JP4844812B2 - Inter-vehicle information communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an inter-vehicle information communication system that includes an information processing unit that is mounted on a vehicle and generates navigation information or travel control information based on a travel position of the host vehicle, features on a forward travel path, and the like.

Today, for example, as a left / right turn guidance at an intersection or a stop guidance at a stop line, “Please turn left at an intersection at 100 meters from now on.” It is well known to provide users with navigation information such as “Please slow down.”
Furthermore, the travel control device mounted on and used in the host vehicle, for example, recognizes the presence of a stop line existing in front of the travel, generates the travel control information by itself, and actively performs the travel control. There is an attempt to generate intervention information, which is a type of control information, to intervene in driving by a driver.

  This type of system basically provides navigation information or travel control information based on information obtained from equipment (camera as imaging means, map database, GPS receiver, etc.) provided in the vehicle. Generate. However, when the equipment of the own vehicle is used as a basis, the limits of those equipment cannot be exceeded. That is, for example, even if it is attempted to grasp the situation on the traveling front side by image recognition using the imaging information from the camera, the situation up to 10 m ahead can only be grasped.

Therefore, as a technique related to generation of travel control information, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 acquires position information and vehicle control information of a preceding vehicle, and performs the same vehicle control when the host vehicle reaches the same position. Proposed.
By performing the same vehicle control in this way, the same traveling state as that of the preceding vehicle may be ensured.

JP 2002-92779 A

However, when any control is performed on the features on the road, the control suitable for the host vehicle is not necessarily the same control as the preceding vehicle. For example, if the speed of the host vehicle is faster than that of the preceding vehicle, it is necessary to perform the deceleration control earlier and with a large reduction ratio. In other words, this technology tries to perform the same control at the point where the preceding vehicle reaches the current point of time, so that the control is delayed and the optimum traveling control required by the subsequent vehicle at the subsequent point cannot be performed. .
In this regard, the same can be said for the provision of navigation information.

  Furthermore, when generating this type of navigation information or travel control information, it is necessary that the current position where the vehicle is traveling is accurately recognized. When self-position recognition is performed using features, the accuracy of self-position recognition can be improved, but when self-position recognition is performed using only features that can be recognized by the own vehicle, detection provided for the own vehicle. There is a limit in that the range of features that can only be detected by equipment is limited.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide accurate and appropriate information beyond the limit that can be detected by the vehicle in an inter-vehicle information communication system that attempts to generate navigation information or travel control information for a feature. Is to obtain an inter-vehicle information communication system capable of generating

In order to achieve the above object, a characteristic configuration of an inter-vehicle information communication system capable of communicating communication information from a transmitting vehicle to a receiving vehicle via a vehicle-to-vehicle communication means is characterized in that the transmitting vehicle exists along a traveling path. A feature recognizing unit for recognizing a feature is provided, and feature related information, which is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognizing unit, can be transmitted to the receiving vehicle as the communication information. And a positional relationship detecting means for detecting a vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle, and based on the feature related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent to the receiving vehicle, from the receiving vehicle. Information processing means for generating navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature as seen,
When the information processing means determines that the recognized feature is a feature that the receiving vehicle does not recognize,
In that it adopts a configuration for generating the navigation information or the driving control information directed to the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle.

In this inter-vehicle information communication system, the transmitting vehicle recognizes the feature existing along the traveling path by the feature recognizing means, and receives the feature-related information that is information on the recognized feature that is the feature to the receiving vehicle. send.
On the receiving vehicle side, the positional relationship of the recognized features as seen from the receiving vehicle is specified based on the positional relationship between the transmitted feature and the receiving vehicle detected by the received feature related information and the positional relationship detecting means. Therefore, the information processing unit generates navigation information or travel control information based on the positional relationship of the recognized features as seen from the receiving vehicle.

This operation state relates to the feature in a state as if the feature recognition means provided in the transmission vehicle is used as the feature recognition means included in the reception vehicle and the feature is recognized from the transmission vehicle by the positional relationship detection means. It converts to information and uses that information.
As a result, for example, even in a situation where the feature cannot be recognized on the receiving vehicle side, or in a situation where the recognition of the feature is not expected on the receiving vehicle side, it can be used appropriately using the information on the transmitting vehicle side. Moreover, the usage form is also applied from the position and time when the information is received on the receiving vehicle side.

  Therefore, it is possible to make the generated navigation information or travel control information appropriate for the receiving vehicle, and it is possible to eliminate the disadvantage that only control suitable for the state of the transmitting vehicle can be performed.

  Further, by adopting the above configuration, in a situation where the transmitting vehicle recognizes the feature, the feature-related information is sent to the receiving vehicle to perform processing on the receiving vehicle side, and the running state of the receiving vehicle and the feature type And generating the navigation information or the traveling control information based on the distance from the receiving vehicle to the recognized feature, so that the traveling condition of the receiving vehicle can be adapted. Information suitable for the distance to an object can be generated.

In addition , by adopting the above configuration, it is possible to generate accurate navigation information using information obtained from the transmitting vehicle for features that cannot be recognized on the receiving vehicle side but can be recognized on the transmitting vehicle side. The travel control information can be generated.
In the case of this configuration, since information on features that the own vehicle cannot recognize from the receiving vehicle is obtained via the transmitting vehicle side, the purpose of the present application is to increase the number of features that can be handled on the receiving vehicle side. The best match. Conversely, for features that can be recognized on the receiving vehicle side, information can be quickly processed on the receiving vehicle side, and accurate information can be generated with high responsiveness by limiting the processing to information on the receiving vehicle side. it can.

Further, the operation method of the inter-vehicle information communication system capable of communicating the communication information from the transmitting vehicle to the receiving vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication means is such that the transmitting vehicle recognizes the feature existing along the travel path. Performing an object recognition step, transmitting feature related information, which is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognition step, to the receiving vehicle as the communication information; The positional relationship detection step of detecting the vehicle positional relationship is executed, and the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle is targeted based on the feature related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent by the receiving vehicle. Navigation information or travel control information to be generated in the information processing step,
When it is determined in the information processing step that the recognized feature is a feature that is not recognized by the receiving vehicle, navigation information or traveling control information for the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle is generated. It will be a thing.

