JP2012238080A - Accident avoidance support device - Google Patents

Abstract

An accident avoidance support apparatus predicts the movement of an obstacle more accurately and can cope with it more appropriately.
When an object detection unit detects the position, moving direction, and speed of a plurality of objects (obstacles) around the vehicle, a contact possibility determination unit is configured to contact the plurality of objects. Determine the possibility. And about the object which the contact possibility determination part 14 determined with the possibility of contact, the interaction estimation part 15 estimates the change of the motion of the said object by the contact or the avoidance action for avoiding the said contact. The contact possibility determination unit 14 then determines the possibility of contact between the own vehicle and the object detected by the object detection unit 12 based on the detection result of the object detection unit 12 and the estimation result of the interaction estimation unit 15. Determine. Thereby, the accident avoidance support apparatus can predict the movement of these objects more accurately by taking into account the contact and avoidance behavior of surrounding objects, and more appropriately deal with them.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an accident avoidance support apparatus that determines the possibility of contact with a moving object such as a vehicle and performs accident avoidance support processing such as contact avoidance control or alarm output.

Several techniques for detecting or avoiding contact with a moving object such as a vehicle have been proposed. For example, in the obstacle detection device described in Patent Document 1, when the obstacle detection unit detects an obstacle by searching for a predetermined detection target area in front, the priority area setting unit performs obstacle detection. The priority detection area is set in the detection target area, and the detection instruction unit instructs the obstacle detection unit to perform the search for the priority area in preference to the search for the normal area other than the priority area. Instruct.
Accordingly, it is supposed that a dangerous area representing an area where an obstacle that is difficult to avoid exists can be accurately detected and the obstacle can be detected preferentially.

JP 2009-187351 A

  However, Patent Document 1 does not describe what kind of motion information the obstacle detection apparatus acquires and processes regarding the obstacle. For this reason, when the movement of an obstacle changes for some reason, it is possible that it cannot cope appropriately.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, The objective is to provide the accident avoidance assistance apparatus which can predict the motion of an obstacle more correctly, and can cope with it more appropriately.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an accident avoidance support apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is capable of detecting an object that can detect the positions, moving directions, and speeds of a plurality of objects around the target vehicle. Unit (for example, object detection unit 12 in the embodiment) and a peripheral object contact possibility determination unit (for example, contact possibility in the embodiment) for determining the contact possibility between objects detected by the object detection device A determination unit 14), an interaction estimation unit (for example, an interaction estimation unit 15 in the embodiment) for estimating an interaction between objects determined to be contactable by the contact possibility determination device, and the object Based on the detection result of the detection unit and the estimation result of the interaction estimation unit, a target vehicle contact possibility determination unit (for example, determines the possibility of contact between the target vehicle and the object detected by the object detection unit (for example, Contact possible in the embodiment The sex determination unit 14), characterized in that it comprises a.

  An accident avoidance support apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is the accident avoidance support apparatus described above, wherein the contact avoidance control performs braking / driving force control or steering control based on a determination result of the target vehicle contact possibility determination unit. (For example, the contact avoidance control unit 17 in the embodiment).

  According to the accident avoidance support device described above, it is possible to estimate the interaction between objects around the target vehicle and more accurately determine the possibility of contact between these objects and the target vehicle. More appropriate countermeasures such as alarm output and contact avoidance control.

