JP7557434B2 - Evacuation driving support system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an evacuation driving assistance system including an evacuation driving assistance device and a server.

An evacuation driving support device has been proposed that allows a vehicle to evacuate to an evacuation destination when the driver is unable to drive due to a decrease in consciousness level or the like. The evacuation driving support device described in Patent Document 1 determines the risk of stopping and passing through each point that the vehicle can potentially travel to, based on map information, vehicle information, and surrounding environment information. It then sets a point where the risk of stopping is lower than a predetermined standard as the evacuation destination, and sets an evacuation route by combining points where the risk of passing through is lower than a predetermined standard.

JP 2015-228090 A

As exemplified by store parking lots, there are evacuation points where a vehicle can be evacuated to facilities off roads. It is difficult to detect off road locations using peripheral monitoring devices such as imaging devices and radar devices. Even by referring to map information, it is difficult to determine whether an off road location is an evacuation point. It is not easy to determine whether an off road location is an evacuation point using the technology described in Patent Document 1.

In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide technology that can expand the range of stopping locations that can be used as evacuation points, more appropriately set evacuation destinations where the vehicle can safely evacuate, and thereby realize safer evacuation driving.

The evacuation driving support device according to the present invention includes a surrounding environment information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding environment information, which is information on objects present around the vehicle; a self-position estimation unit that estimates the vehicle's own position; a map information reception unit that receives map information from a server that records map information including evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points where the vehicle can evacuate; an evacuation possible point acquisition unit that acquires map evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle based on the map information, by comparing the map information based on the estimated self-position; an evacuation destination determination unit that determines an evacuation destination of the vehicle based on recognized evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle recognized from the surrounding environment information, and the map evacuation possible point information; and an evacuation control unit that controls the vehicle toward the evacuation destination. The evacuation possible point information included in the map information is updated based on stopping position information, which is information on stopping positions where the multiple vehicles have stopped in the past, acquired from the multiple vehicles by the server.

According to the evacuation driving support device of the present invention, the evacuation destination determination unit determines the evacuation destination of the vehicle based on recognized evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle recognized from the surrounding environment information, and map evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle based on map information. The map information including the evacuation possible point information is recorded in a server, and is updated based on stopping position information, which is information on stopping positions where multiple vehicles have stopped in the past, acquired by the server from multiple vehicles. Since the evacuation possible points are set and the evacuation destination is determined using not only the recognized evacuation possible point information recognized from the surrounding environment information, but also the map evacuation possible point information updated by the past stopping position information of multiple vehicles, the range of stopping places that can be evacuation possible points can be expanded. As a result, the evacuation destination where the vehicle can safely evacuate can be more appropriately determined, and safer evacuation driving can be realized.

The present invention can also provide an evacuation driving support system including an evacuation driving support device mounted on a vehicle and a server capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the evacuation driving support device. In this evacuation driving support system, the evacuation driving support device includes a surrounding environment information acquisition unit that acquires surrounding environment information, which is information on objects present around the vehicle, a self-position estimation unit that estimates the vehicle's own position, which is the position of the vehicle, a map information receiving unit that receives map information including evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points where the vehicle can evacuate, from the server, an evacuation possible point acquisition unit that acquires map evacuation possible point information, which is evacuation possible point information around the vehicle based on the map information by comparing the map information based on the estimated self-position, an evacuation destination determination unit that determines an evacuation destination of the vehicle based on recognized evacuation possible point information, which is evacuation possible point information around the vehicle recognized from the surrounding environment information, and the map evacuation possible point information, and an evacuation control unit that controls the vehicle toward the evacuation destination. The server includes a map information recording unit that records map information including the evacuation point information, a receiving unit that acquires, from a plurality of vehicles, stopping position information that is information on stopping positions where each vehicle has stopped in the past, and a map information updating unit that updates the evacuation point information included in the map information based on the stopping position information acquired from the plurality of vehicles.

According to the evacuation driving support system of the present invention, the vehicle-mounted evacuation driving support device can set evacuation points and evacuation destinations using not only recognized evacuation point information recognized from surrounding environment information, but also map evacuation point information updated with past stopping position information of multiple vehicles obtained from a server. This makes it possible to expand the range of stopping locations that can be evacuation points, and more appropriately determine evacuation destinations where the vehicle can safely evacuate, thereby achieving safer evacuation driving.

1 is a block diagram showing an evacuation driving support system according to a first embodiment; 4 is a flowchart of an evacuation driving support process according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart of a stop position information transmission process executed in a vehicle that transmits stop position information to a server according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart of a map information update process executed by the server according to the first embodiment. 13 is a flowchart of an evacuation driving support process according to a second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart of a map information update process executed by a server according to the second embodiment.