Further, the receiving-side vehicle-to-vehicle information communication system receives the feature recognition as communication information from a transmission vehicle provided with feature recognition means for recognizing features existing along the travel path via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication means. It is configured to be able to receive feature-related information, which is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the means, and is provided with positional relationship detection means for detecting the vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle, and is sent. Based on the feature-related information and the vehicle positional relationship, comprising information processing means for generating navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the own vehicle,
When the information processing unit determines that the recognized feature is a feature that the vehicle does not recognize, it generates navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the vehicle. To be built.

Further, the inter-vehicle information communication system capable of communicating the communication information from the transmitting vehicle to the receiving vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication means is a feature recognizing means for the transmitting vehicle to recognize a feature existing along the traveling path. And the feature related information, which is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognition means, can be transmitted to the receiving vehicle as the communication information, and the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle A positional relationship detecting means for detecting the vehicle positional relationship is provided, and the recognition feature as seen from the receiving vehicle is targeted based on the feature related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent to the receiving vehicle. Comprising information processing means for generating navigation information or travel control information;
The information processing means performs a comparison determination between the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle and the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the transmitting vehicle;
Navigation for the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle when it is determined that the recognition reliability of the recognized feature as seen from the transmitting vehicle is higher than the recognition reliability of the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle It is also a preferable form to generate information or traveling control information.

  In this configuration, both the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle can recognize the same feature for the time being. However, if there is a difference in the recognition reliability, it is necessary to cope with the situation. For example, the transmitting vehicle is approaching the stop line at low speed and can recognize the stop line directly, whereas the receiving vehicle is approaching the stop line from the rear side of the transmitting vehicle at a higher speed than the transmitting vehicle. In the situation, the recognition reliability on the transmission vehicle side is higher than the recognition reliability on the reception vehicle side.

Further, the operation method of the inter-vehicle information communication system capable of communicating the communication information from the transmitting vehicle to the receiving vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication means is such that the transmitting vehicle recognizes the feature existing along the travel path. Performing an object recognition step, transmitting feature related information, which is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognition step, to the receiving vehicle as the communication information; The positional relationship detection step of detecting the vehicle positional relationship is executed, and the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle is targeted based on the feature related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent by the receiving vehicle. Navigation information or travel control information to be generated in the information processing step,
The information processing step performs a comparison determination between the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle and the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the transmitting vehicle, and the recognition viewed from the transmitting vehicle. When it is determined that the recognition reliability of a feature is higher than the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle, navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle is generated. It shall be.
As a result, accurate navigation information or traveling control information can be generated using information obtained from feature recognition on the side with high recognition reliability.

In this case, the receiving-side vehicle-to-vehicle information communication system receives, as communication information, the ground information from a transmitting vehicle provided with a feature recognition unit that recognizes a feature that exists along the travel path via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit. It is configured to be able to receive feature related information, which is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the object recognition means, and is provided with positional relationship detection means for detecting the vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle. Information processing means for generating navigation information or traveling control information for the recognized feature as seen from the own vehicle based on the feature-related information coming and the vehicle positional relationship;
The information processing means performs a comparison determination between the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the own vehicle and the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the transmission vehicle, and the recognition viewed from the transmission vehicle. When it is determined that the recognition reliability of a feature is higher than the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle, navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle is generated. To be.

Further, the vehicle-to-vehicle information communication system is capable of communicating communication information from a transmitting vehicle to a receiving vehicle via a vehicle-to-vehicle communication means, wherein the transmitting vehicle recognizes a feature existing along a travel path. It comprises a recognizing means, and is configured to be able to transmit, as the communication information, feature-related information, which is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognizing means, to the receiving vehicle. Position relation detecting means for detecting a vehicle position relation with a vehicle is provided, and the recognition feature viewed from the receiving vehicle is targeted based on the feature related information and the vehicle positional relation sent to the receiving vehicle. comprising information processing means for generating navigation information or driving control information to the receiving vehicle, the current position recognizing means for recognizing a current position which is a position of the vehicle, its feature species及multiple feature A map database that stores along with the position information, provided with a, is recognizable configure features included in the imaging information, the identical feature and feature stored in the map database in the imaging information When the vehicle position is recognized , the self position recognition means includes the position information stored in the map database of the feature, and the positional relationship between the feature and the vehicle determined from the imaging information. It is preferable that the self-position can be recognized on the basis of the above.

  Although the recognition of the own position is very important for navigation and traveling control, the self-position recognition based on the feature can be made relatively reliable. Therefore, if the own position recognizing means can recognize the own position based on the recognized feature that is the feature recognized by the feature recognizing means on the transmitting vehicle side, the navigation information or the travel control information described so far In addition to the providing function, the receiving vehicle can recognize its own position with high accuracy.

Furthermore, it is preferable that self position recognition means for recognizing the self position from at least one of GPS information and detection information detected by the autonomous navigation sensor is provided.
In self-position recognition by features, the frequency of the recognition timing may be difficult, but the self-position recognition state is supplemented with at least one of GPS information or detection information detected from an autonomous navigation sensor. Or it becomes possible to assist, and a user-friendly system can be constructed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The present application relates to an inter-vehicle information communication system established between a transmission vehicle and a reception vehicle. The system on the reception vehicle side includes a functional unit that determines the current position of the vehicle and features detected by the transmission vehicle. And a functional unit that generates navigation information or travel control information based on the information.

  The self position here means a position along the traveling path, that is, a position in the front-rear direction along the traveling direction of the host vehicle.

