WO2024069700A1 - Land and air moving body - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention comprises an environment information acquisition unit that acquires environment information, a ground travel execution unit that executes a travel on the ground, an aerial travel execution unit that executes a travel in the air, and a control unit. The control unit includes at least one processor and at least one memory connected to the processor, and the processor executes processing including: selecting, on the basis of the environment information, a ground travel state in which the ground travel is executed or an aerial travel state in which the aerial travel is executed; causing the aerial travel execution unit to execute the aerial travel when the aerial travel state is selected; deriving a landing point and a relative distance and a relative speed between the landing point and the land and air moving body on the basis of the environment information; and causing the aerial travel execution unit to make landing at the landing point on the basis of the derived results.

Description

Air and land vehicles

The present invention relates to an air-land amphibious vehicle capable of traveling on land and in the air.

Patent Document 1 discloses an amphibious vehicle that is equipped with a levitation fan that forces air vertically downward, a posture control fan that forces air vertically, and wing members that can be spread out horizontally, and that can run on land and fly in the air.

JP 2017-185866 A

In an air and land vehicle, the function of running on the ground and the function of flying in the air are separated as independent functions. Therefore, when moving from running on the ground to flying in the air, it takes time to switch the operating means and the means of movement of the vehicle. Also, in order to switch between running on the ground and flying in the air, the vehicle must move to a predetermined location, such as a runway.

In this way, when a vehicle has a separate function for traveling on the ground and flying in the air, safety on the ground and safety in the air have to be considered separately, and the two safety functions do not mutually improve.

The present invention aims to provide an air-land vehicle that can improve safety.

In order to solve the above problems, the air-land amphibious vehicle of the present invention comprises:
an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information;
a ground running execution unit that executes ground running;
an aerial running execution unit that executes aerial running;
A control unit;
Equipped with
The control unit is
one or more processors;
one or more memories coupled to the processor;
having
The processor,
selecting a ground running state in which ground running is performed or an aerial running state in which aerial running is performed based on the environmental information;
When the aerial running state is selected, causing the aerial running execution unit to execute the aerial running;
deriving a landing point and a relative distance and a relative speed between the landing point and the air-land vehicle based on the environmental information;
causing the aerial traveling execution unit to land at the landing point based on the derived result;
Perform the process including:

The present invention makes it possible to improve safety.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a moving body. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the general functions of the control unit. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a CAN communication configuration. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a frame of CAN communication. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the priority order of CAN communication. FIG. 6 is another explanatory diagram for explaining the priority order of CAN communication. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of each functional module of the control unit. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the horizontal direction avoidance determination process. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the avoidance direction determination process.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The specific dimensions, materials, values, etc. shown in the embodiment are merely examples to facilitate understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements that have substantially the same function and configuration are given the same reference numerals to avoid duplicated explanations, and elements that are not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated.

(Mobile object 100)
1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a moving body 100. The moving body 100 functions as an air-land amphibious moving body capable of traveling on land and in the air. The moving body 100 includes an environmental information acquisition unit 110, an input/output unit 120, a ground traveling execution unit 130, an aerial traveling execution unit 140, and a control unit 150.

The environmental information acquisition unit 110 acquires environmental information indicating the internal and external conditions of the moving body 100 in the environment in which the moving body 100 is located. The environmental information acquisition unit 110 includes, for example, an imaging device. The imaging device is configured to include imaging elements such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor). The imaging devices are positioned approximately horizontally spaced apart on the traveling direction side of the moving body 100 so that the optical axes of the two imaging devices are approximately parallel.

The imaging device captures an image of the external environment surrounding the moving body 100. The imaging device can generate a luminance image that includes at least luminance information, for example, a color (RGB) image or a monochrome image. Given that the moving body moves through the air, it is desirable for the resolution of the image generated by the imaging device to be high enough to be able to distinguish, for example, the electric wires between utility poles. In addition, the environmental information acquisition unit 110 includes a radar and can acquire the relative distance between the moving body 100 and an object located in the direction of the radar irradiation.

The environmental information acquisition unit 110 also includes an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit). The IMU detects translational motion in three orthogonal axial directions relative to the mobile body 100, such as speed and acceleration, and rotational motion around three orthogonal axes, such as angular velocity and angular acceleration. The environmental information acquisition unit 110 also includes a GPS (Global Positioning System). The GPS can acquire the current position of the mobile body 100, such as latitude, longitude, and altitude. The environmental information acquisition unit 110 also includes a vehicle position map service device. The vehicle position map service device can acquire the position on a map where the mobile body 100 is traveling through a vehicle position map service.

The input/output unit 120 accepts operational inputs from the operator. The input/output unit 120 includes, for example, a driving operation unit such as an accelerator pedal or collective lever, a braking operation unit such as a brake pedal, and a steering unit such as a steering wheel or cyclic stick. The input/output unit 120 also includes, for example, a monitor and a speaker, and outputs information related to the movement of the mobile body 100 to the operator.

The ground driving execution unit 130 includes a power unit BUS 132 and a chassis BUS 134. The power unit BUS 132 is composed of an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) related to the power unit, a drive mechanism, and a braking mechanism. The power unit BUS 132 generates drive force and braking force for the moving body 100 in response to operation inputs received by the drive operation unit and the brake operation unit. The chassis BUS 134 is composed of an ECU related to the chassis, and a steering mechanism. The chassis BUS 134 changes the direction of travel of the moving body 100 in response to operation inputs received by the steering unit. Such movement on the ground is sometimes referred to as ground driving.

