Driving assistance device and driving assistance method

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technology that enables a vehicle to appropriately pass or overtake a two-wheeled vehicle. This driving assistance device comprises: a periphery-information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle periphery-information; a two-wheeled vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires travel control information from a sensor of a two-wheeled vehicle through communication; a behavior prediction unit that predicts behavior of the two-wheeled vehicle on the basis of the travel control information; and a control unit that, on the basis of the vehicle periphery-information and the behavior of the two-wheeled vehicle, controls a travel control device which creates a travel plan for the vehicle to move from behind to in front of the two-wheeled vehicle while avoiding coming into contact with the two-wheeled vehicle.

Description

Driving Support Device and Driving Support Method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving support device and a driving support method.

[0002] On the road, considering that not only four-wheeled vehicles but also two-wheeled vehicles travel, technologies for both to travel safely have been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1, a technology that enables a four-wheeled vehicle to appropriately follow a two-wheeled vehicle traveling ahead of it has been proposed.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2024-62794

[0004] However, in actual driving, a four-wheeled vehicle may not only follow a two-wheeled vehicle but also overtake or pass by the two-wheeled vehicle. Since two-wheeled vehicles tend to move left and right more frequently than four-wheeled vehicles, it is required that four-wheeled vehicles appropriately overtake or pass by two-wheeled vehicles.

[0005] Therefore, the present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technology that enables a vehicle to appropriately overtake or pass by a two-wheeled vehicle.

[0006] The driving support device according to the present disclosure is a driving support device that supports the driving of a vehicle, and includes a peripheral information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle peripheral information, which is information around the vehicle; a two-wheeled vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires driving control information regarding the driving control of a two-wheeled vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle via communication from a sensor of the two-wheeled vehicle; a behavior prediction unit that predicts the behavior of the two-wheeled vehicle based on the driving control information; and a control unit that creates a driving plan that defines a movement route and speed of the vehicle for the vehicle to move from behind the two-wheeled vehicle to the front while avoiding contact with the two-wheeled vehicle based on the vehicle peripheral information and the behavior of the two-wheeled vehicle, and controls the driving of the vehicle based on the driving plan.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, a driving plan that defines a movement route and speed of the vehicle for the vehicle to move from behind the two-wheeled vehicle to the front while avoiding contact with the two-wheeled vehicle is created based on the vehicle peripheral information and the behavior of the two-wheeled vehicle. With such a configuration, the vehicle can appropriately overtake or pass by the two-wheeled vehicle.

[0008] The purpose, features, aspects, and advantages of this disclosure will become clearer from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

[0009] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the driver assistance device and its surroundings according to Embodiment 1. Figures 2(a) and 2(b) are diagrams illustrating the prediction of the range of presence of a motorcycle vehicle by the driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1. Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the creation of a driving plan by the driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the driver assistance device according to Embodiment 1. Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the driver assistance device and its surroundings according to Embodiment 2. Figure 6 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the driver assistance device according to another modification. Figure 7 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the driver assistance device according to another modification. Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server according to another modification. Figure 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the communication terminal according to another modification.

[0010] <Embodiment 1> Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the driver assistance device 23 and its surroundings according to this embodiment 1. A two-wheeled vehicle side device 1 is provided on the two-wheeled vehicle side, and a four-wheeled vehicle side device 2 is provided on the four-wheeled vehicle side. In the following description, the vehicle will be described as a four-wheeled vehicle, but it may also be a vehicle with four or more wheels, such as a six-wheeled vehicle. Furthermore, in the following description, the four-wheeled vehicle equipped with the four-wheeled vehicle side device 2 will be described as moving, and the two-wheeled vehicle equipped with the two-wheeled vehicle side device 1 will be described as moving in front of the four-wheeled vehicle.

[0011] <Motorcycle-side device 1> The motorcycle-side device 1 comprises a motorcycle sensor 11, a DMS (Driver Monitoring System) 12, a learning unit 13, and a motorcycle communication device 14.

[0012] The motorcycle sensor 11, which is a sensor for a motorcycle vehicle, generates driving control information related to the driving control of the motorcycle vehicle. The driving control information includes, for example, information on the speed, acceleration, tilt, steering angle, accelerator, and brake of the motorcycle vehicle. In this specification, for example, at least one of A, B, C, ..., and Z means any one of all combinations that can be obtained by selecting one or more types from A, B, C, ..., and Z.

