Information processing apparatus

Abstract

An information processing device is provided with a control unit which is configured to execute the steps of: acquiring the occurrence of an abnormal interruption of communication with a vehicle and the location of the occurrence of the abnormal interruption of communication; a detection unit that detects that a flood has occurred in the first region in response to an abnormal interruption of communication in the first region having occurred at a position lower than a predetermined height for a predetermined number of times or more; and outputting information related to the flood in response to detecting that the flood has occurred in the first region.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device. Background Art

[0002] There is known a technology that switches the power supply of a communication terminal of a vehicle from an onboard battery to a built-in battery of the communication terminal when water immersion of the vehicle is detected (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-158021). Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present disclosure is to detect areas where flooding occurs.

[0004] One aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing device including a control unit configured to execute: Acquiring the occurrence of abnormal interruption of communication with the vehicle and the location where the abnormal interruption of communication occurs; In response to the abnormal interruption of the communication occurring at a position lower than a predetermined height in the first area for a predetermined number of times or more, detecting that a flood has occurred in the first area; In response to the detection of the flood occurring in the first area, information related to the flood is output.

[0005] In addition, another aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method in which a computer executes the processing in the above-mentioned information processing apparatus, a program for causing a computer to execute the information processing method, and a storage medium in which the program is non-temporarily stored.

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to detect an area where a flood has occurred. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like elements, and in which: Figure 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system according to a first embodiment; Figure 2 is an example of vehicle data; Figure 3 is a flowchart of a process for detecting the occurrence of a flood by a server according to the first embodiment; Figure 4 is a flowchart of a process for detecting the occurrence of a flood by a server according to a second embodiment; and Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a process for detecting the occurrence of a flood by a server according to the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0008] There is a need to understand the area where flooding has occurred. Therefore, it is desirable to detect flooding not only by individual vehicles but also by a center. Therefore, in the present disclosure, the area where flooding has occurred is determined by focusing on the fact that communication with the vehicle is abnormally interrupted when the vehicle is flooded.

[0009] The control unit obtains the occurrence of abnormal interruption of communication with the vehicle and the location where the abnormal interruption of communication occurs. The vehicle sends information related to the status of the vehicle and information related to the status of communication, for example, at predetermined intervals. This transmission is also performed during parking. However, if the vehicle is flooded, the communication device possessed by the vehicle will fail, so the communication is interrupted. In addition, the situation where communication with the vehicle is interrupted although it is scheduled is referred to as an abnormal interruption. Therefore, even if the communication is interrupted due to some factors, if the communication is restarted afterwards, it cannot be said that the vehicle is flooded, so it is not included in the abnormal interruption disclosed in the present invention. The location where the abnormal interruption occurs can be the location where communication was last performed. The location of occurrence can be represented by latitude, longitude and altitude, for example.

[0010] However, abnormal interruption of communication may also occur due to reasons other than flooding of the vehicle. For example, it may also be that there is a problem with the base station in the communication between the vehicle and the vehicle, resulting in abnormal interruption of communication. Therefore, the control unit detects that a flood has occurred in the first area accordingly when abnormal interruption of communication in the first area occurs at a position lower than a specified height for more than a specified number of times. The first area is, for example, an area divided by administrative divisions or regional grids. Here, the lower the height of the vehicle, the higher the possibility of flooding of the vehicle. For example, even if a flood occurs, the vehicle can avoid flooding as long as it is parked at a higher height such as a multi-story parking lot. Therefore, if abnormal interruption of communication occurs frequently at a position lower than a specified height, it can be said that the possibility of flooding is high. The specified height is a height at which the communication of the vehicle will not be interrupted even if a flood occurs. In addition, the specified number of times corresponds to the number of vehicles that can be considered to be flooded in the event of a flood. The specified height and the specified number of times can be set in consideration of errors, or can be set to different values ​​depending on the region.

