JP7482103B2 - Vehicle management device, vehicle management method, vehicle management system, and vehicle management program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle management device, a vehicle management method, a vehicle management system, and a vehicle management program, and in particular to a vehicle management device, a vehicle management method, a vehicle management system, and a vehicle management program that manage a platoon of multiple vehicles.

In recent years, from the perspective of reducing energy consumption and addressing driver shortages, platooning has become common when multiple vehicles travel on expressways and the like. Patent Document 1 discloses a platooning system for platooning multiple vehicles equipped with autonomous driving functions in a line along the direction of travel. In this platooning system, the order of the vehicles in the platoon is determined based on characteristic information that indicates the characteristics of each vehicle, so as to minimize fuel consumption.

JP 2017-215681 A

Incidentally, in a platoon management system such as that described in Patent Document 1, the management device that manages each vehicle instructs the order of the vehicles forming the platoon, but the vehicles participating in the platoon are all set in advance to be of the same class, such as commercial delivery trucks, and the order of the vehicles within the platoon does not take into account differences in the class of the vehicles or breakdowns that occur while driving.
In conventional platoons formed by following each other, each vehicle finds a target vehicle to follow and follows it, so there is a possibility that the platoon will be made up of vehicles of various sizes and driving conditions.
For example, there have been cases where a small vehicle was sandwiched between large vehicles, or a vehicle with little fuel remaining or a broken down vehicle was at the front of the platoon. After the platoon is formed, it is desirable to position such problematic vehicles at the rear of the platoon in order to ensure safe platooning, and there has been a demand for a means to change the relative positions of the vehicles during platooning, taking into account the size of the vehicles and their driving conditions, etc.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle management device, a vehicle management method, a vehicle management system, and a vehicle management program that can reduce risks during platooning and allow stable platooning.

The problem is solved by the vehicle management device of the present invention, which is a vehicle management device that manages vehicles, and includes an absolute position calculation unit that acquires GNSS information necessary for single positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle itself and calculates the absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information, a relative position calculation unit that, when GNSS correction information necessary for relative positioning is received from an external reference station, corrects the absolute position by relative positioning using the GNSS correction information and calculates the relative position of the vehicle at the reference station, a position identification unit that identifies the current position of the vehicle using the relative position, a driving control unit that performs driving control of the vehicle based on the information on the current position identified by the position identification unit, and a first communication unit that transmits and receives vehicle information of the vehicle and information on the current position of the vehicle, and a second communication unit that communicates with the first communication unit in the vehicle, and a control unit that performs control based on the vehicle information of the vehicle and position information for the vehicle acquired by communication with each vehicle by the second communication unit. The problem is solved by including a management unit that manages the driving state of each vehicle controlled by the driving control unit, and a state control unit that controls the driving state of the vehicle managed by the management unit, the management unit managing the driving state in which each of the vehicles is driving based on position information received from other vehicles different from the vehicle, and the state control unit, when managing the driving state in which the group of vehicles is driving in the group of vehicles, includes a determination unit that determines a driving mode that specifies the positional relationship within the platoon based on the vehicle information of the vehicle and the driving state of the vehicle, an instruction unit that instructs the positional relationship within the platoon by transmitting information regarding the driving mode determined by the determination unit to each vehicle forming the platoon, and a vehicle control unit that controls the vehicle to change the positional relationship within the platoon by communicating with the vehicle instructed by the instruction unit.

As described above, the decision unit of the vehicle management device decides a driving mode that specifies the positional relationship within the platoon based on the vehicle information and driving status of the vehicles, and the vehicle control unit controls the vehicles to change the positional relationship within the platoon, so that the vehicles forming the platoon can be placed in a positional relationship that reduces the risk of platooning. Therefore, it is possible to realize a vehicle management device that reduces the risk of platooning and allows stable platooning.

The above-mentioned problem is solved by the vehicle management method of the present invention, which uses a vehicle and a vehicle management device that manages the vehicle, and includes an absolute position calculation process in which the vehicle acquires GNSS information necessary for single positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculates the absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information, and when GNSS correction information necessary for relative positioning is received from an external reference station, corrects the absolute position by relative positioning using the GNSS correction information and calculates the relative position of the vehicle at the reference station, a position identification process in which the current position of the vehicle is identified using the relative position, a driving control process in which driving control of the vehicle is performed based on the information on the current position identified in the position identification process, and a first communication process in which vehicle information of the vehicle and information on the current position of the vehicle are transmitted and received, and the vehicle management device receives the vehicle information of the vehicle and information on the current position of the vehicle transmitted in the first communication process, and the vehicle management device acquires the vehicle information and information on the current position of the vehicle through communication with each vehicle in the second communication process, The problem is solved by performing a management process of managing the driving state of each vehicle controlled by the driving control process based on the vehicle information of the vehicle and position information for the vehicle, and a state control process of controlling the driving state of the vehicle managed by the management process, in which the management process manages that the driving state of each vehicle is a group of vehicles driving in a platoon based on the driving state information received from other vehicles different from the vehicle, and the state control process performs a determination process of determining a driving mode that specifies the positional relationship within the platoon based on the vehicle information of the vehicle and the driving state of the vehicle when the management process manages the driving state of the group of vehicles driving in a platoon, an instruction process of instructing the positional relationship within the platoon by transmitting information regarding the driving mode determined in the determination process to each vehicle forming the platoon, and a vehicle control process of controlling the vehicle to change the positional relationship within the platoon by communicating with the vehicle instructed by the instruction process.

The problem is solved by a vehicle management system according to the present invention, which is a vehicle management system including a vehicle and a vehicle management device that manages the vehicle, and each of the plurality of vehicles includes an absolute position calculation unit that acquires GNSS information necessary for single positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculates the absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information, a relative position calculation unit that, when GNSS correction information necessary for relative positioning is received from an external reference station, corrects the absolute position by relative positioning using the GNSS correction information and calculates the relative position of the vehicle at the reference station, a position identification unit that identifies the current position of the vehicle using the relative position, a driving control unit that performs driving control of the vehicle based on the information on the current position identified by the position identification unit, and a first communication unit that transmits and receives vehicle information of the vehicle and information on the current position of the vehicle, and the vehicle management device includes a second communication unit that communicates with the first communication unit in the vehicle, and a vehicle management device that transmits and receives information on the vehicle information and the current position of the vehicle acquired by communication with each vehicle through the second communication unit. The problem is also solved by including a management unit that manages the driving state of each vehicle controlled by the driving control unit based on vehicle information and position information for the vehicle, and a state control unit that controls the driving state of the vehicle managed by the management unit, and the management unit manages that each of the vehicles is in a driving state in which a plurality of vehicles are driving in a platoon based on driving based on position information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle, and the state control unit, when the management unit is managing the driving state in which the group of vehicles are driving in a platoon, includes a determination unit that determines a driving mode that specifies the positional relationship within the platoon based on the vehicle information of the vehicle and the driving state of the vehicle, an instruction unit that instructs the positional relationship within the platoon by transmitting information regarding the driving mode determined by the determination unit to each vehicle forming the platoon, and a vehicle control unit that controls the vehicle to change the positional relationship within the platoon by communicating with the vehicle instructed by the instruction unit.

The problem is solved by a vehicle management program of the present invention, which is a vehicle management program executed by a first computer as a control device for controlling a vehicle and a second computer as a vehicle management device for managing the vehicle, and causes the first computer to execute an absolute position calculation process for acquiring GNSS information necessary for single positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculating the absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information, a relative position calculation process for correcting the absolute position by relative positioning using the GNSS correction information when GNSS correction information necessary for relative positioning is received from an external reference station, and calculating the relative position of the vehicle at the reference station, a position identification process for identifying the current position of the vehicle using the relative position, a driving control process for controlling the driving of the vehicle based on the information on the current position identified by the position identification process, and a first communication process for transmitting and receiving vehicle information of the vehicle and information on the current position of the vehicle, and a second communication process for receiving the vehicle information of the vehicle and information on the current position of the vehicle transmitted by the first communication process, and The second communication process executes a management process for managing the driving state of each vehicle controlled by the driving control process based on the vehicle information of the vehicle and the position information for the vehicle acquired by communication with each vehicle, and a state control process for controlling the driving state of the vehicle managed by the management process. In the management process, each vehicle is managed to be in a driving state in which a plurality of vehicles are driving in a platoon based on the driving information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle, and in the state control process, when the management process manages the driving state in which the plurality of vehicles are driving in a platoon, a determination process for determining a driving mode that specifies the positional relationship within the platoon based on the vehicle information of the vehicle and the driving state of the vehicle, an instruction process for instructing the positional relationship within the platoon by transmitting information regarding the driving mode determined by the determination process to each vehicle forming the platoon, and a vehicle control process for controlling the vehicle to change the positional relationship within the platoon by communicating with the vehicle instructed by the instruction process.

According to the vehicle management device, vehicle management method, vehicle management system, and vehicle management program of the present invention, a driving mode that specifies the positional relationship within the platoon is determined based on the vehicle information and driving status of the vehicles that form the platoon, and the vehicles are controlled to change their positional relationship within the platoon according to the determined driving mode. As a result, it is possible to realize a vehicle management device, vehicle management method, vehicle management system, and vehicle management program that can reduce risks during platoon driving and allow stable platoon driving.

1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a vehicle driving control device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a vehicle information processing device. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the positions of identification marks attached to a target vehicle. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the positions of identification marks attached to a target vehicle. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a remote control device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating functions of a vehicle driving control device, a vehicle information processing device, and a remote control device. FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram showing vehicle position information acquisition processing. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which autonomous driving control is being performed. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state in which autonomous driving control is changed to relative driving control. 11 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the vehicle passes a target vehicle after the relative driving control is changed to the autonomous driving control. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing inter-vehicle distance data. FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram showing a vehicle driving control method. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a vehicle management device. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating functions of a vehicle management device. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which a specific vehicle is moved to the rearmost position. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a situation in which a specific vehicle is moved to the rearmost position. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a composite image created from images acquired from the leading and trailing vehicles in a convoy. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a positional relationship determination process. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a positional relationship change control process.

<<Vehicle management system overview>>
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle management system S of this embodiment is composed of a vehicle C that can be automatically driven or remotely driven by acquiring location information such as GNSS information and identifying the vehicle's own location information (also referred to as ``vehicle position'' or ``vehicle position information''), and a vehicle management device 80 that receives vehicle information, location information, etc. from vehicle C and manages the traveling of a convoy F formed by multiple vehicles C.

Each of the vehicles C that form the platoon F is controlled by a vehicle driving control system S1. The vehicle driving control system S1 is a system that realizes "automatic driving" that grasps the external environment of the vehicle C (host vehicle V), plans a planned driving route for the vehicle C on behalf of the driver, and drives the vehicle C along the planned driving route by controlling the vehicle C, and "following driving" that drives the vehicle C to follow a specified target vehicle FV that is to be followed.

A plurality of vehicles C controlled by a vehicle driving control system S1 repeatedly switch between "automatic driving" and "follow-up driving," thereby forming a convoy F made up of the plurality of vehicles C. This convoy F indicates a group made up of a plurality of vehicles C, and is also referred to as a "group of convoys."
Although the convoy F is formed, when the convoy F is first formed, the vehicle's condition, specifications, and driving conditions are not reflected in the position of the vehicle C within the convoy F. As a result, for example, a small vehicle may end up being sandwiched between large vehicles. If the sizes of the vehicles C in front and behind the convoy are significantly different, there is an increased risk of a rear-end collision during sudden braking, and there is a risk that the vehicle C may not be able to follow the vehicle it is following when it turns at the same speed as the vehicle it is accelerating or decelerating.
In addition, for example, if a vehicle in the platoon has a problem such as low fuel remaining, a malfunction, or a high load (high water temperature, high oil temperature, high engine RPM, etc.), moving the disabled vehicle to the rear of the platoon will allow the platoon to travel more stably.

Therefore, in the vehicle management system S of this embodiment, the vehicle management device 80 manages the driving conditions, including vehicle information and position information, of the vehicles C forming the platoon F as driving condition information, and determines a driving mode that specifies the positional relationship within the platoon based on the vehicle information and driving conditions. The vehicle management device 80 then transmits the driving mode with the specified positional relationship to each of the vehicles C forming the platoon F, instructs the positional relationship within the platoon F, and controls the vehicles C to change their positional relationship within the platoon F by communicating with the specified vehicles. This reduces the risk to the platoon F and allows the platoon to travel stably.
In other words, in the present invention, each vehicle C is controlled using automatic driving, following driving, etc., so that, from the outside, the multiple vehicles travel in a convoy, and it is clear that the convoy is not formed by controlling the convoy.

Below, we will first explain the vehicle driving control system S1 that realizes "automatic driving" and "following driving" of vehicle C, and then explain the vehicle management system S that controls the positional relationship of vehicle C within the convoy based on vehicle information, driving conditions, etc. using a vehicle management device 80.

<<Vehicle driving control system>>
As described above, the vehicle driving control system S1 is a system that realizes "automatic driving" that grasps the external environment of the vehicle C, plans a planned driving route for the vehicle C on behalf of the driver, and drives the vehicle C along the planned driving route by controlling the vehicle C, and "following driving" that drives the vehicle C by following a predetermined target vehicle FV. In addition, the vehicle driving control system S1 is capable of performing a "mode switching process" that switches between the automatic driving control mode and the following driving control mode.

The "follow-up operation (follow-up operation control)" may be referred to as "relative operation (relative operation control)." In the following description, this will be referred to as "relative operation."
In addition, in this embodiment, the "automatic driving control mode (first driving control mode)" will be simply referred to as the "automatic driving mode", and the "following driving control mode (second driving control mode)" will be simply referred to as the "relative driving mode".
In addition, the vehicle C that is being driven relative to the host vehicle V will be referred to as the "host vehicle V," and the vehicle C that is the subject of following of the host vehicle V will be referred to as the "target vehicle FV."

"Autonomous driving (autonomous driving mode)" includes "autonomous driving (autonomous driving mode)" in which the vehicle V is controlled to drive autonomously, and "remote driving (remote driving mode)" in which an operator outside the vehicle V remotely controls (externally controls) the vehicle V to drive it. That is, in this embodiment, "autonomous driving" and "remote driving" are collectively referred to as "autonomous driving". Basically, when referring to automatic driving, it is explained as meaning autonomous driving.
In addition, in remote operation, the operator does not have to be human, and may be, for example, AI (artificial intelligence).

