Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and program

A vehicle control device comprising:

• a recognizer configured to recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;
• a driving controller configured to control steering and acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle without depending on an operation of a driver of the vehicle;
• and
• a mode determiner configured to determine a driving mode of the vehicle to be one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode in which the second driving mode is a driving mode in which the task imposed on the driver is lighter than that in the first driving mode and at least some of the plurality of driving modes including the second driving mode are controlled by the driving controller, and to change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode in which the task is heavier when a task according to the determined driving mode is not executed by the driver,
• wherein:
• the recognizer recognizes that there is an end point to end the second driving mode due to a road structure on a traveling direction side of the vehicle;
• the mode determiner changes the driving mode of the vehicle from the second driving mode to the first driving mode when a distance between the vehicle and the end point is equal to or less than a reference distance;
• the end point is a point at which the vehicle enters a branch road from a main line;
• and
• the mode determiner changes the reference distance on the basis of the number of lane changes required for the vehicle to reach a lane closest to the branch road.

A vehicle control device comprising:

• a recognizer configured to recognize a surrounding situation of a vehicle;
• a driving controller configured to control steering and acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle without depending on an operation of a driver of the vehicle;
• and
• a mode determiner configured to determine a driving mode of the vehicle to be one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode in which the second driving mode is a driving mode in which the task imposed on the driver is lighter than that in the first driving mode and at least some of the plurality of driving modes including the second driving mode are controlled by the driving controller, and to change the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode in which the task is heavier when a task according to the determined driving mode is not executed by the driver,
• wherein:
• the recognizer recognizes that there is an end point to end the second driving mode due to a road structure on a traveling direction side of the vehicle;
• the mode determiner changes the driving mode of the vehicle from the second driving mode to the first driving mode when a distance between the vehicle and the end point is equal to or less than a reference distance;
• the end point is a point at which the vehicle enters the branch road from the main line;
• and
• the mode determiner changes the reference distance on the basis of the speed of the vehicle and the number of lane changes required for the vehicle to reach a lane closest to the branch road.

A vehicle control method executed by a computer installed in a vehicle, the method comprising:

• recognizing a surrounding situation of the vehicle;
• controlling steering and acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle without depending on an operation of a driver of the vehicle;
• determining a driving mode of the vehicle to be one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode in which the second driving mode is a driving mode in which the task imposed on the driver is lighter than that in the first driving mode and at least some of the plurality of driving modes including the second driving mode are performed by controlling steering and acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle without depending on an operation of a driver of the vehicle;
• changing the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode in which the task is heavier when a task according to the determined driving mode is not executed by the driver;
• recognizing that there is an end point to end the second driving mode due to a road structure on a traveling direction side of the vehicle when recognizing the surrounding situation of the vehicle;
• and
• changing the driving mode of the vehicle from the second driving mode to the first driving mode when a distance between the vehicle and the end point is equal to or less than a reference distance,
• wherein the end point is a point at which the vehicle enters a branch road from a main line, and
• wherein the changing the driving mode includes changing the reference distance on the basis of the number of lane changes required for the vehicle to reach a lane closest to the branch road.

A vehicle control method executed by a computer installed in a vehicle, the method comprising:

• recognizing a surrounding situation of the vehicle;
• controlling steering and acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle without depending on an operation of a driver of the vehicle;
• determining a driving mode of the vehicle to be one of a plurality of driving modes including a first driving mode and a second driving mode in which the second driving mode is a driving mode in which the task imposed on the driver is lighter than that in the first driving mode and at least some of the plurality of driving modes including the second driving mode are performed by controlling steering and acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle without depending on an operation of a driver of the vehicle;
• changing the driving mode of the vehicle to a driving mode in which the task is heavier when a task according to the determined driving mode is not executed by the driver;
• recognizing that there is an end point to end the second driving mode due to a road structure on a traveling direction side of the vehicle when recognizing the surrounding situation of the vehicle;
• and
• changing the driving mode of the vehicle from the second driving mode to the first driving mode when a distance between the vehicle and the end point is equal to or less than a reference distance,
• wherein the end point is a point at which the vehicle enters a branch road from a main line, and
• wherein the changing the driving mode includes changing the reference distance on the basis of the speed of the vehicle and the number of lane changes required for the vehicle to reach a lane closest to the branch road.