[0013] The DMS12 generates rider behavior information regarding the physical movements of a rider operating a motorcycle. The rider behavior information includes, for example, at least one of the following: information indicating whether or not the rider looks at the motorcycle's side mirrors; information indicating whether or not the rider turns to look behind them; information indicating whether or not the rider turns to look to the side; information indicating the degree of twisting of the rider's neck and shoulders; information indicating the frequency of opening and closing the rider's eyelids (e.g., blinking); information indicating the degree of tilt of the motorcycle to the left or right; and information indicating the posture of the rider's feet and knees (e.g., degree of spread). Note that the tilt of the motorcycle to the left or right is substantially the same as the tilt of the rider's body to the left or right.

[0014] The learning unit 13 performs learning using the driving control information generated by the two-wheel sensor 11 and the rider behavior information generated by the DMS 12, and generates driving change information based on this learning. The learning performed by the learning unit 13 is machine learning (training) such as deep learning. The driving change information is information that indicates the action pattern performed when the rider starts to change the driving of the two-wheel vehicle (e.g., acceleration and direction), and includes at least one of the following: information indicating the illumination of the turn signals of the two-wheel vehicle, and information indicating the degree of tilt of the two-wheel vehicle to the left or right.

[0015] The learning unit 13 also performs learning using the driving control information generated by the two-wheel sensor 11 and the rider behavior information generated by the DMS 12, and generates driving roughness information based on this learning. The driving roughness information is information that indicates the deviation of the two-wheel vehicle's driving from a predetermined general driving condition. The driving roughness information includes, for example, at least one of the following: a numerical value indicating the deviation in the front-rear, left-right, and right-leaning directions of the actual two-wheel vehicle's position from a hypothetical two-wheel vehicle's position when general driving is performed, and a numerical value indicating the deviation of the actual two-wheel vehicle's speed from a hypothetical two-wheel vehicle's speed.

[0016] The motorcycle communication device 14 acquires motorcycle model information from a storage device (not shown) of the motorcycle vehicle side device 1. The motorcycle model information is information indicating at least one of the vehicle class and drive system of the motorcycle vehicle, and includes, for example, at least one of type information indicating an engine-driven vehicle or an electric-driven vehicle, and identification information indicating an e-scooter or e-bike.

[0017] The motorcycle communication device 14 generates behavior-related information. In this embodiment 1, the behavior-related information includes driving control information from the motorcycle sensor 11 and auxiliary information related to the behavior of the motorcycle, and the auxiliary information includes rider behavior information from the DMS 12, driving change information and driving roughness information from the learning unit 13, and motorcycle model information. However, the behavior-related information may include driving control information without including the auxiliary information, and the auxiliary information may include at least one of rider behavior information, driving change information, driving roughness information, and motorcycle model information. The motorcycle communication device 14 transmits the behavior-related information to the four-wheeled vehicle side device 2 by wireless communication such as V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) and V2X (Vehicle to X).

[0018] <Four-wheeled vehicle side device 2> The four-wheeled vehicle side device 2 includes a communication device 21, a surrounding detection device 22, a driving support device 23, and a driving control device 24.

[0019] The communication device 21 receives behavior-related information from the motorcycle communication device 14 via wireless communication such as V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) and V2X (Vehicle to X).

[0020] The surrounding detection device 22 generates vehicle surrounding information, which is information about the area around the four-wheeled vehicle. The surrounding detection device 22 may include, for example, an image processing device, a camera, a Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging), and a millimeter-wave radar. The vehicle surrounding information includes the relative position information of a two-wheeled vehicle traveling in front of the four-wheeled vehicle. In this embodiment 1, the vehicle surrounding information also includes the width of the road, which includes lanes in the same direction of travel as the lane the two-wheeled vehicle is traveling in, and the width of the two-wheeled vehicle. Note that if the road has one lane, the road width may correspond to the width of the lane, or if the road has multiple lanes, the road width may correspond to the sum of the widths of the multiple lanes.

[0021] The driving control device 24 controls the driving of the four-wheeled vehicle by controlling the accelerator, brakes, and steering wheel of the four-wheeled vehicle in accordance with the control of the driver assistance device 23.

[0022] The driving assistance device 23 is a device that controls the driving control device 24 to assist in the driving of a four-wheeled vehicle, and comprises a two-wheeled vehicle information acquisition unit 23a, a surrounding information acquisition unit 23b, a behavior prediction unit 23c, and a control unit 23d.

