Patent Publication Number: US-2023137845-A1

Title: Pedestrian protection system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-179535 filed on Nov. 2, 2021, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a pedestrian protection system. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2016-192028 (JP 2016-192028 A) discloses an autonomous driving vehicle that autonomously travels along a route to the destination. 
     SUMMARY 
     Today, attempts are being made to provide various mobility services such as transportation, distribution of goods, and product sales using autonomous driving vehicles. As a part of mobility services, providing services that help improve the safety of residents and the security of the city is useful for the society. 
     In view of such problems, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide mobility services that are useful for improving the safety of residents and the security of the city. 
     To solve the problem described above, a first aspect of the present disclosure relates to a pedestrian protection system including a plurality of autonomous driving vehicles and a server configured to be able to communicate with each of the autonomous driving vehicles. The server is configured to select at least one vehicle to be moved to the location of a pedestrian from among the autonomous driving vehicles as a pedestrian protection vehicle when a particular situation occurrence notification is received and is configured to send an instruction notification to the pedestrian protection vehicle. The particular situation occurrence notification indicates that the pedestrian is placed in a particular situation. The instruction notification instructs the pedestrian protection vehicle to move to the location of the pedestrian for protecting the pedestrian. Each of the autonomous driving vehicles is configured to move to the location of the pedestrian for protecting the pedestrian when the instruction notification is received. 
     A second aspect of the present disclosure relates to a server including a communication unit, configured to communicate with a plurality of autonomous driving vehicles, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to select at least one vehicle to be moved to the location of a pedestrian from among the autonomous driving vehicles as a pedestrian protection vehicle when a particular situation occurrence notification is received and is configured to send an instruction notification to the pedestrian protection vehicle. The particular situation occurrence notification indicates that the pedestrian is placed in a particular situation. The instruction notification instructs the pedestrian protection vehicle to move to the location of the pedestrian for protecting the pedestrian. 
     A third aspect of the present disclosure relates to an autonomous driving vehicle including a communication device configured to communicate with a server. The autonomous driving vehicle is configured to move to the location of a pedestrian placed in a particular situation for protecting the pedestrian, based on an instruction from the server. 
     In these aspects of the present disclosure, the pedestrian protection system moves a vehicle to a pedestrian placed in a particular situation for protecting the pedestrian, thus providing mobility services for improving the safety of residents and the security of the city. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like signs denote like elements, and wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is a diagram showing an outline of a pedestrian protection system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a vehicle; and 
         FIG.  3    is a sequence diagram showing an example of pedestrian protection processing according to one embodiment of the present disclosure for protecting pedestrians. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the description below, the same reference numerals will be given to the same or similar components. 
       FIG.  1    is a schematic configuration diagram showing a pedestrian protection system  100  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     The pedestrian protection system  100  according to this embodiment includes a server  1 , a plurality of vehicles  2 , and an infrastructure sensor  3 . 
     The infrastructure sensor  3  is installed in various places on the roads in an area, such as a smart city, managed by the server  1 . The infrastructure sensor  3  detects the surrounding situation of a location where the infrastructure sensor  3  is installed (hereinafter, this surrounding situation is referred to as “sensor surrounding situation”) and, at the same time, detects whether the sensor surrounding situation is a particular situation. In this embodiment, the infrastructure sensor  3  is configured to include a camera and, based on an image taken by the camera, is configured to detect a sensor surrounding situation for detecting whether the sensor surrounding situation is a particular situation. 
     In this embodiment, a “particular situation” refers to a situation in which it is desirable to ensure the safety of a pedestrian on a road. Such situations include a situation in which children, women, and the elderly are more likely to be involved in crime or danger; for example, a situation in which children, women and the elderly is walking on a low-traffic road or a night road or a situation in which children are going to school in groups. In addition to the situations given above, there is a particular situation in which a demonstration march is taking place since a trouble may occur between a group of pedestrians performing the demonstration march and pedestrians around the demonstration march who are not related to the demonstration. 
