Branch-Station Lane Change Control Using Virtual Lane Boundaries
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle control systems struggle to generate appropriate target trajectories and perform adequate driving control in branch sections where main and branch lanes connect, as demarcation lines may be absent, leading to inadequate lane changes.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control system that recognizes surroundings using detection devices and map information to identify a number-of-lanes increase end position in branch sections, generating a target trajectory that completes the course change to a branch lane before reaching the end of the branch section, utilizing a virtual demarcation line when actual lines are absent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the system uses demarcation lines to generate target trajectories, then lane change control is accurate in sections with visible lines, but target trajectory generation fails in branch sections where demarcation lines are absent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces map information as an intermediary element to bridge the gap when demarcation lines are absent. The recognizer uses map information containing number-of-lanes increase start/end positions to determine virtual demarcation lines, allowing target trajectory generation to proceed reliably even without visible physical demarcation lines in branch sections
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary recognition of the number-of-lanes increase start position and end position using map information before generating the target trajectory. This advance preparation allows the driving controller to create accurate trajectories by establishing virtual demarcation lines in advance, ensuring reliable lane change control in branch sections
2Measurement precision
If the system searches for number-of-lanes increase end position from the branch section end, then it can identify the position, but the search may be inaccurate when demarcation lines are missing
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of searching forward from the branch section end, the patent inverts the search direction by starting from the number-of-lanes increase start position and searching backward to identify the end position. This reverse search approach, combined with using map information, improves identification accuracy by establishing a known reference point at the start position
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual copy of the demarcation line structure using map information when physical lines are absent. By copying the lane configuration data from map information, the recognizer can identify number-of-lanes increase positions accurately without relying on potentially missing or ambiguous physical demarcation lines
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control device according to an embodiment includes a recognizer that recognizes a surroundings situation of a host vehicle, and a driving controller that generates a target trajectory for the host vehicle on the basis of a recognition result of the recognizer, and controls one or both of speed and steering of the host vehicle so that the host vehicle travels along the generated target trajectory, the recognizer searches for, in a branch section in which a main lane and a plurality of branch lanes are connected, a number-of-lanes increase end position satisfying a predetermined condition on the start position side of the branch section, rather than an end position of the branch section, and the driving controller generates the target trajectory so that course change to the branch lane is completed until the host vehicle reaches the number-of-lanes increase end position.