WO2018003278A1

WO2018003278A1 - Vehicle handling assessment device, computer program, and vehicle handling assessment method

Info

Publication number: WO2018003278A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/016953
Authority: WO
Inventors: 晃諏訪
Original assignee: 住友電気工業株式会社
Priority date: 2016-07-01
Filing date: 2017-04-28
Publication date: 2018-01-04

Abstract

Provided is a vehicle handling assessment device, comprising a measurement value acquisition unit which repeatedly acquires a measurement value which relates to the steering of a vehicle, and a handling assessment unit which assesses whether the vehicle is handling in a prescribed manner on the basis of a prescribed variation per unit time of the measurement value which has been acquired with the measurement value acquisition unit.

Description

Vehicle behavior determination device, computer program, and vehicle behavior determination method

The present invention relates to a vehicle behavior determination device, a computer program, and a vehicle behavior determination method.
This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-1332039 filed on July 1, 2016, and incorporates all the description content described in the above Japanese application.

In Patent Document 1, the presence or absence of an abnormal event related to the other vehicle is determined based on the information of the other vehicle, and when it is determined that there is an abnormal event, the fact that the abnormal event has occurred in the other vehicle A traffic system for informing a person is disclosed.

JP 2013-109746 A

The vehicle behavior determination device according to the present disclosure includes a measurement value acquisition unit that repeatedly acquires a measurement value related to steering of the vehicle, and the vehicle based on a change amount per unit time of the measurement value acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit. A behavior determining unit that determines whether or not the predetermined behavior is present.

A computer program according to the present disclosure is a computer program for causing a computer to determine the behavior of a vehicle, the computer repeatedly measuring a measurement value related to steering of the vehicle, and a predetermined measurement value acquired. It is made to function as a behavior determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior of the vehicle based on the amount of change per unit time.

In the vehicle behavior determination method of the present disclosure, a measurement value acquisition unit repeatedly acquires a measurement value related to steering of a vehicle, and the predetermined behavior of the vehicle is determined based on a change amount of the acquired measurement value per predetermined unit time. The behavior determination unit determines the presence or absence.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the vehicle behavior determination apparatus of 1 embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the differential value of the lateral acceleration at the time of steering | steering-wheel operation, and a lateral acceleration. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the differential value of a lateral acceleration and a lateral acceleration at the time of steering | steering-wheel operation being performed when turning a curve. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the differential value of the lateral acceleration at the time of steering | steering-wheel operation, and a lateral acceleration. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of the differential value of a lateral acceleration and a lateral acceleration at the time of steering | steering-wheel operation being performed when turning a curve. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the vehicle behavior determination apparatus of 1 embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the server as a vehicle behavior determination apparatus of 2 embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the server as a vehicle behavior determination apparatus of 2 embodiment.

In recent years, autonomous driving technology has been developed as a technology that contributes to reducing traffic accidents, smoothing traffic flow, or reducing fuel consumption. From the viewpoint of reducing traffic accidents, a technique for notifying the driver of the danger of a collision between vehicles approaching each other using inter-vehicle communication or the like is being developed.

[Problems to be solved by the present disclosure]
Although the traveling vehicle may encounter a dangerous event (for example, a fallen object or an obstacle on the road), the system of Patent Document 1 does not disclose a method for detecting such a dangerous event.

Therefore, a vehicle behavior determination device that determines a predetermined behavior of a vehicle in order to detect a dangerous event on a road or in a vehicle, a computer program and a vehicle behavior determination method for realizing the vehicle behavior determination device are provided. Objective.

[Effects of the present disclosure]
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to determine a predetermined behavior of a vehicle in order to detect a dangerous event such as an abnormality of a crew member including a driver or a driver.

[Description of Embodiment of Present Invention]
The vehicle behavior determination apparatus according to the present embodiment is based on a measurement value acquisition unit that repeatedly acquires a measurement value related to steering of a vehicle, and a change amount per unit time of the measurement value acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit. And a behavior determining unit that determines the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior of the vehicle.

