System, method, mobile body, and device
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-15
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-13
Smart Images
Figure JP2025043682_13082026_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
System, method, mobile body, and device
[0002] Cross-reference to related applications
[0001] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-016632 filed on February 4, 2025, and the entire disclosure thereof is incorporated herein by reference.
[0002] This disclosure relates to a system, a method, a mobile body, and a device.
[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for driving a vehicle autonomously or remotely in a vehicle manufacturing process.
[0004] Japanese Patent Translation of PCT International Publication No. 2017-538619
[0005] As one step of the vehicle manufacturing process, a sideslip inspection is performed. In this inspection, the amount of sideslip when the vehicle is moving straight is measured. This inspection is performed by an inspector driving the vehicle in accordance with regulatory requirements such as speed. Therefore, there is a possibility that the inspection results may vary depending on the skill of the inspector.
[0006] This disclosure can be realized in the following forms.
[0007] (1) According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a system is provided for controlling a mobile body that can be driven by unmanned operation. The system comprises a process information acquisition unit that acquires process information, which is information relating to a process in which the mobile body is located, and a control unit that controls the mobile body according to predetermined inspection control when the acquired process information indicates that the mobile body is located in an inspection process for measuring the amount of lateral slip when the mobile body is moving in a straight line, wherein the inspection control includes at least driving the mobile body within a predetermined target speed range, not performing steering angle control, and not performing braking operation. With this embodiment of the system, since the control unit controls the mobile body according to predetermined inspection control when the acquired process information indicates that the mobile body is located in an inspection process for measuring the amount of lateral slip when the mobile body is moving in a straight line, it is possible to suppress the dependence of the control of the mobile body during inspection on the skill of the inspector compared to a configuration in which an inspection is performed by driving the mobile body. This makes it possible to suppress fluctuations in measurement results due to the skill of the inspector. (2) In the system of the above embodiment, the control unit may be controlled to determine a target acceleration that does not cause the vehicle to exceed the target speed range, and to drive the vehicle based on the determined target acceleration. In this system of the above embodiment, the control unit is controlled to determine a target acceleration that does not cause the vehicle to exceed the target speed range, and to drive the vehicle based on the target acceleration, so the speed of the vehicle can be adjusted by controlling the acceleration. For this reason, the vehicle can be driven within the target speed range without performing a braking operation. (3) In the system of the above embodiment, the control unit may suppress the driving of the drive device for accelerating the vehicle without performing a braking operation when the speed of the vehicle exceeds the target speed range. In this system of the above embodiment, the control unit suppresses the driving of the drive device for accelerating the vehicle without performing a braking operation when the speed of the vehicle exceeds the target speed range, so even if the actual speed exceeds the target speed range due to road surface conditions or other controls of the vehicle, the speed can be adjusted by suppressing the driving of the drive device without performing a braking operation.This makes it possible to perform the inspection while at least satisfying one of the inspection requirements in the inspection of the amount of skid measurement, which is not to perform a braking operation. (4) The system of the above embodiment may further include a result acquisition unit that acquires the measurement result of the amount of skid, a state acquisition unit that acquires the control state of the moving body at the time of the measurement of the amount of skid, and a recording unit that can record the acquired measurement result and the acquired control state in correspondence with each other. With this embodiment of the system, the recording unit can record the measurement result and the control state in correspondence, so it is possible to confirm whether the amount of skid measurement was performed in an appropriate control state. (5) In the system of the above embodiment, the recording unit does not have to record the measurement result if the acquired control state includes at least one of the following: the moving body traveling outside the target speed range, the steering angle control of the moving body was performed, and the braking operation of the moving body was performed. According to this configuration of the system, the recording unit does not record the measurement result if the acquired control state includes at least one of the following: the moving body is traveling outside the target speed range, the steering angle control of the moving body is performed, or the braking operation of the moving body is performed. This prevents the recording of measurement results when control is performed that may cause the measurement result of the amount of sideslip to fluctuate. (6) The above configuration of the system may further include a notification unit that provides notification when the acquired control state includes at least one of the following: the moving body is traveling outside the target speed range, the steering angle control of the moving body is performed, or the braking operation of the moving body is performed. According to this configuration of the system, the notification unit provides notification when the acquired control state includes at least one of the following: the moving body is traveling outside the target speed range, the steering angle control of the moving body is performed, or the braking operation of the moving body is performed. This allows the inspector to confirm that control has been performed that may cause the measurement result of the amount of sideslip to fluctuate.
[0008] This disclosure can be implemented in forms other than the system described above, such as a vehicle control device, an inspection control method, a program for implementing the control method, a non-temporary recording medium on which the program is recorded, or a program product. The program product may be provided, for example, as a recording medium on which the program is recorded, or as a program product that can be distributed via a network.
[0009] This is a conceptual diagram showing the system configuration in the first embodiment. This is a block diagram showing the system configuration. This is a graph showing an example of speed control in this embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for vehicle driving control in the first embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the procedure for vehicle inspection control. This is a flowchart showing the procedure for inspection recording processing. This is a flowchart showing the procedure for notification processing. This is an explanatory diagram showing the schematic configuration of the system in the second embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for vehicle driving control in the second embodiment.
[0010] A. First Embodiment: <Overview of System 50> Figure 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of System 50 in the first embodiment. System 50 is used to control a mobile body that can be driven by unmanned operation. System 50 comprises one or more vehicles 100 as the mobile body, a server 200, and one or more sensors 300.