In addition to the above-mentioned "automatic driving" and "relative driving," there is also "manual driving (manual driving mode)" in which a driver gets into the vehicle V and actually drives it. In the above-mentioned mode switching process, in addition to switching between the manual driving mode and the automatic driving mode, it is also possible to switch between the manual driving mode and the relative driving mode.

The "host vehicle V" is a vehicle equipped with a vehicle driving control device 1 described below, and has an automatic driving function and a relative driving function.
The "target vehicle FV" is a vehicle that is equipped with at least the vehicle information transmission device 50 described below and is capable of transmitting vehicle information (specifically, vehicle identification information, current location information, and information on the planned route) through communication via a network, and like the host vehicle V, may be equipped with the vehicle driving control device 1 described below and have both automatic driving and relative driving functions.
The target vehicle FV is not limited to a leading vehicle that travels ahead of the host vehicle V, but may be a vehicle traveling alongside the host vehicle V. Alternatively, the target vehicle FV may be a trailing vehicle that travels behind the host vehicle V.
The target vehicle FV may be, for example, a bus, a taxi, a truck, etc. that runs along a preset planned driving route, a circulation bus that runs along a predetermined circulation route, etc. Of course, it may also be other general vehicles.

<<Hardware configuration of vehicle driving control system>>
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle driving control system S1 includes a vehicle driving control device 1 that is mounted on each of the vehicles V and comprehensively controls the driving of the vehicle, an on-board sensor 10 that detects the external environment around the vehicle V, an on-board locator 20 that receives GNSS signals from an artificial satellite SA and a reference station ST and measures the current position of the vehicle V, an on-board ECU 30 that controls the steering, acceleration, deceleration, etc. of the vehicle V, and an on-board communication device 40 that communicates with external devices.

The vehicle driving control system S1 also includes a vehicle information transmission device 50 that is mounted on the target vehicle FV, connected to the vehicle driving control device 1 via a network, and transmits target vehicle information including location information of the target vehicle FV via communication via the network, and an identification mark 60 that is attached to the target vehicle FV and has vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV embedded therein.
The host vehicle V may further include the vehicle information transmission device 50 and the identification mark 60 provided in the target vehicle FV, and the target vehicle FV may further include the on-board sensor 10, on-board locator 20, on-board ECU 30, and on-board communication device 40 provided in the host vehicle V. In other words, the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV may have the same configuration, which makes it possible for the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV to be interchangeable and to configure the vehicle driving control system S1.
Furthermore, the vehicle driving control system S1 is equipped with a remote control device 70 that is installed outside the vehicle V and controls (remotely controls) the driving of the vehicle V by communicating with the vehicle driving control device 1 via a network.
In addition, the vehicle driving control device 1, the vehicle information transmission device 50, and the remote control device 70 may directly communicate with each other.

<<Hardware configuration of vehicle driving control device>>
As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle driving control device 1 is a computer (first computer) connected to an on-board sensor 10, an on-board locator 20, an on-board ECU 30, and an on-board communication device 40 via an on-board network (CAN).
Specifically, the vehicle driving control device 1 is a computer equipped with a CPU as a data calculation/control processing device, ROM, RAM and HDD (SSD) as storage devices, and a communication interface for sending and receiving information data via an in-vehicle network.
In addition to a main program that performs the necessary functions of a computer, the memory device of the vehicle driving control device 1 stores a vehicle driving control program and a vehicle management program, and the functions of the vehicle driving control device 1 are performed by executing these programs by the CPU.
The on-board ECU 30 (integral ECU 31), the vehicle information transmission device 50, and the remote control device 70 are also computers having similar hardware configurations.

In order to perform "autonomous driving," the vehicle driving control device 1 controls the "autonomous driving" of the vehicle V by controlling the on-board ECU 30 (overall ECU 31) based on information on the external environment obtained from the on-board sensor 10, position information of the vehicle V obtained from the on-board locator 20, and vehicle information obtained from the on-board ECU 30.
Furthermore, in order to perform "relative driving (following driving)", the vehicle driving control device 1 wirelessly communicates with the vehicle information transmission device 50 via the in-vehicle communication device 40 and receives target vehicle information including position information of a predetermined target vehicle FV. Then, the vehicle driving control device 1 controls the "relative driving (following driving)" of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV by controlling the in-vehicle ECU 30 (overall ECU 31) based on information about the external environment, the position information of the host vehicle V, and the target vehicle information including the position information of the target vehicle FV.

In addition, in order to execute "remote driving," the vehicle driving control device 1 wirelessly communicates with the remote control device 70 via the in-vehicle communication device 40, and transmits information about the external environment, position information about the vehicle V, and vehicle information to the remote control device 70. The remote control device 70 receives this information and displays content based on the information about the external environment and the position information about the vehicle V on the monitor 71 (navigation monitor 72), as well as providing a user notification to the operator.

More specifically, the vehicle driving control device 1 is newly installed on the host vehicle V, which already has an "autonomous driving function (on-board sensor 10, on-board locator 20, on-board ECU 30)," thereby improving the performance of the existing "autonomous driving function" and adding new "relative driving function" and "remote driving function."

<Configuration of on-board sensors>
The on-board sensor 10 detects the external environment around the vehicle V, such as moving objects (other vehicles, pedestrians, etc.), various structures, road shapes, etc. around the vehicle V, and specifically, is mainly composed of multiple imaging devices 11, multiple radars 12, and multiple lidars 13.
The on-vehicle sensor 10 may further include detection sensors other than those described above.

The imaging device 11 is a small imaging camera (wide-angle camera) that captures external images around the vehicle V. It creates external image data and transmits the external image data to the vehicle driving control device 1 to perform a "sensing function" for driving control of the vehicle V and a "monitoring function" for the driver (operator).

The vehicle V is equipped with multiple imaging devices 11, including a first imaging device 11a, a second imaging device 11b, and a third imaging device 11c that are attached to the windshield of the vehicle V and capture images of the front, right side, and left side of the vehicle V, a fourth imaging device 11d that is attached to the back bumper of the vehicle V and captures images of the rear of the vehicle V, and a fifth imaging device 11e and a sixth imaging device 11f that are attached to the left and right mirrors of the vehicle V and capture images of the right rear and left rear of the vehicle V as main cameras.

In addition, the imaging device 11 is equipped with a seventh imaging device 11g, which is attached to the front bumper of the vehicle V and captures images of the area in front of the vehicle V, as sub-cameras, and an eighth imaging device 11h and a ninth imaging device 11i, which are attached around the left and right backlights of the vehicle V and capture images of the areas diagonally rear to the right and left of the vehicle V.
In this embodiment, a total of nine image capturing devices 11 are attached to predetermined positions of the host vehicle V, but the number and attachment positions of the image capturing devices 11 can be changed depending on the type and shape of the host vehicle V. The same applies to the radar 12 and the lidar 13.
As another example of the sub-camera, the seventh imaging device 11g may be attached to an upper portion of a back window (rear window) of the vehicle V, and may capture an image of the rear of the vehicle V from that position. In that case, the eighth imaging device 11h may be attached to a right A-pillar at the front of the vehicle V, and the ninth imaging device 11i may be attached to a left A-pillar at the front.

The radar 12 is a millimeter wave radar that transmits radio waves while continuously changing the irradiation direction, detects a target object by receiving reflected waves from the target object (measures the position and speed of the target object), and performs three-dimensional spatial imaging. Compared to the imaging device 11 and the lidar 13, the radar 12 can perform detection with high accuracy even in environmental conditions such as poor visibility at night or in bad weather.
The radar 12 acquires detection result data (detection signal) of the target object, and transmits the detection result data to the vehicle driving control device 1 .

Multiple radars 12 are mounted on the vehicle V, and include a first radar 12a and a second radar 12b mounted around the left and right front lights of the vehicle V, and a third radar 12c and a fourth radar 12d mounted around the left and right back lights of the vehicle V.
The radar 12 is not particularly limited to a millimeter wave radar, but may be a laser radar, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like.

The lidar 13 is a remote sensor that measures the distance to a target object by emitting laser light and receiving the reflected light from the target object, and performs three-dimensional spatial imaging. Compared to the imaging device 11 and the radar 12, the lidar 13 can measure the distance to surrounding target objects in units of a few centimeters.
The LIDAR 13 acquires distance measurement data that measures the distance to the target object, and transmits the distance measurement data to the vehicle driving control device 1 .
Multiple riders 13 are mounted on the vehicle V, and include a first rider 13a and a second rider 13b attached around the left and right front lights of the vehicle V, a third rider 13c attached to the back bumper of the vehicle V, and a fourth rider 13d and a fifth rider 13e attached around the left and right back lights of the vehicle V.

<Configuration of vehicle-mounted locator>
The vehicle-mounted locator 20 measures the current position of the vehicle V using a satellite positioning system that uses an artificial satellite SA and a reference station ST, and also measures the acceleration and angular velocity of the vehicle V to improve the accuracy of measuring the current position.
Specifically, the on-board locator 20 includes a GNSS receiver 21 that receives GNSS radio waves (GPS radio waves) from multiple artificial satellites SA, and an inertial measurement unit 22 that measures the acceleration and angular velocity of the vehicle V.

The GNSS receiver 21 is specifically an RTK-GNSS receiver that receives GNSS radio waves from multiple (specifically, four) artificial satellites SA and generates "GNSS information" necessary for independent positioning. It also receives "GNSS correction information" necessary for relative positioning from an external reference station ST. The GNSS receiver 21 is an example of a receiving device that receives information specifying position information (vehicle position, vehicle position information) that specifies the position of the vehicle, and may be a GPS receiver that receives GPS radio waves, an RNSS receiver that receives RNSS (Radio Navigation Satellite System) radio waves, or the like.
The reference station ST is a fixed reference station set at a known point, receives GNSS radio waves from multiple artificial satellites SA, generates “GNSS correction information”, and transmits it to the GNSS receiver 21 .
“GNSS information” is distance information between multiple artificial satellites SA and the GNSS receiver 21 .
"GNSS correction information" is correction data that corrects distance errors caused by delays or interference in receiving information from satellites when a reference station ST located at a known point receives GNSS radio waves and communicates between the reference station ST and the GNSS receiver 21.

The inertial measurement unit 22, also known as an IMU, is equipped with a three-axis gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) and a three-axis acceleration sensor (accelerometer), measures the three-dimensional angular velocity and acceleration of the vehicle V, and transmits information on the acceleration and angular velocity of the vehicle V to the vehicle driving control device 1.
The vehicle driving control device 1 can measure the current position of the vehicle V within a smaller error range by combining GNSS information (GNSS correction information) received from the GNSS receiver 21 with the angular velocity and acceleration information of the vehicle V received from the inertial measurement device 22.

<Configuration of the on-board ECU>
The on-board ECU 30 is, for example, an ECU for ADAS, and is connected to the vehicle driving control device 1. It includes an upper-level overall ECU 31 that transmits and receives various data, and a lower-level steering ECU 32, accelerator ECU 33, and brake ECU 34 that are each connected to the upper-level overall ECU 31 and control the steering, acceleration, deceleration, etc. of the vehicle V in a detailed manner, forming a hierarchical structure.
The steering wheel ECU 32 is also called a driving support computer, and the accelerator ECU 33 and the brake ECU 34 are also called a power management control unit.
The number and functions of the individual ECUs connected to the integrated ECU 31 are not particularly limited to the above-mentioned three ECUs 32 to 34, and other ECUs may be provided at the same hierarchical level as these ECUs.

The steering wheel ECU 32 controls the electric power steering V1 of the host vehicle V in response to instructions from the integrated ECU 31, and mainly controls the direction in which the host vehicle V travels.
The electric power steering V1 includes a steering mechanism that steers the front wheels of the host vehicle V. For example, in a manual driving mode, the front wheels of the host vehicle V are steered by the driver's steering operation of the steering wheel V1a.

The accelerator ECU 33 controls the electric throttle V2 of the host vehicle V in response to instructions from the integrated ECU 31, and mainly controls the acceleration and deceleration of the host vehicle V.
The electric throttle V2 includes a drive mechanism that outputs a drive force to rotate the drive wheels of the vehicle V. For example, in a manual driving mode, the engine output is adjusted in response to the accelerator operation of the accelerator pedal V2a by the driver.

The brake ECU 34 controls the electromagnetic brake device V3 of the host vehicle V in response to instructions from the integrated ECU 31, and mainly controls the deceleration and stopping of the host vehicle V.
The electromagnetic brake device V3 is attached to each wheel of the vehicle V and has a mechanism for applying resistance to the rotation of the wheels to slow down or stop the vehicle V. For example, in the manual driving mode, the operation of the electromagnetic brake device V3 is adjusted in response to the braking operation of the brake pedal V3a by the driver.

<In-vehicle communication device>
The in-vehicle communication device 40 is a device that communicates information with a vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted on the target vehicle FV, an externally installed remote control device 70, a vehicle management device 80, and an external server (not shown) via a network.
Specifically, the in-vehicle communication device 40 receives target vehicle information including position information of the target vehicle FV acquired by the vehicle information transmission device 50 as information necessary for “relative driving”, and transmits the information to the vehicle driving control device 1 .
The in-vehicle communication device 40 also transmits information on the external image acquired by the vehicle driving control device 1 as information necessary for "remote driving" and information on the current position to the remote operation device 70. The in-vehicle communication device 40 also receives driving operation information of the host vehicle V from the remote operation device 70 that has accepted user input by an operator, and transmits the information to the vehicle driving control device 1.
The in-vehicle communication device 40 also transmits to the vehicle management device 80 information necessary for the "positional relationship determination process" (to be described later) such as information on the external image, information on the current position, and vehicle information acquired from the vehicle driving control device 1. The in-vehicle communication device 40 also receives driving operation information of the vehicle V from the vehicle management device 80 and transmits it to the vehicle driving control device 1.
In addition, the in-vehicle communication device 40 can communicate with an external server (not shown) to receive, for example, the latest traffic information, weather information, and the like from the external server.

<Hardware configuration of the vehicle information transmission device>
As shown in Figures 1 and 3A, the vehicle information transmission device 50 is a computer mounted on the target vehicle FV for acquiring target vehicle information including the current location information of the target vehicle FV and transmitting the target vehicle information to the vehicle V. The specific hardware configuration of the vehicle information transmission device 50 includes an on-board locator 51 and an on-board communication device 52.
The “target vehicle information” includes the location information (real-time location information) of the target vehicle FV, information on the planned driving route, and vehicle identification information, and is stored in the memory unit 500 of the vehicle information transmission device 50.
"Vehicle identification information" refers to a vehicle ID that identifies the target vehicle FV, and information such as the vehicle model name, model number, and chassis number is associated with each vehicle ID and stored in the storage unit 500. The vehicle identification information is stored in the storage unit 500, and is also embedded in an identification mark 60 attached to the target vehicle FV.