The computer program according to the present embodiment is a computer program for causing a computer to determine the behavior of a vehicle, and the computer repeatedly acquires a measurement value related to steering of the vehicle, and the acquired measurement. It functions as a behavior determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior of the vehicle based on a change amount of the value per predetermined unit time.

In the vehicle behavior determination method according to the present embodiment, a measurement value acquisition unit repeatedly acquires a measurement value related to vehicle steering, and the predetermined value of the vehicle is determined based on a change amount of the acquired measurement value per predetermined unit time. The behavior determination unit determines whether or not there is any behavior.

Measured value acquisition unit repeatedly acquires measured values related to vehicle steering. The measurement value can be acquired, for example, at a predetermined sampling cycle (for example, 100 ms). The measurement value related to steering may be, for example, acceleration in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle (also referred to as a lateral direction) or steering angular velocity. An acceleration sensor can be used to measure the lateral acceleration.

The behavior determination unit determines the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior of the vehicle based on the amount of change per unit time of the measurement value acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit. The amount of change per unit time of the measurement value can be a differential value of the measurement value, for example. That is, the amount of change per unit time of the measured value may be a differential value of the lateral acceleration or a differential value of the steering angular velocity.

When the driver operates the steering wheel along a road curve, the differential value of lateral acceleration or the differential value of steering angular velocity is relatively small. On the other hand, when a dangerous event such as a falling object or an obstacle exists on the road, it is considered that the driver of the vehicle performs a sudden steering operation to avoid the dangerous event. When the driver performs a sudden steering operation, the differential value of the lateral acceleration or the differential value of the steering angular velocity becomes relatively large. That is, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of a sudden handle as a predetermined behavior of the vehicle in order to detect a dangerous event on the road based on a change amount of the measured value per predetermined unit time.

In the vehicle behavior determination device according to the present embodiment, the behavior determination unit determines the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior based on the amount of change and a predetermined threshold.

The behavior determination unit determines the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior based on the amount of change and a predetermined threshold. For example, when the amount of change is less than a predetermined threshold value, the differential value of the lateral acceleration or the differential value of the steering angular velocity is relatively small, so the vehicle is considered to go straight or turn a curve, and a predetermined behavior (for example, sudden It can be determined that there is no handle. When the amount of change is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the differential value of the lateral acceleration or the differential value of the steering angular velocity is relatively large, so that it can be determined that there is a predetermined behavior.

In the vehicle behavior determination device according to the present embodiment, the behavior determination unit determines the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior based on the maximum value, the minimum value, and a predetermined threshold value of the change amount.

The behavior determination unit determines the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior based on the maximum value, the minimum value, and the predetermined threshold value of the change amount. For example, when the driver performs a sudden steering operation to avoid a dangerous event such as an obstacle on the road, the differential value of the lateral acceleration peaks (assumed to be the maximum value). Immediately after the driver performs the sudden steering operation, the driver performs the sudden steering operation in the opposite direction to return to the original lane or the traveling direction. Since the sudden handle operation at this time is in the opposite direction to the initial sudden handle operation, the differential value of the lateral acceleration has a peak in the opposite sign direction (for example, a minimum value). Accordingly, when the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount appear during a predetermined time (relatively short time) and the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the sudden handle operation is performed. Can be considered. That is, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior based on the maximum value, the minimum value, and the predetermined threshold value of the change amount.

The vehicle behavior determination device according to the present embodiment includes a counting unit that counts the number of times that the absolute value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold, and the behavior determination unit performs counting with the counting unit during a predetermined period. When the number of times is two or more, it is determined that the predetermined behavior is present.

The counting unit counts the number of times that the absolute value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value. The behavior determination unit determines that there is a predetermined behavior when the number of times counted by the counting unit during the predetermined period is two or more. The predetermined period can be, for example, 0.5 seconds, 1 second, or the like. When the driver performs a sudden steering operation to avoid a dangerous event on the road, it is considered that the driver performs the sudden steering operation again to return the steering wheel to the original state in a short time. That is, if the sudden steering operation is performed twice or more in a short time, it is highly likely that the driver has avoided a dangerous event on the road. That is, with the above-described configuration, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior.

