Course evaluation apparatus and course evaluation method

A movable body comprising:

• a travel information obtaining portion configured to obtain a travel information that includes travel information of the vehicle, surrounding area information of the vehicle, or map information;
• an estimated course generation portion configured to generate a plurality of courses based on the travel information;
• a grouping portion configured to set a course group by grouping the plurality of courses;
• a course evaluation portion configured to perform a course evaluation of the course group with respect to at least two different evaluation criteria from among a degree of driving safety, a driving efficiency and a degree of observance of driving rules;
• an output portion configured to select a course along which the vehicle should travel based on the result of course evaluation, and provide information on the selected course;
• and
• a driving support system providing an instruction on a driving operation so that the vehicle travels along the selected course,
• wherein:
• the estimated course generation portion includes (i) a close course generation portion configured to generate a close course that is close to the vehicle and (ii) a subsequent course generation portion configured to generate a subsequent course that extends from the close course, and
• the grouping portion sets a plurality of course groups from a plurality of the close courses and a plurality of the subsequent courses.

A vehicle comprising a controller configured to perform:

• obtaining travel information that includes travel information of the vehicle, surrounding area information of the vehicle, or map information;
• generating a plurality of estimated courses based on the travel information;
• setting a course group by grouping the plurality of estimated courses;
• performing a course evaluation of the course group with respect to at least two different evaluation criteria selected from among a degree of driving safety, a driving efficiency and a degree of observance of driving rules;
• setting an evaluation value to the course group based on the result of the course evaluation;
• selecting the course group based on the evaluation value;
• and
• outputting information on the selected course to a drive control unit and a steering control unit of the vehicle,
• wherein:
• generating the plurality of estimated courses based on the travel information comprises generating a close course that is close to the vehicle, and generating a subsequent course that extends from the close course;
• and
• setting the course group comprises setting a plurality of course groups from a plurality of the close courses and a plurality of the subsequent courses.