The aerial travel execution unit 140 is composed of a motor BUS 142 and a tri-rudder BUS 144. The motor BUS 142 is composed of an ECU related to the motor and a drive mechanism. The motor BUS 142 generates thrust and lift for the mobile body 100 in response to the operation input received by the drive operation unit. The tri-rudder BUS 144 is composed of an ECU and a steering mechanism that control the pitch, roll, and yaw of the mobile body 100. Furthermore, if the mobile body 100 is a fixed-wing aircraft, the tri-rudder BUS 144 may be composed of an ECU and a steering mechanism that control the ailerons, rudder, and elevators. The tri-rudder BUS 144 changes the altitude and propulsion direction of the mobile body 100 in response to the operation input received by the steering unit.

The aerial travel execution unit 140 allows the mobile body 100 to propel itself through the air, for example, to an altitude of 200 to 300 m. In this embodiment, in addition to airborne travel while maintaining lift, the mobile body 100 can also perform so-called jumps, in which the mobile body 100 travels temporarily through the air using lift for a short period of time. This type of airborne travel is sometimes referred to as aerial travel.

The control unit 150 is composed of a semiconductor integrated circuit including a processor 150a, a ROM 150b storing programs and the like, and a RAM 150c as a work area. The control unit 150 is connected to the environmental information acquisition unit 110, the input/output unit 120, the ground driving execution unit 130, and the aerial driving execution unit 140 through a specified communication means. The control unit 150 controls the entire moving body 100 through the specified communication means. From the viewpoint of substantially controlling the execution of ground driving and aerial driving, the multiple ECUs constituting the moving body 100, including the ECU of the ground driving execution unit 130 and the ECU of the aerial driving execution unit 140 described above, also function as the control unit 150.

Note that the specified communication means may be any of various existing communication standards, such as CAN (Controller Area Network), CAN-FD (CAN with Flexible Data Rate), FlexRay, Ethernet, and LIN (Local Interconnect Network). For ease of explanation, this embodiment will use CAN communication as one of such communication means. However, it goes without saying that this is not the only case, and CAN communication can be replaced with other communication means.

In this embodiment, a ground running execution unit 130 and an aerial running execution unit 140 are integrally installed in one moving body 100. In this way, people can use both the ground and the air as a travel route. Here, the freedom of movement of people is increased through the moving body 100, and the travel network is expanded.

2 is a functional block diagram showing the general functions of the control unit 150. The control unit 150 functions as functional modules such as an environmental information analysis unit 152, a ground driving control unit 154, an airborne driving control unit 156, and a driving selection unit 158, with the processor 150a working in cooperation with a program contained in the ROM 150b. Each of the environmental information analysis unit 152, the ground driving control unit 154, the airborne driving control unit 156, and the driving selection unit 158 is not limited to being implemented by a single device, but may be implemented by multiple ECUs functioning as the control unit 150. Note that communication between the environmental information analysis unit 152, the ground driving control unit 154, the airborne driving control unit 156, and the driving selection unit 158 can use CAN communication.

The environmental information analysis unit 152 analyzes the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 110. For example, the environmental information analysis unit 152 generates a distance image from two luminance images acquired by an imaging device serving as the environmental information acquisition unit 110, and recognizes the surrounding environment of the mobile object 100 to generate surrounding information.

Specifically, the environmental information analysis unit 152 uses so-called pattern matching to search one luminance image for a block that corresponds to a block arbitrarily extracted from the other luminance image, and derives disparity information according to the horizontal distance from the one luminance image. The environmental information analysis unit 152 performs this process of deriving disparity information on a block-by-block basis for all blocks in the luminance image.

The environmental information analysis unit 152 converts the parallax information for each block in the luminance image into relative distance (z) using the so-called stereo method, and derives three-dimensional position information, i.e., horizontal distance (x), vertical distance (y), and relative distance (z). The image in which the three-dimensional position information derived in this way corresponds to the luminance image is the distance image. Here, the stereo method is a method of deriving the relative distance of a block to the imaging device from the parallax of that block by using triangulation.

The environmental information analysis unit 152 recognizes the environment outside the vehicle through the luminance image and distance image derived in this manner. For example, the environmental information analysis unit 152 identifies a three-dimensional object located around the front of the moving body 100 as a specific object such as a leading vehicle. Furthermore, the environmental information analysis unit 152 derives the relative distance between the moving body 100 and the three-dimensional objects around the moving body 100 based on the environmental information acquired by the radar. In this way, surrounding information indicating the surrounding environment of the moving body 100 is generated.

The environmental information analysis unit 152 also derives movement information of the moving body 100, such as the movement direction, movement speed, movement acceleration, rotation direction, rotation angle, rotation angular velocity, and rotation angular acceleration of the moving body 100, based on the environmental information acquired by the IMU. The environmental information analysis unit 152 also derives attitude information of the moving body 100, such as the forward direction, and the attitude indicated by the pitch angle, roll angle, and yaw angle, based on the environmental information acquired by the IMU. The environmental information analysis unit 152 also derives position information of the moving body 100, such as the latitude, longitude, and altitude, based on the environmental information acquired by the GPS and the vehicle position map service.

The ground driving control unit 154 controls the speed and steering angle of the mobile unit 100 during ground driving based on the operation information received from the input/output unit 120, surrounding information indicating the environment surrounding the mobile unit 100, and movement information, attitude information, and position information of the mobile unit 100. The ground driving control unit 154 can reduce damage caused by a collision with a preceding vehicle, and perform following control to maintain a safe distance from the preceding vehicle. During such ground driving, the operation of the ground driving control unit 154 complies with automobile laws and regulations, such as the Road Traffic Act.

The aerial travel control unit 156 controls the speed, propulsion direction, and altitude of the mobile body 100 as it travels through the air, based on operation information, surrounding information, and movement information, attitude information, and position information of the mobile body 100. The aerial travel control unit 156 also controls the attitude of the mobile body 100 as it travels through the air, based on the movement information and attitude information of the mobile body 100, so that the passenger can maintain a safe attitude.

