Operation method of information processing apparatus, information processing apparatus, and medium

Abstract

The invention relates to an operation method of an information processing device, an information processing device, and a medium, which can shorten processing time while ensuring precision of simulation of vehicle operation in a block. An operation method of an information processing device includes: operating under a plurality of virtual conditions by a simulation program for executing, in accordance with a part of a condition of a surrounding environment in which a vehicle travels, a part of a control operation pertaining to a control program for controlling travel of the vehicle in accordance with the condition; and extracting, from the plurality of virtual conditions, a first virtual condition in which the vehicle and the object present a predetermined form for a simulation process related to the control program, and executing, in the simulation process, a control operation related to the control program in the first virtual condition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an operation method of an information processing apparatus, an information processing apparatus, and a medium. Background Art

[0002] In the design stage of a block, in order to study the possibility of traffic congestion and the like in the block, there is a known technique of simulating traffic volume and the like by an information processing apparatus. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system for simulating the operation plan of public transportation vehicles.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2022-124910

[0004] In the simulation of vehicle operation in a block, when the imagined situations such as the presence or absence of objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles on the moving path of the vehicle and the moving manner of the objects are diverse, simulating vehicle operation for each different situation requires a huge amount of information processing and time. In view of this, it is desired to shorten the processing time while ensuring the accuracy of the simulation. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present disclosure provides an operation method of an information processing apparatus and the like that can shorten the processing time while ensuring the accuracy of the simulation of vehicle operation in a block.

[0006] The operation method of the information processing apparatus in the present disclosure includes: operating in a plurality of virtual situations by a simulation program that is used to execute a part of the control actions involved in a control program for controlling the driving of the vehicle according to a part of the situation of the surrounding environment in which the vehicle travels; and extracting, for the simulation process involved in the control program, a first virtual situation in which the vehicle and the object present a specified form from the plurality of virtual situations, and in the simulation process, executing the control actions involved in the control program in the first virtual situation.

[0007] The information processing apparatus of the present disclosure has: a storage unit that stores a simulation program that is used to execute a part of the control actions involved in a control program for controlling the driving of the vehicle according to a part of the situation of the surrounding environment in which the vehicle travels; and a control unit that operates in a plurality of virtual situations by the simulation program, extracts, for the simulation process involved in the control program, a first virtual situation in which the vehicle and the object present a specified form from the plurality of virtual situations, and in the simulation process, executes the control actions involved in the control program in the first virtual situation.

[0008] The present disclosure is a computer-readable non-transitory medium storing a program that causes an information processing apparatus to perform the following processes: operating in a plurality of virtual situations through a simulation program that is used to perform a part of control actions involved in a control program for controlling the driving of the vehicle according to a part of the situation of the surrounding environment in which the vehicle travels; and extracting, from the plurality of virtual situations, a first virtual situation in which the vehicle and an object present a prescribed form for a simulation process involved in the control program, wherein, in the simulation process, the control actions involved in the control program in the first virtual situation are performed.

[0009] According to the operation method and the like of the information processing apparatus of the present disclosure, it is possible to shorten the processing time while ensuring the accuracy of the simulation of vehicle operation in a block. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 It is a diagram showing a configuration example of an information processing system.

[0011] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing an example of information related to a simulation.

[0012] Figure 3 It is a flowchart showing an operation example of a server device.

[0013] Figure 4 It is a flowchart showing an operation example of a server device.

[0014] Figure 5 It is a diagram for explaining a simple simulation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0015] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described.

[0016] Figure 1This is a configuration example diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing system 1 has a server device 10 and a terminal device 12 that are connected via a network 11 so as to be able to communicate with each other. In the information processing system 1, the server device 10 performs information processing related to simulation in block design according to an instruction sent from the terminal device 12. The terminal device 12 is, for example, one or more information processing devices such as personal computers and tablet terminal devices. The information processing device may include a smartphone or the like. The server device 10 is, for example, one or more server computers. The server device 10 may be a single server computer or a plurality of server computers that jointly execute the actions in this embodiment to provide services. The network 11 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, an ad-hoc network, a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), a mobile communication network, or other networks, or any combination thereof.