[0023] The motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a acquires behavior-related information from the communication device 21. As described above, in this embodiment 1, the behavior-related information includes not only driving control information, but also auxiliary information including rider behavior information, driving change information, driving roughness information, and motorcycle model information. In this embodiment 1, the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a is the interface to the communication device 21, but the communication device 21 may also be included.

[0024] The surrounding information acquisition unit 23b acquires vehicle surrounding information, including relative position information, from the surrounding detection device 22. In this embodiment 1, the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b is the interface to the surrounding detection device 22, but it may also include the surrounding detection device 22.

[0025] The behavior prediction unit 23c predicts the behavior of the motorcycle based on the driving control information included in the behavior-related information acquired by the motorcycle information acquisition unit 23a. For example, the behavior prediction unit 23c calculates a movement vector that indicates the movement of the motorcycle per unit time in the future based on the driving control information. If one future unit time is the same as a predetermined future time, the behavior prediction unit 23c predicts the movement vector of one future unit time as the behavior of the motorcycle. If the sum of multiple sequential future unit times is the same as a predetermined future time, the behavior prediction unit 23c predicts the movement vector of each of the multiple future unit times as the behavior of the motorcycle.

[0026] As described above, in this embodiment 1, the behavior-related information includes not only driving control information, but also auxiliary information including rider behavior information, driving change information, driving roughness information, and motorcycle model information. Therefore, in this embodiment 1, the behavior prediction unit 23c predicts the range of the motorcycle's presence at a predetermined time in the future as the behavior of the motorcycle, based on the driving control information and the auxiliary information.

[0027] For example, the behavior prediction unit 23c sets a predetermined range based on the above-mentioned movement vector (for example, the center). The weights in Figures 2(a) and 2(b) correspond to the multiplier of the predetermined range. For example, if the motorcycle type information indicates a large gasoline engine motorcycle, the behavior prediction unit 23c multiplies the predetermined range by 1.5, as shown in Figure 2(a). For example, if the motorcycle type information indicates a moped e-bike, the behavior prediction unit 23c multiplies the predetermined range by 0.7, as shown in Figure 2(a). For example, the larger the numerical value indicated by the driving roughness information, the larger the predetermined range is set by the behavior prediction unit 23c, as shown in Figure 2(b).

[0028] For example, if rider behavior information indicates that the rider has looked in the side mirror of the motorcycle or turned to look behind, the behavior prediction unit 23c increases the predetermined range by 1.5 times. For example, the greater the degree of tilt of the motorcycle to the left or right indicated by the driving change information, the larger the predetermined range is increased by the behavior prediction unit 23c. The behavior prediction unit 23c sets and changes the predetermined range as described above for each movement vector, and predicts the range obtained therefrom as the range where the motorcycle is located.

[0029] Based on the vehicle surroundings information from the surroundings information acquisition unit 23b and the behavior of the two-wheeled vehicle predicted by the behavior prediction unit 23c, the control unit 23d creates a driving plan that defines the movement path and speed of the four-wheeled vehicle so that it can move from behind to in front of the two-wheeled vehicle while avoiding contact with it. In other words, the control unit 23d has the function of a driving plan formulation unit.

[0030] Furthermore, when a four-wheeled vehicle moves from behind to in front of a two-wheeled vehicle, this can be either an overtaking maneuver involving a lane change or a passing maneuver without a lane change. The driving plan may be represented by vectors or by a plot diagram. An example of how to create a driving plan is described below.

[0031] As a first example, we will describe a case in which the behavior prediction unit 23c predicts the movement vector of the two-wheeled vehicle at a predetermined time in the future as the behavior of the two-wheeled vehicle, based on the driving control information and without using auxiliary information. First, the control unit 23d predicts the position of the two-wheeled vehicle at a predetermined time in the future by applying the movement vector indicating the movement of the two-wheeled vehicle to the position of the two-wheeled vehicle indicated by the relative position information included in the vehicle surrounding information. Then, the control unit 23d generates a range that is at least the sum of half the width of the two-wheeled vehicle and a predetermined safety distance from the predicted position of the two-wheeled vehicle, and creates a driving plan in which the four-wheeled vehicle travels within that range. The predetermined safety distance here is the distance at which the risk of contact between the four-wheeled vehicle and the two-wheeled vehicle falls below a threshold, for example, 1.0 m.