  Further, according to the accident avoidance support device described above, the braking / driving force control or the steering control is performed based on the more accurate determination result of the contact possibility that is performed by estimating the interaction between the objects around the target vehicle. Therefore, the possibility of accident avoidance can be further increased.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the accident avoidance assistance apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention in one Embodiment of this invention. In the same embodiment, it is explanatory drawing of the example in which the own vehicle avoids the contact with the vehicle which drive | works toward the course of the own vehicle. In the same embodiment, it is explanatory drawing of the example in which the own vehicle avoids the contact with the vehicle which drive | works toward the course of the own vehicle. In the same embodiment, it is explanatory drawing of the example in which the own vehicle avoids the contact with the vehicle which drive | works toward the course of the own vehicle. In the same embodiment, it is explanatory drawing of the example in which the own vehicle avoids the contact with the vehicle which drive | works the front of the own vehicle. In the same embodiment, it is explanatory drawing of the example in which the own vehicle avoids the contact with the vehicle which drive | works the front of the own vehicle. In the same embodiment, it is explanatory drawing of the example in which the own vehicle avoids the contact with the vehicle which drive | works the front of the own vehicle. In the same embodiment, it is explanatory drawing of the example which a self-vehicle avoids a contact with an oncoming vehicle. In the same embodiment, it is explanatory drawing of the example which a self-vehicle avoids a contact with an oncoming vehicle. In the same embodiment, it is explanatory drawing of the example which a self-vehicle avoids a contact with an oncoming vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence which an accident avoidance assistance apparatus performs contact avoidance.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of an accident avoidance assistance device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the accident avoidance support apparatus 1 includes a host vehicle information acquisition unit 11, an object detection unit 12, a future position estimation unit 13, and a contact possibility determination unit (peripheral object contact possibility determination unit, target vehicle contact possibility). Sex determination unit) 14, interaction estimation unit 15, alarm output unit 16, and contact avoidance control unit 17.
The “contact” here includes various states in which the objects are in contact with each other. Therefore, the “contact” here includes a collision.

  The accident avoidance support device 1 is a target vehicle (for example, a vehicle equipped with the accident avoidance support device 1) that the accident avoidance support device 1 supports for avoiding accidents, hereinafter referred to as "own vehicle" or "target vehicle". ), An object around the own vehicle (for example, a vehicle traveling around the own vehicle) is detected, the possibility of contact between the detected object and the own vehicle is determined, and further, alarm output and contact are made based on the determination result. Perform avoidance control.

The own vehicle information acquisition unit 11 includes various sensors installed in the driving unit of the own vehicle, for example, and acquires information indicating the movement of the own vehicle such as the speed, snake angle, and yaw rate of the own vehicle.
The object detection unit 12 includes a position detection device that uses an electromagnetic wave such as a laser or a millimeter wave, or an ultrasonic wave, and detects the position of an object around the host vehicle. Furthermore, the object detection unit 12 calculates the movement of the object such as the moving direction and speed of the detected object based on the history of the positions of the objects around the host vehicle. The object detection unit 12 can detect a plurality of objects (for example, all objects other than the ground whose distance from the vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined distance) located around the vehicle.
Note that the object detection unit 12 may detect the positions of objects around the own vehicle, for example, relative positions with respect to the own vehicle such as front and rear, left and right positions and heights as viewed from the own vehicle. Detection may be performed using coordinates based on a specific position, such as the position of a monitoring camera installed in the network. When the object detection unit 12 performs detection using coordinates based on a specific position, the vehicle information acquisition unit 11 also detects the position of the vehicle using the same coordinates.

  The future position estimation unit 13 estimates the position of the vehicle in the future (hereinafter referred to as “future vehicle position”) based on the information indicating the movement of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 11. Further, the future position estimation unit 13 detects the position of the object in the future (hereinafter referred to as “future of the object” based on information indicating the position and movement of the object around the vehicle, which is detected or calculated by the object detection unit 12. (Referred to as “position”). Further, the future position estimation unit 13 corrects the position of the object in the future based on the change in movement caused by the contact between the objects around the host vehicle or the contact avoidance behavior estimated by the interaction estimation unit 15.

  The contact possibility determination unit 14 determines the contact possibility between the objects around the host vehicle based on the future positions of the objects around the host vehicle estimated by the future position estimation unit 13. Further, the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines whether the vehicle and the objects around the vehicle based on the future vehicle position estimated by the future position estimation unit 13 and the future positions of the objects around the vehicle. Determine contact possibility.

  The interaction estimation unit 15 estimates the interaction between objects that the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines to be possible to contact. Here, “interaction” means that an object such as a vehicle changes movement based on a positional relationship with an opponent object such as an opponent vehicle, and changes in movement due to contact and changes in movement due to contact avoidance behavior including.

