Merging assistance device, merging assistance method, and merging assistance program

Abstract

A merging assistance device (100) comprises a merging position determination unit (140) which determines whether the merging position of a merging vehicle should be in front of or behind a vehicle approaching from behind with respect to the traveling direction of said vehicle approaching from behind in a merging scenario in which the merging vehicle moves from an initial position of said merging vehicle to a merging start position, and merges into a target lane from said merging start position, on the basis of the initial position and control information of said merging vehicle traveling in a merging lane, the initial position and initial speed of the vehicle approaching from behind that is traveling in the target lane, and the merging start position in the merging lane.

Description

Lane merging support device, lane merging support method, and lane merging support program

[0001] This disclosure relates to a merging support device, a merging support method, and a merging support program.

[0002] Towards the practical application of autonomous driving, development is underway on technologies that realize advanced vehicle control utilizing map information. One example of advanced vehicle control is automatic merging control in merging scenarios on expressways where a vehicle merges from a merging lane onto the main lane. In automatic merging control, one of the technical challenges is determining which gap in the group of vehicles traveling on the main lane of the expressway the route should be generated for. Non-patent document 1 discloses a technology related to a merging behavior model that, in the case of merging from a merging lane onto the main lane of an expressway, classifies whether the merging vehicle will merge in front of or behind the main lane vehicles present in its vicinity, using an easily interpretable method (classification by a quadratic curve boundary line) based on the relative speed ratio and the distance to the front of the vehicle. Here, the merging vehicle is a vehicle traveling in the merging lane and merging onto the main lane. The main lane vehicle is a vehicle traveling on the main lane. The relative speed ratio is a dimensionless value obtained by dividing the relative speed between the merging vehicle and the main lane vehicle by the speed of the merging vehicle. The distance between vehicles is the distance between the leading edge of a merging vehicle and the leading edge of a vehicle on the main line.

[0003] Tanida, et al., "A model of merging behavior on highways for autonomous vehicle control," Transactions of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, 2017, Vol. 48, No. 4, pp. 885-890.

[0004] In the merging behavior model disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, there is a problem that applicable merging scenes are limited because the acceleration lane length and the acceleration of the merging vehicle are not considered. Further, in the merging behavior model, since the speed information of the merging vehicle and the main-line vehicle is expressed only by the relative speed ratio, there is a problem that information regarding the absolute value of the speed is lost. Due to this problem, between a plurality of cases where the relative speed ratio is the same and the speeds of the merging vehicles are different from each other, the classification results are the same, and as a result, there is a possibility that realistic merging control may not be implemented. The present disclosure relates to a technique for determining a merging position when a merging vehicle merges from a merging lane to a target lane based on the position of a following vehicle, and aims to obtain a merging support device capable of determining an appropriate merging position in a relatively diverse merging scene.

[0005] The merging support device according to the present disclosure includes a merging position determination unit that determines whether the merging position of the merging vehicle in a merging scene where the merging vehicle moves from the initial position of the merging vehicle to the merging start position on the merging lane and merges from the merging start position to the target lane is in front of or behind the following vehicle with respect to the traveling direction of the following vehicle, based on the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle traveling on the merging lane, the initial position and initial speed of a following vehicle that is a vehicle traveling on a target lane adjacent to the merging lane and follows the merging vehicle with respect to the traveling direction of the merging vehicle, and the merging start position on the merging lane.

[0006] According to the present disclosure, the merging position determination unit determines the merging position in the merging scene based on the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position on the merging lane. Here, the merging position is either in front of or behind the following vehicle with respect to the traveling direction of the following vehicle. Therefore, according to the present disclosure, with respect to the technique for determining the merging position when the merging vehicle merges from the merging lane to the target lane based on the position of the following vehicle, it is possible to obtain a merging support device capable of determining an appropriate merging position in a relatively diverse merging scene.

