JP7188890B2 - Driving support system and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to driving assistance systems and data structures.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, devices that estimate the position of a vehicle with high accuracy and thereby assist the driving of the vehicle have become widespread. In relation to this, in order to perform the process of specifying the position of the vehicle (identifying the driving lane), among the features on the road, it is possible to distinguish features that require image recognition for each lane. A technique for determining the lane in which the vehicle is present from among a plurality of lanes has been proposed (Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-117944 A

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device and data structure effective for appropriate driving support.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a driving assistance system for assisting driving of a vehicle. This driving support system includes lane information indicating a predetermined section for each lane that constitutes a road, and influencing features that affect the traveling of a vehicle in a specific lane passing through an intersection, which are associated with the lane information for each lane. and other feature information that is used to determine the vehicle's current position and that does not affect the vehicle's travel in a particular lane a storage unit that stores distinguishing information for distinguishing the information of the influencing feature from the information of other features among the feature information ; In performing the first control for supporting the driving of the vehicle in the lane and the second control for determining the current position of the vehicle, as the first control, the information of the influencing feature is selected using the distinguishing information related to the specific lane. a control unit for supporting the driving of the vehicle using the information on the influencing feature and determining the current position of the vehicle using both the information on the influencing feature and the information on the other feature as a second control ; Prepare.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a control unit to implement a driving support function for assisting driving of a vehicle. The driving support function includes lane information indicating a predetermined section for each lane that constitutes a road, and lane information for each lane that is associated with the lane information and influences the driving of the vehicle in a specific lane passing through an intersection. Influencing feature information and other feature information that is used to determine the vehicle's current position and that does not affect the vehicle's travel in a particular lane and the distinguishing information that distinguishes the information of the influencing features from the information of other features in the feature information, and the feature information corresponding to a specific lane based on the lane information. Based on this, in performing the first control for assisting the driving of the vehicle in a specific lane and the second control for determining the current position of the vehicle, as the first control, the distinguishing information regarding the specific lane is used to determine the influencing feature is selected, the information of the influencing features is used to assist the driving of the vehicle, and as a second control, both the information of the influencing features and the information of the other features are used to determine the current position of the vehicle. Including functions .

Note that the features described above are not an exhaustive list of the features of the present invention, and a configuration (or method) having these features as essential parts can also be an invention.

1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a driving support system 10 as one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. A diagram for explaining a road environment around a vehicle corresponding to a specific lane. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining processing in the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the contents of influencing features in the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining another example of the data structure used in the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining another example of the data structure used in the first embodiment; FIG. The figure for demonstrating the traffic environment which a vehicle drive|works by applying 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the second embodiment; FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the second embodiment; FIG. The figure for demonstrating the traffic environment which a vehicle drive|works by applying 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the second embodiment; FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the second embodiment; FIG. The figure for demonstrating the traffic environment which a vehicle drive|works by applying 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the second embodiment; FIG. The figure for demonstrating the traffic environment which a vehicle drive|works by applying 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the second embodiment; FIG. The figure for demonstrating the traffic environment which a vehicle drive|works by applying 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the second embodiment; FIG. The figure for demonstrating the traffic environment which a vehicle drive|works by applying 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the third embodiment; FIG. The figure for demonstrating the traffic environment which a vehicle drive|works by applying 4th Embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a data structure used in the fourth embodiment; FIG.

A. First embodiment:
A1. System configuration:
As shown in FIG. 1 , a driving assistance system 10 as an embodiment of the present invention is a driving assistance system that assists driving of a vehicle 20 and includes a vehicle 20 and a server 40 . Vehicle 20 and server 40 are communicably connected to each other via Internet NE and base station BS.

Vehicle 20 includes vehicle management unit 200 , vehicle communication unit 210 , input unit 220 , vehicle state acquisition unit 230 , output unit 240 , and vehicle control unit 250 . These components are communicably connected to each other by an internal bus (not shown).

The vehicle management unit 200 includes RAM and ROM (not shown). The vehicle management unit 200 detects the current position of the vehicle 20 based on the information supplied from the vehicle state acquisition unit 230 by deploying the control program stored in the ROM in the RAM and executing it, as well as detecting the current position of the vehicle 20, as well as the acceleration and braking. Information for determining control timing is generated and output to the vehicle control unit 250 .

Vehicle communication unit 210 is a device that performs communication between vehicle 20 and server 40 via Internet NE. The input unit 220 is a device that receives various inputs such as destination setting and waypoint setting from the user of the driving support system 10 . Vehicle state acquisition unit 230 acquires information for detecting the current position of vehicle 20 based on radio waves received from artificial satellites that constitute a GPS (Global Positioning System), which is a satellite positioning system. Furthermore, the vehicle state acquisition unit 230 may be provided with an autonomous navigation sensor (not shown) and supply information obtained by the autonomous navigation sensor to the vehicle management unit 200 together with radio wave information. In addition, the vehicle state acquisition unit 230 includes an imaging camera (not shown), which is a device for recognizing the road environment on which the vehicle travels, as an example of a detection unit that detects features around the vehicle. uses a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera as an imaging camera. The output unit 240 is a device that outputs and displays various images such as map images. The vehicle control unit 250 is a device that uses various types of control information for engine control and the like via control information output means 251 based on information supplied from the vehicle management unit 200 .

The server 40 includes a server communication section 41 , a server control section 42 and a storage section 43 . Server communication unit 41 is a device that performs communication between vehicle 20 and server 40 via Internet NE under the control of server control unit 42 . The server control unit 42 includes a RAM and a ROM (not shown), and controls each unit of the server 40 by loading a control program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executing the program.

The storage unit 43 stores lane information 431 , lane-feature correspondence information 433 , and feature information 435 . The lane information 431 is information indicating a driving path for each lane in a predetermined road section, and includes information regarding a lane reference line represented by a linear shape in units of predetermined sections for lanes in which a vehicle can travel. The lane-feature correspondence information 433 is information on features in the vicinity of the intersection that affect the running mode of vehicles passing through the intersection (meaning features recorded as feature information 435 described later). This is information indicating the existence of each lane recorded in the . Further, the lane-feature correspondence information 433 includes distinguishing information for distinguishing information on influencing features that affect the driving mode of the vehicle in a specific lane from information on other features in the feature information 435. In addition, the feature information 435 and its distinguishing information are associated with the lane information 431 representing a specific lane. The feature information 435 is information on a plurality of features that affect the running pattern of a vehicle passing through an intersection, and is recorded including information on the position, shape, etc. of each feature. Note that the storage unit 43 is configured by a hard disk in this embodiment.

Next, the lane information 431 will be described based on the traffic environment shown in FIG. In the road shown in FIG. 2, the road flowing into the intersection 1 in the vertical direction (north-south) has four lanes at the entrance of the intersection, and the road flowing out from the intersection 1 in the vertical direction (north-south) has three lanes at the exit of the intersection. , the road on the lower side (south side) of the intersection 1 in FIG. In the lane information 431, the four lanes forming the intersection inflow portion of the road are identified and recorded as Lane010, Lane020, Lane030, and Lane040, respectively. Of these, the lane with the ID of Lane010 is actually the lane that is in contact with the roadway center line on the right side of the four lanes that exist at the entrance of the intersection of the above road, and at intersection 1 is a lane on which road markings (road markings for traffic divisions by direction of travel) indicating that the vehicle is to turn right are placed on the road surface.
After turning right into intersection 1 from the lane with the lane ID of Lane010, there are two lanes exiting from intersection 1. According to the lane information 431, Lane 151 is the lane from the center line, and Lane 151 is the lane from the road edge. The lane is identified as Lane 152 with an ID and recorded. Regarding the road entering from the west side to the east side of the intersection 1, there are three lanes at the entrance of the intersection.
In the following, the processing contents of the driving support processing system in the first embodiment will be described, taking as a typical example the case where the vehicle travels in a lane assigned a lane ID of Lane010 or a lane on an extension thereof.

