Information processing method, information processing device, and program

Abstract

An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an information processing method in an information processing device in which first information pertaining to the travel of two or more autonomous moving bodies is acquired for each of the two or more autonomous moving bodies (S11), and first information pertaining to the travel of the two or more autonomous moving bodies is acquired on the basis of the first information. The control unit estimates second information indicating the number of target autonomous moving bodies to be operated or monitored by the remote operator during a predetermined period among the two or more autonomous moving bodies (S12), determines whether the second information is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S13), and if it is determined that the second information is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, controls the remote operator to operate or monitor the target autonomous moving bodies. And outputs at least one of third information for controlling the subject autonomous moving body and fourth information for notifying a remote operator (S15 to S18).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing method, an information processing device, and a program for remotely monitoring a plurality of autonomous driving vehicles. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, a remote control system has been conceived and put into practical use, which allows remote intervention such as remote monitoring of autonomous vehicles and remote control of autonomous vehicles as needed.

[0003] For example, the remote control device (server) capable of remotely controlling an autonomously driven vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes: a communication device capable of communicating with the vehicle; an input device operated by an operator to intervene in the control of the vehicle; a margin calculation unit that calculates an operator intervention margin indicating the possibility that the operator can intervene in the control of the vehicle; and an instruction unit that sends instructions related to the control of the vehicle to the vehicle via the communication device. Patent Document 1 discloses that the instruction unit sends an instruction to the vehicle for changing the driving plan of the vehicle when the operator intervention margin is below a specified value.

[0004] (Prior art literature)

[0005] (Patent Document)

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-154631 Summary of the invention

[0007] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0008] In such a system in which an operator intervenes, further improvement is required regarding a method of reducing the burden on the operator.

[0009] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing method and the like that can reduce the burden on an operator.

[0010] Means for solving problems

[0011] An information processing method involved in one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method in an information processing device. In the information processing method, for each of two or more autonomous mobile bodies, first information related to the two or more autonomous mobile bodies is obtained, and second information is inferred based on the first information. The second information is information showing the number of target autonomous mobile bodies among the two or more autonomous mobile bodies that are operated or monitored by a remote operator during a specified period. It is determined whether the second information is above a specified value. When it is determined that the second information is above the specified value, at least one of the third information and the fourth information is output, the third information is information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous mobile bodies, and the fourth information is information for notifying the remote operator.

[0012] Furthermore, an information processing device involved in one embodiment of the present invention comprises: an acquisition unit, which acquires first information related to two or more autonomous moving bodies for each of the two or more autonomous moving bodies; an inference unit, which infers second information based on the first information, wherein the second information is information indicating the number of target autonomous moving bodies among the two or more autonomous moving bodies that are started to be operated or monitored by a remote operator within a specified period; a judgment unit, which judges whether the second information is greater than a specified value; and an output unit, which outputs at least one of third information and fourth information when it is judged that the second information is greater than the specified value, wherein the third information is information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous moving bodies, and the fourth information is information for notifying the remote operator.

[0013] Furthermore, a program involved in one embodiment of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the following information processing method, in which, for each of two or more autonomous mobile bodies, first information related to the two or more autonomous mobile bodies is obtained, second information is inferred based on the first information, the second information is information showing the number of target autonomous mobile bodies among the two or more autonomous mobile bodies that are started to be operated or monitored by a remote operator within a specified period, it is determined whether the second information is above a specified value, and when it is determined that the second information is above the specified value, at least one of third information and fourth information is output, the third information is information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous mobile bodies, and the fourth information is information for notifying the remote operator.

[0014] Effects of the Invention

[0015] According to the present disclosure, the burden on the operator can be reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a block diagram showing an example of a control system in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A block diagram of an example of a remote monitoring / control server is shown.

[0018] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 1 A block diagram of an example of an autonomous vehicle is shown.

[0019] Figure 4 It is shown Figure 1 A block diagram of an example of a remote operator terminal is shown.

[0020] Figure 5 It is shown by Figure 1 FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an example of vehicle information acquired by a remote monitoring / control server shown in FIG.

[0021] Figure 6 It is shown Figure 5 An explanatory diagram of an example of remote intervention information in the example shown.

[0022] Figure 7 It is shown Figure 5 This is an explanatory diagram of an example of determining whether or not there is a surge in remote intervention in the example shown.

[0023] Figure 8 It is shown Figure 5 An illustrative diagram of an example of a decision vehicle control to avoid a surge in remote interventions in the example shown.

[0024] Fig. 9 It is shown by Figure 1 A flow chart of one example of a process performed by a remote monitoring / control server to avoid a surge in remote interventions is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] (Insights that form the basis of this disclosure)

[0026] As described above, when an operator monitors multiple autonomous vehicles, such remote intervention may occur: when the autonomous control of the autonomous vehicle is difficult to continue, the operator needs to remotely control the autonomous vehicle, or the operator issues a temporary stop instruction to the autonomous vehicle in order to give way to pedestrians or other vehicles. In the case where such remote intervention occurs multiple times in a short period of time, it is necessary to determine the response order and response content of the multiple autonomous vehicles that request remote intervention. In this case, since the amount of information used by the operator to grasp the information will increase sharply, the mental burden of the operator will increase, or since it takes time to decide the response, the situation changes during this period, which will cause obstacles to the operation of the autonomous vehicle. In the prior art, it is disclosed that the number of vehicles that are remotely intervened at the same time is adjusted by vehicle control so that the operator can perform remote intervention with spare capacity. However, vehicle control has not been performed in consideration of the fact that the surge in the number of vehicles that require remote intervention in a short period of time will bring burden to the operator. Therefore, the surge in the number of vehicles that require remote intervention in a short period of time will bring burden to the operator. Therefore, there is a need for improvement in methods for reducing the burden on the operator caused by the above reasons.

[0027] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present disclosure, for example, when a surge in remote intervention is predicted, a vehicle control instruction is sent to the autonomous vehicle so that the timing of the remote intervention of the autonomous vehicle is staggered. As a result, since the situation where the remote intervention request alarm occurs multiple times or the frequency of situations where the response of multiple autonomous vehicles needs to be determined in a short time can be reduced, the burden on the operator can be reduced.

[0028] That is, an information processing method involved in one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method in an information processing device, in which, for each of two or more autonomous mobile bodies, first information related to the two or more autonomous mobile bodies is obtained, and second information is inferred based on the first information, the second information being information showing the number of target autonomous mobile bodies among the two or more autonomous mobile bodies that are operated or monitored by a remote operator within a specified period, and it is determined whether the second information is above a specified value. When it is determined that the second information is above the specified value, at least one of the third information and the fourth information is output, the third information being information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous mobile bodies, and the fourth information being information for notifying the remote operator.

[0029] Accordingly, for example, when it is predicted that remote intervention will surge, a driving plan instruction for avoiding such surge is prepared as the third information, and the prepared instruction is sent to the autonomous mobile body (for example, an autonomous driving vehicle). Therefore, since the surge of remote intervention (operation or monitoring) can be avoided, the frequency of occurrence of situations where the alarm requesting remote intervention occurs multiple times and the situation where a decision on the response of multiple autonomous mobile bodies needs to be made in a short time can be reduced. Thus, the burden on the remote operator due to the surge of remote intervention can be reduced. As a result, the concentration of the remote operator due to fatigue can be reduced when the remote operator performs long-term remote monitoring or remote monitoring of multiple autonomous mobile bodies, and a situation in which remote monitoring is easy and safe can be achieved. And, for example, the fourth information for prompting the attention of the remote operator is output to the terminal operated by the remote operator, and the timing of the surge of autonomous mobile bodies requiring remote intervention by the remote operator is notified to the remote operator in advance. Accordingly, the remote operator can prepare in advance for the surge of remote intervention. Thus, through the information processing method involved in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the burden on the remote operator due to the surge of remote intervention can be reduced.

[0030] And for example, the first information includes at least one of (1), (2), and (3), (1) refers to the fifth information related to the state of the autonomous moving body and the surrounding environment, (2) refers to the sixth information related to the area where the autonomous moving body moves, and (3) refers to the seventh information related to the path of the autonomous moving body.

[0031] Based on this, the fourth information can be inferred with high accuracy.

[0032] And for example, when it is determined that the second information is above a specified value, it is further determined based on the first information whether the specified control can be performed on the object autonomous moving body, and in the output of at least one of the third information and the fourth information, when it is determined that the specified control can be performed on more than one object autonomous moving body, the third information is output to more than one object autonomous moving body, and when it is determined that the specified control cannot be performed on more than one object autonomous moving body, the fourth information is output to a terminal for notifying the remote operator.

[0033] According to this, when the autonomous mobile body can execute a prescribed control such as a temporary stop, the surge of autonomous mobile bodies requiring remote intervention can be suppressed by causing the autonomous mobile body to execute the prescribed control. In addition, depending on the location where the autonomous mobile body is traveling, there may be a situation where such a prescribed control such as a temporary stop cannot be performed. In this case, the fourth information for prompting the attention of the remote operator is output to the terminal operated by the remote operator, and the timing of the surge of autonomous mobile bodies requiring remote intervention by the remote operator is notified to the remote operator in advance. According to this, the remote operator can prepare in advance for the surge of remote intervention. As a result, the burden on the remote operator due to the surge of remote intervention can be reduced.

[0034] And for example, the prescribed value is more than two, and in the information processing method, the eighth information related to the remote operator is further obtained, and the ninth information is generated based on the second information, and the ninth information is information showing the result of determining which of the two or more remote operators is to operate or monitor the two or more object autonomous moving bodies, and the ninth information is output to a terminal for notifying the remote operator.

[0035] According to this, for example, it is not necessary for the remote operators to decide among themselves which remote operator should be assigned to handle the autonomous moving object that requires remote intervention. This can further reduce the burden on the remote operators.

[0036] And for example, the third information includes at least one of information for temporarily stopping the target autonomous moving object, information for changing the speed of the target autonomous moving object, and information for changing the moving path of the target autonomous moving object.

[0037] This makes it possible to appropriately suppress the proliferation of autonomous mobile bodies that require remote intervention.

