Vehicle navigation route search system, method, and program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10126743-B2
Application number	US-201515116377-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 27, 2015
Priority date	Feb 25, 2014
Publication date	Nov 13, 2018
Grant date	Nov 13, 2018

Abstract

A vehicle navigation route search system, method, and program search for a recommended route in the case where a vehicle travels by autonomous driving control in an autonomous driving section where autonomous driving control of the vehicle is permitted. The system, method, and program calculate a cost value by using a cost table for autonomous driving control which is set such that a route that is more suitable for traveling by autonomous driving control has a lower cost value, and search for the recommended route based on the calculated cost value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle navigation route search system that searches for a recommended route in a case where a vehicle travels by autonomous driving control in an autonomous driving section where autonomous driving control of the vehicle is permitted, characterized by comprising:
a GPS receiver; and
a processor programmed to:
receive a current location of the vehicle from the GPS receiver;
receive an input from a selection device selecting either autonomous driving control or manual driving for driving in the autonomous driving section;
in the case where autonomous driving control is selected for driving in the autonomous driving section, calculate a cost value by using a cost table for autonomous driving control which is set such that a route that is more suitable for traveling by autonomous driving control has a lower cost value;
in a case where manual driving is selected for driving in the autonomous driving section, calculate the cost value by using a cost table for manual driving which is different from the cost table for autonomous driving control;
search for the recommended route based on the received current location and the calculated cost value;
output the recommended route found by the search on at least one of a speaker and a display screen; and
set a content of the autonomous driving control to be performed on the vehicle in the autonomous driving section included in the recommended route; wherein:

the cost table for autonomous driving control and the cost table for manual driving include, as elements for calculating the cost value, a common element that is considered in both of the tables, an element that is considered in only the cost table for autonomous driving control, and an element that is considered in only the cost table for manual driving; and
the cost table for autonomous driving control is set such that the common element accounts for a lower proportion of an overall cost value, as compared to the cost table for manual driving.

2. The vehicle navigation route search system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the cost table for autonomous driving control includes a plurality of elements for calculating the cost value;
the processor is programmed to calculate a sum of values specified for each of the elements as the cost value; and
the plurality of elements include an autonomous driving determination element for determining if a route is suitable for traveling by autonomous driving control.

3. The vehicle navigation route search system according to claim 2 , wherein the cost table for autonomous driving control includes, as the autonomous driving determination element, at least one of:
exclusive road cost for preferentially selecting a route including an exclusive lane for traveling by autonomous driving control as the recommended route;
lane change cost for preferentially selecting a route requiring fewer lane changes as the recommended route;
curve curvature cost for preferentially selecting a route comprised of a road with no curve or a route including a road with a curve having smaller curvature as the recommended route;
construction period cost for preferentially selecting a route including a more recently constructed section as the recommended route; and
traffic volume cost for preferentially selecting a route with lower traffic volume as the recommended route.

4. The vehicle navigation route search system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the cost table for autonomous driving control and the cost table for manual driving include, as elements for calculating the cost value, at least one of:
distance cost for preferentially selecting a shorter route as the recommended route;
traffic jam cost for preferentially selecting a less congested route as the recommended route;
road width cost for preferentially selecting a route with a greater road width as the recommended route; and
number-of-lanes cost for preferentially selecting a route with a larger number of lanes as the recommended route; and

in the cost table for autonomous driving control, the distance cost, the traffic jam cost, the road width cost, and the number-of-lanes cost account for a lower proportion of the cost value, as compared to the cost table for manual driving.

5. The vehicle navigation route search system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the cost table for autonomous driving control is set such that a route including an exclusive lane for traveling by autonomous driving control has a lower cost value.

6. The vehicle navigation route search system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the cost table for autonomous driving control is set such that a route requiring fewer lane changes has a lower cost value.

7. The vehicle navigation route search system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the cost table for autonomous driving control is set such that a route with no curve has the lowest cost value, and for routes with a curve, a route with a curve having smaller curvature has a lower cost value.

8. The vehicle navigation route search system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the cost table for autonomous driving control is set such that a route including a more recently constructed section has a lower cost value.

9. The vehicle navigation route search system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the cost table for autonomous driving control is set such that a route with lower traffic volume has a lower cost value.

10. A vehicle navigation route search method for searching for a recommended route in a case where a vehicle travels by autonomous driving control in an autonomous driving section where autonomous driving control of the vehicle is permitted, the method comprising:
receiving a current location of the vehicle from a GPS receiver;
receiving an input from a selection device selecting either autonomous driving control or manual driving for driving in the autonomous driving section;
in the case where autonomous driving control is selected for driving in the autonomous driving section, calculating a cost value by using a cost table for autonomous driving control which is set such that a route that is more suitable for traveling by autonomous driving control has a lower cost value;
in a case where manual driving is selected for driving in the autonomous driving section, calculating the cost value by using a cost table for manual driving which is different from the cost table for autonomous driving control;
searching for the recommended route based on the calculated cost value;
outputting the recommended route found by the searching on at least one of a speaker and a display screen; and
setting a content of the autonomous driving control to be performed on the vehicle in the autonomous driving section included in the recommended route; wherein:
the cost table for autonomous driving control and the cost table for manual driving include, as elements for calculating the cost value, a common element that is considered in both of the tables, an element that is considered in only the cost table for autonomous driving control, and an element that is considered in only the cost table for manual driving; and
the cost table for autonomous driving control is set such that the common element accounts for a lower proportion of an overall cost value, as compared to the cost table for manual driving.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing a vehicle navigation route search computer program that searches for a recommended route in a case where a vehicle travels by autonomous driving control in an autonomous driving section where autonomous driving control of the vehicle is permitted, the program causing a computer to perform functions comprising:
receiving a current lo

Assignees

• Aisin Aw Co

Inventors

• Fukumoto Masataka

Classifications

• G08G1/096844

  where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data · CPC title

• G01C21/3492

  employing speed data or traffic data, e.g. real-time or historical (traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968) · CPC title

• G08G1/096827 Primary

  where the route is computed onboard · CPC title

• G01C21/3453 Primary

  Special cost functions, i.e. other than distance or default speed limit of road segments · CPC title

• G05D1/0088 Primary

  characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours (using knowledge based models G06N5/00) · CPC title