  When the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines that there is a possibility of contact between the own vehicle and an object around the own vehicle, the alarm output unit 16 outputs an alarm to the driver of the own vehicle. The alarm output unit 16 includes, for example, a warning light and a speaker, turns on the warning light, and outputs an alarm by outputting an alarm sound from the speaker.

The contact avoidance control unit 17 performs braking / driving based on the determination result of the contact possibility determination unit 14 and the future vehicle position estimated by the future position estimation unit 13 and the future position of an object that may contact the vehicle. Force control and steering control are performed.
For example, when the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines that there is a possibility of contact between the host vehicle and an object around the host vehicle, the contact avoidance control unit 17 estimates the future vehicle position estimated by the future position estimation unit 13; The future position of the object determined to be likely to be contacted is acquired. Then, the contact avoidance control unit 17 estimates the time until contact based on the position information, and performs stronger braking / driving force control (for example, control for sudden braking) as the time until contact is shorter. Further, the contact avoidance control unit 17 reads out the movement direction of the object that is determined to be possible to contact from the position information acquired from the future position estimation unit 13, for example, the object moves from the right direction to the left direction of the own vehicle. If the vehicle moves, the steering control based on the future position of the object is performed, such as turning the direction of the host vehicle in the opposite right direction.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 10, contact avoidance support performed by the accident avoidance support device 1 will be described using an example.
2-4 is explanatory drawing of the example which avoids the contact with the vehicle M121 which the own vehicle M111 travels toward the course of the own vehicle M111. 2 shows an example of a state where the own vehicle M111 detects the vehicle M121, FIG. 3 shows an example of contact when the avoidance action is not performed, and FIG. 4 shows an example of the avoidance action performed by the own vehicle M111. Indicates.

In the state of FIG. 2, the object detection unit 12 detects the position of the vehicle M121 traveling from the front right hand toward the course of the host vehicle M111, and calculates the movement of the vehicle M121.
Then, the future position estimation unit 13 estimates the future position of the vehicle M121 based on the position and movement of the vehicle M121 detected or calculated by the object detection unit 12. Further, the future position estimation unit 13 estimates the future vehicle position based on the information indicating the movement of the vehicle M111 acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 11.

Then, based on the future position of the vehicle M121 and the future vehicle position estimated by the future position estimation unit 13, the contact possibility determination unit 14 may contact the vehicle M111 and the vehicle M121 as shown in FIG. Judge that there is sex.
If the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines that there is a possibility of contact, the alarm output unit 16 turns on a warning light or outputs an alarm sound to indicate that there is a possibility of contact with the driver of the vehicle M111. Notice.
Further, the contact avoidance control unit 17 performs braking / driving force control for decelerating and further stopping the host vehicle M111, and steering control for directing the traveling direction of the host vehicle M111 to the right direction opposite to the traveling direction of the vehicle M121. . Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle M111 avoids contact.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, since the object detection unit 12 detects only one object of the vehicle M <b> 121, the contact possibility determination unit 14, which will be described later, determines the possibility of contact between other objects. Further, the interaction estimation by the interaction estimation unit 15 and the future position correction by the future position estimation unit 13 are not performed.

5-7 is explanatory drawing of the example which avoids the contact with the vehicle M221 which the own vehicle M111 travels ahead of the own vehicle M211. FIG. 5 shows an example of a state where the own vehicle M111 detects the vehicles M221 and M222, FIG. 6 shows an example of contact when the avoidance action is not performed, and FIG. 7 shows an avoidance action performed by the own vehicle M111. An example is shown.
Here, the vehicle M221 is a preceding vehicle that travels in front of the host vehicle M111 in the same direction as the host vehicle M111 at the same speed as the host vehicle M111. The vehicle M222 is a vehicle that travels from the front right hand of the host vehicle M111 toward the course of the host vehicle M111.

  In the state of FIG. 5, the object detection unit 12 detects the position of the vehicle M221 and calculates the movement of the vehicle M221. The object detection unit 12 detects the position of the vehicle M222 and calculates the movement of the vehicle M222.