[0038] And for example, in the information processing method, further, based on the first information, a tenth information showing the following result is generated for each of the two or more object autonomous mobile bodies, the result being a result of calculating at least one of the degree of safety when the object autonomous mobile body performs the prescribed control and the degree of influence on the two or more autonomous mobile bodies when the object autonomous mobile body performs the prescribed control, and based on the tenth information, one or more object autonomous mobile bodies are determined.

[0039] This allows the autonomous moving body to safely perform a predetermined control, or reduces the time of temporary stoppages caused by a surge in remote interventions when considering two or more autonomous moving bodies as a whole.

[0040] For example, in determining the one or more target autonomous mobile objects, a target autonomous mobile object having a high calculated safety level among the two or more target autonomous mobile objects is determined as the one or more target autonomous mobile objects.

[0041] This can suppress a decrease in the safety of traveling of the autonomous mobile body.

[0042] For example, in determining the one or more target autonomous mobile objects, a target autonomous mobile object with a low calculated influence degree among the two or more target autonomous mobile objects is determined as the one or more target autonomous mobile objects.

[0043] According to this, the influence of travel delay and the like when considering two or more autonomous mobile bodies as a whole can be reduced through the prescribed control.

[0044] Furthermore, for example, the fourth information includes at least one of information indicating the predetermined period and information related to the third information.

[0045] This allows the remote operator to understand the timing when remote intervention is likely to increase or how the autonomous moving body needs to travel.

[0046] Furthermore, an information processing device involved in one embodiment of the present invention comprises: an acquisition unit, which acquires first information related to each of two or more autonomous moving bodies; an estimation unit, which estimates second information based on the first information, wherein the second information is information indicating the number of target autonomous moving bodies among the two or more autonomous moving bodies that are operated or monitored by a remote operator during a specified period; a judgment unit, which judges whether the second information is greater than a specified value; and an output unit, which outputs at least one of third information and fourth information when it is judged that the second information is greater than the specified value, wherein the third information is information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous moving bodies, and the fourth information is information for notifying the remote operator.

[0047] Furthermore, a program involved in one embodiment of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method, in which, for each of two or more autonomous mobile bodies, first information related to the two or more autonomous mobile bodies is obtained, second information is inferred based on the first information, the second information is information showing the number of target autonomous mobile bodies among the two or more autonomous mobile bodies that are operated or monitored by a remote operator within a specified period, it is determined whether the second information is above a specified value, and when it is determined that the second information is above the specified value, at least one of third information and fourth information is output, the third information is information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous mobile bodies, and the fourth information is information for notifying the remote operator.

[0048] Through the above-mentioned aspects, it is possible to achieve the same effects as the information processing method involved in one aspect of the present disclosure.

[0049] In addition, the embodiments to be described below are all specific examples of the present disclosure. The numerical values, shapes, constituent elements, steps, the order of steps, etc. shown in the following embodiments are all examples, and their main purpose is not to limit the present disclosure. Moreover, for the constituent elements in the following embodiments that are not recorded in the independent technical solutions, they will be described as arbitrary constituent elements. Moreover, in all embodiments, the contents of each mode can be combined. Furthermore, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, various modified examples obtained by performing changes within the scope that can be thought of by those skilled in the art on the various embodiments of the present disclosure are also included in the present disclosure.

[0050] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0051] (Implementation Method)

[0052] [constitute]

[0053] <Overall Overview>

[0054] Figure 1 This is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] The control system in the embodiment is a remote control system that remotely intervenes in monitoring or controlling an autonomous moving body such as an autonomous driving vehicle from a remote location as needed.

[0056] The control system in the embodiment includes a remote monitoring / control server 1, a plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, and a plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j. Here, i is, for example, an arbitrary integer greater than 2. And j is, for example, an arbitrary positive integer.

[0057] In addition, in this embodiment, although the control system includes a plurality of automatic driving vehicles 21 to 2i and a plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the control system may use a single remote operator terminal.

[0058] In addition, in this embodiment, although the autonomous moving object is described by taking an autonomous driving vehicle as an example, the invention is not limited to this example. The autonomous moving object may also be various moving objects that move autonomously, such as construction machinery, ships, or drones.

[0059] The remote monitoring / control server 1, the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, and the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j are connected to communicate with each other via a network 4 such as a predetermined wired network such as a network or a dedicated line or a predetermined wireless network.

[0060] The remote monitoring / control server 1 is, for example, a computer composed of a cloud server having a processor, a memory, an external storage device, and a communication device, etc. The remote monitoring / control server 1 receives and records vehicle information (more specifically, vehicle state information and surrounding environment information) from each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i.

[0061] Each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i is, for example, a mobile body (a vehicle in this embodiment) that performs level 4 (High Driving Automation) or level 5 (Full Driving Automation) autonomous driving as defined by J3016 developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International) of the United States and travels in an unmanned state.

[0062] In addition, multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i are not limited to the above examples, and can also be, for example, autonomous driving vehicles that perform level 1 to 3 autonomous driving or ordinary vehicles that perform level 0 driving (manually driven vehicles driven manually by the driver).

[0063] Furthermore, each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i is not limited to a vehicle, but can also be a mobile body that moves autonomously such as a robot or a drone.

[0064] Each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i is configured to be switchable between an autonomous driving mode in which the vehicle is autonomously driven and a remote control mode in which the vehicle is remotely controlled by each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j. Each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i is an autonomous driving vehicle that performs a predetermined task in the autonomous driving mode. Here, the predetermined task is, for example, a task of a delivery service of goods such as home delivery or a task of a delivery service of a transporter such as a taxi service.

[0065] In a normal mission execution state, each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i is set to an autonomous driving mode to perform autonomous driving.

[0066] Each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i acquires information about its own surrounding environment through sensors, and transmits the surrounding environment information showing the acquisition result to the remote monitoring / control server 1. Each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j receives the surrounding environment information acquired by each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i from the remote monitoring / control server 1 and displays it. Each of the plurality of operators P1 to Pk (where k is an arbitrary positive integer) remotely monitors the driving status of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i at a remote location while viewing the surrounding environment information of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i displayed on each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j.

[0067] In addition, the number of operators P1 to Pk may be plural or one.

[0068] Furthermore, the operators P1 to Pk do not necessarily need to perform remote monitoring while viewing the surrounding environment information of each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i. For example, each of the remote operator terminals 31 to 3j may display information on the position of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i drawn on the map. The operators P1 to Pk may also perform remote monitoring while viewing such displayed information. In this way, each of the remote operator terminals 31 to 3j may perform any display as long as it is a display that allows the operators P1 to Pk to remotely monitor each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i.

[0069] Each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i is configured to be capable of receiving remote control and / or remote intervention such as voice communication through each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j.

[0070] When a predetermined event occurs, each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i sends a remote intervention request (request information) for remote intervention to the remote monitoring / control server 1. The remote monitoring / control server 1 notifies at least one of the remote operator terminals 31 to 3j that the remote intervention request has occurred (i.e., received). Upon receiving the notification, the at least one terminal displays a remote intervention request alarm. When the remote operator terminals 31 to 3j can be used for remote intervention, the operators P1 to Pk accept the remote intervention request and remotely intervene in each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i that has sent the remote intervention request.

[0071] Here, the occurrence of the above-mentioned specified event refers to the occurrence of a situation that requires remote intervention of at least one of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i. Specifically, the specified event refers to (i) the situation that the autonomous driving vehicle is difficult to continue driving autonomously, (ii) the situation that a vehicle operation instruction such as a start instruction, an end instruction, or a door opening and closing that requires autonomous control occurs in accordance with the above-mentioned specified task, or (iii) the situation that requires temporary stopping to confirm the safety of the surroundings and then restarting autonomous driving occurs at a place such as a crosswalk where special attention is required during autonomous driving.

[0072] As conditions where it is difficult to continue the autonomous driving described above, there are, for example, (iv) a condition where the environmental conditions deteriorate due to bad weather, (v) a condition where the road is congested due to a large number of people or other vehicles, or (vi) a condition where the sensor unit 212 described later (see Figure 3 ) A malfunction has occurred, etc.

[0073] In addition, the implementation method of remote intervention is not limited to the above example. For example, when it is determined that each of the multiple operators P1 to Pk needs to perform remote intervention through remote monitoring, remote intervention can be performed on each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i. For example, remote intervention such as voice speaking instructions for the purpose of attracting attention when a person or other vehicle approaches, or temporary stop instructions for the purpose of giving way to a person or other vehicle can also be implemented.

[0074] Each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j receives and displays vehicle information from each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i. Operators P1 to Pk use each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j to remotely intervene in each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i. The remote operator terminals 31 to 3j send the remote intervention instructions input by the operators P1 to Pk to each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i. When each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i receives the remote intervention instructions from each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j, it performs the prescribed vehicle control (hereinafter referred to as vehicle control) in accordance with the remote intervention instructions.

[0075] Here, when remote intervention increases, the number of remote intervention request alarms displayed on each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j also increases. In this case, the amount of information for operators P1 to Pk to decide on responses increases, which increases the burden on operators P1 to Pk.

[0076] Therefore, when the remote monitoring / control server 1 predicts that the remote intervention will increase, it determines whether the increase in remote intervention can be avoided by vehicle control for at least some of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i. When the remote monitoring / control server 1 determines that the increase in remote intervention can be avoided, it creates a vehicle control instruction and sends the created vehicle control instruction to the autonomous driving vehicle 21 to 2i that is to be controlled.

[0077] In addition, the timing for predicting the surge in the above-mentioned remote intervention may also be a certain period. In this case, the vehicle control can be performed while responding to the situation that changes during the driving of the automatic driving vehicles 21 to 2i.

[0078] Furthermore, the timing for predicting the surge in remote intervention described above may also be when planning the path that the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i will travel (move). In this case, a plan for a path in which a surge in remote intervention of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i is unlikely to occur can be generated.

[0079] Next, the configurations of the remote monitoring / control server 1 , the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2 i , and the remote operator terminals 31 to 3 j will be described.

[0080] <Remote Monitoring / Server>

[0081] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the remote monitoring / control server 1 is shown.