The intersection entrance lane of the road on the lower side (south side) of intersection 1 in FIG. 2 is recorded in the storage unit 43 of the driving support system as lane information 431 as a data structure as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 shows the recorded contents of the lane to which the lane ID of Lane010 is assigned among the lanes (four lanes) at the entrance of the intersection.

Specifically, the coordinate point sequence (x1, y1, z1, x2, y2, z3) that makes it possible to grasp the lane represented by the lane ID Lane001 as an approximate center line in a predetermined section unit, Entering side lane ID and exiting side lane ID, which are lane IDs of lane information corresponding to the lanes before and after connecting to the lane (including virtual lanes in intersections), and the length of the lane when expressed in a lane network , and the lane indicated by the lane ID Lane010 is recorded as one content of the lane information 431. In FIG.

A description of the lane-feature correspondence information 433 is as follows. For each lane recorded in the lane information 431 in units of a predetermined section, information representing a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle is associated with information representing a specific lane. A specific example will be described with reference to FIG. For each information representing a lane assigned a lane ID recorded in the lane information 431, information representing a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle existing in the vicinity of the intersection (a feature recorded as the feature information 435 described later). FIG. 4 is a table for making it possible to distinguish whether or not the information of an object) is information that affects the traveling mode of a vehicle traveling on a specific lane. In FIG. 4, the information representing the lane identified by the ID of Lane010 (the lane indicated by the code Lane010 in FIG. 2) is associated with the information of a plurality of features near the intersection.

In the traffic environment shown in FIG. 2, stop lines in intersections denoted by OID001 to OID004 in FIG. There are crosswalks labeled OID005 to OID008 and a stop line painted OID009. In FIG. 4, it is possible to distinguish whether or not each of the features with the codes OID001 to OID009 affects the driving mode of the vehicle traveling in the lane with the ID of Lane010. It is recorded as In the table shown in FIG. 4, "lane ID" records information indicating a specific lane that is assigned an ID in the lane information 431 and recorded. The "total number of lanes" records the total number of lanes running in the same direction on the same road. Information on individual features recorded as feature information 435 is recorded by "feature ID". Information of "driving assistance related type" corresponds to each piece of information of this feature. If "1" is given as the content of the driving support-related type, the feature to which the "feature ID" to be associated is given is determined according to the driving mode of the vehicle traveling in the lane specified by the "lane ID". It has a meaning that it is an influential feature. On the other hand, if "2" is given as the content of the driving support related type, the feature to which the "feature ID" to be associated is given is the vehicle traveling in the lane specified by the "lane ID". In other words, the lane identified by the "lane ID" is not associated with driving assistance.

More specifically, the lane-feature correspondence information 433 will be described with reference to the contents of the table in FIG. The feature represented by the ID of Object001 assigned to the feature ID is the stop line paint in the intersection, as described above. Stop line paint (identified by Object 001 for the feature ID) is a stop position when a vehicle entering intersection 1 to turn right from Lane 010 stops according to the situation of other vehicles in intersection 1. It defines From this, the feature whose ID is managed as Object001 is given "1" as the information of "driving support related type" as it affects the driving mode of the vehicle traveling in the lane identified as Lane010. On the other hand, a feature whose ID is managed as Object004 (stop line paint in an intersection) is a stop line in the intersection for a vehicle that enters intersection 1 by turning right from Lane 101 and exits intersection 1 by, for example, lane 003. Although it defines the position, it does not define the stop position of the vehicle for the vehicle entering the intersection 1 to turn right from Lane 010, and it cannot be said that it affects the driving mode of the vehicle. Therefore, in relation to Lane010, "2" is given as information of "driving assistance related type" for a feature ID-managed as Object004 (stop line paint in an intersection). Here, the information of the "driving assistance related type" is distinguishing information for distinguishing the information of the influencing feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle in a specific lane from the information of other features in the feature information 435. is. In addition, the lane-feature correspondence information 433 includes lane ID, feature ID, and "driving support related type" information, so that the feature information 435 and its "driving support related type" information correspond to a specific lane. It is adapted to be associated with the lane information 431 to represent.

The feature information 435 will be explained using the traffic environment shown in FIG. Information on the location, shape, etc. of each of the stop lines inside, the pedestrian crossings marked with OID005 to OID008, and the stop lines marked with OID009. The recorded information constitutes the feature information 435 .

A2. Driving support processing:
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining driving assistance processing in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, it is started when the vehicle 20 reaches the inflow of the intersection. The driving support process of the present embodiment identifies a specific lane represented by the lane information 431 based on the current position of the vehicle 20, and uses the distinction information to combine the information of the influencing feature and the information of the other features. and selects the influential features from the features detected by the detection unit that detects the features around the vehicle 20 based on the result of discrimination, and assists the driving of the vehicle 20 corresponding to the influential features. It is. A specific description will be given below.

As shown in FIG. 5, the driving support system 10 first executes step S01. In step S<b>01 , a sensor and/or a camera mounted on the vehicle 20 that has reached the entrance of the intersection 1 detects a feature existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle 20 . In addition, the vehicle 20 uses the vehicle state acquisition unit 230 to acquire current position information of the vehicle. Here, it is assumed that the vehicle 20 is present at a predetermined point on the lane identified as Lane010, and the current location information is acquired. At these positions, the features detected by the sensors and/or cameras mounted on the vehicle 20 are assumed to be OID001, OID002, OID003, OID004, OID005, OID006, OID008, and OID009 in terms of the symbols in FIG. . Information on these features is information that can be used to accurately determine where the vehicle 20 is on a specific lane based on the current location information. 2 are objects managed in a table containing feature IDs as shown in FIG. It can be positioned as a feature that affects the driving mode. By the way, although the features shown as OID001 to OID0009 in FIG. 2 affect the driving mode of the vehicle traveling in either the lanes flowing into or out of the intersection 1, However, it cannot be said that all of these features affect the driving mode of a vehicle traveling in an arbitrary lane near the intersection 1 . This will be explained by taking the feature shown as OID008 in FIG. 2 as an example. For example, for a vehicle traveling in the lane represented by Lane010 in FIG. Although not positioned as an object, it is used to accurately determine where the vehicle 20 is on a particular lane. For vehicles traveling in the lane represented by Lane 040 in FIG. The feature indicated as OID008 affects the driving mode of the vehicle. Similar to OID008 in FIG. 2, it can be said that it is a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle for vehicles traveling in a certain lane, but it is a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle for vehicles traveling in other lanes. It can be said that the group of features that cannot be described are the features with codes OID001 to OID009 in FIG. The features indicated by OID001 to OID009 in FIG. 2 are recorded as feature information with feature IDs of Object001 to Object009 added to the feature information 435, respectively. Therefore, for each of the feature IDs of Object001 to Object009, it is possible to refer to the stored content of the feature information 435 and read out the information on the shape of the feature. Therefore, the feature information detected by the sensors and/or cameras mounted on the vehicle 20 and the feature shape information read from the feature information 435 are subjected to comparison processing.