In the inter-vehicle information communication system according to the present application, in the process of recognizing and determining the own position, the other vehicle recognizes the own position recognized by the other car and the confidence level of the own position recognition, and When the confidence level of the other vehicle is high compared with the confidence level of the position recognition, the own position of the own vehicle is determined from the own position of the other vehicle having a high confidence level.
Furthermore, in a situation where the other vehicle has recognized the feature under the good recognition state, the own vehicle receives information on the feature that is recognized by the other vehicle from the other vehicle, and navigation information or Produces | generates driving control information based on the relationship between the own vehicle and the feature which the said other vehicle recognized.

  Therefore, in the following description, first, the self-position recognition along the travel path will be described, and then the generation of navigation information or travel control information will be described.

1. Recognition / determination of own position along the traveling path The recognition / determination of the own position is performed by recognizing and correcting the position on the traveling path R running in the vertical direction of the paper as shown in FIGS. Is executed. These drawings show a state where the vehicle is traveling on the traveling path R from the bottom to the top.
In the drawing, the car shown on the upper side corresponds to the other car Co described so far, and the car shown on the lower side corresponds to the host vehicle Ci.

The configuration of the inter-vehicle information communication system 1 on the own vehicle Ci side according to the present application is shown in FIG.
In this figure, a functional unit (consisting of a self-position recognition unit 41, a self-position determination unit 42, a confidence level determination unit 43, and a confidence level comparison unit 44) shown on the left side in the arithmetic and control unit 4 is a travel route R. It is a functional unit that recognizes and determines its own position along the line.

  As will be described later, the own position determined by this function unit is sent to a navigation information processing unit 2 for generating navigation information or a traveling control information processing unit 3 for performing traveling control, and various navigation information or Is used to generate travel control information.

  The system is configured to include an arithmetic control device 4 serving as a system main body and various attached devices connected to the arithmetic control device 4.

The arithmetic and control unit 4 is configured to be able to capture detection information from the autonomous navigation sensor 5. Specifically, the autonomous navigation sensor 5 includes a direction sensor 5a for detecting a direction in which the host vehicle is facing, and a vehicle travel distance based on the number of rotations of a rotating body connected to a wheel such as a drive shaft. And a distance sensor 5b for obtaining
Detection information from the autonomous navigation sensor 5 is used to calculate a movement locus of the own vehicle. In other words, by finding the movement locus of the vehicle as having been moved to the azimuth detected by the azimuth sensor 5a by the traveling distance determined from the distance sensor 5b during a predetermined time interval. The position can be obtained sequentially.

  A GPS receiver 6 is connected to the arithmetic control device 4, and the GPS information sent from the GPS satellite 7 is sequentially received, and based on the GPS information from the GPS information in the arithmetic control device 4. The self-position can be recognized. The self-location obtained based on the GPS information is information obtained as a combination of longitude and latitude.

  The arithmetic and control unit 4 is configured to receive image information that is imaging information from the front camera 8a and the rear camera 8b. For example, a feature that is within the imaging range of each camera 8 by image recognition. M is configured to be recognizable.

  A vehicle-to-vehicle communication module 9 is connected to the arithmetic and control unit 4 and is configured to receive information received from the module 9 by vehicle-to-vehicle communication. In the present application, the information to be communicated in the inter-vehicle communication is the own position of the transmitting vehicle that is the other vehicle Co and its confidence level, and the feature when the other vehicle recognizes the feature. Information (referred to as feature-related information). Here, the feature-related information specifically refers to the “feature type” and “the distance between the other vehicle and the feature that is the positional relationship between the other vehicle and the feature” at the time when the other vehicle recognizes the feature. It is included.

  An inter-vehicle distance detection module 10 is connected to the arithmetic and control unit 4, and the inter-vehicle distance of the other vehicle Co with respect to the host vehicle Ci (a kind of vehicle position relationship) enters from the inter-vehicle distance detection module 10. Has been. In the example shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the inter-vehicle distance detection module 10 detects the inter-vehicle distance from the front vehicle Co. That is, on the travel path R, the inter-vehicle distance between the other vehicle Co and the host vehicle Ci existing in front of the travel direction is input to the arithmetic control device 4.

  The calculation control device 4 is provided with a database DB, and as this database DB, a map database DBm and a confidence level calculation database DBc are provided. The database DB includes a device having a recording medium capable of storing information and its driving means, such as a hard disk drive, a DVD drive equipped with a DVD-ROM, a CD drive equipped with a CD-ROM, and the like. It is provided as a configuration.

  The map database DBm is a database that stores map information. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the map information stored in the map database DBm. As shown in this figure, the map database DBm stores a road network layer L1, a road shape layer L2, and a feature layer L3 as map information.

  The road network layer L1 is a layer that indicates connection information between roads that are the traveling road R. Specifically, it has information on a large number of nodes N having position information on a map expressed by latitude and longitude, and information on a large number of links L constituting the road by connecting the two nodes N. It is configured. Each link L includes information such as the type of road (type of highway, toll road, national road, prefectural road, etc.) and link length as link information.

  The road shape layer L2 is a layer that is stored in association with the road network layer L1 and indicates the shape of the road. Specifically, information on a number of road shape complementary points S that are located between two nodes N (on the link L) and have position information on the map expressed in latitude and longitude, and each road shape complementary point Information of the road width W in S.

  The feature layer L3 is a layer that is stored in association with the road network layer L1 and the road shape layer L2, and indicates information on various features M provided on the road and in the vicinity of the road. As the information on the feature M stored in the feature layer L3, at least the feature M to be subjected to image recognition is stored together with the related information.

  Specifically, as the feature M, various features such as a feature Mp of a paint display provided on the road surface of the road, a feature of a three-dimensional object such as various road signs Mf and a traffic light Ms provided along the road, etc. Information about the object is stored in the feature layer L3. Here, the paint display includes, for example, a white line (solid line, broken line, center line, etc.) that separates lanes, a stop line, a zebra zone, a pedestrian crossing, a traveling direction display that specifies the traveling direction of each lane, and a speed display. Etc. are included. In addition, although not precisely based on paint, a manhole provided on the road surface may also be included in the paint display here. In addition to various road signs and traffic lights, the three-dimensional objects include various three-dimensional objects provided on or around the road, such as guardrails, buildings, utility poles, and signboards.

