Vehicle control apparatus

Abstract

One or more processors that constitute a vehicle control apparatus execute: a first process for acquiring side length information pertaining to a nearby vehicle, the side length information being derived on the basis of an image that is obtained by capturing an image ahead of a host vehicle by using an imaging device, and associating the side length information with a detection point that is detected by a rear lateral radar of the host vehicle; and a second process for setting the detection point as the rear end of the nearby vehicle in the longitudinal direction of said vehicle, and determining a nearby vehicle presence range from the front end to the rear end of the nearby vehicle in the longitudinal direction of said vehicle by using the side length information associated with the detection point detected by the rear lateral radar.

Description

Vehicle control device

[0007]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control device, and particularly relates to the technical field of determining the presence of surrounding vehicles.

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for generating a fused target by fusing first target information of an object in front of the host vehicle acquired by a radar and second target information of an object in front of the host vehicle acquired by image processing of an imaging device.

[0003] Japanese Patent No. 6380232

[0004] Regarding the control of automatic driving and driving support, it is important to determine the vehicles (hereinafter referred to as "surrounding vehicles") around the host vehicle. By appropriately detecting and determining the positions of the surrounding vehicles, smooth and safe automatic driving and driving support can be performed.

[0005] For determining surrounding vehicles, for example, a radar mounted on the vehicle may be used, but depending on the type of vehicle, it is assumed that it may be difficult to determine using the radar. For example, in the case of a large trailer, etc., where the cargo bed is long and the height to the bottom of the cargo bed is the same as that of the host vehicle, the presence of a space under the cargo bed beside the host vehicle may make it difficult to determine.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention proposes a technique that can perform the determination of surrounding vehicles with higher accuracy.

[0007] The vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes one or more processors and a storage medium in which a program executed by the one or more processors is stored. The program includes one or more instructions, and the instructions cause the one or more processors to acquire side length information of a surrounding vehicle obtained based on an image of the front of the host vehicle captured by an imaging device, and perform a first process of associating it with a detection point by a rear side radar of the host vehicle; and a second process of determining a surrounding vehicle existence range from the front end to the rear end in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the surrounding vehicle using the side length information associated with the detection point by the rear side radar, with the detection point being set as the rear end in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the surrounding vehicle.

[0008] According to the present invention, by using the side length information of surrounding vehicles based on the images captured by the imaging device and associating it with the detection point by radar, the range of surrounding vehicles from the front to the rear of the surrounding vehicle can be appropriately determined, thereby improving the accuracy of monitoring surrounding vehicles traveling in the lane next to the vehicle.

[0009] This is a block diagram of the vehicle control system of the embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram of the automatic lane change situation. This is an explanatory diagram of radar detection and the space due to the large trailer. This is a flowchart of an example of processing including the first and second processes of the embodiment. This is a flowchart of an example of processing the third process of the embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram of the front side radar's reflection point detection in the embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram of the linking of the side length to the detection point of the rear side radar in the embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram of the surrounding vehicle presence range in the embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram of the lane change permission state in the embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram of the linking of the side length to the detection point of the rear side radar in the embodiment. This is an explanatory diagram of the third process of the embodiment.

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of a vehicle 1 equipped with an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 2, which is an embodiment of the vehicle control device of the present invention. In particular, only the parts directly related to the processing of the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 2 are shown. The dashed lines schematically represent the vehicle body.

[0011] Vehicle 1 is configured as, for example, a four-wheeled automobile and has at least one of an engine or a drive motor as a drive source for the wheels. In other words, Vehicle 1 can be configured as an EV (Electric Vehicle) having only a drive motor among the engine and drive motor as drive sources for the wheels, an HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) having both an engine and a drive motor, or an engine-powered vehicle having only an engine.

[0012] The driving control ECU 2 installed in vehicle 1 is a unit equipped with a microprocessor, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and non-volatile memory. The driving control ECU 2 is composed of one or more processors. It has ROM and non-volatile memory as storage media in which programs executed by one or more processors are stored. The driving control ECU 2 performs processing based on instructions defined by the program.