<Configuration of vehicle-mounted locator>
Similar to the above-mentioned vehicle-mounted locator 20, the vehicle-mounted locator 51 has a GNSS receiver 51a that receives GNSS radio waves (GPS radio waves) from multiple artificial satellites SA, and an inertial measurement unit 51b that measures the acceleration and angular velocity of the target vehicle FV.
The in-vehicle communication device 52 is a device that communicates information with the vehicle driving control device 1 mounted in the host vehicle V via a network.
Specifically, the in-vehicle communication device 52 transmits target vehicle information as information necessary for "relative driving" of the host vehicle V to the vehicle driving control device 1 (in-vehicle communication device 40) at all times or as needed.
More specifically, the in-vehicle communication device 52 can transmit the position information of the target vehicle FV, which is one of the target vehicle information, in real time.
"Transmitting in real time" includes not only transmitting location information at the same time as changes in the location information of the target vehicle FV, but also transmitting location information with some time lag.

<Identification mark>
3A-C, the identification mark 60 is a two-dimensional barcode (e.g., QR code (registered trademark)) in which vehicle identification information for identifying the target vehicle FV is embedded (stored), and multiple identification marks 60 are attached to the outer surface of the target vehicle FV. Note that the identification mark 60 may also have embedded therein information that can specify the planned travel route of the target vehicle FV.
The identification mark 60 is recognized by the imaging device 11 of the host vehicle V.
In detail, when the imaging device 11 recognizes the identification mark 60 in the image captured by the imaging device 11, it acquires, as recognition results, vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV embedded in the identification mark 60, information that can identify the planned driving route, etc. Then, the vehicle driving control device 1 can acquire the vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV from the imaging device 11 through network communication in a predetermined communication method or an in-vehicle network (CAN).
In the above embodiment, the vehicle identification information can be acquired from the vehicle information transmission device 50 and the identification mark 60, but it is sufficient if the vehicle identification information can be acquired from at least one of them.

The identification mark 60 includes a first identification mark 60a, a second identification mark 60b, and a third identification mark 60c, which are attached respectively to the center, left end, and right end in the vehicle width direction on the rear surface of the target vehicle FV, and a fourth identification mark 60d, a fifth identification mark 60e, and a sixth identification mark 60f, which are attached respectively to the center, left end, and right end on the front surface of the target vehicle FV.
In addition, the identification mark 60 includes a seventh identification mark 60g, an eighth identification mark 60h, and a ninth identification mark 60i, which are attached respectively to the center, front end, and rear end of the left side of the target vehicle FV in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, and a tenth identification mark 60j, an eleventh identification mark 60k, and a twelfth identification mark 60l, which are attached respectively to the center, front end, and rear end of the right side of the target vehicle FV.

The first identification mark 60a, fourth identification mark 60d, seventh identification mark 60g, and tenth identification mark 60j, which are located in the center of the rear, front, and both sides of the target vehicle FV, are formed somewhat larger than the other identification marks. This makes it easier for the imaging device 11 to recognize the identification marks 60 when the host vehicle V is traveling around the target vehicle FV. In other words, it makes it easier for the vehicle driving control device 1 to detect the presence of the target vehicle FV.

The identification marks 60a to 60l each have vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV embedded therein, as well as mark position information indicating the position (vehicle body position) at which each identification mark 60 is attached on the target vehicle FV.
Therefore, when any of the identification marks 60a to 60l is recognized by the imaging device 11 of the host vehicle V, the vehicle driving control device 1 can obtain vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV and detect the target vehicle FV.
Furthermore, by recognizing, for example, identification mark 60a and identification mark 60c among the identification marks 60a to 60l, or by recognizing only the identification mark 60c, the vehicle driving control device 1 can detect that the host vehicle V is located behind the target vehicle FV, and further to the right of the target vehicle FV, based on the above-mentioned mark position information.
In particular, the vehicle driving control device 1 can accurately grasp the position (relative position) of the target vehicle FV relative to the host vehicle V based on environmental information around the host vehicle V, position information of the host vehicle V, position information of the target vehicle FV, and mark position information obtained by the identification mark 60.
The identification mark 60 may be made with ink that cannot be seen with the naked eye, such as transparent ink or invisible ink, and is preferably recognizable mainly by irradiating it with high-frequency ultraviolet light.

<Hardware configuration of remote control device>
As shown in Figures 1 and 4, the remote control device 70 is a computer that is operated by an operator and performs "remote driving" of the vehicle V, and its specific hardware configuration includes multiple monitors 71, a navigation monitor 72, a steering wheel 73, an accelerator pedal 74, a brake pedal 75, and multiple operating switches 76.
The remote control device 70 may further include components such as a speaker, a microphone, and a shift lever.

The monitor 71 and the navigation monitor 72 are display units that output visual information for performing "remote driving." The monitor 71 displays a composite video (composite image) that is a composite of external images of the vehicle V captured by multiple imaging devices 11a to 11i based on predetermined layout information.
The predetermined layout information is, for example, a display mode of a layout that does not create blind spots for the operator and is easy for the operator to operate. At this time, it is preferable that a plurality of layout information including the predetermined layout information are associated with each other by a layout ID (layout identification information) and stored in the storage unit 100 of the vehicle driving control device 1. In this case, when an operation to change the predetermined layout information is performed using the operation switch 76 or the like, the changed layout ID is transmitted from the remote control device 70 to the vehicle driving control device 1.
Then, the vehicle driving control device 1 generates a composite image by combining the external image based on the layout information for the changed layout ID, and transmits the composite image to the remote control device 70. In this way, the composite image is changed and displayed on the monitor 71.

The handle 73 is an operating part that is operated by an operator and is used to adjust the steering angle (steering amount) of the host vehicle V.
The accelerator pedal 74 and the brake pedal 75 are operating parts that are operated by the operator and are used to adjust the drive of the electric throttle V2 of the vehicle V and the operation of the electromagnetic brake device V3, respectively.
The multiple operation switches 76 are used to allow the user to input setting information for performing, for example, "remote driving." For example, by an operator appropriately operating the operation switches 76, it is possible to switch the external image (synthetic image) of the vehicle V to a predetermined layout display, or to switch the driving mode among an autonomous driving mode, a relative driving mode, and a remote driving mode.

<Functions of the vehicle driving control device>
As shown in FIG. 5 , from a functional perspective, the vehicle driving control device 1 has as its main components a memory unit 100 for storing various programs and various data, an environmental information acquisition unit 101, a position information acquisition unit 102 (position identification unit), a driving control unit 103 (driving control unit), a vehicle detection unit 104, a communication unit 105 (first communication unit), a mode change unit 106, a driving speed acquisition unit 107, and an image processing unit 108.
These are composed of a CPU, ROM, RAM, HDD, a communication interface, and various programs.
The memory unit 100 stores vehicle identification information of the vehicle V, information on the planned driving route of the vehicle V, the "inter-vehicle distance data" shown in Figure 8, and the like.

Describing the vehicle information transmission device 50 from a functional perspective, its main components are a memory unit 500 that stores various programs and various data, a location information acquisition unit 501 that acquires the “current location information” of the target vehicle FV, and a communication unit 502 that transmits and receives various data between the vehicle driving control device 1.
The memory unit 500 stores "target vehicle information" including the current position information of the target vehicle FV, information on the planned driving route, and vehicle identification information.
The location information acquisition unit 501 acquires the "current location information" of the target vehicle FV in real time using the in-vehicle locator 51. Then, by storing the acquired "current location information" in the memory unit 500, it becomes possible to record the travel trajectory (past travel route) of the target vehicle FV equipped with the vehicle information transmission device 50, and the memory unit 500 becomes in a state where the travel trajectory of the target vehicle FV is stored.
The communication unit 502 transmits the "target vehicle information" to the vehicle driving control device 1 (the in-vehicle communication device 40) using the in-vehicle communication device 52. In addition, the communication unit 502 transmits the "current position information" of the target vehicle FV in real time, which is included in the target vehicle information.

Regarding the remote control device 70, from a functional perspective, its main components are a memory unit 700 that stores various programs and various data, a communication unit 701 that transmits and receives various data to and from the vehicle driving control device 1, a screen display unit 702 that displays external images and vehicle information of the vehicle V on the monitor 71 and also displays content based on information about the current position of the vehicle V (e.g., vehicle navigation) on the navigation monitor 72, an operation data creation unit 703 that accepts user operation input and creates operation data, and a user notification unit 704 that notifies the user to the operator.

The functions of the vehicle driving control device 1 equipped in the host vehicle V will be described in detail below.
<<External environment information and position information of the vehicle>>
The environmental information acquisition unit 101 acquires “environmental information (strictly speaking, detected information of the external environment)” around the vehicle V from the on-board sensor 10 .
In detail, as "environmental information", external image data of the surroundings of the vehicle V is obtained from the imaging device 11, detection result data of target objects around the vehicle V is obtained from the radar 12, and distance measurement data measuring the distance between the vehicle V and the target object is obtained from the lidar 13.
Specifically, "environmental information" refers to detection information of moving objects (other vehicles, pedestrians, etc.) around the vehicle V, various structures, road shapes, etc., and is also referred to as driving environment information, and includes traffic environment information, road environment information, etc.

The environmental information acquisition unit 101 can acquire information on the driving state of the target vehicle FV from the on-board sensor 10 in real time as "environmental information."
``Information regarding the driving state'' refers to information regarding the target vehicle FV's constant speed driving operation, acceleration operation, deceleration operation, stopping operation, left turn operation, right turn operation, reverse operation, etc., in other words, behavior information (information based on behavior) of the target vehicle FV.
As the environmental information acquisition unit 101 acquires information regarding the driving state of the target vehicle FV in real time, the vehicle driving control device 1 becomes able to detect, for example, that the target vehicle FV has stopped while driving, that the target vehicle FV has started driving while stopped, or that the target vehicle FV has started driving along a route different from the planned driving route of the host vehicle V, based on changes in information regarding the driving state of the target vehicle FV (changes in behavior information).
At this time, "the target vehicle FV has started traveling on a route different from the planned traveling route of the host vehicle V (the planned traveling route of the target vehicle FV no longer matches the planned traveling route of the host vehicle V)" is determined based on the "traveling trajectory of the target vehicle FV" stored in the memory unit 500 of the target vehicle FV and the "traveling trajectory of the host vehicle V" described below, and by determining whether or not the traveling trajectory of the host vehicle V is on the planned traveling route of the host vehicle V.

The environmental information acquisition unit 101 may further acquire "vehicle control information" of the vehicle V from the onboard ECU 30. Examples of the "vehicle control information" include "steering angle information" obtained from the steering wheel ECU 32, "throttle opening information" obtained from the accelerator ECU 33, and "brake depression amount information" obtained from the brake ECU 34.

The position information acquisition unit 102 (position identification unit) acquires “current position information” of the host vehicle V from the vehicle-mounted locator 20 .
In detail, the position information acquisition unit 102 acquires GNSS information (GNSS correction information) from the GNSS receiver 21, acquires angular velocity and acceleration information of the vehicle V from the inertial measurement device 22, and determines the current position of the vehicle V based on the GNSS information (GNSS correction information), angular velocity, and acceleration information.
By storing the acquired "current position information" in the storage unit 100, it becomes possible to record the travel trajectory (past travel route) of the host vehicle V equipped with the vehicle travel control device 1, and the travel trajectory of the host vehicle V is stored in the storage unit 100. This travel trajectory of the host vehicle V is used to determine whether or not the host vehicle V is on a planned travel route along which the host vehicle V will travel, and to set a new planned travel route that will lead the host vehicle V onto the planned travel route as necessary.

The “current position information” may be an “absolute position” calculated by single positioning, a “relative position” calculated by relative positioning, or a “corrected absolute position” or a “corrected relative position” corrected based on the above-mentioned “angular velocity and acceleration information” of the host vehicle V.
The positional accuracy of the "absolute position" is said to be about ±10 m, while the positional accuracy of the "relative position" is about ±40 cm. The positional accuracy of the "corrected absolute position" is higher than that of the absolute position, and the positional accuracy of the "corrected relative position" is about ±5 cm, which is the highest positional accuracy.
The calculation methods of the "absolute position", "relative position", "corrected absolute position", and "corrected relative position" will be described in detail below with reference to Fig. 6. The calculation method of the current position information (vehicle position information acquisition process) described below is executed as a part of the vehicle management program by the vehicle driving control device 1, which is the first computer in the vehicle management system S.

<How to calculate current location information>
Next, an example of the process of the vehicle position information acquisition process program (vehicle position information acquisition process) executed by the vehicle driving control system S1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The absolute position calculation unit 102a acquires the above-mentioned "GNSS information" required for independent positioning through the GNSS receiver 21, and calculates the "absolute position" of the vehicle V by independent positioning (step S01: absolute position calculation process, absolute position calculation step).
The "absolute position" of the vehicle V is the three-dimensional position of the vehicle V obtained by receiving GNSS radio waves from multiple satellites SA, measuring the distance between the vehicle V and each of the satellites SA located at known points, and solving a three-dimensional equation that determines unknown points from each measured distance (corresponding to GNSS information).

In addition, in step S01, the relative position calculation unit 102b acquires the above-mentioned "GNSS correction information" necessary for relative positioning, corrects the "absolute position" by relative positioning, and calculates the "relative position" of the vehicle V (relative position calculation process, relative position calculation step).
The "relative position" of the vehicle V is the three-dimensional position of the vehicle V that is determined by receiving GNSS radio waves at a reference station ST located at a known point, obtaining the distance with the smaller measurement error from the reference station ST (the distance between each artificial satellite SA and the vehicle V), and calculating each measured distance (corresponding to the GNSS correction information).
The method for calculating the "relative position" includes a calculation method using the RTK positioning method (interferometric positioning method) and a calculation method using the DGPS positioning method (relative positioning method). Either calculation method may be used.

