Patent Publication Number: US-2022215751-A1

Title: Moving object and driving support system for moving object

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/838,164, filed on Apr. 2, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/371,315, filed on Apr. 1, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,636,304, issued on Apr. 28, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/906,378, filed on Feb. 27, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,262,533, issued on Apr. 16, 2019, which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-053462, filed on Mar. 17, 2017, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     Embodiments described herein relate generally to a moving object and a driving support system including the moving object. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In recent years, there have been proposed in-vehicle devices that include cameras or various sensors on vehicles, to collect information about the vehicle&#39;s surroundings to give warnings if a driver overlooks a danger detected by the camera/or sensor. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts an overall configuration of a driving support system according to a first embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a driving support system according to the first embodiment. 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are schematic diagrams of storage regions of ROMs. 
         FIG. 4  depicts an operation example of an image recognition program. 
         FIG. 5A  depicts example conditions for a danger level based on distances. 
         FIG. 5B  depicts example conditions for a danger level based on speed differences. 
         FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C  are flowcharts of vehicle systems. 
         FIG. 7  is a top view of an example of a monitoring area at a particular time T 1 . 
         FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C  depict visual information from vehicles in the monitoring area at the particular time T 1 , respectively. 
         FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C  depict image recognition from the vehicles in the monitoring area at the particular time T 1 . 
         FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C  depict example information transmitted by the vehicles, respectively. 
         FIG. 11  depicts two monitoring areas having an overlapping portion. 
         FIG. 12  depicts an example interest list generated by a server data control unit. 
         FIG. 13  is a top view of example visual information of a vehicle at a time T 1 +ΔT. 
         FIGS. 14A, 14B, and 14C  depict real-time maps displayed on a display unit of the vehicles, respectively, at the time T 1 +ΔT. 
         FIG. 15  depicts example icons displayed on a display unit of the vehicle in  FIG. 14A . 
         FIG. 16  is a top view of a monitoring area at another time T 2 . 
         FIGS. 17A, 17B, and 17C  depict real-time maps displayed on a display unit of vehicles, respectively, at a time T 2 +ΔT. 
         FIG. 18  depicts an overall configuration of a driving support system according to a second embodiment. 
         FIG. 19  is a block diagram of a driving support system according to the second embodiment. 
         FIGS. 20A and 20B  are flowcharts of a monitoring system. 
         FIG. 21  is a schematic diagram of a storage region of a ROM. 
         FIG. 22  depicts an overall configuration of a driving support system according to a third embodiment. 
         FIG. 23  depicts an overall configuration of a driving support system according to a fourth embodiment. 
         FIG. 24  is a top view of a monitoring area including a curve mirror and a person carrying a device at time T 2 . 
         FIG. 25  is a flowchart of a vehicle system of a driving support system corresponding to  FIG. 20B . 
         FIGS. 26A and 26B  depict overall configurations of a driving support system according to a fourth embodiment. 
         FIG. 27  is a top view of monitoring areas A and B at time T 3 . 
         FIG. 28  depicts example list information of a vehicle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In general, according to one embodiment, a driving support system includes a first monitoring device on a first object, the first monitoring device having a first controller, a first camera, and a first display, a second monitoring device on a second object, the second monitoring device having a second controller and a second camera, and a server in communication with the first and second monitoring devices. The first and second controllers are each configured to detect a target in images acquired from the respective first or second camera, calculate target information for the target, and transmit the target information to the server. The server is configured to generate list information including the target information from the first and second monitoring devices, and transmit the list information to the first and second monitoring devices when the first and second objects are within a first monitoring area. The first controller is further configured to generate a map according to the list information received from the server, and display the map on the first display. 
     Hereinafter, example embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, substantially similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals and a detailed description of these components will be omitted. In addition, the embodiments described below are shown as examples for illustrative purposes and the depicted materials, shapes, structures, arrangements, and the like are for example and not limitations. 
     In the following description, a moving object will be described mainly as a vehicle. It should be noted that the particular vehicles described below are some possible examples of a moving object and do not limit the present disclosure. 
     Terms to be used in the example embodiments describe below are defined as follows. 
     (1) “Driving Information”: Driving information includes a current time, and a vehicle ID, a position, a traveling direction, a speed, and acceleration of a vehicle at the current time. 
     (2) “Target Information”: Target information includes a type, a position, a traveling direction, a speed, and acceleration of an object that is detected according to an image of a vehicle&#39;s surroundings. 
     (3) “List Information”: List information is a combination of the driving information and the target information. 
     (4) “Monitoring Area”: A monitoring area is a range in which the driving information and the target information acquired by a vehicle are shared with other vehicles via a server. The vehicles within the same monitoring area receive common information from a server. 
     (5) “Real-time Map”: A real-time map is a map showing targets detected in a vehicle&#39;s surroundings. The real-time map is frequently updated in a real time response to an input signal. A range of the real-time map (also referred to as a mapping area) may be several tens meters from a vehicle and may be the same as or smaller than a monitoring area. The real-time map is displayed on a display unit, for example, on a windshield of a vehicle. 
     (6) “Road Division”: Road division is road division according to road types, for example, a highway or an urban area. 
     (7) “Interest List Information”: Interest list information is collection of list information of each monitoring area and road division information corresponding to the position of a vehicle. The interest list information is stored in a server at each time. 
     First Embodiment 
     A driving support system according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 16 . 
     Example of Overall Configuration of Driving Support System 
       FIG. 1  depicts an overall configuration of a driving support system  100  according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the driving support system  100  includes a monitoring system  1  on a vehicle and a server system  2 . Hereinafter, a monitoring system on a vehicle may be simply referred to as a vehicle system. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the vehicle system  1  includes an image capturing unit  3 , a vehicle data control unit  4  (also referred simply to as a data control unit hereinafter), a time acquisition unit  5 , a positional information acquisition unit  6 , a speed sensor  7 , an acceleration sensor  8 , a wireless communication device  9 , a display unit  10 , an alert unit  11 , and an actuator control unit  12 . 
     The server system  2  includes a server  20 . The server  20  includes a server data control unit  21  and a transmission and reception unit  25 . 