[0007] A diagram showing an example configuration of the merging support device 100 according to Embodiment 1. A diagram illustrating the merging speed model according to Embodiment 1. A diagram showing an example hardware configuration of the merging support device 100 according to Embodiment 1. A flowchart showing the operation of the merging support device 100 according to Embodiment 1. A diagram illustrating the processing of the merging position determination unit 140 according to Embodiment 1. A flowchart showing the operation of the merging position determination unit 140 according to Embodiment 1. A diagram showing an example hardware configuration of the merging support device 100 according to a modified version of Embodiment 1. A diagram showing an example configuration of the merging support device 100 according to Embodiment 2.

[0008] In the descriptions and drawings of the embodiments, the same elements and corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals. The descriptions of elements denoted by the same reference numerals are omitted or simplified as appropriate. The arrows in the figures mainly indicate the flow of data or processing. Also, "part" may be read as "circuit," "device," "equipment," "process," "step," "procedure," "processing," or "circuitry" as appropriate. The functions of each part of each device may be realized by firmware, software, hardware, or a combination thereof.

[0009] Embodiment 1. This embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0010] ***Configuration Description*** Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of the merging support device 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the merging support device 100 comprises a target lane selection unit 110, a position lane determination unit 120, a deceleration threshold setting unit 130, a merging position determination unit 140, a merging operation planning unit 150, and a vehicle control unit 160. The merging support device 100 may be a device installed on the merging vehicle, or a device that is communicatively connected to the merging vehicle. The merging vehicle is a vehicle traveling in the merging lane, a vehicle that merges into the target lane from the merging start position, and a vehicle that is the target of support by the merging support device 100. In a merging scene, the merging vehicle merges into the target lane at either a position in front of or behind the following vehicle. Note that in expressions involving directions relative to the vehicle, such as in front of, behind, or to the side of the vehicle, the direction is the direction relative to the vehicle's normal direction of travel. The merging vehicle may be a vehicle performing autonomous driving. The following vehicle is a vehicle traveling in the target lane when the merging vehicle merges into the target lane, a vehicle following the merging vehicle in relation to the direction of travel when determining the merging position, and a vehicle that the merging vehicle uses to determine the merging position. The definition of a following vehicle may be any. Specifically, a following vehicle is a vehicle traveling in the target lane whose frontmost point is behind the frontmost point of the merging vehicle, a vehicle whose rearmost point is behind the frontmost point of the merging vehicle, or a vehicle whose frontmost point is behind the rearmost point of the merging vehicle. In other words, the following vehicle may be traveling alongside the merging vehicle. The speed of the merging vehicle may be less than or equal to the speed of the following vehicle, or it may be faster than the speed of the following vehicle. The merging lane is the lane in which the merging vehicle is traveling. A merging lane is, for example, an acceleration lane at an interchange or rest stop exit on an expressway, a merging lane at an expressway junction, or a lane that is interrupted when the number of lanes decreases due to road structure or road construction. A merging lane may also be any of the multiple lanes on an expressway that have multiple lanes in the same direction of travel. The target lane is the lane from which a merging vehicle merges from the merging lane, and is the lane adjacent to the merging lane.The direction of travel of the target lane is the same as, or close to, the direction of travel of the merging lane. The target lane is, in specific examples, the main lane of an expressway. A merging scene includes at least the sequence of a merging vehicle moving from its initial position to the merging start position, and then merging into the target lane from the merging start position.

[0011] The target lane selection unit 110 selects a target lane from multiple lanes on the road the following vehicle is traveling on, based on route information and map information, and outputs the selected target lane. Route information is information indicating the route the merging vehicle will travel. Map information is information indicating a map that includes the roads corresponding to the route the merging vehicle will travel.

[0012] The position lane determination unit 120 calculates the position of the merging vehicle based on map information and merging vehicle positioning information, determines which lane is the merging lane from among multiple lanes, and outputs the calculated position of the merging vehicle and the determined lane that is the merging lane. The merging vehicle positioning information is information that shows the result of positioning the merging vehicle. The merging start position is a position on the merging lane, and is the position where the merging vehicle begins to merge with the target lane. Specific examples of the merging start position include the start of a taper (a road shape that narrows towards the end) on an acceleration lane or merging lane, a point where a landmark related to merging exists, or any point on the merging lane.

