Information processing apparatus, system, method of action of system, storage medium, and vehicle

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, a system, a method of action of the system, a storage medium, and a vehicle. The information processing apparatus has a communication section that performs close-range wireless communication, and a control section that transmits and receives information using the communication section, and when a moving speed of a vehicle on which the information processing apparatus is mounted is a predetermined speed, the control section performs distribution of congestion occurrence information including position information indicating a position of the vehicle using the communication section, and further performs distribution of the congestion occurrence information using another information processing apparatus mounted on another vehicle that receives the congestion occurrence information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to information processing apparatus, systems, methods of operating systems, storage media, and vehicles. Background Technology

[0002] Technology has been proposed to provide convenience for occupants by enabling multiple vehicles to share information related to traffic congestion. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-179298 discloses a system in which a vehicle sends a captured image of a congested situation to an information processing device, which then provides congestion-related information to other vehicles. Summary of the Invention

[0003] There is room for improvement in the efficiency of sharing congestion-related information among multiple vehicles.

[0004] This disclosure provides information processing devices and the like that enable multiple vehicles to efficiently share congestion-related information.

[0005] An information processing apparatus according to one aspect of this disclosure includes: a communication unit for performing short-range wireless communication; and a control unit for transmitting and receiving information using the communication unit, wherein, when the moving speed of a vehicle equipped with the information processing apparatus is a predetermined speed, the control unit uses the communication unit to distribute congestion occurrence information including location information indicating the position of the vehicle, and further distributes the congestion occurrence information using other information processing devices mounted on other vehicles and receiving the congestion occurrence information.

[0006] Another aspect of the information processing apparatus disclosed herein includes: a communication unit for performing short-range wireless communication; and a control unit for transmitting and receiving information using the communication unit, wherein, when the information processing apparatus is mounted on a vehicle, if it receives congestion occurrence information, which includes location information indicating the location of another vehicle, distributed by an information processing unit mounted on that other vehicle via short-range wireless communication when the other vehicle is moving at a predetermined speed, the control unit distributes the congestion occurrence information using the communication unit.

[0007] The operating method of the system disclosed herein is a method for operating a system having multiple information processing devices for short-range wireless communication, wherein the operating method includes the following steps: a first information processing device distributes congestion occurrence information including location information indicating the position of a vehicle when the vehicle equipped with the first information processing device is moving at a predetermined speed; and a second information processing device is equipped with other vehicles and receives the congestion occurrence information, and distributes the congestion occurrence information based on the condition that the other vehicles are within a reference distance from the vehicle, and stops distributing the congestion occurrence information when the vehicle is not within a reference distance from the other vehicles.

[0008] According to the information processing device and the like disclosed herein, multiple vehicles can efficiently share congestion-related information. Attached Figure Description

[0009] The features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals show the same elements, wherein:

[0010] Figure 1 This is a diagram representing an example of the system's structure.

[0011] Figure 2 This is a diagram representing an example of the system's actions.

[0012] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of an information processing device. Detailed Implementation

[0013] The implementation method is described below.

[0014] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates a structural example of System 1 in one embodiment. System 1 includes multiple vehicles 100. Each vehicle 100 is equipped with an information processing device 10 capable of wireless communication. Vehicles 100 are, for example, passenger vehicles such as gasoline cars, battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), or fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). Vehicles 100 can be driven by a driver or automated at any level (e.g., any of SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) levels 1 to 5). The information processing device 10 is an information processing device capable of wireless communication, such as an in-vehicle device like a car navigation system. The information processing device 10 has communication capabilities enabling mobile and short-range wireless communication. The information processing devices 10 can connect wirelessly to a public communication network 101, or communicate wirelessly with each other without using the public communication network 101. Public communication network 101 is, for example, the Internet.

[0015] Figure 2This is a diagram illustrating the general operation of System 1 in this embodiment. Hereinafter, each vehicle 100 will be referred to as vehicle 100_n (n being a natural number), and collectively as vehicle 100. Illustrations of the information processing device 10 mounted on each vehicle 100_n are omitted.