The travel selection unit 158 selects a ground travel state or an air travel state as the travel state of the moving body 100 based on the operation information received from the input/output unit 120, or the surrounding information and the movement information. As described below, the travel selection unit 158 changes at least the priority of information transmission to the ground travel execution unit 130 and the air travel execution unit 140 depending on whether the ground travel state or the air travel state is selected. By changing the priority, the moving body 100 can be transitioned from a ground travel state to an air travel state, or the moving body 100 in the air travel state can be transitioned to a ground travel state by landing on the ground. Here, first, CAN communication, which is a communication means for transmitting information to the ground travel execution unit 130 and the air travel execution unit 140, is explained, and then the priority of information transmission is explained in detail using the priority of CAN communication as an example.

Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of CAN communication. The DCM (Data Communication Module) 170 establishes communication with a server outside the vehicle to obtain various information necessary for driving. The DCM 170 also notifies the information to the passengers inside the vehicle. The CGW (Central Gateway) 172 relays access between ECUs connected to each BUS in CAN communication. The CGW 172 also relays access between multiple communication standards within the mobile body 100, such as CAN, CAN-FD, FlexRay, Ethernet, and LIN. The CGW 172, for example, converts a frame of the source communication standard into a frame of the destination communication standard and outputs it. Here, a frame is a unit of data transmitted and received in CAN communication. However, here, the access between ECUs connected to each BUS in CAN communication is used as an example for explanation. When CGW172 receives a frame destined for a different BUS, it stores the frame in a FIFO connected to the destination BUS. The FIFO transmits the stored frames to the ECU connected to the destination BUS according to the transmission rate.

CGW172 is connected to multiple BUS's via CAN communication, in this case power unit BUS132, chassis BUS134, environment BUS174, body BUS176, cockpit BUS178, diagnostic BUS180, motor BUS142, and 3-rudder BUS144. Power unit BUS132 controls the drive of either the engine or the motor, or both. Chassis BUS134 controls the direction of travel of mobile body 100. Environment BUS174 supports the travel of mobile body 100 based on the environmental information acquired by environment information acquisition unit 110 and the analysis results of environment information analysis unit 152. Body BUS176 supports the movement of sliding doors and side windows. Cockpit BUS178 controls the operation of the navigation system, etc. Diagnostic BUS180 is used for testing mobile body 100. The motor BUS 142 controls the drive of the motor. The 3-rudder BUS 144 controls the propulsion direction of the mobile unit 100. Each BUS is connected to multiple ECUs, indicated by circles in the figure.

The CAN communication protocol is a multi-master system, and only one ECU that has exclusive ownership of the BUS can transmit a frame to the destination ECU. CAN communication employs an event-driven system, so if multiple ECUs transmit frames at the same time in the same transmission cycle, collisions between frames may occur. Here, arbitration is performed based on the CANID, which is the frame identifier. In this way, only frames with a CANID with a high priority are given the right to be transmitted appropriately. In other words, frames with a CANID with a low priority cannot be transmitted while a frame with a CANID with a high priority is being transmitted. A frame with a low priority is transmitted in the free time after the transmission of a frame with a high priority has ended and before the next frame with a high priority is transmitted. Here, the CANID is set so that processes that have a large impact on the safety of the mobile unit 100 and frames that require real-time performance have a high priority.

Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a CAN communication frame. In CAN communication, two values are used: dominant "0" and recessive "1". In CAN communication, if a dominant and recessive signal collide, the dominant is given priority. As shown in Figure 4, a CAN communication frame consists of SOF, ID, RTR, CF, DF, CRC, ACK, and EOF. SOF (Start Of Frame) is represented by 1 dominant bit and indicates the start position of the communication.

The ID is expressed as 11 bits (0x000 to 0x7FF) and indicates the frame identifier and the priority of communication arbitration. In this embodiment, the ID in CAN communication is expressed as CANID. Also, a number with "0x" at the beginning indicates that it is a hexadecimal number. In CAN communication, the smaller the CANID number, the higher the priority. Specifically, the ECU that is the source of a frame detects the CANID of the transmitted frame bit by bit and determines whether the CANID is equal to the CANID that it transmitted. In CAN communication, dominant has priority over recessive, so if there is a CANID with a higher priority than itself, its own CANID is not maintained. If the source ECU determines that the detected CANID is different from the CANID that it transmitted, it stops transmitting the frame. In this way, even if frames collide, the frame with the highest priority, i.e. the frame with the smallest CANID number, is transmitted appropriately.

RTR (Remote Transmission Request) is represented by 1 bit and distinguishes between a frame (dominant) and a remote frame (recessive). CF (Control Field) is composed of 6 bits and indicates the data length. DF (Data Field) is represented by 0 to 64 bits and stores the data itself. CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) is represented by 16 bits and indicates the CRC sequence of the data up to that point and its end (delimiter). ACK is represented by 2 bits and indicates whether the data up to the CRC was received successfully and its end (delimiter). EOF (End Of Frame) is represented by 7 bits and indicates the end of the frame.

CAN communications may also use an extended format that extends the frame in Figure 4. In the extended format, the ID portion of Figure 4 is extended to a base ID, SRR, IDE, and extended ID. The base ID, like the ID, is represented as 11 bits and indicates the frame and ECU identifiers and the priority of communication arbitration. The SRR (Substitute Remote Request Bit) is represented as 1 recessive bit. The IDE (Identifier Extension Bit) is represented as 1 recessive bit. The extended ID is represented as 18 bits, and together with the base ID, it makes a 29-bit identifier.

The source ECU sends a frame with a CANID attached. Each ECU uses the CANID to identify whether the frame is one it requires.

