Driving assistance method and driving assistance device

Abstract

In the present invention, when the degree of nuisance caused by a vehicle to traffic participants is equal to or greater than a first prescribed value, the user of the vehicle is issued nuisance driving information relating to traffic participants affected by the nuisance and the travel action that is causing the nuisance for the traffic participants. When the degree of nuisance is less than the first predetermined value, the user will not be issued the nuisance driving information, and the lower the first predetermined value is set lower commensurately with respect to a higher tolerance for the user to accept that the travel action issued through the nuisance driving information is causing a nuisance for traffic participants.

Description

Driving assistance method and driving assistance device

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving assistance method and a driving assistance device.

[0002] A driving assistance device is known that, if it determines that the driving conditions of a vehicle correspond to intentional tailgating of other vehicles, provides driving assistance in response to the tailgating, and, if it determines that the driving conditions of a vehicle correspond to irritating driving that unintentionally irritates the driver of another vehicle, provides driving assistance in response to the irritating driving (Patent Document 1).

[0003] International Publication No. 2022 / 038741

[0004] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, information about nuisance driving, such as tailgating and irritating driving, is notified to all users according to the same standards, which results in excessive notification of information about nuisance driving to users who do not find nuisance driving particularly annoying.

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a driving assistance method and a driving assistance device that can appropriately notify a vehicle user of information regarding reckless driving.

[0006] The present invention solves the above problem by notifying the user of the vehicle of nuisance driving information regarding the nuisanced traffic participant and the vehicle's driving behavior that nuisances the traffic participant when the degree of nuisance caused by the vehicle to surrounding traffic participants is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, and by not notifying the user of the nuisance driving information when the degree of nuisance is less than the first predetermined value, and by setting the first predetermined value lower the higher the user's tolerance for accepting that driving behavior notified by the nuisance driving information causes nuisance to traffic participants.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately notify the vehicle user of information regarding reckless driving.

[0008] It is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a driving assistance system including a driving assistance device according to the present invention. It is a diagram showing an example of an impact on users and an allowance level of the embodiment. It is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure in the driving assistance system of Figure 1. It is a flowchart showing another example of the processing procedure in the driving assistance system of Figure 1.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [Configuration of Driving Assistance System] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a driving assistance system including a driving assistance device according to the present invention. The driving assistance system notifies vehicle users, including the driver (hereinafter simply referred to as users), of driving information. The user is not particularly limited to anyone who uses a vehicle, and includes not only vehicle occupants but also users of services provided via the vehicle. The user does not necessarily need to use one (or a specific) vehicle, but can use multiple (or unspecified) vehicles, such as a rental car service.

[0011] The driving assistance system also generates a driving route from the current position to a destination set by the user through autonomous driving control, and controls the vehicle's actuators to drive the vehicle along the driving route. Autonomous driving control is the autonomous control of the vehicle's driving operations, and driving operations include all driving operations such as acceleration, deceleration, starting, stopping, and steering.

[0012] 1, the driving assistance system 10 includes an imaging device 11, an on-board sensor 12, a microphone 13, an actuator 14, a display device 15, a speaker 16, and a driving assistance device 20. These devices are mounted on a vehicle and are communicably connected via an on-board LAN such as a CAN (Controller Area Network), thereby enabling the devices to exchange information with each other. Note that the vehicle is not particularly limited as long as it can accommodate the driving assistance system 10.

[0013] The imaging device 11 is a camera equipped with an imaging element such as a CCD, and captures an image of an object to generate an image including the object. The imaging device 11 may be an infrared camera, a stereo camera, or the like. The imaging device 11 includes an interior camera that captures an image of an object inside the vehicle, and an exterior camera that captures an image of an object around the vehicle. The interior camera is installed on the top of the windshield, rearview mirror, roof, or top of the rear window, etc., and the exterior camera is installed on the front grille, side mirrors, rear bumper, etc. of the vehicle.