The vehicle behavior determination device according to the present embodiment includes a speed acquisition unit that acquires the speed of the vehicle, and a determination unit that determines the threshold according to the speed acquired by the speed acquisition unit.

The determining unit determines a predetermined threshold according to the vehicle speed acquired by the speed acquiring unit. When the speed of the vehicle is relatively high, it is considered that the differential value of the lateral acceleration or the differential value of the steering angular speed is relatively large even when the vehicle turns a curve. Therefore, by determining the predetermined threshold according to the speed of the vehicle, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior regardless of the speed of the vehicle.

The vehicle behavior determination device according to the present embodiment transmits the position information of the vehicle when the position information acquisition unit that acquires the position information of the vehicle and the behavior determination unit determine that the predetermined behavior exists. A transmission unit.

The position information acquisition unit acquires vehicle position information. A transmission part transmits the positional information on a vehicle, when it determines with a behavior determination part having a predetermined | prescribed behavior. The vehicle position information can be transmitted to an external server, another vehicle, or the like. Thereby, the position information of the point where the dangerous event exists on the road can be notified to the server, other vehicles, etc., and the dangerous point on the road can be detected.

The vehicle behavior determination apparatus according to the present embodiment transmits the image information when the image information acquisition unit that acquires image information around the vehicle and the behavior determination unit determines that the predetermined behavior is present. A transmission unit.

The image information acquisition unit acquires image information around the vehicle. The periphery of the vehicle includes the front of the vehicle (including diagonally forward), the rear of the vehicle (including diagonally rear), and the lateral direction of the vehicle. When the behavior determining unit determines that there is a predetermined behavior, the transmitting unit transmits the acquired image information. The peripheral image information can be transmitted to an external server, another vehicle, or the like. Thereby, it is possible to notify the server, other vehicles, and the like of the image information of the point where the dangerous event exists on the road, and to visually confirm the state of the dangerous point on the road.

In the vehicle behavior determination device according to the present embodiment, when the behavior determination unit determines that the predetermined behavior is present, at least one of the state of the vehicle, the driver of the vehicle, and the road on which the vehicle travels is abnormal. The determination part which determines with it being is provided.

The determination unit determines that at least one of the state of the vehicle, the driver of the vehicle, and the road on which the vehicle travels is abnormal when the behavior determination unit determines that there is a predetermined behavior. The abnormality in the state of the vehicle includes, for example, a state where the tire is punctured. When the tire is punctured while traveling, it is conceivable that the driver performs a sudden steering operation in order to drive the vehicle safely. Moreover, the driver's abnormality includes, for example, a state of falling asleep or being unconscious. It is conceivable that a sudden steering operation is performed when the driver performs a drowsy driving or when the driver becomes unconscious. The road abnormality includes, for example, a case where a dangerous event exists on the road.

In the vehicle behavior determination device according to the present embodiment, the predetermined behavior depends on the sudden handle.

* Predetermined behavior depends on the handle. Thereby, the presence or absence of a sudden handle can be determined.

In the vehicle behavior determination device according to the present embodiment, the measurement value includes at least one of a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and a steering angular velocity of the vehicle.

The predetermined behavior of the vehicle can be determined by measuring at least one of the lateral acceleration of the vehicle and the steering angular velocity of the vehicle.

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings illustrating embodiments. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the vehicle behavior determination device 100 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle behavior determination device 100 according to the first embodiment can be mounted on a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle behavior determination apparatus 100 includes a control unit 10 that controls the entire apparatus, a measurement value acquisition unit 11, a speed acquisition unit 12, a position information acquisition unit 13, an image information acquisition unit 14, a storage unit 15, A change amount calculation unit 16, a behavior determination unit 17, a counting unit 18, a determination unit 19, a communication unit 20, an abnormality determination unit 21, and the like are provided. The vehicle behavior determination apparatus 100 is connected to a sensor unit 1, a vehicle speed sensor 2, a GPS unit 3, a camera unit 4, and the like via an in-vehicle LAN such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or a dedicated communication line. Yes.