     Vehicle System  1   
     The vehicle system  1  is a system that is mounted on, for example, a vehicle. The vehicle system  1  acquires driving information regarding the vehicle on which the vehicle system  1  is mounted and transmits the driving information to the server system  2  in conjunction with target information regarding a target, for example, the position of a pedestrian or a walking speed, acquired by the vehicle. The vehicle system  1  supports safe driving of the vehicle by generating a real-time map based on the information regarding a target received from the server system and displaying a potential danger on, for example, the display unit  10 . 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the driving support system  100  according to the first embodiment. 
     The vehicle system  1  includes the image capturing unit  3 , the vehicle data control unit  4 , the time acquisition unit  5 , the positional information acquisition unit  6 , the speed sensor  7 , the acceleration sensor  8 , the wireless communication device  9 , the display unit  10 , the alert unit  11 , and the actuator control unit  12 . 
     The image capturing unit  3  is, for example, a CCD camera. The image capturing unit  3  images, for example, the front or the periphery of the vehicle. The image capturing unit  3  is connected to the vehicle data control unit  4 . The image capturing unit  3  typically transmits a captured image or moving image to the vehicle data control unit  4 . 
     The time acquisition unit  5  includes a clock or the like and acquires a current time. However, in some embodiments a clock is not provided in the time acquisition unit  5 . For example, a current time may be acquired externally. 
     The positional information acquisition unit  6  receives a signal from a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite or the like and acquires the position of the vehicle. However, the positional information acquisition unit  6  may acquire a signal for specifying the position of the vehicle other than a signal from the GPS satellite. 
     The speed sensor  7  and the acceleration sensor  8  measure a speed and acceleration of the vehicle. 
     The vehicle data control unit  4  controls the entire vehicle system  1 . The vehicle data control unit  4  includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU)  41 , a read-only memory (ROM)  42 , a random-access memory (RAM)  43 , an interface for input and output control, and a bus line  44 . As illustrated in  FIG. 3A , the ROM  42  stores various programs  30   p  to  39   p . The CPU  41  reads the programs to the RAM  43  to be executed. 
     The image recognition program  30   p  is a program for executing image processing on the image or the moving image input from the image capturing unit  3  and detects a target such as a person, a vehicle, or the like. The vehicle data control unit  4  detects a target or a motion of the target from the image or the moving image according to the image recognition program  30   p . Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the vehicle data control unit  4  executes image processing through four processes, “inputting”, “preprocessing”, “feature data extraction”, and “identification” according to the image recognition program  30   p . In the “inputting” process, inputting, contracting, and cropping an image or a moving image, brightness correction, or distortion correction is executed on the image or the moving image. In the “preprocessing” process, noise reduction, stereo parallax calculation, or specifying search candidate region is executed. In the “feature data extraction” process, image analysis or image digitalization is executed. In the “identification” process, a process of identifying and tracking a target is executed. The image recognition program  30   p  may be installed, for example, with a separate configuration such as an image recognition processor LSI. The configuration of the image recognition processor LSI is disclosed in, for example, US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0183207 applied on Mar. 21, 2011 and titled “Image Processing Device and Image Processing System”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0288205 applied on Aug. 11, 2011 and titled “Image Processing Device, Image Processing System, and Image Processing Method”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0243778 applied on Sep. 9, 2011 and titled “Image Identifying Device and Image Identifying method”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,937 applied on Dec. 28, 1995 and titled “Microprocessor and Debug System”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0244192 applied on Mar. 24, 2008 and titled “Multi-processor System”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0005271 applied on Nov. 12, 2012 and titled “Memory Controller”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0103282 applied on Oct. 28, 2008 and titled “Image Processing Device”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0110289 applied on Aug. 13, 2009 and titled “Image Processing Processor”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0034459 applied on Aug. 6, 2009 and titled “Feature Extraction Device, Feature Extraction Method, Image Processing Device, and Program”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0057787 applied on Sep. 1, 2011 and titled “Feature Data Calculation Device and Identifying Device”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0326203 applied on Aug. 27, 2012 and titled “Multi-processor”, US Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0034465 applied on Aug. 6, 2009 and titled “Feature Data Extraction Device, Feature Data Extraction Method, Image Processing Device, and Program”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,444,553 applied on Jun. 9, 2005 and titled “Trace Device”, and US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0138371 applied on Sep. 7, 2010 and titled “Compile Device”. The entire contents of the above listed applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     The traveling direction estimation program  31   p  is a program for calculating an azimuth in a traveling direction of a vehicle based on driving information of the vehicle, for example, positional information, speed information, or acceleration information. The vehicle data control unit  4  calculates the traveling direction of the vehicle according to the traveling direction estimation program  31   p.    
     For example, when the vehicle obtains latitude and longitude coordinates in a polar coordinate system (at 0 , bt 0 ) at time t 0  and (at 1 , bt 1 ) at time t 1 , an azimuth angle can be calculated from a movement between time t 0  and time t 1  by the following equation. 
       Azimuth angle=90−tan −1 (sin( at 1− at 0),cos( bt 0)tan( bt 1)−sin( bt 0)cos( at 1− at 0))  (1).
 
     Thus, the traveling direction of the vehicle can be calculated. Here, the azimuth angle is measured clockwise from a north base line. In some embodiments coordinates in other coordinate systems may be used. The traveling direction may be calculated from a speed or acceleration. 
     The list information generation program  32   p  is a program for listing driving information of each vehicle and target information regarding targets detected by each vehicle. A list generated by the vehicle data control unit  4  according to the list information generation program  32   p  is referred to as list information. The list information is a list of information such as a vehicle ID, a data acquisition time, GPS positional information, a traveling direction, and acceleration of a vehicle, and a type, relative positional information, a traveling direction, and acceleration of a target. 
       FIG. 10  depicts examples of the list information. 
     The communication processing program  33   p  is a program for communicating with the server  20 . 
     The relativization program  34   p  is a program for calculating a relative distance or a relative speed of a vehicle to a target based on driving information of the vehicle and information regarding the target in an interest list. 
     The real-time mapping generation program  35   p  is a program for acquiring information regarding a target located in a monitoring area from the interest list, combining the driving information of the vehicle with the information regarding the target in real time, and generating a map showing a positional relation between the vehicle and each target around the vehicle. 
