JP7145097B2 - Autonomous driving system - Google Patents

Description

According to the present invention, when a passerby passing through the side of the road is detected while the vehicle is traveling in automatic operation, the passerby is notified of the recognition state that the own vehicle recognizes the passerby. The present invention relates to an automatic driving system that does not report a recognition state when a roadway and a roadside strip are partitioned by a roadside object.

In the recent vehicle technology field, various automatic driving systems have been proposed that reduce the burden on the driver and allow the driver to travel comfortably and safely. This automated driving system measures the degree of matching between the road shape on the road map on which the vehicle is traveling detected by the map locator and the road shape of the actual driving lane detected by a sensing device such as a camera unit. are always compared to recognize the course of the vehicle.

When the road shape on the road map matches the road shape of the lane detected by the sensing device, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling along the target course, and the driver grasps the steering wheel. Instead, the control system continues the operation mode (automatic operation mode) in which the automatic operation is performed as the driving entity.

At that time, if it is determined that it is difficult to continue automatic driving, the driving mode is changed to a driving support mode that requests the driver to hold the steering wheel, or an automatic evacuation mode is executed. In this automatic save mode, the driving lane is driven at the legal or specified minimum speed. Alternatively, the host vehicle is guided to a safe place such as a side strip of the road and stopped.

When driving in autonomous driving mode, the driver basically does not need to hold the steering wheel or always look ahead, and can be relaxed to some extent until the autonomous driving system requests to hold the steering wheel. can. Therefore, while the vehicle is running in the automatic driving mode, the driver can perform actions other than driving (reading a book, operating a mobile terminal, etc.) while sitting in the driver's seat.

On the other hand, the automated driving system recognizes the position of the vehicle using a map locator and uses the map information of the surroundings of the vehicle stored in the dynamic map to determine traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, roads, etc. Obtain static information such as side strips and dynamic information such as traffic volume. In addition, current (lighting color) information of a traffic signal (including a signal for pedestrians) is acquired by a sensing device such as an in-vehicle camera and road-to-vehicle communication. Furthermore, the sensing device described above recognizes surrounding obstacles, traveling vehicles, and pedestrians (pedestrians, cyclists, etc.).

By the way, for example, when a vehicle approaches a passerby who is traveling on the side of a road with a narrow road width, or when a passerby crosses a pedestrian crossing, even if the passerby recognizes the approaching vehicle, If it is unknown whether or not the approaching vehicle recognizes the passerby, the passerby will feel uneasy.

When the self-driving vehicle is running in autonomous driving mode, the autonomous driving system naturally recognizes the passerby. It is not possible to clearly determine whether it is due to driving.

For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-174541), an automatic driving system detects a passerby (approaching person) approaching the own vehicle, and when there is a possibility of contact, the self-driving system detects the passerby. A vehicle state notification device has been disclosed that eliminates the anxiety felt by passers-by by notifying that the vehicle is recognizing it by display or sound.

JP 2015-174541 A

Since the automatic driving system constantly recognizes approaching passers-by, if the distance between the sideways position when passing the passer-by is relatively small, the vehicle will slow down or stop until the passer-by passes. If a passerby tries to cross a pedestrian crossing without a traffic signal for pedestrians, it is detected and the vehicle is automatically stopped before the stop line of the pedestrian crossing. Therefore, even if the passerby does not recognize the approaching vehicle, if it is a vehicle that is automatically driven by the automated driving system, it will safely pass by the passerby or automatically stop. and wait for passers-by to pass.

Therefore, even if a vehicle that is driving automatically by an automated driving system approaches a passerby, it is understood in advance that the approaching vehicle will pass safely without recognizing it or even if it is recognizing it. Since the passerby who is doing so does not have a sense of uneasiness, there is no need to dare to inform the passerby that the own vehicle is aware of it.

