Autonomous driving assistance system, autonomous driving assistance method, and computer program

• US 10,300,916 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2016
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin AW Company Limited (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Goto, Hirohiko, Sato, Yuji, Tanaka, Kuniaki, Takano, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Paige, Tyler D
• Application Number:
  US15/554,629
• Publication Number:
  US 20180237018A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,154 Days
• Field of Search: 701 26
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/00 Input parameters relating to infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/10 Number of lanes
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/53 Road markings, e.g. lane marker or crosswalk
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/10 Path keeping cruise control for automatically following a preceding vehicle B60W30/165
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/14 Adaptive cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18154 Approaching an intersection
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18163 Lane change; Overtaking manoeuvres
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/001 Planning or execution of driving tasks
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0255 Automatic changing of lane, e.g. for passing another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3658 Lane guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0212 with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road

Abstract

Autonomous driving assistance systems, methods, and programs obtain road information that specifies line types of lane markings and connection types of lanes and specify, when a vehicle travels with autonomous driving assistance, a planned route to be taken by the vehicle based on the road information. The systems, methods, and programs execute the autonomous driving assistance for the vehicle according to the specified planned route.

Claims

1. An autonomous driving assistance system for a vehicle, comprising:

a processor programmed to;

access map information stored in a database;

obtain road information that specifies line types of lane markings and connection types of lanes from the accessed map information;

based on the obtained road information, determine whether a single route can be specified as a route that is to be taken by the vehicle, the determination being made based on a presumption that the vehicle travels without changing lanes;

when the vehicle travels with autonomous driving assistance;

if the single route can be specified, specify the single route as a planned route to be taken by the vehicle; and

if the single route cannot be specified, specify a route along a road on which the vehicle is currently traveling as the planned route to be taken by the vehicle; and

execute the autonomous driving assistance for the vehicle according to the specified planned route.

2. The autonomous driving assistance system according to claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to:

if there is a branch point ahead in a direction in which the vehicle is traveling, determine if the single route can be specified, based on the road information, as a route to be taken by the vehicle.

3. The autonomous driving assistance system according to claim 1, wherein

the road information about the line types of lane markings includes information about a lane marking indicating start of merging or an end of branching of a road;

and

the road information about the connection types of lanes includes information specifying that each lane is “

add,”

“

continue,”

“

end,”

“

divide,”

or “

merge.”

4. The autonomous driving assistance system according to claim 3, wherein the processor is programmed to:

if there is at the branch point the lane marking indicating start of merging or an end of branching of a road and, as the information about the connection types of lanes, add has been set for a lane next to the lane marking indicating start of merging or an end of branching of a road, and, as the information about the connection types of lanes, add has been set for every lane located either on the right or on the left of the lane for which add has been set, determine that a lane in which the vehicle is traveling does not branch at the branch point and another lane is added at the branch point, and determine that the single route can be specified as a route to be taken by the vehicle.

5. The autonomous driving assistance system according to claim 3, wherein the processor is programmed to:

specify a lane in which the vehicle is traveling; and

if there is at the branch point the lane marking indicating start of merging or an end of branching of a road and, as the information about the connection types of lanes, add has been set for a lane next to the lane marking indicating start of merging or an end of branching of a road, and, as the information about the connection types of lanes, add has been set for a single lane located on the right or on the left of the lane for which add has been set, and a lane in which the vehicle is traveling has been specified, and as the information about the connection types of lanes, continue has been set for the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, determine that the lane in which the vehicle is traveling does not divide but branches at the branch point, and determine that the single route can be specified as a route to be taken by the vehicle.

6. The autonomous driving assistance system according to claim 3, wherein the processor is programmed to:

specify a lane in which the vehicle is traveling; and

if there is at the branch point the lane marking indicating start of merging or an end of branching of a road and, as the information about the connection types of lanes, information other than add has been set for a lane next to the lane marking indicating start of merging or an end of branching of a road, and t a lane in which the vehicle is traveling has been specified, and as the information about the connection types of lanes, continue has been set for the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, determine that the lane in which the vehicle is traveling does not divide but branches at the branch point, and determine that the single route can be specified as a route to be taken by the vehicle.

7. An autonomous driving assistance method for a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

accessing map information stored in a database;

obtaining road information that specifies line types of lane markings and connection types of lanes from the accessed map information;

based on the obtained road information, determining whether a single route can be specified as a route that is to be taken by the vehicle, the determination being made based on a presumption that the vehicle travels without changing lanes;

when the vehicle travels with autonomous driving assistance;

if the single route can be specified, specifying the single route as a planned route to be taken by the vehicle; and

if the single route cannot be specified, specifying a route along a road on which the vehicle is currently traveling as the planned route to be taken by the vehicle; and

executing the autonomous driving assistance for the vehicle according to the specified planned route.

8. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer-executable autonomous driving assistance program for a vehicle that causes a computer to perform the following functions:

accessing map information stored in a database;

obtaining road information that specifies line types of lane markings and connection types of lanes from the accessed map information;

based on the obtained road information, determining whether a single route can be specified as a route that is to be taken by the vehicle, the determination being made based on a presumption that the vehicle travels without changing lanes;

when the vehicle travels with autonomous driving assistance;

if the single route can be specified, specifying the single route as a planned route to be taken by the vehicle; and

if the single route cannot be specified, specifying a route along a road on which the vehicle is currently traveling as the planned route to be taken by the vehicle; and

executing the autonomous driving assistance for the vehicle according to the specified planned route.