The sensor unit 1 includes an acceleration sensor or a steering angle sensor. The sensor unit 1 repeatedly measures a measurement value related to steering of the vehicle, and outputs the measured value to the vehicle behavior determination device 100. The measured value can be measured, for example, at a predetermined sampling period (for example, 100 ms). The measurement value related to steering may be, for example, acceleration in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle (also referred to as a lateral direction) or steering angular velocity.

The vehicle speed sensor 2 detects the speed of the vehicle and outputs the detected speed to the vehicle behavior determination device 100.

The GPS unit 3 includes a GPS receiver, a gyro sensor, a map database, and the like, receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites by the GPS receiver, and detects the position of the vehicle. The GPS unit 3 outputs vehicle position information to the vehicle behavior determination device 100. The GPS unit 3 estimates the position of the vehicle based on signals output from the vehicle speed sensor and the gyro sensor of the sensor unit 1, and detects the position of the vehicle with higher accuracy by collating with the road data in the map database. be able to.

The camera unit 4 includes one or a plurality of cameras that can capture all or part of the front of the vehicle, the rear of the vehicle, and the lateral direction of the vehicle. The camera unit 4 outputs image information obtained by imaging to the vehicle behavior determination device 100. Note that the camera unit 4 may always take an image of the periphery of the vehicle while the vehicle is running, or may start an imaging operation based on a command from the vehicle behavior determination device 100.

The camera unit 4 can be provided with a camera that can image the inside of the vehicle. For example, image information obtained by imaging the state of the driver of the vehicle can be output to the vehicle behavior determination device 100 by the camera.

The measurement value acquisition unit 11 repeatedly acquires the measurement value output from the sensor unit 1 and related to the steering of the vehicle. The measurement value can be acquired, for example, at a predetermined sampling cycle (for example, 100 ms). The measurement value related to steering may be, for example, acceleration in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle (also referred to as a lateral direction) or steering angular velocity.

The speed acquisition unit 12 acquires the vehicle speed output from the vehicle speed sensor 2.

The position information acquisition unit 13 acquires vehicle position information output from the GPS unit 3.

The image information acquisition unit 14 acquires image information output by the camera unit 4.

The storage unit 15 stores the measurement value acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit 11, the speed acquired by the speed acquisition unit 12, the position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 13, the image information acquired by the image information acquisition unit 14, and the like. .

The change amount calculation unit 16 calculates the change amount per unit time of the measurement value acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit 11. The unit time can be, for example, 1 second, but is not limited thereto. The change amount calculation unit 16 can calculate the change amount every predetermined timing (for example, 100 ms). When the measured value is a lateral acceleration, the amount of change is a differential value of the lateral acceleration. Further, when the measured value is the steering angular velocity, the change amount is a differential value of the steering angular velocity.

The behavior determination unit 17 determines the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior of the vehicle based on the amount of change per predetermined unit time of the measured value. As described above, the amount of change per unit time of the measured value may be a differential value of the lateral acceleration or a differential value of the steering angular velocity. The predetermined behavior of the vehicle relies on, for example, a sharp handle. The predetermined behavior of the vehicle can be determined by measuring at least one of the lateral acceleration of the vehicle and the steering angular velocity of the vehicle. In the present specification, the differential value of the lateral acceleration and the differential value of the steering angular velocity are also referred to as a change amount.

Further, the behavior determination unit 17 determines the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior of the vehicle based on the maximum value and minimum value of the change amount calculated by the change amount calculation unit 16 and a predetermined threshold value (for example, a first threshold value). More specifically, when the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount during a predetermined time (relatively short time) is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the behavior determination unit 17 determines that the predetermined behavior of the vehicle is When it is determined that there is a difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the amount of change is less than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that there is no predetermined behavior of the vehicle.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the lateral acceleration and the differential value of the lateral acceleration when the sudden steering operation is performed, and FIG. 3 is the lateral acceleration and the lateral acceleration when the steering operation is performed when turning a curve. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the differential value of. 2 and 3, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates acceleration and a differential value (acceleration) of acceleration. In the figure, the graph indicated by the solid line represents the differential value of the lateral acceleration, and the graph indicated by the broken line represents the lateral acceleration.