[0014] The objects captured by the imaging device 11 include objects inside the vehicle (e.g., vehicle occupants, instrument panel, switches, steering wheel, etc.) and objects on the road on which the vehicle is traveling and its surroundings (e.g., automobiles, bicycles, pedestrians, lane boundaries, center lines, road markings, median strips, curbs, road signs, etc.) A plurality of imaging devices 11 are provided in one vehicle to prevent the occurrence of blind spots where objects cannot be captured.

[0015] The driving assistance system 10 may include a distance measuring device (not shown). Examples of distance measuring devices include laser radar, millimeter-wave radar, and a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) unit. The driving assistance device 20 may acquire image information from the imaging device 11 and also acquire position information of objects from a distance measuring device (not shown), and recognize objects around the vehicle and the driving environment. The driving assistance device 20 acquires information at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 0.1 to 1 millisecond).

[0016] The on-board sensors 12 detect the vehicle's driving state. The on-board sensors 12 include a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a steering angle sensor, and the like. Any known sensor can be used without any particular limitations, and the arrangement and number of sensors can be set appropriately within a range that allows appropriate detection of the vehicle's driving state. The on-board sensors 12 may also include a positioning system that detects the current position of the vehicle. The positioning system calculates the current position of the vehicle based on radio waves received from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites, etc.

[0017] The microphone 13 acquires sounds from within the vehicle cabin as audio data. Examples of sounds from within the vehicle cabin include the voices of the occupants, the sounds output from the speaker 16, and the sounds of the vehicle traveling. The microphone 13 may be a stand microphone, a close-talking microphone, a gun microphone, or the like, and is installed in an appropriate position within a range where it can appropriately detect sounds from within the vehicle cabin.

[0018] The actuator 14 converts the electrical control signal input from the driving assistance device 20 into mechanical work. The actuator 14 includes a servo motor, a hydraulic motor, a hydraulic cylinder, etc., and these devices operate the drive device and steering device of the vehicle.

[0019] The display device 15 displays to the user information output from the driving assistance device 20. Examples of the display device 15 include a projector such as a head-up display, a liquid crystal display provided on an instrument panel, etc. The display device 15 may be integrated with an input device (not shown).

[0020] The speaker 16 converts electrical signal energy into acoustic energy and emits it into space. The speaker 16 may be, but is not limited to, an integrated or separate vehicle speaker. The speaker 16 is provided at an appropriate position within a range where the user can adequately hear the output sound. The speaker 16 may be integrated with the display device 15.

[0021] The driving assistance device 20 controls and cooperates with the devices that make up the driving assistance system 10 to perform driving assistance for the vehicle. The driving assistance device 20 autonomously controls the driving behavior of the vehicle within a predetermined range using devices mounted on the vehicle. Driving behavior that is not controlled by the driving assistance device 20 is manually operated by the driver. When the driver drives the vehicle manually, the driving assistance device 20 does not perform autonomous control of the driving behavior, and the driving behavior of the vehicle is controlled by operation by the driver.

[0022] The driving assistance device 20 is, for example, a computer, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) which is a processor, a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which programs are stored, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) which functions as an accessible storage device. The CPU is an operating circuit that executes the programs stored in the ROM and realizes the functions of the driving assistance device 20. Note that an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or the like may be used instead of or together with the CPU.

[0023] The driving assistance device 20 includes a storage unit 17, which is a storage medium (e.g., a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory) that stores information necessary for driving assistance processing. The driving assistance device 20 and the storage unit 17 are communicably connected via an in-vehicle LAN or the like. Note that instead of an in-vehicle storage medium, the storage unit 17 may be a server that is provided outside the vehicle (e.g., in a remote location away from the vehicle) and communicably connected to the driving assistance device 20 via a network.

[0024] The driving assistance device 20 includes an information notification device 20a as a part thereof. The information notification device 20a notifies the user of information related to driving when the vehicle is being driven manually by the driver or when some driving operations are being autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 20. Notification of information includes displaying images or text, outputting (playing) audio data, turning on switches or lights, etc. Notification of information also includes activating an actuator or a vibrator.