By using this map database DBm, the current position of the vehicle Ci is matched on the map based on the current position (latitude / longitude) obtained from the travel locus from the autonomous navigation sensor 5 or GPS information. be able to. This matching is performed as a position along the traveling path R.
Further, since various features M are registered in the map database DBm together with their positions in the feature layer L3, a specific feature M is captured in the image information captured by the camera 8 described above. In this case, the position (absolute coordinate position) of the subject vehicle Ci is recognized from the position registered in the map database DBm of the feature M and the positional relationship between the feature M and the subject vehicle Ci determined from the image. be able to.

  The confidence level calculation database DBc includes a score database DBc1 and a confidence level conversion database DBc2. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the pedestrian crossing X, which is the feature M, is recognized and the other vehicle Co recognizes the position of the own vehicle from the position of the pedestrian crossing X (absolute coordinate position).

  As shown in Table 1 below, the score database DBc1 is added or subtracted at each own position recognition timing (shown in the left column of Table 1) and the case factor of the score (shown in the right column of Table 1). Is a data table summarizing the relationship with The addition and subtraction of scores is determined by plus or minus shown in the left column.

For example, the case factors shown in Table 1 will be described. After the feature on the road is recognized and the position is corrected, 50 points are added. This is because when the feature M is recognized and the position is corrected, the probability is most increased.
On the other hand, the score is subtracted every 5 points “every 10 m after the feature recognition position correction”. This situation corresponds to the fact that after performing position correction with feature recognition and running while recognizing its own position with normal autonomous navigation, the degree of confidence decreases according to the distance traveled.
Regarding the GPS reception status, if the reception status is relatively good, a relatively high score can be given (20 points added), but if the reception status is bad, the score does not change (0 points added).
Immediately after turning right or left at the intersection, after correction with a curve, a certain amount of points can be given based on the information on the points (the former adds 20 points and the latter adds 10 points). On the other hand, the confidence level decreases in the tunnel (10 points subtraction). Furthermore, the degree of confidence decreases due to a failure of an image recognition system such as a camera or a GPS receiver (the former subtracts 40 points and the latter subtracts 30 points).

The structure of the confidence conversion database DBc2 is shown in Table 2.
This table shows the relationship between the total score (the right column in Table 2) and the confidence level (the left column in Table 2) obtained as the integrated value of the scores. The higher the total score, the higher the confidence level is set. You can see that

The above is the description of the devices connected to the arithmetic control device 4 and the functions thereof, but the configuration within the arithmetic control device 4 related to recognition / determination at its own position will be described below.
As can be seen from FIG. 1, the device 4 includes a self-position recognition unit 41, a self-position determination unit 42, a confidence level determination unit 43, and a confidence level comparison unit 44.

The self-position recognition unit 41 is a functional unit that executes recognition of the self-position from information sent to the arithmetic control device 4, and the self-position determination unit 42 corrects the self-position recognized so far, This is a functional unit that determines the self-position with the highest probability as the current self-position.
On the other hand, the confidence level determination unit 43 is a functional unit that determines the level of confidence regarding the position determined as described above, and the confidence level comparison unit 44 is sent via the inter-vehicle communication module 9. Whether the confidence level of the other vehicle Co and the confidence level of the current host vehicle Ci are compared, and based on the comparison result, the host position determination unit 42 should correct the other vehicle information and determine the host vehicle position. It is a functional unit that determines whether or not.

In order to recognize the own position along the travel path, the own position recognizing unit 41 has three types of recognition: a first own position recognizing means 41a, a second own position recognizing means 41b, and a third own position recognizing means 41c. Means are provided.
The first own position recognizing means 41a is a means for obtaining the own position by autonomous navigation, and based on the information from the direction sensor 5a and the distance sensor 5b, the movement locus of the own vehicle is sequentially determined at each own position recognition processing timing. Find and recognize your position.

  The second self position recognizing means 41b is a means for recognizing the self position based on GPS information received at a predetermined timing from a GPS satellite.

  The third position recognition unit 41c compares the imaging information of the camera 8 and the like with the information of the feature M stored in the map database DBm, and the same feature M is recognized in the captured image. Furthermore, it is a means for recognizing its own position based on the position information of the feature M. Since the self position recognition by this means is based on the presence of the feature M, the recognition is performed only at the timing when the vehicle reaches the point where the feature M exists. Here, in the present application, a functional unit that recognizes a feature in this means is referred to as a feature recognition means.

  The own position determining unit 42 is provided with own vehicle information dependent correcting means 42a for correcting own position dependent on own vehicle information, and other vehicle information dependent correcting means 42b for correcting own position based on other vehicle information. Yes.

  The own vehicle information dependence correction means 42a determines the current own position based on the new recognition information when a new own position is recognized by the own position recognition unit 41 with respect to the own position determined in the past. It is a functional means for correcting and determining. That is, each of the own position recognizing means 41a, 41b, 41c provided in the own position recognizing unit 41 has a fixed timing (the first own position recognizing means 41a is set at a certain time interval, and the second own position recognizing means 41b is Each time GPS information is taken in, the third position recognition means 41c recognizes its position every time a feature that can be used for position recognition is image-recognized). Specifically, the current position is determined while correcting the past value using the position recognized by the first position recognition means 41a. Here, when the own position recognized by the second and third own position recognition means 41b, 41c exists, the second and third means recognize from the own position recognized by the first own position recognition means 41a. The self-position is corrected and determined with priority on the self-position.

That is, in the case of this example, since the probability of the self-position recognition is higher on the latter side, information on the latter side is preferentially used for correction / determination of the own position. Here, since the frequency of self-position recognition is higher in the former side, the second and third self-position recognition means 41b and 41c were recognized based on autonomous navigation in a situation where self-position recognition was not possible. Your position is automatically used.
By doing in this way, in the own vehicle information dependence correction | amendment means 42a, the present own position is always determined from the information obtained by the own vehicle.