[0082] The remote monitoring / control server 1 includes a communication unit 11 , a control unit 12 , and a storage unit 13 .

[0083] The control unit 12 includes a remote intervention vehicle number change estimation unit 121 , a remote intervention surge determination unit 122 , a vehicle control determination unit 123 , and an alarm display determination unit 124 .

[0084] The storage unit 13 includes a control program storage unit 131 , a vehicle information storage unit 132 , and an operator information storage unit 133 .

[0085] The communication unit 11 is a communication device that receives vehicle information, map information, and path information of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i from each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, and causes the vehicle information storage unit 132 to store the information. The communication device is implemented by, for example, a communication interface, a processor, and a memory that stores a control program executed by the processor. The communication interface is implemented by, for example, a connector connected to a communication line in the case of wired communication. And, for example, the communication interface is implemented by an antenna and a wireless communication circuit in the case of wireless communication. In addition, the communication unit 11 sends the vehicle control instructions generated by the vehicle control decision unit 123 to each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i.

[0086] The vehicle information is information about the size of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, the position and speed of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, and the surrounding environment of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i. For example, as the vehicle information, the communication unit 11 receives information such as the size of the autonomous driving vehicle 21, the position of the autonomous driving vehicle 21, the travel speed, and the steering angle (also referred to as vehicle state information), and information detected by the sensor unit 212 of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 (also referred to as surrounding environment information).

[0087] The map information is information about the place where the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i are traveling. For example, as the map information, the communication unit 11 receives information including a map of the place where the autonomous driving vehicle 21 is traveling (for example, information showing the width of the road and the presence or absence of red lights, etc.) from the autonomous driving vehicle 21.

[0088] The path information is information about the travel path that the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i travel. For example, as the path information, the communication unit 11 receives information showing the path that the autonomous driving vehicle 21 travels from the autonomous driving vehicle 21.

[0089] Alternatively, the map information and the route information may be stored by the remote monitoring / control server 1 .

[0090] Furthermore, the communication unit 11 receives remote intervention information from each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3 j and causes the operator information storage unit 133 to store the information.

[0091] The remote intervention information is information showing how the operator remotely intervenes in the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i. For example, the remote intervention information includes the content of driving performed by the operator for the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, the content of instructions such as slow driving for the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, and / or information showing that monitoring is being performed (for example, only information about the autonomous driving vehicle that is the monitoring target among the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i is displayed on the remote operator terminal, indicating that it is information of special concern), etc.

[0092] Then, the communication unit 11 transmits the alarm display instruction generated by the alarm display determination unit 124 to each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3 j.

[0093] The control unit 12 is composed of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and functions as a remote intervention vehicle quantity transition estimation unit 121, a remote intervention surge judgment unit 122, a vehicle control determination unit 123, and an alarm display determination unit 124 by executing a specified control program stored in a control program storage unit 131.

[0094] The remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 obtains the vehicle information, map information, and path information of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i with reference to the vehicle information storage unit 132, and estimates the transition of the number of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i that require remote intervention in the future (also referred to as the number of remote intervention vehicles) as the transition of the number of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i that will undergo remote intervention. Specifically, the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 estimates the start time and end time of remote intervention of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i in the future based on the vehicle information, map information, and path information of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, and calculates the number of remote intervention vehicles in the future as the number of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i that will undergo remote intervention.

[0095] In addition, a specific example of the remote intervention vehicle number change estimation unit 121 obtaining vehicle information, map information, and path information of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i to estimate the change in the number of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i that will receive remote intervention at the same time in the future will be described later.

[0096] Furthermore, the remote monitoring / control server 1 may obtain information for estimating the start time and end time of remote intervention of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i in the future from an external device such as an infrastructure.

[0097] Regarding the method for estimating the start time and end time of remote intervention of each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i in the future, for example, when the vehicle information of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i shows that a pedestrian has been detected, based on the relative speeds of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i and the pedestrian, the start time and end time of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i crossing over the pedestrian are calculated, and the start time and end time of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i crossing over the pedestrian are used as the start time and end time of remote intervention of each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i in the future.

[0098] The remote intervention vehicle number change estimation unit 121 outputs the estimated number of remote intervention vehicles at a future time, and the start time and end time of remote intervention of each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i at a future time to the remote intervention surge judgment unit 122.

[0099] Furthermore, regarding the method for estimating the start time and end time of the remote intervention of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i in the future, the time when the autonomous driving vehicle 21 to 2i starts crossing the crosswalk and the time when the crossing ends can also be estimated. For example, the time when the autonomous driving vehicle 21 starts crossing the crosswalk and the time when the crossing ends can be calculated based on the vehicle speed received from the autonomous driving vehicle 21 and the position of the crosswalk included in the map information stored in the map information storage unit 2151.

[0100] Furthermore, as a method for estimating the start time and end time of remote intervention of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i in the future, the driving start time and driving end time of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 to 2i on a narrow road (e.g., a road with a road width of less than 2 times the vehicle width) may be used. The road width information may be pre-stored in the map information storage unit 2151, or may be calculated using information obtained by the sensor unit 212 while the autonomous driving vehicle 21 is driving.

[0101] Furthermore, as for the method of estimating the start time and end time of the remote intervention of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i in the future, the vehicle information, map information, and path information of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i may be gathered together for estimation. For example, by associating a function or table (also referred to as probability information) pre-stored in the control program storage unit 131 with the vehicle information, map information, and path information, the remote intervention occurrence probability based on each information may be estimated, and the start time and end time at which the total value of the remote intervention occurrence probability reaches a predetermined value (e.g., 50%) or more may be estimated.

[0102] The remote intervention occurrence probability is a numerical value indicating the possibility of requiring remote intervention by the operator. For example, the remote intervention occurrence probability is high in places where it is difficult to drive, such as narrow roads, or places with high risks, such as many pedestrians. On the other hand, the remote intervention occurrence probability is low in places where it is easy to drive, such as wide roads, or places with low risks, such as no pedestrians.

[0103] For example, the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 calculates the remote intervention occurrence probability based on the number of pedestrians and the road width, etc., based on the vehicle information and map information of each of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i in the driving path, and probability information (for example, information showing the remote intervention occurrence probability for the road width, and the remote intervention occurrence probability for the number of pedestrians, etc.). The remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121, for example, determines whether the calculated remote intervention occurrence probability exceeds a threshold value arbitrarily determined in advance, and if it is determined that it exceeds the threshold value, it determines that the remote intervention of the operator is required. The remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121, for example, calculates the remote intervention occurrence probability of each of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i at each point on the driving path, and calculates when the calculated remote intervention occurrence probability exceeds the threshold value based on the position and speed (for example, the average speed in the driving plan) of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i shown in the vehicle information. Based on this, the remote intervention vehicle number change estimation unit 121 estimates (calculates) when and how many automatic driving vehicles 21 to 2i need remote intervention, that is, estimates (calculates) the change in the number of remote intervention vehicles.

[0104] The remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 uses the above function or table to calculate, for example, the probability of remote intervention occurring from 10 seconds to 12 seconds to be 50% for pedestrian approach information included in vehicle information when two pedestrians approach the autonomous driving vehicle 21 at a relative speed of 1.0 m / s at a distance of 10 m from the autonomous driving vehicle 21. For example, the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 uses the above function or table to calculate, for example, the probability of remote intervention occurring from 10 seconds to 20 seconds to be 30% for road width information included in map information when the autonomous driving vehicle 21 is traveling at a speed of 1.0 m / s and the road width 10 m to 20 m away from the autonomous driving vehicle 21 is less than 2 times the vehicle width. The threshold value of the remote intervention occurrence probability is determined to be 40%, for example. If the remote intervention occurrence probability calculated by the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 is 50%, it is determined that remote intervention by the operator is required. On the other hand, for example, if the remote intervention occurrence probability calculated by the remote intervention vehicle quantity change estimation unit 121 is 30%, it is determined that the remote intervention of the operator is not necessary.

[0105] The remote intervention surge judgment unit 122 estimates whether there will be a surge in remote intervention in the future based on the change in the number of remote intervention vehicles estimated by the remote intervention vehicle number change estimation unit 121. Specifically, the estimation of the presence or absence of a surge in remote intervention in the future is determined by determining whether the increase in the number of remote intervention vehicles is a prescribed first threshold, such as more than 3 vehicles, from the start time of remote intervention of each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i to a prescribed time (also referred to as a prescribed period), for example, within 0.3 minutes. The prescribed period can be arbitrarily determined in advance without special limitations. The prescribed period can be less than 0.3 minutes or more than 0.3 minutes.

[0106] In addition, a specific example of the estimation of the presence or absence of a surge in remote intervention by the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 will be described later.

[0107] When it is estimated that remote intervention will surge, the remote intervention surge judgment unit 122 outputs information indicating the presence or absence, timing, etc. of remote intervention of each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, as well as vehicle information to the vehicle control decision unit 123.

[0108] Furthermore, the above-mentioned predetermined time may be used to estimate the time required for the operator to respond to the remote intervention. The time required for the operator to eliminate the burden caused by the surge in remote intervention may be estimated, for example, by recording the time required for the operators P1 to Pk to decide the response order and response content for the autonomous driving vehicles requiring remote intervention, i.e., multiple autonomous driving vehicles requesting remote intervention (also referred to as vehicles in remote intervention request) in similar situations in the past.

[0109] Furthermore, the above-mentioned prescribed time and the above-mentioned prescribed first threshold value may be changed according to the proficiency of the operator or the fatigue of the operator. For example, when the proficiency of the operator is low or the fatigue of the operator is high, the surge in remote interventions may cause a heavy burden, so the above-mentioned prescribed time may be shortened or the above-mentioned prescribed first threshold value may be reduced, so that it is easy to judge that the surge in remote interventions will occur. The proficiency of the operator may be defined, for example, by the cumulative time of the operator's remote monitoring to date, or may be pre-stored in the operator information storage unit 133. The fatigue of the operator may be defined, for example, by the time of continuous remote monitoring, or may be pre-stored in the operator information storage unit 133.