As shown in FIG. 2, for example, when the driver performs a sudden steering operation to avoid a dangerous event such as an obstacle on the road, the differential value of the lateral acceleration peaks (assumed to be the maximum value Pmax). . Immediately after the driver performs the sudden steering operation, the driver performs the sudden steering operation in the opposite direction to return to the original lane or the traveling direction. Since the sudden handle operation at this time is in the opposite direction to the initial sudden handle operation, the differential value of the lateral acceleration has a peak in the opposite sign direction (for example, the minimum value Pmin). Accordingly, when the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount appear during a predetermined time (relatively short time) and the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, the sudden handle operation is performed. Can be considered. That is, it is possible to determine the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior based on the maximum value, the minimum value, and the predetermined threshold value of the change amount. The same tendency is shown for the differential value of the steering angular velocity.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when the driver performs a steering operation along a road curve, the difference between the maximum value Pmax and the minimum value Pmin of the differential value of the lateral acceleration is less than a predetermined threshold value. Become. The same tendency is shown for the differential value of the steering angular velocity.

That is, based on the maximum value and minimum value of the change amount per unit time of the measured value and a predetermined threshold value, it is determined whether or not there is a sudden handle as a predetermined behavior of the vehicle in order to detect a dangerous event on the road can do.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the lateral acceleration and the differential value of the lateral acceleration when the sudden steering operation is performed, and FIG. 5 is the lateral acceleration and the lateral acceleration when the steering operation is performed when turning a curve. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the differential value of. 4 and 5, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the absolute value (acceleration) of acceleration and the differential value of acceleration. In the figure, the graph indicated by the solid line represents the absolute value of the differential value of the lateral acceleration, and the graph indicated by the broken line represents the lateral acceleration.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the driver performs a steering wheel operation along a road curve, the absolute value of the differential value of the lateral acceleration is relatively small and less than a predetermined threshold value. The same tendency is shown for the absolute value of the differential value of the steering angular velocity.

On the other hand, when a dangerous event such as a falling object or an obstacle exists on the road, it is considered that the driver of the vehicle performs a sudden steering operation to avoid the dangerous event. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, when the driver performs a sudden steering operation, the absolute value of the differential value of the lateral acceleration becomes relatively large and becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. The same tendency is shown for the absolute value of the differential value of the steering angular velocity.

That is, based on the amount of change per unit time of the measured value (for example, the absolute value of the amount of change), it is determined whether or not there is a sudden handle as a predetermined behavior of the vehicle in order to detect a dangerous event on the road. be able to.

More specifically, the behavior determination unit 17 determines the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior based on the absolute value of the change amount and a predetermined threshold (for example, a second threshold). For example, when the absolute value of the change amount is less than a predetermined threshold, the absolute value of the differential value of the lateral acceleration or the absolute value of the differential value of the steering angular velocity is relatively small, so the vehicle is considered to go straight or bend a curve. It can be determined that there is no predetermined behavior (for example, a sharp handle). Further, when the absolute value of the change amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the absolute value of the differential value of the lateral acceleration or the absolute value of the differential value of the steering angular velocity is relatively large, and thus there is a predetermined behavior (for example, a sharp handle). Can be determined.

The threshold values shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 may be fixed values or may be changed as appropriate. For example, the determination unit 19 can determine a predetermined threshold according to the vehicle speed acquired by the speed acquisition unit 12. When the vehicle speed is relatively high, the differential value of the lateral acceleration (including the absolute value of the differential value) or the differential value of the steering angular velocity (including the absolute value of the differential value) is relative even when the vehicle is turning a curve. It is thought that it will become bigger. Therefore, by determining the predetermined threshold according to the speed of the vehicle, it is possible to accurately determine the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior regardless of the speed of the vehicle.

Note that the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the amount of change is significant in the case of a sudden steering operation and the steering operation when turning a curve, so that a predetermined threshold related to the speed of the vehicle can be used. By changing the threshold according to the speed of the vehicle, it is possible to more accurately determine the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior of the vehicle.