The other vehicle information dependent correction unit 42b is a functional unit that executes a correction method unique to the present application.
This means that the own position of the other vehicle Co is received with respect to the own position determined by the own vehicle information dependence correcting means 42a based on the own vehicle information, and the degree of confidence in the own position of the other vehicle Co is high. As a condition, the own position of the own vehicle Ci is corrected / determined based on the own position of the other vehicle Co.
The other vehicle information dependent correction means 42b receives the own position of the other vehicle Co and the distance between the own vehicle Ci and the other vehicle Co. Therefore, in this means 42b, a position separated by the inter-vehicle distance is obtained as the own position with reference to the own position of the other vehicle Co.
The self-position obtained in this way is given priority over the self-position determined by the own vehicle information dependence correction means 42a, and when this means 42b works, it is decided by the other vehicle information dependence correction means 42b. The determined own position is determined as the current own position.
The reason for this determination is that information necessary for position determination is sent to the other vehicle information dependence correction means 42b, and the confidence level comparison unit 44 performs the other vehicle information at the stage of executing the processing in this means. This is because it has been determined that the confidence level of Co is higher than the confidence level of the vehicle Ci.

The confidence level determination unit 43 includes score accumulation means 43a and confidence level calculation means 43b.
The score accumulating means 43a determines the determination status every time the own position determination unit 42 performs the own position determination. When the determination status corresponds to the addition / subtraction of the score, it is shown in Table 1. In accordance with the score table, the score is added / subtracted and added up as a total score. At the same time, when the own position is determined by the autonomous navigation that is always performed, as shown in Table 1, after the feature recognition position correction, 5 points are subtracted every 10 m of travel.

This integration state will be described with reference to FIG.
In FIG. 3, the upper diagram shows the traveling state of the car C, and the lower diagram shows the change in the total score (score integrated value) when the traveling shown in the upper diagram is performed.
The above figure shows the situation where the car C travels from the right side to the left side, where there is a pedestrian crossing X that is a feature M that can recognize its position in the direction of travel, and there is a tunnel T beyond that. Is shown. On the other hand, a downward arrow indicates that the position of the subject is sequentially determined at the position where the arrow is described. In this example, the position is first recognized and determined by the pedestrian crossing X, which is the feature M, and then the position recognition state by the autonomous navigation continues for a while, during which time GPS information is received twice, After recognizing and determining its own location based on the GPS information, it has reached the tunnel T.

  As for the change of the total score, first, assuming that the total score is 0, 50 points are added when the self-position recognition using the pedestrian crossing X which is the recognition of the self-position by the feature M is first performed. After that, in the autonomous navigation state, the total score gradually decreases, but 20 points are added every time the position recognition using GPS information is performed, and the total score is a sawtooth as shown in the figure. Changes. By entering the tunnel T, 10 points are subtracted when entering the tunnel T.

The confidence level calculation means 43b determines the confidence level from the confidence level conversion table shown in Table 2 based on the total score accumulated by the score accumulation means 43a.
Therefore, the determined degree of confidence is always maintained in a vehicle in a running state.

The above is the description of the configuration of the arithmetic and control unit 4 in this embodiment. Hereinafter, based on FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, correction / determination of the position on the travel path along the travel direction will be described. .
In the description, it is assumed that the own vehicle Ci and the other vehicle Co exist. However, both the vehicles Ci and Co have functional units 41 and 42 that enable recognition, correction and determination of the own position, and the corrected and determined own vehicle. A function unit 43 for determining the degree of confidence in the position, a function unit 44 for determining the degree of confidence, and an inter-vehicle communication module 9 are provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the own vehicle Ci is provided with an inter-vehicle distance detection module 10 for detecting an inter-vehicle distance from another vehicle Co.
5 and 6 show a situation in which the other vehicle Co has reached the position where the pedestrian crossing X is located in advance, and the host vehicle Ci tries to approach the other vehicle Co in a state of following the other vehicle Co. Yes. Therefore, the other vehicle Co is a transmitting vehicle, and the host vehicle Ci is a receiving vehicle.
5 and 6 both show a situation in which the other vehicle Co has approached the pedestrian crossing X, which is the feature M, but in the state shown in FIG. This shows a situation in which the position of the other vehicle Co is well determined with reference to the position of. Therefore, the confidence level of the other vehicle Co is changed from 2 to 10.
On the other hand, the state shown in FIG. 6 shows a situation in which the position of the other vehicle Co is not well determined based on the position of the pedestrian crossing X because the feature recognition is not performed well. Therefore, the confidence level of the other vehicle Co remains at 2.

From this state, correction / determination of the own position of the own vehicle Ci using inter-vehicle communication between the own vehicle Ci and the other vehicle Co is executed.
FIG. 4 shows a processing flow in the vehicle Ci in this state.
Hereinafter, the description will proceed according to this flow.
Accompanying the start of the process, information on another vehicle Co (front vehicle) is acquired (step 1). The information acquired at this time includes an identification number of another vehicle Co, a vehicle type, a communication form, and the like. When the information on the other vehicle Co cannot be acquired and the other vehicle Co cannot be recognized (step 2: no), the information acquisition is repeated. If information can be acquired and communication can be established (step 2: yes), the confidence level of the other vehicle Co is acquired (step 3).
Then, the confidence level comparison unit 44 compares the confidence levels of the other vehicle Co and the host vehicle Ci (step 4). As a result of the comparison, when the confidence level of the other vehicle Co is higher than the confidence level of the own vehicle Ci (step 4: yes), the process of correcting the own location of the own vehicle Co based on the information of the own location of the other vehicle Co is performed. Move (steps 5-8).

