a neural network.

[0065] The notification unit 56 notifies the occupant of the host vehicle of the determination result of the collision determination unit 55 regarding the possibility of collision between the host vehicle and a nearby vehicle. For example, the notification is made to the occupant via the human interface device 37, such as a speaker or a display screen. Note that if the possibility of collision is low, the determination result does not need to be notified.

[0066] For example, when high-precision map data is used as the map data for the determination, the result of the determination of the possibility of contact taking into account the lane of the vehicle and the lane of the surrounding vehicles is reported. For example, the following is reported: "There is a stopped vehicle in the same lane ahead. Be careful of collision." "There is a stopped vehicle in the adjacent lane ahead to the right. Be careful when passing." "Another vehicle is traveling in the right lane of the road ahead where you will merge. Be careful when merging." "Another vehicle is traveling in the left lane of the road ahead where you will merge. Be careful of collision."

[0067] On the other hand, when standard map data is used as the map data for the determination, the result of the determination of the possibility of contact is announced without taking into account the lane of the vehicle and the lane of the surrounding vehicles. For example, the announcement may be "There is a stopped vehicle ahead. The lane of the stopped vehicle is not taken into account. Be careful of collisions." or "Another vehicle is traveling on the road ahead where you will merge. The lane of the other vehicle is not taken into account. Be careful of collisions."

[0068] When the map data for determination is switched between high-precision map data and standard map data, the notification unit 56 notifies the occupants of the vehicle that the map data for determination is being switched.

[0069] According to this configuration, the driver can refer to the judgment result of the possibility of contact by taking into account the currently set map data for judgment. For example, when the map data for judgment is set to standard map data, the driver can drive while paying attention to surrounding vehicles by taking into account that the judgment result of the possibility of contact does not take into account the lane of the vehicle and the lane of the surrounding vehicles. On the other hand, when the map data for judgment is set to high-precision map data, the driver can drive while paying attention to surrounding vehicles by taking into account that the judgment result of the possibility of contact takes into account the lane of the vehicle and the lane of the surrounding vehicles.

[0070] For example, the following message may be displayed: "The map data used to determine whether or not a vehicle has come into contact with another vehicle will be switched from standard map data to high-precision map data. Road information for each lane will be taken into account when making the determination." or "The map data used to determine whether or not a vehicle has come into contact with another vehicle will be switched from high-precision map data to standard map data. Road information for each lane will not be taken into account when making the determination."

[0071] The notification unit 56 may also notify the occupant of a determination state of switching of map data for determination depending on whether the position of each vehicle is in a high-precision area or a standard area. For example, the notification unit 56 may notify the occupant of the following: "High-precision map data exists at the position of the subject vehicle, but high-precision map data does not exist at the positions of the other vehicles, so standard map data will be used to determine whether or not there is contact with the other vehicles.", "High-precision map data does not exist at the positions of the subject vehicle and the other vehicles, so standard map data will be used to determine whether or not there is contact with the other vehicles.", or "High-precision map data exists at the positions of the subject vehicle and the other vehicles, so high-precision map data will be used to determine whether or not there is contact with the other vehicles."

[0072] When the determination map data setting unit 54 predicts that the determination map data will be switched, the notification unit 56 notifies the occupants of the vehicle that the determination map data will soon be switched.

[0073] According to this configuration, the driver is notified in advance that the map data for determination will be switched, thereby preventing the switch from occurring unexpectedly.

[0074] For example, the message "The map data used to determine whether or not you have come into contact with other vehicles will soon be switched from high-precision map data to standard map data" may be displayed.

[0075] 1-1-7 Vehicle Control Unit 57 The vehicle control unit 57 controls the running of the host vehicle based on the result of determining the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and a nearby vehicle.

[0076] When autonomous driving is being performed, the vehicle control unit 57 generates a target driving trajectory that avoids contact with a nearby vehicle that is determined to have a possibility of contact. For example, a target driving trajectory is generated that avoids contact with the nearby vehicle, accelerates or decelerates, changes lanes, etc. The target driving trajectory is a time-series driving plan that includes the position of the vehicle, the traveling direction of the vehicle, the speed of the vehicle, the driving lane, and the position at which the lane will be changed at each future point in time.

[0077] The vehicle control unit 57 controls the vehicle so that it travels along a target travel path of the vehicle. For example, the vehicle control unit 57 determines a target speed, a target steering angle, a turn signal operation command, etc., and transmits each determined command value to the drive control devices 36, such as a power control device, a brake control device, an automatic steering control device, and a light control device.