[0013] The deceleration threshold setting unit 130 calculates a deceleration threshold based on surrounding awareness information and outputs the calculated deceleration threshold. The deceleration threshold setting unit 130 may set the deceleration threshold based on the initial speed of the following vehicle. The deceleration threshold setting unit 130 may further set the deceleration threshold based on the distance between the initial position of the following vehicle and the merging start position. The initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle are initial values ​​for the following vehicle used when determining the merging position of the merging vehicle in a merging scene. The surrounding awareness information is information that shows the observation results for the target lane and the following vehicle, respectively. The surrounding awareness information may be information that shows the results observed by sensors installed on the merging vehicle, information that shows the results observed by sensors installed on the road, information received from the following vehicle, or a combination of these. As a specific example of the observation results for the following vehicle, the position and speed of the following vehicle are shown. Note that the acquisition time of the positioning results for the merging vehicle and the acquisition time of the observation results for the following vehicle may be different. The deceleration threshold is a threshold value related to the deceleration that allows a following vehicle to decelerate while ensuring safety. The deceleration threshold is also called the main line following vehicle safety deceleration threshold. The deceleration threshold setting unit 130 may process the initial speed of the following vehicle as shown in [Equation 1] to obtain the deceleration threshold. The deceleration threshold setting unit 130 may also calculate the deceleration threshold based on the initial speed of the following vehicle, the initial position of the following vehicle, and the merging start position as shown in [Equation 2]. Here, a1, a2, b1, b2, and c2 are coefficients determined as appropriate. The deceleration threshold setting unit 130 may calculate the deceleration threshold according to safety standards, or it may use a value obtained through experimentation as the deceleration threshold. When calculating the deceleration threshold, the deceleration threshold setting unit 130 may use a rule-based approach, a machine learning model that infers the deceleration threshold based on observation results regarding the following vehicle, or other techniques. The initial position of the following vehicle is, as a specific example, the position of the following vehicle as indicated by observation results regarding the following vehicle. The initial speed of the following vehicle is, as a specific example, the speed of the following vehicle as indicated by the observation results regarding the following vehicle.

[0014] [Equation 1] (Deceleration threshold) = a1 × (Initial speed of following vehicle) + b1 [Equation 2] (Deceleration threshold) = a2 × (Initial speed of following vehicle) + b2 × (Merging start position - Initial position of following vehicle) + c2