[0013] The driving control ECU 2 is a unit that performs various controls for so-called autonomous driving or driver assistance. It receives various detection information and works in cooperation with other ECUs (not shown), such as a steering control ECU, brake control ECU, engine or motor control ECU, to perform various autonomous driving / driver assistance controls. For example, it is envisioned to perform autonomous control and driver assistance controls related to various functions such as steering control, driving control, collision avoidance, collision damage mitigation, navigation, and communication. In this embodiment, the driving control ECU 2 performs at least the detection process of surrounding vehicles and the automatic lane change control using the detection result among the various autonomous driving or driver assistance controls.

[0014] The functions implemented by software in the driving control ECU 2 are shown as the surrounding detection unit 2a and the automatic driving control unit 2b. The surrounding detection unit 2a is implemented by an algorithm that detects surrounding vehicles, and has the function of detecting vehicles traveling around the vehicle and determining their position. The automatic driving control unit 2b is implemented by algorithms for steering control functions, driving control functions, etc., but in particular, it has the function of automatically changing driving lanes in scenes such as overtaking by using an automatic lane change control algorithm.

[0015] In the diagram, the imaging device 3, front-side radars 5L and 5R, and rear-side radars 6L and 6R are shown as the parts that supply information to the peripheral detection unit 2a.

[0016] The imaging device 3 is positioned in the vehicle 1 to capture images in the direction of travel (forward). For example, the imaging device 3 is positioned near the top of the windshield of the vehicle 1, with a predetermined distance between them in the vehicle width direction, so that stereo distance measurement is possible using two cameras 3a and 3b. The optical axes of the two cameras 3a and 3b are parallel, and their focal lengths are the same. In addition, the frame periods are synchronized, and the frame rates are also the same.

[0017] The electrical signals (image signals) obtained from each image sensor in cameras 3a and 3b are converted using A / D (Analog to Digital) conversion to form digital image signals (image data) that represent brightness values ​​with predetermined gradations on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The image data is, for example, color image data.

[0018] The image processing unit 4 is configured with a microcomputer, for example, equipped with a CPU, ROM, and RAM as a work area, and the CPU performs various processes according to the program stored in the ROM.

[0019] The image processing unit 4 stores the image data of each frame, obtained by cameras 3a and 3b capturing images of the area in front of the vehicle 1, into its internal memory. Based on the two image data frames, it then performs various processes to recognize the external environment, specifically, to recognize objects in front of the vehicle 1. For example, it recognizes road markings (such as white or orange lines) formed on the road, as well as surrounding vehicles, pedestrians, obstacles, guardrails, curbs, and side walls along the road. The image recognition results obtained by the image processing unit 4, such as information on the position, speed, and acceleration of the above-mentioned three-dimensional objects, and information on the vehicle's lane, are used for various driving assistance control functions.

[0020] The front-side radars 5L and 5R are positioned on the left and right sides of the front of vehicle 1. Front-side radar 5L detects objects in the diagonal front left direction, and front-side radar 5R detects objects in the diagonal front right direction. The rear-side radars 6L and 6R are positioned on the left and right sides of the rear of vehicle 1. Rear-side radar 6L detects objects in the diagonal rear left direction, and rear-side radar 6R detects objects in the diagonal rear right direction. When referring to front-side radars 5L and 5R collectively, they are referred to as "front-side radar 5," and when referring to rear-side radars 6L and 6R collectively, they are referred to as "rear-side radar 6."

[0021] The surrounding detection unit 2a of the driving control ECU 2 receives radar reflection points (detection points) from the front-side radar 5 and rear-side radar 6 to determine surrounding vehicles. In this embodiment, detection information from the imaging device 3 is also used to determine surrounding vehicles.