The corrected position calculation unit 102c acquires the above-mentioned "angular velocity and acceleration information" of the vehicle V, and calculates a "corrected absolute position" by correcting the absolute position of the vehicle V based on the "GNSS information" and the "acceleration and angular velocity information."
The "corrected absolute position" of the host vehicle V is the three-dimensional position of the host vehicle V obtained by combining GNSS information with information on the angular velocity and acceleration of the host vehicle V (also called IMU information) to determine its position.
In addition, the corrected position calculation unit 102c calculates a "corrected relative position" by correcting the relative position of the vehicle V based on the "GNSS correction information" and the "acceleration and angular velocity information."

The reception determination unit 102d determines whether or not GNSS information can be received in real time (step S02), and if it determines that GNSS information can be received in real time (step S02: Yes), it subsequently determines whether or not GNSS correction information can be received in real time (step S03: reception determination process).
Specifically, the reception determination unit 102d assumes a case in which there is an obstacle around the vehicle V and therefore radio waves cannot be received from the artificial satellite SA, and in which data cannot be transmitted or received between the vehicle V and the reference station ST, and determines whether radio waves can be received from the artificial satellite SA and whether data can be transmitted or received between the vehicle V and the reference station ST.

When the reception determination unit 102d determines that GNSS information and GNSS information can be received in real time (step S03: Yes), the position information acquisition unit 102 determines the current position of the vehicle V using the “corrected relative position” with the highest position accuracy.
In addition, if the position information acquisition unit 102 determines that it can receive GNSS information in real time but cannot receive GNSS correction information in real time (step S03: No), it determines the current position of the vehicle V using a "corrected absolute position" with high position accuracy (position determination process, position determination processing).
Furthermore, when the position information acquisition unit 102 determines that it is unable to receive GNSS information and GNSS correction information in real time (step S02: No), it can also determine the current position of the vehicle V using an “estimated position” calculated based on the most recently received “GNSS information” and “acceleration and angular velocity information” (step S06).

The position information acquisition unit 102 acquires the most accurate "corrected relative position" as the "position information" of the vehicle V. On the other hand, when data cannot be transmitted or received from the reference station ST, the position information acquisition unit 102 acquires a "corrected absolute position." Alternatively, when there is an obstacle around the vehicle V and radio waves cannot be received from the artificial satellite SA, the position information acquisition unit 102 acquires an "estimated position" (step S07).
After identifying the current position of the vehicle V, the vehicle V transmits the current position of the vehicle V to the remote control device 70, the following vehicles, and the vehicle management device 80 (step S08: first communication process).
In addition, the actual driving route information of the vehicle V (also referred to as driving trajectory information or driving history information) is generated by compiling the position information from the start position of the vehicle V's driving to the end position of the driving, which is acquired by the position information acquisition unit 102.
The generated driving route information (driving route data) of the vehicle V is stored in the memory unit 100 in association with information regarding the driving date and time, driving time, information regarding the driving mode of the vehicle V (e.g., the number of times the driving mode is changed, the execution time of each driving mode), and vehicle information of the target vehicle FV that was the target to be followed during the relative driving mode.

<<Autonomous driving control>>
The driving control unit 103 (driving control unit) controls the overall ECU 31 based on the "environmental information" obtained by the environmental information acquisition unit 101 and the "position information of the vehicle V" obtained by the position information acquisition unit 102, and performs "autonomous driving control" of the vehicle V (driving control processing).
In addition, when performing "autonomous driving control" of the host vehicle V, the driving control unit 103 may acquire "vehicle control information" of the host vehicle V from the on-board ECU 30 and further combine the "vehicle control information" to control the overall ECU 31.

When the host vehicle V starts traveling along the planned traveling route of the host vehicle V, the driving control unit 103 performs "autonomous driving control" and starts autonomous driving of the host vehicle V.
In more detail, when the host vehicle V starts traveling, the "autonomous driving mode" is set, and the driving control unit 103 performs autonomous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode" state.
Thereafter, the host vehicle V travels toward the destination of the planned travel route while the mode change unit 106 changes the driving mode between the "autonomous driving mode" and the "relative driving mode".
When the target vehicle FV to be followed has already been detected and position information of the target vehicle FV is obtained in real time at the timing when the host vehicle V starts traveling, the mode may be changed from "autonomous driving mode" to "relative driving mode" by the mode change unit 106. In that case, the driving control unit 103 performs relative driving control with the "relative driving mode" set, and starts driving the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV.
Alternatively, when the host vehicle V starts driving, the "remote driving mode" is set instead of the "autonomous driving mode", and the driving control unit 103 may perform remote driving control with the "remote driving mode" set.

The vehicle detection unit 104 detects that a specific preceding vehicle traveling in front of the host vehicle V is a target vehicle FV to be followed on the planned traveling route of the host vehicle V (see FIG. 7B).
A "target vehicle to be followed" includes not only vehicles traveling on a planned driving route that at least partially matches the planned driving route of the host vehicle V, but also vehicles that will travel the same route as the planned driving route of the host vehicle V for a certain driving distance (driving time).
For example, this applies to vehicles traveling around the vehicle V when traveling on a highway or general road where there are no branch points within a certain travel distance (travel time).

Specifically, the vehicle detection unit 104 detects that a predetermined preceding vehicle is a target vehicle FV based on the recognition result of the identification mark 60 of the preceding vehicle recognized by the imaging device 11 .
For example, when the first identification mark 60a of the target vehicle FV is recognized, the vehicle detection unit 104 detects that the target vehicle FV is located in front of the host vehicle V.
Alternatively, when the seventh identification mark 60g of the target vehicle FV is recognized, the vehicle detection unit 104 detects that the target vehicle FV is present to the right of the host vehicle V.

More specifically, the vehicle detection unit 104 obtains the recognition results of each identification mark 60a to 60l of the target vehicle FV in real time from the imaging device 11, and can accurately detect the relative position of the target vehicle FV with respect to the host vehicle V in real time based on the vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV (shape and size of the target vehicle FV) and the mark position information embedded in each identification mark 60a to 60l.
For example, the vehicle driving control device 1 can accurately detect that the target vehicle FV is traveling in a position slightly to the left and forward of the host vehicle V, or that the target vehicle FV is traveling parallel to the host vehicle V and slightly ahead of the host vehicle V. In this case, the relative position of the target vehicle FV may be specified, for example, by a three-dimensional coordinate position with the host vehicle V as the center position.
In this way, as shown in Fig. 7B, the host vehicle V can be driven relatively while maintaining an appropriate inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV. Also, as shown in Fig. 7C, the host vehicle V can be driven autonomously so that the host vehicle V can appropriately overtake the target vehicle FV.

Although the vehicle detection unit 104 detects the target vehicle FV based on the recognition result of the identification mark 60, the target vehicle FV may be detected by other detection means.
For example, the vehicle detection unit 104 may use the in-vehicle communication device 40 to wirelessly obtain vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV from a vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted on the target vehicle FV, and detect the target vehicle FV based on the vehicle identification information.
In other words, the target vehicle FV may be in a state where it can be detected by an identification mark 60 attached to the target vehicle FV, or the target vehicle FV may be in a state where it can be detected by wireless communication with a vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted on the target vehicle FV.
In addition, the vehicle detection unit 104 may capture an image of the license plate of the target vehicle FV using the imaging device 11, read the license plate information from the license plate, obtain vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV from a management server on the network (e.g., the vehicle management device 80), and detect the target vehicle FV based on the vehicle identification information.

The communication unit 105 receives target vehicle information including at least the position information of the target vehicle FV detected by the vehicle detection unit 104.
More specifically, when the vehicle detection unit 104 detects the target vehicle FV, the communication unit 105 starts communication with the vehicle information transmission device 50 via the network.
Then, the communication unit 105 receives the position information of the target vehicle FV and information on the planned driving route from the vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted on the target vehicle FV.
The location information acquisition unit 501 of the vehicle information transmission device 50 acquires the "current location information" of the target vehicle FV in real time in the same manner as the location information acquisition unit 102 described above.

<<Mode change (autonomous driving ⇒ relative driving)>>
The mode change unit 106 changes from the "autonomous driving mode (autonomous driving control)" to the "relative driving mode (relative driving control)" when a predetermined relative driving start condition is satisfied.
Specifically, when autonomous driving control is being performed with the "autonomous driving mode" set as shown in FIG. 7A, when a target vehicle FV is detected by the vehicle detection unit 104 and target vehicle information is received by the communication unit 105, the mode change unit 106 changes from the "autonomous driving mode" to the "relative driving mode" as shown in FIG. 7B.
More specifically, when the vehicle detection unit 104 detects a leading vehicle as a "predetermined relative driving start condition", it determines whether the leading vehicle is a target vehicle FV, and if it is determined that the leading vehicle is a target vehicle FV, it recognizes the leading vehicle as the target vehicle FV. Then, the mode change unit 106 changes from the "autonomous driving mode" to the "relative driving mode".
In addition, if it is determined that the preceding vehicle is not the target vehicle FV, even if the preceding vehicle is detected, the mode change unit 106 will not change the mode because the ``specified relative driving start condition'' is not satisfied.
Here, the "target vehicle FV" is a vehicle that has a vehicle ID that is preregistered by the vehicle driving control device 1 (storage unit 100) mounted on the vehicle V and is identified by the vehicle ID. If the vehicle ID is set for the vehicle ahead, the "predetermined relative driving start condition" is satisfied, and if the vehicle ID is not set, the condition is not satisfied.

In detail, when the target vehicle FV is detected while autonomous driving control is being performed with the "autonomous driving mode" set, the mode change unit 106 sets the "relative driving mode" with the "autonomous driving mode" set. In other words, while keeping the "autonomous driving mode" in an enabled state, the "relative driving mode" is changed from an disabled state to an enabled state.
At this time, the mode change unit 106 prioritizes and continues the "autonomous driving mode" with both modes set. In other words, the driving control unit 103 continues to perform the autonomous driving control.
Then, when the mode change unit 106 obtains target vehicle information of the target vehicle FV while the autonomous driving control is continuing with both modes set, the mode change unit 106 executes the "relative driving mode" with priority while both modes are set. In other words, the driving control unit 103 newly performs relative driving control.
In addition, when autonomous driving control continues with both modes set, if target vehicle information of the target vehicle FV cannot be obtained, i.e., if wireless communication with the vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted on the target vehicle FV cannot be established, the mode change unit 106 returns the "relative driving mode" that was once set to an unset state. In other words, the "relative driving mode" is returned from an enabled state to an disabled state. At this time, since the "autonomous driving mode" remains in the set state (enabled state), the driving control unit 103 continues to perform autonomous driving control.

<<Relative operation control>>
The driving control unit 103 controls the overall ECU 31 based on the ``environmental information,'' ``position information of the host vehicle V,'' and ``target vehicle information of the target vehicle FV,'' and performs ``relative driving control'' of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV (see Figure 7B).
In addition, when executing the "relative driving control," the driving control unit 103 can perform appropriate relative driving according to the vehicle type (shape, size, driving performance, fuel efficiency, displacement, etc.) of the target vehicle FV by further combining the "vehicle identification information of the target vehicle FV" obtained from the recognition results of the identification mark 60 and controlling the overall ECU 31.

Furthermore, the "relative driving control" performed by the driving control unit 103 is a control process that, based on the "position information of the target vehicle FV" included in the target vehicle information acquired from the target vehicle FV, identifies the position information of the host vehicle V traveling on a traveling trajectory (past traveling route) drawn based on the position information of the target vehicle FV. In this relative driving control, control is performed to travel on the traveling trajectory at a predetermined position information with a set distance depending on the traveling speed of the host vehicle V in order to appropriately secure the distance between the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV.
Specifically, the running speed acquisition unit 107 acquires "angular velocity and acceleration information" of the vehicle V from the inertial measurement device 22, and acquires the "running speed" of the vehicle V in real time by integrating the acceleration and angular velocity.
Then, the driving control unit 103 refers to the "inter-vehicle distance data" shown in Figure 8 stored in the memory unit 100, identifies the position information of the host vehicle V based on the position information of the target vehicle FV, and performs relative driving control to drive the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV based on the position information of the host vehicle and environmental information.
In this relative driving control, a process of correcting and correcting the trajectory is performed based on the "position information of the vehicle V" so that the vehicle V actually travels along the position information determined based on the position information of the target vehicle FV. In other words, this process corrects the deviation (error) between the position information of the vehicle V that is determined based on the position information of the target vehicle FV and the position information of the vehicle V that is actually traveling, and corrects the trajectory.
As a result, the actual travel path of the vehicle V (the travel path based on the position information of the vehicle V) is stored in the memory unit 100.

The "inter-vehicle distance data" shown in Figure 8 is a data table showing the correspondence between the traveling speed of the host vehicle V and the set inter-vehicle distance.
For example, when the running speed (average running speed) of the host vehicle V is "80 km/h", the set inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV is set to "40 to 70 m".
In addition, the "inter-vehicle distance data" may be graph data in which the traveling speed of the host vehicle V is on the X-axis and the set inter-vehicle distance is on the Y-axis, and the set inter-vehicle distance increases in proportion to the traveling speed (increases quadratically).
In addition to setting the distance between the vehicle and the target vehicle FV as described above, the time interval may be set so that the vehicle V travels to a position where the target vehicle FV traveled a predetermined time ago (e.g., several seconds ago). In this case, it is preferable to set the time interval so that a minimum distance is secured so that the vehicle V does not collide with the target vehicle FV from behind.

The traveling speed acquisition unit 107 may calculate the "speed" of the vehicle V by processing the "GNSS information (GNSS correction information)" and the "acceleration and angular velocity information" using a Kalman filter when calculating the "traveling speed" of the vehicle V. In this way, the "traveling speed" can be calculated with higher accuracy.
In addition, when acquiring "speed information" of the host vehicle V, a wheel speed sensor may be newly installed in the host vehicle V, and the "speed information" may be acquired through the wheel speed sensor.

The driving control unit 103 performs relative driving control by maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance according to the driving speed of the host vehicle V, but it may also perform relative driving control of the host vehicle V with respect to the target vehicle FV based on the synchronization state of the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV (for example, a state in which when the target vehicle FV travels "1 m", the host vehicle V also travels "1 m").
In the case of a synchronized state, the driving control unit 103 acquires environmental information around the host vehicle V, position information of the host vehicle V, and target vehicle information including position information of the target vehicle FV in real time, and combines this information to perform relative driving control.