[0110] Furthermore, the above-mentioned prescribed time and the above-mentioned prescribed first threshold value may be changed according to the time period or weather. For example, at night or when the weather is bad, it becomes difficult to confirm the status for determining the response order and response content of the vehicles in multiple remote intervention requests, so the surge in remote interventions will increase the burden. Therefore, in this case, the above-mentioned prescribed time may be shortened or the above-mentioned prescribed first threshold value may be reduced, so that it is easy to determine that the remote interventions will surge.

[0111] Furthermore, the first threshold value may be changed according to the number of remote intervention vehicles at the near moment. For example, there is a case where the remote intervention priority of the vehicle in the remote intervention request is higher than that of the autonomous driving vehicle (also referred to as the vehicle in the process of remote intervention), the remote intervention of the vehicle in the process of remote intervention can be temporarily interrupted according to the judgment of the operator, and the remote intervention is performed on the vehicle in the process of remote intervention. In this case, the operator needs to confirm the status of the vehicle in the process of remote intervention and the vehicle in the process of remote intervention request each time a remote intervention request occurs, that is, for example, each time a request message for remote intervention is received from the vehicle in the process of remote intervention request, and decide the order and content of the response. Therefore, in this case, the more the number of remote intervention vehicles increases, the more difficult it is for the operator to confirm the status, and the surge in remote intervention will cause the burden on the operator to increase. In addition, in this case, for example, compared with the case where the number of remote intervention vehicles increases from 0 to 3, the surge in remote intervention such as the increase in the number of remote intervention vehicles from 3 to 6 will cause the burden on the operator to increase, so the first threshold value specified above is reduced, for example, to 2. In this way, for example, the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 can appropriately change the determination condition (first threshold in this embodiment) for determining the presence or absence of a surge in remote intervention according to the situation, thereby reducing the burden on the remote operator due to the surge in remote intervention.

[0112] Alternatively, the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 may change (determine) the first threshold value specified above based on the service quality of the service provided by the autonomous driving vehicle. For example, the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 may adjust the first threshold value to be smaller so as to facilitate the determination of the surge, assuming that the service quality will not be reduced when the specified vehicle control is implemented to avoid the surge of remote intervention (for example, when the delivery end time is not delayed in the case of the commodity delivery service). For example, in the case of the commodity delivery service, when all vehicles have completed the delivery of commodities and are returning to the storage warehouse, the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 reduces the first threshold value specified above because the service quality will not be reduced when the specified vehicle control is implemented to avoid the surge of remote intervention.

[0113] This can reduce the burden on operators while maintaining service quality.

[0114] The vehicle control decision unit 123 causes the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i to perform a prescribed vehicle control according to the judgment result of the remote intervention surge judgment unit 122. Specifically, the vehicle control decision unit 123 selects the minimum number of autonomous driving vehicles required to at least avoid a surge in remote intervention according to the information of remote intervention of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i received from the remote intervention surge judgment unit 122, vehicle information, map information, and path information. The vehicle control decision unit 123 selects, for example, from the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i that require remote intervention in the order of the latest start time of the remote intervention, and determines whether a surge can be avoided by vehicle control and whether a prescribed vehicle control can be implemented for the selected autonomous driving vehicle. The prescribed vehicle control is, for example, a vehicle control that performs a temporary stop for the shortest temporary stop time required to avoid a surge in remote intervention. For example, assuming that when the autonomous driving vehicle 21 performs the prescribed vehicle control, it is determined that there will be no surge in remote intervention at the above future time, and further, when it is determined that the autonomous driving vehicle 21 can safely perform a temporary stop, it is determined that the prescribed vehicle control can be implemented. In this way, the autonomous driving vehicle that performs the prescribed vehicle control can also be selected as an autonomous driving vehicle that can safely perform the prescribed vehicle control (that is, an autonomous driving vehicle with a high degree of safety).

[0115] For example, the minimum number of vehicles required to avoid the above-mentioned surge in remote intervention may be calculated based on the increase in the number of remote intervention vehicles at the time when the surge in remote intervention is estimated and a predetermined first threshold.

[0116] And for example, the shortest temporary stop time required to avoid the surge in remote intervention mentioned above can be calculated based on the time required for remote intervention to occur from the start time of remote intervention of the autonomous driving vehicle that initially starts remote intervention to the moment after the above-mentioned specified time.

[0117] In addition, a specific example of the vehicle control determination unit 123 determining the predetermined vehicle control for avoiding a surge in remote intervention will be described later.

[0118] When it is determined that the surge can be avoided by prescribed vehicle control, the vehicle control decision unit 123 generates an instruction to execute the prescribed vehicle control (also referred to as a prescribed vehicle control instruction), and uses the communication unit 11 to send the prescribed vehicle control instruction to the autonomous driving vehicle 21 to 2i that is to execute the prescribed vehicle control.

[0119] In addition, the vehicle control determination unit 123 may send an alert to the operator via the communication unit 11 so that the operator can determine the content of a predetermined vehicle control instruction, or may notify the operator of the content of the vehicle control instruction.

[0120] Furthermore, the vehicle control determination unit 123 may determine the content of the vehicle control and the vehicle to be subjected to the vehicle control so as to minimize the degradation of the service quality.

[0121] This can reduce the burden on operators while maintaining service quality.

[0122] It may also be that after the vehicle control decision unit 123 sends a vehicle control instruction to the autonomous driving vehicle 21, when a surge in remote intervention is avoided due to a change in conditions before or during the implementation of vehicle control, the vehicle control decision unit 123 sends an instruction to cancel the vehicle control instruction to the autonomous driving vehicle 21 via the communication unit 11.

[0123] On the other hand, when the vehicle control decision unit 123 determines that the surge cannot be avoided by the prescribed vehicle control, it outputs the presence or absence of remote intervention for the autonomous driving vehicle at the time of the estimated remote intervention surge, the time before and after the estimated time of the remote intervention surge, and the vehicle information to the alarm display decision unit 124.

[0124] The alarm display determination unit 124 generates a predetermined alarm display instruction based on the estimated time of remote intervention surge, the presence or absence of remote intervention for the autonomous driving vehicle before and after the estimated time of remote intervention surge, and the vehicle information. The alarm display determination unit 124 transmits the alarm display instruction to the remote operator terminals 31 to 3j using the communication unit 11.

[0125] The predetermined alarm display instruction is, for example, an instruction to display the estimated time of remote intervention surge to all operators. In this case, operators who may perform remote intervention can cope with the surge of remote intervention, and the burden caused by the surge of remote intervention can be reduced.

[0126] Alternatively, the predetermined alarm display instruction may be sent to an operator who is not in the process of executing the remote intervention process (also referred to as "in remote intervention"). In this case, since the alarm display is not generated for the operator in remote intervention, the operator can concentrate on the remote intervention.

[0127] Furthermore, the above-mentioned prescribed alarm display instruction may be an instruction that displays different contents for each operator. For example, it may be configured such that detailed information related to the surge of remote intervention is notified to operators who have not performed remote intervention and operators with high proficiency, and simple information related to the surge of remote intervention is notified to operators who are performing remote intervention and operators with low proficiency. With this configuration, the remote monitoring / control server 1 can appropriately notify the amount of information that the operator can handle according to the ability or status of the operator.

[0128] Alternatively, the timing of sending the predetermined alarm display instruction may be changed according to the time until the estimated surge in remote interventions will occur. For example, the alarm display determination unit 124 may send the predetermined alarm display instruction 30 seconds before the time when the remote intervention will occur, thereby enabling the alarm display to be performed at an appropriate timing to prepare for the surge in remote interventions.

[0129] For example, the alarm display determination unit 124 may determine the time to send the above-mentioned alarm display instruction so that the time becomes earlier as the number of remote intervention vehicles increases. In this case, the alarm display determination unit 124 may cause the remote operator terminal 31 to display an alarm so that the operator has more spare capacity to cope with the increase in remote interventions when the burden increases as the increase in remote interventions increases.

[0130] The storage unit 13 is constituted by, for example, a semiconductor memory or the like, and functions as a control program storage unit 131 , a vehicle information storage unit 132 , and an operator information storage unit 133 .

[0131] The control program storage unit 131 stores various programs for controlling the remote monitoring / control server 1 .

[0132] The vehicle information storage unit 132 stores in advance the identification number of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i.

[0133] Here, as the identification number of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, various information can be used as long as each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i can be individually identified. For example, the identification number of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 to 2i can use the IP address (Internet Protocol address) of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i.

[0134] For example, the communication unit 11 receives vehicle information, map information stored in the map information storage unit 2151, and path information stored in the path information storage unit 2152 from each of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, and causes the vehicle information storage unit 132 to store the information.

[0135] The operator information storage unit 133 stores in advance the identification number of each of the plurality of operators P1 to Pk and the identification number of each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j. Here, as the identification number of each of the plurality of operators P1 to Pk, various information can be used as long as each of the plurality of operators P1 to Pk can be individually identified. For example, the identification number of the plurality of operators P1 to Pk can use a unique identification number pre-assigned to each of the plurality of operators P1 to Pk. And, as the identification number of each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j, various information can be used as long as each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j can be individually identified. For example, the identification number of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j can use the IP address of each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j.

[0136] Furthermore, the operator information storage unit 133 may be configured to store the identification number of each of the plurality of remote operator terminals 31 to 3j used by each of the plurality of operators P1 to Pk. For example, the operator information storage unit 133 may associate the identification number of the operator with the identification number of the remote operator terminal used by the operator and store the operator information.

[0137] The operator information is information related to the operators P1 to Pk and includes, for example, information indicating the correspondence between the operator's identification number and the identification number of the remote operator terminal used by the operator, information indicating the operator's proficiency, and information indicating the operator's fatigue level.

[0138] With this configuration, the remote monitoring / control server 1 can display an alarm to a specific operator via the remote operator terminal.

[0139] <Autonomous Driving Vehicles>

[0140] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 1 A block diagram of an example of the configuration of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 is shown.

[0141] In addition Figure 3In order to simplify the illustration, only the autonomous driving vehicle 21 among the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i is illustrated. The autonomous driving vehicles 22 to 2i have the same structure as the autonomous driving vehicle 21 and operate in the same manner. In the following description, the structure and operation of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i are described using the autonomous driving vehicle 21.