[0025] The driving assistance device 20 has a driving assistance function that performs driving assistance for the vehicle, and the information notification device 20a has an information notification function that notifies the user of driving-related information as part of the driving assistance function. The ROM stores a program for realizing the driving assistance function, and the CPU executes the program stored in the ROM to realize the driving assistance function including the information notification function.

[0026] 1 illustrates, for convenience, the driving control unit 21, the impact on driving calculation unit 22, the notification unit 23, and the tolerance setting unit 24 as functional blocks that realize the driving assistance function. The impact on driving calculation unit 22, the notification unit 23, and the tolerance setting unit 24 are functional blocks that realize the information notification function, and are included in the information notification device 20a.

[0027] [Functions of the Driving Assistance Device] The driving control unit 21 generates a driving route for the vehicle and operates the actuator 14 so that the vehicle drives along the driving route. The driving control unit 21 generates a control signal for operating the actuator 14 and outputs the control signal to the actuator 14. The driving control unit 21 also determines whether the vehicle is being driven manually, and if it determines that the vehicle is being driven manually, outputs an execution instruction to the information notification device 20a to notify the information notification device 20a of information related to driving. Alternatively or in addition to this, the driving control unit 21 determines whether some driving operations of the vehicle are being autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 20, and if it determines that some driving operations of the vehicle are being autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 20, outputs an execution instruction to the information notification device 20a to notify the information related to driving.

[0028] When an execution instruction is input from the driving control unit 21 to the information notification device 20a, the impact on traffic congestion calculation unit 22 calculates an impact on traffic congestion (hereinafter simply referred to as impact on traffic congestion) indicating the degree to which the vehicle causes an inconvenience to surrounding traffic participants. A traffic participant is a moving object other than a vehicle (own vehicle) and is not particularly limited. For example, traffic participants include automobiles, pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, etc. Furthermore, traffic participants may also include objects present on the road (for example, obstacles indicating construction zones, etc.).

[0029] Causing a nuisance to a traffic participant includes, for example, impeding the movement of the traffic participant and making the traffic participant feel uncomfortable. Impeding the movement of a traffic participant includes stopping in front of the traffic participant, changing lanes in front of the traffic participant, etc. Causing a nuisance to a traffic participant includes driving slower than the surrounding traffic participants, using the horn unnecessarily, etc.

[0030] The impact on driving hazard calculation unit 22 recognizes the driving state of the vehicle from the detection results of the on-board sensor 12 and determines whether the recognized driving state corresponds to a preset nuisance driving. Nuisance driving is a driving behavior that causes (or has the potential to cause) a nuisance to traffic participants, and includes, for example, at least one of a driving behavior that obstructs the movement of traffic participants and a driving behavior that causes discomfort to traffic participants. If it is determined that the driving state of the vehicle corresponds to a preset nuisance driving, the impact on driving hazard calculation unit 22 calculates the impact on driving hazard corresponding to the corresponding nuisance driving. On the other hand, if it is determined that the driving state of the vehicle does not correspond to a preset nuisance driving, the impact on driving hazard calculation unit 22 calculates the impact on driving hazard to be 0.

[0031] The nuisance level calculation unit 22 may calculate the nuisance level based on information about the vehicle's driving state and information about values ​​(hereinafter simply referred to as values) indicating the order of the degree to which a user perceives driving actions that cause inconvenience to traffic participants as annoying. The degree to which a user perceives driving actions that cause inconvenience to traffic participants as annoying (hereinafter also referred to as the degree of nuisance) is an index of how annoying a driving action is to the user when a driving action is performed and the user is inconvenienced by the driving action. The degree of nuisance is set in advance, for example, for each driving action that is considered to be nuisance driving.