[0016] In System 1, when vehicle 100_1 is moving at a predetermined speed, the information processing unit 10 of vehicle 100_1 distributes congestion information via short-range wireless communication. This congestion information includes location information indicating the position of vehicle 100_1. The predetermined speed is a low speed, including 0 km / h, indicating the probability of congestion. The information processing unit 10 of the subsequent vehicle 100_2, located within the short-range wireless communication range 20_1 of vehicle 100_1, receives the congestion information and distributes it based on the condition that vehicle 100_2 is within a distance of vehicle 100_1. Then, the information processing unit 10 of the subsequent vehicle 100_3, located within the short-range wireless communication range 20_2 of vehicle 100_2, receives the congestion information. Similarly, congestion information is sequentially transmitted to subsequent vehicles via short-range wireless communication. Then, the information processing device 10 of the subsequent vehicle 100_n, located within a short-range wireless communication range of 20_n-1 from vehicle 100_n-1, receives the congestion occurrence information and stops distributing the congestion occurrence information when vehicle 100_n is no longer within a reference distance from vehicle 100_1. Here, the reference distance corresponds to the range of congestion impact, and is, for example, a pre-set distance arbitrarily within a range of several hundred meters to several kilometers. Thus, the congestion occurrence information distributed by vehicle 100_1 is transmitted to vehicle 100_n via short-range wireless communication.

[0017] When congestion occurs, its impact range is limited to a relatively narrow area. If a server or similar entity, responsible for collecting information from a wider area, gathers congestion information and distributes it to each vehicle 100, inefficiencies may arise, such as delays corresponding to the server's information gathering time, or the congestion information being uselessly distributed to vehicles 100 outside the impact range. In System 1, the information processing unit 10 of each vehicle 100 transmits congestion information between vehicles via short-range wireless communication, thus enabling faster information transmission compared to gathering information from a server. Furthermore, by using short-range wireless communication functions such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) standardly equipped on the information processing unit 10, vehicle-to-vehicle communication can be performed with a simple structure. Moreover, the distribution of congestion information is stopped at the stage where it is transmitted from the vehicle 100_1, which generated the congestion information due to its closest proximity, to the initial vehicle 100_n, which is outside the reference distance range, thus avoiding inefficiencies such as uselessly distributing congestion information outside the congestion's impact range. Therefore, multiple vehicles 100 can efficiently share congestion-related information.

[0018] Back Figure 1 The structure of the information processing device 10 is explained below. The information processing device 10 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, a control unit 13, an input unit 15, an output unit 16, and a detection unit 17.

[0019] The communication unit 11 includes one or more communication interfaces. These interfaces include those corresponding to mobile communication standards such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), or 5G (5th Generation). Additionally, the communication interfaces include, for example, short-range wireless communication interfaces corresponding to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth (registered trademark). The communication unit 11 receives information from the outside for the operation of the control unit 13 and transmits information obtained through the operation of the control unit 13 to the outside. The communication unit 11 connects to various vehicle-mounted devices via short-range wireless communication and connects to the network 101 via a mobile communication base station, thereby functioning as a vehicle-mounted router. Furthermore, the communication unit 11 distributes information via short-range wireless communication under the control of the control unit 13.

[0020] The storage unit 12 includes, for example, one or more semiconductor memories, one or more magnetic memories, one or more optical memories, or combinations of at least two of them, functioning as a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. Semiconductor memories are, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory). RAM is, for example, SRAM (Static RAM) or DRAM (Dynamic RAM). ROM is, for example, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The storage unit 12 stores information for the operation of the information processing device 10 and information obtained through the operation of the information processing device 10.

[0021] The control unit 13 includes one or more processors, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor may be a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a dedicated processor such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) for specific processing. The dedicated circuit may be, for example, a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 13 controls the various parts of the information processing device 10 while performing information processing related to the operation of the information processing device 10.

[0022] The functions of the information processing device 10 are implemented by a control program executed by a processor included in the control unit 13. The control program is a program used to enable the computer to function as the information processing device 10. Alternatively, some or all of the functions of the information processing device 10 may also be implemented by dedicated circuitry included in the control unit 13. Furthermore, the control program may be stored on a non-volatile recording and / or storage medium readable by the information processing device 10, and read from the medium by the information processing device 10.

[0023] Positioning unit 14 includes one or more GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers. GNSS receivers include, for example, at least one of GPS (Global Positioning System), QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System), BeiDou, GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and Galileo. Positioning unit 34 acquires the position information of information processing device 10, i.e., vehicle 100.

[0024] The input unit 15 includes one or more input interfaces. These input interfaces may be, for example, physical keys, capacitive keys, indicator devices, a touchscreen integrated with the display, or a microphone for accepting voice input. The input unit 15 receives information from the input information processing device 10 and sends the input information to the control unit 13.