     The danger determination program  36   p  is a program for determining a danger level by comparing a relative distance or a relative speed calculated using the relativization program  34   p  to a pre-determined threshold. Here, the danger level indicates a possibility that the vehicle collides with a target in the future. For example, when a vehicle is running along a predicted driving route and a probability of collision with the target increases, a higher danger level is determined. For the danger level, there are three levels, danger levels 1 to 3. As the probability of collision with the target is higher, the danger level is higher. That is, the possibility of collision with a target at danger level 2 is higher than at danger level 1. The possibility of collision with a target at danger level 3 is higher than at danger level 2. At danger level 1, a driver only needs to drive a vehicle with caution for a target. At danger level 2, a driver can avoid a collision by himself or herself when a probability of collision of a vehicle with a target is higher than at danger level 1. At danger level 3, a probability of collision of the vehicle with the target further increases to be higher than danger level 2, and thus the driver may not avoid the collision by himself or herself. 
       FIGS. 5A and 5B  depict example conditions for danger level 1.  FIG. 5A  is a table including distances (referred to as a distance table) between a vehicle and various targets in various road divisions at danger level 1 or higher.  FIG. 5B  is a table including speed differences (referred to as a speed difference table) between the vehicle and the various targets in various road divisions at danger level 1 or higher. A different threshold is set for each target at each time in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . An appropriate threshold is preferably set based on information such as a braking distance until a vehicle comes to a complete stop after brakes are fully applied, previous accident information of a driver, and time duration required to avoid a collision. When danger level is determined higher than level 1 for either the distance table or the speed difference table, a higher danger level is determined. The danger level may be determined for each type of targets or each road division differently if appropriate. 
     Each table may be stored in the danger determination program  36   p  along with an algorithm for determining a danger. 
     Danger levels 2 and 3 are determined similarly to danger level 1. Thresholds at danger levels 2 and 3 in the distance table are smaller than at level 1, and thresholds at danger levels 2 and 3 in the speed difference table are larger than at danger level 1. The distance tables and the speed difference tables of danger levels 2 and 3 are the same as those in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . Since only the values of the thresholds are changed, the description thereof will be omitted herein. 
     As described above, the vehicle data control unit  4  determines a danger level by referring to a distance or a speed difference between the vehicle and a target and the thresholds in the tables of  FIGS. 5A and 5B  according to the danger determination program  36   p.    
     The emphasis display program  37   p  is a program for emphasizing an icon of a target with which a collision possibility is high at danger level 1 and displaying the icon of the target on a display unit. 
     The warning program  38   p  is a program for transmitting a warning to the alert unit  11  at danger level 2. The alert unit  11  issues a warning sound to prompt a driver to decelerate a vehicle. 
     The braking control program  39   p  is a program for controlling the actuator control unit  12  at danger level 3. 
     The wireless communication device  9  executes wireless data communication with the server system  2 . The wireless communication device  9  frequently transmits list information to the server  20  or conversely frequently receives the interest list information from the server  20 . 
     The display unit  10  displays a real-time map generated by the vehicle data control unit  4 . As the display unit  10 , for example, a display may be installed inside the vehicle. However, a display may be installed on a windshield or the like. On the display unit  10 , a target on the real-time map may also be displayed with an icon or the like. 
     The alert unit  11  is a device that outputs, for example, a sound, light, or vibration. At danger level 2, the vehicle data control unit  4  transmits an execution command to the alert unit  11  according to the warning program  38   p.    
     The actuator control unit  12  is executed by the vehicle data control unit  4  at danger level 3. The actuator control unit  12  controls a motion of the vehicle. 
     Server System  2   
     The server system  2  receives the list information from a plurality of vehicle systems  1 . The server data control unit  21  determines a monitoring area to which each vehicle belongs with reference to the positional information of the vehicle in the received list information. Thereafter, an interest list is generated from the list information obtained from a plurality of vehicles, each having a vehicle system  1  and belonging to the monitoring area. The interest list is transmitted to all the vehicles in the monitoring area. The interest list is a list in which a vehicle ID, the driving information and the list information collected at each monitoring area in the server, and information regarding a current monitoring area corresponding to a road division classified by a type or a grade are summarized at each time. An example interest list will be described with reference  FIG. 10  in the description of an operation. 
     The configuration of the server system  2  will be described with reference to  FIG. 2 . 
     The server system  2  includes the server  20 . The server  20  includes a server data control unit  21  and a transmission and reception unit  25 . 
     The transmission and reception unit  25  executes wireless communication between the vehicle system  1  and the server system  2 . For example, the transmission and reception unit  25  receives the list information from the vehicle system  1 . The transmission and reception unit  25  frequently transmits the interest list to the vehicle system  1 . 
     The server data control unit  21  controls the entire server system  2 . The server data control unit  21  includes, for example, a CPU  211 , a ROM  212 , a RAM  213 , an interface  215  for input and output control, and a bus line  214  connecting them. As illustrated in  FIG. 3B , the ROM  212  stores various programs  22   p  to  24   p . The CPU  211  reads the programs to the RAM  213  to execute the programs. 
     The monitoring area determination program  22   p  is a program for determining a monitoring area to which a vehicle belongs from the positional information of the vehicle included in the list information. 
     The interest list generation program  23   p  is a program for generating an interest list by chronologically summarizing the driving information or the target information in all the list information in the monitoring area. 
     The communication processing program  24   p  is a program for communicating with the vehicle system  1 . 
     Operation 
     Next, an operation according to an example embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of  FIGS. 6A to 6C . In the following description, example arrangements of vehicles and targets illustrated in  FIGS. 7 to 15  are considered. It should be noted the particular operations and arrangements described below are some possible examples and do not limit the present disclosure. 
     First, the vehicle system  1  acquires an image or a moving image in the periphery of the vehicle from the image capturing unit  3  (step S 1 ). The acquired image or moving image is transmitted from the image capturing unit  3  to the vehicle data control unit  4 . The vehicle data control unit  4  extracts a type, positional information, a direction, a speed, and acceleration of the acquired target as target information according to the image recognition program  30   p  (step S 2 ). For example, when a pedestrian is detected through image recognition, the vehicle data control unit  4  analyzes the image of the pedestrian to obtain a position, a direction, a speed, and acceleration of the pedestrian. 