Generally, for an aircraft to fly, it is necessary to use modules that are specifically designed for aircraft. Modules that are specifically designed for aircraft tend to be expensive due to their low versatility. Here, the vehicle 100 employs CAN communication, which is highly versatile and designed for automobiles, and uses automobile modules while also sharing the DCM and cockpit parts to achieve airborne travel. In this way, costs can be reduced.

As described above, in CAN communication, the priority is determined on a frame-by-frame basis by the CANID. In the mobile body 100, in order to realize ground running, the priority is determined in accordance with, for example, ASIL (Automotive Safety Integrity Level). On the other hand, in order to realize air running of the mobile body 100, a steering mechanism and a drive mechanism different from those for ground running are required. In this case, the mobile body 100 must change the priority of the frames used for ground running and air running. Therefore, the running selection unit 158 changes the priority of CAN communication to the ground running execution unit 130 and the air running execution unit 140 depending on whether a ground running state or an air running state has been selected.

Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the priority of CAN communication. Here, frame type, frame name, and CAN ID are associated on a frame-by-frame basis.

As shown in FIG. 5, the priority of CAN communication to the ground running execution unit 130 and the aerial running execution unit 140 differs depending on whether the moving body 100 is running on the ground or in the air. For example, when the moving body 100 is running on the ground, a CANID is set for each frame as follows. The frame type "steering", which is processed mainly by the ECU in the chassis BUS 134, is associated with a CANID of "0x080". The frame type "brake", which is processed mainly by the ECU in the power unit BUS 132, is associated with a CANID of "0x100". The frame type "acceleration/deceleration", which is processed mainly by the ECU in the power unit BUS 132, is associated with a CANID of "0x200". The frame type "sensor", which is processed mainly by the ECU in the environment BUS 174, is associated with a CANID of "0x300". The frame type "door", which is mainly processed by the ECU in the body BUS 176, is associated with a CANID of "0x400". The frame type "3-rudder", which is mainly processed by the ECU in the 3-rudder BUS 144, is associated with a CANID of "0x500". The frame type "motor", which is mainly processed by the ECU in the motor BUS 142, is associated with a CANID of "0x600".

Therefore, in the example of FIG. 5, when the moving body 100 travels on the ground, the order of priority is as follows: frame type "steering" > frame type "brake" > frame type "acceleration/deceleration" > frame type "sensor" > frame type "door" > frame type "3-rudder" > frame type "motor". In this way, during ground travel, the processing of the ground travel execution unit 130 is executed with priority. It can also be seen that in the ground travel execution unit 130, the order of priority is as follows: change the direction of travel > brake > travel.

When the moving body 100 travels through the air, a CANID is set for each frame as follows: The frame type "steering" is associated with a CANID of "0x180". The frame type "brake" is associated with a CANID of "0x500". The frame type "acceleration/deceleration" is associated with a CANID of "0x600". The frame type "sensor" is associated with a CANID of "0x300". The frame type "door" is associated with a CANID of "0x400". The frame type "3rd rudder" is associated with a CANID of "0x100". The frame type "motor" is associated with a CANID of "0x080".

Therefore, in the example of FIG. 5, when the moving body 100 travels through the air, the order of priority is as follows: frame type "motor" > frame type "3rd rudder" > frame type "steering" > frame type "sensor" > frame type "door" > frame type "brake" > frame type "acceleration/deceleration". In this way, when traveling through the air, the processing of the aerial traveling execution unit 140 is executed with priority. It can also be seen that in the aerial traveling execution unit 140, the order of priority is as follows: maintaining a levitated state > changing the direction of travel > applying brakes.

Referring to Figure 5, the ECU has separate CANIDs for ground travel and air travel for the frames it transmits. In addition, for frames for which the same priority is assigned to both ground travel and air travel, such as the frame type "sensor" and the frame type "door", the same CANID is assigned.

The driving selection unit 158 selects a ground driving state or an airborne driving state according to the environmental information. For example, when the driving selection unit 158 determines that the ground driving state should be transitioned to an airborne driving state, it switches the ground driving state to an airborne driving state. Also, when the driving selection unit 158 determines that the airborne driving state should be transitioned to a ground driving state, it switches the airborne driving state to a ground driving state. Also, in addition to such automatic determination, the driving selection unit 158 can also switch between the ground driving state and the airborne driving state in response to the operation of the passenger.

When the driving state is changed, the priority of the CAN communication is changed as shown in FIG. 5. For example, when the driving selection unit 158 decides to change from a ground driving state to an airborne driving state, it transmits a frame to each ECU to the effect that a change to airborne driving has been decided. Each ECU changes the CANIDs of the frame types "steering", "brake", "acceleration/deceleration", "3-rudder", and "motor" from "0x080", "0x100", "0x200", "0x500", and "0x600" to "0x180", "0x500", "0x600", "0x100", and "0x080". However, the CANIDs of the frame types "sensor" and "door" are maintained at "0x300" and "0x400". For the frame types "sensor" and "door", the same CANIDs prepared may be changed, or a fixed CANID of 1 may be used. In this way, the priority of CAN communication is changed, and as a result, the driving entity is changed from the ground running execution unit 130 to the aerial running execution unit 140.

The CANID of the frame transmitted from the driving selection unit 158 in response to a change from a ground driving state to an airborne driving state, and the CANID of the frame transmitted from the driving selection unit 158 in response to a change from an airborne driving state to a ground driving state, are set to a number that is given top priority in both the airborne and ground driving states, for example, "0x000". In this way, a frame indicating that a change has been decided is transmitted to each ECU with top priority, making it possible to smoothly switch between the airborne and ground driving states.

