US-12620314-B2 - Wrong-way driving determination apparatus and wrong-way driving determination method

US12620314B2US 12620314 B2US12620314 B2US 12620314B2US-12620314-B2

Abstract

In a wrong-way driving determination apparatus, a road information generation unit generates, based on surroundings information acquired by a surroundings monitoring sensor of a subject vehicle, road information including information on a location and a proper direction of travel of each lane of a road on which the subject vehicle is traveling. A travel state information calculation unit calculates, based on the surroundings information, travel state information including information on a location and a direction of travel of the subject vehicle on the road on which the subject vehicle is traveling. A wrong-way driving determination unit calculates a wrong-way driving possibility of the subject vehicle based on the road information and the travel state information, and determines whether the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way based on a value of the wrong-way driving possibility.

Inventors

Takumi Kashihara
Kosei Uchino

Assignees

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20201210

Claims (13)

1 . A wrong-way driving determination apparatus comprising: a GPS-based satellite positioning system disposed inside a subject vehicle including a receiver to receive GPS signals providing information of a location of the subject vehicle and a storage device to store map information including information on a proper direction of travel of each lane on a road; a surroundings monitoring sensor system comprising at least one of a camera mounted on an exterior of a subject vehicle with a field of view configured to capture a road surface, vehicles, and obstacles in front of the subject vehicle, a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor mounted on the exterior of the subject vehicle to irradiate laser to and receive reflected signals from vehicles and obstacles in front of the subject vehicle; a user interface operably disposed inside the subject vehicle including at least one of a display and a speaker; a processor operably disposed inside the subject vehicle to execute a program; and a memory operably disposed inside the subject vehicle to store the program which, when executed by the processor, performs processes of: determining an accuracy of satellite positioning by the GPS-based satellite positioning system, in response to the determined accuracy of satellite positioning being above a predetermined threshold, calculating a wrong-way driving possibility of the subject vehicle by comparing the information of the location of the subject vehicle indicated by the GPS signals to the stored map information, and determining whether the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way based on a value of the wrong-way driving possibility, and in response to the determined accuracy of satellite positioning being below the predetermined threshold, generating, based on surroundings information acquired by the surroundings monitoring sensor system, road information including information on a location and a proper direction of travel of each lane of a road on which the subject vehicle is traveling; calculating, based on the surroundings information, travel state information including information on a location and a direction of travel of the subject vehicle on the road on which the subject vehicle is traveling; and calculating a wrong-way driving possibility of the subject vehicle based on the road information and the travel state information, and determining whether the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way based on a value of the wrong-way driving possibility; and in response to determining that the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way, controlling the user interface to generate a visual and/or audio output to inform a driver of the subject vehicle that the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way.
2 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processor calculates the wrong-way driving possibility based on a difference between a proper direction of travel of a lane in which the subject vehicle is traveling and the direction of travel of the subject vehicle.
3 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the location and the direction of travel of the subject vehicle cannot be calculated from the surroundings information, the processor calculates the location and the direction of travel of the subject vehicle from behavioral information being information acquired by a vehicle behavioral sensor of the subject vehicle.
4 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processor calculates a turning direction and a turning radius of the subject vehicle from the travel state information, and calculates the wrong-way driving possibility based on a lane in which the subject vehicle was traveling before turning, the turning direction and the turning radius of the subject vehicle, and the amount of change in direction of travel of the subject vehicle.
5 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein when the turning direction and the turning radius of the subject vehicle cannot be calculated from the travel state information, the processor calculates the turning direction and the turning radius of the subject vehicle from behavioral information being information acquired by a vehicle behavioral sensor of the subject vehicle.
6 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein when the amount of change in direction of travel of the subject vehicle cannot be calculated from the travel state information, the processor calculates the amount of change in direction of travel of the subject vehicle from behavioral information being information acquired by a vehicle behavioral sensor of the subject vehicle.
7 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processor calculates a first wrong-way driving possibility based on a difference between a proper direction of travel of a lane in which the subject vehicle is traveling and the direction of travel of the subject vehicle, calculates a turning direction and a turning radius of the subject vehicle from the travel state information, calculates a second wrong-way driving possibility based on a lane in which the subject vehicle was traveling before turning, the turning direction and the turning radius of the subject vehicle, and the amount of change in direction of travel of the subject vehicle, and calculates a weighted average of the first wrong-way driving possibility and the second wrong-way driving possibility as the wrong-way driving possibility.
8 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein weighting of the first wrong-way driving possibility and the second wrong-way driving possibility in the weighted average is set based on reliability of the first wrong-way driving possibility and reliability of the second wrong-way driving possibility.
9 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein when the turning direction and the turning radius of the subject vehicle cannot be calculated from the travel state information, the processor calculates the turning direction and the turning radius of the subject vehicle from behavioral information being information acquired by a vehicle behavioral sensor of the subject vehicle.
10 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein when the amount of change in direction of travel of the subject vehicle cannot be calculated from the travel state information, the processor calculates the amount of change in direction of travel of the subject vehicle from behavioral information being information acquired by a vehicle behavioral sensor of the subject vehicle.