However, if the technology disclosed in the above-mentioned document is applied to an automatic driving system, when a passerby approaching the own vehicle is detected, all the detected passersby will be notified that they are aware of it. Therefore, there is an inconvenience that an unnecessary notification is given even to passers-by who do not have a sense of unease.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention accurately senses a passerby who feels uneasy about the approach of the own vehicle, and notifies the passerby that the own vehicle is approaching. To provide an automatic driving system capable of relieving anxiety and reducing unnecessary notifications.

The present invention includes a vehicle control calculation unit that automatically drives the own vehicle along a travel route, a forward driving environment information acquisition unit that acquires driving environment information in front of the own vehicle, and the forward driving environment information acquisition unit. a passerby recognition calculation unit that recognizes a passerby in front of the vehicle based on the driving environment information; In an automatic driving system comprising a recognition state notifying unit that notifies the recognition state of the roadway on which the vehicle travels and the road side strip on which the passerby travels based on the traveling environment acquired by the forward traveling environment information acquisition unit and the passerby recognition calculation unit determines whether the recognized passerby is facing the direction of the vehicle. recognizing the facing passerby based on the information of the passerby acquired by the unit, and specifying the passerby as a report target passerby when the roadside object detection unit does not detect the roadside object; The recognition state notification unit notifies the recognition target passerby of the recognition state.

According to the present invention, when the passerby recognized by the forward driving environment information acquisition unit is facing the direction of the own vehicle, the passerby is specified as the report target passerby, and the report target passerby is identified. Since the recognition state is notified, it is possible to accurately detect a passerby who has a sense of unease, and notify the passerby that the own vehicle is approaching. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the anxiety of the passerby and reduce unnecessary notifications to passersby who do not feel uneasy.

Schematic diagram of automated driving system Perspective view of a vehicle traveling in automated driving mode on a roadway that is separated from roadside strips via a roadway outer line A perspective view of a vehicle traveling in an automated driving mode on a roadway that is separated from roadside strips through roadside objects. Flowchart showing a passerby recognition state notification processing routine (Part 1) Flowchart showing a passerby recognition state notification processing routine (Part 2) (a) is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a passerby recognizes an approaching vehicle, and (b) is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a passerby does not notice an approaching vehicle. (a) is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a passerby recognizes an approaching vehicle, but the roadside strip is separated from the roadway by a roadside object, and (b) is an approaching passerby who is about to cross the roadway. Explanatory diagram showing the state of recognizing a vehicle

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. An automatic driving system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a vehicle M (see FIG. 2). This automatic driving system 1 includes a locator unit 11 that detects the current position (own vehicle position) of the own vehicle M and generates a travel route to a destination, a camera unit 21 that acquires information on the traveling environment in front of the own vehicle M, and an automatic operation control unit 23 .

When one of the locator unit 11 and the camera unit 21 malfunctions, a redundant system is constructed in which the other unit temporarily continues automatic driving assistance. Then, the automatic driving control unit 23 compares the information obtained from the locator unit 11 and the camera unit 21, and continues the automatic driving mode when the shape of the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling has a high matching degree.

The locator unit 11 estimates the position of the vehicle on the road map and acquires road map data around and in front of the vehicle position. On the other hand, the camera unit 21 obtains the road curvature at the center of the lane dividing the left and right of the lane in which the vehicle M is traveling (own vehicle driving lane), and also determines the curvature of the vehicle M based on the center of the left and right lane. Calculate the lateral position deviation in the vehicle width direction.

The locator unit 11 has a map locator calculator 12 and a high-precision road map database 16 . The map locator calculation unit 12, the forward driving environment information acquisition unit 21d, which will be described later, and the automatic driving control unit 23 are composed of a well-known microcomputer equipped with a CPU, RAM, ROM, nonvolatile memory, etc., and peripheral devices thereof. The ROM stores in advance programs to be executed by the CPU and fixed data such as data tables.

A GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 13 , an autonomous driving sensor 14 , and an automatic driving input device 15 are connected to the input side of the map locator computing unit 12 . The GNSS receiver 13 receives positioning signals transmitted from a plurality of positioning satellites.

