Vehicle-mounted apparatus, information distribution apparatus, driving assistance system, control method, and computer program

1 . A vehicle-mounted apparatus comprising:

processing circuitry configured to:

receive data from an outside;

generate, from the data, dynamic maps in each of which dynamic information regarding a dynamic object is associated with a static map, the generating the dynamic maps including generating, from the data, a generation time of the dynamic information and generating, from the data, an expiration time of the dynamic information, the dynamic information including the generation time of the dynamic information and the expiration time of the dynamic information,

store the dynamic maps and the static map;

calculate an effective time by adding the generation time and the expiration time;

determine a degree of freshness of the dynamic information corresponding to a specific region of the static map based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region of the static map;

determine whether to update a dynamic map, among the dynamic maps, corresponding to the specific region of the static map in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, including:

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated when a current time exceeds the effective time, and

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated when the current time does not exceed the effective time;

in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, update the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region with a new dynamic map generated from data newly received;

in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, not update the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region, and

control automated driving of a vehicle in which the vehicle-mounted apparatus is mounted using the dynamic maps.

2 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, transmit, to the outside, a transmission request for transmitting data that satisfies a predetermined condition on the degree of freshness, and

in response to receiving data transmitted in response to the transmission request, generate the new dynamic map from the data transmitted in response to the transmission request.

3 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the data includes sensor data,

the dynamic information includes information regarding displacement of the dynamic object detected by analyzing the sensor data.

4 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

estimate, for the dynamic object, displacement of the dynamic object during a period from a present time to a time in the future when a predetermined time elapses,

in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, estimate, for the dynamic object included in the specific region, displacement of the dynamic object during the period from the present time to the time in the future when the predetermined time elapses, and

complement the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region by using the estimated displacement.

5 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

determine a degree of certainty of the complemented dynamic map, and

in response to determining that the degree of certainty of the complemented dynamic map is low, not use the complemented dynamic map in the automated driving of the vehicle.

6 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

transmit, to the outside, a transmission request for transmitting data that satisfies a predetermined condition on the degree of freshness,

monitor for a transmittable response to the transmission request; and

in response to not receiving the transmittable response within a predetermined period, perform the complementing of the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region by using the estimated displacement.

7 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to incorporate the time in the future into the complemented dynamic map as a new expiration time when the predetermined time elapses.

8 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

determine a degree of certainty of a dynamic map corresponding to a planned travel section of the vehicle in which the vehicle-mounted apparatus is mounted, and

in response to determining that the degree of certainty of the dynamic map corresponding to the planned travel section is low, not use the dynamic map corresponding to the planned travel section in the automated driving of the vehicle.

9 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the static map is a road map, and

the specific region is one of a plurality of grid regions on the road map determined by dividing a region that includes at least a road in a grid-like form.

10 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to, in response to generating the new dynamic map, transmit the new dynamic map to the outside.

11 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the degree of freshness further includes a disappearance time at which the dynamic object is estimated to have disappeared from the specific region.

12 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to determine that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated when the current time exceeds the disappearance time by a predetermined time.

13 . The vehicle-mounted apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

determine if the degree of freshness corresponding to a planned travel section is below the threshold; and

in response to determining that the degree of freshness of the dynamic map corresponding to the planned travel section is below the threshold, generate a travel plan using sensor data output from a sensor mounted on the vehicle without using the dynamic map.

14 . An information distribution apparatus comprising:

processing circuitry configured to:

receive data from an outside;

generate, from the data, dynamic maps in each of which dynamic information regarding a dynamic object is associated with a static map, the generating the dynamic maps including generating, from the data, a generation time of the dynamic information and generating, from the data, an expiration time of the dynamic information, the dynamic information including the generation time of the dynamic information and the expiration time of the dynamic information;

store the dynamic maps and the static map;

calculate an effective time by adding the generation time and the expiration time;

determine a degree of freshness of the dynamic information corresponding to a specific region of the static map based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region of the static map;

determine whether to update a dynamic map, among the dynamic maps, corresponding to the specific region of the static map in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, including:

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated when a current time exceeds the effective time, and

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated when the current time does not exceed the effective time;

in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, update the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region with a new dynamic map generated from data newly received;

in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, not update the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region;

in response to generating the new dynamic map, transmit the new dynamic map to the outside; and

control automated driving of a vehicle using the dynamic maps.