In the above, an example was given in which the CANID in FIG. 5 is switched at once in response to the switching process of the priority of information transmission in the traveling selection unit 158. However, this is not limited to the above case, and the timing of switching the CANID may be varied based on the priority. For example, when changing from a ground running state to an airborne running state, it is first necessary to make the moving body 100 float, so the traveling selection unit 158 switches the CANID of the frame type "motor" first. Also, when changing from an airborne running state to a ground running state, the moving body 100 continues to fly in the air while there is a possibility of re-floating. Therefore, when changing from an airborne running state to a ground running state, while there is a possibility of re-floating, the traveling selection unit 158 does not switch the CANID of the frame type "motor", but switches the CANID after the moving body 100 has landed and reliably transitioned to the ground running state.

When there is a time lag in switching the CANID in this way, the CANID for ground travel and the CANID for airborne travel may temporarily become the same, as shown in Figure 5, and there is a risk of the frames colliding. For frames where the CANIDs may overlap at the same time in this way, the CANIDs can be made different. For example, when changing from an airborne travel state to a ground travel state, there is a risk of collision between the CANID "0x080" of the frame type "motor" and the CANID "0x080" of the frame type "steering". In this case, it is conceivable that the ECU could set the CANID of one of the frames to, for example, "0x090" rather than "0x080".

Also, if there is a possibility that the CANIDs will overlap at the same time, each ECU may temporarily set a transition CANID in one frame, and after the switching of the other CANID is completed, set the original CANID in the other frame. For example, when changing from an airborne state to a ground-traveling state, there is a risk of collision between the CANID "0x080" of the frame type "motor" and the CANID "0x080" of the frame type "steering". Therefore, the CANID of the frame type "motor" may be temporarily changed from "0x080" to "0x090" to avoid overlap with the CANID "0x080" of the frame type "steering", and then changed to "0x600" after the moving body 100 has landed and transitioned reliably to the ground-traveling state.

In the above, an example of setting the priority on a frame-by-frame basis has been described. However, this is not the only case, and the priority may be set on a bus-by-bus basis, for example.

Figure 6 is another diagram for explaining the priority of CAN communication. Here, each BUS is associated with the top 3 bits of the CANID. Therefore, the priority between BUSs is determined by the top 3 bits. Then, within a BUS, the priority is determined by the bottom 8 bits. In Figure 6, "*" indicates that an arbitrary value can be set within the BUS.

For example, when the moving body 100 travels on the ground, the CANIDs are set for each BUS as follows: The power unit BUS 132 is associated with a CANID of "0x1**". The chassis BUS 134 is associated with a CANID of "0x0**". The environment BUS 174 is associated with a CANID of "0x2**". The body BUS 176 is associated with a CANID of "0x3**". The cockpit BUS 178 is associated with a CANID of "0x4**". The diagnostic BUS 180 is associated with a CANID of "0x5**". The motor BUS 142 is associated with a CANID of "0x7**". The 3 rudder BUS 144 is associated with a CANID of "0x6**".

Therefore, in the example of FIG. 6, when the moving body 100 is traveling on the ground, the order of priority is chassis BUS 134 > power unit BUS 132 > environmental BUS 174 > body BUS 176 > cockpit BUS 178 > diagnostic BUS 180 > 3 rudder BUS 144 > motor BUS 142.

When the moving body 100 travels in the air, a CANID is set for each BUS as follows: The power unit BUS 132 is associated with a CANID of "0x7**". The chassis BUS 134 is associated with a CANID of "0x6**". The environment BUS 174 is associated with a CANID of "0x2**". The body BUS 176 is associated with a CANID of "0x3**". The cockpit BUS 178 is associated with a CANID of "0x4**". The diagnostic BUS 180 is associated with a CANID of "0x5**". The motor BUS 142 is associated with a CANID of "0x0**". The 3 rudder BUS 144 is associated with a CANID of "0x1**".

Therefore, in the example of FIG. 6, when the mobile body 100 is traveling on the ground in the air, the order of priority is motor BUS 142 > 3 rudder BUS 144 > environmental BUS 174 > body BUS 176 > cockpit BUS 178 > diagnostic BUS 180 > chassis BUS 134 > power unit BUS 132.

Here, similar to the content described using FIG. 5, the driving selection unit 158 switches between the ground driving state and the airborne driving state by sending a frame to each ECU to notify that the driving state has changed in response to switching between the ground driving state and the airborne driving state. However, this is not the only case, and the ground driving state and the airborne driving state can also be switched between by replacing the CANID in the CGW 172.

For example, when CGW172 is in ground running state, it transmits a frame received from any BUS to another BUS as is. On the other hand, when CGW172 is in air running state, when it receives a frame from power unit BUS132, chassis BUS134, motor BUS142, or 3-rudder BUS144, it rewrites the value of the upper three bits of the frame and transmits it to another BUS. For example, when CGW172 is in ground running state, it transmits a frame received from power unit BUS132 to another BUS as is. On the other hand, when CGW172 is in air running state, it replaces the upper three bits of the CANID of the frame received from power unit BUS132 from "0x1" to "0x7" and transmits it to another BUS.

This configuration eliminates the need to change the CANID in each ECU, making it possible to reduce program capacity and processing load.

(Method of recognizing the external environment)
7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of each functional module of the control unit 150. Here, an example will be described in which the moving body 100 temporarily travels in the air when a predetermined condition is satisfied while the moving body 100 is traveling on the ground.

The ground travel control unit 154 controls the ground travel execution unit 130 based on operation information received from the input/output unit 120 to cause the moving body 100 to travel on the ground. During this ground travel, the environmental information analysis unit 152 derives the collision possibility of the moving body 100 at predetermined intervals (S100). Specifically, the environmental information analysis unit 152 derives surrounding information and movement information based on the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 110, and identifies obstacles around the moving body 100 that may cause a collision. Here, obstacles include vehicles, bicycles, people, signs, guardrails, buildings, etc. The environmental information analysis unit 152 derives the collision probability with the obstacle based on the identified obstacle.