The autonomous driving sensor 14 enables autonomous driving in an environment where the reception sensitivity from GNSS satellites is low and positioning signals cannot be effectively received, such as driving in a tunnel. It consists of sensors and the like.

In addition, the automatic driving input device 15 is a terminal device operated by the passenger (mainly the driver). Input the information necessary to execute the automatic driving mode, such as input of local information (facility name, address, telephone number, etc.). This input information is then read by the map locator calculator 12 . The map locator calculation unit 12 includes a vehicle position estimation calculation unit 12a and a travel route setting calculation unit 12b.

The high-precision road map database 16 is a large-capacity storage medium such as an HDD, and stores high-precision well-known road map information (local dynamic map). This high-precision road map information has a hierarchical structure in which additional map information necessary to support automatic driving is superimposed on the static information layer of the lowest layer as a base. Additional map information includes types of roads (general roads, expressways, etc.), road shapes, left and right division lines, road signs, stop lines, intersections, static position information such as traffic signals, and traffic information, accidents, or Dynamic location information such as traffic restrictions due to construction is included. This road map information (local dynamic map) is read from a global dynamic map stored in a cloud server (not shown) and sequentially updated. Updated.

The vehicle position estimation calculation unit 12a acquires the current position coordinates (latitude, longitude) of the vehicle M based on the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver 13, and map-matches the position coordinates on the road map information. , to estimate the vehicle position (current position) on the road map. At that time, when the reception sensitivity from the GNSS satellite is low and the positioning signal cannot be effectively received, the map locator calculation unit 12 reads the signal received by the autonomous traveling sensor 14 . Then, localization is performed from the movement distance and direction based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor, the yaw rate (yaw angular velocity) detected by the yaw rate sensor, and the longitudinal acceleration detected by the longitudinal acceleration sensor. The vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor is also read by the automatic driving control unit 23 .

The travel route setting calculation unit 12b uses the position coordinates of the vehicle position estimated by the vehicle position estimation calculation unit 12a and the position coordinates (latitude, longitude) of the destination (and waypoint) input from the automatic driving input device 15. , the local dynamic map stored in the high-precision road map database 16 is referred to. Then, the driving route connecting the vehicle position and the destination (the destination via the waypoint if a waypoint is set) is determined according to preset route conditions (recommended route, fastest route, etc.). Generate.

In addition, even if the automatic driving switch provided in the automatic driving input device 15 is ON, when the destination information is not input, the driving route setting calculation unit 12b causes the vehicle to move straight along the current lane. Generate routes.

On the other hand, the camera unit 21 is fixed to the upper center of the front part of the passenger compartment of the vehicle M, and consists of a main camera 21a and a sub-camera 21b arranged at symmetrical positions with respect to the center in the vehicle width direction. It has an in-vehicle camera (stereo camera), an image processing unit (IPU) 21c, and a front traveling environment information acquisition section 21d. The camera unit 21 captures reference image data with the main camera 21a and captures comparison image data with the sub-camera 21b.

Both image data are subjected to predetermined image processing by the IPU 21c. The forward traveling environment information acquisition unit 21d reads the reference image data and the comparison image data image-processed by the IPU 21c. Then, the object is recognized from the reference image data by pattern matching or the like, and the distance data of the same object in both images (the distance from the own vehicle M to the object) is based on the parallax between the reference image data and the comparison image data. ) are calculated using the principle of triangulation or the like, and these are acquired as forward driving environment information.

Objects to be acquired as the forward running environment information by the forward running environment information acquiring unit 21d include, in addition to the above-mentioned information on the lane markings that divide the left and right of the vehicle's running lane, static information such as roadside strips, pedestrian crossings, Road signs, traffic lights for vehicles, roadside objects (guardrails, rubber poles, shrubbery, curbs, etc.) installed at the boundary between the roadside strip and the roadway are included. Furthermore, the objects of the dynamic information acquired as the forward traveling environment information include a preceding vehicle (including a two-wheeled vehicle) traveling in front of the own vehicle M, a passerby passing along the side of the road, and the signal of the acquired vehicle traffic light. Indication (lighting color) and the like are included.