[0142] The autonomous driving vehicle 21 includes a communication unit 211 , a sensor unit 212 , a drive unit 213 , a control unit 214 , a storage unit 215 , a display unit 216 , and a service providing unit 217 .

[0143] The control unit 214 includes a communication control unit 2141 and a travel control unit 2142 .

[0144] The storage unit 215 includes a map information storage unit 2151 , a route information storage unit 2152 , and a control program storage unit 2153 .

[0145] The configuration of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 is not limited to this example. For example, a part or all of the functions of the remote monitoring / control server 1 may be included in the autonomous driving vehicle 21 .

[0146] The communication unit 211 performs wireless communication with the remote monitoring / control server 1 and the remote operator terminal 31 under the control of the communication control unit 2141, and transmits vehicle information including vehicle state information related to the vehicle body such as the vehicle speed, current position, and steering angle of the autonomous driving vehicle 21, and surrounding environment information of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 to the remote monitoring / control server 1 and the remote operator terminal 31. In addition, the communication unit 211 receives a command for controlling the autonomous driving vehicle 21 from the remote monitoring / control server 1. In addition, the communication unit 211 receives a command for remotely intervening in the autonomous driving vehicle 21 from the remote operator terminal 31.

[0147] The communication unit 211 is realized by, for example, a communication interface for wireless communication and a processor, etc. The communication interface is realized by an antenna and a wireless communication circuit, etc.

[0148] In addition, the communication unit 211 can utilize a wireless LAN (Local Area Network), a mobile phone, or a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) in addition to a general wireless communication device.

[0149] The sensor unit 212 is composed of sensors such as a plurality of cameras for photographing the surroundings of the autonomous driving vehicle 21, and is installed in front, behind, on the right side, and on the left side of the autonomous driving vehicle 21. The sensor unit 212 outputs information sensed about the surroundings of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 to the control unit 214 and the communication unit 211 as surrounding environment information.

[0150] In addition, the sensor unit 212 is not limited to the above-mentioned examples. As long as it is a configuration capable of sensing information about the autonomous driving vehicle 21 and the surroundings, for example, the mounting position of the sensor of the sensor unit 212, the number of sensors mounted, and the type of sensor can also be changed arbitrarily. The sensor unit 212 can also include, for example, an omnidirectional camera, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a steering angle sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, an odometer, and / or an inertial sensor.

[0151] The driving unit 213 is composed of, for example, an engine and a transmission when the autonomous driving vehicle 21 is an engine vehicle. Furthermore, the driving unit 213 is composed of, for example, a driving motor and a transmission when the autonomous driving vehicle 21 is an electric vehicle in a narrow sense (Battery Vehicle). These engines and driving motors are started and stopped via an ignition switch. Furthermore, the driving unit 213 also includes an accelerator device, a brake device, and a steering device to accelerate, decelerate, and steer the autonomous driving vehicle 21.

[0152] The control unit 214 is constituted by a processor such as a CPU, for example, and functions as a communication control unit 2141 and a travel control unit 2142 .

[0153] The communication control unit 2141 controls the communication unit 211 and the sensor unit 212 .

[0154] The travel control unit 2142 executes the travel program stored in the control program storage unit 2153. The travel control unit 2142 controls the drive unit 213 based on the route information stored in the route information storage unit 2152 and the surrounding environment information acquired by the sensor unit 212 according to the travel program.

[0155] Specifically, the driving control unit 2142 controls the driving unit 213 and the like so that the autonomous driving vehicle 21 drives autonomously in an autonomous driving mode, or the driving control unit 2142 controls the driving unit 213 and the like so that the autonomous driving vehicle 21 drives in a remote control mode according to remote control of the remote operator terminal 31.

[0156] Furthermore, the driving control unit 2142 detects the occurrence of the above-mentioned specified events in the automatic driving vehicle 21 based on the vehicle state information and the surrounding environment information, and uses the communication unit 211 to send a remote intervention request requesting remote intervention to the remote monitoring / control server 1.

[0157] The storage unit 215 is constituted by, for example, a semiconductor memory or the like, and functions as a map information storage unit 2151 , a route information storage unit 2152 , and a control program storage unit 2153 .

[0158] The map information storage unit 2151 stores map information in advance.

[0159] The map information includes, for example, road data related to road links, intersection data related to intersections, data related to facilities, and ground object data showing markers installed or formed on the road. The map information is used to generate path information used when the autonomous driving vehicle 21 performs autonomous driving in the autonomous driving mode.

[0160] The route information storage unit 2152 stores route information indicating the route of the automatic driving vehicle 21 from the departure point to the destination.

[0161] The route information is information that can be generated by an existing route generation program, etc. The autonomous driving vehicle 21 can obtain the route information by, for example, receiving the route information generated by an external server, etc. from a server. Alternatively, the autonomous driving vehicle 21 may have a predetermined route generation program, and by executing the route generation program, the route information is generated and stored in the route information storage unit 2152.

[0162] The control program storage unit 2153 stores in advance various programs required for controlling the automatically driven vehicle 21 .

[0163] The display unit 216 is composed of, for example, a direction indicator and a speaker, etc. For example, the display unit 216 is used to notify pedestrians and other vehicles around the autonomous driving vehicle 21 of the driving purpose and vehicle information of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 automatically or through remote intervention by the operators P1 to Pk.

[0164] The service provider 217 is a device used by the autonomous driving vehicle 21 to provide services. For example, in the case where the service provided by the autonomous driving vehicle 21 is transporting people, the service provider 217 corresponds to a door, etc. The service provider 217 is operated automatically or by remote intervention of the operators P1 to Pk, for example.

[0165] <Remote Operator Terminal>

[0166] Figure 4 It is shown Figure 1 A block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the remote operator terminal 31 is shown.

[0167] In addition, Figure 4 , the diagram is simplified, and only the remote operator terminal 31 is shown in the diagram among the multiple remote operator terminals 31 to 3j. The remote operator terminals 32 to 3j have the same configuration as the remote operator terminal 31, and operate in the same manner. In the following description, the configuration and operation of the multiple remote operator terminals 31 to 3j are described using the remote operator terminal 31. In addition, the description is based on the assumption that the remote operator terminal 31 is used by the operator P1.

[0168] Figure 4 The remote operator terminal 31 shown includes a communication unit 311 , an output unit 312 , an input unit 313 , a control unit 314 , and a storage unit 315 .

[0169] The configuration of the remote operator terminal 31 is not limited to this example, and a part or all of the functions of the remote monitoring / control server 1 may be included in the remote operator terminal 31 .

[0170] The communication unit 311 communicates with the remote monitoring / control server 1 and receives an alarm display instruction from the remote monitoring / control server 1. In addition, the communication unit 311 communicates with the remote monitoring / control server 1 and sends remote intervention information to the remote monitoring / control server 1.

[0171] Furthermore, the communication unit 311 communicates with the autonomous driving vehicle 21, and receives vehicle information including vehicle state information related to the vehicle body, such as the vehicle speed, current position, and steering angle of the autonomous driving vehicle 21, and surrounding environment information of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 from the autonomous driving vehicle 21. Furthermore, the communication unit 311 communicates with the autonomous driving vehicle 21, and sends a remote intervention instruction to the autonomous driving vehicle 21.

[0172] The communication unit 311 is realized by, for example, a communication interface for wireless communication and a processor, etc. For example, the communication interface is realized by an antenna and a wireless communication circuit, etc.

[0173] In addition, the communication unit 311 can utilize a wireless LAN, a mobile phone, or a PHS, etc. in addition to a general wireless communication device.

[0174] The output unit 312 is composed of a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and displays vehicle information received from the autonomous driving vehicle 21 via the communication unit 311, including vehicle status information related to the vehicle body, such as the vehicle speed, current position, and steering angle of the autonomous driving vehicle 21, and surrounding environment information of the autonomous driving vehicle 21. The output unit 312 can display the vehicle status information and surrounding environment information using a known display method, for example, it can display them simultaneously on one display, or display each information separately on different displays. In addition, when the surrounding environment information is information obtained by multiple sensors, the output unit 312 can also display the sensor information separately, or it can collect the sensor information and display the collected sensor information.

[0175] Furthermore, the output unit 312 displays the remote request alarm received from the autonomous driving vehicle 21 via the communication unit 311 or the remote intervention surge alarm received from the remote monitoring / control server 1 via the communication unit 311 .

[0176] The input unit 313 is composed of a user interface such as a keyboard, a mouse, and / or a joystick, and is used when the operator P1 performs various remote interventions. The operator P1 inputs, via the input unit 313, for example, a command control amount for designating the speed and steering amount of the autonomous driving vehicle 21 as a remote intervention instruction for remotely intervening in the autonomous driving vehicle 21.

[0177] Alternatively, the input unit 313 may be configured under the same operating environment as when actually operating the vehicle, for example, including a steering wheel, brake, accelerator, etc. In this case, the operator P1 can input a driving instruction as if he is actually driving the vehicle.

[0178] The control unit 314 is constituted by a processor such as a CPU, for example, and controls the communication unit 311 , the output unit 312 , and the input unit 313 .

[0179] The storage unit 315 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor memory, and stores various information such as a remote intervention application for remotely intervening in the autonomous vehicle 21, information received from the autonomous vehicle 21, and information input by the operator P1. The control unit 314 controls the communication unit 311, the output unit 312, and the input unit 313, etc., by, for example, executing the remote intervention application stored in the storage unit 315, thereby performing various controls on the remote operator terminal 31.

[0180] The operator P1 checks the information displayed on the output unit 312 and uses the input unit 313 to remotely intervene in the autonomous driving vehicle 21. The communication unit 311 transmits the remote intervention instruction inputted through the input unit 313 to the autonomous driving vehicle 21 under the control of the control unit 314.

[0181] <Specific example>

[0182] Next, a specific example of the processing executed by the remote intervention vehicle number change estimation unit 121 , the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 , and the vehicle control determination unit 123 will be described.

[0183] Figure 5 This is an example of vehicle information of each of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i with the current time being time 0.

