Granted Patent B2

US 12,722,665 · App. 18/231,259 · Granted Sep 1, 2026

Inventors: Takao Tamura (Tokyo, JP); Sho Tamura (Tokyo, JP)

Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.

B60W60/0053B60W40/02B60W2420/403B60W2552/53

Abstract

Claims (76)

1 . A vehicle control device comprising a storage medium storing computer-readable commands, and a processor connected to the storage medium, the processor being configured to execute the computer-readable commands to:

recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;

control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle based on the recognized surrounding situation and map information without depending on an operation performed by a driver of the vehicle;

determine a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode, wherein the second driving mode is a driving mode imposing a lighter task on the driver than the first driving mode, and a part of the plurality of driving modes including at least the second driving mode is controlled without depending on an operation performed by the driver;

change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode imposing a heavier task when the task of the determined driving mode is not performed by the driver;

determine whether or not a determination angle, which is based on an angle between a map road division line and a map road center line included in the map information, is equal to or larger than a first threshold value, whether or not a determination distance, which is based on a distance between the map road division line and the map road center line, is equal to or larger than a second threshold value, and whether or not a forward region of the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined region; and

change the second driving mode to the first driving mode referring to a camera road division line included in the surrounding situation when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value, the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value, and the forward region of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined region,

wherein the processor defines the determination angle as a sum of an average value of the map road division line on a left side and the map road center line and an average value of the map road division line on a right side and the map road center line.

2 . The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the processor defines the determination distance as at least one of a distance between the map road division line on a left side and the map road center line and a distance between the map road division line on a right side and the map road center line.

3 . A vehicle control device comprising a storage medium storing computer-readable commands, and a processor connected to the storage medium, the processor being configured to execute the computer-readable commands to:

recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;

control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle based on the recognized surrounding situation and map information without depending on an operation performed by a driver of the vehicle;

determine a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode, wherein the second driving mode is a driving mode imposing a lighter task on the driver than the first driving mode, and a part of the plurality of driving modes including at least the second driving mode is controlled without depending on an operation performed by the driver;

change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode imposing a heavier task when the task of the determined driving mode is not performed by the driver;

determine whether or not a determination angle, which is based on an angle between a map road division line and a map road center line included in the map information, is equal to or larger than a first threshold value, whether or not a determination distance, which is based on a distance between the map road division line and the map road center line, is equal to or larger than a second threshold value, and whether or not a forward region of the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined region; and

change the second driving mode to the first driving mode referring to a camera road division line included in the surrounding situation when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value, the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value, and the forward region of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined region,

wherein the processor defines the determination angle as at least one of a peak angle between the map road division line on a left side and the map road center line and a peak angle between the map road division line on a right side and the map road center line.

4 . A vehicle control device comprising a storage medium storing computer-readable commands, and a processor connected to the storage medium, the processor being configured to execute the computer-readable commands to:

recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;

control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle based on the recognized surrounding situation and map information without depending on an operation performed by a driver of the vehicle;

determine a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode, wherein the second driving mode is a driving mode imposing a lighter task on the driver than the first driving mode, and a part of the plurality of driving modes including at least the second driving mode is controlled without depending on an operation performed by the driver;

change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode imposing a heavier task when the task of the determined driving mode is not performed by the driver;

determine whether or not a determination angle, which is based on an angle between a map road division line and a map road center line included in the map information, is equal to or larger than a first threshold value, whether or not a determination distance, which is based on a distance between the map road division line and the map road center line, is equal to or larger than a second threshold value, and whether or not a forward region of the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined region; and

change the second driving mode to the first driving mode referring to a camera road division line included in the surrounding situation when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value, the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value, and the forward region of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined region,

wherein the processor determines whether or not the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value and is equal to or smaller than a third threshold value, which is larger than the first threshold value, and when determining that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value and is equal to or smaller than the third threshold value, continues the second driving mode referring to the camera road division line.