     Subsequently, the vehicle data control unit  4  acquires a current time and driving information such as a position, a speed, and acceleration of the vehicle at the current time in the time acquisition unit  5 , the positional information acquisition unit  6 , the speed sensor  7 , and the acceleration sensor  8  (step S 3 ). The time acquisition unit  5  acquires the current time when the image capturing unit  3  acquires the image or the moving image. 
     The vehicle data control unit  4  calculates a traveling direction of the vehicle according to the traveling direction estimation program  31   p  (step S 4 ). 
     In the example embodiments described herein, steps S 1  to S 4  are executed in this order, but in some embodiments the steps S 1  to S 4  may be executed in a different order. For example, the processes of steps S 1  and S 2  may be executed in parallel with steps S 3  and S 4 . 
     Subsequently, the vehicle data control unit  4  forms the list information according to the list information generation program  32   p  (step S 5 ). The vehicle data control unit  4  is connected to the server  20  for communication according to the communication processing program  33   p  (step S 6 ). Then, the wireless communication device  9  transmits the list information to the server  20  of the server system  2  (step S 7 ). 
       FIG. 7  is a top view of an example monitoring area A at time T 1 .  FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C  depict visual information from vehicles a, b, and c in the monitoring area A at time T 1 , respectively.  FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C  depict image recognition of vehicles a, b, and c at time T 1 , respectively. 
     In  FIG. 7 , the visual information from each vehicle is as follows. That is, when viewed from the vehicle a, a building is an obstacle. Thus, pedestrians e and f, a bicycle d, and the vehicle c located at a junction T may not be seen. The vehicle a in front of the vehicle b can be seen from the vehicle b, but the pedestrians e and f, the bicycle d, and the vehicle c located at a junction T may not be seen by the vehicle a. The pedestrians e and f and the bicycle d can be seen from the vehicle c, but may not been seen by the vehicles a and b. 
     In the following description, the vehicle a monitors the vehicles considered and c. The vehicle a acquires the image or the moving image in the periphery of the vehicle from the image capturing unit  3  in step S 1 . In  FIG. 7 , since there is no target detected by the vehicle a, there is no information regarding a target in step S 2 . Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S 3  and the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle a acquires time T 1 , a position, a speed, and acceleration when the vehicle a acquires the image. The process proceeds to step S 4  and the traveling direction of the vehicle a is calculated. 
     In step S 5 , the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle a forms the list information according to the list information generation program  32   p .  FIG. 10A  depicts an example list information generated by the list information generation program  32   p.    
     In step S 6 , the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle a connects to the server  20  for communication. In step S 7 , the communication device  9  of the vehicle a transmits the generated list information to the server  20 . In the vehicles b and c, steps S 1  to S 7  are also executed. Since steps S 1  to S 7  are the same, the description thereof will be omitted.  FIGS. 10B and 10C  depict example list information generated by the list information generation program  32   p  of the vehicles b and c. 
     Subsequently, as illustrated in  FIGS. 6A to 6C , the transmission and reception unit  25  of the server  20  of the server system  2  receives the list information transmitted from the plurality of vehicle systems  1  (step S 8 ). The received list information is transmitted to the server data control unit  21 . The server data control unit  21  determines a monitoring area the vehicle belongs to from the first received list information according to the monitoring area determination program  22   p  (step S 9 ). That is, when the vehicle belongs to the monitoring area A in which the positional information of the vehicle is pre-set in the server  20 , the server data control unit  21  determines that the vehicle is located to the monitoring area A. 
     Subsequently, the server data control unit  21  lists the list information for each area. The server data control unit generates the interest list using the interest list generation program  23   p  (step S 10 ). The server data control unit  21  enables communication between the transmission and reception unit  25  and the vehicle system  1  according to the communication processing program  24  (step S 11 ). Then, the transmission and reception unit  25  transmits the list information to all the vehicle systems  1  located in the monitoring area (step S 12 ). 
     The monitoring area A at time T 1  illustrated in  FIG. 7  is determined as follows. The transmission and reception unit  25  receives the list information illustrated in  FIGS. 10A to 10C  from each vehicle. In step S 9 , the server data control unit  21  acquires the positional information in the list information and determines the monitoring area. 
     In the example embodiments described herein, positional information (Xa 1 , Ya 1 ) of the vehicle a, positional information (Xb 1 , Yb 1 ) of the vehicle b, and positional information (Xc 1 , Yc 1 ) of the vehicle c at time T 1  indicated in the list information illustrated in  FIGS. 10A to 10C  are assumed to be located in the monitoring area A, and the server data control unit  21  determines that the vehicles a to c belong to the monitoring area A. 
     Monitoring Area 
     In the example embodiments described herein, the monitoring area is assumed to be, for example, a square with one side of 10 m as illustrated in  FIG. 11 . Each monitoring area has an overlapping portion D with an adjacent monitoring area. Thus, even when the vehicle is moving, the vehicle transitions from one monitoring area to another monitoring area continuously. In the example embodiments described herein, the monitoring area is square-shaped, but the monitoring area may be a circular area with a radius of 10 m and the outer circumference of the circle may passes through the center of an adjacent circle. 
     Even when the vehicle a is moving, the monitoring area to which the vehicle a belongs is not changed as long as the vehicle a stays in the same monitoring area. That is, as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the server data control unit  21  determines that the vehicle a is in the monitoring area A as long as the positional information of the vehicle a belongs to the monitoring area A. In  FIG. 11 , the monitoring area A includes an inner portion A 1  and an outer circumference A 2 , and a monitoring area B similarly includes an inner portion B 1  and an outer circumference B 2 . When the vehicle a moves from the monitoring area A to the monitoring area B passing over the boundary between the monitoring areas, the monitoring area to which the vehicle a belongs is changed. However, since the monitoring areas A and B have the overlapping portion D, the server data control unit  21  can change the monitoring area of the vehicle in a seamless manner. Even when the vehicle belongs to the monitoring area with a larger area, the vehicle may be assumed to belong both of the overlapping areas in the overlapping portion D. In this case, the vehicle receives all the interest lists overlapping areas from the server  20 . 