Strictly speaking, the term "road side strip" refers to a passage for pedestrians provided by partitioning the road (or the side without sidewalks) with road (road surface) markings. Therefore, the roadway and the side strip continue without a step. Incidentally, a "sidewalk" refers to a passage for pedestrians provided by physically partitioning a road with curbs, guardrails, or the like. However, in the present embodiment, strictly distinguishing between the "roadside strip" and the "sidewalk" only makes the contents difficult to understand, so they are collectively referred to as "roadside strip".

In the present embodiment, "passerby" indicates a person moving along the side of the road, and a typical example is a pedestrian, but the passerby is not limited to this, and includes a bicycle driver. Therefore, the pedestrian is referred to as a passerby 35 in the following description.

Further, the forward driving environment information acquiring unit 21d checks whether the recognized passerby's body direction, that is, the passerby is facing the direction of the own vehicle M (more specifically, the direction of the driver's seat). Whether or not the passerby is facing the direction of the own vehicle M (more specifically, the direction of the driver's seat) is determined from the physical feature amount. As a physical feature amount, for example, if it is a face, it is determined by comparing it with preset facial feature amounts (eyes, nose, mouth, chin, etc.). Alternatively, determination may be made by comparing feature amounts of upper body and eye movements.

At least part of these objects may be detected by a sensing device such as an ultrasonic sensor, millimeter wave radar or lidar (LIDAR; Light Detection and Ranging) instead of the camera unit 21, or the camera unit 21 and a sensing device may be used for detection. Furthermore, the static information mentioned above can also be obtained from local dynamic maps stored in the high definition road map database 16 .

Further, the forward driving environment information acquiring section 21 d of the camera unit 21 , the map locator calculating section 12 , and the road-vehicle information acquiring section 22 are connected to the input side of the automatic driving control unit 23 . The road-to-vehicle information acquisition unit 22 acquires information from roadside units installed on the road through road-to-vehicle communication. Signal indication (lighting color), etc.

On the other hand, on the output side of the automatic driving control unit 23, a steering control unit 26 for driving the own vehicle M along the travel route, a brake control unit 27 for decelerating the own vehicle M by forced braking, and controlling the vehicle speed of the own vehicle M. Acceleration/deceleration control unit 28 and recognition state notification unit 29 are connected.

This recognition state notification unit 29 has a projector unit typified by a head-up display (HUD), and as shown in FIGS. , Mr is notified of the recognition state by displaying a message to the outside of the vehicle. In the figure, the left and right display areas Ml and Mr are the windshield Mg.
, and is set at a position where the field of vision of both cameras 21a and 21b provided in the camera unit 21 is not obstructed. This message may be displayed as text, or may be displayed as a predetermined pictogram or symbol mark.

The automatic driving control unit 23 described above includes a vehicle control calculation section 23a and a passerby recognition calculation section 23b. The vehicle control calculation unit 23a controls the steering control unit 26, the brake control unit 27, and the acceleration/deceleration control unit 28 in a predetermined manner, and controls the own vehicle M based on the positioning signal indicating the own vehicle position received by the GNSS receiver 13. The vehicle is caused to automatically travel along the travel route generated by the travel route setting calculator 12b.

At that time, the forward driving environment information obtained by the forward driving environment information obtaining section 21d of the camera unit 21, the distance to the vehicle traffic signal obtained by the road-to-vehicle information obtaining section 22, and its appearance (lighting color) are detected. do. Then, when the distance to the vehicle traffic signal reaches a predetermined distance and the signal indication of the vehicle traffic signal 31 is red, deceleration control is started and the vehicle is stopped at a predetermined stop line in front of the pedestrian crossing.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the automatic driving control unit 23, when the own vehicle M is traveling on the narrow roadway 33, the roadside strip 34 set on the outside of the lane marking (roadway outer line) 33a. When a passerby 35 passing through is detected, before passing the passerby 35, the speed is reduced to a speed at which the passerby 35 can be safely passed. Further, as shown in FIG. 7(b), when the passerby 35 is about to cross the roadway 33, the host vehicle M is stopped in front of the passerby.

