JP2006031602A - Automatic driving system for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize high-precision automatic steering traveling and reduce expenses required for constituting a system and for maintenance. <P>SOLUTION: A vehicle comprises a positioning information detecting means 1 which precisely measures positioning information indicating the present location of its own vehicle; a traveling route information detecting means 3 which acquires traveling route information including high-precision location information on a plurality of reference spots which are located in a vehicle-running direction from among many reference spots set at prescribed intervals on a traveling lane, by means of communication between on-road machines and vehicles and the like; and a traveling control device 2 which computes a traveling route interpolating between the present location of a vehicle indicated by the positioning information and a plurality of the reference spots indicated by traveling route information and makes a vehicle perform automatic steering traveling along the traveling route. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic driving system for a vehicle that performs automatic steering traveling along a vehicle traveling route determined based on position information acquired from a road side.

Conventionally, as an example of a system for automatically steering a vehicle, a marker composed of a magnetic nail, light, radio wave beacon, or the like is embedded along a traveling lane set on a road, and the marker is detected on the vehicle side. And a processing unit that calculates the position of the vehicle on the travel lane based on the sensor output, and automatically steers the vehicle to travel along the travel lane based on the calculation result. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP-A-8-314541 JP 2002-286456 A

In the system having the conventional configuration as described above, since it is necessary to embed a large number of markers on the traveling lane at intervals of several meters, there is a problem that a huge construction cost is required to construct the system. In addition, when repairing / maintaining a road in which a marker is embedded, there is a problem that the marker burying work is required again, and the maintenance cost of the system becomes enormous.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to realize high-accuracy automatic steering traveling and to reduce costs necessary for constructing a system and maintenance management costs. It is to provide an automatic driving system for a vehicle.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle is automatically steered in the travel lane, the positioning information detection unit mounted on the vehicle acquires the positioning information indicating the current position of the vehicle, and the vehicle The position information detection means mounted on the vehicle is configured to acquire position information about a plurality of reference points located in the traveling direction of the vehicle from a plurality of reference points set at predetermined intervals on the travel lane from the information providing means. Become. In addition, the travel control device mounted on the vehicle determines a route obtained by interpolating between the current vehicle position indicated by the acquired positioning information and position information and a plurality of reference points as a vehicle travel route, and the vehicle travel Automatic steering control is performed to drive the vehicle along the route.

  In this case, by increasing the accuracy of the position information provided from the information providing means and the accuracy of the positioning information acquired by the positioning information detecting means, it is possible to realize highly accurate automatic steering travel. In addition, since there is no need to embed a marker at each of a large number of reference points set on the traveling lane as in the conventional configuration, it is possible to reduce the cost and maintenance cost required for constructing the system.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the information providing means is constituted by a road machine installed along the traveling lane, when the road having the traveling lane is repaired / maintained, Thus, the work of burying the marker again becomes unnecessary, and as a result, the maintenance cost of the system can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since position information on a plurality of reference points is stored in the road machine, there is no need to embed markers at each of a large number of reference points, so that the construction cost of the system can be reduced. It will be beneficial to suppress.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily change the position information provided through the information providing unit from the outside as required, thereby increasing the flexibility of the system.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of a portion mounted on the vehicle side in the configuration of the vehicle automatic driving system by a combination of functional blocks. In FIG. 1, the positioning information detection means 1 is constituted by, for example, a GPS receiver (which may be dedicated to the system, or may be provided for a car navigation device). The travel control device 2 is provided with positioning information (longitude / latitude information) indicating the current position of the host vehicle acquired in real time. For the positioning information detection means 1, for example, an RTK-GPS using an electronic reference point, or a D-GPS using correction data from a known station, capable of highly accurate positioning is used.

The travel route information detection means 3 (corresponding to the position information detection means) uses a radio wave or the like as a medium with a road machine (corresponding to the information providing means) installed at a predetermined interval at a position along the travel lane of the vehicle. It is provided to perform road-to-vehicle communication, and receives travel route information transmitted from the roadside machine side and provides it to the travel control device 2.
In this case, the travel route information transmitted from the roadside machine side includes, for example, the following information (a) to (d).

(A) Among a number of reference points set at predetermined intervals on a travel lane provided for automatic steering travel of the vehicle, a plurality of reference points located in the traveling direction of the vehicle (that is, the vehicle should proceed next) High-precision location information (for example, longitude and latitude information)
(B) Traffic jam information relating to the destination of the vehicle on the road where the driving lane is set
(C) Traffic signal information indicating the status of traffic signals existing at the destination of the vehicle on the road where the travel lane is set,
(D) Speed limit information and traffic regulation information about the road on which the travel lane is set.