[0032] The storage unit 17 stores, as information relating to the user's values, a list of driving actions considered to be nuisance driving sorted by the degree of nuisance. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of this list. FIG. 2 shows a plurality of driving actions considered to be nuisance driving sorted in descending order of the degree of nuisance. That is, according to the user's values ​​shown in FIG. 2, "contact with traffic participants" is the most nuisance, and "noise above a predetermined volume" is the least nuisance. Since the degree of nuisance differs for each user, the order of driving actions considered to be nuisance driving according to the degree of nuisance (i.e., the ranking of driving actions considered to be nuisance driving) differs for each user. Note that "contact with traffic participants" and "contact with an obstacle" are set so that they are the most nuisance for every user.

[0033] The ranking of driving behaviors that are considered to be nuisance driving may be estimated based on the user's driving history information (hereinafter also simply referred to as driving history information). The driving history information is information about the user's past driving operations, and is acquired by the in-vehicle sensors 12, such as a vehicle speed sensor and a steering angle sensor. The user's driving operations include the user's driving operations during manual driving and the user's driving operations when some driving operations are autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 20. The driving history information is stored in the memory unit 17 in association with the user (or the user and the vehicle).

[0034] The driving history information may include vehicle location information when the user performed driving operations, information about the driving state when the user performed driving operations, information about the driving environment of the vehicle when the user performed driving operations, etc. The driving history information may also include information about the user's own characteristics, audio data of conversations between occupants (including the user) acquired by microphone 13 when the user performed driving operations, image information about the interior of the vehicle captured by an in-vehicle camera when the user performed driving operations, etc.

[0035] The impact on driving behavior calculation unit 22 may detect characteristics of the user's driving behavior from the driving history information and estimate a ranking of driving behaviors that are considered to be nuisance driving based on the detected characteristics. Driving behavior characteristics are, for example, the user's driving style, such as the transition of deceleration when stopping, the accuracy of driving behavior around curves, and how to maintain a distance from other vehicles, detected by an acceleration sensor. For example, if the user's past driving behavior relatively frequently detects that the vehicle speed exceeds the speed limit by about 2 to 4 km / h, but does not detect that the user drives at a speed so slow that it obstructs the driving of other vehicles, the impact on driving behavior calculation unit 22 recognizes that the user considers that driving at a speed so slow that it obstructs the driving of other vehicles to be a relatively high level of nuisance, and that driving at a speed so slow that it obstructs the driving of other vehicles to be a relatively low level of nuisance.

[0036] The impact on driving hazard calculation unit 22 may also estimate the user's values ​​from the results of a personality test such as a driving aptitude test. Examples of personality tests include, but are not limited to, the National Police Agency Driving Aptitude Test Type K and the OD Safety Test. The results of the personality test are stored in the storage unit 17, for example.

[0037] The impact on driving hazard calculation unit 22 recognizes the driving environment of the vehicle based on image information acquired from the imaging device 11 and position information of objects acquired from a distance measuring device (not shown), and recognizes the driving state of the vehicle from the detection results of the on-board sensor 12. Then, it identifies traffic participants around the vehicle whose movement may be obstructed by the vehicle or who may be caused discomfort by the vehicle. Information about the identified traffic participants, together with information about driving behavior corresponding to the driving state of the vehicle (i.e., driving behavior considered to be nuisance driving), is output to the notification unit 23 as impact on driving hazard information shown in FIG. 1.

[0038] The notification unit 23 notifies the user of nuisance driving information (hereinafter also simply referred to as nuisance driving information) regarding traffic participants who have been inconvenienced by the driving behavior of the vehicle and the driving behavior of the vehicle that inconveniences the traffic participants. The driving behavior that inconveniences traffic participants is the driving behavior that is considered to be nuisance driving as described above, and is, for example, each driving behavior shown in the list in Figure 2. The driving behavior that inconveniences traffic participants corresponds to the driving state of the vehicle that was detected when calculating the degree of inconvenience.