Further, when the passerby recognition calculation unit 23b detects the passerby 35 in front of the own vehicle M, the passerby recognition calculation unit 23b determines the recognition state notification condition of the passerby 35, and when this condition is satisfied, the recognition state notification unit 29 to notify the target passerby 35 of the recognition state. The messages displayed in the left and right display regions Ml and Mr of the windshield Mg by the recognition state notification unit 29 are directed to the passerby 35 facing the host vehicle M side. Therefore, when the passerby recognition calculation unit 23b recognizes a passerby who satisfies the recognition state notification condition (hereinafter referred to as a "reported passerby 36") on the left side of the own vehicle M, a message is displayed in the left display area Ml. is displayed to notify the recognition state. In the opposite case, a message is displayed in the display area Mr on the right to notify the recognition state. Also, if none of the passers-by 35 satisfy the recognition state reporting conditions, no message is displayed.

The determination of the recognition state notification condition and the notification processing of the recognition state to the passerby (the target passerby 36) executed by the passerby recognition calculation unit 23b described above are specifically performed by the passerby recognition shown in FIGS. It is performed according to the status notification processing routine.

In this routine, first, in step S1, based on a signal from the map locator computing section 12, it is checked whether the driving mode is the automatic driving mode. Then, when the automatic operation switch is ON and the automatic operation mode is selected as the operation mode, the process proceeds to step S2, and the automatic operation switch is OFF, or an operation mode other than the automatic operation mode such as the driving support mode is selected. If so, exit the routine.

When proceeding to step S2, based on the forward driving environment information acquired by the forward running environment information acquiring unit 21d, the passerby 35 passing through the roadside strip 34 set outside the roadway outside line 33a within the set short distance ahead is detected. To detect. The set front short distance is a distance at which the vehicle M feels uneasy when approaching the passerby 35 at a low speed, and is set in advance based on experiments and the like. Incidentally, in the present embodiment, the set front short distance is within 10 to 20 {m} in front of the own vehicle M, and the lateral position when passing each other is within 1 [m]. Information on the roadside strip 34 may be obtained from road map information (static information).

After that, the process proceeds to step S3 to check whether or not the passerby 35 passing through the side strip 34 has been detected. If not detected, the routine is exited. If the passerby 35 is detected, the process proceeds to step S4. Then, in steps S4 to S8, it is determined whether or not the detected passerby 35 satisfies the recognition state notification condition.

First, in step S4, the target vehicle speed set by the vehicle control calculation unit 23a is compared with the notification determination vehicle speed. When the self-vehicle M is traveling in the automatic driving mode, even if a passerby 35 passing through the side strip 34 ahead is detected, the vehicle M can cruise without deceleration when traveling on a general road with a wide lane width, for example. In this case, the passerby 35 does not feel uneasy. It should be noted that the processing in this step corresponds to the vehicle speed determination section of the present invention.

While the host vehicle M is traveling in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle control calculation unit 23a constantly recognizes obstacles including the passerby 35. As shown in FIG. Then, when passing through an obstacle, a target vehicle speed at which the vehicle can pass safely is set, and the control units 26 to 28 are controlled. At that time, when the own vehicle M travels on a narrow roadway 33 such as an urban road in the automatic driving mode and detects a passerby 35 on the roadside strip 34, the target vehicle speed is set low. Moreover, when the interval is extremely narrow, the vehicle stops and waits until the passerby 35 passes.