First Embodiment
The evacuation driving support system shown in Fig. 1 has a function of supporting driving a vehicle to a safe evacuation destination and stopping the vehicle when a driver becomes unable to drive due to a decrease in consciousness level or the like. The evacuation driving support system includes an evacuation driving support device 100 mounted on the vehicle, and a server 200. The evacuation driving support device 100 and the server 200 are capable of transmitting and receiving information.

The evacuation driving support device 100 includes a surrounding environment recognition device 110, a driver monitoring device 120, an evacuation control device 130, a map recording device 140, and a vehicle-side communication device 150. The evacuation driving support device 100 may be mounted on the vehicle as an ECU including a CPU, ROM, RAM, I/O, etc., and configured so that the CPU executes a program installed in the ROM to realize each of these functions.

The surrounding environment recognition device 110 creates surrounding environment information, which is information on objects present around the vehicle, from detection information acquired from the surrounding environment sensor 161. Examples of the surrounding environment sensor 161 include radar devices such as vehicle-mounted millimeter wave radars and imaging devices such as image sensors. The surrounding environment recognition device 110 is configured to be able to recognize the type and size of objects present around the vehicle, as well as the distance and relative speed from the vehicle, from the object detection information acquired from the surrounding environment sensor 161.

The surrounding environment recognition device 110 is configured to be able to recognize the shoulder space of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, free space within the road, and the presence of vehicles around the vehicle. A free space is a non-traffic part (a part where vehicles do not pass) that occurs within a road due to the lane configuration or objects around the lane. The shoulder space is the space outside (outside the road) of the road edge, which is the lateral end of the road, whereas the free space is the space between both ends of the road (inside the road). The surrounding environment recognition device 110 may be configured to be able to create evacuation point information based on the shoulder space of the road on which the vehicle is traveling and the free space within the road. The evacuation point information created by the surrounding environment recognition device 110 may be included in the surrounding environment information.

The driver monitoring device 120 includes a driving incapacity determination unit 121. The driving incapacity determination unit 121 determines whether the driver is in a driving incapacity state and transmits the determination result to the evacuation control device 130.

The evacuation control device 130 includes a surrounding environment information acquisition unit 131, a self-position estimation unit 132, an evacuation point acquisition unit 133, an evacuation destination determination unit 134, and an evacuation control unit 135.

The surrounding environment information acquisition unit 131 acquires surrounding environment information, which is information on objects present around the vehicle, from the surrounding environment recognition device 110. The surrounding environment information may include information on possible evacuation points created by the surrounding environment recognition device 110. The acquired surrounding environment information is transmitted to the inability to drive determination unit 121 and the evacuation destination determination unit 134.

The self-position estimation unit 132 estimates the self-position, which is the position of the vehicle. The self-position estimation unit 132 is configured to be able to acquire map information, etc., by, for example, the on-board GPS receiver 162. More specifically, the map information acquired by the GPS receiver 162 (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated as GPS map information) can acquire road information, etc., about the road on which the vehicle runs and the surrounding roads. The road information includes road shape information, lane information, connection point information, road boundary information, etc. For example, the self-position can be estimated by comparing information on road markings, signboards, etc. of the road on which the vehicle runs, acquired as surrounding environment information, with road information included in the GPS map information, and calculating the distance between the position of the road markings, signboards, etc. and the self-position based on the traveling speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle, etc. The self-position estimation unit 132 transmits the map information acquired by the GPS receiving device 162 and the estimated self-position to the evacuation possible point acquisition unit 133 and the evacuation destination determination unit 134.

The possible evacuation point acquisition unit 133 acquires map information (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as vehicle-side map information) acquired from the map recording device 140. The vehicle-side map information includes possible evacuation point information, which is information on possible evacuation points where the vehicle can evacuate. The possible evacuation point information includes location information of the possible evacuation point, information about the surrounding area of the possible evacuation point, and evacuation route information, which is information on the evacuation route when evacuating to the possible evacuation point as the evacuation destination. Furthermore, if an emergency vehicle has arrived at the possible evacuation point, the possible evacuation point information includes the emergency transport time, which is the time required for emergency transport at the possible evacuation point. The emergency transport time is a concept that includes the time from when a rescue request is made until the ambulance arrives at the possible evacuation point (arrival time after request), the time until the ambulance arrives at the possible evacuation point (emergency arrival time), the time from the possible evacuation point until the ambulance arrives at the possible evacuation point (facility arrival time), and the time until the ambulance arrives at the possible evacuation point until the emergency facility is reached (facility arrival time).