     In this embodiment, the infrastructure sensor  3  is configured to be able to access a radio base station (not shown), connected to the network  4  via the gateway, etc. so that, when the sensor surrounding situation is a particular situation, the infrastructure sensor  3  can send a notification about the occurrence of the particular situation (hereinafter this notification is referred to “particular-situation occurrence notification”) to the server  1  via the radio base station and the network  4 . The particular-situation occurrence notification includes the information such as the content of the particular situation, the occurrence place, and the occurrence time (hereinafter this information is referred to as “particular situation information”). 
     The vehicle  2  is an autonomous driving vehicle that performs operation under management of the server  1 . This vehicle is used to provide various mobility services such as transportation, distribution of goods, and product sales. In this embodiment, the pedestrian protection system  100  is configured using vehicles (for example, autonomous driving buses and autonomous driving taxis) that provide the mobility service described above and that, when a ride request is received from a ride requester via an application, etc., provide the transportation service of stopping at a predetermined location or a place specified by the ride requester for picking up the ride requester. 
       FIG.  2    is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the vehicle  2 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , the vehicle  2  includes a surroundings information detection device  21 , an actuator  22 , a GPS receiver  23 , a communication device  24 , a map database  25 , and an electronic control unit  20 . Using these components, the vehicle  2  is configured to perform acceleration, steering, and braking automatically. The surroundings information detection device  21 , actuator  22 , GPS receiver  23 , communication device  24 , and map database  25  are communicably connected to the electronic control unit  20  via an in-vehicle network  27  that conforms to standards such as Controller Area Network (CAN). 
     The surroundings information detection device  21  detects surrounding information on the vehicle  2 . The surroundings information includes various types of information necessary for autonomous driving such as the information on white lines on roads, other vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, buildings, signs, traffic lights, and obstacles. Examples of the surroundings information detection device  21  include a camera, a millimeter wave radar, a lidar (LiDAR; light detection and ranging), and an ultrasonic sensor. The surroundings information detection device  21  may be configured by any one of these devices or by a combination these devices. The output of the surroundings information detection device  21  is sent to the electronic control unit  20 . 
     The actuator  22  includes various types of control parts driven by the electronic control unit  20  for performing autonomous driving. Examples of actuators include a drive device (for example, at least one of an internal combustion engine and a motor) required for accelerating the vehicle  2 , a braking device (for example, a brake actuator) required for braking the vehicle  2 , and a steering device (for example, a steering motor) required for steering the vehicle  2 . 
     The GPS receiver  23  receives radio waves from artificial satellites and identifies the latitude and longitude of the vehicle  2  for detecting the current position of the vehicle  2 . 
     The communication device  24  is an in-vehicle terminal having the wireless communication function. The communication device  24  accesses a radio base station, connected to the network  4  (see  FIG.  1   ) via the gateway, for connection to the network  4  via the radio base station. This allows mutual communication with the server  1 . 
     The map database  25  stores map information. The electronic control unit  20  acquires map information from the map database  25 . 
     The electronic control unit  20  includes an in-vehicle communication interface  201 , a vehicle storage unit  202 , and a vehicle processing unit  203 . The in-vehicle communication interface  201 , the vehicle storage unit  202 , and the vehicle processing unit  203  are connected to each other via a signal line. 
     The in-vehicle communication interface  201  is a communication interface circuit for connecting the electronic control unit  20  to the in-vehicle network  27 . 
     The vehicle storage unit  202  has a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), an optical recording medium, and a semiconductor memory. The vehicle storage unit  202  stores various computer programs and data used for processing in the vehicle processing unit  203 . 
     The vehicle processing unit  203  has one or more central processing units (CPUs) and peripheral circuits thereof. The vehicle processing unit  203  executes various computer programs stored in the vehicle storage unit  202  to perform various types of processing. For example, the vehicle processing unit  203  is a processor. The vehicle processing unit  203  (therefore, the electronic control unit  20  as a whole) controls the actuator  22  for performing autonomous driving, for example, based on the output of the surroundings information detection device  21  or based on instructions from the server  1  received via the communication device  24 . 
     Returning to  FIG.  1   , the server  1  includes a server communication unit  11 , a server storage unit  12 , and a server processing unit  13 . 