[0032] As a second example, we will describe a case in which the behavior prediction unit 23c predicts the range of the motorcycle's presence at a predetermined time in the future, based on the driving control information and auxiliary information, as the behavior of the motorcycle. First, the control unit 23d applies the range of the motorcycle's presence to the position of the motorcycle indicated by the relative position information included in the vehicle surrounding information. As shown in Figure 3, the range of the motorcycle 31 may gradually increase in width as it moves away from the current position of the motorcycle 31, as shown by the solid line range 33, or it may have a constant width, as shown by the dotted line range 34. The control unit 23d generates a range that is at least the predetermined safety distance L1 (for example, 1.0 m) away from the range of presence applied to the position of the motorcycle 31, and creates a driving plan in which the four-wheeled vehicle 32 travels within that range.

[0033] In the first and second examples, the control unit 23d may reduce the difference between the speed of the four-wheeled vehicle and the speed of the two-wheeled vehicle as the four-wheeled vehicle approaches the two-wheeled vehicle, and may create a driving plan that prevents the four-wheeled vehicle from going off the road when it moves from behind the two-wheeled vehicle to in front of it. Examples of creating such driving plans (first and second examples) will be described below.

[0034] As a first example, as shown in Figure 3, the control unit 23d may create a travel plan such that the speed V of the four-wheeled vehicle 32 is set to V1 just before the four-wheeled vehicle 32 moves from the rear to the side of the two-wheeled vehicle 31, the speed V is set to V2 while the four-wheeled vehicle 32 is moving to the side of the two-wheeled vehicle 31, and the speed V is set to V1 or higher immediately after the four-wheeled vehicle 32 moves from the side to the front of the two-wheeled vehicle 31. Here, V2 is a speed that is 5 to 10 km / h faster than the speed of the two-wheeled vehicle, and V1 is a speed that allows the vehicle's speed V to safely transition to V2. The speed V of the four-wheeled vehicle may be at its minimum when the four-wheeled vehicle is positioned directly beside the two-wheeled vehicle. It is preferable that the speed V of the four-wheeled vehicle changes smoothly, and it is also preferable that the direction of travel of the four-wheeled vehicle changes smoothly.

[0035] As a second example, when a four-wheeled vehicle and a two-wheeled vehicle are traveling on a single-lane road, the control unit 23d may generate the position of the two-wheeled vehicle end, which is the end on the overtaking or passing side (the right end in Japan), based on the vehicle surrounding information. Then, as shown in Figure 3, the control unit 23d may determine whether the spatial distance L2 between the position of the two-wheeled vehicle end and the position of the lane end 35, which is the end of the lane opposite the center of the two-wheeled vehicle 31 relative to the two-wheeled vehicle end, is greater than the sum of the predetermined safety distance L1 and the width of the four-wheeled vehicle.

[0036] The control unit 23d creates a driving plan when the spatial distance L2 is greater than the total value, thereby enabling the creation of a driving plan that prevents the four-wheeled vehicle from straying from the lane (road) in which the two-wheeled vehicle is traveling when it moves from behind to in front of the two-wheeled vehicle. If the four-wheeled vehicle and the two-wheeled vehicle are traveling on a road with multiple lanes in the same direction, the control unit 23d can perform the above determination by replacing the lane located on the opposite side of the two-wheeled vehicle's center relative to the end of the two-wheeled vehicle and furthest from the center with the single lane mentioned above.

[0037] The control unit 23d controls the driving control device 24 of the four-wheeled vehicle based on the driving plan. As a result, the four-wheeled vehicle drives according to the driving plan. The control unit 23d may also control the transmission of the driving plan to the two-wheeled vehicle's side device 1 via communication of the communication device 21. With this configuration, the two-wheeled vehicle's side device 1 and the rider can know in advance that an overtaking or passing maneuver will occur.

[0038] <Operation> Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the driver assistance device 23 according to this embodiment 1. The operation shown in Figure 4 is performed sequentially, for example, while a four-wheeled vehicle is in motion. Although not shown, the two-wheeled vehicle side device 1 is assumed to sequentially generate behavior-related information including driving control information and auxiliary information, and to sequentially transmit the behavior-related information to the four-wheeled vehicle side device 2.

[0039] In step S1, the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b acquires information about the vehicle's surroundings. In step S2, the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a acquires behavior-related information. Step S2 may be performed before step S1, or it may be performed in parallel with step S1.