The environmental information analysis unit 152 also derives the relative speed and direction with respect to the obstacle and the collision TTC (time to collision) from the position of the moving body 100, the absolute speed of the moving body 100, the traveling direction of the moving body 100, the position of the obstacle, the absolute speed of the obstacle, and the traveling direction of the obstacle at the time when the collision probability is derived.

The environmental information analysis unit 152 repeats step S100 while there is no possibility that the moving body 100 will collide with an obstacle, i.e., while the probability of collision with an obstacle is less than a predetermined probability (NO in S102). On the other hand, if the environmental information analysis unit 152 determines that there is a possibility that the moving body 100 will collide with an obstacle, i.e., the probability of collision with an obstacle is equal to or greater than a predetermined probability (YES in S102), it determines whether or not a collision with an obstacle can be avoided by braking the moving body 100 (S104). As a result, if it is determined that a collision with an obstacle can be avoided by braking the moving body 100 (YES in S106), the ground driving control unit 154 brakes the moving body 100 via the ground driving execution unit 130 (S108). On the other hand, if the environmental information analysis unit 152 determines that the collision cannot be avoided by braking the moving body 100 (NO in S106), it determines whether the collision can be avoided by moving the moving body 100 in the horizontal direction of the obstacle (S110).

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the horizontal avoidance determination process S110. Here, the surrounding information will be explained by taking a luminance image 190 captured by an imaging device. The obstacles 192 to be controlled include, for example, moving objects such as a preceding vehicle and an oncoming vehicle, and fixed objects such as signs, guard rails, and traffic lights. When the environmental information analysis unit 152 determines that the probability of collision with any one of the obstacles 192a located around the moving object 100 among the multiple obstacles 192 is equal to or greater than a predetermined probability, and determines that the collision cannot be avoided even by braking the moving object 100, it determines whether the collision can be avoided in the horizontal direction.

The environmental information analysis unit 152 extracts an area where no obstacles 192 exist and where the mobile body 100 can move, for example, the area 194 on the left side of the figure surrounded by a dashed line, based on the surrounding information, movement information, posture information, and position information, and determines this as an avoidance area. If such an avoidance area can be determined, it will be possible to avoid a collision by moving the mobile body 100 horizontally relative to the obstacle 192; if it cannot be determined, it will be impossible to avoid a collision even if the mobile body 100 is moved horizontally relative to the obstacle 192.

Returning to FIG. 7, if it is determined that a collision can be avoided by moving the moving body 100 horizontally relative to the obstacle 192 (YES in S112), the ground driving control unit 154 moves the moving body 100 to the determined avoidance area via the ground driving execution unit 130 (S114).

On the other hand, if it is determined that a collision cannot be avoided by moving the moving body 100 horizontally relative to the obstacle 192 (NO in S112), the environmental information analysis unit 152 decides to propel the moving body 100 vertically above the obstacle 192, and determines the propulsion direction of the moving body 100 (S116).

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the avoidance direction determination process S116. Here, the surrounding information will be explained by taking a luminance image 190 captured by an imaging device. When the environmental information analysis unit 152 determines that the probability of collision with one obstacle 192a among the multiple obstacles 192 is equal to or greater than a predetermined probability, determines that the collision cannot be avoided even by braking the moving body 100, and determines that the collision cannot be avoided even by moving horizontally because another obstacle 192b exists, the environmental information analysis unit 152 determines that the avoidance will be in the vertically upward direction. Based on the surrounding information, movement information, attitude information, and position information, the environmental information analysis unit 152 extracts an area where no obstacle 192 exists and the moving body 100 can move, for example, the upper area 196 in the figure surrounded by a dashed line, and determines it as the avoidance area.

Returning to FIG. 7, the traveling selection unit 158 switches the ground traveling state to the airborne traveling state in response to the decision to move the moving body 100 vertically upward (S118). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the traveling selection unit 158 changes the priority of the CAN communication from the priority based on the ground traveling state to the priority based on the airborne traveling state.

The environmental information analysis unit 152 also activates a sensor related to environmental information to be detected while traveling through the air (S120). Specifically, the environmental information analysis unit 152 activates an imaging device or radar installed facing vertically downward from the moving body 100, and acquires environmental information about the surroundings vertically below the moving body 100. For example, an aircraft such as a helicopter may observe the vertically downward direction when hovering, but a car traveling on a road always has a constant distance from the road vertically below, and does not need to observe or predict the vertically downward direction. Here, it is assumed that the moving body 100 travels on the ground, and the environmental information analysis unit 152 acquires environmental information about the surroundings vertically below in order to observe the surroundings while traveling through the air.

Here, an example is described in which the environmental information analysis unit 152 newly activates an imaging device or radar in response to switching to the airborne traveling state, and acquires environmental information about the surroundings vertically below the moving body 100. However, this is not limited to the above case, and the environmental information analysis unit 152 may expand the detection range of the imaging device or radar installed facing the traveling direction to the surroundings vertically below the moving body 100, and acquire environmental information about the surroundings vertically below the moving body 100. In addition, the environmental information analysis unit 152 may rotate the imaging device or radar in the pitch direction, change the detection range to vertically below the moving body 100, and acquire environmental information about the surroundings vertically below the moving body 100. This configuration makes it possible to suppress the addition of imaging devices or radars, and reduce costs.

Furthermore, an example is described here in which, in response to switching to the airborne traveling state, the environmental information analysis unit 152 activates an imaging device or radar to additionally acquire environmental information about the surroundings vertically below the moving body 100. However, this is not limited to the above case. The environmental information acquisition unit 110 may always acquire all environmental information including the surroundings vertically below the moving body 100, and, in response to switching to the airborne traveling state, the environmental information analysis unit 152 may switch the environmental information extracted from the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 110. With this configuration, it is possible to shorten the time required to acquire environmental information about the surroundings vertically below the moving body 100.