However, it cannot be determined from the side of the passerby 35 whether or not the own vehicle M is traveling in the automatic driving mode. Therefore, from the standpoint of the passerby 35, he or she becomes uneasy about whether or not the approaching vehicle (self-vehicle M) recognizes itself (the passerby 35). In other words, the lower the target vehicle speed is set, the more conspicuous it becomes. In this case, instead of the target vehicle speed, the actual vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor may be compared with the notification determination vehicle speed. be able to.

When the target vehicle speed exceeds the notification determination vehicle speed, it is determined that the passerby does not feel uneasy about the approaching own vehicle M, and the routine is exited. On the other hand, when the target own vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the notification determination vehicle speed, the process proceeds to step S5.

In step S5, the distance between the passerby 35 and the roadway outer line 33a is obtained based on the positional information of the passerby 35 passing through the side strip 34 obtained by the forward traveling environment information obtaining unit 21d, and this distance is set in advance. It is checked whether it is within the proximity distance (for example, 50 to 30 [cm]). When the passerby 35 is passing at a position away from the roadway outside line 33a, it is considered that the passerby does not feel uneasy even if the approaching own vehicle M is recognized. However, if the width of the side strip 34 is narrow and the passerby 35 has no choice but to run on the side of the roadway outer line 33a, it will make them feel uneasy. The proximity distance described above is the distance at which the passerby 35 begins to feel uneasy, and is set in advance based on experiments and the like.

When the distance between the passerby 35 and the roadway outside line 33a is longer than the close distance, it is determined that the passerby 35 does not feel uneasy, and the routine is exited. On the other hand, if the distance between the passerby 35 and the roadway outside line 33a is within the proximity distance, it is determined that the passerby 35 has a sense of uneasiness, and the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, it is checked whether or not the roadside strip 34 and the roadway 33 are partitioned by roadside objects 37 (see FIG. 9(c)). The roadside object 37 is a three-dimensional object such as a guardrail, a rubber pole, a shrubbery, a curb, or the like, which physically separates the roadside strip 34 from the roadway 33. In many cases, it is installed on the roadside strip 34 side of the roadway outer line 33a. there is Whether or not there is the roadside object 37 is determined based on the forward running environment information acquired by the forward running environment information acquiring section 21d or static information of the road map information. Also, the processing in this step corresponds to the roadside object detection section of the present invention.

If it is determined that the roadside strip 34 through which the passerby 35 travels and the roadway 33 are separated only by the roadside line 33a, that is, are not physically separated by the roadside object 37, the process proceeds to step S7. If it is determined that the roadway 33 and the roadside strip 34 are separated by the roadside object 37, the process branches to step S8.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the roadway 33 and the roadside strip 34 are separated only by the roadway outer line 33a, the passerby 35 may come into contact with the approaching vehicle (self-vehicle M). It becomes easier to have anxiety that you can't do it. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7(a), if the roadway 33 and the roadside strip 34 are separated by the roadside object 37, the passerby 35 passing through the roadside strip 34 is worried about coming into contact with the own vehicle M. It's hard to feel.

Then, when proceeding to step S7, it is checked whether the detected passerby 35 is facing the direction of the own vehicle M or not. As described above, when the own vehicle M is traveling in the automatic driving mode, the vehicle control calculation unit 23a constantly recognizes the passerby 35 within the set distance ahead. Therefore, it suffices to notify only the passerby 35 who has a sense of unease that the own vehicle M is recognizing it, and there is no need to notify the passerby 35 who does not have a sense of unease.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the passerby 35 who satisfies the condition of step S5 described above and moves in the direction of the vehicle M on the roadside strip 34 which is not partitioned by the roadside object 37 is the vehicle M When facing the direction of , it is easy to feel uneasy about the approach of the own vehicle M. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, it is considered that the passerby 35, who passes along the side strip 34 in the same direction as the vehicle M without looking back, does not feel uneasy about the approach of the vehicle M. .