[0025] The output unit 16 includes one or more output interfaces. These output interfaces may be, for example, a display or a speaker. The display may be, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The output unit 16 outputs information obtained through the operation of the information processing device 10.

[0026] The detection unit 17 has one or more sensor types or interfaces with sensor types, and sends information such as detection results obtained by the sensor types to the control unit 13. The sensor types can be installed in the information processing device 10 or in the vehicle 100, and are connected to the detection unit 17 via an in-vehicle network conforming to standards such as CAN (Controller Area Network). The sensor types include speed sensors that detect the moving speed of the vehicle 100. Furthermore, the sensor types include radar that detects the presence of other objects around the vehicle 100 and the distance to those objects, and image sensors that capture images of the area around the vehicle 100. The detection unit 17 sends various detection results and captured images to the control unit 13, and the control unit 13 processes this information.

[0027] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operating steps of the information processing device 10. Figure 3 The steps are executed by the control unit 13 at any interval, such as a few milliseconds to a few seconds. The following will describe the steps involving the execution unit. Figure 3The vehicle 100 of the information processing device 10 in the steps is referred to as this vehicle 100.

[0028] In step S300, the control unit 13 determines whether it has received congestion information from other information processing devices 10 mounted on other vehicles 100. If it has received (yes), the control unit 13 proceeds to step S301; if it has not received (no), the control unit 13 proceeds to step S308.

[0029] In step S301, the control unit 13 outputs congestion information. For example, the output unit 16 displays or voice outputs a message such as "Congestion begins 2km ahead" to notify of the congestion and the distance to the vehicle 100 ahead. Based on the position information of the vehicle 100 ahead and the position information of the current vehicle 100 included in the congestion information, the control unit 13 calculates the distance to the vehicle 100 ahead and generates the output message. Thus, the occupants of the current vehicle 100 can recognize that congestion has occurred.

[0030] In step S302, the control unit 13 determines whether the position of the vehicle 100 is within a reference distance from the vehicle 100 in front. The congestion information includes position information indicating the position of the vehicle 100 in front. The reference distance information is pre-stored in the storage unit 12 of each information processing device 10 and is read from the storage unit 12 by the control unit 13. Based on the reference distance information and the position information of the vehicle 100 obtained by the positioning unit 14, the control unit 13 determines whether the position of the vehicle 100 is within a reference distance from the vehicle 100 in front. If it is within the reference distance (yes), the control unit 13 proceeds to step S304.

[0031] In step S304, the control unit 13 distributes congestion information via short-range wireless communication. The communication unit 11 distributes the congestion information using a short-range wireless communication interface. For example, it broadcasts the congestion information using an interface corresponding to Wi-Fi. For example, if the communication unit 11 functions as a vehicle router, the control unit 13 temporarily interrupts the communication unit 11's function as a vehicle router and performs the distribution of congestion information.

[0032] After step S304, a processing cycle ends. Thus, the information processing device 10 also transmits congestion occurrence information distributed from the information processing devices 10 of other vehicles 100 to other vehicles 100.

[0033] On the other hand, if the position of this vehicle 100 is not within the reference distance of the position of the vehicle 100 in front (No in step S302), then the control unit 13 ends the current processing loop. That is, the control unit 13 stops distributing congestion information. In this way, further useless distribution beyond the reference distance is avoided.

[0034] In step S300, if no congestion information is received from other information processing devices 10 (No), in step S308, the control unit 13 determines whether it is traveling on a highway. The control unit 13 uses map information pre-stored in the storage unit 12 and the location information of the vehicle 100 to determine whether the current location is on a highway. If it is on a highway (Yes), the control unit 13 proceeds to step S310; if it is not on a highway (No), the control unit 13 proceeds to step S312.

[0035] In step S310, the control unit 13 determines whether the moving speed of the vehicle 100 is below a reference speed. Here, for example, "below the reference speed" corresponds to a "predetermined speed". The reference speed is, for example, a speed at which the vehicle 100 is likely to slow down due to congestion on a highway, such as any speed from 0 km / h to 10 km / h. This reference speed information is pre-stored in the storage unit 12 and is read from the storage unit 12 by the control unit 13. The control unit 13 obtains the moving speed of the vehicle 100 from the detection unit 17 and compares it with the reference speed. If the moving speed is below the reference speed (yes), the probability of a congestion occurring ahead of the vehicle 100 is high. Congestion on highways can be caused by lane closures due to accidents or construction, congestion caused by lane merging, or congestion at toll booths. In this case, the control unit 13 proceeds to step S311. On the other hand, if the moving speed is not below the reference speed (no), the control unit 13 ends the processing loop.

