Vehicle control device

A non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that are executable by one or more processors of an electronic control unit (ECU) mounted in a vehicle and cause the one or more processors to perform functions, the functions comprising:

• generating a traveling plan of the vehicle;
• recognizing a crossing person who crosses over a path of a vehicle that is obtained from the traveling plan;
• acquiring, from an external sensor, information of the crossing person including a speed of the crossing person;
• predicting a crossing completion time at which the crossing person completes the crossing based on the speed of the crossing person;
• deciding a scheduled departure time of the vehicle based on the crossing completion time;
• and
• performing a control of informing an outside of the vehicle, in a manner recognized by the crossing person, of the scheduled departure time, wherein the scheduled departure time is a dynamically changing countdown showing a remaining time from a current time to a time the vehicle departs,
• wherein, when no crossing person is recognized, the informing to the outside of the vehicle of the scheduled departure time is not performed.

A control method of informing an outside of a vehicle, executed by one or more processors of an electronic control unit (ECU) mounted in the vehicle, comprising:

• generating, using the ECU, a traveling plan of the vehicle;
• recognizing, using the ECU, a crossing person who crosses over a path of a vehicle that is obtained from the traveling plan;
• acquiring, from an external sensor, information of the crossing person including a speed of the crossing person;
• predicting, using the ECU, a crossing completion time at which the crossing person completes the crossing based on the speed of the crossing person;
• deciding, using the ECU, a scheduled departure time of the vehicle based on the crossing completion time;
• and
• performing, using the ECU, a control of informing an outside of the vehicle, in a manner recognized by the crossing person, of the scheduled departure time, wherein the scheduled departure time is a dynamically changing countdown showing a remaining time from a current time to a time the vehicle departs,
• wherein, when no crossing person is recognized, the informing to the outside of the vehicle of the scheduled departure time is not performed.