[0184] In this example, the autonomous driving vehicle 21 estimates that the remote intervention 51 will occur as the vehicle travels on a narrow road by the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121. Furthermore, the autonomous driving vehicle 22 estimates that the remote intervention 52 will occur as a pedestrian approaches by the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121. Furthermore, the autonomous driving vehicle 23 estimates that the remote intervention 53 will occur as the vehicle crosses the crosswalk by the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121. Furthermore, the autonomous driving vehicles 24 to 2i estimate that the remote intervention will not occur by the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121.

[0185] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 The illustrated example is an example of remote intervention information estimated by the remote intervention vehicle quantity change estimation unit 121 .

[0186] In this example, regarding remote intervention 51, the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 estimates that remote intervention will be performed from remote intervention start 61A after 0.1 minute to remote intervention end 61B after 1.0 minute. Furthermore, regarding remote intervention 52, the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 estimates that remote intervention will be performed from remote intervention start 62A after 0.2 minute to remote intervention end 62B after 0.7 minute. Furthermore, regarding remote intervention 53, the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 estimates that remote intervention will be performed from remote intervention start 63A after 0.3 minute to remote intervention end 63B after 0.8 minute.

[0187] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 The illustrated example is a specific example in which the remote intervention increase determination unit 122 determines that the remote intervention is likely to increase.

[0188] As an example, when the above-mentioned prescribed time is 0.3 minutes and the above-mentioned first threshold is 3, there are remote intervention starts 61A, 62A, and 63A in the above-mentioned prescribed time from 0.1 minutes to 0.4 minutes. In this case, the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 determines that the remote intervention will surge because the number of automatic driving vehicles 21 to 2i that receive remote intervention within the above-mentioned prescribed time increases by 3, which is greater than the above-mentioned first threshold.

[0189] Figure 8 is Figure 7 In the example of the surge in remote intervention shown, the vehicle control determination unit 123 determines a specific example of vehicle control for avoiding the surge in remote intervention.

[0190] In this example, the first threshold is 3, and since the number of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i receiving remote intervention increases to 3 within the above-mentioned prescribed time, the minimum number of vehicles that need to be controlled in order to avoid a surge in remote intervention is 1. Therefore, in order to avoid a surge in remote intervention, a vehicle control instruction to temporarily stop is sent to one autonomous driving vehicle.

[0191] In the case where the autonomous driving vehicles to implement the vehicle control are selected in order of later start time of the remote intervention, in this example, the autonomous driving vehicle 23 is selected as the autonomous driving vehicle to implement the vehicle control.

[0192] As a prescribed vehicle control, in the case of a vehicle control that only needs to be temporarily stopped for the shortest time in order to avoid a surge in remote intervention, the shortest time required to avoid a surge in remote intervention in this example is the length of time from the moment when the prescribed time has passed from the remote intervention start 61A to the moment when the remote intervention start 73A occurs on the automatic driving vehicle 23. Here, the remote intervention start 63A predicted by the remote intervention vehicle quantity transition estimation unit 121 is delayed as the remote intervention start 73A, and the shortest time calculated is 0.1 minutes.

[0193] When the autonomous driving vehicle 23 can safely perform a temporary stop for 0.1 minute, the vehicle control determination unit 123 sends a vehicle control instruction to perform a temporary stop for 0.1 minute to the autonomous driving vehicle 23 .

[0194] [Processing order]

[0195] Next, a description will be given of a process performed by the remote monitoring / control server 1 configured as described above to reduce the burden on operators due to a surge in remote interventions.

[0196] Fig. 91 is a flowchart showing an example of a process performed by the remote monitoring / control server 1 to reduce the burden on operators due to a surge in remote interventions.

[0197] First, referring to the vehicle information storage unit 132, the vehicle information, map information, and route information of the automatic driving vehicles 21 to 2i are acquired and output to the remote intervention vehicle quantity change estimation unit 121 (step S11).

[0198] Next, the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 estimates the start time and end time of remote intervention of each of the plurality of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i at a future time based on the vehicle information, map information, and route information of the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i, and calculates the number of remote intervention vehicles at a future time as the number of autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i that simultaneously receive remote intervention (step S12). The remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 outputs the estimated number of remote intervention vehicles at a future time to the remote intervention surge determination unit 122.

[0199] The remote intervention surge determination unit 122 determines whether the increase in the number of remote intervention vehicles is greater than a predetermined value within a predetermined time, thereby determining whether there is a surge in remote intervention (step S13 ).

[0200] When it is not predicted that the remote intervention will increase (No in step S13 ), the vehicle control determination unit 123 determines that the warning display determination unit 124 does not transmit the vehicle control instruction and the warning display instruction, and ends the process.

[0201] On the other hand, when it is predicted that the remote intervention will surge ("Yes" in step S13), the vehicle control determination unit 123 determines whether the surge in remote intervention can be avoided by vehicle control (step S14). Specifically, the vehicle control determination unit 123 determines whether the surge in remote intervention can be avoided by the prescribed vehicle control and whether the prescribed vehicle control can be implemented for at least the number of autonomous driving vehicles required to avoid the surge in remote intervention, based on the time when the surge in remote intervention is estimated to occur, the presence or absence of remote intervention of the autonomous driving vehicle at the time before and after the time when the surge in remote intervention is estimated to occur, the vehicle information, the map information, and the path information.

[0202] When it is determined that a surge in remote intervention can be avoided through vehicle control ("Yes" in step S14), the vehicle control determination unit 123 prepares a vehicle control instruction for implementing prescribed vehicle control on the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i in order to avoid a surge in remote intervention (step S15), and uses the communication unit 11 to send the vehicle control instruction to the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i (step S16).

[0203] At this time, the autonomous driving vehicles 21 to 2i that have received the vehicle control instruction via the communication unit 211 are controlled by the driving unit 213 through the travel control unit 2142 to perform vehicle control in such a way as to avoid a surge in remote intervention.

[0204] On the other hand, when it is determined that the surge in remote intervention cannot be avoided through vehicle control ("No" in step S14), the alarm display decision unit 124 creates an alarm display indication for notifying that the remote intervention will surge (step S17), and uses the communication unit 11 to send the alarm display indication to the remote operator terminals 31 to 3j (step S18).

[0205] At this time, the remote operator terminals 31 to 3 j that have received the alarm display instruction via the communication unit 311 display the alarm on the output unit 312 via the control unit 314 to notify the operators P1 to Pk.

[0206] As described above, when the remote monitoring / control server 1 predicts that the remote intervention will surge, it creates a driving plan instruction to avoid the surge, and sends the created instruction to the autonomous driving vehicle that needs to change the driving plan. Therefore, through the remote monitoring / control server 1, it is possible to avoid the surge of remote intervention and reduce the occurrence of multiple remote intervention request alarms, and it is possible to reduce the burden on the remote operator due to the surge of remote intervention. As a result, it is possible to reduce the operator's concentration caused by fatigue when performing long-term remote monitoring or remote monitoring of multiple autonomous driving, and it is possible to achieve a situation where remote monitoring is easy and safe.

[0207] [Modifications, etc.]

[0208] Alternatively, the above-mentioned prescribed vehicle control may be implemented for a greater number of autonomous driving vehicles than the minimum number of vehicles required to avoid the surge in the above-mentioned remote intervention. For example, in a case where the minimum number of vehicles required to avoid the surge in the above-mentioned remote intervention is one, the above-mentioned prescribed vehicle control may be implemented for two autonomous driving vehicles. In this way, the frequency of occurrence of a situation where a surge in remote intervention cannot be avoided as predicted can be reduced. In this case, it is preferred that the fewer the number of operators who can intervene remotely or the greater the degree of fatigue of the operators, the more vehicles the vehicle control is implemented on.

[0209] Furthermore, the vehicle control specified above may be a speed change instruction for the autonomous driving vehicle. For example, the shortest temporary stop time required to avoid the surge in the above-mentioned remote intervention may be 30 seconds. When the driving speed of the autonomous driving vehicle is 1.0 m / s and the road length to the location where the remote intervention is predicted to occur is 30 m, the vehicle control is performed so that the driving speed of the autonomous driving vehicle is changed to 0.5 m / s. Accordingly, even if the temporary stop of the autonomous driving vehicle is dangerous, the surge in remote intervention can be safely avoided.

[0210] Furthermore, the vehicle control specified above may be a route change instruction for the autonomous vehicle. For example, compared with vehicle control that temporarily stops or changes speed, a route change instruction may be implemented when a route change enables the autonomous vehicle to reach the destination earlier. In this way, a decrease in the driving efficiency of the autonomous vehicle can be suppressed while a surge in remote intervention can be avoided.

[0211] Furthermore, when the vehicle control specified above is implemented for multiple autonomous driving vehicles, the same vehicle control or different vehicle controls may be implemented for each of the multiple autonomous driving vehicles.

[0212] Furthermore, the vehicle control specified above may be determined by taking into account the time when the estimated surge of remote intervention will occur, the presence or absence of remote intervention of the autonomous driving vehicle at the time before and after the estimated surge of remote intervention, the vehicle information, the map information, and the error of the path information received from the remote intervention surge determination unit 122. Specifically, in the case of temporary suspension, the vehicle control specified above may be temporarily suspended for the following time, which is a time that is a certain time, such as 0.5 minutes, added to the shortest temporary suspension time required to avoid the surge of remote intervention in consideration of the error of the time when the estimated surge of remote intervention will occur. Accordingly, the frequency of occurrence of a situation where the surge of remote intervention cannot be avoided as predicted under the condition that there is an error in the time when the estimated surge of remote intervention will occur, the presence or absence of remote intervention of the autonomous driving vehicle at the time before and after the estimated surge of remote intervention, the vehicle information, the map information, and the path information.

[0213] Furthermore, with respect to the autonomous driving vehicles implementing the above-mentioned vehicle control, priority may be given to autonomous driving vehicles that can safely implement vehicle control. Specifically, with respect to the autonomous driving vehicles implementing the above-mentioned vehicle control, when the vehicle control is temporarily stopped, priority may be given to autonomous driving vehicles that are traveling on a wide road and / or have few pedestrians and other vehicles around. Furthermore, as conditions for selecting an autonomous driving vehicle that can safely implement vehicle control, parameters of autonomous driving vehicles such as small size, light weight, or slow driving speed, or previous driving data may be used.