[0011] In this disclosure, “mobile object” means an object that can move, such as a vehicle or an electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (so-called flying car). A vehicle may be a wheeled vehicle or a tracked vehicle, such as a passenger car, truck, bus, motorcycle, car, or construction vehicle. Vehicles include electric vehicles (BEVs: Battery Electric Vehicles), gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles. If the mobile object is not a vehicle, the terms “vehicle” and “car” in this disclosure may be replaced with “mobile object” as appropriate, and the term “driving” may be replaced with “moving” as appropriate.
[0012] In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 is configured to be able to run unmanned. "Unmanned operation" means operation without the operation of a passenger. Operation of the vehicle means operation related to at least one of the following: "going," "turning," or "stopping." Unmanned operation is achieved by automatic or manual remote control using a device located outside the vehicle 100, or by autonomous control of the vehicle 100. A passenger who does not perform operation of the vehicle may be on board the vehicle 100 while it is running unmanned. A passenger who does not perform operation of the vehicle includes, for example, a person who is simply sitting in the seat of the vehicle 100, or a person who is performing work other than operation of the vehicle, such as assembly, inspection, or operation of switches, while on board the vehicle 100. Operation by a passenger is sometimes called "manned operation."
[0013] In this specification, "remote control" includes "fully remote control," in which all operations of the vehicle 100 are completely determined from outside the vehicle 100, and "partial remote control," in which some operations of the vehicle 100 are determined from outside the vehicle 100. Furthermore, "autonomous control" includes "fully autonomous control," in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations without receiving any information from external devices, and "partial autonomous control," in which the vehicle 100 autonomously controls its own operations using information received from external devices.
[0014] In this embodiment, the system 50 is used in a factory FC where the vehicle 100 is manufactured. The reference coordinate system of the factory FC is the global coordinate system GC, and any position within the factory FC can be represented by X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The factory FC comprises a first location PL1 and a second location PL2. The first location PL1 and the second location PL2 are connected by a track TR on which the vehicle 100 can travel. The vehicle 100 moves from the first location PL1 to the second location PL2 via the track TR by unmanned operation. Various processes such as assembly and inspection for the manufacture of the vehicle 100 are carried out in the first location PL1 and the second location PL2.
[0015] At location PL2, inspection equipment 500 is provided. Vehicle 100, having moved to location PL2, proceeds to inspection equipment 500 by unmanned operation. Inspection equipment 500 measures the amount of lateral slip of vehicle 100 when it is moving in a straight line. In other words, inspection equipment 500 inspects the straight-line stability of vehicle 100. Inspection equipment 500 has a pair of side slip testers 510. Each side slip tester 510 is installed along the road surface. Each side slip tester 510 is configured as a plate that can move in the left-right direction. Inspection equipment 500 measures the amount of lateral displacement of each side slip tester 510 when vehicle 100 is moving in a straight line with its wheels on each side slip tester 510. This amount of displacement is the amount of lateral slip of vehicle 100.
[0016] Vehicle 100 travels straight on the side slip tester 510 to meet the inspection requirements. The inspection requirements include at least the following: (1) the vehicle 100 travels within a predetermined target speed range; (2) no steering angle control is performed; and (3) no braking is performed. These inspection requirements are established to perform a more accurate inspection of the amount of sideslip. The inspection equipment 500 is equipped with a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with other devices such as a server 200 via wired or wireless communication. The measured amount of sideslip is transmitted to the server 200 via the communication device.
[0017] Multiple sensors 300 are installed at the first location PL1, the second location PL2, and the track TR. The sensors 300 are located outside the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the sensors 300 are sensors that capture the vehicle 100 from outside the vehicle 100. The sensors 300 are composed of, for example, cameras. The camera as the sensor 300 takes an image of the vehicle 100 and outputs the image data. The sensors 300 are equipped with a communication device (not shown) and can communicate with other devices such as a server 200 via wired or wireless communication.
[0018] <Configuration of System 50> Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of System 50. The vehicle 100 includes a vehicle control device 110 for controlling various parts of the vehicle 100, an actuator group 120 including one or more actuators driven under the control of the vehicle control device 110, and a communication device 130 for communicating wirelessly with an external device such as a server 200. The actuator group 120 includes actuators for a drive system to accelerate the vehicle 100, actuators for a steering system to change the direction of travel of the vehicle 100, and actuators for a braking system to decelerate the vehicle 100.
[0019] The vehicle control device 110 is composed of a computer comprising a processor 111, a memory 112, an input / output interface 113, and an internal bus 114. The processor 111, the memory 112, and the input / output interface 113 are connected via the internal bus 114 to enable bidirectional communication. The input / output interface 113 is connected to an actuator group 120 and a communication device 130. The processor 111 implements various functions, including those of a vehicle control unit 115, by executing a program PG1 stored in the memory 112.
[0020] The vehicle control unit 115 drives the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 120. The vehicle control unit 115 can drive the vehicle 100 by controlling the actuator group 120 using the driving control signal received from the server 200. The driving control signal is a control signal for driving the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the driving control signal includes the acceleration and steering angle of the vehicle 100 as parameters. In other embodiments, the driving control signal may include the speed of the vehicle 100 as a parameter instead of, or in addition to, the acceleration of the vehicle 100.
[0021] The server 200 is composed of a computer comprising a processor 201, memory 202, input / output interface 203, and internal bus 204. The processor 201, memory 202, and input / output interface 203 are connected via the internal bus 204 to enable bidirectional communication. A communication device 205 for communicating with various devices outside the server 200 is connected to the input / output interface 203. The communication device 205 can communicate with the vehicle 100 via wireless communication and can communicate with each sensor 300 via wired or wireless communication. The processor 201 executes a program PG2 stored in memory 202 to realize various functions, including those of a process information acquisition unit 211, a remote control unit 212, a result acquisition unit 213, a state acquisition unit 214, a recording unit 215, and a notification instruction unit 216.