  On the other hand, as a result of comparison, if the confidence level of the other vehicle Co is lower than the confidence level of the own vehicle Ci (step 4: no), the process returns to step 1 and the confidence level of the other vehicle Co exceeds the confidence level of the own vehicle Ci. Steps 1 to 4 are repeated until the above. This situation is the situation shown in FIG. 6. In this figure, the own position of the own vehicle Ci that is the following vehicle is not corrected according to the information of the other vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the case where the confidence level of the host vehicle Ci is lower than the confidence level of the other vehicle Co, the following processing is sequentially executed. That is, information on the own position of the other vehicle Co (front vehicle) is acquired (step 5). The inter-vehicle distance detection module 10 detects and acquires the inter-vehicle distance between the other vehicle Co and the host vehicle Ci (step 6). Subsequently, the other vehicle information dependent correction means 42b obtains the own position of the own vehicle Ci from the own position of the other vehicle Co and the inter-vehicle distance obtained in this way, and uses the obtained own position as the current position. Is corrected and determined (step 7). If this correction is completed satisfactorily, the correction / determination process of the own position is completed (step 8: yes), and if it cannot be completed for some reason, the process returns to step 5 to execute the process. When completed, the self-recognition degree of own vehicle Ci is replaced with the self-confidence degree of the other vehicle.
This situation is the situation shown in FIG. 5, and the confidence level of the own vehicle Ci is changed from 5 to 10.

As described above, in the inter-vehicle information communication system 1 according to the present application, the own position is determined on the own vehicle Ci side.
The self-position determined accurately in this way is used for navigation, travel control, etc. At the same time, if the feature M is recognized on the other vehicle Co side, According to the recognition of the object M, navigation information and travel control information on the own vehicle side are generated using the information.

2 Information Processing Unit Hereinafter, functional parts related to the generation of the navigation information and the travel control information will be described with reference to examples shown in FIGS.
The example shown in FIG. 8 shows the situation where the host vehicle Ci as the receiving vehicle is approaching from the rear side to the other vehicle Co as the transmitting vehicle, as in the situations shown in FIGS. In this situation, the other vehicle Co recognizes the pedestrian crossing X, which is the feature M, and the other vehicle Co recognizes and determines its position with a high degree of confidence, but the subsequent vehicle Ci is the own vehicle Ci. The feature M has not been recognized yet. Therefore, how to perform navigation and traveling control on the own vehicle Ci side based on the feature M (X) recognized only on the other vehicle Co side becomes a problem.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the arithmetic and control unit 4, a feature information processing unit 11 is provided on the information inferior side of a function unit that executes recognition and determination of its own position. A configuration is adopted in which the position of the vehicle Ci determined as described above is sent from the unit 11 to the navigation information processing unit 2 and the travel control information processing unit 3.
These processing units 11, 2, and 3 form information processing means.

  On the other hand, since the information related to the feature M (X) recognized by the other vehicle Co is sent to the arithmetic control device 4, the feature information processing unit 11 can recognize the feature-related information. It has become. Here, the feature-related information, specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, is a “feature type” such as a pedestrian crossing X and a distance between another vehicle and the feature “other vehicle-ground”. This is information on “distance between objects”.

The feature information processing unit 11 is a functional unit responsible for information processing related to the recognized feature. The function is to confirm that the recognized feature M (X) that the other vehicle Co sent from the other vehicle Co recognizes is the feature M that the host vehicle Ci does not recognize. This is a function for converting the distance between the other vehicle and the feature into the distance information between the vehicle Ci and the feature M using the distance between the vehicles sent from the inter-vehicle distance detection module 10 in the confirmed situation.
That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the feature type and the other vehicle-feature distance D1 are sent from the other vehicle Co, the feature information processing unit 11 indicates that the recognized feature is on the side of the own vehicle Ci. It is confirmed that the feature M (X) is not recognized in step (b). This is because the information on the side of the vehicle Ci can be used for the feature M (X) recognized on the side of the vehicle Ci. Further, at the stage where this confirmation is obtained, the inter-vehicle distance D2 (see FIG. 8) detected by the inter-vehicle distance detection module 10 is used to change the position of the object M (X) and the own vehicle Ci from the own vehicle. A distance D3 to the object is calculated. In FIG. 1, this distance is described as “vehicle-feature distance”.
Then, the feature information processing unit 11 sends the feature type and the distance between the vehicle and the feature to the navigation information processing unit 2 and the travel control information processing unit 3. In addition to this, of course, the own position is also sent.

  In the navigation information processing unit 2, for example, information for displaying the own position obtained as described above on a display device (not shown) is generated, and the feature type, the distance D3 from the own vehicle to the feature, Using the travel information such as the current travel speed, generate and output information such as "There is a pedestrian crossing X ahead of D3m." And "There is a pedestrian crossing X ahead of D3m. Please slow down." To do.

  On the other hand, in the travel control information processing unit 3, for example, it is necessary to stop at a point at a distance D3m from the current own position, and the travel speed of the current vehicle as an example of travel state control information (an example of information related to the travel state) ) And the distance D3, or if the current traveling speed is too high, deceleration intervention information is generated and output based on that speed.

  Now, the system of the other vehicle Co that is the transmitting vehicle that constitutes the inter-vehicle information communication system 1 according to the present application is different from the system of the own vehicle Ci that is the receiving vehicle shown in FIG. The object information processing unit 11, the navigation information processing unit 2, and the travel control information processing unit 3 are excluded. However, in the inter-vehicle communication module 9 provided on the other vehicle Co side, regarding the generation of navigation information and travel control information for the recognized feature, “feature type” “own vehicle-feature” for the recognized feature of the transmitting vehicle itself. The transmission distance is “inter-distance (denoted as distance between other vehicle and feature in FIG. 1)”.

Hereinafter, the processing flow on the other vehicle Co side and the own vehicle Ci side will be described with reference to FIG.
The processing flow shown on the left side of FIG. 7 is a flow related to transmission processing executed by the other vehicle Co. First, regarding transmission processing, own vehicle information of another vehicle itself, which is information necessary for transmission and reception, is acquired. The own vehicle information includes identification information of the own vehicle, vehicle type, communication form, and the like (step 11). Until this own vehicle information can be acquired, an attempt to acquire this information is repeated (step 12: no).

  If the own vehicle information can be acquired (step 12: yes), next, information on whether or not the feature has been recognized (feature recognition information) is acquired (step 13). In the case of the present application, whether or not the feature has been recognized is information indicating whether or not the third position recognition unit 42c including the feature recognition unit referred to in the present application has recognized the feature. With this information, the acquisition attempt is repeated (step 14: no).