Here, looking only at the relationship between the host vehicle M111 and the vehicle M221, the vehicle M221 travels in front of the host vehicle M111 in the same direction as the host vehicle M111 at the same speed as the host vehicle M111. It can be determined that there is no possibility of contact with the vehicle M111.
Further, when looking only at the relationship between the host vehicle M111 and the vehicle M222, the vehicle M222 passes ahead of the host vehicle M111 before the host vehicle M111 arrives, and there is no possibility of contact between the vehicle M222 and the host vehicle M111. It can be determined.

  However, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a possibility that the vehicle M221 and the vehicle M222 come into contact with each other. And by the said contact, the vehicle M221 may stop in front of the own vehicle M111, and the vehicle M221 and the own vehicle M111 may contact.

Therefore, the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines the contact possibility between the vehicle M221 and the vehicle M222, and further determines the contact possibility between the vehicle M221 and the host vehicle M111.
Specifically, first, the future position estimation unit 13 detects the future position of the vehicle M221 based on the position and movement of the vehicle M221 and the position and movement of the vehicle M222, which are detected or calculated by the object detection unit 12. The future position of M222 is estimated.

And the contact possibility determination part 14 determines the contact possibility of the vehicle M221 and the vehicle M222 based on the estimation result of the future position estimation part 13, and determines with a contact possibility here.
And the interaction estimation part 15 estimates the interaction of the vehicle M221 and the vehicle M222 which the contact possibility determination part 14 determined with the possibility of contact. Here, the interaction estimation unit 15 estimates that the vehicle M221 and the vehicle M222 are in contact with each other as shown in FIG. 6 and the vehicle M221 stops in front of the host vehicle M111.

Based on the estimation result of the interaction estimation unit 15, the future position estimation unit 13 sets the future position information (information indicating the future position) of the vehicle M221 and the future position information of the vehicle M222 to the contacted position after the contact. Update the information to indicate that it will stop.
And the contact possibility determination part 14 is based on the future position information of the vehicles M221 and M222 updated by the future position estimation part 13 and the information indicating the movement of the own vehicle M111 acquired by the own vehicle information acquisition part 11. The possibility of contact between the vehicles M221 and M222 and the host vehicle M111 is determined. Here, when the future position information of the vehicle M221 is updated to information that the vehicle M221 stops before the vehicle M111 after the contact, the contact possibility determination unit 14 can contact the vehicle M111 and the vehicle M221. Judge that there is sex.

If the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines that there is a possibility of contact, the alarm output unit 16 turns on a warning light or outputs an alarm sound to indicate that there is a possibility of contact with the driver of the vehicle M111. Notice.
The contact avoidance control unit 17 performs braking / driving force control for decelerating and further stopping the host vehicle M111. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 7, the vehicle M111 avoids contact.
In the case where contact cannot be avoided only by the braking / driving force control, for example, the contact avoidance control unit 17 causes the host vehicle M111 to face the opposite lane that is the lane opposite to the lane where the vehicle M221 is located. Steering control is performed to turn the traveling direction of M111 to the right.

8-10 is explanatory drawing of the example which the own vehicle M111 avoids a contact with the oncoming vehicle M321. FIG. 8 shows an example of a state where the host vehicle M111 detects the vehicles M321 and M322, FIG. 9 shows an example of contact when the avoidance action is not performed, and FIG. 10 shows an avoidance action performed by the host vehicle M111. An example is shown.
Here, the vehicle M321 is an oncoming vehicle that travels in the opposite lane to the host vehicle M111. The vehicle M322 is a vehicle that travels from the front right hand of the host vehicle M111 toward the course of the host vehicle M111.

  In the state of FIG. 8, the object detection unit 12 detects the position of the vehicle M321 and calculates the movement of the vehicle M321. Further, the object detection unit 12 detects the position of the vehicle M322 and calculates the movement of the vehicle M322.

Here, looking only at the relationship between the host vehicle M111 and the vehicle M321, the vehicle M321 is traveling in the lane opposite to the host vehicle M111, and therefore it can be determined that there is no possibility of contact between the vehicle M321 and the host vehicle M111. .
Further, looking only at the relationship between the host vehicle M111 and the vehicle M322, the vehicle M322 passes through the front of the host vehicle M111 before the host vehicle M111 arrives, and there is no possibility of contact between the vehicle M322 and the host vehicle M111. It can be determined.