     Subsequently, the server data control unit  21  generates the interest list for each area from the received list information in step S 10 .  FIG. 12  depicts an example interest list generated by the server data control unit  21 . The interest list in  FIG. 12  is information including the list information regarding each vehicle illustrated in  FIG. 10 . 
     In step S 11 , the server data control unit  21  is connected to all the vehicles a, b, and c belonging to the monitoring area A for communication. Then, in step S 12 , the transmission and reception unit  25  transmits the interest list illustrated in  FIG. 12  to all the vehicles connected for communication. 
     The server  20  acquires the driving information and the list information in real time from the vehicles. The server data control unit  21  subsequently generates the interest list of the monitoring area A based on the acquired driving information and list information. The generated interest list is transmitted to all the vehicles located in the monitoring area every time in step S 12 . That is, the vehicles belonging to the same monitoring area frequently receive the common interest list from the server  20 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the wireless communication device  9  of the vehicle system  1  receives the interest list from the server system  2  (step S 13 ). The vehicle data control unit  4  executes the following process from the interest list information. 
     The vehicle data control unit  4  calculates the relative distance or the relative speed based on the driving information of the vehicle and information regarding a target in the interest list according to the relativization program  34   p  (step S 14 ). A time lag occurs at the time of transmission and the time of reception due to passing through the server  20  once, but the list information is corrected based on the positional information of the vehicle. That is, deviation in the list information occurring due to the time lag is corrected based on the positional information of the vehicle at the time of reception and the relative position of the target is calculated again based on the position from the vehicle. 
     Subsequently, the vehicle data control unit  4  generates the real-time map centering on the vehicle using the real-time mapping generation program  35   p  based on the interest list (step S 15 ). 
     The vehicle data control unit  4  confirms whether the determination of the danger level has been completed for all the targets according to the danger determination program  36   p  (step S 16 ). After the danger levels of all the targets are determined (YES in step S 16 ), the process returns to step S 13 . Conversely, when the determination of the danger level has not been completed (NO in step S 16 ), the danger level of an unprocessed target continues to be determined according to the danger determination program  36   p  (step S 17 ). 
     The vehicle data control unit  4  determines danger level in accordance with the relative distance or the relative speed of the vehicle to the target calculated in step S 14  according to the danger determination program  36   p  (step S 18 ). When the danger level exceeds 1 (YES in step S 18 ), the process proceeds to determination of danger level 2 at which the degree of danger is higher (step S 19 ). However, when danger level does not reach 1 in step S 18  (NO in step S 18 ), the process returns to step S 16 . When the danger level does not reach 2 in step S 19  (NO in step S 19 ), the vehicle data control unit  4  determines that the danger level is 1 (step S 20 ). At this time, the vehicle data control unit  4  emphasizes the icon of the target on the real-time map according to the emphasis display program  37   p  and displays the emphasized icon of the target on the display unit. At that time, a target located in a blind spot in which the target is not viewable from the vehicle may also be emphasized to be displayed. In this case, the danger level is determined with reference to the threshold for determining the danger level of the target based on whether the target is located in the blind spot of the vehicle, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . 
     When the danger level is equal to or greater than 2 (YES in step S 19 ), the process proceeds to determine whether the danger level is 3 (step S 21 ). When the danger level does not reach the danger level 3 in step S 21  (NO in step S 21 ), the vehicle data control unit  4  determines that the danger level is 2 (step S 22 ). The vehicle data control unit  4  issues a warning signal to the alert unit  11  according to the warning program  38   p . The alert unit  11  issues a warning by outputting a sound or light. When the danger level is 3 is step S 21  (YES in step S 21 ), the vehicle data control unit  4  determines that the danger level is 3 (step S 23 ). At this time, the vehicle data control unit  4  activates the actuator control unit  12  according to the braking control program  39 . The actuator control unit  12  brakes the vehicle. Thereafter, the process returns to step S 13 . The processes from steps S 1  to S 7  and the processes from steps S 13  to S 21  may be executed in parallel. 
     The monitoring area A at time T 1  illustrated in  FIG. 7  will be considered. 
     In step S 13 , the communication devices  9  of the vehicles a to c first acquire the interest list from the server  20 . In step S 14 , the vehicle data control unit  4  of each vehicle executes relative conversion on the target information in the interest list to a position appropriate from a vehicle (referred to as a monitoring vehicle) that is monitoring other vehicles. Since the coordinates of the target acquired from each vehicle are relative coordinates from the acquired vehicle at the time of the interest list, the coordinates of the target may be converted into coordinates centering on the vehicle receiving the interest list. The vehicle data control unit  4  calculates the relative distance or the relative speed from the converted coordinates or the like. 
     In the following example, the vehicle c is assumed to be the monitoring vehicle. A time in which the vehicle c transmits the list information to the server  20  and the vehicle c receives the interest list from the server  20  is assumed to be ΔT. 
     For example, as in  FIGS. 10A to 10C , the vehicle c is assumed to have driving information of a direction Dc 1 , a speed Vc 1 , and acceleration αc 1  at a position (Xc 1 , Yc 1 ) at time T 1 . The vehicle c is assumed to have target information of the bicycle d that has a position (Xc 11 , Yc 11 ), a direction Dc 11 , a speed Vc 11 , and acceleration αc 11 , target information of the pedestrian e who have a position (Xc 12 , Yc 12 ), a direction Dc 12 , a speed Vc 12 , and acceleration αc 12 , and target information of the pedestrian f who have a position (Xc 13 , Yc 13 ), a direction Dc 13 , a speed Vc 13 , and acceleration αc 13 . The vehicle c transmits the target information as the list information to the server  20  of the server system  2 . The server data control unit  21  of the server  20  sums the list information from the different vehicles to generate the interest list illustrated in  FIG. 12 . At this time, for the same target, the positional information is added to be summed so that the positional information is not duplicated in the interest list. The server  20  transmits the interest list to the vehicle c and a time at which the vehicle c receives the interest list from the server  20  is T 1 +ΔT. At this time, because of the list information regarding the original time T 1 , deviation occurs in a value of the interest list by ΔT. However, by comparing a position (Xc 1 +ΔXc 1 , Yc 1 +ΔYc 1 ) or a direction of the vehicle and the values of the speed and acceleration at T 1 +ΔT to the values at time T 1 , it is possible to calculate how much deviation occurs during ΔT. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the deviation in the information in the interest list. 