[0022] The process information acquisition unit 211 acquires process information, which is information about the process in which the vehicle 100 is located. As described above, the vehicle 100 goes through various processes such as various inspections and assembly within the factory FC. Each of these processes is performed at a predetermined location within the factory FC. That is, the process in which the vehicle 100 is located and the location of the vehicle 100 are uniquely determined. This correspondence between processes and locations is pre-stored in the memory 202 as process-location correspondence information PI. In this embodiment, as one of the process-location correspondence information PI, the inspection process for the amount of lateral slip by the inspection equipment 500 and the second location PL2 are associated and stored in the memory 202. The process information acquisition unit 211 acquires process information related to the process in which the vehicle 100 is located using the vehicle location information and the process-location correspondence information PI. It can also be said that the process information acquisition unit 211 identifies the process in which the vehicle 100 is located based on the location of the vehicle 100. The vehicle location information will be described later.
[0023] Furthermore, "a process in which vehicle 100 is present" can also be interpreted as a process being performed on vehicle 100. Additionally, "a process in which vehicle 100 is present" can also be interpreted as a process in which vehicle 100 is located.
[0024] The remote control unit 212 acquires detection results from sensors, generates a driving control signal to control the actuator group 120 of the vehicle 100 using the detection results, and transmits the driving control signal to the vehicle 100 to control the unmanned operation of the vehicle 100. In addition to the driving control signal, the remote control unit 212 may also generate and output control signals to control various auxiliary equipment and actuators that operate various devices such as wipers, power windows, and lamps, which are provided on the vehicle 100. In other words, the remote control unit 212 may operate these various devices and auxiliary equipment by remote control.
[0025] Furthermore, the remote control unit 212 controls the vehicle 100 according to a predetermined inspection control IN when the process information acquired by the process information acquisition unit 211 indicates that the vehicle 100 is in the process of inspecting the amount of skid. The inspection control IN is a control of the vehicle 100 to perform the inspection of the amount of skid more accurately. That is, the inspection control IN is a control that ensures the driving state of the vehicle 100 satisfies the inspection requirements described above. The inspection control IN includes at least (1) driving the vehicle 100 within a predetermined target speed range, (2) not performing steering angle control, and (3) not performing braking. In this embodiment, the target speed range is, for example, 5 km / h or less. Note that the target speed range is not limited to 5 km / h or less, but may be any speed range.
[0026] The remote control unit 212 realizes inspection control IN by sending a driving control signal to the actuator group 120. The remote control unit 212 sends a driving control signal to the vehicle 100, for example, a driving control signal related to acceleration, which is within an acceleration range that does not cause exceeding the target speed range, thereby causing the vehicle 100 to travel within the target speed range.
[0027] Figure 3 is a graph showing an example of speed control in this embodiment. In Figure 3, the vertical axis represents speed, and the horizontal axis represents time. The remote control unit 212 determines a target acceleration that does not exceed the target speed range, and drives the vehicle 100 based on the target acceleration. Specifically, the remote control unit 212 transmits a control signal to the drive unit so that the vehicle 100 drives at the target acceleration. The target acceleration can be determined experimentally, for example. Also, as shown in Figure 3, the remote control unit 212 adjusts the acceleration so that it decreases as the speed of the vehicle 100 approaches the upper limit of the target speed range. That is, the target acceleration can be changed according to the speed of the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 undergoes inspection while receiving inspection control IN, which includes such acceleration control, from the remote control unit 212. The remote control unit 212 corresponds to the "control unit" in this disclosure.
[0028] Furthermore, if the process information acquired by the process information acquisition unit 211 does not indicate that the vehicle 100 is in the process for inspecting the amount of lateral slip, the remote control unit 212 will not execute the inspection control IN.
[0029] The result acquisition unit 213 acquires the measurement result of the amount of lateral slip measured by the inspection equipment 500. The unit of the amount of lateral slip is, for example, centimeters. The acquired amount of lateral slip is stored in the memory 202.
[0030] The state acquisition unit 214 acquires the control state of the vehicle 100 when the amount of sideslip is measured by the inspection equipment 500. The control state includes the speed state of the vehicle 100, the steering angle state, and the brake operation state. The state acquisition unit 214 acquires the control state using the driving control signal transmitted to the vehicle 100 by the remote control unit 212.
[0031] The recording unit 215 can record the measurement results obtained by the result acquisition unit 213 and the control state obtained by the state acquisition unit 214 in the memory 202 in correspondence with each other. It can also be said that the recording unit 215 can record the driving conditions under which the inspection by the inspection equipment 500 was performed on the vehicle 100. For example, the recording unit 215 records the amount of sideslip as a measurement result in correspondence with the control state, which includes the speed of the vehicle 100, whether or not steering angle control is performed, and whether or not braking is performed.
[0032] The notification instruction unit 216 issues a notification instruction according to the control state acquired by the state acquisition unit 214. Specifically, the notification instruction unit 216 issues a notification instruction to the indicator light 520 of the inspection equipment 500 if the acquired control state includes at least one of the following: (1') driving outside a predetermined target speed range, (2') steering angle control is performed, and (3') braking operation is performed. In other words, the notification instruction unit 216 also issues a notification instruction if control that does not meet the inspection requirements is performed while the inspection equipment 500 is measuring the amount of sideslip. Control that does not meet the inspection requirements is due to control other than the inspection control IN. Such other control is performed, for example, to stop the vehicle 100 when communication between the server 200 and the vehicle 100 is interrupted.
[0033] The indicator light 520 is configured, for example, as a red-glowing lamp. The notification instruction is transmitted to the inspection equipment 500 via the communication device 205 of the server 200. Upon receiving the notification instruction, the inspection equipment 500 illuminates the indicator light 520. By visually confirming that the lateral slip amount inspection was performed without meeting the inspection requirements, the inspector can confirm that the lateral slip amount inspection was performed without meeting the inspection requirements. The indicator light 520 corresponds to the "notification unit" in this disclosure.