The surrounding vehicle information detection means 4 acquires the current position information of the other vehicle by performing two-way communication with the other vehicle located within a predetermined distance from the own vehicle. The vehicle is provided with a function of transmitting current position information to another vehicle, and the surrounding vehicle information including the acquired current position information of the other vehicle is given to the travel control device 2.
The surrounding environment recognition means 5 is configured to be able to detect an obstacle by a self-supporting method (or a self-supporting method combining them) using, for example, a CCD camera, millimeter wave or laser radar, or an ultrasonic sensor. In addition to recognizing the environment and road surface conditions around the host vehicle, recognizing the presence and location of obstacles on the road, etc., the recognition information is given to the traveling control device 2 as peripheral environment information. The travel control device 2 is also configured to be provided with information on the own vehicle, that is, vehicle speed, steering angle, engine speed, and other diagnostic information from the own vehicle information collecting means 6.

  The travel control device 2 is composed mainly of a computer. From the positioning information detection means 1, the travel route information detection means 3, the surrounding vehicle information detection means 4, the surrounding environment recognition means 5, and the own vehicle information collection means 6. And a control function for determining each control value for the accelerator opening, the steering angle, and the brake pedaling force when the vehicle is automatically steered.

The travel control device 2 executes drive control of the accelerator opening control device 7, the steering angle control device 8, and the brake control device 9 for the vehicle based on the determined control values, thereby automatically controlling the vehicle. It is the structure which implement | achieves steering driving.
The flowchart of FIG. 2 shows a part related to the gist of the present invention among the contents of control by the travel control device 2, and this will be described below.

  In FIG. 2, the travel control device 2 executes step 201 for constantly collecting positioning information indicating the current position of the host vehicle from the positioning information detection means 1 in real time, and at the same time travels the travel route information transmitted from the roadside machine side. Step 202 for collecting by the route information detecting means 3, step 203 for collecting neighboring vehicle information including the current position information of other vehicles located within a predetermined distance from the own vehicle by the neighboring vehicle information detecting means 4, Step 204 of collecting surrounding environment information including the presence / absence of obstacles and position recognition information by the surrounding environment recognizing means and step 205 of collecting own vehicle information from the own vehicle information collecting means 6 are also executed.

  Next, based on the collected positioning information, travel route information, peripheral vehicle information, peripheral environment information, and host vehicle information, the travel control device 2 detects the presence of obstacles that hinder the travel of the vehicle on the forward travel lane. Detection is performed (step 206), and the presence or absence of an obstacle is determined based on the detection result (step 207). If there is no obstacle, the routine returns to the information collection step 201 after executing the normal travel processing routine 208. If there is an obstacle, the routine returns to the information collection step 201 after executing the obstacle avoidance processing routine 209.

In the normal travel processing routine 208, the vehicle travels along a travel route that interpolates between the vehicle current position indicated by the positioning information and a plurality of reference points indicated by the travel route information. FIG. 3 schematically shows a specific example of such travel control.
That is, in FIG. 3, on a road on which a traveling lane for automatic steering traveling is set, a large number of reference points P are arranged on the traveling lane at predetermined intervals (bending portions are narrow and straight portions are wide). Is set. A road device installed adjacent to the road includes a highly accurate position information about a plurality of reference points P to the next road device located in the traveling direction of the vehicle approaching the vehicle. Give information. The travel control device 2 calculates an interpolation curve obtained by approximating a primary and quadratic curve or a polynomial approximation between each of the vehicle current position and the plurality of reference points given as described above, and a path corresponding to the interpolation curve Is determined as a vehicle travel route R (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 3). By executing such determination processing of the vehicle travel route R every time new travel route information is given from the next road machine, the vehicle can be automatically steered along the travel lane.

  In the obstacle avoidance processing routine 209, first, it is determined whether or not an obstacle existing in the traveling destination of the vehicle can be avoided, and if it is determined that the vehicle cannot pass, the vehicle is obstructed. If it is determined that the vehicle can pass while avoiding the obstacle, the vehicle is caused to travel along the travel route set so as to avoid the obstacle. FIG. 4 schematically shows a specific example of such obstacle avoidance travel control.

  That is, FIG. 4 shows a road in which two lanes are set for automatic steering, and a large number of reference points P are provided at predetermined intervals on each lane of the first lane and the second lane. Is set. In this example, an example in which another vehicle stops and becomes an obstacle in the traveling direction of the vehicle traveling in the first lane is shown. The travel control device 2 recognizes the position of the stopped vehicle (obstacle) on the first lane based on the surrounding environment information (or surrounding vehicle information) during the obstacle avoidance traveling control, Based on the surrounding vehicle information and the surrounding environment information, it is confirmed that there are no vehicles or obstacles, and it is determined whether it is safe to change the lane to the second lane. If it is determined that the vehicle travel route R is changed to the second lane and it is determined that the vehicle has passed the stopped vehicle based on the surrounding environment information, the vehicle travel route R is changed to the first lane. Control to return to. When returning the vehicle travel route R to the first lane, the vehicle confirms that there are no other vehicles or obstacles in the first lane based on the surrounding vehicle information and the surrounding environment information. It is.