[0040] In step S3, the behavior prediction unit 23c determines whether the motorcycle is changing direction based on the driving change information included in the auxiliary information of the behavior-related information. For example, the behavior prediction unit 23c may determine that the motorcycle is changing direction if it determines that the degree of agreement between the operation pattern indicated by the driving change information and the operation pattern based on the driving control information and rider behavior information is above a threshold. For example, the behavior prediction unit 23c may determine that the motorcycle is not changing direction if the motorcycle is not substantially moving in the width direction of the lane, regardless of whether the motorcycle is going straight or along a curve in the lane.

[0041] If it is determined that the motorcycle is changing direction, the operation shown in Figure 4 ends without performing steps S4 to S6, and the control unit 23d stops creating the driving plan and controlling the driving control device 24 based on the driving plan. If it is determined that the motorcycle is not changing direction, the process proceeds to step S4.

[0042] In step S4, the behavior prediction unit 23c predicts the behavior of the motorcycle based on behavior-related information. In step S5, the control unit 23d creates a driving plan based on the vehicle surrounding information and the behavior of the motorcycle. In step S6, the control unit 23d controls the driving control device 24 based on the driving plan, and the operation shown in Figure 4 is completed.

[0043] <Summary of Embodiment 1> According to the driving support device 23 of Embodiment 1 described above, the behavior of the motorcycle is predicted based on driving control information, and based on the vehicle surrounding information and the behavior of the motorcycle, a driving plan is created for the four-wheeled vehicle to move from behind to in front of the motorcycle while avoiding contact with the motorcycle, and the driving control device 24 is controlled based on the driving plan. With this configuration, the four-wheeled vehicle can appropriately overtake or pass the motorcycle.

[0044] Also, in the first embodiment, the behavior prediction unit 23c predicts the range of existence of the two-wheeled vehicle at a predetermined future time as the behavior of the two-wheeled vehicle based on the driving control information and the auxiliary information. The auxiliary information includes rider behavior information, driving change information, driving roughness information, and two-wheeled vehicle type information. According to such a configuration, when the four-wheeled vehicle appropriately overtakes or passes the two-wheeled vehicle, the possibility of contact with the two-wheeled vehicle can be reduced.

[0045] Also, in the first embodiment, when it is determined that the two-wheeled vehicle changes its driving based on the driving change information, the control unit 23d stops creating the driving plan and controlling the driving control device based on the driving plan. According to such a configuration, the safety when the four-wheeled vehicle overtakes or passes the two-wheeled vehicle can be enhanced.

[0046] Also, in the first embodiment, the control unit 23d reduces the difference between the speed of the four-wheeled vehicle and the speed of the two-wheeled vehicle as the four-wheeled vehicle approaches the two-wheeled vehicle, creates a driving plan in which the four-wheeled vehicle does not run off the road when moving from the rear to the front of the two-wheeled vehicle, and performs control to transmit the driving plan to the two-wheeled vehicle via communication. According to such a configuration, the safety when the four-wheeled vehicle overtakes or passes the two-wheeled vehicle can be enhanced.

[0047] <Second Embodiment> FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the driving support device 23 according to the second embodiment and its surrounding configuration. Hereinafter, among the components according to the second embodiment, the same or similar components as the above-described components are given the same or similar reference numerals, and the different components will be mainly described.

[0048] The two-wheeled vehicle side device 1 in FIG. 5 includes a two-wheeled sensor 11 and a two-wheeled communication device 14 without including the DMS 12 and the learning unit 13. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the behavior-related information generated by the two-wheeled communication device 14 includes driving control information without including auxiliary information.

[0049] On the other hand, the surrounding detection device 22 according to this second embodiment generates auxiliary information including at least one of rider behavior information, driving change information, driving roughness information, and motorcycle type information based on vehicle surrounding information. For example, the surrounding detection device 22 may generate rider behavior information, driving change information, driving roughness information, and motorcycle type information by performing image processing on the vehicle surrounding information. Alternatively, for example, the surrounding detection device 22 may generate driving change information and driving roughness information based on vehicle surrounding information and behavior-related information received by the communication device 21.

[0050] The surrounding information acquisition unit 23b acquires auxiliary information generated by the surrounding detection device 22. The auxiliary information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b is used by the behavior prediction unit 23c. In the above description, the surrounding detection device 22 generates the auxiliary information, but the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b may also generate and acquire the auxiliary information based on vehicle surrounding information.

[0051] According to the driving support device 23 of this embodiment 2 described above, auxiliary information can be used even if the motorcycle vehicle-side device 1 does not have a DMS 12 and a learning unit 13.