  However, as shown in FIG. 9, there is a possibility that the vehicle M321 and the vehicle M322 come into contact with each other. And by the said contact, the vehicle M321 protrudes into the travel lane of the own vehicle M111, stops in front of the own vehicle M111, and the vehicle M321 and the own vehicle M111 may contact.

Therefore, the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines the contact possibility between the vehicle M321 and the vehicle M322, and further determines the contact possibility between the vehicle M321 and the host vehicle M111.
Specifically, first, the future position estimation unit 13 detects the future position of the vehicle M321 based on the position and movement of the vehicle M321 and the position and movement of the vehicle M322, which are detected or calculated by the object detection unit 12. Estimate the future position of M322.

And the contact possibility determination part 14 determines the contact possibility of the vehicle M321 and the vehicle M322 based on the estimation result of the future position estimation part 13, and determines with a contact possibility here.
And the interaction estimation part 15 estimates the interaction of the vehicle M321 and the vehicle M322 which the contact possibility determination part 14 determined with the possibility of contact. Here, the interaction estimation unit 15 estimates that the vehicle M321 and the vehicle M322 are in contact with each other as shown in FIG. 9, and the vehicle M321 stops in front of the host vehicle M111.

Based on the estimation result of the interaction estimator 15, the future position estimator 13 compares the future position information of the vehicle M321 (information indicating the future position) and the future position information of the vehicle M322. The information is updated to indicate that it stops before M111.
And the contact possibility determination part 14 is based on the future position information of the vehicles M321 and M322 updated by the future position estimation part 13 and the information indicating the movement of the own vehicle M111 acquired by the own vehicle information acquisition part 11. Then, the possibility of contact between the vehicle M321 or M322 and the host vehicle M111 is determined. Here, the future position information of the vehicle M321 is updated to information that the vehicle M321 stops before the host vehicle M111 after the contact, so that the contact possibility determination unit 14 can contact the host vehicle M111 and the vehicle M321. Judge that there is sex.

If the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines that there is a possibility of contact, the alarm output unit 16 turns on a warning light or outputs an alarm sound to indicate that there is a possibility of contact with the driver of the vehicle M111. Notice.
Further, the contact avoidance control unit 17 decelerates and further stops the own vehicle M111, and the opposite lane that is the lane opposite to the own lane from which the vehicle M321 protrudes in the traveling direction of the own vehicle M111. Steering control is performed so that the traveling direction of the host vehicle M111 is directed rightward. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 10, the vehicle M111 avoids contact.

Next, the operation of the accident avoidance assistance device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure in which the accident avoidance support device 1 performs contact avoidance support. The accident avoidance assistance device 1 periodically repeats the process shown in FIG.
In the process of the figure, first, the own vehicle information acquisition unit 11 acquires information indicating the movement of the own vehicle such as the speed, snake angle, and yaw rate of the own vehicle, and uses the acquired information indicating the movement of the own vehicle as a future position. It outputs to the estimation part 13 (step S101).

Then, the future position estimation unit 13 estimates the future vehicle position based on the information indicating the movement of the host vehicle output from the host vehicle information acquisition unit 11, and the estimated future vehicle position is a contact possibility determination unit. 14 (step S102).
Further, the object detection unit 12 detects the positions of objects around the own vehicle, and further, based on the history of the positions of the objects around the own vehicle, the movement of the object such as the moving direction and speed of the detected object. Is calculated. Then, the object detection unit 12 outputs information indicating the position and movement of the object around the detected or calculated vehicle to the future position estimation unit 13 (step S103).

Then, the future position estimation unit 13 estimates the future positions of these objects based on the information output from the object detection unit 12 and indicating the positions and movements of the objects around the host vehicle, and the estimated future positions are determined. It outputs to the contact possibility determination part 14 (step S104).
Then, based on the future position of the object around the vehicle, which is output from the future position estimation unit 13 in step S104, the contact possibility determination unit 14 detects an object (hereinafter, including an oblique front) of the vehicle. Then, the presence / absence of “object A” is determined (step S105).