5 . The vehicle control device according to claim 4 , wherein when determining that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value and is equal to or smaller than the third threshold value, the processor determines whether or not the map road division line and the camera road division line match each other for at least a part thereof, and when determining that the map road division line and the camera road division line match each other for at least a part thereof, the processor continues the second driving mode referring to the camera road division line.

6 . The vehicle control device according to claim 5 , wherein even when determining that the map road division line and the camera road division line do not match each other for at least a part thereof, the processor continues the second driving mode referring to at least a travel trajectory of a preceding vehicle when there is a preceding vehicle in front of the vehicle.

7 . A vehicle control device comprising a storage medium storing computer-readable commands, and a processor connected to the storage medium, the processor being configured to execute the computer-readable commands to:

recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;

control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle based on the recognized surrounding situation and map information without depending on an operation performed by a driver of the vehicle;

determine a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode, wherein the second driving mode is a driving mode imposing a lighter task on the driver than the first driving mode, and a part of the plurality of driving modes including at least the second driving mode is controlled without depending on an operation performed by the driver;

change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode imposing a heavier task when the task of the determined driving mode is not performed by the driver;

determine whether or not a determination angle, which is based on an angle between a map road division line and a map road center line included in the map information, is equal to or larger than a first threshold value, whether or not a determination distance, which is based on a distance between the map road division line and the map road center line, is equal to or larger than a second threshold value, and whether or not a forward region of the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined region; and

change the second driving mode to the first driving mode referring to a camera road division line included in the surrounding situation when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value, the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value, and the forward region of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined region,

wherein the processor defines the predetermined region as a lane increase section, a lane decrease section, or a section in which a road curvature is equal to or larger than a predetermined value on a travel lane on which the vehicle is traveling.

8 . A vehicle control device comprising a storage medium storing computer-readable commands, and a processor connected to the storage medium, the processor being configured to execute the computer-readable commands to:

recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;

control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle based on the recognized surrounding situation and map information without depending on an operation performed by a driver of the vehicle;

determine a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode, wherein the second driving mode is a driving mode imposing a lighter task on the driver than the first driving mode, and a part of the plurality of driving modes including at least the second driving mode is controlled without depending on an operation performed by the driver;

change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode imposing a heavier task when the task of the determined driving mode is not performed by the driver;

determine whether or not a determination angle, which is based on an angle between a map road division line and a map road center line included in the map information, is equal to or larger than a first threshold value, whether or not a determination distance, which is based on a distance between the map road division line and the map road center line, is equal to or larger than a second threshold value, and whether or not a forward region of the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined region; and

change the second driving mode to the first driving mode referring to a camera road division line included in the surrounding situation when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value, the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value, and the forward region of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined region,

wherein when a number of points included in a point cloud constituting the map road division line and the map road center line included in the map information is equal to or larger than a predetermined value, the processor calculates the determination angle and the determination distance based on the point cloud.

9 . A vehicle control device comprising a storage medium storing computer-readable commands, and a processor connected to the storage medium, the processor being configured to execute the computer-readable commands to:

recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;

control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle based on the recognized surrounding situation and map information without depending on an operation performed by a driver of the vehicle;

determine a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode, wherein the second driving mode is a driving mode imposing a lighter task on the driver than the first driving mode, and a part of the plurality of driving modes including at least the second driving mode is controlled without depending on an operation performed by the driver;

change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode imposing a heavier task when the task of the determined driving mode is not performed by the driver;

determine whether or not a determination angle, which is based on an angle between a map road division line and a map road center line included in the map information, is equal to or larger than a first threshold value, whether or not a determination distance, which is based on a distance between the map road division line and the map road center line, is equal to or larger than a second threshold value, and whether or not a forward region of the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined region; and

change the second driving mode to the first driving mode referring to a camera road division line included in the surrounding situation when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value, the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value, and the forward region of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined region,

wherein when the second driving mode is changed to the first driving mode referring to the camera road division line, the processor continues the first driving mode referring to the camera road division line for at least a first predetermined period.