When it is confirmed that the feature has been recognized (step 14: yes), the feature-related information of the recognized feature that is the recognition target is acquired (step 15). In the example described above with reference to FIG. 8, information that the feature type is an intersection and the distance between the vehicle and the intersection is D1m is the feature-related information. Then, a transmission process is executed (step 16). The completion of transmission is confirmed (step 17). If the confirmation is not possible (step 17: no), the transmission operation is repeated.
At this time, in a situation where the other vehicle Co is in a traveling state and the completion of transmission is not confirmed, the distance to the feature M may change sequentially. Therefore, as the process proceeds, the own vehicle-feature distance is sequentially updated and acquired (step 15).
The above is the processing flow of the other vehicle Co that is the transmission vehicle.

On the other hand, the processing flow of the host vehicle Ci as the receiving vehicle is as shown on the right side of FIG.
The other vehicle transmission information, which is information on the other vehicle Co, is acquired via the inter-vehicle communication module 9 (step 21). The transmission information acquired here is identification information, vehicle type, communication mode, and the like of the other vehicle Co, and is information that contributes to establishment of communication between the other vehicle Co and the host vehicle Ci. This information acquisition is sequentially tried until acquisition is possible (step 22: no). When communication with the other vehicle Co is established (step 22: yes), the feature related information of the other vehicle Co is acquired (step 23). This feature related information includes the feature type recognized by the other vehicle and the distance D1m between the other vehicle and the feature. Subsequently, the inter-vehicle distance D2m between the other vehicle Co and the host vehicle Ci is acquired from the inter-vehicle distance detection module 10 (step 24). And it is confirmed that the feature information processing part 11 works and the own vehicle Ci has not recognized the recognized feature (step 25). This is because the recognition information on the own vehicle side may be used in the situation where the own vehicle Ci recognizes the recognized feature.

In a situation where the host vehicle Ci does not recognize the recognized feature (step 25: yes), a distance D3m from the host vehicle Ci to the recognized feature M (X) is calculated (step 26). As a result, it is possible to determine the necessity of navigation information or travel control from the relationship between the recognized feature M (X) and the position of the vehicle Ci.
The navigation information processing unit 2 and the travel control information processing unit 3 need to generate navigation information and travel control information based on the traveling state of the vehicle Ci, the feature type, and the positional relationship between the vehicle and the recognized feature. A determination is made (step 27), and if necessary, information is generated (step 28). Accordingly, accurate information can be provided based on the features recognized by the other vehicle Co, and navigation or travel control is executed based on the generated information (step 28).

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the embodiments described so far, the case where the feature is a pedestrian crossing has been shown. However, as the feature, the feature type can be specified and recognized by a recognition method such as image recognition. Anything can be used.
However, as shown in the embodiment, when a feature is used for recognizing its own position, it is preferable that the absolute coordinates exist as information registered in the map database.

(2) In the above embodiment, an example in which the system is established in a state where another vehicle that is a transmitting vehicle is traveling on the same traveling path and traveling lane with respect to the host vehicle that is a receiving vehicle. However, the system of the present application can be constructed between vehicles in any positional relationship as long as the vehicle positional relationship between the two vehicles can be detected by the positional relationship detection means. When it is necessary to define the vehicle position relationship by the direction and the distance, a vehicle position relationship detection module capable of detecting both the direction and the distance may be used instead of the inter-vehicle distance detection module described above.
(3) In the above embodiment, when the feature recognized by the other vehicle is a feature that the own vehicle does not recognize, based on the recognized feature-related information from the other vehicle, Although navigation information and travel control information are generated, even if the same feature is recognized, information from another vehicle is used based on the reliability of the recognition, or the own vehicle It may be determined whether to use the information.
For example, if the vehicle and the other vehicle recognize the same feature, but the traveling speed of the other vehicle is low and the traveling speed of the vehicle is high, the reliability of the feature recognition is naturally the other vehicle. The side gets higher. In this case, when the navigation information and the travel control information for the same feature are to be generated, more accurate information is generated by performing information generation using information related to recognition of other vehicles.
Therefore, the information processing means described above makes a comparison between the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle and the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the transmitting vehicle, and recognizes the recognized land viewed from the transmitting vehicle. When it is determined that the recognition reliability of an object is higher than the recognition reliability of the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle, a configuration for generating navigation information or traveling control information for the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle is adopted. This is also a preferred embodiment. In this case, the recognition reliability is included in the transmission information.
(4) In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the feature recognition means is provided as one functional part of the own position recognition means. However, the other vehicle that is the transmission vehicle recognizes it without accompanying the own position recognition. From the meaning of generating navigation information or travel control information on the receiving vehicle side, the recognition feature has a recognition function for recognizing the feature from image information obtained by a camera, etc. As long as the distance from the own vehicle (transmission vehicle) can be determined, the feature recognition means referred to in the present application can be configured.
(5) In the above embodiment, the example in which the inter-vehicle communication is directly performed between the vehicles has been described. However, the communication may be finally performed from the transmitting vehicle to the receiving vehicle. It may be performed in an indirect form via a center or the like.

  In a vehicle-to-vehicle information communication system that attempts to generate navigation information or travel control information for a feature, accurate and appropriate information can be generated beyond the limit that the vehicle can detect. An inter-vehicle information communication system could be obtained.