Next, the driving assistance system 10 determines that the "driving assistance related type" shown in the table of FIG. It is determined whether or not the feature described in the feature correspondence information 433 has been detected. Specifically, in the table of FIG. 4, objects to which feature IDs such as Object001, Object007, and Object009 are given are managed by these feature IDs where the "driving assistance related type" is "1". The information of the feature information 435 and the information of the feature detected by the sensor and/or camera mounted on the vehicle 20 are identified (for example, the shape information of the feature information 435 and the feature detected by the camera are identified). (The same applies hereinafter.) is determined (step S02). When all of the information of the feature information 435 managed as Object001, Object007, Object009 and the information of the feature detected by the sensor and/or the camera can be identified, the driving support system 10 performs step S06 described later. to run.

Attempt to identify the information of the feature information 435 managed as Object001, Object007, and Object009 with the feature information detected by the sensor and/or the camera, and manage the feature IDs as Object001, Object007, and Object009. If any of the information of the feature information 435 detected does not exist in the feature information detected by the sensors and/or cameras mounted on the vehicle 20, the driving assistance system 10 executes step S03.

In step S03, the driving support system 10 detects the feature information 435 of the feature described in the lane-feature correspondence information 433 as having a "driving support related type" of "2" in step S01. It is determined whether or not it exists as information corresponding to the feature information. For example, in FIG. 2, the stop line paint in the intersection indicated by the symbol OID002 is detected by the sensor and/or camera mounted on the vehicle 20, and in the table of FIG. It is assumed that object information and sensor and/or camera detection information can be identified. In this case, the driving support system 10 executes step S04, which will be described later. Such processing occurs because, for example, due to the influence of accumulated snow, only the stop line paint within the intersection indicated by OID001 in FIG. 2 cannot be detected by the sensor and/or camera. , other inter-intersection stop line paints denoted as OID002 to OID004 in FIG. 2 have been detected.

When shifting from step S03 to step S04, the driving support system 10 performs the following processing. In the above example, the stop line paint in the intersection indicated by the symbol OID002 in FIG. 2 is detected by the sensor and/or camera mounted on the vehicle 20, and the feature ID is managed as Object002 in the table of FIG. When the feature information is identified as sensor and/or camera detection information, it can be said that there is a correspondence relationship between the information actually detected by the sensor and/or camera and the information stored in the storage unit 43 . This means that although there is information that is not detected by the sensor and/or camera locally, it can be said that the storage contents of the storage unit 43 describing the traffic environment in the vicinity of the intersection 1 are valid from a global perspective. be. For this reason, the driving assistance system is a feature that is not detected by the sensors and/or cameras mounted on the vehicle 10, and the description of the table shown in FIG. A given feature (for example, stop line paint in an intersection indicated by OID001 in FIG. 2) can be treated as detected (step S04). Specifically, the vehicle management unit 200 supplies the vehicle control unit 250 with the information of the feature whose ID is managed as Object001 in the feature information 435, that is, the information of the existing position of the feature and the shape information of the feature. shall be treated as information that can be

In step S03, the driving support system 10 detects the feature information 435 of the feature described in the lane-feature correspondence information 433 as having a "driving support related type" of "2" in step S01. If the driving support system 10 determines that it does not correspond to the feature information 435, the driving support system 10 determines that the storage contents of the storage unit 43, including the feature information 435, are not appropriate in the actual traffic environment. It is assumed that none of the lane information 431, the lane-feature correspondence information 433, and the feature shape information 435 stored in the storage unit 43 is used as the information supplied from the vehicle control unit 250 (step S05). Such processing occurs, for example, when the contents stored in the feature information 435 are no longer valid as contents describing the current traffic environment as map data due to changes in the road structure.

When the process moves from step S02 to step S06 or from step S04 to step S06, the driving support system 10 performs a map for the feature ID for which "1" is given as the driving support related type in the table of FIG. Driving support is performed using only information on objects. That is, here, only the information of the feature stored in the storage unit 43, which is identified by the feature ID as Object001, Object007, and Object009 whose driving support type is "1" in the table of FIG. It is treated as information supplied from the management unit 200 to the vehicle control unit 250 . As an example, a vehicle 20 traveling on Lane 010 passes through the pedestrian crossing at intersection 1 (the pedestrian crossing indicated as OID005 in FIG. 2), and if there is an oncoming vehicle, the vehicle 20 moves through the intersection indicated as OID001 in FIG. Since you may be obliged to stop before the stop line paint, after passing through the pedestrian crossing indicated by OID005 in Figure 2, it is sufficiently before the stop line paint in the intersection indicated by OID001 in Figure 2. The vehicle management unit 200 supplies the vehicle control unit 250 with the information on the feature whose feature ID is managed as Object001 as the information related to the travel control for slow-moving. The vehicle control unit controls the vehicle 20 so that it runs sufficiently slowly until it reaches the stop line paint in the intersection indicated by OID001 in FIG.

In the above example, the mode of driving assistance for a vehicle traveling in a lane that is distinguished from other lanes by lane markings in an actual road environment as shown in FIG. 2 has been described. On the other hand, the shape shown as Lane015 in FIG. 6 represents a virtual lane that does not correspond to the actual lane markings. As can be seen in the table of FIG. 7, it may be handled as information representing lanes in the same manner as information representing actual lanes. In the above example, a feature existing in an area beyond the section of the lane (section in the traveling direction of the vehicle) corresponding to the position where the vehicle 20 is currently present, and in the example of FIG. Paint is also treated as being associated with the lane indicated as Lane010 in FIG. 2 and as having a driving assistance-related type of "1" in the table of FIG. 4, like the stop line indicated as OID009 in FIG. there is On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle 20 is located at a predetermined position on Lane 015, which is a feature that exists in the same section in each lane section (section in the direction in which the vehicle travels). In the lane-feature correspondence information 433, only the stop line paint in the intersection indicated by may be treated as being related to the lane given the lane ID as Lane015 (see FIG. 8 for an example of such association). .
According to the present embodiment, the driving support system 10 provides information on influencing features that affect the driving mode of the vehicle 20 and information on other features for each lane in the traffic environment near the intersection as shown in FIG. It is possible to perform braking control and/or steering control so as to make a distinction from the information of the object, thereby achieving a driving mode corresponding to the shape and existing position of the influencing feature. Specifically, the vehicle 20 traveling on the lane shown as Lane010 in FIG. In this case, the same type of stop line paint other than the intersection stop line paint indicated by OID001 in FIG. 2 (for example, the 2) can be used for braking control and/or steering control without being used for controlling the vehicle 20. FIG. In this manner, according to the present embodiment, the driving support system 10 provides efficient and accurate driving support for vehicles traveling near intersections by eliminating processing of unnecessary information from the lane in which the vehicle travels. Realization is possible.