The counting unit 18 counts the number of times that the absolute value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value. The behavior determination unit 17 determines that there is a predetermined behavior when the number of times counted by the counting unit 18 during the predetermined period is two or more. The predetermined period can be, for example, 0.5 seconds, 1 second, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the absolute value of the differential value of the lateral acceleration (absolute value of the amount of change) becomes equal to or greater than the threshold value at the first sampling time (indicated by symbol S1), and the second sampling time (indicated by symbol S2). In, the absolute value of the differential value of the lateral acceleration (absolute value of the change amount) is equal to or greater than the threshold value.

When the driver performs a sudden steering operation to avoid a dangerous event on the road, it is considered that the driver performs the sudden steering operation again to return the steering wheel to the original state in a short time. That is, if the sudden steering operation is performed twice or more in a short time, it is highly likely that the driver has avoided a dangerous event on the road. That is, when the number of times counted by the counting unit 18 during the predetermined period is two or more, the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior can be accurately determined.

In the example of FIG. 4, the absolute value of the amount of change is equal to or greater than the threshold value at two consecutive sampling points. However, the temporal transition of the amount of change when the sudden handle operation is performed is as follows. It is not limited to the example of FIG. For example, depending on the sampling cycle, the absolute value of the change amount may be discretely greater than or equal to the threshold value among a plurality of sampling points. In the example of FIG. 4, the number of times the absolute value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value during the predetermined period is two times. However, the number of times is not limited to this. Since the handle may be performed three times or more, the number of times that the absolute value of the change amount becomes equal to or greater than a threshold value during a predetermined period may be three.

The communication unit 20 has a function as a transmission unit, and transmits vehicle position information when the behavior determination unit 17 determines that there is a predetermined behavior. The vehicle position information can be transmitted to an external server, another vehicle, or the like. In addition, when transmitting position information, information indicating that a predetermined behavior has occurred is also included. Other vehicles are not limited to the following vehicles. For example, other vehicles existing within a predetermined communication range can be included. Thereby, the position information of the point where the dangerous event exists on the road can be notified to the server, other vehicles, etc., and the dangerous point on the road can be detected.

That is, an external server or another vehicle receives the position information transmitted by the communication unit 20. By displaying the received position information on, for example, a road map, it is possible to easily confirm the point where the dangerous event has occurred.

In addition, when the behavior determining unit 17 determines that there is a predetermined behavior, the communication unit 20 transmits the acquired image information. The peripheral image information can be transmitted to an external server, another vehicle, or the like. In addition, when transmitting image information, information indicating that a predetermined behavior has occurred is also included. Thereby, it is possible to notify the server, other vehicles, and the like of the image information of the point where the dangerous event exists on the road, and to visually confirm the state of the dangerous point on the road.

That is, the external server or other vehicle receives the image information transmitted by the communication unit 20. By displaying the received image information on, for example, a display screen, the dangerous event can be visually confirmed.

The abnormality determination unit 21 has a function as a determination unit. When the behavior determination unit 17 determines that there is a predetermined behavior, the abnormality determination unit 21 includes at least a vehicle state, a crew member including a vehicle driver, and a road on which the vehicle travels. It is determined that one is abnormal.

An abnormality in the state of the vehicle includes, for example, a state where the tire is punctured. When the tire is punctured while traveling, it is conceivable that the driver performs a sudden steering operation in order to drive the vehicle safely. Moreover, the driver's abnormality includes, for example, a state of falling asleep or being unconscious. The driver's abnormality may be detected by imaging the driver with a camera provided indoors and detecting the state of the driver's posture or eyes by image processing. It is conceivable that a sudden steering operation is performed when the driver performs a drowsy driving or when the driver becomes unconscious. The road abnormality includes, for example, a case where a dangerous event exists on the road. The abnormality determination result can be transmitted from the communication unit 20 together with the determination result of the presence / absence of the behavior, the position information of the vehicle, and the image information around the vehicle.

Next, the operation of the vehicle behavior determination device 100 of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the vehicle behavior determination device 100 according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, the subject of processing will be described as the control unit 10. The control unit 10 acquires vehicle position information (S11), and acquires the vehicle speed (S12).