[0039] When an execution instruction is input from the driving control unit 21 to the information notification device 20a, the tolerance setting unit 24 sets a tolerance (hereinafter simply referred to as tolerance) for accepting that the driving behavior notified by the nuisance driving information will cause inconvenience to traffic participants. The tolerance is set, for example, based on information about the user's personality and information about the driving environment around the vehicle. The information about the user's personality is, for example, the results of a personality test such as a driving aptitude test, and the same information as that used to estimate the user's values ​​can be used.

[0040] For example, if the result of the personality test indicates that the user is relatively receptive to suggestions from others, the tolerance setting unit 24 sets the user's tolerance relatively high. On the other hand, if the result of the personality test indicates that the user is not receptive to suggestions from others, the tolerance setting unit 24 sets the user's tolerance relatively low.

[0041] Furthermore, when driving behavior that is considered to be nuisance driving is unavoidable due to the driving environment around the vehicle, the tolerance setting unit 24 sets the user's tolerance relatively low. For example, when the road on which the vehicle is traveling is congested, the distance between the vehicle and other surrounding vehicles becomes close, making it difficult to maintain a predetermined distance (e.g., 0.5 to 1.5 m) to avoid contact with other vehicles, so the tolerance setting unit 24 sets the user's tolerance relatively low. As another example, when a relatively strong crosswind is blowing, the vehicle is more likely to wobble while traveling, so the tolerance setting unit 24 sets the user's tolerance relatively low.

[0042] The tolerance setting unit 24 outputs tolerance information related to the set tolerance to the notification unit 23. In response to this, the notification unit 23 determines whether the impact on driving is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value. If it is determined that the impact on driving is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value, the notification unit 23 notifies the user of the nuisance driving information. On the other hand, if it is determined that the impact on driving is less than the first predetermined value, the notification unit 23 does not notify the user of the nuisance driving information. In this case, the tolerance setting unit 24 of this embodiment sets the first predetermined value lower as the user's tolerance is higher. The first predetermined value can be set to an appropriate value within a range in which the user who is notified of the nuisance driving information does not feel uncomfortable.

[0043] For example, in the example shown in Figure 2, a first predetermined value is set between "exceeding the speed limit by 5 km / h or more" and "swaying while driving." In this case, if the detection result of the on-board sensor 12 detects that the vehicle is exceeding the speed limit by 5 km / h, the impact on driving calculation unit 22 calculates the impact on driving indicated by "current impact on driving" in Figure 2. Since the impact on driving calculated by the impact on driving calculation unit 22 exceeds the first predetermined value, the notification unit 23 notifies the user that the vehicle speed exceeds the speed limit by 5 km / h and that this is causing an impact on other surrounding vehicles. Note that in the example shown in Figure 2, the impact on driving increases toward the top of the figure.

[0044] The order in which the impact on job execution calculation process by the impact on job execution calculation unit 22 and the tolerance setting process by the tolerance setting unit 24 are executed is not particularly limited, and at least a part of the impact on job execution calculation process and the tolerance setting process may be executed in parallel. Also, the impact on job execution calculation process may be executed first, or the tolerance setting process may be executed first.

[0045] The tolerance setting unit 24 may set a second predetermined value higher than the first predetermined value. The second predetermined value can be set to an appropriate value within a range that allows avoidance of contact with traffic participants and obstacles. The notification unit 23 notifies the user of nuisance driving information when the nuisance level is equal to or higher than the second predetermined value. In addition, when the nuisance level is equal to or higher than the second predetermined value, the driving control unit 21 autonomously controls the driving of the vehicle to avoid contact with traffic participants and / or obstacles. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the second predetermined value is set to a value between "contact with an obstacle" and "exceeding the speed limit by 20 km / h or more."

[0046] The tolerance setting unit 24 sets the second predetermined value so that the nuisance calculated for a driving action that violates road traffic regulations is equal to or greater than the second predetermined value. For example, since "exceeding the speed limit by 20 km / h or more" shown in Fig. 2 is a driving action that violates road traffic regulations, the tolerance setting unit 24 sets the second predetermined value to a value between "exceeding the speed limit by 20 km / h or more" and "inter-vehicle distance less than a predetermined distance."