B. Second embodiment:
The configuration of the driving support system 10 in the second embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, the same elements or elements having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, redundant description is omitted, and the description focuses on the points that are different from the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows the traffic environment in the vicinity of an intersection 2 where the pedestrian-vehicle separation type signal is not operated. A traffic signal (signal OID0011, OID0021, OID0031, OID0041 in FIG. 9) is used as a feature indicating a permission to proceed or a stop instruction for a vehicle scheduled to enter and exit the area within the intersection of the intersection 2. As a feature that can define the stop position of a running vehicle, paint representing a crosswalk (paint indicated by OID0001 to OID0004 in Fig. 9), permission for pedestrians passing through the intersection area on the crosswalk - There is a traffic light for pedestrians (a traffic light shown with a code as OID0035 in FIG. 9) as a feature indicating a stop instruction. In addition, corresponding to the standard trajectory followed by vehicles passing through the intersection area for each approach and exit direction at the intersection, the lane reference line representing the lane entering the intersection area along the predetermined course and the lane exiting the intersection area following the predetermined course Information representing the standard trajectory that connects the lane reference line that represents the lane to which the vehicle is moving (that is, the same type of information as the shape information shown as Lane015 in FIG. 6) is also stored as lane information 431 in the storage unit 43. Information representing the standard trajectory in the intersection area, which constitutes the content of the lane information 431, is generated as data for each connection with a lane entering the intersection area. The information of the standard trajectory in the intersection area is, so to speak, the virtual lane reference line, and in FIG. .

In FIG. 10, in a data structure similar to that of FIG. 4, the above-described features labeled OID0001 to OID0004, OID0011, OID0021, OID0031, OID0035, and OID0041, and the features labeled OID0111 in FIG. Regarding the stop line paint, it is recorded so that it is possible to distinguish whether it affects the driving mode of the vehicle for vehicles traveling in the lane with the ID of Lane001. In the traffic environment shown in FIG. 9, OID0001 to OID0004 and OID0011 in FIG. , OID0021, OID0031, OID0035, OID0041, and OID0111, there is, for example, a stop line painting denoted by OID0311. The description of the objects in the table of FIG. 10 will be omitted.

The table shown in FIG. 10 is information about the virtual lane reference line in the intersection, labeled Lane002 in FIG. ) is associated with a plurality of features that affect the driving mode of vehicles traveling in the vicinity of the intersection 2 . This association affects the driving mode of a vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line labeled Lane002 in FIG. 9 (identified as Lane ID002 in the table of FIG. 10) for each of the plurality of features. It is intended to make it possible to distinguish between a feature that actually gives the vehicle a feature and a feature that does not affect the vehicle's running mode. That is, in the traffic environment of FIG. 9, if a feature affects the driving mode of the vehicle traveling on Lane002, the feature ID immediately below the feature ID that identifies the feature in the table of FIG. The type information of "1" is given to the data item "driving support related type" associated with . On the other hand, if the feature does not affect the driving mode of the vehicle traveling on Lane002, the data item associated with the feature ID in the table of FIG. 10 is given the type information of "2".

Concretely, how the information about the features marked with reference numerals in FIG. 9 is recorded in the table in FIG. 10 will be described. A vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line shown as Lane002 in FIG. 9 has already entered the intersection area of intersection 2 . Then, the information of the feature information 435 corresponding to the crosswalk, which is the feature denoted by OID0004 in FIG. 9, is not used for braking control and steering control of the own vehicle. Therefore, for a vehicle traveling on Lane002, the feature represented by the code OID0004 in FIG. 9 does not affect the vehicle's running mode. The type information of type "2" is given as the "driving assistance related type" which is the data item immediately below the ID.

In addition, the vehicle traveling so as to follow the virtual lane reference line shown as Lane002 in FIG. 9 has already entered the intersection area of intersection 2. Then, the information of the feature information 435 corresponding to the pedestrian crossing indicated by the code OID0001 in FIG. 9 is not used for braking control and steering control of the host vehicle. This is because the vehicle that has entered the intersecting area shown as Lane002 is traveling according to the traffic signal display information that permits the vehicle to pass through the intersection, which is shown as OID0011 in FIG. This is because traffic rules do not prevent the vehicle from passing over the crosswalk indicated by OID0001 in FIG. Then, for a vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line shown as Lane002 in FIG. 9, the pedestrian crossing shown as OID0001 in FIG. 9 need not be classified as a feature that affects the driving mode. Therefore, for a vehicle traveling on Lane002, the feature represented by the code OID0001 in FIG. 9 does not affect the vehicle's running mode. The type information of type "2" is given as the "driving assistance related type" which is the data item immediately below the ID.

For the same reason as described above, the feature of the traffic light indicated by the symbol OID0011 in FIG. In the table of FIG. 10, immediately below the feature ID of "Object0011" representing the traffic light, it is not a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle along the virtual lane reference line indicated by the code Lane002. Type information of type "2" is given as a certain data item "driving assistance related type".

Furthermore, the vehicle that has entered the intersection inner area indicated as Lane002 travels straight through the intersection 2, so the vehicle's traveling mode is affected by intersecting with the vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line indicated by Lane002. , i.e., features denoted by OID0002, OID0003, OID0021, OID0031, OID0035, and OID0111 in FIG. The type information of type "2" is given to the "driving assistance related type" which is the data item immediately below the object ID.

In FIG. 10, a distinction is made between a feature that affects the driving mode of a vehicle traveling on Lane 002, which is one of the imaginary lane reference lines that go straight from the south to the north at intersection 2 shown in FIG. 9, and a feature that does not. A table representing the is shown. On the other hand, for vehicles traveling along the imaginary lane reference line that is followed to enter the intersection area from the south side inflow to the intersection 2 in FIG. 9 and exit the intersection 2 from the east side outflow FIG. 11 shows how the table provided for driving assistance distinguishes between features that affect the driving behavior of the vehicle and features that do not.

The table of FIG. 11 shows that the feature identified by the feature ID of Object0003 in the table of FIG. 11 is a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle following Lane001. This is because a vehicle following the virtual lane reference line shown as Lane001 in FIG. Except when it is clear that there are no pedestrians, the driver is obliged to proceed at a speed that allows the vehicle to stop immediately before the crosswalk (see Article 38, Paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Act). . In other words, the feature of the pedestrian crossing denoted by OID0003 in FIG. 9 is a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle traveling on Lane001, and its information should be managed. Therefore, in the table of FIG. 11, the type information of type "1" is given as the "driving assistance related type" which is the data item immediately below the feature ID of "Object0003". Distinguished from this, in the table of FIG. 11, the information on features other than the features indicated with the code OID0003 in FIG. Type information is to be given. The difference between the features denoted by OID0003 in FIG. 9 and the other features shown in FIG. 9 can be explained as follows.

A vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line shown as Lane001 in FIG. 9 has already entered the intersection area of intersection 2 . Then, the feature information of the pedestrian crossing indicated by the code OID0004 in FIG. 9 is not used for braking control and steering control of the own vehicle. Therefore, in the table of FIG. 11, the type information of type "2" is given to the "driving assistance related type" which is the data item immediately below the feature ID that identifies the pedestrian crossing as the feature information.

In addition, features that do not affect the running mode of the vehicle in the form of intersecting with the vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line represented by Lane001, that is, OID0001, OID0002, OID0021, OID041, and OID0111 in FIG. , and OID0311 in the table of FIG. Type information will be given. In FIG. 9, which illustrates intersection 2 that is not a pedestrian/vehicle separation control intersection, the feature represented by the code OID0011 is the "driving support related type" whose content is type "1" in the table of FIG. is given. For the same purpose as will be described in detail later (see paragraph number (0065)), light color information of a face-to-face signal indicating whether or not to enter the intersection area is provided to a vehicle leaving the intersection area by turning right at the intersection. , is regarded as information that symbolizes the possibility of crossing with pedestrians on the pedestrian crossing where cars pass when exiting the intersection area, and for this reason, it is said that the intersection area will be passed in a manner that prevents crossing with pedestrians when leaving the intersection area. This is because it is treated as affecting the running mode of the vehicle in a sense.

