Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and storage medium

A vehicle control method comprising:

• recognizing, by a computer, a surroundings situation of a host vehicle on the basis of information obtained from at least one of a detection device and map information;
• generating, by the computer, a target trajectory for the host vehicle on the basis of a recognition result representing the surroundings situation, and executing driving control for controlling one or both of speed and steering of the host vehicle so that the host vehicle travels along the generated target trajectory;
• generating, by the computer, the target trajectory so that interference between a demarcation line demarcating a main line side and a branch lane side and the target trajectory of the host vehicle is reduced when the host vehicle is caused to perform course change from the main line side to the branch lane side in a branch section in which the main line side and a branch lane side are connected;
• wherein, reducing the interference between the demarcation line and the target trajectory is preventing the host vehicle traveling along the target trajectory from traveling on the demarcation line, or to ensure a distance between the demarcation line and the target trajectory maintains a predetermined distance or more;
• determining, by the computer, a number-of-lanes increase start position in the branch section on the basis of a road shape in the branch section, and generating a target trajectory passing through the number-of-lanes increase start position from a position of the host vehicle so that the host vehicle ultimately travels in a center of the branch lane;
• determining, by the computer, a number-of-lanes increase end position in the branch section;
• and
• generating, by the computer, the target trajectory so that the target trajectory passes through the number-of-lanes increase start position and the number-of-lanes increase end position and reaches the branch lane;
• wherein the number-of-lanes increase end position is set to a position at which a degree of interference between target trajectories for travel in respective branch lanes is reduced when there are a plurality of branch lanes.

A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium having a program stored therein, the program causing a computer to:

• recognize a surroundings situation of a host vehicle on the basis of information obtained from at least one of a detection device and map information;
• generate a target trajectory for the host vehicle on the basis of a recognition result representing the surroundings situation, and execute driving control for controlling one or both of speed and steering of the host vehicle so that the host vehicle travels along the generated target trajectory;
• generate the target trajectory so that interference between a demarcation line demarcating a main line side and a branch lane side and the target trajectory of the host vehicle is reduced when the host vehicle is caused to perform course change from the main line side to the branch lane side in a branch section in which the main line side and branch lane side are connected;
• wherein, reducing the interference between the demarcation line and the target trajectory is preventing the host vehicle traveling along the target trajectory from traveling on the demarcation line, or to ensure a distance between the demarcation line and the target trajectory to a predetermined distance or more;
• determine a number-of-lanes increase start position in the branch section on the basis of a road shape in the branch section, and generate a target trajectory passing through the number-of-lanes increase start position from a position of the host vehicle and traveling in a center of the branch lane;
• determine a number-of-lanes increase end position in the branch section;
• and
• generate the target trajectory so that the target trajectory passes through the number-of-lanes increase start position and the number-of-lanes increase end position and reaches the branch lane;
• wherein the number-of-lanes increase end position is set to a position at which a degree of interference between target trajectories for travel in respective branch lanes is reduced when there are a plurality of branch lanes.