Automated Driving Merge-Point Position Control for Continuous Travel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated driving systems face challenges in maintaining continuous operation when encountering merging vehicles, as existing technologies either discontinue automated driving or assume accidental scenarios, leading to reduced convenience and increased driver intervention.
Innovation Solution
The automated travel device incorporates a vehicle control unit and merge-point recognition system that adjusts the running position of the subject vehicle relative to surrounding vehicles when approaching a merge point, ensuring a safe inter-vehicle distance and inhibiting aggressive merging, thereby enhancing the continuity and convenience of automated driving.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If automated driving control is executed along a predetermined scheduled travel route, then automation level and convenience are improved, but the system encounters limitations when merging vehicles appear, reducing reliability and requiring driver intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary recognition of merge points using map data and surrounding monitoring sensor data before automated driving control encounters merging vehicles. By identifying merge points in advance and adjusting the scheduled travel route proactively, the system prepares for potential merging vehicles, maintaining continuous automated operation without requiring driver intervention when merges occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors surrounding environment using surrounding monitoring sensors to detect merging vehicles and adjusts the automated driving control in real-time. When a merging vehicle is detected near a recognized merge point, the system modifies the scheduled travel route dynamically, providing feedback-based adaptation that maintains reliability and continuous automated operation.
2Reliability
If the scheduled travel route is adjusted in response to merging vehicles, then reliability and continuous operation are improved, but device complexity increases due to additional recognition and control systems
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a single surrounding monitoring sensor that serves multiple functions: detecting merging vehicles, identifying merge points, and providing data for both route adjustment and safety monitoring. The map data storage unit stores multiple types of information (road geometry, merge point locations, traffic rules) that supports various driving scenarios. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated systems, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while maintaining reliability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If automated driving discontinues when merging vehicles are detected, then safety is improved, but productivity and convenience deteriorate due to frequent driver intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The system recognizes merge points in advance using map data and surrounding monitoring data before automated driving encounters merging vehicles. By pre-adjusting the scheduled travel route to account for merge points and continuously monitoring for merging vehicles, the system maintains safe distances and positions proactively. This eliminates the need to discontinue automated driving, as safety is maintained through advance preparation and real-time adjustment, thereby preserving continuous operation and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a scheduled travel route as an intermediary plan that mediates between the automated driving control and merging vehicles. Instead of directly discontinuing automated driving when merges occur, the system uses the adjustable scheduled route as a buffer, modifying it in real-time based on detected merging vehicles. This intermediary mechanism maintains safety while allowing continuous automated operation, avoiding the need for driver intervention.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control unit is configured to execute automated driving control to allow a subject vehicle to travel autonomously along a predetermined scheduled travel route based on a signal from a surrounding monitoring sensor. A merge-point recognition unit is configured to recognize a merge point with a main road, on which the subject vehicle travels, based on at least one of map data, a detection result of the surrounding monitoring sensor, or data acquired from an external apparatus via wireless communications. The vehicle control unit is configured, during execution of the automated driving control, to perform control to change a running position of the subject vehicle with respect to a surrounding vehicle on the main road, when a remaining distance to the merge point reaches less than a predetermined value.