The traffic signal denoted by OID0031 in FIG. 9 is not a traffic signal indicating an obligation to stop when the vehicle passes through the intersection area of the intersection 2 along the imaginary lane reference line Lane001 in FIG. is located in the area within the intersection of intersection 2 corresponding to Lane001, even if the light color of the traffic light is red, it can be treated as not affecting the running mode of the vehicle following Lane001 in FIG. can. Therefore, in FIG. 11, the type information of type "2" is given to the "driving assistance related type" which is the data item immediately below the feature ID of ObjectID0031. The traffic signal denoted by OID0035 in FIG. 9 is a pedestrian traffic signal for regulating pedestrians trying to cross the pedestrian crossing denoted by OID0003 in FIG. is. By the way, in the table of FIG. 11, the data item "driving-related type , even the pedestrian traffic light labeled OID0035 in FIG. 1” need not be treated as an object to which type information is given. Therefore, in the table of FIG. 11, the type information of type "2" is given to the "driving-related type" which is the data item immediately below the feature ID of ObjectID0035.

Also in the second embodiment, the processing flow of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 is applied. In this embodiment, it is started when the vehicle 20 reaches the area within the intersection. The driving support processing of this embodiment identifies the lane represented by the lane information 431 based on the current position of the vehicle 20, and distinguishes the information of the influencing feature from the information of other features using the distinguishing information. Then, the influencing feature is selected from the features detected by the vehicle state acquisition unit 230 that detects the features around the vehicle 20 based on the result of discrimination, and the driving support of the vehicle 20 corresponding to the influencing feature is provided. It is something to do. A specific description will be given below.

In other words, when the vehicle 20 reaches the intersection area, the vehicle state acquisition unit 230 can detect features that affect the driving mode of the vehicle while continuing to travel along the planned route, and other features. is the same as in the first embodiment. In this case as well, the feature information detected by the vehicle state acquisition unit 230 and the feature shape information read from the feature information 435 stored in the storage unit 43 are subjected to comparison processing. . Then, the driving assistance system 10 selects "driving assistance related type is detected as "1". After the process of step 01 is performed in this way, the process of deciding not to use the map data for the driving support process is executed through step S05, or the feature detected in the area near the intersection is executed through step S06. Of these, for example, in the lane-feature correspondence information 433 such as the table in FIG. Either of the processes to determine is executed.

Unlike the above case, among the plurality of features processed in step S01, for example, in the lane-feature correspondence information 433 shown in the table of FIG. 1” is not detected. For example, an attempt is made to identify the information of the feature information 435 managed as Object0001, Object0003, and Object0031 with the feature IDs in the table of FIG. If any of the information of the feature information 435 managed as object IDs Object0001, Object0003, and Object0031 does not exist in the information of the features detected by the sensors and/or cameras mounted on the vehicle 20, The driving support system 10 executes step S03.

In step S03, the driving support system 10 detects the feature information 435 of the feature described in the lane-feature correspondence information 433 as having a "driving support related type" of "2" in step S01. It is determined whether or not it exists as information corresponding to the feature information. For example, a pedestrian crossing indicated by OID0001 in FIG. 9, which will be described later, is detected by a sensor and/or a camera mounted on the vehicle 20, and the feature ID is managed as Object0001 in the table of FIG. Assume that the information is identifiable with sensor and/or camera detection information. In this case, the driving support system 10 executes step S04, which will be described later. Such processing occurs because, for example, due to the influence of accumulated snow, only the pedestrian crossing indicated by OID0003 in FIG. , and the other features indicated by OID0001 and OID0031 in the symbols of FIG. 9 have been detected.

When shifting from step S03 to step S04, the driving support system 10 performs the following processing. In the above example, the pedestrian crossing indicated by the code OID0001 in FIG. When object information and sensor and/or camera detection information are identified, it can be said that there is a correspondence relationship between the information actually detected by the sensor and/or camera and the information stored in the storage unit 43 . This means that although there is information that is not detected by the sensor and/or camera locally, it can be said that the storage contents of the storage unit 43 describing the traffic environment in the vicinity of the intersection 1 are valid from a global perspective. be. For this reason, the driving support system is a feature that is not detected by the sensors and/or cameras mounted on the vehicle 10, and the description of the table shown in FIG. A given feature (for example, a pedestrian crossing indicated by OID0003 in FIG. 9) can be treated as detected (step S04). Specifically, the vehicle management unit 200 supplies the vehicle control unit 250 with the information of the feature whose ID is managed as Object0003 in the feature information 435, that is, the information of the existing position of the feature and the shape information of the feature. shall be treated as information that can be

In step S03, the driving support system 10 detects the feature information 435 of the feature described in the lane-feature correspondence information 433 as having a "driving support related type" of "2" in step S01. If the driving support system 10 determines that it does not correspond to the feature information 435, the driving support system 10 determines that the storage contents of the storage unit 43, including the feature information 435, are not appropriate in the actual traffic environment. It is assumed that none of the lane information 431, the lane-feature correspondence information 433, and the feature shape information 435 stored in the storage unit 43 is used as the information supplied from the vehicle control unit 250 (step S05). Such processing occurs, for example, when the contents stored in the feature information 435 are no longer valid as contents describing the current traffic environment as map data due to changes in the road structure.

Therefore, in the following, through step S06 of the series of processing starting from step S01, based on the content of the distinction information, the terrain that affects the driving mode for the vehicle 20 traveling along the virtual lane reference line in the area within the intersection will be described. When only the feature information of objects is used for driving support processing, explain the difference between information on features that affect the driving mode and information on other features, and such a distinction. The effects of using the information are noted below.

For a vehicle passing through intersection 2 by going straight along the virtual lane reference line indicated as Lane001 in FIG. As can be seen, only the pedestrian crossing shown as OID0003 in FIG. 9 that faces the vehicle is a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle. In the storage unit 43, as the lane-feature correspondence information 433, the feature indicated as OID0003 in FIG. 9 and other features (for example, the stop line indicated by the code OID0111 in FIG. 9) information is stored. For this reason, the vehicle 20 is required to run along the virtual lane reference line indicated by Lane001 in FIG. Of the feature information 431, only the feature information representing the pedestrian crossing shown as OID0003 in FIG. That is, for example, the vehicle management unit 200 provides the vehicle control unit 250 with the feature information on the feature indicated by the code OID0031 in FIG. 9 and the feature information on the feature indicated by the code OID0035 in FIG. without having to do Therefore, for braking/steering control of the vehicle 20 passing through the intersection 2 along the virtual lane reference line of Lane 001 in FIG. It is possible to achieve the effect of realizing quick and accurate vehicle control.