     The server communication unit  11 , which includes a communication interface circuit for connecting the server  1  to the network  4  via, for example, the gateway, is configured to allow the server  1  to communicate with the infrastructure sensor  3  and the vehicle  2 . 
     The server storage unit  12 , which includes a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), an optical recording medium, and a semiconductor memory, stores various computer programs and data used for processing in the server processing unit  13 . For example, in this embodiment, the server storage unit  12  stores the identification number of, and the operation information (operation route and operation time) on, each of the vehicles  2  that provide the transportation service as well as the map information. 
     The server processing unit  13  has one or more central processing units (CPUs) and peripheral circuits thereof. The server processing unit  13  executes various computer programs stored in the server storage unit  12  to comprehensively control the overall operation of the server  1 . For example, the server processing unit  13  is a processor. 
     As described above, providing services that help improve the safety of residents and the security of the city as a part of mobility services is very useful for the society and, in addition, important for creating a new city such as a smart city. 
     To achieve this object, the following processing is performed in this embodiment. That is, when the occurrence of a particular situation is detected by the infrastructure sensor  3 , the vehicle  2 , selected from the vehicles  2  as a suitable vehicle, is moved to the particular-situation occurrence place so that the vehicle  2 , moved to the particular-situation occurrence place, can protect a pedestrian placed in the particular situation. With reference to  FIG.  3   , an example of pedestrian protection processing for protecting a pedestrian placed in a particular situation will be described. 
       FIG.  3    is a sequence diagram showing an example of pedestrian protection processing performed in this embodiment. In the sequence diagram shown in  FIG.  3   , the communication between the infrastructure sensor  3  and the server  1  and the communication between the server  1  and the vehicle  2  are performed via the network  4 , respectively. 
     In step S 1 , upon detecting that the sensor surrounding situation is a particular situation, the infrastructure sensor  3  sends a particular-situation occurrence notification to the server  1 . 
     In step S 2 , when the particular-situation occurrence notification is received, the server  1  selects, from among the vehicles  2  that provide the transportation service, at least one vehicle  2  available for protecting a pedestrian placed in the particular situation (hereinafter this vehicle is referred to as “pedestrian protection vehicle”). In this embodiment, from among the vehicles  2  that provide the transportation service, the server  1  extracts vehicles  2  with no ride request from ride requesters. Then, from the extracted vehicles  2  with no ride request, the server  1  selects the vehicle  2  nearest to the particular-situation occurrence place as the pedestrian protection vehicle. 
     In step S 3 , the server  1  sets a traveling route for moving the pedestrian protection vehicle to the particular-situation occurrence place. In this embodiment, the server  1  sets the shortest route to the particular-situation occurrence place as the traveling route. 
     In step S 4 , the server  1  sends an instruction notification instructing the pedestrian protection vehicle to go to the particular-situation occurrence place. The instruction notification includes the traveling route to the particular-situation occurrence place. 
     In step S 5 , the vehicle  2  that has received the instruction notification moves to the particular-situation occurrence place and starts protecting the pedestrian placed in the particular situation. 
     In this embodiment, to protect a pedestrian placed in a particular situation, the vehicle  2  starts traveling side by side with the pedestrian. Causing the vehicle  2  to travel side by side in this way makes it less likely for a criminal to attack the pedestrian even if he or she is walking on a low-traffic road, because there is a risk of being photographed, for example, when a camera is mounted on the vehicle  2 . That is, causing the vehicle  2  to travel side by side allows the vehicle  2  to act as a deterrent to crime, thus reducing the probability that the pedestrian will be involved in crime. In addition, causing the vehicle  2  to travel side by side allows the vehicle  2  to act as a shield that will protect the pedestrian, for example, when a runaway vehicle approaches the pedestrian. 
     Before starting side-by-side traveling for protecting a pedestrian, the vehicle  2  may notify the pedestrian of the start of side-by-side traveling, for example, by voice or may ask the pedestrian for permission to travel side by side. In addition, at night, the vehicle  2  may illuminate the front of the pedestrian with a light when traveling side by side. In addition, when the pedestrian can be identified by performing short-range communication with a pedestrian’s mobile terminal while traveling side by side, the vehicle  2  may send the information indicating that the pedestrian is being protected and, if necessary, may send the image of the pedestrian, taken by the in-vehicle camera, to the contact address that is set for each pedestrian in advance. 