<<Mode change (relative driving ⇒ autonomous driving)>>
(When the target vehicle stops)
When the "predetermined condition according to the driving state" of the target vehicle FV is satisfied while relative driving control is being performed with the "relative driving mode" set as shown in Fig. 7B, the mode change unit 106 changes from the relative driving mode to the "autonomous driving mode." Then, the driving control unit 103 performs autonomous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode" as shown in Fig. 7C.
``Specified conditions according to driving conditions'' refers to a situation where the behavior of the target vehicle FV detects that the host vehicle V needs to overtake the target vehicle FV in order to drive efficiently, or that the host vehicle V needs to drive along a different route than the target vehicle FV.
For example, this may be the case when it is detected from the behavior of the target vehicle FV that the target vehicle FV in motion has stopped on the side of the road (on the shoulder) or has started to stop.
Another example is when the behavior of the target vehicle FV detects that the target vehicle FV has started traveling along a route different from the planned route (specifically, a route toward a rest area).
In other words, the "predetermined condition according to the driving state" can also be rephrased as the "relative driving release condition" for releasing the relative driving control of the host vehicle V.
The following description will be given assuming that a traveling target vehicle FV stops at the side of the road as shown in FIG. 7C.

When relative driving control is being performed with the ``relative driving mode'' set as shown in Figure 7B, the environmental information acquisition unit 101 detects that the target vehicle FV has stopped (started stopping) on the side of the road as detection information regarding the driving state of the target vehicle FV.
The mode change unit 106 determines that a predetermined condition corresponding to the traveling state of the target vehicle FV is satisfied when it is detected that the target vehicle FV has stopped at the side of the road based on the detection result by the environmental information acquisition unit 101. Then, the mode change unit 106 changes the mode from the "relative driving mode" to the "autonomous driving mode."
Then, the driving control unit 103 performs autonomous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode". Specifically, while grasping driving environment information around the host vehicle V, the driving control unit 103 performs autonomous driving control of the host vehicle V so as to overtake the target vehicle FV as shown in FIG. 7C.
In addition, since the "autonomous driving mode" always remains set (enabled), the driving control unit 103 can smoothly transition from relative driving control to autonomous driving control.

(When the target vehicles separate at a branch point)
In addition to the above conditions, when the "relative driving mode" is set and relative driving control is being performed, if a predetermined condition according to the planned driving route of the target vehicle FV is satisfied, the mode change unit 106 changes from the relative driving mode to the "autonomous driving mode." Then, the driving control unit 103 performs autonomous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode."
The "predetermined condition according to the planned driving route" is when it is detected that the planned driving route of the target vehicle FV and the planned driving route of the host vehicle V no longer match.
For example, it is possible that the planned driving route of the target vehicle FV has been acquired in advance and that the planned driving route no longer matches, or that the planned driving route of the target vehicle FV has been changed and the changed planned driving route no longer matches.
The following description will be given assuming that the target vehicle FV and the host vehicle V separate at a branch point.

The communication unit 105 receives, from the vehicle information transmission device 50, “target vehicle information” including the position information of the target vehicle FV and information on the planned driving route.
When relative driving control is being performed with the "relative driving mode" set as shown in Fig. 7B, if it is detected that the planned driving routes of both vehicles no longer match based on the target vehicle information obtained by the communication unit 105, the mode change unit 106 considers that the "predetermined condition according to the driving state" is satisfied, and then changes from the relative driving mode to the "autonomous driving mode."
Then, the driving control unit 103 performs autonomous driving control in the “autonomous driving mode.” Specifically, the vehicle V separates from the target vehicle FV at a predetermined branch point and starts autonomous driving control of the vehicle V.

With the above configuration, a vehicle driving control device 1 can be realized that enables the host vehicle V to drive relative to the target vehicle FV and can change the driving state of the host vehicle V as necessary.
In addition, by using the vehicle driving control device 1, it is possible to receive position information of the target vehicle FV in real time and switch between "autonomous driving control" and "relative driving control" depending on the behavior (changes in driving conditions) of the target vehicle FV.

<<Remote operation control>>
Next, the "remote operation control" will be described.
The image processor 108 acquires external image data of the vehicle V from each of the imaging devices 11a-11i, and creates a composite image (composite image data) by combining the respective external images based on predetermined layout information.
By generating the above-mentioned composite video and transmitting the generated composite video data to the remote control device 70, data communication costs can be reduced compared to the case of transmitting a plurality of external video data.

The communication unit 105 uses the in-vehicle communication device 40 to transmit and receive data between the vehicle driving control device 1 and the remote control device 70 .
Specifically, the communication unit 105 transmits to the remote control device 70 the "environmental information" obtained by the environmental information acquisition unit 101 and the "current location information" obtained by the location information acquisition unit 102 as information necessary for "remote driving" of the vehicle V.
In addition, the communication unit 105 receives "driving operation information" of the vehicle V from the remote control device 70 that has accepted user input by the operator.
The driving control unit 103 controls the overall ECU 31 based on the "driving operation information" of the host vehicle V obtained from the remote operation device 70, and performs "remote driving control" of the host vehicle V.

With the above configuration, a vehicle driving control device 1 can be realized that is also capable of performing "remote driving control" in which an operator remotely controls the vehicle V to drive it.
Therefore, it is possible to switch between "remote driving control" and "relative driving control" depending on the behavior of the target vehicle FV. When switching from "remote driving control" to "relative driving control", the operator is released from the task of remotely driving the host vehicle V.

<<Vehicle driving control method>>
Next, an example of the process of the vehicle driving control program (vehicle driving control operation method) executed by the vehicle driving control system S1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The above-mentioned program in this embodiment is a program for realizing the above-mentioned environmental information acquisition unit 101, position information acquisition unit 102, driving control unit 103, vehicle detection unit 104, communication unit 105, mode change unit 106, driving speed acquisition unit 107, and image processing unit 108 as functional components of a vehicle driving control device 1 equipped with a memory unit 100, and the CPU of the vehicle driving control device 1, which is the first computer, executes this vehicle driving control program.
The above program is executed upon receiving operational instructions from a user (specifically, the driver of the vehicle V or an external operator).

The vehicle driving control flow shown in FIG. 9 first starts with step S101 in which the vehicle driving control device 1 sets the "autonomous driving mode" when the host vehicle V starts driving.
The vehicle driving control device 1 may set a "remotely operated driving mode" instead of the "autonomous driving mode".
If the "remote control driving mode" is set, the driving control unit 103 will perform remote control driving control of the host vehicle V in step S103 described below.

Next, in step S102, the environmental information acquisition unit 101 starts acquiring "environmental information" around the vehicle V, and the position information acquisition unit 102 starts acquiring "position information of the vehicle V." Note that acquisition of the "position information of the vehicle V" by the position information acquisition unit 102 is performed by a "vehicle position information acquisition process" shown in FIG.
Then, in step S103, the driving control unit 103 controls the integrated ECU 31 based on the environmental information and the position information of the host vehicle V, and performs "autonomous driving control" of the host vehicle V (see FIG. 7A).

Next, in step S104, the vehicle detection unit 104 detects whether or not a predetermined preceding vehicle is a target vehicle FV to be followed on the planned driving route of the host vehicle V.
Specifically, the vehicle detection unit 104 determines whether a specific preceding vehicle is a target vehicle FV based on the recognition result of the identification mark 60 of the specific preceding vehicle recognized by the imaging device 11, based on the above-mentioned specified relative driving start condition.
When the vehicle detection unit 104 determines that the vehicle is the target vehicle FV by satisfying a predetermined relative driving start condition (step S104: Yes), the process proceeds to step S105. On the other hand, when the vehicle detection unit 104 does not determine that the vehicle is the target vehicle FV by not satisfying a predetermined relative driving start condition (step S104: No), the process returns to step S102. In other words, the autonomous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode" is continued.

Next, in step S105, the mode change unit 106 sets the "relative driving mode" while the "autonomous driving mode" is set. In other words, the "relative driving mode" is changed from an invalid state to an valid state while the "autonomous driving mode" is set to an valid state.

Next, in step S106 , the communication unit 105 attempts to receive “target vehicle information” including “position information of the target vehicle FV” detected by the vehicle detection unit 104 .
More specifically, the communication unit 105 starts communication with the vehicle information transmission device 50 mounted in the target vehicle FV via the network, and attempts to receive location information of the target vehicle FV from the vehicle information transmission device 50.

If the communication unit 105 receives position information of the target vehicle FV from the target vehicle FV (step S106: Yes), the process proceeds to step S107, and the driving control unit 103 controls the overall ECU 31 based on the ``environmental information,'' ``position information of the host vehicle V,'' and ``target vehicle information of the target vehicle FV,'' and performs ``relative driving control'' of the host vehicle V relative to the target vehicle FV (see Figure 7B).
On the other hand, if the communication unit 105 does not receive the position information of the target vehicle FV (step S106: No), the process proceeds to step S108, and with the "autonomous driving mode" set, the mode change unit 106 changes the "relative driving mode" from an enabled state to an disabled state, cancels it, and then returns to step S102.

Next, in step S109, the mode change unit 106 determines whether or not the target vehicle FV satisfies a "predetermined condition" when relative driving control is being performed with the "relative driving mode" set.
Specifically, the mode change unit 106 determines whether the target vehicle FV satisfies "predetermined conditions according to the driving conditions" or whether the target vehicle FV satisfies "predetermined conditions according to the planned driving route".
In addition, when the mode change unit 106 determines that either the "predetermined condition according to the driving state" or the "predetermined condition according to the planned driving route" of the target vehicle FV is satisfied, it determines that the above-mentioned "predetermined condition" is satisfied.

If it is determined that the target vehicle FV satisfies the "predetermined condition" (step S109: Yes), the process proceeds to step S110, where the mode change unit 106 changes the "relative driving mode" from an enabled state to an disabled state and cancels it.
Then, in step S111, the driving control unit 103 performs autonomous driving control in the "autonomous driving mode" as shown in FIG. 7C.
For example, when a "predetermined condition according to the driving state" is met by detecting that the target vehicle FV has stopped while driving, the mode change unit 106 cancels the "relative driving mode", and the driving control unit 103 switches to relative driving control to perform autonomous driving control.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the target vehicle FV does not satisfy the "predetermined condition" (step S109: No), the process returns to step S107.

Finally, in step S112, if the vehicle driving control device 1 determines that the vehicle V has arrived at the destination or that the autonomous driving control in the autonomous driving mode should be terminated (step S112: Yes), the process of Figure 9 is terminated.
On the other hand, if the vehicle driving control device 1 continues to control the driving of the host vehicle V (step S112: No), the process returns to step S102.

The above-described vehicle driving control program configuration enables the host vehicle V to drive relative to the target vehicle FV, and makes it possible to change the driving state of the host vehicle V as necessary.
In addition, it is possible to receive position information of the target vehicle FV in real time and switch between "autonomous driving control" and "relative driving control" depending on the behavior of the target vehicle FV.

<<Vehicle management system>>
Using the above-mentioned vehicle driving control system S1, multiple subject vehicles V find target vehicles FV to be followed, and by repeatedly switching between "autonomous driving control" and "relative driving control", a convoy F (vehicle group) consisting of multiple vehicles is formed. The convoy at this time can be recognized as being formed externally by the "autonomous driving control" and "relative driving control" between the individual vehicles.
However, although the convoy F is formed, each of the own vehicles V individually finds and follows the target vehicle FV, so when the convoy F is initially formed, the position of the own vehicle V within the convoy F does not reflect the vehicle's condition, specifications, driving conditions, etc.
By appropriately adjusting the positional relationship of the vehicles that make up the platoon F, it is possible to reduce danger during platoon driving and ensure stable platoon driving.
The following describes the vehicle management device 80 and the vehicle management system S that control the positional relationship of the vehicles C within the convoy formed by the vehicle driving control system S1, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 10 to FIG.

In the vehicle driving control system S1, the functions of the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV have been described separately, but each vehicle C that forms the platoon F is also equipped with the function of the host vehicle V becoming a target vehicle FV. That is, the vehicle C controlled by the vehicle management system S is equipped with a vehicle driving control device 1, an on-board sensor 10, an on-board locator 20, an on-board ECU 30, an on-board communication device 40, as well as a vehicle information transmission device 50 and an identification mark 60, which allows the host vehicle V and the target vehicle FV to switch places and continue driving. In the following, the host vehicle V that has the function of a target vehicle FV will be referred to as vehicle C.

Although vehicle C automatically identifies and follows the target vehicle FV using the vehicle driving control system S1, the driver may directly specify the vehicle to follow and follow it. For example, vehicle information is received from surrounding vehicles, and the driver specifies the vehicle to follow based on the vehicle information displayed on a display installed in vehicle C. In this case, it is also possible to prohibit following or warn the driver based on differences in vehicle class or information on the planned route of the vehicle.

It is also possible for each vehicle C to set in advance whether or not it will perform follow-up driving. This enablement of follow-up driving (ON/OFF) can be set manually. In addition, the enablement of follow-up driving can be set automatically by the vehicle driving control device 1 determining the type and weight of the luggage when the driver registers information about the luggage to be loaded into the vehicle C.

<<Hardware configuration of vehicle management device>>
The vehicle management device 80, as shown in Fig. 1, is a computer for managing the traveling of a convoy F formed by a plurality of vehicles C, and as shown in Fig. 10, includes a CPU as a data calculation and control device, a ROM, a RAM, and a HDD (SSD) as storage devices, and a communication interface for transmitting and receiving information data via a network. It also includes a communication device 81 for communicating with external devices.
In addition to a main program that performs the necessary functions of a computer, the memory device of the vehicle management device 80 stores a vehicle management program, and the functions of the vehicle management device 80 are performed by executing these programs by the CPU.

<Functions of vehicle management device>
Regarding the vehicle management device 80, the main components are a memory unit 800 that stores various programs and various data, a communication unit 801 (second communication unit) that transmits and receives various data between the vehicle driving control device 1 of vehicle C, a management unit 802 that manages the driving state of each vehicle C whose driving is controlled by the vehicle driving control device 1 based on vehicle information of vehicle C and position information for vehicle C obtained by communication with the vehicle driving control device 1 of vehicle C, and a state control unit 803 that controls the driving state of vehicle C managed by the management unit 802.

The storage unit 800, communication unit 801, management unit 802, and state control unit 803 are configured by a CPU, ROM, RAM, HDD, communication interface, various programs, and the like shown in FIG.
Each function of the vehicle management device 80 will be described in detail below. The vehicle management device 80 provides information necessary for determining the driving mode that specifies the positional relationship of the vehicles in the platoon F, managing the positional relationship, and changing the positional relationship, and these are realized by the functions described below. Also, in terms of appearance, in the vehicle management system S of this embodiment, the platoon F appears to be formed, but in reality, a group of vehicles C forms a platoon by controlling their driving such as automatic driving or following driving, and it should be noted that the vehicle management device 80 does not directly issue instructions to each vehicle C to form the platoon F.