For a vehicle passing through intersection 2 by going straight along the virtual lane reference line indicated as Lane002 in FIG. As can be seen, even the pedestrian crossing shown as OID0001 in FIG. 9 that faces the vehicle is positioned as a feature that does not affect the driving mode of the vehicle. Therefore, in the vehicle 20 traveling along Lane 002 in FIG. is used, the process of supplying the feature information 435 from the vehicle management unit 200 to the vehicle control unit 250 for passing through the intersection 2 is not required in the first place. That is, the information about the feature that can be the target of road environment recognition is the processing content related to the control of the vehicle 20 (for example, whether it is processing for identifying the position of the vehicle or processing for braking and steering control of the vehicle). Since it is possible to distinguish whether or not to be an object of information processing according to the division of the information, efficient information processing is realized.

In the following, from the viewpoint of the installation mode of the pedestrian-vehicle separation type signal at the intersection, there is a pedestrian traffic signal at the intersection shown in FIG. For each traffic environment in the vicinity of each intersection, we will explain how to use information that distinguishes features that affect the driving mode of the vehicle from other features, limited to the parts that are different from the case of intersections. .

FIG. 12 shows the traffic environment at an intersection 3 where an arrow signal indicating that a right turn is possible is laid on a traffic signal for restricting vehicles entering from the south side of the intersection area and exiting to the north side. It is A description will be given of how information that distinguishes features that affect the vehicle's driving mode from other features in this traffic environment is used.

Memory contents of the lane-feature correspondence information 433 prepared for driving support of a vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line indicated by Lane001 in FIG. 12 corresponding to the traffic environment of the intersection 3 in FIG. is represented by the code OID0003 in FIG. Regarding pedestrian crossings, in the table of FIG. 13, type information of type "3" is given as "driving assistance related type" immediately below the data item of feature ID: Object0003.

When the type information of type "3" is given as a data item of such "driving assistance related type", the feature corresponding to this data item by the feature identification ID is shown along Lane001 in FIG. In some cases, it has an aspect of affecting the running mode of the vehicle, and in another case, it has an aspect of not affecting the running mode.

Specifically, according to the light color state of the arrow signal of the feature indicated by the code OID0011 in FIG. The "driving assistance related type" in the table of FIG. The type information is type "3" as the type.

There are roughly two patterns for the vehicle to enter the intersection area of intersection 3 along the virtual lane reference line indicated by Lane001 in FIG. One is a pattern (a pattern in which an arrow lamp indicates a blue arrow) in which an intersection is permitted for a right turn depending on the light color of the arrow signal. In this case, moving bodies (including pedestrians) passing through the intersection 3 from the south side to the north side are near the intersection except for vehicles traveling along the virtual lane reference line indicated by Lane001 in FIG. Movement from the south to the north of is prohibited, even through pedestrian crossings. Therefore, according to traffic rules, a vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line indicated by the code Lane001 in FIG. Impossible. Therefore, in this pattern, the pedestrian crossing indicated by the code OID0003 in FIG. 12 can be said to be a feature that does not affect the running of the vehicle. Another pattern is a pattern in which the vehicle travels along Lane 001 when the vehicle lamp above the arrow lamp is in a blue or yellow lighting state. In this case, the mobile body is not prohibited from moving from the south side to the north side near the intersection through the crosswalk. For this reason, for the same reason as the explanation of the pedestrian crossing denoted by OID0003 in FIG. 9, the pedestrian crossing denoted by OID0003 in FIG. It can be said that it is a feature that has

In this way, the symbols OID0003 are assigned in FIG. 12 has an aspect that it does not affect the running of vehicles passing through the area inside the intersection along Lane 001 in FIG. In table 13, type information of "3" is given to the data item "driving assistance related type" according to the composite aspect of the feature denoted by OID0003 in FIG.

In the table of FIG. 13, the type information of "3" is given as the "driving assistance related type" to the information representing the feature denoted by OID0003 in FIG. In the case where the vehicle is permitted to enter the intersection 3 for turning right by the light color of the arrow light device of the feature denoted by OID0011 in FIG. It is possible to drive on the premise that the pedestrian crossing is a driving environment that does not affect the driving mode of the vehicle. In this case, when the vehicle 20 passes through the intersection area of the intersection 3, the vehicle management unit 200 supplies the feature information of the pedestrian crossing denoted by OID0003 in FIG. 12 to the vehicle control unit. without having to do As a result, the efficiency of information processing when the vehicle 20 passes through the intra-intersection area at the intersection 3 is realized.

The traffic environment at intersection 3 in FIG. 12 is compared with intersection 2 in FIG. The only difference is whether the signal is laid or not. Therefore, in the table of the feature information associated with the virtual lane reference line for vehicles passing through the intersection 3 from the south side to the north side shown in FIG. Similarly to the table of FIG. 10, the data item "driving assistance related type" which is the data item directly under the feature ID assigned the same reference numerals is given the type information "2". Therefore, the effect of using such feature information for driving support processing of the vehicle 20 traveling along the virtual lane reference line denoted by Lane002 in FIG. This is the same as the process of driving support for the vehicle 20 traveling along the virtual lane reference line labeled Lane002.

In FIG. 15, unlike the intersection 2 shown in FIG. 9, an intersection 4 is illustrated in which a pedestrian traffic signal is not installed on the side of the pedestrian crossing. Corresponding to such a traffic environment at the intersection 4, in the table in FIG. The contents of the table of FIG. 16 are the same as those of the table of FIG. Here, the reason why the type information of "1" is given to the data item "driving assistance related type" directly under the data item of the feature ID of Object0011 is as follows.

For a vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line labeled Lane001 in FIG. 15, which is in the intra-intersection area, as long as it has already entered the intra-intersection area, it is indicated by OID0011 in FIG. At first glance, the information about the light color of the traffic light seems to be classified as information that is not necessary for controlling the vehicle traveling through the intersection area of the intersection 4 . However, unlike the traffic environment at intersection 2 shown in FIG. 9, intersection 4 does not have a pedestrian traffic light installed beside the crosswalk, so that pedestrians are solely informed whether or not they can pass through the crosswalk. No signal present. In such a traffic environment, pedestrians who are going to cross the intersection 4 in the north-south direction must comply with the north-south traffic permission represented by the current state of the traffic signal indicated by OID0011 in FIG. It is possible to pass through the pedestrian crossing indicated by the code OID0003 in FIG. Then, for a vehicle exiting the intersection by turning right from the intersection area of intersection 4 (a vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line indicated as Lane001 in FIG. 15), the vehicle state obtained by the vehicle state acquisition unit in FIG. The current state of the traffic signal labeled OID0011 (the light color of the traffic signal is blue in FIG. 15) is the pedestrian crossing that must be crossed when exiting the intersection area (in FIG. It is positioned as information indicating that there is a high probability that pedestrians are present on the pedestrian crossing (marked crosswalk).

In this case, unless it is clear that there are no pedestrians on the crosswalk according to Article 38, Paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Law, as described above, the vehicle should proceed slowly at a speed that allows it to stop before the crosswalk. have an obligation to do so. The current state of the traffic signal denoted by ID0011 in FIG. 15 symbolizes the obligations of the vehicle exiting the intersection 4 by turning right from the south side to the east side.
Therefore, in the table of FIG. 16, the data item of "driving assistance related type" directly under the feature ID of Object0011 is given the type information of "1".