The control unit 10 determines a threshold value based on the acquired speed (S13), and acquires a measured value (for example, lateral acceleration or steering angular velocity) (S14). The control unit 10 calculates a change amount (for example, a differential value of the lateral acceleration or a differential value of the steering angular velocity) based on the acquired measurement value (S15).

The control unit 10 determines whether or not the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount is greater than or equal to a threshold value (S16). Instead of determining whether the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value, a process for determining whether the absolute value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value may be performed. Good. In this case, it may be determined whether or not the number of times the absolute value of the change amount is equal to or greater than a threshold value during a predetermined period is two or more. When the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount is not equal to or greater than the threshold value (NO in S16), the control unit 10 performs the processing from step S11. When the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value (YES in S16), the control unit 10 determines that there is a predetermined behavior (for example, a sudden handle) (S17).

The control unit 10 acquires image information around the vehicle (S18), and performs abnormality determination (S19). In the abnormality determination, for example, it is determined whether or not at least one of the state of the vehicle, the driver of the vehicle, and the road on which the vehicle travels is abnormal.

The control unit 10 transmits the position information of the vehicle and the image information around the vehicle to the server and / or another vehicle (S20), and determines whether or not to end the process (S21). When it is determined that the process is not to be ended (NO in S21), the control unit 10 performs the processes after step S11, and when it is determined that the process is to be ended (YES in S21), the process is ended.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the server 200 as the vehicle behavior determination device of the second embodiment. The vehicle behavior determination device of the second embodiment is not mounted on a vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the server 200 includes a control unit 210 that controls the entire server, a communication unit 211, a storage unit 212, a change amount calculation unit 213, a behavior determination unit 214, a counting unit 215, a determination unit 216, and an abnormality determination unit. 217 and the like. The functions of the storage unit 212, the change amount calculation unit 213, the behavior determination unit 214, the counting unit 215, the determination unit 216, and the abnormality determination unit 217 are the same as the functions of the respective units of the vehicle behavior determination device 100 of the first embodiment. Description is omitted. As shown in FIG. 7, the server 200 is capable of bidirectional communication with a plurality of

vehicles

51, 52, 53,.

Each

vehicle

51, 52, 53,... Is equipped with a sensor unit, a vehicle speed sensor, a GPS unit, a camera unit, and a communication unit (all not shown) that can communicate with the server 200, as in the case of the first embodiment. is doing.

The communication unit 211 has functions such as a measurement value acquisition unit, a speed acquisition unit, a position information acquisition unit, an image information acquisition unit, and a transmission unit.

Next, the operation of the server 200 will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the server 200 as the vehicle behavior determination device of the second embodiment. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, the processing subject will be described as the control unit 210. The control unit 210 acquires position information, speed, measurement value (lateral acceleration or steering angular speed, etc.), time information, image information obtained by imaging the periphery of the vehicle, and the like for each vehicle (S31). The acquired information includes identification information for identifying each vehicle. In the example of FIG. 7, the control unit 210 receives and acquires each piece of information described above from the

vehicles

51, 52, 53,. Note that the speed and image information are not essential.

The control unit 210 calculates the amount of change (for example, the differential value of the lateral acceleration or the differential value of the steering angular velocity) of each vehicle (S32), and the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the calculated change amount is greater than or equal to the threshold value. It is determined whether or not (S33). When the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount is not greater than or equal to the threshold value for all the vehicles (NO in S33), the control unit 210 performs the processing after step S31. If the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount is not less than the threshold value for any vehicle (YES in S33), the control unit 210 determines that the vehicle has a predetermined behavior (steep steering wheel) (S34). ), Abnormality determination is performed (S35). In the example of FIG. 5, the vehicle is referred to as a vehicle 51 for convenience. In step S33, instead of the process of determining whether the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the process of determining whether the absolute value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value. May be performed.

The control unit 210 obtains the position information and image information (if acquired) of the vehicle (vehicle 51) together with the result of determination of presence of a predetermined behavior and the result of abnormality determination, in the example of FIG. 52, 53,...) (S36).

The control unit 210 determines whether or not to end the process (S37). When it is determined that the process is not to be ended (NO in S37), the control unit 210 performs the processes after step S31, and when it is determined that the process is to be ended (YES in S37), the process is ended.