[0015] The merging position determination unit 140 determines whether the merging position of the merging vehicle in a merging scene is in front of or behind the following vehicle in relation to the direction of travel of the following vehicle, based on the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position. At this time, the merging position determination unit 140 determines the merging position of the merging vehicle so that the actual merging scene is such that the following vehicle does not decelerate beyond the deceleration threshold in order to make the distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle greater than or equal to a safe distance. The merging position determination unit 140 calculates the safe deceleration of the following vehicle based on the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position. Note that the control information of the merging vehicle used in calculating the safe deceleration is not limited to the initial speed and initial acceleration, and initial jerk, etc. may also be used. The merging position determination unit 140 determines that the merging position in the merging scene is in front of the following vehicle with respect to the direction of travel if the calculated safe deceleration does not exceed the deceleration threshold. The merging position determination unit 140 determines that the merging position in the merging scene is behind the following vehicle with respect to the direction of travel if the calculated safe deceleration exceeds the deceleration threshold. Specifically, the merging position determination unit 140 calculates the safe deceleration of the following vehicle based on the initial position of the merging vehicle, map information, control information of the merging vehicle, and surrounding awareness information. Then, the merging position determination unit 140 determines the merging position based on the calculated safe deceleration and the deceleration threshold output from the deceleration threshold setting unit 130, and outputs the determined merging position. The safe deceleration of a following vehicle is the deceleration required to ensure a safe distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle in a merging scenario, assuming the merging vehicle merges in front of the following vehicle in the direction of travel. It is the deceleration of the following vehicle required to allow the merging vehicle to merge safely in front of the following vehicle in a merging scenario. Specifically, this safe deceleration is the minimum deceleration that the following vehicle should reduce in order to ensure that the distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle is greater than or equal to the safe distance when the merging vehicle reaches the merging start position in a merging scenario. Note that the definition of distance may be any.As a specific example, the distance between a merging vehicle and a following vehicle may be the shortest distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle, or the distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle with respect to the following vehicle's travel path may be used. The distance between vehicles with respect to the following vehicle's travel path is the distance between vehicles calculated considering the following vehicle's travel path. Even if the shortest distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle is the same, the distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle with respect to the following vehicle's travel path may change depending on the shape of the road. The merging position is the relative position of the merging vehicle to the estimated position of the following vehicle at the time of merging, and is either in front of or behind the following vehicle. At the time of merging, the merging vehicle starts merging into the target lane with the merging position as its target. The control information of the merging vehicle is information that indicates the control amount of the merging vehicle. As a specific example, the control information of the merging vehicle shows the initial speed, initial acceleration, and initial jerk of the merging vehicle. The initial position, initial velocity, initial acceleration, and initial jerk of a merging vehicle are initial values ​​for the merging vehicle used to determine its merging position in a merging scenario. The initial position of the merging vehicle is, as an example, the position of the merging vehicle as indicated by the positioning results for the merging vehicle. The initial velocity of the merging vehicle is, as an example, the velocity of the merging vehicle at the time the merging vehicle was positioned. The initial acceleration of the merging vehicle is, as an example, the acceleration of the merging vehicle at the time the merging vehicle was positioned. The initial jerk of the merging vehicle is, as an example, the jerk of the merging vehicle at the time the merging vehicle was positioned. Note that at least one of the initial position, initial velocity, initial acceleration, and initial jerk of each vehicle may be a value calculated based on observation results or positioning results, taking into account the elapsed time from the observation time or positioning time. The safe distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle is the distance in the direction of travel of the following vehicle, and is the minimum distance at which it is assumed that the merging vehicle can merge in front of the following vehicle while ensuring safety. The definition of safe distance can be anything. For example, safe distance is the distance a following vehicle travels in one second at a speed indicated by surrounding perception information. Safe distance may also be the distance from the rear of the merging vehicle to the front of the following vehicle, or from the front of the merging vehicle to the front of the following vehicle.Furthermore, the safety distance may be set according to the distance between the initial position of the merging vehicle and the merging start position. Specifically, the shorter the distance between the initial position of the merging vehicle and the merging start position, the shorter the safety distance will be set. This example corresponds to the fact that the shorter the length of the acceleration lane, the more likely the following vehicle is to allow a shorter following distance when the merging vehicle merges in front of the following vehicle. When determining the merging position, the merging position determination unit 140 may use a merging speed model as shown in Figure 2. In this case, the merging position determination unit 140 further calculates the safety deceleration based on the merging speed model. When calculating the safety deceleration, the acceleration of the merging vehicle may be assumed to remain constant from the initial acceleration of the merging vehicle, or it may be assumed to fluctuate from the initial acceleration of the merging vehicle. The merging speed model is a model that shows the time series change of the speed of the merging vehicle in a merging scene, and is a model used to calculate the speed of the merging vehicle at each point in time in a merging scene. Furthermore, the merging position determination unit 140 may calculate the safe deceleration of the following vehicle in a merging scene based on the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, the merging start position, and the result of determining whether the merging position in the merging scene is in front of or behind the following vehicle with respect to the direction of travel of the following vehicle. The unit may then output the calculated safe deceleration. The outputted safe deceleration is information that contributes to improving user interpretability.