Then, the possible evacuation point acquisition unit 133 acquires map possible evacuation point information, which is information on possible evacuation points around the vehicle based on the vehicle-side map information, by comparing the vehicle-side map information based on the vehicle-side map information, based on the vehicle's own position estimated by the self-position estimation unit 132. The map possible evacuation point information is transmitted to the evacuation destination determination unit 134.

The evacuation destination determination unit 134 determines an evacuation destination for the vehicle based on recognized evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle recognized from the surrounding environment information, and map evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle acquired by the evacuation possible point acquisition unit 133. Evacuation destination information, which is information on the determined evacuation destination, is transmitted to the evacuation control unit 135. The evacuation destination information corresponds to evacuation possible point information for the determined evacuation destination, and includes position information of the evacuation destination, surrounding information of the evacuation destination, evacuation route information, which is information on the evacuation route when evacuating to the evacuation destination, and may include emergency transport time at the evacuation destination.

The evacuation destination determination unit 134 sets an evacuation destination based on a predetermined condition. For example, the evacuation destination determination unit 134 may be configured to exclude a possible evacuation point from candidates for evacuation destinations when it is determined that the vehicle cannot stop at the possible evacuation point based on the size of the possible evacuation point and its relative position to the vehicle, the traveling speed and size of the vehicle, etc. Also, for example, the evacuation destination determination unit 134 may be configured to exclude a possible evacuation point from candidates for evacuation destinations when it is determined that the location of the possible evacuation point is a location to which the vehicle cannot safely move and stop based on the traveling state of the vehicle and the traveling states of vehicles around the vehicle.

For example, it is preferable that the possible evacuation point is located in the traveling direction of the vehicle and is large enough for the vehicle to stop. Note that a space large enough for the vehicle to stop is a space whose length in the lane direction (vertical width) is longer than the length in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and whose length in the width direction perpendicular to the lane direction (horizontal width) is longer than the length in the width direction of the vehicle, and it is preferable that a margin is set in each of the vertical and horizontal directions. In addition, the evacuation destination may be determined taking into consideration the traveling state of the vehicle. Based on the traveling speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle and the distance between the possible evacuation point and the vehicle, for example, if the current distance between the possible evacuation point and the vehicle is shorter than the distance the vehicle travels from the current vehicle speed to the start of deceleration at a predetermined deceleration and stopping, the possible evacuation point may be excluded from the candidates for the evacuation destination as it cannot be stopped safely. In addition, when the vehicle speed is high, such as when driving on a highway, a possible evacuation point that is a certain distance away from the current position of the vehicle may be determined as the evacuation destination. In addition, for example, a place where parking and stopping are prohibited may not be determined as the evacuation destination. On the other hand, if the emergency is high, such as when the driver is unconscious, a location where parking or stopping is prohibited may be selected as the evacuation destination.

The evacuation destination determination unit 134 may be configured to determine, as the evacuation destination of the vehicle, the evacuation possible point that requires the vehicle to travel the shortest distance to reach, among the evacuation possible points included in the map evacuation possible point information and the evacuation possible points included in the recognized evacuation possible point information. After expanding the range of stopping locations that can be evacuation possible points, the evacuation possible point that can be reached the fastest can be determined as the evacuation destination.

When the map available evacuation point information includes an emergency transport time, which is the time required for emergency transport at the available evacuation point, the evacuation destination determination unit 134 may be configured to determine, as the evacuation destination of the vehicle, the available evacuation point that has the shortest emergency transport time among the available evacuation points included in the map available evacuation point information and the available evacuation points included in the recognized available evacuation point information. For example, the available evacuation point that has the shortest sum of the emergency arrival time and the facility arrival time may be determined as the evacuation destination. Alternatively, the available evacuation point that has the shortest sum of the time it takes for the vehicle to reach the available evacuation point, the emergency arrival time, and the facility arrival time may be determined as the evacuation destination. When the driver becomes unconscious or the like and more rapid emergency transport is required, the evacuation destination can be appropriately determined taking into account the emergency transport time.

The evacuation control unit 135 controls the vehicle toward the evacuation destination based on the location information of the evacuation destination acquired as the evacuation destination information, the surrounding information of the evacuation destination, and the evacuation route information to the evacuation destination. As a result, the vehicle is controlled to perform evacuation driving to the evacuation destination.

The evacuation control unit 135 may be configured to stop the vehicle in its own lane if it cannot reach the evacuation destination within the time limit based on the time limit for the vehicle to continue evacuation driving. The time limit is the time from when it is determined that the driver is unable to drive to when the vehicle completes evacuation driving and stops. The time limit is set to a predetermined time so that a rescue request is not made too late. The time limit may be set based on surrounding environment information, GPS map information, etc.