If it is determined that there is no object ahead of the host vehicle (step S105: NO), the process proceeds to step S161.
On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an object in front of the host vehicle (step S105: YES), the contact possibility determination unit 14 further intrudes into the host vehicle lane (that is, an object traveling toward the path of the host vehicle. Then, the presence / absence of “object B” is determined (step S111).
When it is determined that there is no object entering the own lane (step S111: NO), the process proceeds to step S161.

On the other hand, when it is determined that there is an object entering the own lane (step S111: YES), the contact possibility determining unit 14 enters the object A (an object located in front of the own vehicle) and the object B (entering the own lane). It is determined whether or not the object is likely to come into contact (step S121).
For example, the contact possibility determination unit 14 builds physical models of the object A and the object B, and maintains the same movement as the current state, such as the object A and the object B traveling in the current lane at the current speed. In this case, the presence / absence of contact between the object A and the object B is determined.

When it is determined that there is no possibility of contact (step S121: NO), the process proceeds to step S161.
On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a possibility of contact (step S121: YES), the contact possibility determination unit 14 outputs information of objects (object A and object B) that are expected to be contacted to the interaction estimation unit 15, The interaction estimating unit 15 estimates the possibility of contact of these objects (step S131).
For example, the interaction estimation unit 15 acquires the physical models of the objects A and B constructed by the contact possibility determination unit 14 and relates to the physical models and the objects A and B detected or calculated by the object detection unit 12. Using the information, the size of the contact possibility between the object A and the object B is determined based on the distance between the object A and the object B, the speed and size of each object, and the estimated contact situation. To do. For example, the interaction estimation unit 15 is configured such that the shorter the distance between the object A and the object B, the higher the speed of the object A and the speed of the object B, and the larger the size of the object A and the size of the object B. It is determined that the possibility of contact is large. For example, when the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines that the object B contacts from the side of the object A, the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines that the contact possibility is higher as the contact position on the object A is closer to the center of the object A.

When it is determined in step S131 that the possibility of contact is high, that is, the possibility that contact cannot be avoided is high (step S131: YES), the interaction estimation unit 15 determines the speed and position of each of the objects A and B immediately after the contact. The angle (direction and traveling direction) is estimated (step S151).
For example, the interaction estimation unit 15 performs a correction that takes into account a predetermined avoidance action to the physical models of the object A and the object B constructed by the contact possibility determination unit 14, and performs a simulation using the corrected physical model. To estimate the speed, position, and angle of each of the objects A and B immediately after contact.

Then, the interaction estimation unit 15 outputs the estimated speed, position, and angle of each of the objects A and B immediately after contact to the future position estimation unit 13, and the future position estimation unit 13 performs the interaction estimation unit 15. Are used to estimate (correct) the future positions of A and B after contact (step S152).
Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S161.

On the other hand, in Step S131, when it is determined that the possibility of contact is not high, that is, it is possible to avoid contact by the avoidance action (Step S131: NO), the interaction estimating unit 15 sets the objects A and B immediately after the avoidance action, respectively. The velocity, position, and angle (direction and traveling direction) are estimated and output to the future position estimation unit 13, and the future position estimation unit 13 uses the information output from the interaction estimation unit 15 to avoid it. The future positions of the objects A and B after the action are estimated (corrected) (step S141).
For example, the interaction estimation unit 15 takes into account the avoidance action determined in advance according to the size of the contact possibility determined in step S131 to the physical model of the object A and the object B constructed by the contact possibility determination unit 14. The speed, position, and angle of each of the objects A and B immediately after contact are estimated by simulation using the corrected physical model. Then, the future position estimation unit 13 estimates the future positions of the objects A and B again based on these pieces of information, and corrects the future position information.

