Vehicle control apparatus, vehicle control method, and vehicle control program

A vehicle control method, implemented by an in-vehicle computer, comprising:

• detecting a state of other vehicles that are traveling around a vehicle and that exist in a predetermined detection region;
• generating a control plan of the vehicle according to a determination of whether the other vehicles are detected;
• controlling acceleration, deceleration, or steering of the vehicle according to an event contained in the control plan;
• generating the control plan of the vehicle according to another vehicle, of the other vehicles, that satisfies a predetermined condition;
• in response to determining that another vehicle that satisfies the predetermined condition cannot be detected:
• setting a virtual vehicle which that virtually simulates the other vehicle that satisfies the predetermined condition and generating the control plan of the vehicle, and
• setting the virtual vehicle as a stationary body in an outer edge of the detection region of the detecting;
• and
• during execution of a lane change event from a present lane to an adjacent lane:
• setting lane change target position candidates between multiple other vehicles on the adjacent lane;
• estimating, for each lane change target position candidate of the lane change target position candidates, future position changes of a first vehicle traveling in front of the lane change target position candidate, a second vehicle traveling behind the lane change target position candidate, and a third vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle in the present lane;
• and
• determining a lane change target position from the lane change target position candidates based on a result of the estimating.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium that causes an in-vehicle computer to:

• detect a state of other vehicles that are traveling around a vehicle and that exist in a predetermined detection region;
• generate a control plan of the vehicle according to a result of determining whether the other vehicles are detected;
• control acceleration, deceleration, or steering of the vehicle according to an event contained in the control plan;
• generate the control plan of the vehicle according to another vehicle, of the other vehicles, that satisfies a predetermined condition;
• in response to determining that the other vehicle that satisfies the predetermined condition cannot be detected:
• set a virtual vehicle that virtually simulates the other vehicle that satisfies the predetermined condition and generate the control plan of the vehicle, and
• set the virtual vehicle as a stationary body in an outer edge of the detection region;
• and
• during execution of a lane change event from a present lane to an adjacent lane:
• set lane change target position candidates between multiple other vehicles on the adjacent lane;
• estimate, for each lane change target position candidate of the lane change target position candidates, future position changes of a first vehicle traveling in front of the lane change target position candidate, a second vehicle traveling behind the lane change target position candidate, and a third vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle in the present lane;
• and
• determine a lane change target position from the lane change target position candidates based on estimations of the future position changes.