[0214] Furthermore, with respect to the autonomous driving vehicle that performs the above-mentioned prescribed vehicle control, the autonomous driving vehicle that has finished providing the service may be preferentially selected. This can suppress the decline in the efficiency of providing the service and avoid a surge in remote intervention.

[0215] Furthermore, with regard to the autonomous driving vehicles implementing the above-mentioned vehicle control, it is also possible to give priority to autonomous driving vehicles that are less affected by the decline in overall driving efficiency. Specifically, with regard to the autonomous driving vehicles implementing the above-mentioned vehicle control, it is also possible to give priority to autonomous driving vehicles that require a short temporary stop time in order to avoid a surge in remote intervention. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the decline in the efficiency of providing services while also avoiding a surge in remote intervention.

[0216] Furthermore, the time for implementing the vehicle control specified above may also be a time when conditions suitable for the autonomous driving vehicle to implement vehicle control are met. Specifically, the vehicle control instruction may also be a vehicle control instruction for implementing a temporary stop when the autonomous driving vehicle reaches a road with a wide road width, in the case where a temporary stop of 1 minute is required to avoid a surge in remote intervention. In this way, it is easy to ensure the safety of the autonomous driving vehicle when implementing vehicle control.

[0217] [Effects, etc.]

[0218] As described above, the information processing method involved in the embodiment is an information processing method in an information processing device, in which, for each of two or more autonomous mobile bodies, first information related to the travel of the two or more autonomous mobile bodies is obtained (for example, S11), second information is inferred based on the first information, the second information is information showing the number of target autonomous mobile bodies among the two or more autonomous mobile bodies that are started to be operated or monitored by a remote operator within a specified period (for example, S12), it is determined whether the second information is above a specified value (for example, S13), and when it is determined that the second information is above the specified value (for example, "Yes" in S13), third information for controlling one or more target autonomous mobile bodies among the two or more target autonomous mobile bodies and at least one of the fourth information for notifying the remote operator (for example, S15 to S18) are output.

[0219] An example of the information processing device is the remote monitoring / control server 1. Also, an example of the two or more autonomous moving bodies is the automatic driving vehicles 21 to 2i. Also, an example of the remote operator is the operators P1 to Pk using the remote operator terminals 31 to 3j.

[0220] The first information is information related to the autonomous mobile body, such as the above-mentioned information including vehicle state information, surrounding environment information, map information, and / or route information.

[0221] The second information is information indicating the number of autonomous mobile objects determined to require operation (more specifically, remote operation) or monitoring (more specifically, remote monitoring) by a remote operator within a predetermined period, that is, the number of autonomous mobile objects determined to require remote intervention.

[0222] In step S13, it is determined whether the second information is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, the predetermined first threshold value described above), that is, it is determined whether the number of autonomous mobile bodies requiring remote intervention increases sharply within a predetermined period.

[0223] The third information is, for example, the above-mentioned vehicle control instruction and is also information for temporarily stopping the autonomous moving body.

[0224] The fourth information is, for example, the above-mentioned alarm display instruction, and is also information for notifying the remote operator that the number of autonomous moving bodies that require remote intervention will increase significantly within a specified period. The fourth information is output to a terminal (for example, any one of the remote operator terminals 31 to 3j), and is notified to the remote operator through images and / or sounds.

[0225] The predetermined period is, for example, the above-mentioned predetermined time, and is also a period from the first time to the second time which is arbitrarily determined.

[0226] Accordingly, for example, by creating an instruction to avoid a surge as the third information and sending the created instruction to the autonomous mobile body, a surge in remote intervention (operation or monitoring) can be avoided. And, for example, the fourth information including image information and / or sound information that prompts the remote operator to pay attention is output to the terminal operated by the remote operator, and the remote operator is notified in advance of the timing of the surge in autonomous mobile bodies that require remote intervention by the remote operator. Accordingly, the remote operator can prepare in advance for the surge in remote intervention. In this way, through the information processing method involved in the embodiment, since a surge in the number of autonomous mobile bodies that require remote intervention can be avoided, or the remote operator can be notified in advance of such a surge, the burden on the remote operator due to the surge in remote intervention can be reduced.

[0227] And for example, the first information includes at least one of (1), (2), and (3), (1) is the fifth information related to the state of the autonomous moving body and the surrounding environment, (2) is the sixth information related to the area where the autonomous moving body moves, and (3) is the seventh information related to the path of the autonomous moving body.

[0228] The fifth information is, for example, the above-mentioned vehicle information.

[0229] The sixth information is, for example, the above-mentioned map information.

[0230] The seventh information is, for example, the above-mentioned path information.

[0231] Based on this, the second information can be estimated with high accuracy.

[0232] And, for example, when it is determined that the second information is greater than a predetermined value (for example, "Yes" in S13), it is also possible to further determine whether the predetermined control can be performed on the target autonomous moving body based on the first information (for example, S14). In this case, for example, in the output of at least one of the third information and the fourth information (for example, S15 to S18), when it is determined that the predetermined control can be performed on one or more target autonomous moving bodies (for example, "Yes" in S14), the third information is output to the one or more target autonomous moving bodies (S16), and when it is determined that the predetermined control cannot be performed on the one or more target autonomous moving bodies, the fourth information is output to the terminal for notifying the remote operator (S18).

[0233] Accordingly, in the case where the autonomous mobile body can execute a prescribed control such as a temporary stop (for example, the prescribed vehicle control described above), the surge in the number of autonomous mobile bodies requiring remote intervention can be suppressed by causing the autonomous mobile body to execute the prescribed control. In addition, depending on the location where the autonomous mobile body is traveling, there is a case where the prescribed control such as a temporary stop cannot be executed. In this case, the fourth information that prompts the attention of the remote operator is output to the terminal operated by the remote operator, and the remote operator is notified in advance of the timing of the surge in the number of autonomous mobile bodies requiring remote intervention by the remote operator. Accordingly, the remote operator can prepare in advance for the surge in remote intervention. As a result, the burden on the remote operator due to the surge in remote intervention can be reduced.

[0234] And, for example, the prescribed value is two or more. In this case, in the information processing method involved in the embodiment, the eighth information related to the remote operator is further acquired, and the ninth information showing the result of determining which one of the two or more remote operators is to be operated or monitored on the two or more target autonomous moving bodies is generated based on the second information, and the ninth information is output to the terminal for notifying the remote operator. In other words, it is also possible to determine which operator is to be remotely intervened on which autonomous moving body based on the eighth information and the number of autonomous moving bodies that require remote intervention.

[0235] The eighth information is, for example, the above-mentioned operator information, and includes, for example, information indicating which operator is using which terminal, information indicating the operator's proficiency, and / or information indicating the operator's fatigue level.

[0236] The ninth information is information indicating the result of determining which remote operator is to remotely intervene in which target autonomous moving object, that is, information indicating the allocation of the remote intervention of the operator.

[0237] According to this, the allocation of which remote operator to handle the autonomous moving object requiring remote intervention is determined by the information processing device, and there is no need to determine between the remote operators, for example. This can further reduce the burden on the remote operators.

[0238] For example, the third information includes at least one of information for temporarily stopping the target autonomous moving object, information for changing the speed of the target autonomous moving object, and information for changing the moving path of the target autonomous moving object.

[0239] This makes it possible to appropriately suppress the proliferation of autonomous mobile bodies that require remote intervention.

[0240] For example, in the information processing method according to the embodiment, based on the first information, for each of the two or more target autonomous mobile bodies, the tenth information showing the result of calculating at least one of the safety level when the target autonomous mobile body executes the prescribed control and the degree of influence on the two or more autonomous mobile bodies when the target autonomous mobile body executes the prescribed control is generated, and one or more target autonomous mobile bodies are determined based on the tenth information. That is, the autonomous mobile body that executes the prescribed control may be determined based on at least one of the safety level showing the degree to which the autonomous mobile body can safely execute the prescribed control and the degree of influence on the occurrence of delay in the service when the two or more autonomous mobile bodies provide the service by executing the prescribed control.

[0241] This makes it possible to allow the autonomous mobile body to safely perform predetermined control, or to reduce the time of temporary stops due to a surge in remote intervention when considering two or more autonomous mobile bodies as a whole.

[0242] For example, in determining one or more target autonomous mobile objects, a target autonomous mobile object having a higher calculated safety level among two or more target autonomous mobile objects is determined as one or more target autonomous mobile objects.

[0243] This can suppress a decrease in the safety of traveling of the autonomous mobile body.

[0244] For example, in determining one or more target autonomous mobile objects, a target autonomous mobile object having a low calculated influence degree among two or more target autonomous mobile objects is determined as one or more target autonomous mobile objects.

[0245] According to this, by means of predetermined control, it is possible to reduce travel delays and the like when considering two or more autonomous mobile bodies as a whole.

[0246] Furthermore, for example, the fourth information includes at least one of information indicating a predetermined period and information related to the third information.

[0247] This allows the remote operator to understand the timing of the surge in remote intervention or how the autonomous moving body is traveling.

[0248] Furthermore, the information processing device involved in the implementation method comprises: an acquisition unit, which acquires first information related to the two or more autonomous moving bodies for each of the two or more autonomous moving bodies; an estimation unit, which estimates second information based on the first information, and the second information is information indicating the number of target autonomous moving bodies among the two or more autonomous moving bodies that are started to be operated or monitored by a remote operator within a specified period; a judgment unit, which judges whether the second information is greater than a specified value; and an output unit, which outputs at least one of third information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous moving bodies and fourth information for notifying the remote operator when it is judged that the second information is greater than the specified value.

[0249] The acquisition unit and the estimation unit are realized by, for example, the remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121. The remote intervention vehicle number transition estimation unit 121 acquires the first information from, for example, the storage unit 13 or from the autonomous mobile object via the communication unit 11.

[0250] The determination unit is implemented, for example, by the remote intervention surge determination unit 122. The output unit is implemented, for example, by at least one of the vehicle control determination unit 123 and the alarm display determination unit 124. At least one of the vehicle control determination unit 123 and the alarm display determination unit 124 outputs at least one of the third information and the fourth information to at least one of the target autonomous mobile object and the terminal via the communication unit 11.