[0052] <Modification> In Embodiment 1, auxiliary information is generated by the two-wheeled vehicle-side device 1, and in Embodiment 2, auxiliary information is generated by the four-wheeled vehicle-side device 2, but both may be combined. That is, auxiliary information may be generated by the two-wheeled vehicle-side device 1 and the four-wheeled vehicle-side device 2 separately.

[0053] Generally speaking, the accuracy of the auxiliary information generated by the four-wheeled vehicle-side device 2 and acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b is lower than the accuracy of the auxiliary information generated by the two-wheeled vehicle-side device 1 and acquired by the two-wheeled vehicle information acquisition unit 23a.

[0054] Therefore, the auxiliary information acquired by the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a may be used preferentially by the behavior prediction unit 23c over the auxiliary information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b. For example, if both the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a and the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b acquire auxiliary information, the auxiliary information from the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a may be used by the behavior prediction unit 23c. If only the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b acquires auxiliary information, the auxiliary information from the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b may be used by the behavior prediction unit 23c.

[0055] For example, if only the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b acquires driving change information and driving roughness information, the driving change information and driving roughness information from the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b are used in the behavior prediction unit 23c. If only the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b acquires rider behavior information and motorcycle model information, the rider behavior information and motorcycle model information from the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b are not necessarily used immediately in the behavior prediction unit 23c.

[0056] Furthermore, the behavior prediction unit 23c may predict the range of existence such that the range of existence predicted using the auxiliary information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b is larger than the range of existence predicted using the auxiliary information acquired by the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a. For example, the range of existence predicted using the motorcycle model information or driving roughness information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b may be 1.5 times the range of existence predicted using the motorcycle model information or driving roughness information acquired by the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a. With such a configuration, the adverse effects of the relatively low accuracy of the auxiliary information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b can be suppressed.

[0057] Furthermore, in Embodiment 1, as an example of step S3 in Figure 4, it was explained that the behavior prediction unit 23c may determine that the motorcycle is undergoing a change in direction if it determines that the degree of agreement between the operation pattern indicated by the driving change information and the operation pattern based on the driving control information and rider behavior information is above a threshold. In such a case, the threshold for determining whether or not the motorcycle is undergoing a change in direction based on the driving change information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b may be lower than the threshold for determining whether or not the motorcycle is undergoing a change in direction based on the driving change information acquired by the motorcycle information acquisition unit 23a.

[0058] With this configuration, the determination using the driving change information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b is more likely to determine that a motorcycle is undergoing a driving change than the determination using the driving change information acquired by the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a. This makes it possible to suppress the adverse effects caused by the relatively low accuracy of the auxiliary information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit 23b.

[0059] <Other Modifications> The two-wheel vehicle information acquisition unit 23a, surrounding information acquisition unit 23b, behavior prediction unit 23c, and control unit 23d shown in Figure 1 above will be referred to below as "two-wheel vehicle information acquisition unit 23a, etc." The two-wheel vehicle information acquisition unit 23a, etc. is realized by the processing circuit 81 shown in Figure 6. Specifically, the processing circuit 81 includes a surrounding information acquisition unit 23b that acquires vehicle surrounding information, a two-wheel vehicle information acquisition unit 23a that acquires driving control information from the two-wheel sensor 11 via communication, a behavior prediction unit 23c that predicts the behavior of the two-wheel vehicle based on the driving control information, and a control unit 23d that creates a driving plan that defines the movement path and speed of the four-wheel vehicle so that the four-wheel vehicle can move from behind to in front of the two-wheel vehicle while avoiding contact with the two-wheel vehicle, and controls a driving control device 24 that controls the driving of the four-wheel vehicle based on the vehicle surrounding information and the behavior of the two-wheel vehicle. Dedicated hardware may be applied to the processing circuit 81, or a processor that executes a program stored in memory may be applied. Examples of processors include central processing units, processing units, arithmetic units, microprocessors, microcomputers, and DSPs (Digital Signal Processors).

[0060] If the processing circuit 81 is dedicated hardware, it may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof. Each function of the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a, etc., may be implemented by a circuit with distributed processing circuits, or the functions of each part may be implemented together by a single processing circuit.