Then, when the passerby 35 is not facing the direction of the own vehicle M, the routine is exited. On the other hand, if the passerby 35 is facing the direction of the own vehicle M, it is determined that the passerby is concerned about the approach of the own vehicle M and has a sense of uneasiness, and the process proceeds to step S9. Whether or not the passerby 35 is facing the direction of the own vehicle M is determined by comparing the physical characteristic amount of the passerby 35 described above. The passers-by 35 also include passers-by who are going to cross a pedestrian crossing where no traffic light is installed.

On the other hand, when branching from step S6 to step S8, it is checked whether the passerby 35 is going to cross the roadway 33 or not. Whether or not the passerby 35 is going to cross the roadway is determined, for example, based on the positional relationship between the passerby 35 and the roadside object 37 acquired by the forward traveling environment information acquisition unit 21d. (for example, within 10 to 20 [cm]), or as shown in FIG.

If the passerby 35 is not close to the roadside object 37, it is determined that the passerby 35 is not going to cross the road, and the routine is exited. If the passerby 35 is close to the roadside object 37 or is detected on the roadway 33 side, it is determined that the passerby 35 is about to cross, and the process proceeds to step S9.

Then, when the process proceeds from step S7 or step S8 to step S9, the passerby 35 who satisfies the recognition state reporting conditions determined in steps S4 to S8 is specified as the report target passerby 36. FIG. In the figure, since the passerby 35 shown in FIGS. 6A and 7B is the passerby to be notified, reference numeral 36 is shown in parentheses.

Next, in step S10, a notification command signal is transmitted to the recognition state notification unit 29 to notify the target passerby 36 that the vehicle M recognizes the target passerby 36. FIG. Then, the recognition state notification unit 29 receives the notification command signal from the passer-by recognition calculation unit 23b, and displays the display areas Ml and Mr set on the windshield Mg to the outside of the vehicle. The recognition state is notified by displaying a message to the effect that the As a result, the anxiety of the passerby 36 to be notified can be eliminated.

At that time, as shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 7(b), when the subject passerby 36 facing the vehicle M is detected on the left side, the message is displayed only in the left display area Ml. display. Similarly, when the passerby 36 to be notified is detected on the right side, the message is displayed only in the right display area Mr. Also, when the passerby 36 to be notified is detected on the left and right, a message is displayed on the left and right display areas Ml and Mr.

As a result, only the passerby 36 to be notified is notified, and the passerby 35 who does not feel uneasy about the approach of the own vehicle M as shown in FIGS. 6(b) and 7(a) is notified. Therefore, the passerby 35 does not feel discomfort or annoyance.

After that, the process proceeds to step S11, and it is determined whether or not the host vehicle M is decelerating for stopping based on the control state of the vehicle control calculation section 23a. Then, if deceleration for stopping has not been executed, the routine exits. On the other hand, when deceleration for stopping is detected, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, a notification command is output to the recognition state notification unit 29 to notify the passerby 35 that the host vehicle M is decelerating, and the routine exits.

Then, the recognition state notification unit 29 changes the display currently displayed in the display areas Ml and Mr set on the windshield Mg to the display indicating that the passerby 35 is recognized, and displays the message "The vehicle is decelerating to stop. displayed. As a result, the passerby 35 who is about to cross the roadway 33 can cross in front of the own vehicle M with peace of mind.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the vehicle M detects the approaching passerby 35, the recognition state notification condition is determined for the passerby 35, so that the vehicle M approaches. In particular, it is possible to accurately detect passers-by who have a sense of uneasiness. When the recognition condition notification condition is satisfied, a message is displayed in the display areas Ml and Mr on the side through which the passerby 35 passes, so that the sense of anxiety felt by the passerby 35 is eliminated. can be made

Furthermore, when the recognition condition notification condition is not satisfied, the passerby 35 passing through the side strip 34 is not notified that the own vehicle M is approaching. It will no longer remind you of ugliness.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. A condition that the message is not notified to the passerby 35 when it is detected that the passerby 35 is present may be added to the recognition state notification condition.