In explaining the functions of the vehicle management device 80, a more specific situation may be explained by taking as an example a case in which vehicle C3 in a convoy F traveling on a road experiences a breakdown and is forced to evacuate from the convoy F, as shown in Figures 12A and 12B.
The left diagram of Fig. 12A shows a state in which vehicle C3 has been identified as a broken-down vehicle (specific vehicle Cs) when vehicles C1 to C5 are traveling in a convoy. The center diagram of Fig. 12A shows a state in which vehicle C3 has changed lanes to change its positional relationship. The right diagram of Fig. 12A shows the state immediately after vehicle C3 has moved to the end of convoy F. The left diagram of Fig. 12B shows convoy F traveling in a driving mode in which vehicle C3 has moved to the end. The right diagram of Fig. 12B shows a state in which vehicle C3, a specific vehicle Cs, has stopped traveling.

<Communications Department>
The communication unit 801 communicates with the communication unit 105 (first communication unit) of the vehicle driving control device 1 provided in each of the vehicles C forming the platoon F, and receives "current location information" transmitted by the communication unit 105. The communication unit 801 receives the "current location information" of the vehicle C and stores it in the memory unit 800. The communication unit 801 may further acquire "vehicle information" from the vehicle C. The "vehicle information" includes information such as the identification information (vehicle ID) of the vehicle C, the vehicle model, the vehicle class, the overall width, overall height, overall length, displacement (motor output), passenger capacity, weight, etc. of the vehicle C recorded in the vehicle inspection certificate.
"Vehicle information" may include information such as the destination and the planned route to the destination, the contents and weight of the cargo, the number of passengers, etc., which do not change during operation but change with each operation.

In addition, the "vehicle information" may include information that changes while driving, such as the driving mode (whether it is autonomous driving mode or remote driving operation mode), an image of the vehicle captured by the imaging device 11 mounted on vehicle C, information on remaining fuel, and information on the target vehicle being followed.
Furthermore, as the “vehicle information”, fault information (such as broken wiring in electronic circuits, abnormal signals from various sensors, etc.) detected by an on-board diagnostic device (OBD: On-Board Diagnostics) mounted on the vehicle C may be acquired.
Hereinafter, the "current position information" and "vehicle information" received from each vehicle C will be collectively referred to as "travel information".
Incidentally, while the "current location information" of the "travel information" is transmitted and received in real time, the "vehicle information" may be transmitted and received at a predetermined interval (e.g., every 5 minutes) rather than in real time. Also, the vehicle information may be transmitted and received when there is a change in the information.

In addition, the communication unit 801 is capable of communicating information with an external server (not shown), and can receive, for example, the latest traffic information, weather information, and the like (hereinafter referred to as "external factor information") from the external server.
Then, the “driving information” and “external factor information” received by the communication unit 801 are stored in the memory unit 800 .

<Administration Department>
The management unit 802 of the vehicle management device 80 manages the traveling state of the vehicle C based on the "current position information" received by the communication unit 801. Specifically, the management unit 802 manages information related to the traveling operation at a constant speed, the accelerating operation, the decelerating operation, the stopping operation, the left turning operation, the right turning operation, the backing up operation, and the like, of the vehicle C, in other words, the behavior information (information based on the behavior) of the vehicle C.
The management unit 802 obtains the "current location information" of vehicle C in real time via the communication unit 801, and based on changes in information regarding the driving state of vehicle C (changes in behavior information), can detect, for example, that vehicle C while moving has stopped, that vehicle C while stopped has started moving, or that vehicle C has started moving along a route different from the planned driving route.

The management unit 802 also manages that the driving state based on the position information received from each vehicle C other than the vehicle C is a driving state in which multiple vehicles C are driving in a group of vehicles forming a convoy F. For example, the vehicle C2 shown in Figs. 12A and 12B is driving based on the position information received from the vehicle C1, which is the target vehicle FV to be followed, by the vehicle driving control system S1. Similarly, the vehicles C3-C5 driving behind the vehicle C2 also obtain position information from the vehicles C2-C4 driving in front and drive in a following manner based on the position information, thereby forming the convoy F as a whole. Note that the acquisition of position information, etc. may be performed by the vehicle C driving behind recognizing the identification mark 60 of the vehicle C driving in front. The management unit 802 manages the driving state in which multiple vehicles C1-C5 are driving in a group of vehicles forming a convoy F in this way.

The management unit 802 manages "platoon information" regarding the platoon F. The "platoon information" is information indicating the state of the platoon F, and includes the vehicle types and identification information of the vehicles C that make up the platoon F, the number of vehicles C that make up the platoon, etc. The management unit 802 may calculate the length of the platoon F and the distance between the vehicles using the received "current position information" of the vehicles C, etc., and manage this as the platoon information. It may also include information regarding the leading vehicle Ct of the platoon F, identification information, driving mode, destination, planned driving route, etc.

Whether vehicle C belongs to the convoy F is determined based on whether the distance CD (see the left diagram in FIG. 12A) between the GNSS receivers 21 mounted on the vehicle C traveling in front (e.g., the lead vehicle Ct) and the vehicle C traveling behind it (vehicle C2) is within a predetermined distance D according to the traveling speed. The predetermined distance D is set, for example, as the inter-vehicle distance according to the traveling speed x 1.5. The position (current position information) of the GNSS receiver 21 may be identified using IMU information and an RTK positioning method.

The management unit 802 may also manage "platoon information" regarding the platoon F and transmit the "platoon information" to the vehicles C that form the platoon F. Each vehicle C can know from the received "platoon information" that a platoon F has been formed and the position (order within the platoon) in which its own vehicle is traveling within the entire platoon F. For example, it can know whether its own vehicle is the leading vehicle Ct of the platoon F, a middle vehicle traveling within the platoon, the number of vehicles traveling from the leading vehicle Ct, or the last vehicle.

The management unit 802 may create an image to be referred to by an operator remotely driving the lead vehicle Ct, based on image information received from the vehicles C that make up the convoy F. The image to be referred to should be one that allows the driving conditions of the entire convoy F to be grasped. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, image information is obtained from the imaging devices 11 mounted on the lead vehicle Ct and the rearmost vehicle Ce of the convoy F, and a composite image P (convoy image, composite video) is created. At this time, in order to reduce the amount of data sent and received, it is not necessary to use image information from intermediate vehicles in the convoy.

The management unit 802 manages "predetermined change conditions" that change the positional relationships within the formation F, in association with "response methods" that correspond to the "predetermined change conditions." The "predetermined change conditions" and the "response methods" are stored in the storage unit 800.
The "predetermined change condition" is, for example, a condition that "a malfunction that impedes the running of the vehicle has occurred," and the "response method" corresponding to this condition is managed as, for example, "stopping the running of the vehicle." Examples of the "predetermined change condition" and the "response method" corresponding to the condition are shown in Table 1.
In the following description, a vehicle C that satisfies the predetermined change condition will be referred to as a specific vehicle Cs.

The effects of each change condition and corresponding method shown in Table 1 are as follows.
(1) By making the vehicle C with the longest remaining travel distance calculated from the remaining fuel and fuel efficiency the leading vehicle Ct of the platoon F, stable platoon travel is possible.
(2) By positioning buses carrying passengers or cargo vehicles carrying valuables in the middle of the convoy F, the risk of being rear-ended can be reduced.
(3) Vehicle C that is at high risk of breakdown or cannot travel at high speeds can be placed at the end of the convoy F, and then vehicle C can be stopped, allowing vehicle C to be stopped safely.
(4) When a vehicle C with little remaining fuel or poor fuel economy is the leading vehicle Ct, fuel economy can be improved by moving the vehicle C backward rather than making it the leading vehicle Ct. Fuel economy can be improved by changing the positional relationship within the convoy F so that a vehicle with a larger frontal projection area than the vehicle itself is positioned in front of the vehicle with little remaining fuel or poor fuel economy.
(5) By removing a vehicle C that is significantly different in size from the other vehicles C from the platoon F, the platoon F can be driven safely. For example, if a large truck is made to follow a light vehicle, there is a high risk of the light vehicle colliding with the large truck during sudden braking. In addition, when the large truck turns or accelerates or decelerates at the same speed as the light vehicle it is following, it may not be able to follow the light vehicle. For this reason, it is better for the large truck to be removed from the platoon F and belong to a different platoon F.
In addition, vehicle classification (type and classification of automobiles) is determined by the Road Transport Vehicle Act and the Road Traffic Act. In the Road Traffic Act, automobiles are classified according to total vehicle weight or passenger capacity, so it is better to use the classification of automobiles in the Road Traffic Act for the vehicle classification used in the change conditions.

<State Control Unit>
The state control unit 803 has the function of controlling the running state of the vehicle C managed by the management unit 802 as described above, and includes a determination unit 805, an instruction unit 806, and a vehicle control unit 807.

<Decision Section>
When the management unit 802 is managing the driving state of vehicle C forming and driving in convoy F, the determination unit 805 determines a driving mode that specifies the positional relationship within the convoy F based on the vehicle information of vehicle C and the driving state of vehicle C.
"Traveling mode" indicates the traveling state of the platoon F by specifying the relative positions of the vehicles. For example, when the platoon F is formed by five vehicles C1-C5 as shown in the left diagram of Fig. 12A, it indicates that the vehicles are traveling in the order of "vehicle C1, vehicle C2, vehicle C3, vehicle C4, vehicle C5".

<Instruction section>
The instruction unit 806 transmits information regarding the driving mode determined by the determination unit 805 to each of the vehicles C forming the convoy F, thereby instructing the positional relationship within the convoy.
For example, when vehicle C3 is to be the last vehicle Ce of the platoon F among the five vehicles C1-C5 shown in the left diagram of Fig. 12A, the instruction unit 806 transmits driving mode information of "vehicle C1, vehicle C2, vehicle C4, vehicle C5, vehicle C3" to the vehicles C1-C5. By receiving the driving mode information, vehicles C3 and C4 recognize that they will switch positions within the platoon.

<Vehicle control unit>
The vehicle control unit 807 controls the vehicle C to change its positional relationship within the convoy F by communicating with the vehicle C instructed by the instruction unit 806.
12A , when vehicle C3 is the last vehicle Ce in the convoy F, the vehicle control unit 807 communicates with, for example, vehicles C3 and C4, and controls vehicle C3 to move behind vehicle C5. Also, the vehicle control unit 807 controls vehicle C4 to follow vehicle C2.
At this time, the driving mode of vehicles C3 and C4 is switched from the "following driving mode" to the "autonomous driving mode", and when the exchange of positional relationships is completed, it is returned from the "autonomous driving mode" to the "following driving mode".
When swapping the positional relationship, either or both of vehicle C3 and vehicle C4 may be switched from the "following driving mode" to the "remote driving mode" and the positional relationship may be swapped by remote driving by an operator.

The state control unit 803 may also include a vehicle identification unit 808. The vehicle identification unit 808 identifies a vehicle that satisfies the “predetermined change condition” managed by the management unit 802 from among the vehicles C forming the platoon F, based on the vehicle information and driving state of the vehicle C.
For example, if the specified change condition is “(3) a malfunction has occurred that interferes with the vehicle's driving,” the vehicle identification unit 808 checks the vehicle information and driving status of vehicle C that forms the platoon F and determines whether the change condition is met.
Also, for example, if the vehicle information includes OBD data from a sensor installed in the vehicle, when the OBD data of a certain vehicle C exceeds a predetermined threshold, the vehicle identification unit 808 determines that a malfunction has occurred in the vehicle C and identifies the vehicle C as a vehicle that satisfies the "predetermined change condition."

When the vehicle identification unit 808 identifies a vehicle C that satisfies the "specified change condition", i.e., when there is a specific vehicle C in the platoon F that satisfies the "specified change condition", the determination unit 805 determines a driving mode according to the response method corresponding to the "specified change condition".
For example, if the specified change condition is "(3) A malfunction has occurred that interferes with the vehicle's driving," the response method is determined to be "stopping the vehicle, or positioning the vehicle at the end of the platoon and then stopping the vehicle."
In the case of platoon F shown in the left diagram of Figure 12A, when vehicle C3 is identified as a broken-down vehicle, the determination unit 805 determines the driving pattern to be one in which vehicle C3 (specific vehicle Cs) is at the rear, i.e., "vehicle C1, vehicle C2, vehicle C4, vehicle C5, vehicle C3."
The instruction unit 806 transmits the driving mode determined by the determination unit 805 to the vehicles C1-C5, and transmits information to the specific vehicle Cs (vehicle C3) that "after positioning itself at the end of the convoy, stop driving."
The vehicle control unit 807 controls the vehicle C that changes its positional relationship based on the driving mode determined by the determination unit 805, and communicates with the vehicle C that changes its positional relationship, and controls a specific vehicle Cs based on a ``response method'' that corresponds to the ``specified change condition.''
12A and 12B, as shown in the left diagram of Fig. 12B, vehicle C3, which is a specific vehicle Cs, is moved to the rear end, and vehicle C4 is controlled to follow vehicle C2. Also, as shown in the right diagram of Fig. 12B, after vehicle C3 is moved to the rear end of the platoon F, if there is a place B where it can be stopped, such as a road shoulder, it is controlled to stop at that place B.

<Formation Status Determination Unit>
The state control unit 803 may include a formation state determination unit 809. The formation state determination unit 809 determines whether or not the formation F has been broken up. Whether or not the formation F has been broken up is determined using the distance CD between the vehicles, similar to when the management unit 802 determines whether vehicle C belongs to the formation F. For example, if the distance CD (see the left diagram in FIG. 12A ) is greater than a predetermined distance D according to the traveling speed, the formation F is determined to be broken up.

For example, when vehicle C3 is stopped, as shown in the right diagram of Fig. 12A, vehicle C3 is temporarily moved to the end of the convoy F, and at this time, the distance CD between vehicles C2 and C4 may become greater than the predetermined distance D. In such a case, the convoy state determination unit 809 determines that the convoy F is divided into a front convoy Ff traveling in front and a rear convoy Fr traveling behind.
In such a case, the determination unit 805 determines a traveling pattern that includes decelerating the front convoy Ff until the rear convoy Fr joins the front convoy Ff.
Then, the instruction unit 806 transmits information regarding the driving mode determined by the determination unit 805 to the vehicles C1 and C2 that form the front convoy Ff.
The vehicle control unit 807 communicates with the vehicles C1 and C2 forming the front convoy, and decelerates the vehicles C1 and C2 until the rear convoy Fr merges with the front convoy Ff, as shown in the left diagram of Figure 12B.

