Map information provision system

A map information provision system comprising:

• a central processing unit (CPU), and
• a road map information database configured to store road map information including
• information on a latitude and a longitude that specifies a position of each of a plurality of crossings present on roads,
• information on a road width, a number of lanes, a traveling direction of a vehicle in each of the lanes, positions of a front end and a rear end along the traveling direction of the vehicle at each of the crossings,
• information on an inter-crossing driving course distance as a driving course distance in each of the lanes between two adjacent ones of the crossings, at each of the crossings,
• information on a curve constituting point driving course distance as a driving course distance from the front end of the closest crossing located behind in the traveling direction of the vehicle in the traveling direction of the vehicle to each of curve constituting points in each of the lanes, the information specifying a position of each of the curve constituting points, each of which is a spot on a curved road or a winding road as one of the roads, and
• information on a change in angle and a curvature radius of each of the curve constituting points in each of the lanes,
• the CPU being configured to:
• detect and determine a position of the vehicle on a road;
• extract the road map information around the vehicle from the road map information database, based on the position of the vehicle;
• determine, based on a waypoint reference point as the position of the vehicle at an arbitrary time point and the extracted road map information, positions of waypoints that are arranged in front in the traveling direction of the vehicle at predetermined intervals along a planned driving route of the vehicle, through use of waypoint coordinates as X-Y coordinates on a driving course distance plane, that is, a two-dimensional plane where the waypoint reference point serves as an origin, a distance is expressed as a driving course distance, and a direction is expressed as an extension direction of a lane along the planned driving route, and configure a waypoint map that is made up of the plurality of the waypoints;
• and
• control driving of the vehicle by utilizing the waypoint map as map information on the planned driving route.