[0011] Furthermore, the control unit outputs information related to the flood in response to detecting that the flood has occurred in the first area. The output of the information includes a notification of the occurrence of the flood in the first area. In addition, the control unit may store the information related to the flood in the storage unit in an outputtable manner.

[0012] In addition, the control unit may detect that the flood has occurred in the first area in response to the number of abnormal interruptions of the communication occurring at a location above the specified height in the first area being less than a second specified number of times. That is, the occurrence of the flood may be detected based on the condition that abnormal interruptions of the communication do not occur frequently at locations above the specified height. The second specified number of times is, for example, the number of abnormal interruptions that may occur even if the flood has not occurred. In addition, the second specified number of times may also be 0.

[0013] In addition, the control unit may output the first region where the flood is detected to have occurred in association with a map. For example, the first region where the flood has occurred may be shown on a map. In this way, information related to the region where the flood has occurred can be output in quasi-real time.

[0014] In addition, the control unit may predict a second region where the flood will occur in the future based on the time lapse of the plurality of first regions where the flood has occurred. When the flood has occurred in the plurality of first regions, the expansion direction of the first regions can be detected, so that the region located in the expansion direction can be predicted to be flooded in the future.

[0015] Alternatively, the control unit may notify the occurrence of the flood to a terminal of a vehicle in the first area where the flood is detected or an owner of a vehicle in the first area. In this way, users in the area where the flood has occurred can be notified, so that the vehicle can be moved.

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described based on the drawings. The configurations of the following embodiments are merely illustrative, and the present disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments. In addition, the following embodiments can be combined as much as possible. First embodiment

[0017] Figure 1 1 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of a system 1 according to a first embodiment. The system 1 according to this embodiment is configured to include a vehicle 10 and a server 30. The vehicle 10 is a networked vehicle having a communication function with an external network. The vehicle 10 is configured to include an onboard device 100. The onboard device 100 may be, for example, a data communication module (DCM). There are multiple vehicles 10.

[0018] The vehicle-mounted device 100 is a device that wirelessly communicates with an external network. The vehicle-mounted device 100 is configured to be able to communicate via a cellular communication network. A cellular communication network is a communication network that utilizes a cellular network. When the vehicle-mounted device 100 detects an available cellular communication network, it accesses the cellular communication network.

[0019] The server 30 communicates with the vehicle-mounted device 100 and collects various information from the vehicle 10. The information collected from the vehicle 10 includes, for example, location information, information related to the operating state of the vehicle 10, and information related to the communication state. The information related to the operating state of the vehicle 10 is information indicating whether the vehicle 10 is in a power-on state (which may also be IG-ON) or a power-off state (which may also be IG-OFF). The power-on and power-off are switched each time the user presses the power switch. In addition, the detection values ​​of various sensors equipped in the vehicle 10 are sent from the vehicle-mounted device 100 to the server 30. In addition, even if the vehicle 10 is in a power-off state, the vehicle 10 and the server 30 communicate regularly. The information related to the communication state includes information related to the communication quality and the radio wave strength.

[0020] The vehicle-mounted device 100 includes a control unit 101, a storage unit 102, a communication unit 103, a wireless communication unit 104, and a position information acquisition unit 105. The control unit 101 is a computing unit that implements various functions of the vehicle-mounted device 100 by executing a predetermined program. The control unit 101 can be implemented by, for example, a CPU.

[0021] The control unit 101 transmits the vehicle data to the server 30 at a predetermined timing. Figure 2 It is an example of vehicle data. As shown in the figure, the vehicle data includes fields of vehicle ID, date and time information, location information and status. In addition, it is not limited to this, for example, information related to communication quality can also be included in the vehicle data. The vehicle ID field stores an identifier that uniquely identifies the vehicle. The date and time information field stores the date and time when the vehicle data is generated. The location information field stores the location information (such as latitude, longitude and altitude) obtained by the location information acquisition unit 105. The status field stores data related to the action state of the vehicle. The action state of the vehicle is represented by power on or power off, for example. In this embodiment, the vehicle data is sent to the server 30 regardless of whether it is in the power on state or the power off state. However, the frequency of sending vehicle data can be changed in the power on state and the power off state. For example, the frequency of sending vehicle data can be lower in the power off state compared to the power on state. In addition, the frequency of sending vehicle data can also be changed according to the duration of the power off state. For example, the longer the power off state lasts, the lower the frequency of sending vehicle data. Furthermore, when the power-off state continues for a certain period of time, the transmission of the vehicle data may be stopped in order to suppress a decrease in the remaining battery power.