Next, the contact possibility determination unit 14 uses the future vehicle position estimated and corrected by the future position estimation unit 13 and the future positions of objects around the vehicle, The possibility of contact with each of the objects is calculated (step S161), and the presence or absence of the possibility of contact between the vehicle and any of the surrounding objects is determined based on the calculation result (step S162).
If it is determined that there is no possibility of contact (step S162: NO), the process of FIG.

On the other hand, when it is determined that there is a possibility of contact (step S162: YES), the contact possibility determination unit 14 outputs a determination result that there is a possibility of contact to the alarm output unit 16 and the contact avoidance control unit 17, The alarm output unit 16 and the contact avoidance control unit 17 perform processing for supporting accident avoidance.
Specifically, the alarm output unit 16 includes a warning light and a speaker, turns on the warning light, and outputs an alarm by outputting an alarm sound from the speaker.
Further, the contact avoidance control unit 17 performs braking / driving force control for decelerating or stopping the host vehicle and steering control for diverting the host vehicle from a position where contact is expected (step S171).
Thereafter, the process of FIG.

As described above, the interaction estimation unit 15 estimates a change in motion due to an interaction such as contact or avoidance behavior for an object around the own vehicle, and the contact possibility determination unit 14 reflects the estimation result. Based on the future position, the possibility of contact between the own vehicle and an object around the own vehicle is determined. Thereby, the contact possibility determination part 14 can determine contact possibility more correctly, and the accident avoidance assistance apparatus 1 performs more appropriate measures, such as alarm output and contact avoidance control, based on a determination result. be able to.
For example, the accident avoidance support device 1 can perform necessary alarm output and control at an earlier stage, and can increase the possibility of accident avoidance.

  Further, the contact avoidance control unit 17 performs braking / driving force control or steering control based on the determination result of the contact possibility determination unit 14. Therefore, the contact avoidance control unit 17 performs the braking / driving force control or the steering control based on the more accurate determination result by the contact possibility determination unit 14 as described above, thereby further increasing the possibility of accident avoidance. I can do it.

  Further, the contact possibility determination unit 14 determines that there is an object (object A) in front of the own vehicle, determines that there is an object (object B) entering the own lane, and further determines whether the object A and the object B When it is determined that there is a possibility of contact, the interaction estimation unit 15 estimates a change in motion due to the interaction for the objects A and B. Thus, since the contact possibility determination part 14 limits the estimation object of the change of the movement by interaction, the load of the interaction estimation part 15 can be reduced.

  When the interaction estimation unit 15 determines that the contact possibility is high according to the contact possibility between the object A and the object B, the interaction estimation unit 15 estimates a change in movement due to the contact, and the contact possibility is determined. When it is determined to be small, a change in motion due to avoidance behavior is estimated. As described above, the interaction estimation unit 15 estimates not only the contact but also the change in the movement due to the avoidance action. Therefore, the contact possibility determination unit 14 is more based on the future position in consideration of the change in the movement due to the avoidance action. It is possible to accurately determine the possibility of contact between the own vehicle and an object around the own vehicle.

Note that a program for realizing all or part of the functions of the accident avoidance support apparatus 1 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed. You may process each part by. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.
Further, the “computer system” includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW system is used.
The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case, and a program that holds a program for a certain period of time are also included. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes design changes and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Accident avoidance assistance apparatus 11 Own vehicle information acquisition part 12 Object detection part 13 Future position estimation part 14 Contact possibility determination part 15 Interaction estimation part 16 Alarm output part 17 Contact avoidance control part

Claims (2)

An object detection unit capable of detecting the position, moving direction, and speed of a plurality of objects around the target vehicle;
A peripheral object contact possibility determination unit that determines the contact possibility between objects detected by the object detection unit;
An interaction estimator for estimating an interaction between objects determined by the contact possibility determination unit as being contactable;
A target vehicle contact possibility determination unit that determines a contact possibility between the target vehicle and an object detected by the object detection unit based on a detection result of the object detection unit and an estimation result of the interaction estimation unit; ,
An accident avoidance support device comprising: The accident avoidance support device according to claim 1, further comprising a contact avoidance control unit that performs braking / driving force control or steering control based on a determination result of the target vehicle contact possibility determination unit.

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