Travel evaluation method and pseudo-emotion generation method

1. A travel evaluation method of making an evaluation related to travel of a vehicle, the method comprising:

at a processor configured to execute instructions to perform processing operations:

obtaining, from a tire force obtaining section including one or more sensors, a tire force which is an external force exerted on a wheel of the vehicle from a ground surface and which includes a lateral force component;

deriving an evaluation index related to travel of the vehicle, wherein

the evaluation index includes a positive evaluation index as a rating of a positive evaluation related to travel of the vehicle, the positive evaluation representing pleasantness of travel,

in deriving the evaluation index, an instantaneous value of the positive evaluation index is based on the tire force,

in deriving the evaluation index, the instantaneous value of the positive evaluation index is set higher as the tire force increases,

in deriving the evaluation index, the evaluation index is corrected based on an influential parameter other than the tire force, and

in deriving the evaluation index, the evaluation index is corrected to increase the positive evaluation index related to travel when the vehicle is determined to be in an alternate clockwise-counterclockwise turning state where the vehicle is banked alternately in opposite directions; and

outputting, as an evaluation result, a value of the corrected evaluation index for a travel route on which the vehicle was traveling when the evaluation index was derived.

2. The travel evaluation method according to claim 1 , wherein in deriving the evaluation index, an influential parameter for correcting the positive evaluation obtained based on the tire force is set when a predetermined correction state is established during a leaning-position travel period in which the vehicle travels in a leaning position.

3. The travel evaluation method according to claim 1 , wherein in deriving the evaluation index, the evaluation index is corrected to decrease the positive evaluation index when the vehicle is determined to be in a slow-speed turning state.

4. The travel evaluation method according to claim 1 , wherein in deriving the evaluation index, the evaluation index is corrected to decrease the positive evaluation index when the vehicle is determined to be in a traffic jam travel state.

5. The travel evaluation method according to claim 4 , wherein in deriving the evaluation index, whether the vehicle is in the traffic jam travel state is determined based on both a vehicle speed and an acceleration in a forward/rearward direction.

6. The travel evaluation method according to claim 1 , wherein in deriving the evaluation index, the influential parameter is set depending on a past trend of travel or depending on the driver of the vehicle.

7. The travel evaluation method according to claim 1 , wherein

the tire force includes a forward/rearward force component exerted in a forward/rearward direction and the lateral force component exerted in a leftward/rightward direction, and

in deriving the evaluation index, the evaluation index is corrected by weighting the forward/rearward force component and the lateral force component differently.

8. The travel evaluation method according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of evaluation indices for a plurality of vehicles is stored in association with location information for the travel route.

9. The travel evaluation method according to claim 8 , wherein, in response to a request from a driver, a ranking of the travel route based on the stored plurality of evaluation indices is output to the driver.

10. The travel evaluation method according to claim 1 , wherein, in deriving the evaluation index, the instantaneous value of the positive evaluation index is set high when the driver is performing a throttling maneuver, a braking maneuver, or a vehicle body banking maneuver.

11. A travel evaluation method of making an evaluation related to travel of a vehicle, the method comprising:

at a processor configured to execute instructions to perform processing operations:

obtaining, from a tire force obtaining section including one or more sensors, a tire force which is an external force exerted on a wheel of the vehicle from a ground surface and which includes a lateral force component;

deriving an evaluation index related to travel of the vehicle, wherein

the evaluation index includes a positive evaluation index as a rating of a positive evaluation related to travel of the vehicle, the positive evaluation representing pleasantness of travel,

in deriving the evaluation index, an instantaneous value of the positive evaluation index is based on the tire force,

in deriving the evaluation index, the instantaneous value of the positive evaluation index is set higher as the tire force increases,

in deriving the evaluation index, the evaluation index is corrected based on an influential parameter other than the tire force, and

in deriving the evaluation index, the evaluation index is corrected to increase the positive evaluation index related to travel when the vehicle is determined to be in a travel state where at least one of a roll rate and a steering torque of the vehicle in an upright position is higher than a comparison value predetermined for alternate clockwise-counterclockwise turning; and

outputting, as an evaluation result, a value of the corrected evaluation index for a travel route on which the vehicle was traveling when the evaluation index was derived.

12. A pseudo-emotion generation method of generating a pseudo-emotion of a vehicle, the method comprising:

obtaining a tire force which is an external force exerted on a wheel of the vehicle from a ground surface and which includes a lateral force component;

deriving an emotion evaluation index, wherein

the emotion evaluation index includes a positive evaluation index as a rating of a positive pseudo-emotion, the positive pseudo-emotion representing pleasantness of travel experienced by a driver,

in deriving the emotion evaluation index, a value of the positive evaluation index is based on the tire force,

in deriving the emotion evaluation index, the value of the positive evaluation index is set higher as the tire force increases,

in deriving the emotion evaluation index, the emotion evaluation index is corrected based on an influential parameter other than the tire force, and

in deriving the emotion evaluation index, the emotion evaluation index is corrected to increase the positive evaluation index related to travel when the vehicle is determined to be in an alternate clockwise-counterclockwise turning state where the vehicle is banked alternately in opposite directions;

generating a pseudo-emotion based on the derived emotion evaluation index; and

outputting, as an evaluation result, a value of the corrected emotion evaluation index for a travel route on which the vehicle was traveling when the evaluation index was derived.

13. A pseudo-emotion generation method of generating a pseudo-emotion of a vehicle, the method comprising:

obtaining a tire force which is an external force exerted on a wheel of the vehicle from a ground surface and which includes a lateral force component;

deriving an emotion evaluation index, wherein

the emotion evaluation index includes a positive evaluation index as a rating of a positive pseudo-emotion, the positive pseudo-emotion representing pleasantness of travel experienced by a driver,

in deriving the emotion evaluation index, a value of the positive evaluation index is based on the tire force,

in deriving the emotion evaluation index, the value of the positive evaluation index is set higher as the tire force increases,

in deriving the emotion evaluation index, the emotion evaluation index is corrected based on an influential parameter other than the tire force, and

in deriving the evaluation index, the evaluation index is corrected to increase the positive evaluation index related to travel when the vehicle is determined to be in a travel state where at least one of a roll rate and a steering torque of the vehicle in an upright position is higher than a comparison value predetermined for alternate clockwise-counterclockwise turning;

generating a pseudo-emotion based on the derived emotion evaluation index; and

outputting, as an evaluation result, a value of the corrected emotion evaluation index for a travel route on which the vehicle was traveling when the evaluation index was derived.