[0022] The storage unit 102 is a unit for storing information and is composed of a storage medium such as RAM, a magnetic disk, and a flash memory. The storage unit 102 stores various programs executed by the control unit 101, data used by the programs, etc. The communication unit 103 is a communication interface that connects the vehicle-mounted device 100 to a bus of the vehicle-mounted network.

[0023] The wireless communication unit 104 includes an antenna and a communication module for wireless communication. The antenna is an antenna element for inputting and outputting wireless signals. In this embodiment, the antenna is adapted for mobile communication (e.g., 3G, LTE, 5G, 6G, etc.). The communication module is a module for mobile communication.

[0024] The position information acquisition unit 105 includes a GPS antenna and a positioning module for measuring position information. The GPS antenna is an antenna that receives positioning signals transmitted from positioning satellites (also called GNSS satellites). The positioning module is a module that calculates position information based on the signals received by the GPS antenna.

[0025] The server 30 is configured to include a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a communication unit 33. The control unit 31 is a computing device that controls the server 30. The control unit 31 can be implemented by a computing processing device such as a CPU. The control unit 31 performs a process of collecting vehicle data from a plurality of vehicles 10 (on-vehicle devices 100) and storing the vehicle data as vehicle data 321 in the storage unit 32 described later.

[0026] The storage unit 32 includes a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device. The main storage device is a memory in which the program executed by the control unit 31 and the data used by the control program are expanded. The auxiliary storage device is a device that stores the program executed by the control unit 31 and the data used by the control program.

[0027] The storage unit 32 stores vehicle data 321 and map data 322. The vehicle data 321 is a collection of a plurality of vehicle data transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 100. Figure 2 The map data 322 is a database storing data related to topographic maps and data related to road networks. The map data 322 may also store data related to ground objects. In addition, the map data 322 may also include information related to risk maps showing places where floods may occur. In addition, the map data 322 may also be provided by an external server.

[0028] The communication unit 33 is a communication interface for connecting the server 30 to the network. The communication unit 33 is configured to include, for example, a network interface board and a wireless communication interface for wireless communication.

[0029] also, Figure 1The structure shown is only an example, and all or part of the functions shown in the figure can also be executed by using a circuit designed for special use. In addition, the program can be stored and executed by a combination of a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device other than the one shown in the figure.

[0030] When the regular communication between the control unit 31 and the vehicle 10 is interrupted, the control unit 31 determines that an abnormal interruption has occurred. The occurrence of the abnormal interruption can be determined by analyzing the communication log, or it can be determined based on the fact that the vehicle data 321 has not been updated. When an abnormal interruption of communication occurs, the control unit 31 determines the location where the abnormal interruption has occurred. The control unit 31 extracts the location information last saved in the vehicle data 321, and determines the location included in the location information as the location where the abnormal interruption of communication has occurred. Furthermore, the control unit 31 determines whether the location where the abnormal interruption of communication occurred is a location below a specified height. The specified height is, for example, a lower limit value of the height at which the vehicle 10 will not be flooded even if a flood occurs.