While the vehicle is being driven to evacuate to the evacuation destination by the evacuation control unit 135, the evacuation destination determination unit 134 may determine a new evacuation destination. If the evacuation destination is updated while the vehicle is being driven to evacuate, the evacuation control unit 135 may be configured to control the vehicle to the new evacuation destination.

The map recording device 140 includes a vehicle-side map information recording unit 141. The vehicle-side map information recording unit 141 acquires server-side map information from the vehicle-side communication device 150 and records it as vehicle-side map information.

The vehicle-side communication device 150 includes a data transmission unit 151 and a map information receiving unit 152. The data transmission unit 151 transmits stopping position information, which is information on the stopping position of the vehicle, to the server 200. The map information receiving unit 152 acquires server-side map information from the server 200 and transmits it to the map recording device 140.

The server 200 includes a map generating device 210, a data recording device 220, and a server-side communication device 230.

The server-side communication device 230 includes a data receiving unit 231 and a map information transmitting unit 232. The data receiving unit 231 is a receiving unit that acquires stopping position information, which is information on stopping positions where each vehicle has stopped in the past, from multiple vehicles. The map information transmitting unit 232 acquires server-side map information from the data recording device 220 and transmits it to the vehicle-side communication device 150.

The data recording device 220 includes a server-side map information recording unit 221 and a data recording unit 222. The server-side map information recording unit 221 records server-side map information including information on possible evacuation points. The data recording unit 222 records stopping position information obtained from multiple vehicles and received by the data receiving unit 231.

The map generating device 210 includes a map information update unit 211. The map information update unit 211 acquires stopping position information acquired from a plurality of vehicles, which is received by the data receiving unit 231 and recorded in the data recording unit 222. Then, based on the acquired stopping position information, the map information is updated to include the evacuation possible point information.

The map information update unit 211 may be configured to classify the stopping position information acquired from a plurality of vehicles based on the stopping positions, and update the possible evacuation point information by adding stopping positions where the stopping record, which is the record of the vehicle stopping at the stopping position, is a predetermined value or more as possible evacuation points. By adding stopping positions to the possible evacuation points on the condition that the stopping record is a predetermined value or more, it is possible to avoid information about stopping positions that are not very suitable as possible evacuation points being included in the possible evacuation point information, and the accuracy of the possible evacuation point information is improved.

When adding a stopping position as a possible evacuation point, the map information update unit 211 is preferably configured to update the possible evacuation point information by linking and adding evacuation route information to the possible evacuation point. Furthermore, when the map possible evacuation point information includes the emergency transport time at the possible evacuation point, the map information update unit 211 is preferably configured to obtain from the ambulance vehicle the stopping position information as well as the emergency transport time at the stopping position, and to update the possible evacuation point information based on the stopping position information and the emergency transport time.

Figure 2 shows a flowchart of the evacuation driving support process executed by the evacuation driving support system. The process shown in Figure 2 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined time interval by the evacuation driving support device 100.

First, in step S101, it is detected that the driver is incapable of driving. For example, it is possible to detect that the driver is incapable of driving by detecting the driver's posture, pulse rate, etc. Then, the process proceeds to step S102.

In step S102, the current position of the vehicle is estimated. For example, from the object detection information detected by the surrounding environment sensor 161 and the GPS map information received by the GPS receiver 162, the characteristics of the road on which the vehicle is traveling (e.g., road markings, signboards, etc.) are compared with the characteristics in the road information included in the GPS map information. Then, based on the vehicle speed, the distance between the position of the characteristic road markings, signboards, etc. and the vehicle's own position is calculated, thereby estimating the vehicle's own position. Then, the process proceeds to step S103.

In step S103, possible evacuation points in the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle are acquired. Vehicle-side map information including possible evacuation point information for the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle is acquired from the map recording device 140. In other words, map possible evacuation point information, which is information on possible evacuation points in the vicinity of the vehicle based on the map information, is acquired. In addition, possible evacuation point information is acquired from the surrounding environment recognition device 110 for possible evacuation points recognized in the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle. The possible evacuation point information is provided as part of the surrounding environment information. Then, proceed to step S104.

Note that it is preferable that the vehicle-side map information is updated to the server map information acquired from the server 200 for each cycle of the evacuation driving support process, but in cases where communication between the server 200 and the evacuation driving support device 100 is not possible, the vehicle-side map information recorded in the map recording device 140 before the current cycle may be used. In cases where neither the vehicle-side map information nor the server-side map information includes map information about the vicinity of the vehicle, the process proceeds to step S104 assuming that map evacuation point information could not be acquired.