11 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processor determines that the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way when the wrong-way driving possibility exceeds another predetermined threshold.
12 . The wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the road information further includes information on a width and a location of a centerline of each lane.
13 . A wrong-way driving determination method comprising: receiving, via a receiver of a GPS-based satellite positioning system disposed inside a subject vehicle, GPS signals providing information of a location of the subject vehicle, and acquiring map information from a storage device of the GPS-based satellite positioning system, said map information including information on a proper direction of travel of each lane on a road; acquiring surroundings information via a surroundings monitoring sensor system comprising at least one of a camera mounted on an exterior of a subject vehicle with a field of view configured to capture a road surface, vehicles, and obstacles in front of the subject vehicle, and a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor mounted on the exterior of the subject vehicle to irradiate laser to and receive reflected signals from vehicles and obstacles in front of the subject vehicle; determining, by a processor operably disposed in the subject vehicle, an accuracy of satellite positioning by the GPS-based satellite positioning system, in response to the determined accuracy of satellite positioning being above a predetermined threshold, calculating by the processor a wrong-way driving possibility of the subject vehicle by comparing the information of the location of the subject vehicle indicated by the GPS signals to the stored map information, and determining whether the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way based on a value of the wrong-way driving possibility; and in response to the determined accuracy of satellite positioning being below the predetermined threshold, generating, by the processor, road information including information on a location and a proper direction of travel of each lane of a road on which a subject vehicle is traveling based on surroundings information acquired by the surroundings monitoring sensor system, calculating, by the processor, travel state information including information on a location and a direction of travel of the subject vehicle on the road on which the subject vehicle is traveling based on the surroundings information, and calculating a wrong-way driving possibility of the subject vehicle based on the road information and the travel state information, and determining whether the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way based on a value of the wrong-way driving possibility; and in response to determining that the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way, controlling a user interface, which is operably disposed inside the subject vehicle and includes at least one of a speaker and a display, to generate a visual and/or audio output to inform a driver of the subject vehicle that the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a wrong-way driving determination apparatus that determines whether a vehicle is traveling the wrong way. BACKGROUND ART With the aging of society, so-called wrong-way driving of a vehicle, which is a driver's act of driving the vehicle against a direction of travel (hereinafter referred to as a “proper direction of travel”) of a road or a lane prescribed by the traffic laws, has become a social problem, and various techniques of detecting wrong-way driving of the vehicle have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 below proposes a wrong-way driving determination system of determining that there is a high possibility of wrong-way driving of a vehicle when a change in direction of the vehicle with a turning radius equal to or smaller than half the width of a road on which the vehicle is traveling is detected. Furthermore, Patent Document 2 below proposes a driving assistance apparatus of determining that a vehicle is traveling the wrong way, and informing a driver accordingly when a direction of travel of the vehicle opposite a proper direction of travel of a lane in which the vehicle is traveling is detected. PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Documents Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-194756Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-003801 SUMMARY Problem to be Solved by the Invention In techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, information on the width of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, information on the proper direction of travel of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, and the like used to determine whether the vehicle is traveling the wrong way are acquired by checking a location of the vehicle measured by satellite positioning using the Global Positioning System (GPS) and the like against map information. Accuracy of determination on whether the vehicle is traveling the wrong way thus depends heavily on accuracy of satellite positioning, and might be reduced in urban areas where accuracy of satellite positioning is likely to be reduced due to multipath errors, for example. The present disclosure has been conceived to solve a problem as described above, and it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a wrong-way driving determination apparatus capable of determining whether a vehicle is traveling the wrong way with stability and high accuracy. Means to Solve the Problem A wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to the present disclosure includes: a road information generation unit that generates, based on surroundings information acquired by a surroundings monitoring sensor of a subject vehicle, road information including information on a location and a proper direction of travel of each lane of a road on which the subject vehicle is traveling; a travel state information calculation unit that calculates, based on the surroundings information, travel state information including information on a location and a direction of travel of the subject vehicle on the road on which the subject vehicle is traveling; and a wrong-way driving determination unit that calculates a wrong-way driving possibility of the subject vehicle based on the road information and the travel state information, and determines whether the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way based on a value of the wrong-way driving possibility. Effects of the Invention According to the present disclosure, accuracy of calculation of the wrong-way driving possibility of the subject vehicle does not depend on accuracy of satellite positioning and accuracy of map information, so that whether the subject vehicle is traveling the wrong way can be determined with stability and high accuracy. The objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram for describing information recognized by a surroundings monitoring sensor. FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing road information generated by a road information generation unit. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing operation of the wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of calculating a wrong-way driving possibility in Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to a modification of Embodiment 1. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing of calculating a wrong-way driving possibility in Embodiment 2. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to a modification of Embodiment 2. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of a wrong-way driving determination apparatus according to Embodiment 3. FIG.