[0022] The following section explains the detection of surrounding vehicles by the driving control ECU 2. First, Figure 2 illustrates the situation of automatic lane changes. Figure 2 shows the detection range of the front-side radar 5, rear-side radar 6, and imaging device 3 on vehicle 1. The solid line shows the detection range (imaging field of view) of the imaging device 3, the dashed line shows the detection range of the front-side radar 5, and the dotted line shows the detection range of the rear-side radar 6.

[0023] The diagram shows a three-lane road, designated as lanes 30, 31, and 32, with vehicle 1 (hereinafter also referred to as "my vehicle 1") and surrounding vehicles 20 traveling on it. In this case, assuming a right-hand traffic region such as North America, lane 30 is the driving lane, and it is assumed that my vehicle 1 is traveling in lane 31 and overtaking surrounding vehicles 20.

[0024] For example, suppose at a certain point in time t100, the driver of vehicle 1 operates the turn signal lever to instruct a lane change to lane 30. However, the driving control ECU 2 continues to prohibit automatic lane changes until the overtaking of the approaching surrounding vehicle 20 is complete.

[0025] Regarding lane changes, the automatic driving control unit 2b constantly uses a predetermined algorithm to set whether to allow or prohibit automatic lane changes based on the status of surrounding vehicles 20, such as the relative distance and position to surrounding vehicles 20, and the bumper distance between the vehicle 1 and surrounding vehicles 20. Let's assume that at time t100 in Figure 2, when the driver operates the turn signal lever, the setting was to prohibit automatic lane changes. In this situation, the automatic driving control unit 2b will control the vehicle to perform an automatic lane change after overtaking the surrounding vehicles 20 and setting the automatic lane change permission. For example, at time t110, the automatic lane change prohibition will continue. At time t120, after the setting has been changed to allow automatic lane changes based on various conditions, the automatic driving control unit 2b will perform steering control, etc., to execute an automatic lane change to lane 30.

[0026] In this case, the detection of surrounding vehicles 20 by the surrounding detection unit 2a is important for determining whether to permit or prohibit automatic lane changes. Here, a special situation is explained in Figure 3. The upper part of Figure 3 shows the detection status of reflection points by the front side radar 5 and the rear side radar 6, and the lower part of Figure 3 shows a large trailer as an example of a surrounding vehicle 20.

[0027] Large trailers used in North America and other regions have a high cargo bed height H0 and a long distance L0 between the front and rear tires, which can make it difficult to determine if they are the same vehicle when overtaking. For example, the height H0 to the cargo bed may be equal to or greater than the height of the vehicle itself, or the distance L0 between the front and rear tires may be longer than the length of the vehicle itself. In addition, while the front and rear side radars 5 and 6 can also detect speed information, their detection accuracy is not very high depending on the position of the other vehicle.

[0028] Therefore, as shown by the detection point Pnz of the front side radar 5 and rear side radar 6, the detection point (radar reflection point) may be mistakenly identified as noise. For example, even if the front or rear wheels are detected, the speed accuracy is low, and they may be mistakenly identified as noise. Also, for example, even if the rear side radar 6 detects the rear wheels of a large trailer as detection point PR, the distance from the vehicle 1 is large, and because the vehicle 1 is overtaking, the detection point PR moves further away from the vehicle 1, so there is a possibility that it will be mistakenly identified as a vehicle behind. For these reasons, setting automatic lane change permission in the state shown in Figure 3 is inappropriate.

[0029] Therefore, the surrounding vehicle detection unit 2a's determination algorithm for surrounding vehicles 20 is designed to appropriately determine the position range of surrounding vehicles 20, even in the case of a large trailer as shown in the figure.

[0030] The algorithm for determining the surrounding vehicle 20 by the surrounding detection unit 2a basically consists of the following first process ST1 and second process ST2.

[0031] (ST1) Vehicle length (side length) information of surrounding vehicles 20 is acquired by analyzing images from the imaging device 3, which is a stereo camera, and linked to the detection points of the front-side radar 5, and further linked to the detection points of the rear-side radar 6. That is, the rear end of surrounding vehicles 20 traveling in the front-side is detected by the front-side radar 5 and linked to the side length information. Note that "linking" means associating the side length information with the data of the detection point.