[0031] Then, the control unit 31 detects that a flood has occurred in the area in response to the number of abnormal interruptions in communication occurring at a position lower than a specified height in the same area being more than a specified number of times. In addition, the number of vehicles 10 that have experienced abnormal interruptions in communication at a position lower than a specified height may be the number within a specified time. The specified time is, for example, the time required for abnormal interruptions to occur more than a specified number of times when a flood has occurred in the same area, that is, the time required for more than a specified number of vehicles 10 to be flooded. The same area referred to here corresponds to, for example, the same town or village divided by administrative divisions, or the same area divided by grids, etc. In addition, as another example, the area within a specified radius centered on a vehicle 10 that has experienced abnormal interruptions in communication at a position lower than a specified height may be set as the same area.

[0032] When the control unit 31 detects that a flood has occurred, for example, it notifies the outside. For example, the control unit 31 can notify the vehicle 10 or the user's terminal that a flood has occurred in the area where the flood has been detected. At this time, the control unit 31 can send the area detected as having been flooded in association with a map. For example, the control unit 31 can mark the area where the flood has occurred with a color on the map or surround the area where the flood has occurred with a line so that the area where the flood has occurred can be identified. In addition, as another example, the control unit 31 can also notify the name of the town or village in the area where the flood has occurred.

[0033] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of the process of detecting the occurrence of a flood by the server 30 according to the first embodiment. Figure 3 The processing shown is executed in the server 30 for each vehicle at predetermined time intervals.

[0034] In S101, the control unit 31 obtains information related to the communication status. For example, the control unit 31 obtains the communication log stored in the storage unit 32. As another example, the control unit 31 can also obtain the vehicle data 321. In S102, the control unit 31 determines whether an abnormal interruption has occurred. The control unit 31 determines that an abnormal interruption has occurred when the vehicle data has not been sent from the vehicle 10 for a specified time. The control unit 31 refers to the communication log or the vehicle data 321, and determines whether a specified time has passed since the date and time of the last communication, thereby determining whether an abnormal interruption has occurred. The specified time is a time that is longer than the time interval for the vehicle 10 to send the vehicle data 321. In the case where the control unit 31 makes an affirmative determination in S102, the processing proceeds to S103, and in the case where the control unit 31 makes a negative determination, this routine ends.

[0035] In S103, the control unit 31 obtains the latest location information from the record corresponding to the vehicle 10 with reference to the vehicle data 321. The location information includes information related to latitude, longitude, and altitude. In S104, the control unit 31 determines the region where the vehicle 10 is located based on the location information obtained in S103. For example, the control unit 31 can determine the city, town, or village where the vehicle 10 is located based on the location information.

[0036] In S105, the control unit 31 determines whether the height obtained in S103 is lower than a predetermined height. Therefore, in S105, the control unit 31 determines whether the vehicle 10 is located at a height where flooding would occur in the event of a flood. If the height of the vehicle 10 is above the predetermined height, it can be determined that the vehicle 10 will not be flooded. If the control unit 31 makes an affirmative determination in S105, the process proceeds to S106, and if the control unit 31 makes a negative determination, this routine ends.

[0037] In S106, the control unit 31 counts the number of occurrences of abnormal interruptions in the area specified in S105. For example, the control unit 31 counts the number of times abnormal interruptions occurred in the same area within a predetermined time and the altitude was below a predetermined altitude.

[0038] In S107, the control unit 31 determines whether the number of abnormal interruptions counted in S106 is greater than a specified number. The specified number is the number of times that a flood can be considered to have occurred. If the control unit 31 makes an affirmative determination in S107, the process proceeds to S108. If the control unit 31 makes a negative determination, this routine ends.

[0039] In S108, the control unit 31 detects the occurrence of a flood. In S109, the control unit 31 determines the vehicles 10 located in the area determined in S105. The control unit 31 refers to the location information of the vehicle data 321 and determines all the vehicles 10 located in the area determined in S105. Then, in S110, the control unit 31 notifies the vehicle 10 determined in S109 of the occurrence of a flood. The notification may include an instruction to cause a display of the vehicle 10 to display an image notifying the occurrence of a flood. The image may include a map showing the area where the flood has occurred. In addition, as another example, the control unit 31 may also notify the user's terminal of the occurrence of a flood. The user's terminal may be pre-registered in association with the vehicle 10. As another example, the control unit 31 may also notify a terminal managed by a public agency of the detection of the occurrence of a flood. In addition, as another example, the control unit 31 may notify the vehicles 10 located in the area adjacent to the area where the flood occurred that the flood occurred in the adjacent area. In addition, the information related to the area where the flood occurred may be stored in the storage unit 32 and sold to enterprises, etc.