When the platoon status determination unit 809 determines that the platoon F is split into a front platoon Ff and a rear platoon Fr, depending on the traffic conditions, the distance CD between vehicles C2 and C4, i.e., the distance CD between the platoons, may not decrease and may even increase. When the platoon status determination unit 809 determines that the distance CD between the platoons increases and that it is equal to or greater than the distance at which vehicle C4 can no longer follow vehicle C2 (e.g., 2 km), the management unit 802 manages the split front platoon Ff and the rear platoon Fr as separate platoons.

<Vehicle Management Program>
Next, an example of the processing of a vehicle management program (vehicle management method) executed by the vehicle management device 80 and the vehicles C forming the platoon F in the vehicle management system S will be described with reference to FIGS.
The above-mentioned program in this embodiment is a program for realizing the above-mentioned communication unit 801, management unit 802, status control unit 803, determination unit 805, instruction unit 806, vehicle control unit 807, vehicle identification unit 808, and platoon status determination unit 809 as functional components of a vehicle management device 80 equipped with a memory unit 800, and the CPU of the vehicle management device 80 as a second computer executes this vehicle management program.

In explaining the processing of the vehicle management program, as in explaining the functions of the vehicle management device 80, we will take as an example a more specific situation in which vehicle C3 in convoy F traveling on a road breaks down and is forced to leave convoy F, as shown in Figures 12A and 12B.

In addition, the vehicle management program is broadly composed of a "positional relationship determination process" that determines the positional relationship within the platoon, and a "positional relationship change control process" that controls the change in the positional relationship of the vehicles when a change in the positional relationship has been determined.

In the following, we will first explain the "positional relationship determination process" using the sequence diagram shown in Figure 14, and then explain the "positional relationship change control process (vehicle control process)."

To explain an example of the processing of a vehicle management program, it is assumed that the lead vehicle Ct in the convoy F is in automatic driving mode (autonomous driving mode), and each of the four vehicles C2-C5 traveling behind the lead vehicle Ct (vehicle C1) is traveling in "following driving (relative driving)" relative to the vehicle C traveling in front.
Then, the vehicles C1-C5 that form the convoy F send and receive driving information including vehicle information and current position information between vehicles C as the "first communication process (first communication step)" even before the start of the "positional relationship determination process," and also transmit the driving information to the vehicle management device 80.
In addition, as a "second communication process (second communication step)", the communication unit 801 of the vehicle management device 80 receives driving information including current position information, etc. in real time from each of the vehicles C1-C5 that make up the convoy F even before the start of the "positional relationship determination process".
Furthermore, each vehicle C performs vehicle driving control based on the information on the current position identified in the position identification step (driving control step, driving control processing).
The driving information of each vehicle C is stored in the memory unit 800, and the management unit 802 manages, as a "management process (management step)", the driving state in which multiple vehicles C are driving in a convoy F.

In the "positional relationship determination process" shown in Fig. 14, first, driving information is transmitted from each vehicle C in the platoon F (step S201: first communication process). The vehicle management device 80 receives the driving information transmitted from each vehicle C in real time via the communication unit 801 and stores it in the memory unit 800 (step S202: second communication process). At this time, the vehicle management device 80 may obtain information on external factors, such as road traffic information and weather, from an external server. The external factor information is stored in the memory unit 800 in the same way as the driving information.
The transmission of the driving information of each vehicle C may be performed when certain conditions are met, such as when the vehicle enters an expressway or when driving on a predetermined road designated in advance is started. The transmission may also be performed on the condition that an identification mark (QR code (registered trademark)) of the vehicle C is recognized.
As a "management process", the management unit 802 manages that the driving state of each vehicle based on location information received from other vehicles different from the respective vehicles is a driving state in which multiple vehicles are driving in a platoon, and stores the platoon information of platoon F in the memory unit 800.

The vehicle management device 80 determines whether or not to change the positional relationship of vehicle C in the platoon F (step S203: decision processing, decision process). Step S203 is executed at least immediately after the platoon F is formed or when a new vehicle C is added to the platoon F. Step S203 may be executed each time driving information is received from vehicle C. Note that the processes corresponding to the "state control processing (state control process)" of the present invention are the "decision processing (decision process)", the "instruction processing (instruction process)" and the "vehicle control processing (vehicle control process)".

At this time, for example, the vehicle identification unit 808 determines whether or not the vehicles C1-C5 meet the "predetermined change conditions" shown in Table 1. At this time, the vehicles that meet the "predetermined change conditions" are identified as specific vehicles Cs. If a specific vehicle Cs that meets the "predetermined change conditions" is not found, the system continues to receive vehicle information and driving information from each vehicle and continues to manage the vehicles C that make up the platoon F (step S203: No).
If a specific vehicle Cs that meets the "predetermined change condition" is found in step S203, the positional relationship is changed (step S203: Yes). The determination unit 805 determines a traveling mode that indicates the positional relationship within the platoon F based on the vehicle information and traveling information (step S204: determination process). At this time, if a "response method" corresponding to the "predetermined change condition" is set, the "response method" is also determined.

For example, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 12, the vehicle identification unit 808 identifies vehicle C3 as a specific vehicle Cs that meets the change condition (3) of "there is a malfunction that impedes vehicle driving" based on the OBD information of the received vehicle information. At this time, the determination unit 805 determines the driving mode in which vehicle C3 is located at the rearmost position as the driving mode. In addition, the determination unit 805 determines the response method to be "stop driving" that corresponds to the specified change condition.

When the driving mode is determined by the determination unit 805, the instruction unit 806 transmits information regarding the driving mode to the vehicles C1-C5 of the platoon F via the communication unit 801, and instructs them on their positional relationships within the platoon (step S205: instruction processing, instruction step). At this time, the instruction unit 806 may transmit information on the "response method" to the vehicle C3, which is the specific vehicle Cs.
In addition, when each vehicle C receives information such as "how to respond," it may confirm the convoy F to which it belongs by recognizing an identification mark 60 (e.g., a QR code (registered trademark), see Figure 1) mounted on the vehicle C traveling in front.

12A and 12B, "vehicle C1, vehicle C2, vehicle C4, vehicle C5, vehicle C3" is transmitted as information on the traveling mode within the convoy, and an instruction is given to vehicle C4 to be located behind vehicle C2 and vehicle C3 to be located behind vehicle C5. In addition, an instruction is given to vehicle C3, which is a specific vehicle Cs, to stop traveling after following vehicle C5.
As described above, the vehicle management device 80 only instructs each vehicle to position itself and to stop driving, and changes in position within the platoon F are carried out by each vehicle performing automatic driving, following driving, etc.

<Positional Relationship Change Control Process>
In step S205 of the positional relationship determination process, when a command is given to change the positional relationship within the convoy, the vehicle management device 80 and the vehicles C1-C5 forming the convoy F proceed to a "positional relationship change control process (vehicle control process, vehicle control step)" in which the positional relationship is actually changed. The "positional relationship change control process" will be described below with reference to FIG. 15.

When changing the positional relationship within the convoy, the vehicles C1-C5 that make up the convoy F transmit their own vehicle's driving information, particularly their current position information, in real time to the vehicle management device 80 as a "first communication process," just as they did before the positional relationship determination process was started, and also transmit driving information immediately after the "positional relationship change control process" is started (step S301).

When changing the positional relationship within the platoon, the vehicles C1-C5 forming the platoon F may travel in cooperative control mode. The cooperative control mode is a mode in which the vehicles C belonging to the platoon F travel in cooperation as a group of vehicles without individually leaving the platoon F. In other words, the cooperative control mode is a mode in which the vehicles C traveling behind the leading vehicle Ct are prohibited from leaving the platoon F on their own. The cooperative control mode is implemented until the change in positional relationship is completed or a decision is made to cancel the change in positional relationship.

The communication unit 801 of the vehicle management device 80 acquires driving information from each vehicle C and stores it in the memory unit 800. It also acquires external factor information from an external server and stores it in the memory unit 800 (step S302).

Next, the determination unit 805 of the vehicle management device 80 determines a method for changing the positional relationship based on the acquired travel information. Specifically, the determination unit 805 selects and sets an optimal change method based on the travel information of the vehicle C from a plurality of change methods stored in the storage unit 800 (step S303).
The coupling method defines the operation of the vehicles C when changing, information on the speed of each vehicle C, vehicle intervals, etc.
12A and 12B, the change method selected for the specific vehicle Cs (vehicle C3) is "changing lanes, decelerating, and moving behind vehicle C5, and then returning to the original lane and following vehicle C5." In addition, for vehicles C1 and C2, the change method may be further selected to "after vehicle C3 moves to the rearmost position, decelerate until vehicle C4 catches up."

After the determination unit 805 selects and sets the change method in step S304, the determination unit 805 further sets the driving mode of the vehicle C that is to be changed based on the set change method (step S304).
12A and 12B, in order to move a specific vehicle Cs (vehicle C3) to the end of the platoon, the mode is changed from the "follow driving mode" to the "autonomous driving mode." Also, in order to make vehicle C4, which has been following vehicle C3, follow vehicle C2, the mode is temporarily changed from the "follow driving mode" to the "autonomous driving mode."
It is also possible to switch the vehicles C3 and C4, whose positional relationship is being changed, from "following driving mode" to "remote driving mode," but by switching them to "autonomous driving mode," it is possible to change the positional relationship more safely.

Next, the vehicle control unit 807 performs a safety check of external factors before the change (step S305). Specifically, it checks whether the road is a driving location where the change is possible and whether the weather is appropriate. For example, it checks whether lane changes are possible, whether there is rain or snow that would hinder driving, etc. At this time, the operator of the vehicle management device 80 may check the safety of the surroundings of the vehicle that is changing its positional relationship by viewing the composite image of the convoy F shown in FIG. 13.

While checking for safety, the vehicle control unit 807 determines in step S306 whether or not it is possible to start changing the positional relationship. If it is not possible to start due to an external factor (step S306: No), the process returns to step S305, and safety checks for external factors are continued. If it is possible to start in step S306 (step S306: Yes), the vehicle control unit 807 transmits the change method and the change start timing to vehicle C that has been instructed to change the positional relationship (step S307).

Vehicle C, which has been instructed to change its positional relationship, starts changing its positional relationship (step S308). At this time, if a driving mode is set as the change method, the driving mode of vehicle C is changed accordingly.

Even after the change in positional relationship has started, each vehicle C constituting the platoon F transmits travel information to the vehicle management device 80 (step S309). The vehicle management device 80 analyzes the travel information even while the positional relationship is being changed, and determines whether or not to cancel (cancel) the change in positional relationship (step S310). For example, if the road becomes one-lane or there is congestion when changing the positional relationship, it becomes impossible to change lanes, and therefore it is decided to cancel the change in positional relationship (step S310: Yes).
The vehicle control unit 807 continues to determine whether or not to stop the change in the positional relationship until the change in the positional relationship of the vehicle C is completed.

If the vehicle control unit 807 of the vehicle management device 80 decides to cancel the change to the positional relationship in step S310 of the "positional relationship change control process", the communication unit 801 sends a change cancellation notification to vehicle C that started the change (step S315).

During the change, vehicle C, which is changing its positional relationship, constantly monitors whether it has received a change cancellation notice from the vehicle management device 80 (step S312), and if it has not received the change cancellation notice (step S312: No), it continues the change of its positional relationship and completes the change (step S313).If it has received the change cancellation notice (step S312: Yes), it cancels the change of its positional relationship (step S314).
The "positional relationship change control process" ends when the change of the positional relationship of the vehicle C instructed to be changed is completed or when it is decided to cancel the change of the positional relationship.

Return to the "positional relationship determination process" in FIG. 14. After the "positional relationship change control process" is completed, the vehicle C to which the change was instructed checks whether the change in positional relationship has been completed (step S207). If the change in positional relationship has been completed (step S207: Yes), the vehicle C to which the change was instructed transmits a change completion notification to the vehicle management device 80 (step S208).

In the example shown in Figures 12A and 12B, as shown in the left diagram of Figure 12B, when vehicle C4 starts following vehicle C2, it transmits a change completion notification to the vehicle management device 80. Vehicle C3, which is a specific vehicle Cs, may transmit a change completion notification to the vehicle management device 80 when it reaches the end of the platoon F. Vehicle C3 then decelerates and leaves the platoon F. As shown in the right diagram of Figure 12B, if a location B where it can be stopped is found, it stops at that location B. Vehicle C3 transmits a change completion notification to the vehicle management device 80 when it stops.

When the communication unit 801 of the vehicle management device 80 receives a change completion notification from a vehicle C that has been instructed to change its positional relationship, the management unit 802 receives driving information from the vehicles C that form the new convoy Fn whose positional relationship has been changed. The management unit 802 generates convoy information from the driving information of each vehicle C that forms the new convoy Fn, and stores (preserves) the information in the memory unit 800 (step S210). The management unit 802 then manages the new convoy Fn after the change.

In the "positional relationship change control process" shown in Figure 15, if the change in positional relationship is canceled (cancelled) and the change in positional relationship is not completed (step S207: No), vehicle C, which was instructed to change its positional relationship, transmits the cancellation of the change and the reason for it to the vehicle management device 80 (step S209).
The communication unit 801 of the vehicle management device 80 receives the change cancellation and the reason for it, and stores this information in the memory unit 800.

<If a malfunction occurs in the last car>
12A and 12B, it is assumed that a malfunction has occurred in vehicle C3 traveling in the middle of platoon F, but it is also possible that a malfunction occurs in vehicle C5 located at the very end of platoon F. In that case, the other vehicles C1-C4 do not need to change their positional relationships. Therefore, in step 205 of the positional relationship determination process, the determination unit 805 transmits information including an instruction to stop traveling to vehicle C5, which is a specific vehicle Cs. Vehicle C5, which receives the information, goes into "autonomous driving mode" in step S308 of "positional relationship change control", and is controlled to leave platoon F and stop at a place B where it can be stopped, such as a road shoulder.