[0017] The server device 10 corresponds to the "information processing device" in this embodiment and executes the information processing related to the simulation in block design by receiving an instruction from the terminal device 12. The simulation is, for example, a simulation for virtually executing the movement of vehicles running on the streets of a so-called smart city or the like under various conditions. The vehicle is, for example, an industrial vehicle such as a bus or a truck, and is an autonomous driving vehicle in which driving is automated at an arbitrary level (for example, any level from level 1 to level 5 in SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)). Various conditions (hereinafter referred to as surrounding conditions) include the movement patterns of objects such as pedestrians, bicycles, and other vehicles that intersect the path of the vehicle movement, and the form of dead spots relative to the vehicle in the street. In the simulation, the movement of the vehicle is virtually executed based on the control actions executed by the driving control program mounted on the vehicle according to the surrounding conditions. In this embodiment, the simulation is executed in two stages. That is, the operation method of the server device 10 includes: a simple simulation process that operates in a plurality of virtual surrounding conditions by a simulation program for executing a part of the control actions related to the driving control program for controlling the driving of the vehicle according to a part of the surrounding conditions of the surrounding environment in which the vehicle travels; and a screening process for extracting virtual surrounding conditions in which the vehicle and the object present a prescribed form from the plurality of virtual surrounding conditions for a detailed simulation process related to the driving control program. Moreover, in the detailed simulation process, the control actions related to the driving control program in the virtual surrounding conditions (hereinafter referred to as sample surrounding conditions) extracted in the screening process are executed.

[0018] According to this embodiment, the control actions involved in the driving control program are restrictively simulated. As a result, the processing load is smaller than that of the simple simulation process involved in the simulation program of the driving control program. The sample surrounding conditions are extracted in such a form that the vehicle and the object present a specified form, for example, a form in which the closest distance between the vehicle and the object is less than the reference distance. Moreover, in the sample surrounding conditions, a detailed simulation process involved in the driving control program is executed. In this way, by executing the simple simulation process involved in the simulation program based on the driving control program, it is possible to extract the sample surrounding conditions while maintaining the simulation accuracy to a certain extent. Moreover, by executing the detailed simulation process with the sample surrounding conditions as the object, it is possible to execute the simulation with a smaller overall processing load compared to the case of executing the detailed simulation in all virtual surrounding conditions. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the processing time while ensuring the accuracy of the simulation of vehicle operation in the block.

[0019] Next, the configurations of the server device 10 and the terminal device 12 will be described.

[0020] The server device 10 includes a communication unit 101, a storage unit 102, a control unit 103, an input unit 105, and an output unit 106. Their configurations are appropriately arranged in two or more server computers when the server device 10 is composed of two or more server computers.

[0021] The communication unit 101 includes one or more communication interfaces. The communication interface is, for example, a LAN interface. The communication unit 101 receives the information used in the operation of the server device 10, and also transmits the information obtained through the operation of the server device 10. The server device 10 is connected to the network 11 through the communication unit 101 and communicates with the terminal device 12 via the network 11.

[0022] The storage unit 102 includes, for example, one or more semiconductor memories, one or more magnetic memories, one or more optical memories, or a combination of at least two of them that function as a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory). The RAM is, for example, an SRAM (Static RAM) or a DRAM (Dynamic RAM). The ROM is, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The storage unit 102 stores information used in the operation of the control unit 103 and information obtained through the operation of the control unit 103. In the storage unit 102, for example, there are stored a driving control program 104 and detailed simulation data 107 for a detailed simulation process, as well as a simulation program 108 and simple simulation data 109 for a simple simulation process.