[0040] As described above, according to the present embodiment, the occurrence of a flood can be detected based on the communication state with the vehicle 10 . Second embodiment

[0041] In the second embodiment, when communication is being carried out with a vehicle 10 located at a high place and multiple abnormal interruptions occur in the communication between the vehicle 10 located at a low place, the control unit 31 detects that a flood has occurred. In addition, a high place refers to a place at a height above the specified height described in S105, and a low place refers to a place below the specified height. Here, even if a flood occurs, the vehicle 10 will be protected from flooding if it is parked in a high place such as a multi-story parking lot. On the other hand, in the case where the communication is abnormally interrupted even though the vehicle 10 is located at a high place, it can be considered that the vehicle 10 is not flooded, but it is caused by, for example, a communication barrier. Therefore, the control unit 31 detects that a flood has occurred when the number of abnormal interruptions at a high place is small or zero, and the number of abnormal interruptions at a low place is large.

[0042] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a process of detecting the occurrence of a flood by the server 30 according to the second embodiment. Figure 4 The processing shown is executed in the server 30 for each vehicle at predetermined time intervals. Figure 4 Regarding execution and Figure 3 The same processing steps as those in the routine shown are marked with the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. Figure 4In the illustrated routine, when the control unit 31 makes an affirmative determination in S105 , the process proceeds to S201 , but when a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to S202 .

[0043] In S201, the control unit 31 counts the number of occurrences of abnormal interruptions in communication at a low location. When the processing of S201 is completed, the processing proceeds to S203. On the other hand, in S202, the control unit 31 counts the number of occurrences of abnormal interruptions in communication at a high location. When the processing of S202 is completed, this routine ends. In S203, the control unit 31 determines whether the number of occurrences of abnormal interruptions in a low location counted in S201 is greater than the specified number of times within a specified time, and the number of occurrences of abnormal interruptions in a high location counted in S202 is less than the second specified number of times. The specified number of times mentioned here is the same as the specified number in S107. In addition, the second specified number is, for example, the number of abnormal interruptions that may occur even if no flood occurs. The second specified number may also be 0. In this way, in S203, the control unit 31 determines whether abnormal interruptions in communication at a low location occur frequently but abnormal interruptions in communication at a high location do not occur frequently. If the control unit 31 makes an affirmative determination in S203 , the process proceeds to S108 , and if a negative determination is made, this routine ends.

[0044] As described above, according to this embodiment, when abnormal interruptions in communication at high places are not frequent and abnormal interruptions in communication at low places are frequent, flooding is detected. Therefore, for example, it is possible to distinguish between abnormal interruptions caused by communication failure and abnormal interruptions caused by flooding. Therefore, the accuracy of detecting flooding can be improved. Third embodiment

[0045] In the third embodiment, based on the occurrence of floods, it is estimated that the area where floods are predicted to occur in the future. Here, if the area where the floods occurred expands, floods are detected in multiple areas. At this time, it is considered that the floods are expanding in the order in which the multiple areas are detected. Therefore, the control unit 31 infers that the floods will further expand in the direction in which the floods are expanding. For example, the control unit 31 can connect the center points (or the centroids) of the areas where the floods occurred in sequence and predict that the areas on their extension lines are the areas where floods will occur in the future. As another example, the control unit 31 can also use the risk map to predict the areas where floods will occur in the future. For example, the control unit 31 can also predict that floods will occur in the following areas, which are within a specified distance from the areas where the floods occurred and are indicated on the risk map as having a high probability of floods occurring.