[0016] The merging action planning unit 150 determines whether the merging position in the merging scene is in front of or behind the following vehicle in relation to the direction of travel of the following vehicle, and creates a plan showing the merging vehicle's movement to merge into the target lane. Specifically, the merging action planning unit 150 generates a merging action plan based on the initial position of the merging vehicle, map information, control information of the merging vehicle, surrounding awareness information, and the merging position, and outputs the reference driving position and reference speed indicated by the generated merging route. The merging route is the route on which the merging vehicle merges into the target lane. The merging route shows the route of the merging vehicle in the merging scene, indicates the driving position of the merging vehicle at each point in time as the reference driving position, and indicates the speed of the merging vehicle at each point in time as the reference speed. As a specific example, when the merging position is in front of the following vehicle, the merging operation planning unit 150 generates a merging route by setting the speed of the merging vehicle at each point in time so as to ensure a safe distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle, based on the initial speed and safety deceleration of the following vehicle. Also, when the merging position is behind the following vehicle, the merging operation planning unit 150 generates a merging route by setting the speed of the merging vehicle at each point in time so as to ensure a safe distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle, based on the initial speed of the following vehicle.

[0017] The vehicle control unit 160 generates control quantities for the merging vehicle based on the reference driving position and reference speed, and outputs the generated control quantities. The merging vehicle merges into the target lane according to the generated control quantities.

[0018] Figure 3 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the merging support device 100 according to this embodiment. The merging support device 100 consists of a computer. The merging support device 100 may consist of multiple computers.

[0019] As shown in the figure, the merging support device 100 is a computer equipped with hardware such as a processor 11, memory 12, auxiliary storage device 13, input / output interface (IF) 14, and communication device 15. These hardware components are appropriately connected via signal lines 19.

[0020] The processor 11 is an IC (Integrated Circuit) that performs arithmetic processing and controls the hardware of the computer. Specific examples of the processor 11 include a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The merging support device 100 may include multiple processors that replace the processor 11. The multiple processors share the role of the processor 11.

[0021] Memory 12 is typically a volatile storage device, specifically RAM (Random Access Memory). Memory 12 is also called main memory. Data stored in memory 12 is saved to auxiliary storage device 13 as needed.

[0022] The auxiliary storage device 13 is typically a non-volatile storage device, specifically a ROM (Read Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or flash memory. Data stored in the auxiliary storage device 13 is loaded into the memory 12 as needed. The memory 12 and the auxiliary storage device 13 may be configured as an integrated unit.

[0023] Input / Output IF14 is a port to which input and output devices are connected. A specific example of an input / output IF14 is a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal. Specific examples of input devices include a keyboard and mouse. Specific examples of output devices include a display.

[0024] The communication device 15 consists of a receiver and a transmitter. A specific example of the communication device 15 is a communication chip or a NIC (Network Interface Card).

[0025] Each part of the merging support device 100 may use the input / output IF 14 and the communication device 15 as appropriate when communicating with other devices.

[0026] The auxiliary storage device 13 stores the merge support program. The merge support program is a program that enables the computer to implement the functions of each part of the merge support device 100. The merge support program is loaded into memory 12 and executed by the processor 11.

[0027] Data used when executing the merge support program, and data obtained by executing the merge support program, are appropriately stored in the memory device. Each part of the merge support device 100 makes appropriate use of the memory device. The memory device consists of, as a specific example, memory 12, auxiliary storage device 13, registers in the processor 11, and at least one of the cache memory in the processor 11. Note that the terms data and information may have the same meaning. The memory device may be independent of the computer. The functions of memory 12 and auxiliary storage device 13 may be implemented by other memory devices.

[0028] The merge support program may be recorded on a computer-readable non-volatile recording medium. Examples of non-volatile recording media include optical discs or flash memory. The merge support program may also be provided as a program product.

[0029] ***Explanation of Operation*** The operation procedure of the merging support device 100 corresponds to the merging support method. The program that implements the operation of the merging support device 100 corresponds to the merging support program.

[0030] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the merging support device 100. The operation will be explained using Figure 4.

[0031] (Step S110) The target lane selection unit 110 selects a target lane based on route information and map information.

[0032] (Step S120) The position lane determination unit 120 determines the initial position of the merging vehicle and the merging lane based on the map information and the merging vehicle positioning information.