[0032] (ST2) The detection point of the rear-side radar 6 is set to the rear end of the surrounding vehicle 20, and a position shifted forward by the length of the side from the rear end is detected as the vicinity of the front end of the surrounding vehicle 20. This determines the range of surrounding vehicles, that is, the range from the front end to the rear end of the surrounding vehicle 20.

[0033] Furthermore, after determining the range of surrounding vehicles in the second process ST2 described above, if new detection points are obtained by the front-side radar 5 or rear-side radar 6, the following third process ST3 is performed. (ST3) Radar detection points newly detected within the range of surrounding vehicles are registered as detected surrounding vehicles 20. However, detection points that deviate from the lateral position or speed of the surrounding vehicle 20 by a predetermined threshold are treated as noise and are not registered as detected surrounding vehicles.

[0034] Furthermore, during the first processing ST1 described above, there are cases where a detection point of the front-side radar 5 cannot be obtained, or where the detection point of the front-side radar 5 disappears before the side length information can be transferred to the detection point of the rear-side radar 6. In such cases, the side length information cannot be linked to the detection point of the rear-side radar 6. Therefore, the following fourth processing ST4 is performed. (ST4) Based on the side length information and front end position of the surrounding vehicle 20 obtained from the image captured in front of the vehicle by the imaging device 3, the rear end position of the surrounding vehicle 20 is estimated, and the side length information is linked to the detection point of the rear-side radar 6 based on the estimated rear end position.

[0035] Figures 4 and 5 show examples of processing performed by the driving control ECU 2 (surround detection unit 2a) as an algorithm for determining surrounding vehicles, including the first processing ST1 to the fourth processing ST4 described above. Below, the processing examples in Figures 4 and 5 will be explained with reference to the schematic diagrams in Figures 6 to 11.

[0036] Figure 4 shows an example of a process that includes the first process ST1 and the second process ST2, and optionally the execution of the fourth process ST4. Figure 5 shows the third process ST3 when a new detection point is obtained after determining the range of the surrounding vehicle 20 in the process of Figure 4. The surrounding detection unit 2a of the driving control ECU 2 repeatedly performs the processes shown in Figures 4 and 5 to determine the surrounding vehicle 20 and provides the determination result to the automatic driving control unit 2b. The automatic driving control unit 2b uses this determination result as one indicator to set the automatic lane change permission / prohibition as described above.

[0037] In step S101 of Figure 4, the surrounding detection unit 2a determines whether or not it has detected a vehicle approaching from the front based on the image from the imaging device 3. For example, when the vehicle 1 is about to overtake a surrounding vehicle 20 in front, the surrounding vehicle 20 is captured in the field of view of the imaging device 3 as shown in Figure 6, and the approach can be determined based on their relative position and relative speed. Furthermore, if the surrounding vehicle 20 in front is detected from the image from the imaging device 3, the side length of the surrounding vehicle 20 can be calculated. Figure 6 shows the side length L1R calculated based on the image.

[0038] If no approaching vehicle 20 is detected from the front, the surrounding detection unit 2a completes the process shown in Figure 4 and returns to step S101 to start the process shown in Figure 4 again.

[0039] When the surrounding vehicle 20 approaching from the front is detected, the surrounding detection unit 2a proceeds to step S102 and determines whether a detection point PF of the front-side radar 5 has been obtained near the rear of the surrounding vehicle 20. The front-side radar 5 and rear-side radar 6 use, for example, the point of the radar reflection closest to the vehicle 1 as the detection point. Therefore, in the case shown in Figure 6, the area near the rear end of the surrounding vehicle 20 is detected as the detection point PF of the front-side radar 5R.