[0036] In step S311, the control unit 13 generates congestion occurrence information. In this case, processing that should be performed by the information processing device 10 mounted on the vehicle 100 at the front is executed. The control unit 13 generates congestion occurrence information that includes the location information of the vehicle 100 obtained by the positioning unit 14 and indicates that congestion has occurred. Then, in step S304, the control unit 13 distributes the congestion occurrence information.

[0037] If it is determined in step S308 that the vehicle is not traveling on a highway (No), in step S312, the control unit 13 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 100 is below a reference speed. The reference speed is a speed at which, on ordinary roads such as urban areas (excluding highways), the vehicle 100 is highly likely to slow down due to congestion if its speed is below this level; for example, it is any speed between 0 and 5 km / h. This reference speed information is pre-stored in the storage unit 12 and is read by the control unit 13 from the storage unit 12. If the speed is below the reference speed (Yes), the probability of a congestion occurring ahead of the vehicle 100 is relatively high. The causes of congestion include, for example, lane closures due to accidents or construction, or waiting at traffic lights at intersections. In this case, the control unit 13 proceeds to step S314. On the other hand, if the speed is not below the reference speed (No), the control unit 13 ends the current processing loop.

[0038] In step S314, the control unit 13 determines whether a congestion cause is detected in front of the vehicle 100. The congestion cause here includes accident vehicles, construction sites, fallen objects, and other obstacles. The control unit 13 detects the congestion cause based on the detection results from the detection unit 17 and camera images. For example, the control unit 13 detects the presence and size of objects in front based on radar detection results, determining whether they are obstacles. Additionally, the control unit 13 performs image recognition processing on the camera images in front to determine the presence or absence of accident vehicles, construction sites, fallen objects, etc. At this time, the control unit 13 confirms whether there is an accident cause within an arbitrarily set distance in front of the vehicle 100. The set distance is, for example, any distance from a few meters to tens of meters. If an accident cause is detected (yes), the probability of a congestion cause occurring in front of the vehicle 100 is high; therefore, the control unit 13 proceeds to step S311 and generates congestion occurrence information. Then, the control unit 13 distributes the congestion occurrence information in step S304, ending this processing loop. On the other hand, if no cause of the accident is detected (no), the control unit 13 proceeds to step S316.

[0039] In step S316, the control unit 13 determines whether the vehicle 100 is located at the entrance of an intersection. The control unit 13 uses map information pre-stored in the storage unit 12 and information about the current position of the vehicle 100 obtained by the positioning unit 14 to determine whether the current position is at the entrance of an intersection. The entrance of an intersection is, for example, within a set distance arbitrarily set from the end of the intersection. The set distance is, for example, a few meters. If the vehicle is located at the entrance of an intersection (yes), there is a high probability that the vehicle 100 will stop in front of the intersection while waiting for traffic lights, etc. Therefore, the control unit 13 proceeds to step S311 and generates congestion information. Then, the control unit 13 distributes the congestion information in step S304 and ends the current processing loop. On the other hand, if the vehicle is not located at the entrance of an intersection (no), there is a high probability that the slow movement of the vehicle 100 is caused by reasons other than congestion, therefore the control unit 13 ends the current processing loop.

[0040] In the above steps, by judging the occurrence of congestion based on different conditions while driving on highways and ordinary roads, the information processing device 10 can determine the occurrence of congestion with greater accuracy. Furthermore, while driving on ordinary roads, by judging whether there is a cause for congestion and whether it is located at an intersection, the information processing device 10 can determine the occurrence of congestion with even greater accuracy. It should be noted that one or more of the conditions such as whether there is a cause for congestion and whether it is located at an intersection can be appropriately omitted.

[0041] According to this embodiment, the information processing device 10 of each vehicle 100 transmits congestion occurrence information between vehicles via short-range wireless communication, thus enabling faster information transmission than aggregating to a server. Furthermore, vehicle-to-vehicle communication can be performed using a simple structure. Moreover, the inefficiency of uselessly distributing congestion occurrence information outside the affected area of ​​congestion can be avoided. Therefore, multiple vehicles 100 can efficiently share congestion-related information.