Then, the aerial travel control unit 156 starts aerial travel through the aerial travel execution unit 140 and maintains the aerial travel state (S122). Here, the aerial travel control unit 156 propels the moving body 100 vertically upward from the obstacle 192 to avoid collision with the obstacle 192. However, as described above, here, it is not necessary to make the altitude of the moving body 100 unnecessarily high, and it is sufficient if the moving body 100 can jump over the obstacle 192 with which it may collide, for example, as an emergency avoidance mode.

The aerial travel control unit 156 predicts the behavior of at least the obstacles 192 in the vertically downward surroundings of the moving body 100 itself while the moving body 100 is traveling in the air. For example, the moving body 100 will jump over one obstacle 192a located in the surroundings that are the subject of collision probability judgment. Therefore, the aerial travel control unit 156 derives the traveling direction, relative distance, and relative speed of the obstacle 192a, and predicts the movement trajectory of the obstacle 192a at the time when the moving body 100 will jump over the obstacle 192a. The aerial travel control unit 156 derives the flight time and landing point of the moving body 100 in the air according to the predicted movement trajectory so that it does not overlap at least with the destination of the obstacle 192a.

As shown in FIG. 9, there are at least no pedestrians or preceding vehicles above the obstacle 192. Therefore, by moving the moving body 100 above the obstacle 192, the probability of avoiding a collision with the obstacle 192 can be increased.

In addition, the aerial travel control unit 156 determines whether the landing conditions are met based on the behavior of the other obstacles 192 in order to land the moving body 100 (S124). Here, the landing conditions are, for example, that the moving body 100 can avoid collision with the other obstacles 192 during the landing operation (the probability of collision with the obstacles 192 is less than a predetermined probability), that an area exists that can secure an area in which the moving body 100 can land, and that the landing point is not set as a no-landing zone. Here, a no-landing zone is an area where landing is predicted to be dangerous and where landing is prohibited in advance, such as the paved surface of a bridge or a road that has been completed a predetermined number of years ago. The airborne travel control unit 156 will maintain airborne travel while the landing conditions are not met, i.e., while it is determined that the moving body 100 cannot avoid colliding with any of the other obstacles 192, there is no area large enough for the moving body 100 to land, or the landing point is set in a no-landing zone (NO in S124).

When it is determined that the landing conditions are met (YES in S124), the aerial travel control unit 156 identifies a landing point where safety can be appropriately ensured (S126). Specifically, the aerial travel control unit 156 selects areas where there are no preceding vehicles and where an area sufficient for the mobile body 100 to land can be secured as landing point candidates based on the surrounding information, movement information, attitude information, and position information. Note that at this time, the aerial travel control unit 156 excludes intersections and lanes moving in a direction different from the traveling direction from the landing point candidates, and prioritizes lanes and shoulders moving in the same direction as the traveling direction as landing point candidates.

The aerial travel control unit 156 may identify the landing point taking into consideration the weather in the surrounding information. For example, the aerial travel control unit 156 may increase the threshold of the area where landing is possible depending on the sunlight intensity, for example, when the sunlight intensity is low, such as at night, so that a larger area can be secured as the area where landing is possible. The aerial travel control unit 156 may also increase the threshold of the area where landing is possible depending on the amount of precipitation or wind speed, for example, when the road surface is wet due to rainfall or the wind speed is high, so that a larger area can be secured as the area where landing is possible.

The aerial travel control unit 156 identifies one candidate as the landing point from among multiple candidates for the landing point based on a priority order based on the relative distance between the landing point and the current aerial position of the moving body 100 and the area that can be secured at the landing point. For example, the aerial travel control unit 156 identifies as the landing point a candidate that has a short relative distance from the current aerial position and a large area that can be secured at the landing point. At this time, the weighting of the relative distance and the area may be different.

The aerial travel control unit 156 may also output multiple candidates for the landing point to the input/output unit 120 and allow the passenger to select the landing point. The aerial travel control unit 156 identifies the candidate selected by the passenger from the multiple candidates as the landing point. With this configuration, it becomes possible to identify an appropriate landing point according to the passenger's intention, for example, whether to continue the aerial travel or to land first.

Here, if the passenger does not select a landing point within a predetermined time after the aerial running control unit 156 outputs the landing point candidates to the input/output unit 120, as described above, the aerial running control unit 156 may identify one candidate as the landing point from among the multiple landing point candidates based on a priority order based on the relative distance between the landing point and the current aerial position of the mobile body 100 and the area that can be secured at the landing point. Also, if the passenger does not select a landing point within a predetermined time after the aerial running control unit 156 outputs the landing point candidates to the input/output unit 120, the aerial running control unit 156 may again derive landing point candidates while maintaining aerial running.

In the above description, the aerial driving control unit 156 has given an example in which it preferentially extracts lanes with the same direction of travel and shoulders as landing points. However, this is not the only case, and the aerial driving control unit 156 may determine a predetermined location, such as a parking area (PA) or service area (SA) that is close in relative distance to the current aerial position, as the landing point.

Once the landing point is identified in this manner, the aerial travel control unit 156 causes the moving body 100 to start a landing operation via the aerial travel execution unit 140 (S128).