[0040] If the area near the rear end of the surrounding vehicle 20 is detected as the detection point PF of the front-side radar 5R, the surrounding detection unit 2a proceeds to step S103 and associates the side length L1C of the surrounding vehicle 20 obtained from the captured image with the detection point PF of the front-side radar 5R. Figure 6 shows the side length L1F associated with the detection point PF.

[0041] If linking is performed in step S103, or if the detection point PF of the front side radar 5R is not obtained in step S102, the peripheral detection unit 2a proceeds to step S110. In step S110, the peripheral detection unit 2a determines whether or not the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6 is obtained near the side of the vehicle 1, as shown in Figure 7. If it is not obtained, the process in Figure 4 is completed, and the process returns to step S101 and starts again in Figure 4.

[0042] If a detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6 is obtained in step S110, the peripheral detection unit 2a proceeds to step S120 and determines whether or not there is a detection point PF of the front-side radar 5 that corresponds to the detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6, and in this case, whether or not a detection point PF to which the side length L1F is associated exists.

[0043] When overtaking the surrounding vehicle 20, as time elapses after detecting the surrounding vehicle 20 ahead as shown in FIG. 6, the host vehicle 1 catches up with the surrounding vehicle 20, and the rear end portion of the surrounding vehicle 20 enters the detection range of the rear side radar 6R as shown in FIG. 7. Thereby, the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6R is obtained. In such a case, the surrounding detection unit 2a proceeds to step S121 and associates the side length L1F associated with the front side radar 5 with the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6R as the side length L1R.

[0044] The processing from step S101 to step S121 above is an example of the first processing ST1 described above.

[0045] Note that at the time of step S120, although the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6R is detected, there may be no detection point PF of the front side radar 5 associated with the corresponding side length L1F. That is, the case where the detection point PF has disappeared at that time, or the case where even if there is a detection point PF, the side length L1F is not associated. In that case, the surrounding detection unit 2a performs the processing of steps S130 and S131 as the fourth processing ST4 described above.

[0046] In step S130, the surrounding detection unit 2a estimates the rear end position of the surrounding vehicle 20 from the front end of the surrounding vehicle 20 obtained from the image by the imaging device 3 and the side length L1C. In step S131, the surrounding detection unit 2a associates the side length L1C obtained from the captured image with the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6R detected near the estimated end position as the side length L1R.

[0047] FIG. 10 schematically shows estimating a point extended backward by the side length L1C from the front end of the surrounding vehicle 20 obtained from the image by the imaging device 3 as the rear end, and associating it as the side length L1R with the detection point PR in the vicinity thereof.

[0048] By this fourth processing ST4, when the side length L1F associated with the detection point PF of the front side radar 5 cannot be associated with the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6R for some reason, the side length L1C obtained from the captured image can be associated with the detection point PR as the side length L1R.

[0049] In step S121 or step S131 in Figure 4, once the side length L1R is associated with the detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6R, the peripheral detection unit 2a proceeds to step S140 and performs the second process ST2 described above. That is, the detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6R is considered to be the rear end of the surrounding vehicle 20, and the position shifted forward by the amount of the side length L1R is considered to be the front end of the surrounding vehicle 20. As a result, the section from the front end to the rear end is determined to be the surrounding vehicle presence range TP, as shown in Figure 7.

[0050] The surrounding detection unit 2a provides the information of the determined surrounding vehicle presence range TP, that is, the front and rear end positions of the surrounding vehicle 20, to the automatic driving control unit 2b, which can then use to determine whether to permit or prohibit an automatic lane change. For example, in Figure 8, since the vehicle 1 is not outside the range of the surrounding vehicle presence range TP, it is determined that a surrounding vehicle 20 is present to the side, and the automatic lane change is prohibited. As shown in Figure 9, when the vehicle 1 exceeds the range of the surrounding vehicle presence range TP, the automatic lane change is permitted.

[0051] Incidentally, even after the surrounding vehicle presence range TP is determined by the process in Figure 4, a new detection point PF may be obtained by the front side radar 5, or a new detection point PR may be obtained by the rear side radar 6R. Therefore, the surrounding detection unit 2a performs the process shown in Figure 5 as the third process ST3 described above.

