Vehicle support systems for pedestrians to cross roads and support methods for pedestrians to cross roads

• US 8,749,401 B2
• Filed: 12/09/2010
• Issued: 06/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitcha Limited
• Inventors: Hara, Yoshitaka, Naka, Takuya, Egawa, Saku, Koga, Masashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yacob, Sisay
• Application Number:
  US12/963,924
• Publication Number:
  US 20110140919A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,279 Days
• Field of Search: 340/907, 340/908, 340/425.5, 340/916, 340/925, 701/70, 701/301, 345/3.5, 116/63, 382/103, 382/106
• US Class Current: 340/907
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/503 using luminous text or symbol displays in or on the vehicle, e.g. static text
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/507 specific to autonomous vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/525 automatically indicating risk of collision between vehicles in traffic or with pedestrians, e.g. after risk assessment using the vehicle sensor data
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/547 for issuing requests to other traffic participants; for confirming to other traffic participants they can proceed, e.g. they can overtake
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A vehicle support system for supporting a man in safely crossing a road without crosswalks installed is provided. The vehicle support system includes a man-detecting unit detecting a man, a subject-vehicle-position detecting unit detecting a position of a vehicle, a man-position/waiting-score calculating unit determining the detected man to be a potential-crossing-man who may cross the road, calculating an absolute position of the potential-crossing-man, measuring waiting time of the potential-crossing-man to cross the road, calculating a waiting score, and storing the result in a man-position/waiting-score storing unit, a stopping-vehicle determining unit determining whether or not the vehicle should be stopped based on the position and the waiting score of the potential-crossing-man, a travelling controller stopping the vehicle when the vehicle should be stopped, and a pedestrian-crossing-signal display unit displaying information indicating whether or not crossing the road is safe based on an instruction of the stopping-vehicle determining unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle support system for supporting a man in safely crossing a road, where the vehicle support system is mounted in a vehicle and comprising:

a man-detecting unit detecting the man, the detecting being in a travelling direction of the vehicle;

a vehicle-position detecting unit detecting a position of the vehicle;

a man-position/waiting-score calculating unit determining the man detected by the man-detecting unit to be at least one potential-crossing-man who may cross the road, calculating an absolute position of the at least one potential-crossing-man as a man position using relative position information regarding the at least one potential-crossing-man relative to the vehicle and position information regarding the vehicle obtained by the vehicle-position detecting unit, measuring waiting time of the at least one potential-crossing-man to cross the road, calculating a waiting score, which is an index of waiting time for the at least one potential-crossing-man, and storing the calculated result in a man-position/ waiting-score storing unit;

a stopping-vehicle determining unit determining whether or not the vehicle should be stopped to allow the at least one potential-crossing-man to begin crossing the road, based on the man position and the waiting score of the at least one potential-crossing-man;

a travelling controller for stopping the vehicle when the stopping-vehicle determining unit determines that the vehicle should be stopped; and

a man-crossing-signal display unit displaying information to inform the at least one potential-crossing-man whether or not the at least one potential-crossing-man can safely cross the road, based on an instruction of the stopping-vehicle determining unit.

2. The vehicle support system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a road-map storing unit storing information regarding whether or not, in road map information, there is a waiting zone installed between a roadway and a sidewalk, the waiting zone for the man to wait for crossing the road,

wherein when determining at least either of a case where the man in the waiting zone detected by the man-detecting unit stands still for a predetermined time, or a case where the man is taking a predetermined action for a predetermined time, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit determines the detected man to be the at least one potential-crossing-man, and

the stopping-vehicle determining unit determines that the vehicle should be stopped when the waiting score of the at least one potential-crossing-man exceeds a predetermined threshold.

3. The vehicle support system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communicating unit communicating between the vehicle and a nearby vehicle around the vehicle,

wherein the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit uses the communicating unit to share the position information regarding the man around the vehicle, with the nearby vehicle around the vehicle.

4. The vehicle support system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a communicating unit communicating between the vehicle and a nearby vehicle around the vehicle,

wherein the stopping-vehicle determining unit determines whether or not the nearby vehicle is present between the man position and the vehicle based on position information regarding the nearby vehicle obtained using the communicating unit, and determines a stopping position of the vehicle.

5. The vehicle support system according to claim 1, wherein when determining that the vehicle should be stopped and upon confirming that the vehicle is stopped, the stopping-vehicle determining unit instructs the man-crossing-signal display unit to turn on a light indicating that the at least one potential-crossing-man can safely cross the road, and after an elapse of a predetermined time, the stopping-vehicle determining unit instructs the man-crossing-signal display unit to turn the light to flashing to indicate that the vehicle will start travelling.