[0042] In the above description, part or all of the information processing device 10 may be a smartphone, tablet computer, or the like carried by the occupants of the vehicle 100. In this case, for example, the information processing device 10 may be configured by enabling the smartphone, tablet computer, or the like to interact with various devices in the vehicle 100 within an in-vehicle network that conforms to standards such as CAN (Controller Area Network).

[0043] In the foregoing, this disclosure has been described based on the accompanying drawings and embodiments. However, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can readily make various modifications and alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be understood that these modifications and alterations are included within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functions included in each means, step, etc., can be reconfigured in a logically consistent manner, and multiple means, steps, etc., can be combined into one or divided.

Claims

1. An information processing device, wherein, The information processing device has: The communications department conducts short-range wireless communication; as well as The control unit uses the communication unit to send and receive information, wherein... When the information processing device is mounted on the vehicle, If no congestion occurrence information, including location information indicating the location of another vehicle, is received from an information processing device mounted on another vehicle via short-range wireless communication, and the vehicle equipped with that information processing device is moving at a predetermined speed, the control unit executes the processing that should be performed by the information processing device mounted on the vehicle closest to the cause of the congestion. This generates congestion occurrence information including location information indicating the location of the current vehicle and distributes it using the communication unit. The congestion occurrence information is then further distributed using other information processing devices mounted on other vehicles that receive it. If a congestion occurrence information, including location information indicating the location of the other vehicle, is received by the information processing device of the other vehicle via short-range wireless communication, the control unit, based on the location information of the preceding vehicle and the location information of the current vehicle contained in the congestion occurrence information, distributes the congestion occurrence information using the communication unit, provided that the current vehicle is within a reference distance from the other vehicle. If the current vehicle is not within a reference distance from the other vehicle, the distribution of the congestion occurrence information is stopped, where the reference distance corresponds to the range of congestion impact.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit also distributes the congestion information based on the condition that the vehicle is traveling on a predetermined road.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit also distributes the congestion information if a predetermined object is detected within a reference distance in front of the vehicle.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit also distributes the congestion information based on the condition that the vehicle is located near an intersection.

5. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, The communication unit is configured to communicate with other devices mounted on the vehicle via short-range wireless communication and to connect to a public communication network to relay the other devices to the public communication network.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, The congestion information is distributed from the communication department without going through the public communication network.

7. An operation method for a system having multiple information processing devices for short-range wireless communication, wherein, This action method includes the following steps: When the first information processing device is mounted on a vehicle, if the first information processing device does not receive congestion occurrence information, including location information indicating the location of the other vehicle, distributed via short-range wireless communication by a second information processing device mounted on another vehicle, and the vehicle equipped with the first information processing device is moving at a predetermined speed, it performs the processing that should be performed by the information processing device mounted on the vehicle closest to the cause of the congestion, generating congestion occurrence information including location information indicating the location of its own vehicle and distributing it via short-range wireless communication; and The second information processing device is mounted on other vehicles and receives the congestion information. Based on the position information of the preceding vehicles and the position information of the current vehicle contained in the congestion information, the device distributes the congestion information on the condition that the other vehicles are within a certain distance from the current vehicle. When the current vehicle is not within a certain distance from the other vehicles, the device stops distributing the congestion information. The reference distance corresponds to the range of congestion impact.

8. The method of action according to claim 7, wherein, The first information processing device also distributes the congestion information based on the condition that the vehicle is traveling on a predetermined road.

9. The method of action according to claim 7, wherein, The first information processing device also distributes the congestion information if a predetermined object is detected within a predetermined distance in front of the vehicle.

10. The method of action according to claim 7, wherein, The first information processing device also distributes the congestion information based on the condition that the vehicle is located near an intersection.

11. The method of action according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein, The first information processing device communicates with other devices mounted on the vehicle via short-range wireless communication and connects to a public communication network to relay the other devices to the public communication network.

12. The method of action according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein, The second information processing device communicates with other devices mounted on the other vehicles via short-range wireless communication and connects to a public communication network to relay the other devices to the public communication network.

13. The method of action according to claim 12, wherein, The congestion occurrence information is distributed by the first or second information processing device without using a public communication network.

14. A storage medium storing a program, wherein, The program is executed by an information processing device capable of short-range wireless communication, thereby enabling the information processing device to operate as the information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

15. A vehicle equipped with any one of the information processing devices according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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