     Even time deviation is corrected, coordinates of the vehicle a are not appropriate in the interest list information illustrated in  FIG. 12 . Therefore, for example, the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle a calculates the coordinates (Xac 12 , Yac 12 ) of the pedestrian e seeing the vehicle a from the coordinates (Xc 1 , Yc 1 ) of the vehicle c acquiring the targets and the coordinates (Xc 12 , Yc 12 ) of the pedestrian e on the interest list. The vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle a further calculates a distance between the vehicle a and the pedestrian e from the calculated coordinates. 
     Generating Real-Time Map 
     In step S 15 , the vehicle data control unit  4  generates the real-time map centering on the vehicle. The generated real-time map is displayed on the display unit  10  of each vehicle. For example, a target on the real-time map may be displayed with only an icon on the display unit  10 . Here, the generation of the real-time map will be described with reference to  FIGS. 13 and 14 . 
       FIG. 13  is a top view of example visual information of the vehicle a at time T 1 +ΔT. In  FIG. 13 , the vehicle b, the vehicle c, the bicycle d, the pedestrian e, and the pedestrian f are not displayed.  FIG. 14A  depicts a real-time map displayed on the display unit of vehicle a at time T 1 +ΔT. The vehicle data control unit  4  executes mapping based on the target subjected to the relative conversion in step S 14 . Thus, targets which may not be seen due to an obstacle such as a building can also be displayed on the real-time map based on information from the server  20 . The generated real-time map is updated by repeating each step. 
       FIGS. 14B and 14C  depict an example real-time map displayed on the display unit of the vehicle b and an example real-time map displayed on the display unit of the vehicle c at time T 1 +ΔT, respectively. Even the targets which may not be seen from a monitoring vehicle are displayed on each of the real-time maps. 
     Determining Danger Level 
     The vehicle data control unit  4  of each vehicle sets a danger level of each target displayed on the real-time map according to the road division information during driving included in the interest list and the danger determination program  36   p . The danger level is determined, for example, in accordance with the table of  FIGS. 5A and 5B  corresponding to danger level 1 as described above. Although not illustrated, danger levels 2 and 3 are determined in accordance with the tables of danger levels 2 and 3 equivalent to  FIGS. 5A and 5B . Here, the vehicle data control unit  4  takes action for each danger level as follows. At danger level 1, the vehicle data control unit  4  emphasizes and displays icons on the real-time map. At danger level 2, the vehicle data control unit  4  gives a warning to the driver of the vehicle. At danger level 3, the vehicle data control unit  4  controls driving of the vehicle. When it is determined in step S 16  that the danger levels of all the targets on the interest list are determined, the process returns to step S 13  to repeat each step again. 
     Danger Level 1 
       FIGS. 14A to 14C  are diagrams illustrating the real-time maps displayed on the display units  10  of the vehicles a to c at time T 1 +ΔT. ΔT indicates a time lag occurring at the time of communication. 
     First, as illustrated in  FIG. 14A , the real-time map at time T 1 +ΔT is displayed on the display unit  10  of the vehicle a. On the real-time map, pedestrians and vehicles unrecognizable due to an obstacle such as a building are also displayed. 
     when the targets are determined to be at danger level 1 according to the danger determination program  36   p , the vehicle data control unit  4  emphasizes and displays display icons according to the emphasis display program  37   p.    
     For example, a case in which a distance La-e between the vehicle a and the pedestrian e illustrated in  FIG. 14A  is equal to or less than a threshold Xp 1   b _a 1  illustrated in  FIG. 5  will be considered. In step S 18 , the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle a determines that the danger level of the pedestrian e is equal to or greater than 1 with reference to the tables of  FIGS. 5A and 5B . Subsequently, when the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle a determines in step S 19  that the danger level of the pedestrian e is not equal to or greater than 2, the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle a determines that the danger level of the pedestrian e is 1. 
     In step S 20 , the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle a emphasizes the icon of the pedestrian e on the real-time map displayed on the display unit  10 . The determination of the danger level in accordance with a distance has been described above, but the danger level may be determined in accordance with a speed difference between the vehicle a and the pedestrian e. The danger level may be determined when both the conditions are satisfied. In either case, when danger level 1 is determined, the icon of the pedestrian e is emphasized and displayed on the display unit  10  of the vehicle a. As illustrated in  FIG. 14A , when danger level 1 is determined similarly for the vehicle c, the bicycle d, the pedestrian e, and the pedestrian f, each icon on the real-time map of the vehicle a is emphasized and displayed. 
     Here, the emphasis of the icon is displayed with a figure such as a circle centering on the icon, but the radius or the size of the figure is assumed to be changed according to the target. That is, when a person, a bicycle, a motorcycle, a vehicle, or the like requires attention, the radius or the shape of the figure may be different. The radius or the shape of the figure may be changed in accordance with a speed of a vehicle or a road type, such as a highway, a national road, an urban area, or the like on which the vehicle is traveling. When several moving targets are displayed, for example, the number of displayed moving targets and the sizes of the icons can be adjusted. Further, the target located in a blind spot in the vehicle may be emphasized and displayed in a blinking manner. In  FIG. 14A to 17C , the icons are emphasized using circles for vehicles and figures for the bicycle and pedestrians different from the circles. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 15 , only the icons of the targets may be displayed on the display unit  10  and the icons of the targets at danger level 1 may be emphasized and displayed. 
     Subsequently, as illustrated in  FIG. 14B , the pedestrians or the vehicles undetected due to the obstacle such as a building are also displayed on the display unit  10  of the vehicle b similarly to the vehicle a. The vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle b emphasizes and displays the icon of the vehicle a determined to be at danger level 1. However, the icon of the pedestrian e not corresponding to danger level 1 is not emphasized or displayed. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 14C , the pedestrians or the vehicles undetected due to the obstacle such as a building are also displayed on the display unit  10  of the vehicle c similarly to the vehicle a. In the example of  FIG. 14C , the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle c determines that the vehicle a, the bicycle d, the pedestrian e, and the pedestrian f are at danger level 1 and emphases the display icons. In  FIG. 14C , the pedestrians or the bicycle and the vehicles are emphasized using different figures. 