[0061] When the processing circuit 81 is a processor, functions such as the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a are realized in combination with software, etc. The software, etc. may include, for example, software, firmware, or both. The software, etc. is written as a program and stored in memory. As shown in Figure 7, the processor 82 applied to the processing circuit 81 realizes the functions of each part by reading and executing the program stored in memory 83. That is, the driving assistance device 23 includes memory 83 for storing a program that, when executed by the processing circuit 81, will ultimately execute the following steps: acquiring vehicle surrounding information; acquiring driving control information from the motorcycle sensor 11 via communication; predicting the behavior of the motorcycle based on the driving control information; and creating a driving plan that defines the movement path and speed of the four-wheeled vehicle to move from behind to in front of the motorcycle while avoiding contact with the motorcycle, based on the vehicle surrounding information and the behavior of the motorcycle, and controlling a driving control device 24 that controls the driving of the four-wheeled vehicle based on the driving plan. In other words, this program can be said to cause the computer to execute the procedures and methods of the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a, etc. Here, the memory 83 may be, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a minidisc, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), their drive devices, or any storage medium that may be used in the future.

[0062] The above describes a configuration in which each function of the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a, etc., is realized by either hardware or software. However, this is not the only configuration, and some parts of the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a, etc., may be realized by dedicated hardware, and other parts by software, etc. For example, the function of the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit 23a can be realized by a processing circuit 81 as dedicated hardware, and the functions of the others can be realized by a processing circuit 81 as a processor 82 reading and executing a program stored in memory 83.

[0063] As described above, the processing circuit 81 can realize each of the above-mentioned functions by hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

[0064] Furthermore, the driver assistance devices described above can also be applied to driver assistance systems constructed as a system by appropriately combining vehicle equipment, communication terminals, the functions of an application installed on at least one of the vehicle equipment and communication terminals, and a server. Communication terminals include, for example, mobile phones, smartphones, and tablets. Each function or component of the driver assistance devices described above may be distributed among the devices that make up the system, or they may be concentrated in one of the devices.

[0065] Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server 91 according to this modified example. The server 91 in Figure 8 is equipped with a communication unit 91a and a control unit 91b, and is capable of wireless communication with the vehicle equipment 93 of the four-wheeled vehicle 92.

[0066] The communication unit 91a, which is the surrounding information acquisition unit and the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit, receives vehicle surrounding information and driving control information acquired by the vehicle device 93 by wireless communication with the vehicle device 93.

[0067] The control unit 91b has the same functions as the behavior prediction unit 23c and control unit 23d in Figure 1, by having a processor (not shown) of the server 91 execute a program stored in the memory (not shown) of the server 91. In other words, the control unit 91b predicts the behavior of the motorcycle and creates a driving plan. The communication unit 91a then transmits the driving plan from the control unit 91b to the vehicle device 93. With the server 91 configured in this way, the same effects as the driving assistance device 23 described in Embodiment 1 can be obtained.

[0068] Figure 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the communication terminal 96 according to this modified example. The communication terminal 96 in Figure 9 is equipped with a communication unit 96a similar to the communication unit 91a and a control unit 96b similar to the control unit 91b, and is capable of wireless communication with the vehicle equipment 98 of the four-wheeled vehicle 97. For example, the communication terminal 96 can be a mobile phone, smartphone, or tablet carried by the driver of the four-wheeled vehicle 97. With a communication terminal 96 configured in this way, the same effects as the driving assistance device 23 described in Embodiment 1 can be obtained.

[0069] In this disclosure in English, the articles 'a' and 'an' mean one or more. Therefore, 'a', 'an', 'one or more', and 'at least one' can be used interchangeably.

[0070] Furthermore, it is possible to freely combine each embodiment and each variation, and to modify or omit each embodiment and each variation as appropriate.

[0071] The above explanation is illustrative and not limiting in all respects. It is understood that countless variations not illustrated are conceivable.

[0072] 23 Driving support device, 23a Motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit, 23b Surrounding information acquisition unit, 23c Behavior prediction unit, 23d Control unit, 24 Driving control device.

Claims

1. A driving assistance device for assisting the driving of a vehicle, comprising: a peripheral information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle peripheral information, which is information about the area around the vehicle; a motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires driving control information relating to the driving control of a motorcycle vehicle via communication from a sensor of a motorcycle vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle; a behavior prediction unit that predicts the behavior of the motorcycle vehicle based on the driving control information; and a control unit that creates a driving plan that defines the vehicle's movement path and speed for the vehicle to move from behind to in front of the motorcycle vehicle while avoiding contact with the motorcycle vehicle, based on the vehicle peripheral information and the behavior of the motorcycle vehicle, and controls a driving control device that controls the driving of the vehicle based on the driving plan.

