Vehicle Control Device Occupancy-Based Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle control systems fail to differentiate driving routes based on whether an occupant is riding in the vehicle, leading to potential traffic congestion and inefficient route selection.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control device and method that includes a recognition unit to assess the surrounding situation and a driving control unit to determine if an occupant is present, adjusting the route selection between a low-change and high-change road based on occupancy, and prioritizing charging lanes when no occupant is present.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If a vehicle without an occupant follows a head vehicle or travels along a past trajectory, then the vehicle can operate autonomously, but the number of vehicles on the same route increases causing traffic congestion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional routing approach by having autonomous vehicles (without occupants) preferentially take roads with larger behavior changes instead of following the head vehicle's route. This reverse routing strategy distributes traffic across different paths, reducing congestion on commonly used routes while maintaining autonomous operation.
2Ease of operation
If a vehicle preferentially travels on a first road with small behavior changes when an occupant is present, then ride comfort is improved, but route flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating routing strategies based on the local condition of occupant presence. When an occupant is detected, the system selects roads with small behavior changes to ensure comfort. When no occupant is present, it selects roads with larger behavior changes to improve efficiency and reduce congestion. This localized adaptation optimizes both comfort and flexibility according to real-time conditions.
3Use of energy by moving object
If an autonomous vehicle travels on a charging lane, then electric power is supplied to the storage battery, but the vehicle speed is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having autonomous vehicles proactively select charging lanes and decelerate in advance to maximize energy transfer to the storage battery. The system plans charging stops beforehand, allowing the vehicle to reduce speed and spend more time on charging lanes, thereby accumulating energy for subsequent high-speed travel segments.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control device includes a recognition unit that recognizes a surrounding situation of a vehicle, and a driving control unit that controls one or both of steering or acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle based on the surrounding situation recognized by the recognition unit. The driving control unit determines whether or not an occupant is riding in the vehicle, and differentiates a road on which the vehicle is caused to travel, between a case where it is determined that the occupant is riding in the vehicle and a case where it is determined that the occupant is not riding in the vehicle.