     When the vehicle data control unit  4  determines in step S 22  that the danger level is 2, the vehicle data control unit  4  transmits a command to the alert unit  11  according to the warning program  38   p . The alert unit  11  outputs a warning to inform the driver of a danger. 
       FIG. 16  is a top view of the monitoring area A at time T 2  after time T 1 .  FIGS. 17A to 17C  depict example screens on the display units  10  of the vehicles a to c at time T 2 +ΔT. ΔT indicates a time lag occurring at the time of communication and is assumed to be negligible compared to T 2 . 
     First, as illustrated in  FIG. 17A , targets which may not be seen at time T 1  can be seen on the display unit  10  of the vehicle a at time T 2 +ΔT. Similarly to at time T 1 , the icons of the pedestrians or the vehicles that are still undetected due to the obstacle such as a building are also displayed on the real-time map. When the targets are determined to be at danger level 1, the display icons are emphasized and displayed according to the emphasis display program  37   p . In  FIG. 17A , the bicycle d and the pedestrian e are emphasized and displayed. 
     Danger Level 2 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 17B , the real-time map is displayed on the display unit  10  of the vehicle b similarly to the vehicle a. For example, in  FIG. 17B , it is assumed that the vehicle b approaches the vehicle a and the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle b determines that the vehicle a is at danger level 2 according to the danger determination program  36   p . In this case, the vehicle data control unit  4  transmits a command to the alert unit  11  according to the warning program  38   p . The alert unit  11  of the vehicle b issues a warning to the driver of the vehicle b by a sound so that the driver can avoid collision with the vehicle a. 
     Danger Level 3 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 17C , the real-time map is similarly displayed on the display unit  10  of the vehicle c. The vehicles a and b may not be seen in traveling from the vehicle c. However, since each vehicle regularly transmits a current position of the vehicle to the server  20 , the vehicle c can acquire information regarding the other vehicles until the monitoring area to which the vehicle c belongs is changed. Thus, the driver does not abruptly lose information regarding other the vehicles. 
     For example, in  FIG. 17C , it is assumed that the vehicle c approaches the bicycle d and the vehicle data control unit  4  of the vehicle c determines that the bicycle d is at danger level 3 according to the danger determination program  36   p . The vehicle data control unit  4  transmits a command the actuator control unit  12  according to the braking control program  39   p . The actuator control unit  12  of the vehicle c automatically operates devices such as a handle, a brake, an airbag, and the like mounted on the vehicle. Thus, it is possible to prevent the vehicle c from colliding with the bicycle d. 
     In this way, the interest list is shared in the monitoring area, but the real-time map displayed on the display unit  10  differs for each vehicle. The real-time map is regularly updated in accordance with the interest list transmitted from the server  20 . 
     The pedestrian f displayed from  FIG. 17A to 17C  is unrecognizable from any vehicle. However, the pedestrian f can be detected to be shared between areas by installing the image capturing unit  3  on the rear side of the vehicle or utilizing a curve mirror installed on a road or an apparatus on which a device is mounted. 
     Operational Effect and Advantages 
     In the vehicle and the driving support system including the vehicle according to the first embodiment, the vehicle extracts a target from an image acquired from the image capturing unit  3  and information regarding the target that is shared between a plurality of vehicles in the same monitoring area. Each vehicle can generate a real-time map in consideration of the degree of danger of the target based on the shared information. Thus, a target which may not be seen from the vehicle can be detected on the real-time map. Since the captured image is shared in accordance with information regarding the target and driving information of the vehicle rather than being simply combined and shared, only necessary information for a specific vehicle may be processed and danger can be easily detected. 
     Second Embodiment 
     A driving support system according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 18 to 21 . The same reference numerals are used for the components that are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, and the detailed description of repeated components may be omitted. In the second embodiment, the list information is transmitted and received between the vehicles. That is, each vehicle shares each piece of list information without the server  2 . 
       FIG. 18  depicts an overall configuration of a driving support system  200  according to the second embodiment. As illustrated in  FIG. 18 , the driving support system  200  includes a plurality of monitoring systems  50 . As illustrated in  FIG. 19 , the monitoring system  50  includes an image capturing unit  3 , a data control unit  51 , a time acquisition unit  5 , a positional information acquisition unit  6 , a speed sensor  7 , an acceleration sensor  8 , a wireless communication device  9 , a display unit  10 , an alert unit  11 , and an actuator control unit  12 . 
     In the second embodiment, the list information is directly transmitted and received between a plurality of vehicles belonging to the same monitoring area. That is, each vehicle executes the processes that are to be executed by the server system  2  according to the first embodiment. The vehicle data control unit  51  executes the processes of the programs executed by the server data control unit  21 . 
     Differences between the driving support systems  200  and  100  will be described with reference to  FIGS. 20A and 20B . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 20A and 20B , the monitoring system  50  executes an operation from steps R 1  to R 21 . Processes of steps R 1  to R 7  illustrated in  FIG. 20A  and processes of steps R 8  to R 21  illustrated in  FIG. 20B  may be generally executed in parallel. The processes executed in the server system  2  in the driving support system  100  are equivalent to steps R 8  to R 11  of the driving support system  200  illustrated in  FIG. 20B .  FIG. 21  is a schematic diagram of a storage region of a ROM  512 . 
     The vehicle data control unit  51  of the vehicle generates an interest list with reference to the list information transmitted from another vehicle in the monitoring area. The process is the same as the process of the server  20  of the server system  2  according to the first embodiment. At this time, for the same target, the positional information is added to be summed so that the positional information is not duplicated in the interest list. Thereafter, the targets are relativized from the generated interest list to generate a real-time map. This process is the same as the process of the vehicle system  1  according to the first embodiment. 