[0078] The power control device controls the output of a power machine 8 such as an internal combustion engine or a motor so that the speed of the host vehicle follows a target speed. The brake control device controls the braking operation of an electric brake device 9 so that the speed of the host vehicle follows a target speed. The automatic steering control device controls the electric steering device 7 so that the steering angle follows a target steering angle. The light control device controls the turn signal in accordance with an operation command for the turn signal.

[0079] Alternatively, when the driver is driving the vehicle manually or semi-automatically, the vehicle control unit 57 transmits commands to the power control device and the brake control device to avoid contact with a nearby vehicle that is determined to have a possibility of contact, and to perform deceleration or acceleration, etc., thereby controlling the output of the power machine 8 and controlling the braking operation of the electric brake device 9. At this time, the steering angle may also be controlled by the electric steering device 7.

[0080] <Other Embodiments> (1) In the above embodiment, the determination map data setting unit 54 performs the determination map data setting process when one or both of the position of the host vehicle and the position of the surrounding vehicle are located on a boundary link. However, the determination map data setting unit 54 may be configured to always perform the determination map data setting process regardless of whether one or both of the position of the host vehicle and the position of the surrounding vehicle are located on a boundary link.

[0081] In the above embodiment, the determination map data setting unit 54 predicts a change in the determination map data when the vehicle enters a boundary link. However, the determination map data setting unit 54 does not have to predict a change in the determination map data, and the notification unit 56 does not have to notify the occupants of the vehicle of the prediction result.

[0082] (2) In the above embodiment, the determination map data setting unit 54 acquires information about boundary links in the vicinity of the vehicle by referencing boundary link data in which boundary links are registered in advance. However, the determination map data setting unit 54 may be configured to determine boundary links that exist in the vicinity of the vehicle and surrounding vehicles based on the high-precision map data and the standard map data without referencing the boundary link data.

[0083] Although exemplary embodiments are described in the present disclosure, the various features, aspects, and functions described in the embodiments are not limited to the application of a particular embodiment, but may be applied to the embodiments alone or in various combinations. Therefore, countless variations not illustrated are anticipated within the scope of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present disclosure. For example, variations in, addition to, or omission of at least one component are included.

[0084] 1: driving assistance device, 51: vehicle information acquisition unit, 52: surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit, 53: map data acquisition unit, 54: determination map data setting unit, 55: contact determination unit, 56: notification unit, 57: vehicle control unit

Claims

a surrounding vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding vehicle information that includes the positions of surrounding vehicles present around the host vehicle; a map data acquisition unit that acquires high-precision map data that has road information for each lane and / or standard map data that does not have road information for each lane, which are obtainable around the host vehicle; a map data setting unit that performs a process of setting map data for judgment, whereby, if the positions of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles are both in a high-precision area where the high-precision map data is obtainable, the high-precision map data is set as map data for judgment, and if one or both of the positions of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles are in a standard area where the high-precision map data is not obtainable but the standard map data is obtainable, the standard map data is set as map data for judgment; and a contact determination unit that determines the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles based on the host vehicle information, the surrounding vehicle information, and the map data for judgment.

2. A driving assistance device as described in claim 1, wherein the determination map data setting unit performs the determination map data setting process when one or both of the position of the vehicle and the position of a surrounding vehicle are located on a boundary link, which is a road link before and after the boundary line between the high-precision area and the standard area.

3. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies an occupant of the host vehicle of the result of a determination as to the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and a nearby vehicle.

4. A driving assistance device according to claim 3, wherein the notification unit notifies an occupant of the vehicle that the map data for determination is switching when the map data for determination is switching between the high-precision map data and the standard map data.

5. A driving assistance device as described in claim 3 or 4, wherein the map data for judgment setting unit, when the position of one of the host vehicle and the surrounding vehicles enters a boundary link which is a road link before or after the boundary line between the high-precision area and the standard area, predicts whether the map data for judgment will switch between the high-precision map data and the standard map data after the position of the one vehicle crosses the boundary line through the setting process of the map data for judgment, and the notification unit, when it is predicted that the map data for judgment will switch, notifies an occupant of the host vehicle that the map data for judgment will soon be switched.

6. A driving assistance device according to claim 2, wherein the determination map data setting unit acquires information about the boundary links around the vehicle by referring to boundary link data in which the boundary links are registered in advance.

7. A driving assistance device according to claim 5, wherein the determination map data setting unit acquires information about the boundary links around the vehicle by referring to boundary link data in which the boundary links are registered in advance.

8. A driving assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a vehicle control unit that controls the driving of the host vehicle based on the result of determining the possibility of contact between the host vehicle and a nearby vehicle.

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