[0052] In step S201, the peripheral detection unit 2a determines whether a new detection point has been generated by the front-side radar 5 or the rear-side radar 6R. If a new detection point has been generated, the peripheral detection unit 2a proceeds to step S202 to confirm whether the detection point is located within the range from the front end to the rear end of the surrounding vehicle 20, that is, within the range of the surrounding vehicle presence TP.

[0053] If a new radar detection point is located within the range from the front to the rear of the surrounding vehicle 20, the surrounding detection unit 2a determines the lateral position and speed of the new detection point in step S203. If it determines that the lateral position (position in the width direction of the vehicle) of the new detection point deviates from the position of the side of the surrounding vehicle 20, or if it determines that the speed of the new detection point deviates from the speed value of the surrounding vehicle 20, the surrounding detection unit 2a proceeds to step S205 and determines that it is noise.

[0054] On the other hand, if the peripheral detection unit 2a determines that the lateral position of the new detection point does not deviate from the position of the side of the surrounding vehicle 20, and that the speed of the new detection point does not deviate from the value of the speed of the surrounding vehicle 20, the peripheral detection unit 2a proceeds to step S204 and registers that detection point as a detection point for the surrounding vehicle 20 that has already been recognized.

[0055] For example, Figure 11 shows the occurrence of new detection points PFN and PRN in addition to the already detected detection points PF and PR. Since there is no deviation in lateral position or speed, these are recognized as detection points of the surrounding vehicle 20. On the other hand, detection point Pnz is processed as noise because there is a deviation in speed or lateral position. This third processing ST3 prevents misidentification of the appearance of new surrounding vehicles 20 when new detection points PF and PR occur during the overtaking process.

[0056] In the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. The driving control ECU 2, which is an embodiment of the vehicle control device, performs a first process ST1 in which it obtains the side length L1C of a surrounding vehicle, which is determined based on the image captured in front of the vehicle by the imaging device 3, and associates it with the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6. The driving control ECU 2 also performs a second process ST2 in which it sets the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6 as the rear end of the surrounding vehicle 20 and uses the associated side length L1R to determine the surrounding vehicle presence range TP from the front end to the rear end of the surrounding vehicle. This improves the accuracy of monitoring surrounding vehicles to the side of the vehicle, and for example, even if the surrounding vehicle 20 is a large trailer, the range of the large trailer can be accurately determined. In particular, by setting the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6 as the rear end and extending it forward by the side length L1R to set the front end, it becomes possible to estimate the surrounding vehicle presence range TP even if the detection point PF of the front side radar 5 disappears.

[0057] The driving control ECU 2 of this embodiment performs a process to determine whether to permit or prohibit automatic lane changes using the information of the surrounding vehicle presence range TP determined in the second process ST2. Therefore, it is possible to continue prohibiting automatic lane changes until the overtaking of the large trailer is completed. In particular, during the overtaking process, the detection point PF of the front side radar 5 will disappear at some point, but even in that case, the surrounding vehicle presence range TP can be estimated from the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6. Therefore, the determined information of the surrounding vehicle presence range TP is extremely suitable for determining whether to permit or prohibit automatic lane changes.

[0058] In the embodiment, the driving control ECU 2, in the first processing ST1, first associates the side length L1C information acquired based on the captured image with the detection point PF of the front side radar 5 as the side length L1F. Then, when the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6 is obtained, it performs processing to associate the side length L1F associated with the detection point PF of the front side radar 5 with the detection point PR of the rear side radar 6 as the side length L1R. In an overtaking scene, the surrounding vehicle to be overtaken is first detected by the front side radar 5. At this time, it is assumed that the image from the imaging device 3 includes the rear end to the front end of the surrounding vehicle, and the side length L1C can be appropriately calculated from the image. This side length L1C is linked to the detection point PF of the front side radar 5 as the side length L1F. When vehicle 1 pulls alongside surrounding vehicle 20 during the overtaking process, the rear end of surrounding vehicle 20 is also detected by the rear-side radar 6. At this point, the side length L1F is linked to the detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6 as side length L1R. This allows the side length L1C based on the image to be appropriately associated with the detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6.