In other words, how to assign the data item "driving assistance related type" directly under the feature ID Object0011 in the table of FIG. 16 will be described.
As described above, in the traffic environment of the intersection 4 shown in FIG. 15, no traffic lights for pedestrians are installed. For this reason, as a feature that presents information to the pedestrian whether or not the pedestrian can cross the pedestrian crossing that extends in the north-south direction at the intersection 4 (for example, the pedestrian crossing indicated by the code OID0003 in FIG. 15) In terms of the traffic environment shown in FIG. 15, there is only a traffic signal installed to regulate the traffic of vehicles in the north-south direction at intersection 4 (signal OID0011 in FIG. 15).
In this way, in a traffic environment where there are no traffic lights specifically provided to control pedestrian traffic, pedestrians will inevitably see the lights of the traffic lights shown as OID0011 in FIG. When the color state is "blue" or "yellow", the vehicle is about to pass through the pedestrian crossing across the intersection 4 from north to south. In this case, if the light color of the traffic signal indicated by code OID0011 in FIG. The probability of crossing with a vehicle running along the virtual lane reference line is intended to directly restrict the movement of pedestrians trying to cross the pedestrian crossing indicated by the code OID0003 in FIG. Compared to the traffic environment of FIG. 9, where the pedestrian traffic light indicated as OID0035 in FIG. Like this intersection 4, the probability that vehicles trying to turn right from the south side of the intersection and exit the intersection area to the east side and pedestrians trying to cross the intersection to the north and south is higher than in other traffic environments. In order to cope with such a traffic environment, the light color state of the traffic signal denoted by OID0011 in FIG. It is convenient to treat it as a sign indicating that there is a high probability of crossing with a pedestrian when exiting from the road. Therefore, in the table of FIG. 16, the type information of "1" is given to the data item of "driving assistance related type" directly under the feature ID of Object0011.

In relation to the feature ID of Object0011 in the table of FIG. The effects of the driving support processing for the vehicle traveling along the road will be described below. When the vehicle 20 passes through the virtual lane reference line denoted by Lane001 in FIG. and the light color permits crossing in the vicinity of intersection 4 in the north-south direction, there is a high probability that there is a pedestrian on the crosswalk marked OID0003 in FIG. Based on this assumption, braking/steering control is executed to leave the intersection area of the intersection 4 at a speed that allows the vehicle to temporarily stop before the crosswalk indicated by the code OID0003. In this way, the vehicle 20 actually performs image processing, recognition processing, etc. that a pedestrian is present on the pedestrian crossing indicated by OID0003. It is possible to realize a driving mode that conforms to traffic order between vehicles and pedestrians when passing through a pedestrian crossing, which is defined as the principle mode in the first item.

Furthermore, in the traffic environment shown in FIG. 15, for a vehicle entering the intersection 4 from the south side, turning right, and exiting the intersection area from the east side, the traffic environment shown in FIG. At the point of exit from the area within the intersection from the beginning, there is a high probability of crossing with a pedestrian on the crosswalk. Focusing on whether or not there is an object, the information detected by the sensor and/or camera mounted on the vehicle is processed to detect the presence of a pedestrian on the crosswalk labeled OID0003 in FIG. At this timing, it is also possible to use the contents of the table of FIG.

FIG. 17 illustrates the traffic environment at an intersection 5 where a right-turn vehicle separation type pedestrian-vehicle separation signal is installed, as indicated by OID0011. A table in FIG. 18 is prepared as information for distinguishing whether or not a feature affects the driving mode of a vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line indicated by the code Lane001 in this traffic environment. It is

A table shown in FIG. 18 is prepared for such a traffic environment. Here, for features identified by assigned feature IDs of Object0001 to Object0004, Object0011, Object0021, Object0031, and Object0035, the data item "driving assistance related type" is used as in the table of FIG. 14 and FIG. is given the type information of "2". Of these, the information of the feature identified as the feature ID: Object0003 will be described. The feature identified with the code Object0003 as the feature ID, that is, the pedestrian crossing marked with the code OID0003 in FIG. On the premise that the traffic environment of the intersection is such that there are no pedestrians on the crosswalk that a vehicle that enters the intersection area after being permitted to turn right will cross when exiting the intersection area. You are allowed to proceed through the intersection area. Therefore, in this case, the type information of "2" is given to the "driving assistance related type" which is the data item immediately below the data item of feature ID: Object0003.

FIG. 19 illustrates the traffic environment of an intersection 5 where a pedestrian-vehicle separation type signal of a right/left turn vehicle separation system is installed as indicated by OID0011. A table shown in FIG. 20 is prepared as information for distinguishing whether or not a feature affects the driving mode of a vehicle traveling along the virtual lane reference line indicated by the code Lane004 in this traffic environment. It is

A table shown in FIG. 20 is prepared for such a traffic environment. Here, for the features identified with assigned feature IDs Object0001 to Object0004, Object0021, and Object0031, as in the table in FIG. is given. Therefore, mainly the points that require supplementation in comparison with FIG. 10 will be described.

Among them, the information of the feature identified as the feature ID: Object0002 will be explained. Looking at the feature identified with the code Object0002 as the feature ID, that is, the pedestrian crossing marked with the code OID0002 in FIG. Therefore, the traffic environment of the intersection is such that there are no pedestrians on the crosswalk that vehicles entering the intersection area after being permitted to turn left will cross when exiting the intersection area. It is permitted to proceed through the area within the intersection on the premise that Therefore, in this case, the type information of "2" is given to the "driving assistance related type" which is the data item immediately below the data item of feature ID: Object0002.

C. Third embodiment:
The configuration of the driving support system 10 in the third embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, the same elements or elements having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, redundant description is omitted, and the description focuses on the points that are different from the first embodiment. Unlike the intersections shown in FIGS. 9, 12, 15, 17, and 19, FIG. It shows a traffic environment (traffic environment 7) in which a traffic signal to be displayed is installed, a pedestrian crossing is laid in the vicinity of the traffic signal, and there is no feature other than the pedestrian crossing that can serve as a stop line for vehicles.

In such a traffic environment, a table as shown in FIG. 22 is prepared in order to distinguish between features that affect the running mode of the vehicle and features that do not, for each lane. In the table of FIG. 22, the leftmost lane in FIG. 21 and the lane indicated by the code Lane020 in FIG. This is a table for distinguishing whether or not a feature affects the running mode of the vehicle under the traffic environment 7 of .

The feature represented by the data identified as feature ID: Object0001 in FIG. 22 is the stop line indicated by the code OID0001 in FIG. The represented feature is the pedestrian crossing indicated by the code OID0010 in FIG. 21, and the feature represented by the data identified as feature ID: Object0011 in FIG. is a traffic light indicated by .

The feature represented by the data identified as feature ID: Object0011 in FIG. 22 is a traffic signal that exists in the traffic environment 7. This traffic signal runs along the lane indicated by the code Lane020 in FIG. It is a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle that is running. This is because the light color of the traffic signal directly indicates whether or not the vehicle is allowed to proceed in the traffic environment 7 .

The feature represented by the data identified as feature ID: Object0001 in FIG. is not permitted, vehicles are obliged to stop before the crosswalk. Therefore, the stop line represented by the data identified as feature ID: Object0001 in FIG. 22 is a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle traveling along the lane indicated by the code Lane020 in FIG. be. On the other hand, the feature (crosswalk) represented by the data identified as feature ID: Object0010 in FIG. 22 is a crosswalk that exists in the traffic environment 7. Regardless of the color of the traffic light represented by the identified data, it is positioned as a feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle traveling along the lane indicated by the code Lane020 in FIG. No need. This is from the standpoint of avoiding duplication of data, when a vehicle scheduled to travel in traffic environment 7 is obliged to stop once, the vehicle may stop at the position of the stop line indicated by the symbol OID0001 in FIG. Therefore, it is meaningless to position the pedestrian crossing itself located beyond the stop line as a feature that influences the running mode of the vehicle in addition to the stop line.