[0047] The tolerance setting unit 24 may set the first predetermined value so that the degree of inconvenience calculated for a driving behavior that the user cannot tolerate is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value. For example, if "noise of a volume equal to or greater than a predetermined volume" shown in Fig. 2 is a driving behavior that the user cannot tolerate, the tolerance setting unit 24 sets the first predetermined value to a value that is less than "noise of a volume equal to or greater than a predetermined volume." Note that the predetermined volume corresponds to, for example, the volume of a vehicle horn.

[0048] The notification unit 23 determines whether the vehicle's driving operations violate road traffic laws and regulations based on information regarding road traffic laws and information regarding the driving environment around the vehicle, and if it determines that the vehicle's driving operations violate road traffic laws and regulations, it may notify the user that the vehicle's driving operations violate road traffic laws and regulations.

[0049] When the notification unit 23 notifies the user of nuisance driving information, the tolerance setting unit 24 may estimate the user's emotions for a predetermined time after the notification of the nuisance driving information. For example, the tolerance setting unit 24 performs pattern matching processing on an image captured by an in-vehicle camera to detect changes in the user's facial expression. Then, the tolerance setting unit 24 estimates a transition in the user's emotions from the changes in the user's facial expression. The predetermined time can be set as appropriate within a range in which the transition in the user's emotions can be appropriately estimated.

[0050] In this case, the tolerance setting unit 24 may correct the first predetermined value based on information about changes in emotions over a predetermined time period. For example, if a change in the user's facial expression indicates that the user is feeling uncomfortable, the tolerance setting unit 24 sets a higher first predetermined value. In addition, if the user's emotion is one of denial that the driving behavior notified by the nuisance driving information is causing inconvenience to traffic participants, the notification unit 23 may output a sound that suppresses the user's excitement. For example, if the notification unit 23 is notified that the vehicle's swaying while driving is causing inconvenience to surrounding traffic participants, and if the notification unit 23 detects that the user is feeling uncomfortable, the notification unit 23 outputs a sound that soothes the user.

[0051] [Processing in the driving assistance system] The driving assistance of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. The processing described below is executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 0.1 to 1 millisecond) by a processor (CPU) included in the driving assistance device 20 when the vehicle is being driven manually by the user and when some driving operations are being autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 20.

[0052] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure executed in the driving assistance system 10.

[0053] First, in step S11, the driving assistance device 20 acquires the vehicle's driving state from the on-board sensor 12, etc., and then in the subsequent step S12, sets the tolerance level based on the vehicle's driving state and the user's personality learned using the information accumulated in the memory unit 17. In step S13, the driving assistance device 20 calculates the degree of nuisance based on the vehicle's driving state, etc.

[0054] In step S14, the driving assistance device 20 determines whether the impact on driving is less than a first predetermined value. If it is determined that the impact on driving is less than the first predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S15, and the driving assistance device 20 does not notify the user of the nuisance driving information. On the other hand, if it is determined that the impact on driving is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S16.

[0055] In step S16, the driving assistance device 20 determines whether the impact on driving is less than a second predetermined value. If it is determined that the impact on driving is less than the second predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S17, where the driving assistance device 20 notifies the user of the nuisance driving information. On the other hand, if it is determined that the impact on driving is equal to or greater than the second predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S18, where the driving assistance device 20 notifies the user of the nuisance driving information and performs autonomous driving control of the vehicle to avoid contact with obstacles, etc.

[0056] Next, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure executed in the driving assistance system 10 when learning the user's personality.

[0057] First, in step S21, the driving assistance device 20 identifies the user in the vehicle from an image captured by the in-vehicle camera, and then in step S22, determines whether the personality of the identified user has been learned. If it is determined that the personality of the identified user has been learned, the process proceeds to step S23, where the driving assistance device 20 sets the user's personality using the learned data stored in the storage unit 17. On the other hand, if it is determined that the personality of the identified user has not yet been learned, the process proceeds to step S24.