6. The vehicle support system according to claim 2,

wherein the road-map storing unit stores map information including a no-stopping zone as road information regarding an environment where the vehicle travels, and

the stopping-vehicle determining unit refers to the road-map storing unit, and determines a stopping position to be set outside of the no-stopping zone.

7. The vehicle support system according to claim 2,

wherein the at least one potential-crossing-man comprises a plurality of potential-crossing-men, and

when the plurality of potential-crossing-men are present in the waiting zone, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit groups the plurality of potential-crossing-men into a group if a predetermined condition is satisfied, and varies the waiting score according to the number of men in the group.

8. The vehicle support system according to claim 1, wherein when a man once detected by the man-detecting unit is not detected for a predetermined time period, the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit resets the waiting score of the at least one potential-crossing-man.

9. The vehicle support system according to claim 3,

wherein the man-detecting unit is installed on a side of the vehicle, which corresponds to a side of the road on which the vehicle travels, and information regarding a man detected by the man-detecting unit is obtained through the communicating unit.

12. The vehicle support system according to claim 4,

wherein the man-detecting unit is installed on a side of the road on which the vehicle travels, and information regarding a man detected by the man-detecting unit is obtained through the communicating unit.

10. A method for supporting a man in safely crossing a road using a vehicle-mounted system which includes a man-detecting unit detecting the man in a travelling direction of a vehicle, a vehicle-position detecting unit detecting a position of the vehicle, a man-position/waiting-score calculating unit, a stopping-vehicle determining unit, a travelling controller, and a man-crossing-signal display unit, the method comprising:

with the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit, determining the man detected by the man-detecting unit to be at least one potential-crossing-man who may be waiting to cross the road, calculating an absolute position of the at least one potential-crossing-man as a man position using relative position information regarding the at least one potential-crossing-man relative to the vehicle and position information regarding the vehicle obtained by the vehicle-position detecting unit, measuring waiting time that the at least one potential-crossing-man is waiting to begin crossing the road, calculating a waiting score, which is an index of waiting time for the at least one potential-crossing-man, and storing the calculated result in a man-position/waiting-score storing unit; and

with the stopping-vehicle determining unit, determining whether or not the vehicle should be stopped to allow the at least one potential-crossing-man to begin crossing the road, based on the man position and the waiting score of the at least one potential-crossing-man, and when determining that the vehicle should be stopped, instructing the travelling controller to stop the vehicle and instructing the man-crossing-signal display unit to display information indicating that the at least one potential-crossing-man can safely cross the road.

11. The method according to claim 10, the vehicle system further including a road-map storing unit storing information regarding whether or not, in road map information, there is a waiting zone installed between a roadway and a sidewalk, the waiting zone for the man to wait for crossing the road, the method further comprising:

with the man-position/waiting-score calculating unit, when determining at least either of a case where the man in the waiting zone detected by the man-detecting unit stands still for a predetermined time, or a case where the man is taking a predetermined action for a predetermined time, determining the detected man to be the at least one potential-crossing-man; and

with the stopping-vehicle determining unit, determining that the vehicle should be stopped when the waiting score of the at least one potential-crossing-man exceeds a predetermined threshold.

13. A vehicle support system for supporting a man in safely crossing a non-crosswalked road, where the vehicle support system is mounted in a vehicle and comprising:

a man-detecting unit detecting the man, the detecting being in a travelling direction of the vehicle;

a vehicle-position detecting unit detecting a position of the vehicle;

a man-position/waiting-score calculating unit determining the man detected by the man-detecting unit to be at least one potential-crossing-man who may cross the non-crosswalked road, calculating an absolute position of the at least one potential-crossing-man as a man position using relative position information regarding the at least one potential-crossing-man relative to the vehicle and position information regarding the vehicle obtained by the vehicle-position detecting unit, measuring waiting time of the at least one potential-crossing-man to cross the non-crosswalked road, calculating a waiting score, which is an index of waiting time for the at least one potential-crossing-man, and storing the calculated result in a man-position/waiting-score storing unit;

a stopping-vehicle determining unit determining whether or not the vehicle should be stopped to allow the at least one potential-crossing-man to begin crossing the non-crosswalked road, based on the man position and the waiting score of the at least one potential-crossing-man;

a travelling controller for stopping the vehicle when the stopping-vehicle determining unit determines that the vehicle should be stopped; and

a man-crossing-signal display unit displaying information to inform the at least one potential-crossing-man whether or not the at least one potential-crossing-man can safely cross the non-crosswalked road, based on an instruction of the stopping-vehicle determining unit.