10 . The vehicle control device according to claim 9 , when determining that the determination angle is smaller than the first threshold value and the determination distance is smaller than the second threshold value after continuing the first driving mode referring to the camera road division line for the first predetermined period, the processor returns the first driving mode referring to the camera road division line to the second driving mode referring to the map road division line.

11 . A vehicle control device comprising a storage medium storing computer-readable commands, and a processor connected to the storage medium, the processor being configured to execute the computer-readable commands to:

recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;

control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle based on the recognized surrounding situation and map information without depending on an operation performed by a driver of the vehicle;

determine a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode, wherein the second driving mode is a driving mode imposing a lighter task on the driver than the first driving mode, and a part of the plurality of driving modes including at least the second driving mode is controlled without depending on an operation performed by the driver;

change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode imposing a heavier task when the task of the determined driving mode is not performed by the driver;

determine whether or not a determination angle, which is based on an angle between a map road division line and a map road center line included in the map information, is equal to or larger than a first threshold value, whether or not a determination distance, which is based on a distance between the map road division line and the map road center line, is equal to or larger than a second threshold value, and whether or not a forward region of the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined region; and

change the second driving mode to the first driving mode referring to a camera road division line included in the surrounding situation when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value, the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value, and the forward region of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined region,

wherein when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value or the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value after continuing the first driving mode referring to the camera road division line for a second predetermined period, the processor changes the first driving mode to manual driving of the vehicle by the driver of the vehicle.

12 . A vehicle control method to be executed by a computer, the vehicle control method comprising:

recognizing a surrounding situation of a vehicle;

controlling steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle based on the recognized surrounding situation and map information without depending on an operation performed by a driver of the vehicle;

determining a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode, wherein the second driving mode is a driving mode imposing a lighter task on the driver than the first driving mode, and a part of the plurality of driving modes including at least the second driving mode is controlled without depending on an operation performed by the driver;

changing the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode imposing a heavier task when the task of the determined driving mode is not performed by the driver;

determining whether or not a determination angle, which is based on an angle between a map road division line and a map road center line included in the map information, is equal to or larger than a first threshold value, whether or not a determination distance, which is based on a distance between the map road division line and the map road center line, is equal to or larger than a second threshold value, and whether or not a forward region of the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined region;

changing the second driving mode to the first driving mode referring to a camera road division line included in the surrounding situation when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value, the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value, and the forward region of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined region, and

when the second driving mode is changed to the first driving mode referring to the camera road division line, continuing the first driving mode referring to the camera road division line for at least a first predetermined period.

13 . A non-transitory storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to:

recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;

control steering and acceleration/deceleration of the vehicle based on the recognized surrounding situation and map information without depending on an operation performed by a driver of the vehicle;

determine a driving mode of the vehicle as any one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode, wherein the second driving mode is a driving mode imposing a lighter task on the driver than the first driving mode, and a part of the plurality of driving modes including at least the second driving mode is controlled without depending on an operation performed by the driver;

change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode imposing a heavier task when the task of the determined driving mode is not performed by the driver;

determine whether or not a determination angle, which is based on an angle between a map road division line and a map road center line included in the map information, is equal to or larger than a first threshold value, whether or not a determination distance, which is based on a distance between the map road division line and the map road center line, is equal to or larger than a second threshold value, and whether or not a forward region of the vehicle corresponds to a predetermined region;

change the second driving mode to the first driving mode referring to a camera road division line included in the surrounding situation when it is determined that the determination angle is equal to or larger than the first threshold value, the determination distance is equal to or larger than the second threshold value, and the forward region of the vehicle does not correspond to the predetermined region, and

when the second driving mode is changed to the first driving mode referring to the camera road division line, continue the first driving mode referring to the camera road division line for at least a first predetermined period.

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (18)