The figure which shows the structure of the system by the side of the own vehicle which comprises the information communication system between vehicles Diagram showing the structure of the map database Explanatory drawing which shows change of total score in recognition of own position along the road The figure which shows the processing flow of the self-position determination in the recognition of the self-position along a travel path Explanatory drawing when using the vehicle's own position for correction by recognizing its own position along the road Explanatory drawing when no correction is performed in recognition of own position along the road The figure which shows the processing flow in the other vehicle at the time of generation | occurrence | production of travel control information, etc. and the own vehicle Explanatory drawing which shows the operation situation at the time of pedestrian crossing recognition as a feature by other vehicles

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inter-vehicle information communication system 2 Navigation information processing part (information processing means)
3 Travel control information processing unit (information processing means)
4 arithmetic control device 5 autonomous navigation sensor 6 GPS receiver 8 camera (imaging means)
9 Vehicle-to-vehicle communication module (vehicle-to-vehicle communication means)
10 Inter-vehicle distance detection module (positional relationship detection means)
11 feature information processing unit (feature information processing means)
41 self-position recognition unit 41a first self-position recognition means 41b second self-position recognition means 41c third self-position recognition means (feature recognition means)
42 Self-position determining unit 43 Self-confidence determining unit 44 Self-confidence comparing unit Ci Own vehicle Co Other vehicle DB Database DBm Map database DBc Self-confidence calculation database

Claims (8)

An inter-vehicle information communication system capable of communicating communication information from a transmitting vehicle to a receiving vehicle via an inter-vehicle communication means,
The transmission vehicle includes a feature recognizing unit that recognizes a feature existing along a traveling path, and the feature related information that is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognizing unit is The communication information is configured to be transmitted to the receiving vehicle,
A positional relationship detecting means for detecting a vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle;
Information processing means for generating navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle based on the feature related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent to the receiving vehicle. ,
When the information processing means determines that the recognized feature is a feature that the receiving vehicle does not recognize,
A vehicle-to-vehicle information communication system that generates navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle. An inter-vehicle information communication system capable of communicating communication information from a transmitting vehicle to a receiving vehicle via an inter-vehicle communication means,
The transmission vehicle includes a feature recognizing unit that recognizes a feature existing along a traveling path, and the feature related information that is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognizing unit is The communication information is configured to be transmitted to the receiving vehicle,
A positional relationship detecting means for detecting a vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle;
Information processing means for generating navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle based on the feature related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent to the receiving vehicle. ,
The information processing means performs a comparison determination between the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle and the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the transmitting vehicle;
Navigation for the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle when it is determined that the recognition reliability of the recognized feature as seen from the transmitting vehicle is higher than the recognition reliability of the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle An inter-vehicle information communication system that generates information or travel control information. An inter-vehicle information communication system capable of communicating communication information from a transmitting vehicle to a receiving vehicle via an inter-vehicle communication means,
The transmission vehicle includes a feature recognizing unit that recognizes a feature existing along a traveling path, and the feature related information that is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognizing unit is The communication information is configured to be transmitted to the receiving vehicle,
A positional relationship detecting means for detecting a vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle;
Information processing means for generating navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle based on the feature related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent to the receiving vehicle. ,
The receiving vehicle, the current position recognizing means for recognizing a current position which is a position of the vehicle, a map database which stores a plurality of features with the feature type and the location information, provided with a, the imaging information When the same feature as the feature stored in the map database is recognized in the imaging information, the self-position recognition unit is configured to recognize the included feature. An inter-vehicle information communication system configured to be able to recognize the own position based on the position information stored in the map database and the positional relationship between the feature found from the imaging information and the own vehicle. . 4. The inter-vehicle information communication system according to claim 3, further comprising own position recognition means for recognizing the own position from at least one of GPS information and detection information detected by an autonomous navigation sensor. An operation method of an inter-vehicle information communication system capable of communicating communication information from a transmitting vehicle to a receiving vehicle via inter-vehicle communication means,
The transmission vehicle executes a feature recognition step of recognizing features existing along the travel path,
The feature related information that is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognition step is transmitted to the receiving vehicle as the communication information,
Performing a positional relationship detection step of detecting a vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle;
Based on the feature-related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent by the receiving vehicle, navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle is generated in an information processing step,
When it is determined in the information processing step that the recognized feature is a feature that the receiving vehicle has not recognized, navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle is generated. A method for operating an inter-vehicle information communication system. An operation method of an inter-vehicle information communication system capable of communicating communication information from a transmitting vehicle to a receiving vehicle via inter-vehicle communication means,
The transmission vehicle executes a feature recognition step of recognizing features existing along the travel path,
The feature related information that is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognition step is transmitted to the receiving vehicle as the communication information,
Performing a positional relationship detection step of detecting a vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle;
Based on the feature-related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent by the receiving vehicle, navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle is generated in an information processing step,
In the information processing step, performing a comparison determination between the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the receiving vehicle and the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the transmitting vehicle,
Navigation for the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle when it is determined that the recognition reliability of the recognized feature as seen from the transmitting vehicle is higher than the recognition reliability of the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle An operation method of an inter-vehicle information communication system for generating information or travel control information. Via vehicle-to-vehicle communication means
Feature-related information, which is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognition unit, is transmitted as communication information from a transmission vehicle provided with a feature recognition unit that recognizes a feature existing along the travel path. Configured to receive,
A positional relationship detecting means for detecting a vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle;
Information processing means for generating navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature as seen from the own vehicle based on the feature-related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent,
When the information processing means determines that the recognized feature is a feature that the vehicle does not recognize,
A receiving-side vehicle-to-vehicle information communication system that generates navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature as viewed from the host vehicle. Via vehicle-to-vehicle communication means
Feature-related information, which is information related to the recognized feature recognized by the feature recognition unit, is transmitted as communication information from a transmission vehicle provided with a feature recognition unit that recognizes a feature existing along the travel path. Configured to receive,
A positional relationship detecting means for detecting a vehicle positional relationship between the transmitting vehicle and the receiving vehicle;
Information processing means for generating navigation information or travel control information for the recognized feature as seen from the own vehicle based on the feature-related information and the vehicle positional relationship sent,
The information processing means performs a comparison determination between the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the own vehicle and the recognition reliability of the recognized feature viewed from the transmitting vehicle,
Navigation for the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle when it is determined that the recognition reliability of the recognized feature as seen from the transmitting vehicle is higher than the recognition reliability of the recognized feature as seen from the receiving vehicle A receiving side vehicle-to-vehicle information communication system that generates information or travel control information.

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