In step S104, the shoulder of the road on which the vehicle is traveling is detected based on the surrounding environment information. The presence or absence of a shoulder may be recognized from object detection information detected by the surrounding environment sensor 161, or information regarding the presence or absence of a shoulder may be obtained from GPS map information received by the GPS receiving device 162. Then, the process proceeds to step S105.

In step S105, it is determined whether or not there is shoulder evacuation space. In other words, it is determined whether or not there is a sufficiently large space on the shoulder where the vehicle can stop safely. This determination is preferably made based on object detection information detected by the surrounding environment sensor 161, but it can also be made using GPS map information received by the GPS receiver 162 instead of or in combination with it. If it is determined that there is shoulder evacuation space, the process proceeds to step S106, where the shoulder is determined as the evacuation destination, and the process proceeds to step S108. If it is determined that there is no shoulder evacuation space, the process proceeds to step S107.

In step S107, from the possible evacuation points acquired in step S103, the nearest possible evacuation point that is closest to the current position of the vehicle is selected. The selected nearest possible evacuation point is then determined as the evacuation destination. As a result, the possible evacuation point that requires the shortest travel distance to be reached by the vehicle among the possible evacuation points included in the map possible evacuation point information and the possible evacuation points included in the recognized possible evacuation point information can be determined as the evacuation destination of the vehicle. Then, proceed to step S108.

In step S108, the vehicle is controlled toward the evacuation destination determined in step S106 or step S107, and the vehicle is driven to the evacuation destination. During the evacuation, the vehicle is driven in its own lane, changes lanes, decelerates, etc., while avoiding collisions with other vehicles, obstacles, and pedestrians based on the object detection information detected by the surrounding environment sensor 161, to avoid accidents and safely move the vehicle to the evacuation destination and stop it. Then, the process proceeds to step S109.

After the processing of step S108, a step of updating the evacuation destination may be inserted as necessary. If the evacuation destination is updated, the processing returns to step S103.

In step S109, information on the evacuation point is sent to the server 200. The evacuation point is the evacuation destination where the vehicle actually evacuates and stops. Then, the process ends.

Figure 3 shows a flowchart of the stop position information transmission process. The process shown in Figure 3 is executed repeatedly at a predetermined time interval when a vehicle that transmits stop position information to the server 200 starts traveling.

As shown in step S201, it is detected that the vehicle has traveled on a road. Then, as shown in step S202, it is detected that the vehicle has moved off the road or to the shoulder and stopped. For example, when a parking shift, ignition off, or operation of an evacuation driving support system is detected, it is possible to detect that the vehicle has moved off the road or to the shoulder and stopped. Also, when a surrounding environment sensor mounted on the vehicle detects that the vehicle has deviated from the lane in which it is traveling, it is possible to detect that the vehicle has moved off the road or to the shoulder and stopped. Then, the process proceeds to step S203. In step S203, stopping position information about the position where the vehicle has stopped is transmitted to the server 200. The transmitted stopping position information includes the stopping position and information about the movement route from the road on which the vehicle was traveling to the stopping position.

Figure 4 shows a flowchart of the map information update process executed by the server 200. The process shown in Figure 4 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined interval by the server 200.

In step S301, multiple pieces of stopping position information are acquired. The stopping position information transmitted to the server 200 by the process of step S109 in FIG. 2 or the process of step S203 in FIG. 3 is acquired. In step S301, a process may be further executed to extract stopping position information that is determined to be appropriate as a stopping position based on the space of the stopping position, etc. For example, the stopping position information may be configured to acquire information on whether the vehicle doors are open or closed, and detection information on the size and shape of the stopping space, and to acquire the stopping position information only when the space of the stopping position is sufficient for the host vehicle to stop safely. Then, proceed to step S302.

In step S302, the stopping position information acquired from the multiple vehicles in step S301 is classified based on the stopping positions. By classifying the stopping position information from the multiple vehicles into stopping positions, it is possible to calculate the stopping record, which is the record of the vehicle stopping at each stopping position. For example, if multiple vehicles have stopped at a certain stopping position a total of 10 times, the stopping record can be calculated as 10 times. Then, proceed to step S303.

In step S303, the server-side map information recorded in the data recording device 220 is obtained. Note that the order of the process shown in step S302 and the process shown in step S303 may be switched, or they may be executed in parallel. Then, the process proceeds to step S304.

In step S304, if the stopping record for each stopping position classified and calculated in step S302 is equal to or greater than a predetermined stopping record threshold, the stopping position is set as an evacuation point. By setting the stopping position as an evacuation point on the condition that the stopping record is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it is possible to avoid information about a stopping position that is not very appropriate being included in the evacuation point information, improving the accuracy of the evacuation point information. Since the stopping record is greater the more data there is in the stopping position information, the stopping record threshold may be set as a percentage of the number of data in the stopping position information. Alternatively, the stopping record threshold may be set to a constant value regardless of the number of data in the stopping position information. Then, proceed to step S305.