<If a malfunction occurs in the front car>
A breakdown may occur in the lead vehicle Ct (vehicle C1) of the platoon F. In this case, the driving mode of vehicle C2, which is traveling second in the platoon, is changed from "follow driving mode" to "autonomous driving mode." The lead vehicle Ct that has experienced a breakdown moves to the end of the platoon F and performs follow driving with vehicle C5, which had been traveling at the end until then, as the target vehicle FV. After moving to the end of the platoon F, vehicle C1, which was the lead vehicle Ct, leaves the platoon F, and if a location B where it can stop is found, it stops at location B.
In addition, if a breakdown occurs in vehicle C, the vehicle is instructed to immediately stop driving. However, if an operator remotely monitoring the vehicle using the vehicle management device 80 determines that the vehicle can be driven to a nearby parking lot or to an exit of the expressway, the specific vehicle Cs may be placed into remote driving mode and the operator may remotely drive the vehicle to a nearby parking lot.
Furthermore, if the malfunction of vehicle C is minor and does not require the vehicle to be stopped, the identified vehicle C may be moved to the rear of the vehicle, and the entire convoy F may then be allowed to decelerate.

In addition, as described above, when driving information is transmitted when a condition is met, such as entering a highway or starting to drive on a predetermined road that has been specified in advance, the vehicle detects at regular intervals whether the met condition is met or not, and if the met condition is no longer met, the following vehicle (or the following convoy) may release the coupled driving and leave or separate.
Similarly, when driving information is transmitted on the condition that the identification mark of vehicle C is recognized, the vehicle performs a process of recognizing the identification mark at regular intervals, and when the identification mark is no longer recognized, the following vehicle (or the following convoy) may release the coupled driving and leave or separate.

In the above embodiment, a vehicle management program is stored in a recording medium readable by the vehicle driving control device 1 (first computer) and the vehicle management device 80 (second computer), and the vehicle driving control device 1 and the vehicle management device 80 read and execute the program to execute processing. Here, the recording medium readable by the vehicle driving control device 1 and the vehicle management device 80 refers to a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, a semiconductor memory, etc.
In addition, a dedicated software may be started using a terminal (mobile terminal) that serves as the vehicle driving control device 1 and the vehicle management device 80, and the vehicle management program may be executed on a web browser.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, the vehicle management device, the vehicle management method, the vehicle management system, and the vehicle management program according to the present invention have been mainly described.
The vehicle management device, vehicle management method, vehicle management system, and vehicle management program described above determine a driving mode that specifies the positional relationship within the platoon based on the vehicle information and driving status of the vehicles that form the platoon, and control the vehicles to change their positional relationship within the platoon according to the determined driving mode. This reduces risk during platoon driving and allows for stable platoon driving.
For example, vehicles carrying valuables or buses carrying passengers can be positioned in the middle of the convoy to reduce the risk of rear-end collisions.
In addition, by placing vehicles with little remaining fuel at the end of the platoon, fuel efficiency can be improved and the platoon can travel more stably.
In addition, for example, by removing vehicles of significantly different class from the platoon, the platoon can be made up of vehicles of the same class, allowing for stable platoon driving.
In addition, disruptions to the platoon can be reduced by identifying vehicles with a high risk of breakdown and removing them from the platoon.
The above embodiment is merely an example for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention naturally includes equivalents thereof.

S Vehicle management system S1 Vehicle driving control system C Vehicle V Host vehicle V1 Electric power steering V1a Steering wheel V2 Electric throttle V2a Accelerator pedal V3 Electromagnetic brake device V3a Brake pedal FV Target vehicle 1 Vehicle driving control device 10 On-vehicle sensor 11 Imaging devices 11a to 11i First imaging device to ninth imaging device 12 Radar (millimeter wave radar)
12a to 12d: first radar to fourth radar 13: Lidar 13a to 13e: first Lidar to fifth Lidar 20: vehicle-mounted locator 21: GNSS receiver (RTK-GNSS receiver)
22 Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)
30 In-vehicle ECU
31 Integrated ECU
32 Steering ECU
33 Accelerator ECU
34 Brake ECU
40 In-vehicle communication device 50 Vehicle information transmission device 51 In-vehicle locator 51a GNSS receiver 51b Inertial measurement device 52 In-vehicle communication device 60 Identification marks 60a to 60l First identification mark to twelfth identification mark 70 Remote control device 71 Monitor 72 Navigation monitor 73 Steering wheel 74 Accelerator pedal 75 Brake pedal 76 Operation switch 80 Vehicle management device 81 Communication device 100 Memory unit 101 Environmental information acquisition unit 102 Position information acquisition unit (position identification unit)
102a: Absolute position calculation unit; 102b: Relative position calculation unit; 102c: Corrected position calculation unit; 102d: Reception determination unit; 103: Driving control unit (travel control unit)
104 Vehicle detection unit 105 Communication unit 106 Mode change unit 107 Traveling speed acquisition unit 108 Video processing unit 500 Memory unit 501 Position information acquisition unit 502 Communication unit 700 Memory unit 701 Communication unit 702 Screen display unit 703 Operation data creation unit 704 User notification unit 800 Memory unit 801 Communication unit (second communication unit)
802 Management Department (Management Department)
803 State control unit 805 Decision unit 806 Instruction unit 807 Vehicle control unit 808 Vehicle identification unit 809 Platoon state determination unit SA Artificial satellite ST Reference station F Platoon Ff Front platoon Fr Rear platoon Cs Specific vehicle Ct Leading vehicle Ce Last vehicle P Composite image

Claims (9)

A vehicle management device that manages vehicles,
an absolute position calculation unit that acquires GNSS information required for independent positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculates an absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information;
a relative position calculation unit that, when receiving GNSS correction information necessary for relative positioning from an external reference station, corrects the absolute position by relative positioning using the GNSS correction information and calculates a relative position of the vehicle with respect to the reference station;
a position identification unit that identifies a current position of the vehicle using the relative position;
a driving control unit that controls driving of the vehicle based on information on the current position identified by the position identification unit;
A first communication unit that transmits and receives vehicle information of the vehicle and information on a current position of the vehicle;
A second communication unit that communicates with the first communication unit in the vehicle,
A management unit that manages a driving state of each vehicle that is controlled by the driving control unit based on vehicle information of the vehicle and position information for the vehicle acquired by the second communication unit through communication with each vehicle;
A state control unit that controls a running state of the vehicle managed by the management unit;
Equipped with
The management unit
Each of the vehicles manages a traveling state in which a plurality of vehicles are traveling in a convoy based on location information received from a vehicle different from the vehicle, and
The state control unit is
a determination unit that determines a traveling mode that specifies a positional relationship within the platoon based on vehicle information of the vehicles and the traveling state of the vehicles when the management unit manages the traveling state of the group of vehicles that are traveling in the platoon;
an instruction unit that instructs a positional relationship within the platoon by transmitting information regarding the traveling mode determined by the determination unit to each of the vehicles forming the platoon;
A vehicle management device comprising: a vehicle control unit that controls a vehicle instructed by the instruction unit to change its positional relationship within the platoon by communicating with the vehicle. the management unit stores a predetermined change condition for changing a positional relationship within the formation in association with a corresponding method for the predetermined change condition,
The state control unit includes a vehicle identification unit that identifies a vehicle that satisfies the predetermined change condition based on the vehicle information and the running state of the vehicle,
The determination unit determines the traveling mode according to the response method corresponding to the predetermined change condition when there is a vehicle that satisfies the predetermined change condition,
the instruction unit transmits information regarding the traveling mode to each of the vehicles forming the platoon, and transmits information including the response method corresponding to the predetermined change condition to the identified vehicle;
The vehicle management device according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle control unit controls the specified vehicle based on the response method by communicating with the specified vehicle. the management unit manages, as the predetermined change condition, a malfunction that causes an impediment to driving of the vehicle, and manages the predetermined change condition by associating stopping of the vehicle as the response method,
When the vehicle identified by the vehicle identification unit is located at the rear end of the platoon, the instruction unit transmits information including an instruction to stop traveling to the identified vehicle;
A vehicle management device as described in claim 2, wherein when the vehicle identified by the vehicle identification unit is in a positional relationship different from the rear end of the platoon, the determination unit determines a driving mode in which the positional relationship of the identified vehicle is the rear end of the platoon, and the instruction unit sends information to the identified vehicle including an instruction to stop driving after the vehicle reaches the rear end of the platoon. the state control unit includes a platoon state determination unit that determines whether the platoon is separated based on the traveling state of the vehicles;
the determination unit, when the platoon state determination unit determines that the platoon is separated, determines the traveling mode including decelerating the platoon traveling at the front until the platoon traveling at the rear of the separated platoon joins the platoon traveling at the front;
the instruction unit transmits information regarding the traveling mode determined by the determination unit to the vehicles forming the front convoy;
The vehicle management device described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the vehicle control unit communicates with the vehicles forming the instructed front convoy, and decelerates the vehicles forming the front convoy until the convoy traveling behind merges with the convoy traveling in front. the state control unit includes a platoon state determination unit that determines whether the platoon is separated based on the traveling state of the vehicles;
the formation state determination unit, when the formation is divided, determines whether or not a distance between the divided formations is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance;
A vehicle management device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the management unit manages the divided formations as separate formations when the formation status determination unit determines that the distance between the divided formations is greater than or equal to the specified distance. The second communication unit receives an image of the host vehicle captured by an imaging device of the vehicle,
the management unit manages, as a traveling state of the platoon, a platoon image obtained by combining images of a leading vehicle and a trailing vehicle of the platoon from among the images received from each vehicle;
The vehicle management device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination unit determines a traveling mode that specifies a positional relationship within the procession based on the procession image. A vehicle management method using a vehicle and a vehicle management device that manages the vehicle, comprising:
The vehicle,
an absolute position calculation step of acquiring GNSS information required for independent positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculating an absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information;
a relative position calculation step of correcting the absolute position by relative positioning using GNSS correction information required for relative positioning when GNSS correction information is received from an external reference station, and calculating a relative position of the vehicle at the reference station;
a position identifying step of identifying a current position of the vehicle using the relative position;
a driving control step of controlling driving of the vehicle based on information on the current position identified in the position identification step;
a first communication step of transmitting and receiving vehicle information of the vehicle and information on a current position of the vehicle;
The vehicle management device,
a second communication step of receiving the vehicle information of the vehicle and the information of the current position of the vehicle transmitted in the first communication step;
a management step of managing a driving state of each vehicle that is driven and controlled by the driving control step, based on vehicle information of the vehicle and position information for the vehicle, which are acquired by communication with each vehicle in the second communication step;
A state control step of controlling the running state of the vehicle managed in the management step is performed;
In the management step, each of the vehicles is managed to be in a traveling state in which a plurality of vehicles are traveling in a convoy based on location information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle, and
In the state control step,
a determination step of determining a traveling mode that specifies a positional relationship within the platoon based on vehicle information of the vehicles and the traveling state of the vehicles when the traveling state of the group of vehicles traveling in the platoon is managed in the management process;
an instruction step of instructing a positional relationship within the platoon by transmitting information about the traveling mode determined in the determination step to each of the vehicles forming the platoon;
A vehicle management method comprising: a vehicle control step of controlling a vehicle instructed by the instruction step so as to change its positional relationship within the platoon by communicating with the vehicle. A vehicle management system including a vehicle and a vehicle management device that manages the vehicle,
Each of the plurality of vehicles is
an absolute position calculation unit that acquires GNSS information required for independent positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculates an absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information;
a relative position calculation unit that, when receiving GNSS correction information necessary for relative positioning from an external reference station, corrects the absolute position by relative positioning using the GNSS correction information and calculates a relative position of the vehicle with respect to the reference station;
a position identification unit that identifies a current position of the vehicle using the relative position;
a driving control unit that controls driving of the vehicle based on information on the current position identified by the position identification unit;
A first communication unit that transmits and receives vehicle information of the vehicle and information on a current position of the vehicle;
Equipped with
The vehicle management device includes:
A second communication unit that communicates with the first communication unit in the vehicle;
A management unit that manages a driving state of each vehicle that is controlled by the driving control unit based on vehicle information of the vehicle and position information for the vehicle acquired by the second communication unit through communication with each vehicle;
A state control unit that controls the running state of the vehicle managed by the management unit,
The management unit
Each of the vehicles manages a traveling state in which a plurality of vehicles are traveling in a convoy based on location information received from a vehicle different from the vehicle, and
The state control unit is
a determination unit that determines a traveling mode that specifies a positional relationship within the platoon based on vehicle information of the vehicles and the traveling state of the vehicles when the management unit manages the traveling state of the group of vehicles that are traveling in the platoon;
an instruction unit that instructs a positional relationship within the platoon by transmitting information regarding the traveling mode determined by the determination unit to each of the vehicles forming the platoon;
A vehicle control unit that controls a vehicle instructed by the instruction unit to change its positional relationship within the platoon by communicating with the vehicle. A vehicle management program to be executed by a first computer as a control device that controls a vehicle and a second computer as a vehicle management device that manages the vehicle,
The first computer,
an absolute position calculation process of acquiring GNSS information required for independent positioning through a GNSS receiver mounted on the vehicle and calculating an absolute position of the vehicle using the GNSS information;
a relative position calculation process in which, when GNSS correction information necessary for relative positioning is received from an external reference station, the absolute position is corrected by relative positioning using the GNSS correction information, and a relative position of the vehicle at the reference station is calculated;
a position identification process for identifying a current position of the vehicle using the relative position;
a driving control process for controlling driving of the vehicle based on information on the current position identified by the position identification process;
a first communication process for transmitting and receiving vehicle information of the vehicle and information on a current position of the vehicle;
The second computer,
a second communication process for receiving the vehicle information of the vehicle and the information on the current position of the vehicle transmitted by the first communication process;
A management process for managing a driving state of each vehicle that is driven and controlled by the driving control process, based on vehicle information of the vehicle and position information for the vehicle, which are acquired through communication with each vehicle in the second communication process;
a state control process for controlling the running state of the vehicle, which is managed by the management process;
In the management process, each of the vehicles is managed to be in a traveling state in which a plurality of vehicles are traveling in a convoy based on location information received from another vehicle different from the vehicle, and
In the state control process,
a determination process for determining a traveling mode that specifies a positional relationship within the platoon based on vehicle information of the vehicles and the traveling state of the vehicles when the traveling state of the group of vehicles traveling in the platoon is managed in the management process;
an instruction process for instructing a positional relationship within the platoon by transmitting information regarding the traveling mode determined in the determination process to each of the vehicles forming the platoon;
A vehicle control process that controls a vehicle instructed by the instruction process to change its positional relationship within the platoon by communicating with the vehicle.