VEHICLE INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND VEHICLE INFORMATION PROCESSING PROGRAM

• US 20180053404A1
• Filed: 03/22/2016
• Published: 02/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Astemo Ltd. (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Automotive Systems Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: HORITA, Yuki, SOBUE, Tsuneo, KUDO, Makoto
• Granted Patent: US 10,922,963 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/00 Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks safety belts or body harnesses in vehicles B60R22/00; seats constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats, B60N2/42; energy-absorbing arrangements for hand wheels for steering vehicles B62D1/11; energy-absorbing arrangements for vehicle steering columns B62D1/19
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0145 for active traffic flow control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09 Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions railroad crossing signals B61L; reflectors E01F, G08B; indicating arrangements for variable information by selection or combination of individual elements G09F9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A vehicle information processing apparatus detects the relative positions multiple vehicles that travel on a road having multiple lanes in the same direction. The apparatus includes a vehicle travel information acquisition unit configured to acquire at least one of position information and speed information measured for a first vehicle, and at least one of position information and speed information measured for a second vehicle included in the multiple vehicles, and a vehicle travel information processing unit configured to successively compare acquire first vehicle travel information with second vehicle travel information acquired, and determine that reciprocity which is attribute information indicating a state in which the first vehicle and the second vehicle travel in different lanes is established between the first vehicle and the second vehicle if it is determined that an event that cannot occur when the first vehicle and the second vehicle travel in the same lane occurs.

Claims

1. A vehicle information processing apparatus for detecting a relative position relationship between a plurality of vehicles that travel on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same direction, the vehicle information processing apparatus comprising:

a vehicle travel information acquisition unit that is configured to acquire first vehicle travel information including at least one of position information and speed information measured for a first vehicle included in the plurality of vehicles, and second vehicle travel information including at least one of position information and speed information measured for a second vehicle included in the plurality of vehicles; and

a vehicle travel information processing unit that is configured to successively compare the first vehicle travel information with the second vehicle travel information acquired by the vehicle travel information acquisition unit, and determine that reciprocity which is attribute information indicating a state in which the first vehicle and the second vehicle travel in different lanes is established between the first vehicle and the second vehicle if it is determined that an event that cannot occur when the first vehicle and the second vehicle travel in the same lane occurs.

2. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the vehicle travel information processing unit successively compares position information on the first vehicle with position information on the second vehicle, and determines that the reciprocity is established between the first vehicle and the second vehicle when it is detected that a front-rear relationship between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is changed.

3. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a lane number specifying unit that is configured to acquire the number of lanes of the road on which the plurality of vehicles are traveling; and

a vehicle-to-vehicle relative relationship determination unit that compares the reciprocity existing among the vehicles included in the vehicle or the vehicle group is compared with each other with respect to a plurality of combinations of two vehicles determined by the vehicle traveling information processing unit to have the reciprocity, a plurality of combinations of vehicle groups each including a plurality of vehicles, or a plurality of combinations of the vehicle and the vehicle group, applies, as a constraint condition, that the acquired number of lanes is a maximum value of the number of combinations of the vehicles or the vehicle groups having reciprocity with each other, and integrates the plurality of vehicles or the vehicle groups into one vehicle group when it is determined that there are a plurality of vehicles or vehicle groups having the reciprocity with the same vehicle or the same vehicle group.

4. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the vehicle-to-vehicle relative relationship determination unit compares the plurality of combinations of the vehicles or the vehicle groups determined to have the reciprocity by the vehicle traveling information processing unit with each other with the acquired number of lanes as the constraint condition, and determines that the vehicle is traveling in a different lane from that of all the combinations of the vehicles or the vehicle groups that have already been determined to have the reciprocity, or in the same lane as that of any combination of the vehicles or the vehicle groups that have already been determined to have the reciprocity, under the constraint condition.

5. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the vehicle-to-vehicle relative relationship determination unit determines that there is reciprocity between a first vehicle and a second vehicle among the plurality of vehicles when the acquired number of lanes is two, and determines that there is the reciprocity between the first vehicle and a third vehicle when it is determined that there is no reciprocity between the second vehicle and the third vehicle.

6. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the vehicle-to-vehicle relative relationship determination unit determines that there is reciprocity between a first vehicle and a second vehicle, and between a third vehicle and a fourth vehicle among the plurality of vehicles when the acquired number of lanes is two, and determines that the first vehicle and the second vehicle travel in the same lane when it is determined that there is no reciprocity between the second vehicle and the third vehicle.

7. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a lane position determination unit that is configured to determine a current or past traveling lane position of a first vehicle among the plurality of vehicles,

wherein the lane position determination unit determines a traveling lane position of another vehicle with the acquired number of lanes as a constrain condition, based on the determined traveling lane position of the first vehicle and a relative positional relationship of a traveling lane of the other vehicle relative to the first vehicle.

8. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the vehicle traveling information acquisition unit further acquires lighting state information that is information on a lighting state of lamps of the plurality of vehicles,

the lane position determination unit includes:

a vehicle behavior estimation unit that is configured to estimate a behavior of the first vehicle based on the lighting state information acquired from the first vehicle; and

a vehicle behavior enable lane specifying unit that is configured to specify a lane in which the estimated vehicle behavior is enabled in a road section where the first vehicle exists, and

the vehicle behavior enable lane specifying unit determines that the travel lane position of the first vehicle is the specified lane when it is determined that the number of specified lanes is only one.

9. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a vehicle group-to-vehicle group lane positional relationship determination unit that acquires a first vehicle group and a second vehicle group determined to have reciprocity in a vehicle group including a plurality of the vehicle groups each having a plurality of vehicles determined to be traveling in the same lane by the vehicle-to-vehicle relative relationship determination unit, and compares a position of the vehicle configuring the first vehicle group in a lane crossing direction in the road section with a position of the vehicle configuring the second vehicle group in the lane crossing direction in the road section to determine a right-left relationship of the traveling lane between the first vehicle group and the second vehicle group.

10. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein a statistical quantity relating to a position of each vehicle configuring the vehicle group in the lane crossing direction is used as a position of the each vehicle group in the lane crossing direction in the road section.

11. The vehicle information processing apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the combinations of the lane positional relationship between the vehicle groups determined by the vehicle group-to-vehicle group lane positional relationship determination unit are compared with each other, and the traveling lane position of the vehicle group is specified with the acquired number of lanes as a constraint condition that is an upper limit value of the number of vehicle groups.

12. A vehicle information processing program for detecting a relative position relationship between a plurality of vehicles that travel on a road having a plurality of lanes in the same direction, causing a computer having a processor and a memory to execute:

a step of acquiring first vehicle travel information including at least one of position information and speed information measured for a first vehicle included in the plurality of vehicles, and second vehicle travel information including at least one of position information and speed information measured for a second vehicle included in the plurality of vehicles; and

a step of successively comparing the first vehicle travel information with the second vehicle travel information acquired by the vehicle travel information acquisition unit, and determining that reciprocity which is attribute information indicating a state in which the first vehicle and the second vehicle travel on different lanes is established between the first vehicle and the second vehicle if it is determined that an event that cannot occur when the first vehicle and the second vehicle travel in the same lane occurs.