Travel control apparatus, travel control system, and travel control method

A travel control system comprising:

• a travel control apparatus;
• and
• a server configured to be able to communicate with the travel control apparatus,
• wherein the travel control apparatus is configured to include an electronic control unit (ECU),
• wherein the ECU is configured to:
• perform a travel control of a vehicle,
• acquire additional information to be added to map information via communication with surroundings, and add the acquired additional information to the map information,
• acquire a required capacity that is a communication capacity necessary for acquiring the additional information,
• acquire a remaining capacity of the communication capacity calculated based on a limit value of the communication capacity set in advance,
• perform the travel control of the vehicle in a plurality of modes including at least a first mode and a second mode,
• determine the travel control of the vehicle in any one of the first mode and the second mode based on the acquired required capacity and the acquired remaining capacity, and
• perform the determined travel control,
• wherein the first mode is a mode of travel control of the vehicle performed based on the map information and is a mode of travel control of the vehicle in which the required capacity of the acquired additional information is larger than that in the second mode,
• wherein the server is configured to:
• calculate the required capacity of the additional information acquired by the ECU, and
• transmit the calculated required capacity to the travel control apparatus, and
• wherein the ECU of the travel control apparatus is configured to receive the required capacity transmitted by the server,
• wherein the ECU is configured to
• provide information to a user of the vehicle,
• cause the user to select the mode of travel control of the vehicle,
• acquire a total required capacity that is a total amount of required capacity necessary for performing the travel control of the vehicle to reach a destination in the first mode, if the destination is set for the travel control of the vehicle,
• provide the user with a plan to perform the travel control of the vehicle to reach the destination in the second mode, when the remaining capacity is smaller than the total required capacity,
• cause the user who is provided with the plan to select the mode of travel control of the vehicle to be performed, and
• perform the travel control of the vehicle in the mode selected by the user.

A travel control method comprising:

• acquiring a required capacity that is a communication capacity necessary for acquiring additional information to be added to map information via communication with surroundings;
• acquiring a remaining capacity of the communication capacity calculated based on a limit value of the communication capacity set in advance;
• determining the travel control of a vehicle in any one of a plurality of modes including a first mode and a second mode based on the required capacity acquired in a step of acquiring the required capacity and the remaining capacity acquired in the step of acquiring the remaining capacity, and
• performing the determined travel control of the vehicle,
• wherein the first mode is a mode of travel control of the vehicle performed based on the map information and is a mode of travel control of the vehicle in which the required capacity of the acquired additional information is larger than that in the second mode,
• wherein, in the step of acquiring the required capacity,
• a total required capacity that is a total amount of required capacity necessary for performing the travel control of the vehicle to reach a destination is acquired in the first mode, if the destination is set for the travel control of the vehicle,
• wherein, in the step of performing the travel control,
• a user is provided with a plan to perform the travel control of the vehicle to reach the destination in the second, when the remaining capacity is smaller than the total required capacity,
• the user who is provided with the plan is caused to select the mode of travel control of the vehicle to be performed, and
• the travel control of the vehicle is performed in the mode selected by the user.