[0058] In step S24, the driving assistance device 20 determines whether information about the identified user's personality can be acquired from the storage unit 17. If it is determined that information about the personality can be acquired from the storage unit 17, the process proceeds to step S25, where the driving assistance device 20 provisionally sets the user's personality based on the acquired information. On the other hand, if it is determined that information about the personality cannot be acquired from the storage unit 17, the process proceeds to step S26.

[0059] In step S26, the driving assistance device 20 determines whether information about the identified user's personality can be acquired from an in-vehicle camera or the like. The driving assistance device 20 also determines whether the user is responding to the notification of nuisance driving information in a manner that is inconsistent with the set personality, based on the user's state detected by the in-vehicle camera or the like. If it is determined that information about personality can be acquired from the in-vehicle camera or the like, or if it is determined that the user is responding in a manner that is inconsistent with the set personality, the driving assistance device 20 proceeds to step S27, where it updates the learning data about the user's personality. On the other hand, if it is determined that information about personality cannot be acquired from the in-vehicle camera or the like, and the user is only responding in accordance with the set personality, the driving assistance device 20 terminates the process.

[0060] [Embodiment of the Present Invention] According to this embodiment, if the degree of nuisance caused by a vehicle to nearby traffic participants is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, the user of the vehicle is notified of nuisance driving information regarding the traffic participant who has been nuisanced and the vehicle's driving behavior that caused the nuisance to the traffic participant. If the degree of nuisance is less than the first predetermined value, the nuisance driving information is not notified to the user. The higher the user's tolerance for the driving behavior notified by the nuisance driving information causing the nuisance to the traffic participants, the lower the first predetermined value is set. This allows the user of the vehicle to be appropriately notified of information about nuisance driving. Furthermore, the user can be informed of their own nuisance driving in a satisfactory manner, thereby reducing tailgating of nearby traffic participants resulting from poor manners.

[0061] In the driving assistance method and driving assistance device 20 of this embodiment, when the nuisance level is equal to or greater than a second predetermined value that is higher than the first predetermined value, the nuisance driving information is notified to the user and the driving of the vehicle is autonomously controlled, thereby reliably avoiding contact with traffic participants.

[0062] In the driving assistance method and driving assistance device 20 of this embodiment, the second predetermined value is set so that the impact on the driver's safety calculated for the driving behavior that violates road traffic regulations is equal to or greater than the second predetermined value. This makes it possible to reliably notify the driver of driving behavior that violates road traffic regulations.

[0063] In the driving assistance method and driving assistance device 20 of this embodiment, the tolerance is calculated based on information about the user's personality and information about the driving environment around the vehicle, thereby making it possible to set the tolerance more accurately.

[0064] In the driving assistance method and driving assistance device 20 of this embodiment, the impact on the user is calculated based on information about the vehicle's driving state and information about values ​​indicating the ranking of the degree to which the user perceives the driving behavior that causes the impact on the traffic participants as an annoyance, thereby enabling more accurate calculation of the impact on the user.

[0065] In the driving assistance method and driving assistance device 20 of this embodiment, the values ​​are estimated based on the characteristics of the user's driving operation detected from the user's driving history information, thereby making it possible to more accurately estimate the values ​​of each user.

[0066] In the driving assistance method and the driving assistance device 20 of this embodiment, the first predetermined value is set so that the degree of inconvenience calculated for the driving action that the user cannot tolerate is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value. This makes it possible to suppress discomfort to the user.

[0067] In the driving assistance method and driving assistance device 20 of this embodiment, it is determined whether the driving action violates the road traffic law or regulation based on information about the road traffic law or regulation and information about the driving environment around the vehicle, and if it is determined that the driving action violates the road traffic law or regulation, the user is notified that the driving action violates the road traffic law or regulation. This makes it possible to reliably notify the user of a driving action that violates the road traffic law or regulation.