[0034] <Vehicle 100 Driving Control> Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for driving control of vehicle 100 in the first embodiment. This procedure is performed to drive vehicle 100 in an unmanned manner. In the processing procedure of Figure 4, the processor 201 of the server 200 functions as a remote control unit 212 by executing program PG2. Also, the processor 111 of vehicle 100 functions as a vehicle control unit 115 by executing program PG1.
[0035] In step S1, the processor 201 of the server 200 acquires vehicle position information using the detection result output from the sensor 300. The vehicle position information is the position information that forms the basis for generating the driving control signal. In this embodiment, the vehicle position information includes the position and orientation of the vehicle 100 in the global coordinate system GC of the factory FC. Specifically, in step S1, the processor 201 acquires vehicle position information using the captured image acquired from the camera, which is the sensor 300.
[0036] In detail, in step S1, the processor 201 detects the outline of the vehicle 100 from the captured image, calculates the coordinates of the vehicle 100's positioning point in the coordinate system of the captured image, i.e., the local coordinate system, and obtains the position of the vehicle 100 by converting the calculated coordinates to coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The outline of the vehicle 100 included in the captured image can be detected, for example, by inputting the captured image into a detection model DM that utilizes artificial intelligence. The detection model DM is prepared, for example, within or outside the system 50 and stored in the memory 202 of the server 200. Examples of the detection model DM include a pre-trained machine learning model that has been trained to implement either semantic segmentation or instance segmentation. As this machine learning model, for example, a convolutional neural network (hereinafter referred to as CNN) trained by supervised learning using a training dataset can be used. The training dataset includes, for example, multiple training images containing the vehicle 100, and labels indicating whether each region in the training images represents the vehicle 100 or a region other than the vehicle 100. During CNN training, it is preferable that the CNN parameters are updated using backpropagation to reduce the error between the output result of the detection model DM and the labels. The processor 201 can also obtain the orientation of the vehicle 100 by, for example, using the optical flow method to estimate the direction of the vehicle 100's movement vector calculated from the positional changes of the vehicle 100's feature points between frames of the captured images.
[0037] In step S2, the processor 201 of the server 200 determines the next target location to which the vehicle 100 should go. In this embodiment, the target location is represented by X, Y, and Z coordinates in the global coordinate system GC. The memory 202 of the server 200 pre-stores a reference route RR, which is the route that the vehicle 100 should travel. The route is represented by a node indicating the starting point, nodes indicating waypoints, a node indicating the destination, and links connecting each node. The processor 201 uses the vehicle position information and the reference route RR to determine the next target location to which the vehicle 100 should go. The processor 201 determines the target location on the reference route RR beyond the current location of the vehicle 100.
[0038] In step S3, the processor 201 of the server 200 generates a driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100 toward the determined target position. The processor 201 calculates the vehicle's speed from the change in the vehicle's position and compares the calculated speed with the target speed. Overall, the processor 201 determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 accelerates if the speed is lower than the target speed, and determines the acceleration so that the vehicle 100 decelerates if the speed is higher than the target speed. Furthermore, if the vehicle 100 is located on the reference path RR, the processor 201 determines the steering angle and acceleration so that the vehicle 100 does not deviate from the reference path RR, and if the vehicle 100 is not located on the reference path RR, in other words, if the vehicle 100 has deviated from the reference path RR, the processor 201 determines the steering angle and acceleration so that the vehicle 100 returns to the reference path RR.
[0039] In step S4, the processor 201 of the server 200 transmits the generated driving control signal to the vehicle 100. The processor 201 repeats the acquisition of vehicle position information, determination of target position, generation of driving control signal, and transmission of driving control signal at predetermined intervals.
[0040] In step S5, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 receives a driving control signal transmitted from the server 200. In step S6, the processor 111 of the vehicle 100 controls the actuator group 120 using the received driving control signal, thereby driving the vehicle 100 at the acceleration and steering angle represented by the driving control signal. The processor 111 repeats the reception of the driving control signal and the control of the actuator group 120 at a predetermined cycle. According to the system 50 in the present embodiment, the vehicle 100 can be driven by remote control, and the vehicle 100 can be moved without using conveyance facilities such as a crane or a conveyor.
[0041] <Control for Inspection of Vehicle 100> FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of control for inspection of the vehicle 100 (hereinafter also referred to as “inspection control”). The inspection control is repeatedly executed when the driving of the vehicle 100 in the factory FC is started. The inspection control is performed to more accurately inspect the amount of sideslip of the vehicle 100.
[0042] In step S10 of FIG. 5, the process information acquisition unit 211 acquires process information which is information regarding the process in which the vehicle 100 exists. As described above, the process information acquisition unit 211 acquires the process information using the vehicle position information regarding the position of the vehicle 100 and the process-position correspondence information PI. The vehicle position information is acquired by the same method as the method described in step S1 of the driving control of the vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 4.
[0043] In step S20 of FIG. 5, the remote control unit 212 determines whether the process information indicates that the vehicle 100 is in an inspection process for measuring the amount of sideslip. In the present embodiment, it can be said that the remote control unit 212 determines whether the vehicle 100 is at the second location PL2.
[0044] When it is determined that the vehicle 100 is not in the inspection process for measuring the amount of sideslip (step S20: NO), the processing of the inspection control is terminated.
[0045] When it is determined that the vehicle 100 is in the inspection process of measuring the sideslip amount (step S20: YES), the remote control unit 212 controls the vehicle 100 according to a predetermined inspection control (step S30). By such control, the inspection of measuring the sideslip amount by the inspection facility 500 is executed.