The vehicle behavior determination device of each embodiment described above can also be realized by using a general-purpose computer including a CPU (processor), a RAM, and the like. That is, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, a computer program that defines the procedure of each process is loaded into a RAM provided in the computer, and the computer program is executed by a CPU (processor) so that the vehicle behavior on the computer. A determination device can be realized.

As described above, according to the vehicle behavior determination device of each embodiment, the driving behavior (vehicle behavior) is obtained by using the amount of change in the lateral acceleration of the vehicle per unit time or the amount of change in the steering angular velocity per unit time. ) Abnormality (steep steering wheel) can be detected. Further, it is determined whether or not the change amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (for example, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, or the differential value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold). Thus, it is possible to easily distinguish between the driving behavior during the curve traveling and the sudden steering operation (dangerous event). Thereby, it can be easily determined that a dangerous event (falling object, obstacle, etc.) exists on the road. Further, when another vehicle is traveling at a point away from the point where the dangerous event exists, it is possible to detect the point where the dangerous event exists or the contents of the dangerous event in advance. Thus, if the point where the dangerous event exists in advance is known, for example, it can be used as a judgment material for driving control of a vehicle that is running automatically.

The disclosed embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sensor part 2 Vehicle speed sensor 3 GPS part 4 Camera part 10,210 Control part 11 Measurement value acquisition part 12 Speed acquisition part 13 Position information acquisition part 14 Image information acquisition part 15,212 Storage part 16,213 Change

amount calculation part

17, 214

Behavior determination unit

18, 215

Count unit

19, 216

Determination unit

20, 211

Communication unit

21, 217 Abnormality determination unit 100 Vehicle behavior determination device 200 Server

Claims

A measurement value acquisition unit that repeatedly acquires measurement values related to vehicle steering;
A vehicle behavior determination device comprising: a behavior determination unit that determines presence or absence of a predetermined behavior of the vehicle based on a change amount per unit time of a measurement value acquired by the measurement value acquisition unit.
The behavior determination unit
The vehicle behavior determination device according to claim 1, wherein presence / absence of the predetermined behavior is determined based on the change amount and a predetermined threshold.
The behavior determination unit
The vehicle behavior determination device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the presence or absence of the predetermined behavior is determined based on a maximum value, a minimum value, and a predetermined threshold value of the change amount.
A counting unit that counts the number of times the absolute value of the change amount is equal to or greater than the threshold;
The behavior determination unit
The vehicle behavior determination device according to claim 2, wherein when the number of times counted by the counting unit during a predetermined period is two or more, it is determined that the predetermined behavior is present.
A speed acquisition unit for acquiring the speed of the vehicle;
The vehicle behavior determination device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising: a determination unit that determines the threshold according to the speed acquired by the speed acquisition unit.
A position information acquisition unit for acquiring position information of the vehicle;
The vehicle behavior determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit position information of the vehicle when the behavior determination unit determines that the predetermined behavior is present.
An image information acquisition unit for acquiring image information around the vehicle;
The vehicle behavior determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: a transmission unit that transmits the image information when the behavior determination unit determines that the predetermined behavior is present.
2. A determination unit that determines that at least one of a state of the vehicle, a driver of the vehicle, and a road on which the vehicle travels is abnormal when the behavior determination unit determines that the predetermined behavior is present. The vehicle behavior determination device according to claim 7.
The vehicle behavior determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the predetermined behavior depends on a sudden handle.
The measured value is
The vehicle behavior determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein at least one of a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and a steering angular velocity of the vehicle is included.
A computer program for causing a computer to determine the behavior of a vehicle,
Computer
A measurement value acquisition unit that repeatedly acquires measurement values related to vehicle steering;
A computer program that functions as a behavior determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior of the vehicle based on a change amount per unit time of an acquired measurement value.
The measurement value acquisition unit repeatedly acquires measurement values related to vehicle steering,
A vehicle behavior determination method in which a behavior determination unit determines the presence or absence of a predetermined behavior of the vehicle based on a change amount per unit time of an acquired measurement value.