  On the other hand, although not shown in FIG. 2, the traveling control device 2 also performs vehicle stop control at a signalized intersection or a signaled pedestrian crossing based on the traffic signal information in the traveling route information received from the roadside machine side. It has a configuration. That is, as schematically shown in FIG. 5, when the traveling control device 2 receives traffic signal information indicating the state of the traffic signal existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the travel control device 2 is based on the traffic signal information and the current vehicle speed information. If it is determined that the vehicle can pass, the vehicle continues to travel as it is, and if it is determined that the vehicle cannot pass, the vehicle is decelerated from the front of the traffic light, Control to stop at the stop line corresponding to the traffic light. In addition, it is good also as a structure which transmits signal information from the road information alerting means installed in the vicinity of the signal.

  In short, according to the present embodiment described above, during the automatic steering traveling of the vehicle, the positioning information detecting means 1 mounted on the vehicle acquires the positioning information indicating the current position of the vehicle and is also mounted on the vehicle. Road-to-vehicle communication with the road-router on the driving route including position information on a plurality of reference points located in the traveling direction of the vehicle among a number of reference points set at predetermined intervals on the driving lane. To get. In addition, the travel control device 2 mounted on the vehicle generates an interpolation curve obtained by approximating a primary and quadratic curve or a polynomial approximation between each of the vehicle current position indicated by the acquired positioning information and position information and a plurality of reference points. The calculation and the route corresponding to the interpolation curve are determined as the vehicle travel route, and automatic steering control is performed in which the vehicle travels along the vehicle travel route.

In this case, the position information provided from the roadside machine to the vehicle side is highly accurate information in which a plurality of reference points P are expressed by, for example, longitude and latitude information, and the positioning information acquired by the positioning information detecting means 1 is Since it is highly accurate information obtained using RTK-GPS or the like, as a result, highly accurate automatic steering traveling can be realized.
In addition, since there is no need to embed a marker at each of a large number of reference points set on the traveling lane as in the conventional configuration, it is possible to reduce the cost and maintenance cost required for constructing the system. Moreover, since the information providing means for providing the travel route information including the position information to the vehicle side is constituted by a road machine installed along the travel lane, the road having the travel lane is repaired / maintained. When this is done, there is no need to re-embed the marker as in the conventional configuration, and as a result, the maintenance cost of the system can be reduced.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or expanded as described below, for example.
The information providing means is configured as a marker (corresponding to a road machine) that stores position information about a plurality of reference points set at predetermined intervals on the travel lane of the vehicle, and the marker is placed on the travel lane with the reference point Position detecting means that is embedded at an interval larger than the interval (interval including a plurality of reference points corresponding to stored position information) and acquires position information from the marker when traveling on the marker side on the vehicle side It is good also as a structure which provides. According to this configuration, since the marker stores position information about a plurality of reference points, there is no need to embed markers at each of a large number of reference points, and thus it is useful for suppressing system construction costs. become.

  The position information provided through the information providing means (road equipment, marker) may be configured to be changeable by an external signal. According to this configuration, the position information can be easily changed. As you can get more flexibility.

The block diagram of the vehicle side system which shows one Example of this invention Flow chart showing control contents by the travel control device Schematic diagram for explaining the control contents 1 Schematic diagram for explaining the control contents 2 Schematic diagram for explaining the contents of control # 3

Explanation of symbols

Reference numeral 1 denotes positioning information detection means, 2 denotes a travel control device, 3 denotes travel route information detection means (position information detection means), 4 denotes surrounding vehicle information detection means, and 5 denotes surrounding environment recognition means.

Claims (4)

Comprising information providing means for providing position information about a plurality of reference points located in the traveling direction of the vehicle among a plurality of reference points set at predetermined intervals on the traveling lane of the vehicle;
On the vehicle side,
Positioning information detecting means for acquiring positioning information indicating the current position of the vehicle;
Position information detecting means for acquiring the position information from the information providing means;
A route obtained by interpolating between the current vehicle position indicated by the positioning information and a plurality of reference points indicated by the position information is determined as a vehicle travel route, and the vehicle is automatically steered along the vehicle travel route. Travel control device,
An automatic driving system for vehicles, characterized in that is mounted. The information providing means is configured by a road device configured along the traveling lane and configured to be able to communicate with a vehicle traveling on the traveling lane.
The automatic driving system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the position information detecting means is configured to acquire the position information by road-to-vehicle communication with the road unit. The information providing means is configured by installing a road machine that stores position information about the plurality of reference points on the travel lane at predetermined intervals.
The automatic driving system for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the position detecting means is configured to acquire the position information when traveling on the road machine. The automatic driving system for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information providing means is configured to be able to change the position information to be provided by an external signal.

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