[0046] <Inspection Recording Process> Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the inspection recording process. The recording process is executed following the process of step S30 of the inspection control of the vehicle 100 shown in Fig. 5. The recording process is executed to record the measurement result of the sideslip amount.
[0047] In step S40 shown in Fig. 6, the result acquisition unit 213 acquires the measurement result of the sideslip amount from the inspection facility 500.
[0048] In step S50, the state acquisition unit 214 acquires the control state of the vehicle 100 at the time of measuring the sideslip amount. Note that the processes of step S40 and step S50 may be executed in parallel, or the process of step S40 may be executed after the process of step S50.
[0049] In step S60, the recording unit 215 records the acquired measurement result and the acquired control state in association with each other in the memory 202.
[0050] <Notification Process> Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the notification process. The notification process is executed following the process of step S60 shown in Fig. 6. The notification process is performed to notify the inspector to that effect when the measurement of the sideslip amount is executed without satisfying the inspection requirements.
[0051] In step S70 of Fig. 7, the notification instruction unit 216 determines whether the control state acquired by the state acquisition unit 214 includes at least one of (1') traveling outside a predetermined target speed range, (2') performing steering angle control, and (3') executing a braking operation.
[0052] If it is determined that the control state includes at least one of (1'), (2'), and (3') (step S70: YES), the notification instruction unit 216 executes a notification instruction (step S80). In this embodiment, the notification instruction is received by the inspection equipment 500. Upon receiving the notification instruction, the inspection equipment 500 lights up the indicator light 520, which acts as a notification unit.
[0053] If it is determined that the control state does not include any of (1'), (2'), or (3') (Step S70: NO), the process is terminated.
[0054] According to the system 50 of the first embodiment described above, when the acquired process information indicates that the vehicle 100 is in an inspection process to measure the amount of lateral slip when the vehicle 100 is moving straight, the control unit controls the vehicle 100 according to a predetermined inspection control IN. Compared to a configuration in which an inspection is performed to measure the amount of lateral slip by the inspector's driving, this suppresses the dependence of the control of the vehicle 100 during inspection on the inspector's skill. This suppresses the variation in measurement results due to the inspector's skill.
[0055] Furthermore, according to the system 50 of the first embodiment, the control unit controls the vehicle 100 to travel within an acceleration range that does not cause it to exceed the target speed range, so the speed of the vehicle 100 can be adjusted by controlling the acceleration. For this reason, the vehicle 100 can be driven within the target speed range without performing a braking operation.
[0056] Furthermore, according to the system 50 of the first embodiment, the recording unit 215 can record the measurement results and the control state in association, so it is possible to confirm whether the inspection was performed under an appropriate control state.
[0057] Furthermore, according to the system 50 of the first embodiment, the indicator light 520, which acts as a notification unit, notifies when the acquired control state includes at least one of the following: (1) the vehicle 100 is traveling outside a predetermined target speed range, (2) steering angle control of the vehicle 100 is performed, or (3) braking operation of the vehicle 100 is performed. This allows the inspector to confirm that control was performed during the inspection that could cause the measurement result of the amount of sideslip to fluctuate.
[0058] B. Second Embodiment: Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the schematic configuration of system 50v in the second embodiment. In this embodiment, system 50v differs from the first embodiment in that it does not have a server 200. Also, in this embodiment, vehicle 100v can be driven by autonomous control of vehicle 100v. The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.
[0059] In this embodiment, the processor 111v of the vehicle control device 110v functions as a vehicle control unit 115v by executing the program PG1 stored in the memory 112v. The vehicle control unit 115v acquires the output results from the sensors, generates a driving control signal using the output results, and outputs the generated driving control signal to operate the actuator group 120, thereby enabling the vehicle 100v to be driven autonomously. In this embodiment, in addition to the program PG1, the detection model DM and the reference path RR are pre-stored in the memory 112v. The vehicle control unit 115v corresponds to the "control unit" in this disclosure.
[0060] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for controlling the driving of vehicle 100V in the second embodiment. This procedure is performed to drive vehicle 100V in an unmanned manner without using server 200.
[0061] In step S901, the processor 111v of the vehicle control device 110v acquires vehicle position information using the detection result output from the camera, which is the sensor 300. In step S902, the processor 111v determines the target position to which the vehicle 100v should next go. In step S903, the processor 111v generates a driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100v toward the determined target position. In step S904, the processor 111v controls the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal to drive the vehicle 100v according to the parameters expressed in the driving control signal. The processor 111v repeats the acquisition of vehicle position information, determination of the target position, generation of the driving control signal, and control of the actuators at a predetermined cycle. According to the system 50v in this embodiment, the vehicle 100v can be driven by autonomous control of the vehicle 100v without remote control of the vehicle 100v by the server 200.
[0062] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8, the processor 111v of this embodiment also functions as a process information acquisition unit 125v, a result acquisition unit 135v, a state acquisition unit 145v, a recording unit 155v, and a notification instruction unit 165v by executing the program PG1 stored in memory 112. Each of the process information acquisition unit 125v, the result acquisition unit 135v, the state acquisition unit 145v, the recording unit 155v, and the notification instruction unit 165v has the same functions as the process information acquisition unit 211, the result acquisition unit 213, the state acquisition unit 214, the recording unit 215, and the notification instruction unit 216 of the first embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the same processes as the inspection control shown in Figure 5, the recording process shown in Figure 6, and the notification process shown in Figure 7 are executed by the processor 111v of the vehicle 100v.
[0063] The system 50v of the second embodiment described above can also perform inspection control, recording processing, and notification processing, similar to the system 50 of the first embodiment.