15 . A vehicle-mounted apparatus comprising:

vehicle-mounted processing circuitry configured to:

receive the dynamic maps from the information distribution apparatus according to claim 14 ; and

control the automated driving of the vehicle in which the vehicle-mounted processing circuitry is mounted by using the dynamic maps.

16 . A vehicle-mounted apparatus comprising:

vehicle-mounted processing circuitry configured to:

receive the dynamic maps from the information distribution apparatus according to claim 14 ; and

generate and present driving assistance information from the dynamic maps.

17 . A driving assistance system comprising:

a server; and

a vehicle-mounted apparatus, wherein

the server includes server processing circuitry configured to:

receive sensor data from an outside,

detect dynamic objects by analyzing the sensor data,

generate pieces of dynamic information regarding displacement of the dynamic objects, and

transmit data that includes at least one of the sensor data or the pieces of dynamic information to the vehicle-mounted apparatus,

the vehicle-mounted apparatus includes vehicle-mounted apparatus processing circuitry configured to:

receive the data transmitted from the server;

generate, from the data, dynamic maps in each of which a corresponding one of the pieces of dynamic information is associated with a static map, the generating the dynamic maps including generating, from the data, a generation time of the dynamic information and generating, from the data, an expiration time of the dynamic information, the dynamic information including the generation time of the dynamic information and the expiration time of the dynamic information;

store the dynamic maps and the static map;

calculate an effective time by adding the generation time and the expiration time;

determine a degree of freshness of the dynamic information corresponding to a specific region of the static map based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the piece of dynamic information corresponding to the specific region of the static map;

determine whether to update a dynamic map, among the dynamic maps, corresponding to the specific region of the static map in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the piece of dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, including:

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated when a current time exceeds the effective time, and

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated when the current time does not exceed the effective time, and

in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, update the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region with a new dynamic map generated from data newly received;

in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the piece of dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, not update the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region; and

control automated driving of a vehicle in which the vehicle-mounted apparatus is mounted using the dynamic maps.

18 . A control method for an apparatus having a communication function, the control method comprising:

receiving data from an outside,

generating, from the data, dynamic maps in each of which dynamic information regarding a dynamic object is associated with a static map, the generating the dynamic maps including generating, from the data, a generation time of the dynamic information and generating, from the data, an expiration time of the dynamic information, the dynamic information including the generation time of the dynamic information and the expiration time of the dynamic information;

storing the dynamic maps and the static map;

calculating an effective time by adding the generation time and the expiration time;

determining a degree of freshness of the dynamic information corresponding to a specific region of the static map based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region of the static map;

determining whether to update a dynamic map, among the dynamic maps, corresponding to the specific region of the static map, in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, including:

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated when a current time exceeds the effective time, and

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated when the current time does not exceed the effective time;

updating, in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region with a new dynamic map generated from data newly received;

not updating, in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region; and

using the dynamic maps in automated driving of a vehicle.

19 . A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer program for causing a computer to execute:

receiving data from an outside,

generating, from the data, dynamic maps in each of which dynamic information regarding a dynamic object is associated with a static map, the generating the dynamic maps including generating, from the data, a generation time of the dynamic information and generating, from the data, an expiration time of the dynamic information, the dynamic information including the generation time of the dynamic information and the expiration time of the dynamic information;

storing the dynamic maps and the static map;

calculating an effective time by adding the generation time and the expiration time;

determining a degree of freshness of the dynamic information corresponding to a specific region of the static map based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region of the static map;

determining whether to update a dynamic map, among the dynamic maps, corresponding to the specific region of the static map, in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, including:

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated when a current time exceeds the effective time, and

determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated when the current time does not exceed the effective time;

updating, in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region with a new dynamic map generated from data newly received;

not updating, in response to determining that the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region is not to be updated in accordance with the degree of freshness determined based upon the generation time and the expiration time of the dynamic information corresponding to the specific region, the dynamic map corresponding to the specific region; and

using the dynamic maps in automated driving of a vehicle.