Vehicle speed control device, method of determining target speed by using the device, and program executing the method

A vehicle speed control device including a speed control section, the vehicle speed control device for controlling a speed of a vehicle within a control-executed zone by computing a target speed of the vehicle based on map information and a current location of the vehicle and by supplying the target speed to the speed control section, the vehicle speed control device comprising:

• a current location error estimation section for extracting area attribute information from the map information, for producing a location error probability distribution of the vehicle, based on the area attribute information, and for outputting the produced location error probability distribution as a target speed correction instruction, wherein the area attribute information indicates an attribute of the current location or of the control-executed zone;
• a target speed calculation section for receiving the target speed correction instruction, for accessing preset data that shows an acceleration or a gradient of an acceleration which does not make a driver feel uncomfortable and that depends on the location error probability distribution and a distance between a destination and a speed change start point of the target speed, and for computing target speed values at nodes over the distance in such a way that the target speed values create a continuous curve;
• and
• a speed control section for sensing a speed of a vehicle, and for controlling a driving torque of the vehicle so that the sensed speed traces the continuous curve composed of the target speed values.