[0046] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a process of predicting the occurrence of a flood by the server 30 according to the third embodiment. Figure 5 The processing shown is executed in the server 30 at predetermined time intervals.

[0047] In S301, the control unit 31 determines whether the occurrence of a flood is detected. The control unit 31 determines whether the flood is detected within a specified time. Figure 3 The occurrence of a flood is detected in S108 of the routine shown. The specified time mentioned here is set to the time required for the expansion of the area where the flood occurs. For example, even if an area where a flood occurred a few days ago is detected, it is not considered that the flood will expand now. Floods such as this that have nothing to do with the flood currently occurring are ignored. On the other hand, if it can be determined that the detected flood is still continuing for such a period of time, the flood may expand to other areas. In the case where the control unit 31 makes an affirmative determination in S301, the processing proceeds to S302, and in the case where the control unit 31 makes a negative determination, this routine ends.

[0048] In S302, the control unit 31 predicts the area where floods will occur. For example, in the case where floods are occurring in multiple areas, it is considered that water flows from the area where the occurrence of floods is detected earlier to the area where the occurrence of floods is detected later. Therefore, it can be predicted that water will flow to the area on its extension line and cause floods. That is, the area where floods will occur can be predicted based on the passage of time in the area where floods are detected. In addition, it can also be predicted that floods will occur in the area surrounding the area where floods have occurred and indicated as a possible flood on the risk map.

[0049] In S303, the control unit 31 identifies the vehicles 10 located in the area where flooding is predicted to occur in S302. The control unit 31 refers to the location information of the vehicle data 321 and identifies all the vehicles 10 located in the area predicted in S302. Then, in S304, the control unit 31 notifies the vehicles 10 identified in S303 that flooding is likely to occur. The notification may include an instruction to cause a display of the vehicle 10 to display an image notifying the possibility of flooding. In addition, as another example, the control unit 31 may also notify the terminal of the user of the vehicle 10 of the possibility of flooding. In addition, as another example, the control unit 31 may also notify the terminal managed by a public agency of the possibility of flooding.

[0050] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to predict an area where a flood will occur. Other Implementations

[0051] The above-mentioned implementation is only an example, and the present disclosure can be implemented after appropriate changes within the scope of its main purpose. The processing and means described in the present disclosure can be freely combined and implemented without causing technical contradictions. In addition, the processing described as being performed by one device can be shared and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, the processing described as being performed by different devices can also be performed by one device.

[0052] The present disclosure can also be implemented by providing a computer program with the functions described in the above-mentioned embodiments to a computer and reading and executing the program by one or more processors possessed by the computer. Such a computer program can be provided to the computer via a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium that can be connected to the system bus of the computer, or it can be provided to the computer via a network. Non-temporary computer-readable storage media include, for example, any type of disk (floppy disk (registered trademark), hard disk drive (HDD)), optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD disk, Blu-ray disk, etc.), read-only memory (ROM). Non-temporary computer-readable storage media include, for example, random access memory (RAM), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic card, flash memory, optical card, and any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising a control unit configured to execute: Acquiring the occurrence of abnormal interruption of communication with the vehicle and the location where the abnormal interruption of communication occurs; In response to the abnormal interruption of the communication occurring at a position lower than a predetermined height in the first area for a predetermined number of times or more, detecting that a flood has occurred in the first area; In response to the detection of the flood occurring in the first area, information related to the flood is output.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit detects that the flood has occurred in the first area in response to the number of occurrences of abnormal interruption of the communication at a position higher than the predetermined height in the first area being equal to or less than a second predetermined number of times.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit is configured to further perform: The first region where the flood is detected is associated with a map and output.

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit is configured to further perform: Based on the time lapse of the plurality of first regions where the flood has been detected, a second region where the flood will occur in the future is predicted.

5. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit is configured to further perform: A notification regarding the occurrence of the flood is made to a vehicle existing in the first area where the occurrence of the flood is detected or to a terminal of an owner of the vehicle existing in the first area.

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