In step S305, for the stop position set as an evacuation possible point, the arrival time to the stop position is calculated based on information about the movement route from the road on which the vehicle was traveling to the stop position. The movement route to the stop position is the evacuation route from the road to the evacuation possible point, and the calculated arrival time is the evacuation time from the road to the evacuation possible point. The evacuation route and evacuation time are updated as part of the evacuation possible point information, along with the position of the evacuation possible point. By adding the evacuation route and evacuation time when adding a stop position as an evacuation possible point, it is possible to more appropriately determine the evacuation destination, and it is possible to avoid the risk of colliding with an obstacle, etc., when the vehicle actually evacuates, and to perform evacuation driving safely. Then, the processing ends.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, as shown in steps S102 to S104, the surrounding environment information acquisition unit 131, the self-position estimation unit 132, the map information receiving unit 152, and the possible evacuation point acquisition unit 133 can set possible evacuation points using not only the recognized possible evacuation point information recognized from the surrounding environment information, but also the map possible evacuation point information updated by the server 200 based on the past stopping position information of multiple vehicles. This makes it possible to expand the range of stopping places that can become possible evacuation points. Then, as shown in steps S105 to S107, the evacuation destination determination unit 134 determines the evacuation destination from the set possible evacuation points, so that it is possible to more appropriately determine an evacuation destination where the vehicle can safely evacuate. As a result, as shown in step S108, the evacuation control unit 135 can realize safe evacuation driving.

In addition, as shown in steps S109, S203, and S301, server 200 acquires past stop position information of multiple vehicles in server 200, and updates the server-side map information based on this stop position information as shown in steps S302 to S305, so that highly reliable map evacuation point information can be used. Therefore, a highly reliable evacuation destination can be determined compared to when determining an evacuation destination by relying only on recognized evacuation point information recognized from surrounding environment information.

Second Embodiment
In the second embodiment, the evacuation drive support system shown in Fig. 1 executes evacuation drive and an emergency call. Fig. 5 shows a flowchart of the evacuation drive support process executed by the evacuation drive support system according to the second embodiment. The processes shown in steps S401 to S403, S408, and S409 in Fig. 5 are similar to the processes shown in steps S101 to S103, S108, and S109 in Fig. 2, and therefore will not be described. The process shown in Fig. 5 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined time interval by the evacuation drive support device 100.

In step S403, similar to step S103, the system obtains possible evacuation points around the current vehicle position, and then proceeds to step S404. In step S404, it is determined whether an ambulance has arrived at the possible evacuation point and whether the possible evacuation point information includes information on the ambulance's arrival history. If an ambulance has arrived, the system proceeds to step S405; if not, the system proceeds to step S406.

In step S405, the evacuation point information acquired in step S403 is referenced, and the evacuation point that minimizes the emergency transport time is determined as the evacuation destination of the vehicle. For example, the evacuation point that minimizes the sum of the emergency arrival time and the facility arrival time is determined as the evacuation destination. Then, the process proceeds to step S407.

In step S406, similar to step S107, the nearest possible evacuation point is determined as the evacuation destination, and then the process proceeds to step S407.

In step S407, an ambulance is requested. Then, steps S408 and S409 are executed, and the process ends.

Figure 6 shows a flowchart of the map information update process executed by the server 200. The processes shown in steps S501 to S504 in Figure 6 are similar to the processes shown in steps S101 to S104 in Figure 4, and therefore will not be described. The processes shown in Figure 6 are repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals by the server 200.

After step S504, in step S505, actual ambulance arrival information is obtained for the stopping position set as the possible evacuation point. The actual ambulance arrival information is included in the stopping position information and is obtained in step S501. For example, each time an ambulance arrives at the stopping position and is transported to an emergency facility, emergency transport times are obtained, such as the time from when a rescue request is made until the ambulance reaches the stopping position (arrival time after request), the time until the ambulance arrives at the stopping position (emergency arrival time), and the time from the stopping position until the ambulance arrives at the emergency facility (facility arrival time). Then, proceed to step S506.