[0033] (Step S130) The deceleration threshold setting unit 130 calculates the deceleration threshold based on the surrounding perception information.

[0034] (Step S140) The merging position determination unit 140 determines the merging position based on the initial position of the merging vehicle, map information, control information of the merging vehicle, and surrounding area recognition information.

[0035] Figure 5 illustrates an example of the processing of the merging position determination unit 140. First, the merging position determination unit 140 calculates the deceleration of the following vehicle necessary to ensure a safe distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle when the merging vehicle reaches the merging start position. In this case, the distance between the merging start position and the safe distance position is the safe distance. The safe distance position is a position a distance of the safe distance from the merging vehicle located at the merging start position. Next, the merging position determination unit 140 classifies the merging position according to the magnitude of the calculated deceleration degree relative to the deceleration threshold. Specifically, if the calculated deceleration is greater than the deceleration threshold, that is, if the following vehicle would need to decelerate rapidly when the merging vehicle merges in front of the following vehicle, the merging position determination unit 140 assumes that the following vehicle will not actually decelerate and encourages the merging vehicle to merge behind the following vehicle. Furthermore, the merging position determination unit 140 anticipates that the following vehicle will actually decelerate appropriately if the calculated deceleration is below the deceleration threshold, that is, if there is no risk of collision between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle even if the following vehicle slows down gradually when the merging vehicle merges in front of the following vehicle, and encourages the merging vehicle to merge in front of the following vehicle. As described above, the merging position determination unit 140 classifies whether the merging vehicle should merge in front of or behind the following vehicle when merging into the target lane by making a threshold determination based on the calculated deceleration and the deceleration threshold.

[0036] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the detailed operation of the merging position determination unit 140. The operation will be explained using Figure 6.

[0037] (Step S141) The merging position determination unit 140 assumes that the merging vehicle maintains its initial acceleration and moves at a constant acceleration, and calculates the arrival time when the merging vehicle reaches the merging start position.

[0038] (Step S142) The merging position determination unit 140 calculates a safe distance position using a safe distance calculated based on the speed of the merging vehicle at the arrival time.

[0039] (Step S143) The merging position determination unit 140 calculates a safe deceleration to make the position of the following vehicle behind the safe distance position at the arrival time.

[0040] (Step S144) The merging position determination unit 140 performs a threshold determination on the safe deceleration calculated based on the deceleration threshold, and determines whether the merging vehicle should merge in front of or behind the following vehicle when merging into the main line.

[0041] (Step S150) The merging operation planning unit 150 plans the merging operation of the merging vehicle based on the determined merging position.

[0042] (Step S160) The vehicle control unit 160 controls the merging vehicle according to the planned merging operation.

[0043] ***Explanation of the effects of Embodiment 1*** In this embodiment, in addition to the initial speeds and initial positions of the merging vehicle and the following vehicle, the safe deceleration of the following vehicle is calculated using the merging start position and the initial acceleration of the merging vehicle, and a threshold determination regarding the merging position is performed on the calculated safe deceleration. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to obtain a merging support device that can determine an appropriate merging position in relatively diverse merging scenarios regarding the acceleration lane length, the initial speed, and the initial acceleration of the merging vehicle.

[0044] ***Other configurations*** <Modification 1> FIG. 7 shows a hardware configuration example of the merging support device 100 according to this modification. The merging support device 100 includes a processing circuit 18 instead of the processor 11, the processor 11 and the memory 12, the processor 11 and the auxiliary storage device 13, or the processor 11, the memory 12, and the auxiliary storage device 13. The processing circuit 18 is hardware that realizes at least a part of each unit included in the merging support device 100. The processing circuit 18 may be dedicated hardware or may be a processor that executes a program stored in the memory 12.

[0045] When the processing circuit 18 is dedicated hardware, the processing circuit 18 is, as a specific example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel-programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. The merging support device 100 may include a plurality of processing circuits that replace the processing circuit 18. The plurality of processing circuits share the role of the processing circuit 18.

[0046] In the merging support device 100, some functions may be realized by dedicated hardware, and the remaining functions may be realized by software or firmware.