     In this embodiment, one of the vehicles  2  that provides the transportation service and has no ride request from ride requesters is sent to the location of a pedestrian as the pedestrian protection vehicle. Therefore, for example, when the number of pedestrians is equal to or less than the passenger capacity of the pedestrian protection vehicle, an offer to ride in the vehicle may be made to the pedestrians before starting side-by-side traveling. 
     The pedestrian protection system  100  according to this embodiment described above includes a plurality of the vehicles  2  (autonomous driving vehicles) and the server  1  configured to be able to communicate with each of the vehicles  2 . The server  1  is configured to select, from among the vehicles  2 , at least one vehicle to be moved to the location of a pedestrian as a pedestrian protection vehicle when a particular-situation occurrence notification, which notifies that a pedestrian is placed in a particular situation, is received. The server  1  is also configured to send an instruction notification, which instructs the pedestrian protection vehicle to move to the location of the pedestrian for protecting the pedestrian, to the selected pedestrian protection vehicle. The vehicles  2  are each configured to move to the location of the pedestrian for protecting the pedestrian when the instruction notification is received. 
     This embodiment described above causes the vehicle  2  to move to the location of a pedestrian placed in a particular situation for protecting the pedestrian using the vehicle  2 , making it possible to provide mobility services that help improve the safety of residents and improve the security of the city. 
     In particular, each of the vehicles  2  is configured to travel side by side with a pedestrian for protecting the pedestrian when the instruction notification is received. 
     The configuration described above provides the following advantages. In a particular situation in which the likelihood that a pedestrian will be involved in crime or danger is high, for example, in a situation in which children, women, or the elderly are walking on a low-traffic road or a night road or in a situation in which children are going to school in groups, side-by-side traveling makes it less likely for a criminal to attack the pedestrian, because there is a risk of being photographed, for example, when a camera is mounted on the vehicle  2 . That is, causing the vehicle  2  to travel side by side allows the vehicle  2  to act as a deterrent to crime, thus reducing the probability that the pedestrian will be involved in crime. Therefore, it is possible to improve the safety of residents and the security of the city. 
     In addition, causing the vehicle  2  to travel side by side allows the vehicle  2  to act as a shield that will protect the pedestrian, for example, when a runaway vehicle approaches the pedestrian. Therefore, it is possible to improve the safety of residents. 
     In addition, in a particular situation in which a trouble may occur between a specific pedestrian group and the surrounding pedestrians who are not related to the specific pedestrian group, for example, in a situation in which there is a pedestrian group performing a specific action such as a demonstration march, causing the vehicle  2  to travel side by side with the specific pedestrian group can keep a distance between the specific pedestrian group and the surrounding pedestrians, lowering the probability of a trouble. Therefore, it is possible to improve the safety of residents and the security of a city. 
     In this embodiment, the vehicle  2  is a transportation service vehicle in which a ride requester can ride, and the server  1  is configured to select a pedestrian protection vehicle from among the vehicles  2  each with no ride requester. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to effectively utilize the vehicle  2  that is not currently able to provide the transportation service. 
     In this embodiment, the vehicle  2  may be configured to make an offer to pedestrians to ride in the vehicle when the vehicle  2  moves to the location of the pedestrians upon receiving an instruction notification and it is found that the number of pedestrians is equal to or less than the passenger capacity of the vehicle. The vehicle  2 , when configured in this way, makes it possible not only to improve the safety of residents and the security of the city but also to improve convenience. In addition, when the vehicle  2  is a transportation service vehicle in which a ride requester can ride, it is possible to effectively utilize the vehicle  2  that is not currently able to provide the transportation service. 
     While an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, it is to be understood that the embodiment shows only a part of the application example of the present disclosure and that the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the specific configuration of the embodiment described above. For example, though set by the server  1  in the above embodiment, the traveling route for moving a pedestrian protection vehicle to a partial-situation occurrence place may be set by the pedestrian protection vehicle.