In step S506, the ambulance arrival record information acquired in step S505 is integrated to calculate the emergency transport time for each stopping location. For example, for each stopping location, the total of the arrival time after request, the emergency arrival time, and the arrival time at facility is divided by the actual number to find an average value. The calculated emergency transport time is updated as part of the possible evacuation point information, along with the location of the possible evacuation point. By adding the emergency transport time when adding a stopping location as a possible evacuation point, it is possible to appropriately determine an evacuation destination where rescue can be received more quickly when the vehicle actually decides on an evacuation destination. Then, the process ends.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the evacuation driving support device 100 determines, as the evacuation destination of the vehicle, the evacuation destination that provides the shortest emergency transport time from among the available evacuation points included in the map available evacuation point information and the available evacuation points included in the recognized available evacuation point information. Therefore, when the driver becomes unconscious or the like and more rapid emergency transport is required, the evacuation destination can be appropriately determined taking into account the emergency transport time. Furthermore, when the server 200 adds the stopping position as an available evacuation point, it also updates the emergency transport time, so that when the vehicle actually determines its evacuation destination, it can appropriately determine an evacuation destination where rescue can be received more quickly.

According to each of the above embodiments, the following effects can be obtained.

The evacuation driving support device 100 includes a surrounding environment information acquisition unit 131, a self-position estimation unit 132, a map information receiving unit 152, an evacuation possible point acquisition unit 133, an evacuation destination determination unit 134, and an evacuation control unit 135.

The surrounding environment information acquisition unit 131 acquires surrounding environment information, which is information on objects present around the vehicle. The self-position estimation unit 132 estimates the self-position, which is the position of the vehicle. The map information receiving unit 152 receives map information from the server 200. This map information includes evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points where the vehicle can evacuate, and is recorded in the server 200 as server-side map information. The evacuation possible point information included in the server map information is updated based on stopping position information, which is information on stopping positions where multiple vehicles have stopped in the past, acquired from multiple vehicles by the server 200. The evacuation possible point acquisition unit 133 acquires map evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle based on map information (server-side map information or vehicle-side map information), by collating map information based on the self-position estimated by the self-position estimation unit 132. The evacuation destination determination unit 134 determines an evacuation destination for the vehicle based on the recognized evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle recognized from the surrounding environment information, and the map evacuation possible point information. The evacuation control unit 135 controls the vehicle toward the evacuation destination determined by the evacuation destination determination unit 134.

According to the evacuation driving support device 100, the surrounding environment information acquisition unit 131, the self-position estimation unit 132, the map information receiving unit 152, and the available evacuation point acquisition unit 133 can set available evacuation points using not only the recognized available evacuation point information recognized from the surrounding environment information, but also the map available evacuation point information updated by the server 200 based on the past stopping position information of multiple vehicles, so that the range of stopping locations that can become available evacuation points can be expanded. And, since the evacuation destination determination unit 134 determines the evacuation destination from the set available evacuation points, the evacuation destination where the vehicle can safely evacuate can be more appropriately determined, and the evacuation control unit 135 can realize safe evacuation driving.

The above-mentioned evacuation driving support device 100 may be provided as an evacuation driving support system together with a server 200 capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the evacuation driving support device 100. The server 200 includes a server-side map information recording unit 221, a data receiving unit 231, and a map information updating unit 211. The server-side map information recording unit 221 records map information including evacuation possible point information. The data receiving unit 231 acquires stopping position information, which is information on stopping positions where each vehicle has stopped in the past, from a plurality of vehicles. The map information updating unit 211 updates the evacuation possible point information included in the map information based on the stopping position information acquired from the plurality of vehicles.

In the evacuation driving support device 100 or an evacuation driving support system including the same, the evacuation destination determination unit 134 may be configured to determine, as the evacuation destination of the vehicle, the evacuation possible point that requires the shortest travel distance to be reached by the vehicle, among the evacuation possible points included in the map evacuation possible point information and the evacuation possible points included in the recognized evacuation possible point information. After expanding the range of stopping locations that can be evacuation possible points, the evacuation possible point that can be reached the fastest can be determined as the evacuation destination.

In the evacuation driving support device 100 or an evacuation driving support system including the same, the map evacuation possible point information may include an emergency transport time, which is the time required for emergency transport to the evacuation possible point. In this case, the evacuation destination determination unit 134 may be configured to determine, as the evacuation destination of the vehicle, an evacuation possible point that has the shortest emergency transport time, from among the evacuation possible points included in the map evacuation possible point information and the evacuation possible points included in the recognized evacuation possible point information. When the driver becomes unconscious or the like and more rapid emergency transport is required, the evacuation destination can be appropriately determined taking into account the emergency transport time.

In the evacuation driving support device 100 or an evacuation driving support system including the same, the server 200 may be configured to classify stopping position information acquired from a plurality of vehicles based on the stopping positions, and update the possible evacuation point information by adding stopping positions where the stopping record, which is the record of the vehicle stopping at the stopping position, is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, as possible evacuation points. This makes it possible to avoid information about stopping positions that are not very suitable as possible evacuation points being included in the possible evacuation point information, improving the accuracy of the possible evacuation point information.