[0047] The processing circuit 18 is, as a specific example, realized by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. The processor 11, the memory 12, the auxiliary storage device 13, and the processing circuit 18 are collectively referred to as the "processing circuitry". That is, the functions of each functional component of the merging support device 100 are realized by the processing circuitry. The merging support device 100 according to another embodiment may have the same configuration as this modified example.

[0048] Embodiment 2. Hereinafter, mainly the differences from the above-described embodiment will be described while referring to the drawings.

[0049] ***Description of Configuration*** FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of the merging support device 100 according to the present embodiment. The merging support device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a merging position determination unit 240 instead of the deceleration threshold value setting unit 130 and the merging position determination unit 140, as compared with the merging support device 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0050] The merging position determination unit 240 determines whether the merging position in the merging scene is in front of or behind the following vehicle with respect to the direction of travel of the following vehicle by inputting data indicating the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position to the merging position determination model 241. At this time, the merging position determination unit 140 may further input at least one of map information and safety distance to the merging position determination model 241. In addition, the merging position determination unit 240 may infer the deceleration of the merging vehicle in the merging scene, specifically the deceleration of the merging vehicle while it moves from its initial position to the merging start position in the merging scene, by inputting data indicating the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position to the merging position determination model 241.

[0051] The merging position determination model 241 takes data indicating the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position as inputs, and infers whether the merging position in a merging scene is in front of or behind the following vehicle in relation to the direction of travel of the following vehicle. The merging position determination model 241 may also be a model that further takes at least one of map information and safety distance as inputs. As a specific example, the merging position determination model 241 is an inference model based on machine learning models or AI (Artificial Intelligence). The merging position determination model 241 is an inference model that takes the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position as inputs, and outputs the merging position. The merging position determination model 241 may also be a model that has been trained by supervised learning based on training data indicating the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, the merging start position, and the merging position. The training data may include data on multiple combinations of merging vehicles and following vehicles. Furthermore, the merging position determination model 241 may infer the deceleration of the merging vehicle in a merging scene, specifically the deceleration of the merging vehicle as it moves from its initial position to the merging start position. In this case, the training data further indicates the deceleration of the merging vehicle.

[0052] ***Explanation of Operation*** The following mainly describes the differences between the operation of the merging support device 100 according to Embodiment 1 and the operation of the merging support device 100 according to this embodiment.

[0053] (Step S140) The confluence position determination unit 240 inputs each data to the confluence position determination model 241 and obtains the confluence position from the confluence position determination model 241. The processing in this step corresponds to the confluence position determination unit 240 determining the confluence position using the confluence position determination model 241.

[0054] ***Explanation of the effects of Embodiment 2*** In this embodiment, the confluence position determination unit 240 determines the confluence position using the confluence position determination model 241. Here, various data may be used as the training data for the confluence position determination model 241. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the confluence position can be determined more generally.

[0055] ***Other Embodiments*** The embodiments described above can be freely combined, any component of each embodiment can be modified, or any component can be omitted in each embodiment. Furthermore, the embodiments are not limited to those shown in Embodiments 1 and 2, and various modifications can be made as needed. The procedures described using flowcharts, etc., may be modified as appropriate.

[0056] 11 Processor, 12 Memory, 13 Auxiliary storage device, 14 Input / Output IF, 15 Communication device, 18 Processing circuit, 19 Signal line, 100 Merging support device, 110 Target lane selection unit, 120 Position lane determination unit, 130 Deceleration threshold setting unit, 140 Merging position determination unit, 150 Merging operation planning unit, 160 Vehicle control unit, 240 Merging position determination unit, 241 Merging position determination model.

Claims

1. A merging support device comprising a merging position determination unit that determines whether the merging position of the merging vehicle is in front of or behind the following vehicle in relation to the direction of travel of the following vehicle, based on the initial position and control information of a merging vehicle traveling in a merging lane, the initial position and initial speed of a following vehicle traveling in a target lane adjacent to the merging lane and which is following the merging vehicle in relation to the direction of travel of the merging vehicle, and the merging start position on the merging lane, in a merging scene in which the merging vehicle moves from the initial position of the merging vehicle to the merging start position and merges into the target lane from the merging start position.