2. A driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the two-wheel vehicle information acquisition unit and the surrounding information acquisition unit further acquires auxiliary information related to the behavior of the two-wheel vehicle, and the behavior prediction unit predicts the range of the two-wheel vehicle's presence at a predetermined time in the future as the behavior of the two-wheel vehicle, based on the driving control information and the auxiliary information.

3. A driving assistance device according to claim 2, wherein the range of existence predicted using the auxiliary information acquired by the peripheral information acquisition unit is greater than the range of existence predicted using the auxiliary information acquired by the two-wheeled vehicle information acquisition unit.

4. A driving assistance device according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary information includes motorcycle vehicle type information indicating at least one of the vehicle class and drive system of the motorcycle.

5. A driving assistance device according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary information includes rider behavior information relating to the physical behavior of a rider operating the two-wheeled vehicle.

6. A driving assistance device according to claim 5, wherein the rider behavior information includes at least one of the following: information on the rider looking at the side mirror of the motorcycle, and information on the rider turning to look behind.

7. A driving assistance device according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary information includes driving change information indicating an action pattern performed when the rider starts to change the driving of the motorcycle, which is generated based on learning using the driving control information and rider behavior information relating to the physical behavior of the rider driving the motorcycle.

8. A driving assistance device according to claim 7, wherein the rider behavior information includes at least one of the following: information on the rider looking at the side mirrors of the motorcycle; information on the rider turning his head to look behind him; information on the rider turning his head to look to the side; information on the twisting of the rider's neck and shoulders; information on the opening and closing of the rider's eyelids; information on the tilt of the motorcycle; and information on the posture of the rider's feet and knees.

9. A driving assistance device according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary information includes driving roughness information that indicates a deviation of the driving of the motorcycle from a predetermined driving state, which is generated based on learning using the driving control information and rider behavior information relating to the physical behavior of the rider driving the motorcycle.

10. A driving support device according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary information includes at least one of rider behavior information relating to the physical behavior of a rider operating the two-wheeled vehicle, driving change information indicating an action pattern performed when the rider starts to change the driving of the two-wheeled vehicle, and driving roughness information indicating a deviation of the driving of the two-wheeled vehicle from a predetermined driving, and the surrounding information acquisition unit acquires the auxiliary information based on the vehicle surrounding information.

11. A driving support device according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary information includes driving change information indicating an action pattern to be performed when the rider starts to change the driving of the motorcycle, which is generated based on learning using the driving control information and rider behavior information relating to the physical behavior of the rider driving the motorcycle, and the control unit stops creating the driving plan and controlling the driving control device based on the driving plan when it is determined that the motorcycle is changing its driving based on the driving change information.

12. A driving support device according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary information is acquired by the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit and the surrounding information acquisition unit, respectively, and includes driving change information indicating an operation pattern performed when a rider driving the motorcycle starts to change the driving of the motorcycle, and a threshold for determining whether the motorcycle is changing its driving based on the driving change information acquired by the surrounding information acquisition unit is lower than a threshold for determining whether the motorcycle is changing its driving based on the driving change information acquired by the motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit.

13. A driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle surrounding information includes the width of the road including the lane in which the vehicle is traveling and the width of the motorcycle, and the control unit controls the vehicle surrounding information and the behavior of the motorcycle to reduce the difference between the speed of the vehicle and the speed of the motorcycle as the vehicle approaches the motorcycle, to create a driving plan such that the vehicle does not deviate from the road when the vehicle moves from behind the motorcycle to the front, and to transmit the driving plan to the motorcycle via communication.

14. A driving assistance method for assisting the operation of a vehicle, comprising: a surrounding information acquisition unit acquiring vehicle surrounding information which is information about the surroundings of the vehicle; a motorcycle vehicle information acquisition unit acquiring driving control information relating to the driving control of a motorcycle vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle via communication from the sensors of the motorcycle vehicle; a prediction unit predicting the behavior of the motorcycle vehicle based on the driving control information; and a control unit creating a driving plan that defines the vehicle's movement path and speed for the vehicle to move from behind to in front of the motorcycle vehicle while avoiding contact with the motorcycle vehicle, based on the vehicle surrounding information and the behavior of the motorcycle vehicle, and controlling the vehicle's movement based on the driving plan.

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