[0068] In the driving assistance method and driving assistance device 20 of this embodiment, when the nuisance driving information is notified to the user, the driving assistance method estimates the user's emotions for a predetermined time after the notification of the nuisance driving information, and corrects the first predetermined value based on information regarding the transition of the emotions over the predetermined time period, thereby preventing the user from feeling uncomfortable.

[0069] In the driving assistance method and the driving assistance device 20 of this embodiment, if the emotion is the emotion that denies that the driving behavior notified by the nuisance driving information will cause the nuisance to the traffic participants, a sound that suppresses the excitement of the emotion is output, thereby further suppressing discomfort to the user.

[0070] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 driving assistance system 11 imaging device 12 on-board sensor 13 microphone 14 actuator 15 display device 16 speaker 17 storage unit 20 driving assistance device 20a information notification device 21 driving control unit 22 impact on driving calculation unit 23 notification unit 24 tolerance setting unit

Claims

1. A driving assistance method executed by a driving assistance device of a vehicle, wherein, when the degree of nuisance caused by the vehicle to surrounding traffic participants is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, the driving assistance device notifies the user of the vehicle of nuisance driving information regarding the traffic participants who have been nuisanced and the driving behavior of the vehicle that has caused the nuisance to the traffic participants; when the degree of nuisance is less than the first predetermined value, the nuisance driving information is not notified to the user; and the first predetermined value is set lower the higher the user's tolerance for accepting that the driving behavior notified by the nuisance driving information will cause the nuisance to the traffic participants.

2. A driving assistance method as described in claim 1, wherein the driving assistance device notifies the user of the nuisance driving information and autonomously controls the driving of the vehicle when the nuisance level is equal to or greater than a second predetermined value that is higher than the first predetermined value.

3. The driving assistance method described in claim 2, wherein the driving assistance device sets the second predetermined value so that the nuisance level calculated for the driving action that violates road traffic regulations is equal to or greater than the second predetermined value.

4. A driving assistance method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the driving assistance device calculates the tolerance based on information about the user's personality and information about the driving environment around the vehicle.

5. A driving assistance method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the driving assistance device calculates the degree of nuisance based on information relating to the vehicle's driving state and information relating to values ​​indicating the ranking of the degree to which the user perceives the driving action that causes the nuisance to the traffic participants.

6. The driving assistance method according to claim 5, wherein the driving assistance device estimates the values ​​based on characteristics of the user's driving operation detected from the user's driving history information.

7. A driving assistance method as described in claim 5 or 6, wherein the driving assistance device sets the first predetermined value so that the degree of nuisance calculated for the driving action for which the user cannot tolerate the nuisance to be caused is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value.

8. A driving assistance method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the driving assistance device determines whether the driving behavior violates a road traffic law or regulation based on information about the road traffic law or regulation and information about the driving environment around the vehicle, and if it determines that the driving behavior violates the road traffic law or regulation, notifies the user that the driving behavior violates the road traffic law or regulation.

9. A driving assistance method described in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, when the driving assistance device notifies the user of the nuisance driving information, it estimates the user's emotions for a predetermined time after notifying the user of the nuisance driving information, and corrects the first predetermined value based on information regarding the transition of the emotions over the predetermined time period.

10. The driving assistance method described in claim 9, wherein the driving assistance device outputs a voice that suppresses the excitement of the emotion when the emotion is an emotion that denies that the driving behavior notified by the nuisance driving information will cause the nuisance to the traffic participants.

11. A driving assistance device that, when the degree of nuisance caused by a vehicle to surrounding traffic participants is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, notifies the user of the vehicle of nuisance driving information regarding the traffic participant that has been nuisanced and the vehicle's driving behavior that has caused the nuisance to the traffic participant, and does not notify the user of the nuisance driving information if the degree of nuisance is less than the first predetermined value, wherein the driving assistance device sets the first predetermined value lower the higher the user's tolerance for accepting that the driving behavior notified by the nuisance driving information will cause the nuisance to the traffic participants.

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