In the evacuation driving support device 100 or an evacuation driving support system including the same, the available evacuation point information may include evacuation route information, which is information on the evacuation route when evacuating to the available evacuation point as the evacuation destination. In this case, the server 200 is preferably configured to update the available evacuation point information by linking the evacuation route information to the available evacuation point and adding it when adding the stopping position as the available evacuation point. By updating the evacuation route information at the same time, it is possible to avoid the risk of colliding with an obstacle or the like when the vehicle actually evacuates, and to perform evacuation driving safely.

In the evacuation driving support device 100 or an evacuation driving support system including the same, the map evacuation possible point information may include the emergency transport time at the evacuation possible point. In this case, the server 200 is preferably configured to acquire from the ambulance vehicle the stopping position information as well as the emergency transport time at the stopping position, and to update the evacuation possible point information based on the stopping position information and the emergency transport time. By also updating the emergency transport time, when the vehicle actually decides on an evacuation destination, it is possible to appropriately decide on an evacuation destination where rescue can be received more quickly.

The control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied in a computer program. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. Alternatively, the control unit and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured by combining a processor and a memory programmed to execute one or more functions with a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. In addition, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transient tangible recording medium as instructions executed by the computer.

100... evacuation driving support device, 131... surrounding environment recognition unit, 132... self-position estimation unit, 133... evacuation possible point acquisition unit, 134... evacuation destination determination unit, 135... evacuation control unit, 200... server

Claims (5)

An evacuation driving support system including an evacuation driving support device (100) mounted on a vehicle and a server (200) capable of transmitting and receiving information to and from the evacuation driving support device,
The evacuation driving assistance device includes:
a surrounding environment information acquisition unit (131) that acquires surrounding environment information, which is information on objects present around the vehicle;
a self-position estimation unit (132) for estimating a self-position which is a position of the vehicle;
a map information receiving unit (152) that receives map information including evacuation possible point information, which is information on an evacuation possible point where a vehicle can be evacuated, from the server;
an evacuation possible point acquisition unit (133) that acquires map evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle based on the map information, by collating the map information based on the estimated vehicle position;
an evacuation destination determination unit (134) that determines an evacuation destination of the vehicle based on recognized evacuation possible point information, which is information on evacuation possible points around the vehicle recognized from the surrounding environment information, and the map evacuation possible point information;
an evacuation control unit (135) that controls the vehicle toward the evacuation destination;
the evacuation possible point information includes evacuation route information which is information on an evacuation route when evacuation is made to the evacuation possible point as the evacuation destination,
The server,
A map information recording unit (221) for recording map information including the evacuation possible point information;
A receiving unit (231) that acquires, from a plurality of vehicles, stopping position information that is information on the stopping positions of each vehicle when the vehicle has stopped off the road or on the shoulder of the road in the past;
a map information update unit (211) that updates the evacuation possible point information included in the map information by adding the stop position as the evacuation possible point based on the stop position information acquired from the plurality of vehicles ,
The map information update unit updates the evacuation possible point information by linking the evacuation route information to the evacuation possible point when adding the stopping position as the evacuation possible point . 2. The evacuation driving support system according to claim 1, wherein the evacuation destination determination unit determines, as the evacuation destination of the vehicle, the evacuation possible point that requires the vehicle to travel the shortest distance to reach, among the evacuation possible points included in the map evacuation possible point information and the evacuation possible points included in the recognized evacuation possible point information. 3. The evacuation driving support system of claim 1 or 2, wherein when the map evacuation possible point information includes an emergency transport time, which is the time required for emergency transport to the evacuation possible point, the evacuation destination determination unit determines, as the evacuation destination of the vehicle, the evacuation possible point that has the shortest emergency transport time, from among the evacuation possible points included in the map evacuation possible point information and the evacuation possible points included in the recognized evacuation possible point information. The evacuation driving support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the map information update unit classifies the stopping position information acquired from the plurality of vehicles based on the stopping positions, and updates the evacuation possible point information by adding the stopping positions where the stopping record, which is the record of the vehicle being stopped at the stopping position, is equal to or greater than a predetermined value as the evacuation possible point. When the map evacuation possible point information includes an emergency transport time, which is a time required for emergency transport at the evacuation possible point,
The map information update unit acquires from the ambulance vehicle the stopping position information along with the emergency transport time at the stopping position, and updates the evacuation possible point information based on the stopping position information and the emergency transport time. An evacuation driving support system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4 .

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