[0064] C. Other Embodiments 1: (C1) In each of the above embodiments, the remote control unit 212 and the vehicle control unit 115v may, when inspecting the amount of skid measurement of the vehicles 100, 100v, suppress the driving of the drive unit to accelerate the vehicle 100 without performing a braking operation if the speed of the vehicle 100 exceeds the target speed range. "Suppressing the driving of the drive unit" includes stopping the driving of the drive unit. As described above, the remote control unit 212 and the vehicle control unit 115v control the vehicle 100 so that its speed remains within the target speed range according to the inspection control IN. However, due to road surface conditions or other controls of the vehicle 100, the actual speed may exceed the target speed range. If the vehicle 100 is decelerated by a braking operation in such a case, the above inspection requirements will not be met. Therefore, by suppressing the drive of the drive unit that accelerates the vehicle 100 without performing a braking action, the vehicle 100 can be decelerated by the frictional force associated with the drive unit's operation and the resistance force generated as the vehicle 100 moves, without using the brakes, and the speed of the vehicle 100 can be kept within the target speed range. This allows the inspection to be performed while satisfying one of the inspection requirements in measuring the amount of skid, which is that no braking action is performed, as a control state.
[0065] (C2) In each of the above embodiments, the recording units 215 and 155v recorded the measurement results and the control state in association. However, if the acquired control state does not satisfy the inspection requirements, the recording units 215 and 155v do not need to record the measurement results and the control state. That is, if the acquired control state includes at least one of the following: (1) the vehicle 100 is traveling outside a predetermined target speed range, (2) steering angle control of the vehicle 100 is performed, or (3) braking operation of the vehicle 100 is performed, the recording units 215 and 155v do not need to record the measurement results and the control state. With this configuration, it is possible to suppress the recording of measurement results when the amount of skid is measured without satisfying the inspection requirements, i.e., when control is performed that may cause the measurement result of the amount of skid to fluctuate. Alternatively, the recording units 215 and 155v may record only the control state without recording the measurement results. With this configuration, even if the amount of skid is measured without satisfying the inspection requirements, at least the control state is recorded, so the cause of the failure to satisfy the inspection requirements can be identified.
[0066] (C3) In each of the above embodiments, the systems 50 and 50v may be configured not to include notification instruction units 216 and 165v. That is, the systems 50 and 50v may be configured not to perform the notification processing shown in Figure 7.
[0067] (C4) In each of the above embodiments, the systems 50 and 50v may be configured without recording units 215 and 155v. That is, the systems 50 and 50v may be configured not to perform the recording process shown in Figure 6. Therefore, the systems 50 and 50v may be configured to perform only the inspection control shown in Figure 5, or they may be configured to perform the inspection control shown in Figure 5 and the notification process shown in Figure 7.
[0068] (C5) In each of the above embodiments, the memories 112, 112v, and 202 may be any storage device. Such storage devices include, for example, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), and a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).
[0069] (C6) In each of the above embodiments, at least one of the following functions may be performed by the inspection equipment 500: the process information acquisition unit 211, the remote control unit 212, the result acquisition unit 213, the status acquisition unit 214, the recording unit 215, and the notification instruction unit 216. In this configuration, the inspection equipment 500 includes a computer having a processor and memory.
[0070] (C7) In each of the above embodiments, the process information acquisition unit 211 acquired process information using vehicle position information and process / position correspondence information PI, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The process information acquisition unit 211 may acquire process information relating to the process in which the vehicle 100 is located by any method. For example, the process information acquisition unit 211 may acquire process information using sequence information relating to the order of a plurality of processes that the vehicle 100 goes through and completion information relating to the process that the vehicle 100 has completed. The sequence information and completion information are stored in the memory 202. The vehicle 100 goes through various processes according to the order of the plurality of processes included in the sequence information. Each time the vehicle 100 completes a process, it transmits completion information to the server 200 to indicate that the process has been completed. For example, if the sequence information is set to include an optical axis inspection process, a lateral slip amount measurement inspection process, and a cleaning process, the vehicle 100 moves sequentially to the locations where these processes are performed and transmits completion information to the server 200 each time a process is completed. Here, when completion information is transmitted to the server 200 indicating that the optical axis inspection process has been completed, it is understood that the vehicle 100 is in the inspection process for measuring the amount of sideslip. In this way, the process information acquisition unit 211 may acquire process information by using sequence information and completion information.
[0071] (C8) In each of the above embodiments, the state acquisition units 214 and 145v acquire the control state using the driving control signal transmitted to the vehicle 100, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The state acquisition units 214 and 145v may acquire the control state by any method. For example, the system may further include a control storage unit that stores the control when the vehicle 100 is driving. The state acquisition units 214 and 145v may acquire the control state using the control stored in the control storage unit.
[0072] (C9) In each of the above embodiments, the notification instruction units 216, 165v issued notification instructions to the indicator light 520, but the disclosure is not limited thereto. The notification instruction units 216, 165v may issue notification instructions to any notification unit. Such notification units may be, for example, speakers, displays, etc. Also, the notification unit may be provided in any equipment other than the inspection equipment 500. For example, the notification unit may be provided in the vehicle 100.
[0073] (C10) In the first embodiment described above, any information processing device may be used instead of the server 200.
[0074] D. Other Embodiments 2: (D1) In each of the above embodiments, the sensor 300 is not limited to a camera, but may be, for example, a distance measuring device. The distance measuring device may be, for example, LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging). In this case, the detection result output by the sensor 300 may be three-dimensional point cloud data representing the vehicle 100. In this case, the server 200 and the vehicle 100 may acquire vehicle position information by template matching using the three-dimensional point cloud data as the detection result and pre-prepared reference point cloud data.