From the above, the features given feature IDs in the table of FIG. 22 are positioned as features given the type information of "1" in the "driving assistance related type" directly under the data item of the feature ID. becomes.

Regarding traffic environment 7 shown in FIG. As for the content, before and after the pedestrian crossing, the lane indicated by Lane020 and Lane021 in FIG. 21 may be treated as common or identical lanes.

D. Fourth embodiment:
The configuration of the driving support system 10 in the fourth embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, the same elements or elements having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, redundant description is omitted, and the description focuses on the points that are different from the first embodiment. In comparison with traffic environment 7 shown in FIG. 22, FIG. 23 shows a common traffic environment in that no traffic lights are installed in the road section but there is a pedestrian crossing (traffic environment 8).

In such a traffic environment, a table as shown in FIG. In order to realize driving conforming to Article 38, Paragraph 1, it is necessary to treat the crosswalk indicated by the code OID0001 in FIG. 23 as a feature requiring a temporary stop before the crosswalk. Therefore, in the table of FIG. 24, the type information of "1" is given to the "driving assistance related type" immediately below the data item of feature ID: Object0001.

E. Variant:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various aspects without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the following modifications are also possible.

E1. Variant 1:
In the above example, when it is known that the vehicle 20 is currently located in the area within the intersection based on the information obtained by the vehicle state acquisition unit 230, the feature near the intersection is used to affect the driving mode of the vehicle. It describes how to distinguish whether or not it is a feature. 9, 12, 15, and 17, and a virtual lane reference line indicated by Lane 002 in FIGS. ), and the virtual lane reference line represented by the code Lane004 in FIG. 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, and 20, the table shown in FIGS. This can be applied for the purpose of distinguishing whether or not the object is a feature that affects the running of the vehicle 20 . Considering the present state (A) of the traffic light when the vehicle 20 is about to enter the intersection area, the vehicle 20 is allowed to enter the intersection area and is currently located in the intersection area. The present state (A) of the traffic light has a relationship that the present state (A) continues to be the present state (B). because there is no

However, in the table of FIG. 10 corresponding to the traffic environment of FIG. 9 and the table of FIG. 14 corresponding to the traffic environment of FIG. However, in Modification 1, the "driving assistance related type" is a type of "1" (similarly, in the tables of FIGS. 18 and 20, The “driving-related type” becomes a type of “1”). Here, the reason why the "driving assistance related type" for Object0011 is recorded as "1" will be explained, taking as a representative example a case where the vehicle enters the intersection from the south side and exits the intersection from the north side. That is, in the traffic environment of FIG. 9 and the traffic environment of FIG. The type information of "1" is given to the "driving assistance related type". 10 and 14, the feature identified by the feature ID of Object0011 enters the intersection area from the south side and crosses the intersection to the north side. Since the traffic signal has the function of regulating the traffic of exiting vehicles, it affects the driving mode of vehicles traveling along the virtual lane reference line indicated by the symbol Lane002 in the traffic environment of FIGS. 9 and 12. This is because it is positioned as a feature. In the tables of FIGS. 10 and 14, the feature identified by the feature ID Object0004 is a pedestrian crossing, but in the traffic environment shown in FIGS. However, since it is not the position where the vehicle exiting the intersection to the north side stops temporarily, the type information of "2" in the "driving support related type" which is the data item directly under the feature ID of Object0004 is given.

The feature information F in the invention described in Patent Document 1 cannot distinguish between the information of the influencing feature that affects the driving mode of the vehicle in the lane in which the vehicle is traveling and the information of other features. , there is a problem that efficient and accurate driving support cannot be provided. In order to solve the problem, the configurations of the first to fourth embodiments described above are provided. Aspects described in all or part of the above embodiments provide a device effective for appropriate driving support and a data structure of data that can be used therefor, improve processing speed, improve processing accuracy, improve usability, Appropriate data, programs, such as improvement of functions using data or provision of appropriate functions, other improvement of functions or provision of appropriate functions, reduction of data and/or program capacity, miniaturization of devices and/or systems, etc. Provision of recording media, devices and/or systems, data, programs, recording media and devices that reduce production/manufacturing costs of data, programs, devices or systems, facilitate production/manufacturing, shorten production/manufacturing time, etc. and/or to solve any one of the problems of optimization of production and manufacturing of the system.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Driving assistance system 20... Vehicle 40... Server 41... Server communication part 42... Server control part 43... Storage part 200... Vehicle management part 210... Vehicle communication part 220... Input part 230... Vehicle state acquisition part 240... Output part 250 …Vehicle control unit

Claims (5)

A driving assistance system for assisting driving of a vehicle,
Lane information indicating a predetermined section for each lane that constitutes a road, information on influencing features that affect the traveling of a vehicle in a specific lane that passes through an intersection, and other information associated with the lane information for each lane feature information including feature information that is used to determine the vehicle's current position and that does not affect vehicle travel in the specific lane; a storage unit for storing distinguishing information for distinguishing the information of the influencing feature from the information of other features among the object information ;
In performing a first control for assisting the driving of the vehicle in the specific lane and a second control for determining the current position of the vehicle based on the feature information corresponding to the specific lane based on the lane information, As first control, information on the influencing feature is selected using the distinguishing information relating to the specific lane, and the information on the influencing feature is used to assist the driving of the vehicle . A driving support system comprising: a control unit that determines the current position of the vehicle using both the information on the influencing feature and the information on the other feature. In the driving support system according to claim 1,
The lane information is information for representing virtual lanes in the intersection area, and is information for representing a specific lane entering the intersection and information for representing a specific lane exiting from the intersection. The feature information and the distinction information are associated with lane information indicating the specific lane, and the control unit determines the distinction associated with the specific lane. A driving assistance system that refers to the information and uses the influencing feature to assist the driving of the vehicle. In the driving support system according to claim 1 or 2,
The driving support system, wherein the feature information is feature information indicating that the vehicle may be obliged to stop in front of the feature. In the driving support system according to claim 3,
The distinguishing information distinguishes whether or not the vehicle is obliged to stop in front of the feature in the direction of travel according to the light color of a traffic light that restricts vehicles traveling in the specific lane. A driving assistance system that is information for A program that causes a control unit to realize a driving support function that supports driving of a vehicle,
The driving support function includes lane information indicating a predetermined section for each lane that constitutes a road, and an area of influence that affects the traveling of a vehicle in a specific lane passing through an intersection, which is associated with the lane information for each lane. terrain information including object information and other feature information that is used to determine the vehicle's current position and that does not affect the vehicle's travel in the particular lane; a function of acquiring object information and distinguishing information for distinguishing information of the influencing feature from information of other features in the feature information ; In performing the first control for assisting the driving of the vehicle in the specific lane and the second control for determining the current position of the vehicle based on the object information, as the first control, the distinguishing information regarding the specific lane is used. to select the information of the influencing feature, use the information of the influencing feature to support the driving of the vehicle, and as a second control, the information of the influencing feature and the information of the other feature A program that includes a function to determine the current position of the vehicle using both .

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