Specifically, the aerial travel control unit 156 derives the three-dimensional relative distance and relative speed of the obstacle 192 in the surrounding information to the moving body 100. Then, based on the three-dimensional relative distance and relative speed of the obstacle 192, the aerial travel control unit 156 propels and controls the moving body 100 so that the moving body 100 does not collide with the obstacle 192. The aerial travel control unit 156 also derives the three-dimensional relative distance and relative speed of the landing point in the surrounding information. Then, based on the three-dimensional relative distance and relative speed of the landing point, the aerial travel control unit 156 propels and controls the moving body 100 so that the moving body 100 lands safely. Note that as long as the landing point is in a state where its position does not move, such as a mobile heliport, the absolute speed of the moving body 100 can be applied instead of the relative speed. Furthermore, the aerial travel control unit 156 controls the propulsion of the moving body 100 so that the moving body 100 does not collide with the obstacle 192 after landing, based on the three-dimensional relative distance and relative speed of the obstacle 192 in the surrounding information. Note that, here, no air traffic control is required as in an aircraft.

The aerial travel control unit 156 may also notify the landing point of the moving body 100 so that its position can be grasped from outside, such as other vehicles or people, when the moving body 100 lands. For example, the aerial travel control unit 156 may illuminate the entire landing point or its outer edge with light so that the area where the moving body 100 will land can be grasped, thereby alerting those in the vicinity. The aerial travel control unit 156 may also output a warning sound to the outside indicating that the moving body 100 is about to land, or transmit information indicating that the moving body 100 is about to land to surrounding vehicles via vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

However, when the moving body 100 approaches the landing point, an event that unintentionally prevents a safe landing operation may occur. Therefore, the aerial travel control unit 156 determines whether or not the floating condition is met during the landing operation based on the behavior of the other obstacles 192 and the surrounding information (S130). Here, the floating condition is the presence of a new obstacle 192 at the specified landing point, the deterioration of the road surface condition at the landing point, the increase in the wind speed at the landing point, the vibration of the landing point due to an earthquake or the like, the occurrence of an abnormality in the moving body 100, the occurrence of an abnormality in the passenger, the occurrence of an abnormality inside the vehicle, etc. Note that the abnormality inside the vehicle includes a change in the weight balance due to the movement of the passenger or the luggage inside the vehicle, or the undoing of the seat belt. When any of the floating conditions is met (YES in S130), the aerial travel control unit 156 causes the moving body 100 to float again (S132) and maintains the aerial travel (S122).

If it is determined that the liftoff condition is not met (NO in S130), the aerial travel control unit 156 completes the landing of the moving body 100 and ends the aerial travel (S134). The environmental information analysis unit 152 disconnects the sensors related to the environmental information to be detected during the aerial travel state (S136).

Then, the travel selection unit 158 returns the airborne travel state to a ground travel state in response to the landing of the moving body 100 (S138). Specifically, the travel selection unit 158 determines that the moving body 100 has landed based on the running resistance of the wheels of the moving body 100, the load on the suspension, the motor required for airborne travel, and the load on the wings. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the travel selection unit 158 changes the priority of CAN communication from a priority based on the airborne travel state to a priority based on the ground travel state in response to the landing of the moving body 100. In this way, it is possible to improve safety.

The above describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modified or revised examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, priority is given to horizontal progression, and if it is determined that avoidance is difficult in the horizontal direction, propulsion is performed in the vertically upward direction. However, the environmental information analysis unit 152 may constantly calculate the safety factor in the horizontal and vertically upward directions, and move the moving body 100 in the safest direction.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, a technique for switching between ground running and aerial running using an actual moving body 100 has been described. However, this is not limited to this case, and the present invention can also be applied to a training simulator that simulates the movement of the moving body 100 by making it have the same specifications as the actual moving body 100, and a development simulator that uses actual parts as appropriate for part of the training simulator to confirm its specifications and operation. In this case, it becomes possible to simulate the priority of information transmission regarding the ground running execution unit 130 and the aerial running execution unit 140 in the training simulator or development simulator.

The series of processes performed by each device (e.g., mobile body 100) according to the present embodiment described above may be realized using software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. The programs constituting the software are stored in advance, for example, in a non-transitory storage medium (non-transitory media) provided inside or outside each device. The programs are then read, for example, from the non-transitory storage medium (e.g., ROM) to a transitory storage medium (e.g., RAM) and executed by a processor such as a CPU.

　A program for implementing each function of each of the above devices can be created and installed in the computer of each of the above devices. Processing of each of the above functions is carried out by a processor executing the program stored in memory. At this time, the program may be shared and executed by multiple processors, or the program may be executed by a single processor. In addition, each of the above functions of each of the above devices may be implemented by cloud computing using multiple computers connected to each other by a communications network. The program may be provided to the computer of each device by distribution from an external device via a communications network and installed.

100 Mobile vehicle (air-land mobile vehicle)
110 Environmental information acquisition unit 120 Input/output unit 130 Ground travel execution unit 140 Aerial travel execution unit 150 Control unit 152 Environmental information analysis unit 154 Ground travel control unit 156 Aerial travel control unit 158 Travel selection unit

Claims (4)

an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information;
a ground running execution unit that executes ground running;
an aerial running execution unit that executes aerial running;
A control unit;
Equipped with
The control unit is
one or more processors;
one or more memories coupled to said processor;
having
The processor,
selecting a ground running state in which ground running is performed or an aerial running state in which aerial running is performed based on the environmental information;
When the aerial running state is selected, causing the aerial running execution unit to execute the aerial running;
deriving a landing point and a relative distance and a relative speed between the landing point and the air-land vehicle based on the environmental information;
causing the aerial traveling execution unit to land at the landing point based on the derived result;
An air-land amphibious vehicle that performs processing including the steps of: The processor,
The air-land amphibious vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein, when the airborne traveling state is selected, the behavior of obstacles in at least a vertically downward surrounding area of the air-land amphibious vehicle itself is predicted. The processor,
The air-land amphibious vehicle according to claim 2 , wherein the airborne traveling state is maintained when it is determined that the air-land amphibious vehicle cannot land. The processor,
The air-land amphibious vehicle according to claim 1 , which is landed at a predetermined location.

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