[0075] (D2) In the first embodiment described above, the server 200 performs the processing from acquiring vehicle position information to generating a driving control signal. In contrast, the vehicle 100 may perform at least a part of the processing from acquiring vehicle position information to generating a driving control signal. For example, the following forms (1) to (3) may be used.
[0076] (1) The server 200 may acquire vehicle location information, determine the next target location that the vehicle 100 should head to, and generate a route from the vehicle 100's current location, as shown in the acquired vehicle location information, to the target location. The server 200 may generate a route to the target location between the current location and the destination, or it may generate a route to the destination. The server 200 may transmit the generated route to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may generate a driving control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels along the route received from the server 200, and may use the generated driving control signal to control the actuator group 120.
[0077] (2) The server 200 may acquire vehicle location information and transmit the acquired vehicle location information to the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may determine the next target location to which the vehicle 100 should go, generate a route from the vehicle 100's current location shown in the received vehicle location information to the target location, generate a driving control signal so that the vehicle 100 travels along the generated route, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal.
[0078] (3) In the embodiments of (1) and (2) above, the vehicle 100 is equipped with internal sensors, and the detection results output from the internal sensors may be used in at least one of the generation of a route and the generation of a driving control signal. The internal sensors are sensors mounted on the vehicle 100. The internal sensors may include, for example, sensors that detect the motion state of the vehicle 100, sensors that detect the operating state of each part of the vehicle 100, and sensors that detect the environment around the vehicle 100. Specifically, the internal sensors may include, for example, cameras, LiDAR, millimeter-wave radar, ultrasonic sensors, GPS sensors, acceleration sensors, gyro sensors, etc. For example, in the embodiment of (1) above, the server 200 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the route when generating a route. In the embodiment of (1) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the driving control signal when generating a driving control signal. In the embodiment of (2) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the route when generating a route. In the embodiment described in (2) above, the vehicle 100 may acquire the detection results of the internal sensors and reflect the detection results of the internal sensors in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal.
[0079] (D3) In the second embodiment described above, the vehicle 100v is equipped with an internal sensor, and the detection result output from the internal sensor may be used in at least one of the generation of the route and the generation of the driving control signal. For example, the vehicle 100v may acquire the detection result from the internal sensor and reflect the detection result from the internal sensor in the route when generating the route. The vehicle 100v may acquire the detection result from the internal sensor and reflect the detection result from the internal sensor in the driving control signal when generating the driving control signal.
[0080] (D4) In the second embodiment described above, the vehicle 100v acquires vehicle position information using the detection results of the sensor 300. In contrast, the vehicle 100v may be equipped with an internal sensor, which may acquire vehicle position information using the detection results of the internal sensor, determine the next target location to which the vehicle 100v should go, generate a route from the vehicle 100v's current location to the target location as shown in the acquired vehicle position information, generate a driving control signal for driving along the generated route, and control the actuator group 120 using the generated driving control signal. In this case, the vehicle 100v can drive without using the detection results of the sensor 300 at all. The vehicle 100v may also acquire the target arrival time and congestion information from outside the vehicle 100v and reflect the target arrival time and congestion information in at least one of the route and the driving control signal.
[0081] (D5) In the first embodiment described above, the server 200 automatically generates a driving control signal to be transmitted to the vehicle 100. Alternatively, the server 200 may generate a driving control signal to be transmitted to the vehicle 100 in accordance with the operation of an external operator located outside the vehicle 100. For example, an external operator may operate a control device that includes a display for displaying captured images output from the sensor 300, a steering wheel for remotely controlling the vehicle 100, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and a communication device for communicating with the server 200 via wired or wireless communication, and the server 200 may generate a driving control signal in accordance with the operation applied to the control device.
[0082] (D6) In each of the above embodiments, the vehicle 100 only needs to have a configuration that allows it to move by unmanned operation, and may take the form of a platform having the configuration described below. Specifically, in order for the vehicle 100 to perform the three functions of "driving," "turning," and "stopping" by unmanned operation, it is sufficient to have at least a vehicle control device 110 and an actuator group 120. When the vehicle 100 acquires information from the outside for unmanned operation, the vehicle 100 may further have a communication device 130. That is, the vehicle 100 that can move by unmanned operation does not need to have at least some of the interior parts such as the driver's seat and dashboard attached, it does not need to have at least some of the exterior parts such as the bumper and fender attached, and it does not need to have a body shell attached. In this case, the remaining parts such as the body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 before the vehicle 100 is shipped from the factory FC, or the remaining parts such as the body shell may be attached to the vehicle 100 after the vehicle 100 has been shipped from the factory FC without the remaining parts such as the body shell being attached to the vehicle 100. Each component may be attached to the vehicle 100 from any direction, such as the top, bottom, front, rear, right, or left side, and may be attached from the same direction or from different directions. The positioning of the platform can also be determined in the same way as for the vehicle 100 in the first embodiment.
[0083] (D7) The vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining multiple modules. A module means a unit composed of one or more parts grouped together according to the configuration and function of the vehicle 100. For example, the platform of the vehicle 100 may be manufactured by combining a front module that constitutes the front part of the platform, a central module that constitutes the central part of the platform, and a rear module that constitutes the rear part of the platform. The number of modules that constitute the platform is not limited to three, but may be two or fewer, or four or more. In addition to the platform, or in place of the platform, parts of the vehicle 100 that are different from the platform may be modularized. Various modules may also include any exterior parts such as bumpers and grilles, or any interior parts such as seats and consoles. Furthermore, not limited to the vehicle 100, any type of mobile body may be manufactured by combining multiple modules. Such modules may be manufactured, for example, by joining multiple parts by welding or fasteners, or by integrally molding at least a part of the module as a single part by casting. The molding method of integrally molding at least a part of the module as a single part is also called gigacast or megacast. By using Gigacast, parts of a mobile body that were conventionally formed by joining multiple components can be formed as single components. For example, the front module, central module, and rear module mentioned above may be manufactured using Gigacast.