[0251] According to this, it is possible to achieve the same effects as those of the information processing device involved in the embodiment.

[0252] Furthermore, the present disclosure may be implemented as a program that causes a computer to execute the above-mentioned information processing method. Specifically, a program involved in one embodiment of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute the following information processing method, in which, for each of two or more autonomous moving bodies, first information related to the two or more autonomous moving bodies is acquired, second information is inferred based on the first information, the second information is information indicating the number of target autonomous moving bodies that are operated or monitored by a remote operator during a specified period among the two or more autonomous moving bodies, and it is determined whether the second information is greater than a specified value. If it is determined that the second information is greater than the specified value, at least one of the third information for controlling one or more of the two or more target autonomous moving bodies and the fourth information for notifying the remote operator is output.

[0253] According to this, it is possible to achieve the same effects as those of the information processing device involved in the embodiment.

[0254] (Other Embodiments)

[0255] Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

[0256] For example, from the perspective of service quality, when vehicle control (for example, temporary stopping and / or deceleration, etc.) is implemented based on the determination of the presence or absence of a surge in remote intervention, the timing of starting driving and / or accelerating for restoring the driving mode of the autonomous mobile body to the original driving mode may also be included in the vehicle control instruction.

[0257] Alternatively, the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 may change (determine) the first threshold value specified above based on the service quality of the service provided by the autonomous driving vehicle. For example, the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 adjusts the first threshold value to be smaller so as to facilitate the determination of surges, assuming that the service quality will not be reduced when the specified vehicle control is implemented to avoid the surge of remote intervention (for example, when the delivery end time is not delayed in the case of the commodity delivery service). For example, in the case of the commodity delivery service, when all vehicles have completed the delivery of commodities and are returning to the storage warehouse, the remote intervention surge determination unit 122 reduces the first threshold value specified above because the service quality will not be reduced when the specified vehicle control is implemented to avoid the surge of remote intervention.

[0258] This can reduce the burden on operators while maintaining service quality.

[0259] Furthermore, when the vehicle control is implemented based on the judgment of the surge in remote intervention, the vehicle control content may be determined in such a way that the service quality is maintained. For example, when the autonomous mobile body performs the commodity delivery service, the vehicle control determination unit 123 calculates the respective delivery delay times when the route of the autonomous mobile body is changed and when the autonomous mobile body is temporarily stopped, and adopts the vehicle control of the side with the shorter calculated delivery delay time. Furthermore, for example, when each autonomous mobile body performs the commodity delivery service, the vehicle control determination unit 123 implements vehicle control on the autonomous mobile body that has not delivered the commodity and is in the process of returning, in preference to the autonomous mobile body that is in the process of delivering the commodity. Service information related to the content of the autonomous mobile body service and whether the service is in the process of service execution may also be obtained, for example, from the user interface of the autonomous mobile body or the terminal operated by the operator.

[0260] Furthermore, for example, vehicle control that improves service quality may be implemented within a range where a surge in remote intervention does not occur. For example, the vehicle control decision unit 123 may determine the content of vehicle control in such a manner that the autonomous moving body arrives at the destination earlier by generating a route change instruction such as accelerating the autonomous moving body and / or taking a shortcut to change the route to a route shorter than the original route.

[0261] For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the processing performed by a specific processing unit may be performed by another processing unit. Also, the order of multiple processing may be changed, and multiple processing may be performed in parallel.

[0262] For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, each component of the processing unit such as the control unit 12 is implemented by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component can be implemented by a program execution unit such as a CPU or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded in a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory.

[0263] Furthermore, each component may also be implemented by hardware. For example, each component may also be a circuit (or integrated circuit). These circuits may constitute a circuit as a whole, or may be separate circuits. Furthermore, these circuits may be general-purpose circuits or dedicated circuits.

[0264] Furthermore, the general or specific aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented by a system, device, method, integrated circuit, computer program, or non-transitory recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM. Furthermore, the present disclosure may also be implemented by any combination of a system, device, method, integrated circuit, computer program, and recording medium.

[0265] Furthermore, for example, the present disclosure may be implemented as an information processing method, as a program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method, or as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium recording the program.

[0266] Furthermore, for example, the information processing device (remote monitoring / control server 1) may be implemented as a single device such as an information terminal, or may be implemented by multiple devices. In the case where the information processing device is implemented by multiple devices, the components of the remote monitoring / control server 1 described in the above embodiment may also be arbitrarily distributed to multiple devices.

[0267] In addition, various modifications that can be conceived by those skilled in the art to the embodiments, or arbitrarily combining the components and functions in the embodiments without departing from the gist of the present disclosure are also included in the present disclosure.

[0268] Industrial Availability

[0269] The information processing method according to the present disclosure is useful as a method executed by a control device for remotely monitoring a plurality of autonomous driving vehicles.

[0270] Explanation of symbols

[0271] 1Remote monitoring / control server

[0272] 4. Network

[0273] 11, 211, 311 Communications Department

[0274] 12, 214, 314 Control Department

[0275] 121 Remote Intervention Vehicle Quantity Movement Estimation Department

[0276] 122 Remote Intervention Surge Detection Department

[0277] 123 Vehicle Control Decision Department

[0278] 124 Alarm display decision unit

[0279] 13, 215, 315 Storage Department

[0280] 131 Control program storage unit

[0281] 132 Vehicle information storage unit

[0282] 133 Operator information storage unit

[0283] 21 to 2i autonomous vehicles

[0284] 212 Sensor Department

[0285] 213 Drive unit

[0286] 2141 Communication Control Department

[0287] 2142 Driving Control Unit

[0288] 2151 Map Information Storage Unit

[0289] 2152 Path information storage unit

[0290] 2153 Control program storage unit

[0291] 216 Display

[0292] 217 Service Provider

[0293] 31 to 3j Remote operator terminal

[0294] 312 Output

[0295] 313 Input

[0296] 51 to 53 Remote Intervention

[0297] 61A, 62A, 63A, 73A Remote Intervention Initiation

[0298] 61B, 62B, 63B Remote Intervention Ended

[0299] P1 to Pk Operators

Claims

1. An information processing method, which is an information processing method in an information processing device, In the information processing method, For each of the two or more autonomous mobile objects, first information related to the two or more autonomous mobile objects is acquired; second information is estimated based on the first information, wherein the second information is information indicating the number of autonomous mobile objects that are to be operated or monitored by the remote operator during a predetermined period of time among the two or more autonomous mobile objects; determining whether the second information is greater than a predetermined value, When it is determined that the second information is above a specified value, at least one of the third information and the fourth information is output, wherein the third information is information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous moving bodies, and the fourth information is information for notifying the remote operator.

2. The information processing method according to claim 1, The first information includes at least one of (1), (2), and (3), (1) refers to the fifth information related to the state of the autonomous moving body and the surrounding environment, (2) refers to the sixth information related to the area where the autonomous moving body moves, and (3) refers to the seventh information related to the path of the autonomous moving body.

3. The information processing method according to claim 1, When it is determined that the second information is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, further determining whether it is possible to perform predetermined control on the target autonomous mobile body based on the first information, In the output of at least one of the third information and the fourth information, when it is judged that the prescribed control can be performed on one or more of the object autonomous moving bodies, the third information is output to one or more of the object autonomous moving bodies, and when it is judged that the prescribed control cannot be performed on one or more of the object autonomous moving bodies, the fourth information is output to a terminal for notifying the remote operator.

4. The information processing method according to claim 1, The specified value is two or more, In the information processing method, further, obtaining eighth information related to the remote operator, generating ninth information based on the second information, the ninth information being information indicating a result of determining which one of the two or more remote operators is to be made to operate or monitor the two or more target autonomous moving bodies, The ninth information is output to a terminal for notifying the remote operator.

5. The information processing method according to claim 1, The third information includes at least one of information for temporarily stopping the target autonomous moving object, information for changing the speed of the target autonomous moving object, and information for changing the moving path of the target autonomous moving object.

6. The information processing method according to claim 1, Furthermore, based on the first information, a tenth information showing the following result is generated for each of the two or more target autonomous mobile bodies, the result being a result of calculating at least one of the degree of safety when the target autonomous mobile body executes the prescribed control and the degree of influence on the two or more autonomous mobile bodies when the target autonomous mobile body executes the prescribed control, Based on the tenth information, one or more target autonomous mobile objects are determined.

7. The information processing method according to claim 6, In determining the one or more target autonomous mobile objects, a target autonomous mobile object having a higher calculated safety level among the two or more target autonomous mobile objects is determined as the one or more target autonomous mobile objects.

8. The information processing method according to claim 6, In determining the one or more target autonomous mobile objects, a target autonomous mobile object having a low calculated influence degree among the two or more target autonomous mobile objects is determined as the one or more target autonomous mobile objects.

9. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, The fourth information includes at least one of information indicating the predetermined period and information related to the third information.

10. An information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires, for each of the two or more autonomous mobile objects, first information related to the two or more autonomous mobile objects; an estimating unit that estimates second information based on the first information, the second information being information indicating the number of autonomous mobile objects that are to be operated or monitored by the remote operator during a predetermined period of time among the two or more autonomous mobile objects; a determination unit configured to determine whether the second information is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; as well as The output unit outputs at least one of the third information and the fourth information when it is determined that the second information is greater than a specified value, wherein the third information is information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous moving bodies, and the fourth information is information for notifying the remote operator.

11. A program for causing a computer to execute the following information processing method, In the information processing method, For each of the two or more autonomous mobile objects, first information related to the two or more autonomous mobile objects is acquired; second information is estimated based on the first information, wherein the second information is information indicating the number of autonomous mobile objects that are to be operated or monitored by the remote operator during a predetermined period of time among the two or more autonomous mobile objects; determining whether the second information is greater than a predetermined value, When it is determined that the second information is above a specified value, at least one of the third information and the fourth information is output, wherein the third information is information for controlling at least one of the two or more target autonomous moving bodies, and the fourth information is information for notifying the remote operator.

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