In addition, the recognition state notification unit 29 arranges an LED array, which is an example of visible light having directivity, in a horizontal row above the windshield Mg or on the boundary between the windshield Mg and the roof instead of the projector unit. , the central two LEDs may be set farther to the left and right, and the directivity direction may be set in a fan shape toward both sides. Then, the recognition state is notified by appropriately projecting the LED corresponding to the notification target passerby 36 . In this case, the notification in step S10 and the notification in step S12 are displayed in different lighting colors to notify the recognition state.

1... automatic driving system,
11... Locator unit,
12 ... map locator calculation unit,
12a ... own vehicle position estimation calculation unit,
12b ... travel route setting calculation unit,
13 ... GNSS receiver,
14... Autonomous traveling sensor,
15 ... automatic driving input device,
16... high-precision road map database,
21... camera unit,
21a... Main camera,
21b... Sub camera,
21c... image processing unit,
21d ... forward running environment information acquisition unit,
22 road-to-vehicle information acquisition unit,
23 ... automatic operation control unit,
23a... Vehicle control calculation unit,
23b ... Passerby recognition calculation unit,
26 ... steering control section,
27 ... brake control unit,
28 Acceleration/deceleration control unit,
29 ... recognition state notification unit,
33... Roadway,
33a... Roadway outside line,
34 Road side strip,
35 ... passers-by,
36 ... passerby to be notified,
37 Roadside objects,
M... own vehicle,
Mg... Windshield,
Ml, Mr... left and right display areas

Claims (9)

A vehicle control calculation unit that automatically drives the own vehicle along the driving route;
a forward driving environment information acquisition unit that acquires driving environment information ahead of the own vehicle;
a passerby recognition calculation unit that recognizes a passerby ahead of the vehicle based on the driving environment information acquired by the forward driving environment information acquisition unit;
In an automatic driving system comprising a recognition state notification unit that notifies the passerby of a recognition state that the passerby is recognized when the passerby recognition calculation unit recognizes the passerby,
A roadside object detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a roadside object that separates the roadway on which the vehicle travels from the roadside strip on which the passerby travels, based on the driving environment acquired by the forward running environment information acquisition unit. ,
The passerby recognition calculation unit checks whether or not the recognized passerby is facing the direction of the own vehicle based on the information of the passerby acquired by the forward traveling environment information acquisition unit. and specifying the passerby as a report target passerby when the roadside object detection unit does not detect the roadside object,
The automatic driving system, wherein the recognition state notification unit notifies the recognition target passerby of the recognition state. 2. The automatic driving system according to claim 1, wherein the roadside object is a three-dimensional object that physically partitions the roadway and the roadside strip. The passerby recognition calculation unit detects the passerby as a subject of notification when the roadside object is detected by the roadside object detection unit even when the recognized passerby is facing the direction of the own vehicle. 3. The automatic driving system according to claim 1, wherein a person is not specified. 2. The automatic driving system according to claim 1, wherein the passerby recognition calculation unit determines whether or not the passerby is facing the direction of the own vehicle from the physical feature amount of the passerby. further comprising a vehicle speed determination unit that compares the vehicle speed of the own vehicle with a preset notification determination vehicle speed,
2. The passer-by recognition calculation unit checks whether the passerby is facing the direction of the own vehicle when the vehicle speed of the own vehicle is equal to or lower than the notification judgment vehicle speed in the vehicle speed judgment unit. The automatic driving system according to any one of 1 to 4. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the passerby recognition calculation unit recognizes the passerby based on the driving environment information within a preset short distance in front of the vehicle. The described automated driving system. The automatic vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the recognition state notified by the recognition state notification unit is a message displayed toward the outside of the vehicle from a preset area of the windshield. driving system. The automatic driving system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the recognized state to be notified is visible light projected toward the outside of the vehicle. 9. The recognition state notification unit notifies the recognition state to each of the notification target passers-by when the number of the notification target passers-by identified by the passer-by recognition calculation unit is plural. The automatic driving system according to any one of 1.

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