     By executing the communication between the vehicles without an intervening server, it is possible to accelerate a processing speed. As a communication between vehicles, a spread spectrum communication scheme having a narrow frequency bandwidth thus being resistant to noise or radio wave interference or the like may be adopted. 
     Third Embodiment 
     A driving support system  300  according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 22-25 . The same reference numerals are used for the components that are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, and the detailed description of repeated components may be omitted. In the third embodiment, monitoring system are not limited to a vehicle system that is mounted on a vehicle and one or more of monitoring systems are mounted in a device such as a smartphone, a computer, a timepiece, or glasses carried by a person, in addition to a vehicle. A beacon or the like installed on a robot, a poll or a wall, or a road is assumed to serve as the monitoring systems according the first and the second embodiments.  FIG. 22  depicts an overall configuration of a driving support system  300  according to the third embodiment. As illustrated in  FIGS. 22 and 23 , the driving support system  300  includes a plurality of monitoring systems  1 , including a vehicle system on a vehicle, and the server system  2 . 
       FIG. 24  is a top view of the monitoring area A at time T 2 . In this example, the pedestrian e carries a device terminal, such as a mobile phone, which is a monitoring system  1  and a curve mirror g is also a monitoring system  1 . 
     The pedestrian e and the curve mirror g operate in accordance with an example of the flowchart of the vehicle systems (referred to as monitoring systems in the third embodiment) and server systems illustrated in  FIGS. 6A to 6C . 
     An operation of the driving support system  300  is the same as that of the driving support systems  100  and  200 . In the driving support system  300 , all the monitoring systems may not receive the list information and the interest list. 
     For example, when one of the monitoring systems  1  is, for example, the curve mirror g installed on a communication road in  FIG. 24 , the list information and the interest list may be not received by the curve mirror g to generate a real-time map. In this case, the data control unit  4  of the curve mirror g may not execute the processes of steps S 13  to S 23  illustrated in  FIG. 6B  and the processes of steps R 8  to R 21  illustrated in  FIG. 20B . As illustrated in  FIG. 25 , the data control unit  4  of the curve mirror g may not determine a danger level after generating a real-time map and may display the real-time map on a display unit of another external device through the processes of steps R 8  to R 15  instead of the steps illustrated in  FIG. 6B . 
     When the pedestrian e carries, for example, a device which is the monitoring system  50  in  FIG. 24 , the data control unit  4  of the device transmits the list information for which information regarding the targets is not input to the server system  2 . However, when the device includes the image capturing unit  3 , the device may be handled as in the vehicles of the driving support systems  100  and  200 . In actuator control, collision is avoided through vibration or the like of the terminal instead of operating a device such as a handle, a brake, an airbag, or the like mounted on the vehicle. Thus, it is possible to prevent a collision of a pedestrian or the like with the vehicle or the target. 
     By utilizing a peripheral device other than the vehicle or public equipment to share more accurate information, it is possible to generate a real-time map with high precision. That is, the real-time map can be generated even when a narrow road for vehicle passage or traveling on the road may not be executed due to an obstacle. Even other than a vehicle, it is possible to detect danger such as collision and urge a pedestrian to avoid the danger by the driving support system  300 . 
     Fourth Embodiment 
     A driving support system  400  according to a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 26A and 26B . The same reference numerals are used for the components that are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, and the detailed description of repeated components may be omitted. In the fourth embodiment, a vehicle belonging to another monitoring area can acquire road traffic information by receiving a real-time map generated in vehicle system and other monitoring systems or the interest list generated in the server system and monitoring systems. By receiving the interest list information generated in the server system and monitoring systems, it is possible to acquire traffic information from even a vehicle located in another monitoring area. 
       FIGS. 26A and 26B  depict an overall configuration of the driving support system  400  according to the fourth embodiment. In  FIG. 26A , the vehicle data control unit  4  of a vehicle belonging to the monitoring area A accesses the server  20  to acquire interest lists corresponding to the monitoring area B. An amount of traffic such as vehicles or pedestrians can be acquired from the interest lists. As illustrated in  FIG. 26B , a vehicle in the monitoring area A may directly receive the interest list or the real-time map generated by a vehicle belonging to the monitoring area B. 
     By detecting road congestion, accident information, or the like in real time, it is possible to execute route searching quickly and accurately to avoid congestion. Further, since information regarding the pedestrians other than the vehicles can be detected together, a road having less potential danger can be selected to drive the vehicle. 
     Fifth Embodiment 
     A driving support system  500  according to a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to  FIGS. 27 and 28 . The same reference numerals are used for the components that are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment, and the detailed description of repeated components may be omitted. In the fourth embodiment, weather information of another monitoring area can be acquired by receiving the real-time map generated in the vehicle system and other monitoring systems or the interest list generated in the server system and monitoring systems in the other area. 
     The monitoring system  50  of a vehicle (also referred to as a vehicle system) in the driving support system  500  acquires weather information in a monitoring area to which the vehicle belongs from image or moving image information acquired from the image capturing unit  3 . By adding the weather information to the list information, a server, a vehicle belonging to another monitoring area, or the like can acquire the weather information. 
       FIG. 27  is a top view of the monitoring areas A and B. In  FIG. 27 , the monitoring areas A and B are adjacent to each other and diagonal lines indicate an overlapping portion. In  FIG. 27 , it is assumed that it is snowing in the monitoring area B. At this time, the vehicle data control unit  4  or the vehicle data control unit  51  of a vehicle h belonging to the monitoring area B determines that it is snowing in the monitoring area B from image or moving image information acquired from the image capturing unit  3 . The vehicle data control unit  4  or the data control unit  51  adds the weather information to the list information of the vehicle h as in an example illustrated in  FIG. 28  and transmits the list information to the server system  2  or other vehicles belonging to other areas. The vehicle system and the other monitoring systems of the driving support system  500  may include a thermometer or a hygrometer so that information such as temperature or humidity may be included in the list information. 
     Similarly to the first to fourth embodiments, the vehicle a belonging to the monitoring area A can communicate with the server system  2  or the vehicle h belonging to the monitoring area B to acquire the weather information of the monitoring area B in real time. Thus, it is possible to acquire conditions of a destination or a road and it is possible to enable safer and comfortable driving. 
     While certain embodiments and modification examples have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.