[0059] In this embodiment, the driving control ECU 2 performs a third process ST3 to register newly detected radar detection points within the surrounding vehicle presence range TP determined in the second process ST2 as previously detected surrounding vehicles. During the overtaking process, new detection points of the front side radar 5 and rear side radar 6 may occur. If these were treated as other new surrounding vehicles, it would result in the detection of surrounding vehicles that do not exist. Therefore, new detections within the surrounding vehicle presence range TP are registered in the process to be treated as the body of surrounding vehicle 20, thereby avoiding misjudgment. As mentioned above, if the speed or lateral position of the detection point deviates significantly, it can be treated as noise.

[0060] In this embodiment, the driving control ECU 2 performs a fourth process ST4 if it is not possible to associate the side length L1R with the detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6R during the first process ST1. That is, as the fourth process ST4, the driving control ECU 2 estimates the rear end position of the surrounding vehicle 20 based on the side length L1C and front end position of the surrounding vehicle 20 obtained from the image of the area in front of the vehicle captured by the imaging device 3, and performs a process to associate the side length L1R with the detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6 based on the estimated rear end position. For example, there are cases where the detection point PF of the front-side radar 5 cannot be obtained. Also, there are cases where the detection point PF of the front-side radar 5 disappears before the side length L1F associated with the detection point PF of the front-side radar 5 can be processed as the side length L1R for the detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6. In other words, there are cases where the side length L1F associated with the detection point PF of the front-side radar 5 cannot be associated with the side length L1R for the detection point PR of the rear-side radar 6. However, even in these cases, the rear end of the surrounding vehicle 20 can be estimated from the side length L1C based on the image from the imaging device 3 and the front end of the surrounding vehicle 20. Therefore, the side length L1C is associated as the side length L1R with the detection point of the rear-side radar 6 near the estimated rear end. This allows for the association of the side length L1R as an auxiliary process when the side length L1R cannot be associated.

[0061] 1 Vehicle (own vehicle) 2 Driving control ECU 2a Surround detection unit 2b Automatic driving control unit 3 Imaging device 4 Image processing unit 5, 5L, 5R Front side radar 6, 6L, 6R Rear side radar 20 Surrounding vehicles PF, PR Detection point L1C, L1F, L1R Side length TP Surrounding vehicle presence range

Claims

1. A vehicle control device comprising one or more processors and a storage medium storing a program to be executed by the one or more processors, wherein the program includes one or more instructions, and the instructions cause the one or more processors to execute: a first process of acquiring side length information of a surrounding vehicle based on an image captured in front of the vehicle by an imaging device and associating it with a detection point by the rear-side radar of the vehicle; and a second process of determining the range of presence of the surrounding vehicle from the front end to the rear end in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, with the detection point being the rear end of the surrounding vehicle in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and using the side length information associated with the detection point by the rear-side radar.

2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction causes one or more processors to perform a process of determining whether to permit or prohibit an automatic lane change using information on the range of surrounding vehicles.

3. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the instruction causes one or more processors to perform the following processing in the first processing: associating the acquired side length information with a detection point by the front side radar, and when a detection point by the rear side radar is obtained, associating the side length information associated with the detection point by the front side radar with the detection point by the rear side radar.

4. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the instruction causes one or more processors to perform a third process, which registers newly detected radar detection points within the surrounding vehicle presence range determined in the second process as detected surrounding vehicles.

5. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the instruction causes one or more processors to perform a fourth process, which involves estimating the rear end position of the surrounding vehicle based on the side length information and the front end position of the surrounding vehicle, and associating the side length information with the detection point by the rear side radar based on the estimated rear end position.

Images