2. The merging support device further comprises a deceleration threshold setting unit that sets a deceleration threshold for the following vehicle based on the initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging position determination unit determines the merging position in the merging scene based on the deceleration threshold, as described in claim 1.

3. The merging support device according to claim 2, wherein the deceleration threshold setting unit further sets the deceleration threshold based on the distance between the initial position of the following vehicle and the merging start position.

4. The merging position determination unit calculates a safe deceleration, which is the deceleration of the following vehicle, that ensures a safe distance between the merging vehicle and the following vehicle when the merging vehicle merges in front of the following vehicle in the direction of travel of the following vehicle, based on the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position of the merging vehicle, and determines that the merging position in the merging scene is in front of the following vehicle in the direction of travel of the following vehicle if the merging vehicle merges in front of the following vehicle in the merging scene, and determines that the merging position in the merging scene is behind the following vehicle in the direction of travel of the following vehicle if the safe deceleration does not exceed the deceleration threshold, the merging position in the merging scene is behind the following vehicle in the direction of travel of the following vehicle, according to claim 2 or 3.

5. The merging position determination unit further calculates the safe deceleration based on a merging speed model used to calculate the speed of the merging vehicle at each point in time in the merging scene, according to claim 4.

6. The merging support device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the safety distance is a distance set according to the distance between the initial position of the merging vehicle and the merging start position.

7. The merging lane is an acceleration lane, and the merging start position is the starting position of the taper in the acceleration lane, according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The merging support device further comprises: a target lane selection unit that selects the target lane from a plurality of lanes on the road in which the following vehicle is traveling; a position lane determination unit that determines which lane is the merging lane from the plurality of lanes; a merging operation planning unit that creates a plan showing the merging vehicle merging into the target lane as a merging operation plan, based on the result of determining whether the merging position in the merging scene is in front of or behind the following vehicle with respect to the direction of travel of the following vehicle; and a vehicle control unit that generates a control amount for controlling the merging vehicle in accordance with the merging operation plan.

9. The merging position determination unit calculates the safe deceleration of the following vehicle during the time the merging vehicle moves from the initial position of the merging vehicle to the merging start position in the merging scene, based on the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, the merging start position, and the result of determining whether the merging position in the merging scene is in front of or behind the following vehicle with respect to the direction of travel of the following vehicle, and outputs the calculated safe deceleration, as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The merging position determination unit takes as input data indicating the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position, and determines whether the merging position in the merging scene is in front of or behind the following vehicle with respect to the direction of travel of the following vehicle, by inputting as input data indicating the initial position and control information of the merging vehicle, the initial position and initial speed of the following vehicle, and the merging start position, the merging support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

11. A merging assistance method in which a computer determines whether the merging position of a merging vehicle is in front of or behind the following vehicle in relation to the direction of travel of the following vehicle, based on the initial position and control information of a merging vehicle traveling in a merging lane, the initial position and initial speed of a following vehicle traveling in a target lane adjacent to the merging lane and which is following the merging vehicle in relation to the direction of travel of the merging vehicle, and the merging start position on the merging lane, in a merging scene in which the merging vehicle moves from the initial position of the merging vehicle to the merging start position and merges into the target lane from the merging start position.

12. A merging support program that causes a computer-based merging support device to execute a merging position determination process based on the initial position and control information of a merging vehicle traveling in a merging lane, the initial position and initial speed of a following vehicle traveling in a target lane adjacent to the merging lane and following the merging vehicle in relation to the direction of travel of the merging vehicle, and the merging start position on the merging lane, to determine whether the merging position of the merging vehicle is in front of or behind the following vehicle in relation to the direction of travel of the following vehicle in a merging scene in which the merging vehicle moves from the initial position of the merging vehicle to the merging start position and merges into the target lane from the merging start position.

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