[0084] (D8) Transporting the vehicle 100 using the unmanned operation of the vehicle 100 is also called "self-propelled transport." The configuration for realizing self-propelled transport is also called a "vehicle remote control autonomous driving transport system." Furthermore, a production method that uses self-propelled transport to produce the vehicle 100 is also called "self-propelled production." In self-propelled production, for example, at a factory cluster (FC) that manufactures the vehicle 100, at least a portion of the transport of the vehicle 100 is realized by self-propelled transport.
[0085] (D9) In each of the above embodiments, some or all of the functions and processes implemented in software may be implemented in hardware. Also, some or all of the functions and processes implemented in hardware may be implemented in software. As hardware for implementing the various functions in each of the above embodiments, various circuits such as integrated circuits and discrete circuits may be used.
[0086] This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from its spirit. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each form described in the summary of the invention can be replaced or combined as appropriate in order to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or to achieve some or all of the above-described effects. Furthermore, if a technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate.
[0087] 50, 50v... System, 100, 100v... Vehicle, 110, 110v... Vehicle control device, 111, 111v, 201... Processor, 112, 112v, 202... Memory, 113, 203... Input / Output interface, 114, 204... Internal bus, 115, 115v... Vehicle control unit, 120... Actuator group, 125v, 211... Process information acquisition unit, 130, 205... Communication device, 135v, 213... Result acquisition unit, 145v, 21 4...Status acquisition unit, 155v, 215...Recording unit, 165v, 216...Notification instruction unit, 200...Server, 212...Remote control unit, 300...Sensor, 500...Inspection equipment, 510...Side slip tester, 520...Indicator light, DM...Detection model, FC...Factory, GC...Global coordinate system, IN...Inspection control, PG1, PG2...Program, PI...Process / position correspondence information, PL1...First location, PL2...Second location, RR...Reference path, TR...Track
Claims
1. A system for controlling a mobile body that can be driven by unmanned operation, comprising: a process information acquisition unit that acquires process information relating to a process in which the mobile body is located; and a control unit that controls the mobile body according to predetermined inspection control when the acquired process information indicates that the mobile body is located in an inspection process for measuring the amount of lateral slip when the mobile body is moving in a straight line, wherein the inspection control includes at least driving the mobile body within a predetermined target speed range, not performing steering angle control, and not performing braking operation.
2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the following: determining a target acceleration that does not cause exceeding the target speed range; and driving the moving body based on the determined target acceleration.
3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit suppresses the driving of the drive device for accelerating the moving body without performing the braking operation when the speed of the moving body exceeds the target speed range.
4. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a result acquisition unit for acquiring the measurement result of the amount of lateral slip; a state acquisition unit for acquiring the control state of the moving body at the time of measurement of the amount of lateral slip; and a recording unit capable of recording the acquired measurement result and the acquired control state in correspondence with each other.
5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the recording unit does not record the measurement result if the acquired control state includes at least one of the following: the moving body traveling outside the target speed range; the steering angle control of the moving body has been performed; or the braking operation of the moving body has been performed.
6. The system according to claim 4, further comprising a notification unit that provides notification when the acquired control state includes at least one of the following: the moving body is traveling outside the target speed range; the steering angle control of the moving body has been performed; and the braking operation of the moving body has been performed.
7. A method for controlling a mobile body that can be driven by unmanned operation, comprising: a step of acquiring process information which is information relating to a process in which the mobile body is located; and a step of controlling the mobile body according to a predetermined inspection control when the acquired process information indicates that the mobile body is located in an inspection process for measuring the amount of sideslip when the mobile body is moving in a straight line, wherein the inspection control includes at least driving the mobile body within a predetermined target speed range, not performing steering angle control, and not performing braking operation.
8. A method according to claim 7, further comprising: acquiring a measurement result of the amount of lateral slip; acquiring the control state of the moving body at the time of measurement of the amount of lateral slip; and recording the acquired measurement result and the acquired control state in correspondence with each other.
9. A mobile body capable of being driven by unmanned operation, comprising: a process information acquisition unit that acquires process information relating to a process in which the mobile body is located; and a control unit that controls the mobile body according to predetermined inspection control when the acquired process information indicates that the mobile body is located in an inspection process for measuring the amount of lateral slip when the mobile body is moving in a straight line, wherein the inspection control includes at least driving the mobile body within a predetermined target speed range, not performing steering angle control, and not performing braking operation.
10. A mobile body according to claim 9, further comprising: a result acquisition unit for acquiring the measurement result of the amount of lateral slip; a state acquisition unit for acquiring the control state of the mobile body at the time of measurement of the amount of lateral slip; and a recording unit capable of recording the acquired measurement result and the acquired control state in correspondence with each other.
11. A device for controlling a mobile body that can be driven by unmanned operation, comprising: a process information acquisition unit that acquires process information relating to a process in which the mobile body is located; and a control unit that controls the mobile body according to a predetermined inspection control when the acquired process information indicates that the mobile body is located in an inspection process for measuring the amount of lateral slip when the mobile body is moving in a straight line, wherein the inspection control includes at least driving the mobile body within a predetermined target speed range, not performing steering angle control, and not performing braking operation.
12. The apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising: a result acquisition unit for acquiring the measurement result of the amount of lateral slip; a state acquisition unit for acquiring the control state of the moving body at the time of measurement of the amount of lateral slip; and a recording unit capable of recording the acquired measurement result and the acquired control state in correspondence with each other.