[0023] Figure 2This is a diagram for explaining the detailed simulation data 107 for a detailed simulation process and the simplified simulation data 109 for a simplified simulation process. The detailed simulation data 107 includes a plurality of simulation mode data 21. Each simulation mode data 21 is data corresponding to a virtual surrounding condition based on the data detected by the vehicle's sensors when the vehicle travels in the urban area, and is data representing different surrounding conditions. The simulation mode data 21 includes, for example, data such as the captured images taken by the vehicle's camera, the state of the vehicle, and the motion state. The captured images include objects, obstacles, etc. around the vehicle. The state of the vehicle includes vibrations, temperature, etc. of the vehicle body. The motion state of the vehicle includes vehicle speed, acceleration, etc. The simulation mode data 21 can be data detected and collected by the sensors when the vehicle actually travels in the urban area, or data created for detailed simulation in the format of actual detection data. In addition, the simplified simulation data 109 includes a plurality of simulation mode data 22. Each simulation mode data 22 is data representing a part of the surrounding condition when the vehicle travels in the urban area, and corresponds to data representing a part of the virtual surrounding condition. The simulation mode data 22 includes, for example, data such as the object movement mode, the vehicle driving mode, the blind spot mode, visibility, road surface condition, etc. The object movement mode includes the movement path, movement speed, acceleration, etc. of the object. The vehicle driving mode includes the driving path, vehicle speed, acceleration, etc. of the vehicle. The blind spot mode includes the position, range, etc. of the blind spots around the vehicle. Visibility includes the range that the vehicle's camera can capture. The road surface condition includes the magnitude of the friction of the road surface when the vehicle brakes. The simulation mode data 22 is data created for simplified simulation and does not necessarily have to be in the format of the detection data related to the vehicle's sensors. The simulation mode data 22 is respectively corresponding to the simulation mode data 21 of the detailed simulation data 107 including the corresponding surrounding condition. The information on the correspondence establishment of the simulation mode data 21 and 22 is stored in the storage unit 102.

[0024] Return to Figure 1 The control unit 103 includes one or more processors, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) customized for specific processing. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc. The control unit 103 performs the information processing related to the operation of the server device 10 while controlling each part of the server device 10.

[0025] The functions of the server device 10 can be implemented by a processor included in the control unit 103 executing a control program. The control program is a program for causing the processor to function as the control unit 103. In addition, some or all of the functions of the server device 10 can also be implemented by a dedicated circuit included in the control unit 103. Further, the control program can be stored in a non-temporary recording / storage medium readable by the control unit 103 and read by the control unit 103 from the medium.

[0026] The control unit 103 executes a simple simulation process using the simple simulation data 109 by executing the simulation program 108. In addition, the control unit 103 simulates the operating environment of a control device such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that installs the driving control program 104 in a vehicle, for example, by executing a simulation program. Moreover, the control unit 103 executes a detailed simulation process using the detailed simulation data 107 by executing the driving control program 104 in the simulated operating environment.

[0027] The input unit 105 includes one or more input interfaces. The input interface is, for example, a physical key, a capacitive key, a pointing device, a touch screen integrated with a display, or a microphone that accepts voice input. The input unit 105 accepts an operation for inputting information used in the operation of the server device 10 and transmits the input information to the control unit 103.

[0028] The output unit 106 includes one or more output interfaces. The output interface is, for example, a display or a speaker. The display is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display. The output unit 106 outputs the information obtained through the operation of the server device 10.

[0029] The terminal device 12 includes a communication unit 121, a storage unit 122, a control unit 123, an input unit 125, and an output unit 126.

[0030] The communication unit 121 has a communication module corresponding to the wired or wireless LAN standard, a module corresponding to mobile communication standards such as LTE, 4G, 5G, etc. The terminal device 12 is connected to the network 11 via a nearby router device or a base station for mobile communication through the communication unit 121 and communicates information with the server device 10, etc. via the network 11.

[0031] The storage unit 122 includes one or more semiconductor memories, one or more magnetic memories, one or more optical memories, or a combination of at least two of them. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a RAM or a ROM. The RAM is, for example, an SRAM or a DRAM. The ROM is, for example, an EEPROM. The storage unit 122 functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 122 stores the information used in the operation of the control unit 123 and the information obtained through the operation of the control unit 123.

[0032] The control unit 123 has, for example, one or more general-purpose processors such as a CPU or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or one or more dedicated processors such as a GPU customized for specific processing. Alternatively, the control unit 123 may have one or more dedicated circuits such as an FPGA or an ASIC. The control unit 123 uniformly controls the operation of the terminal device 12 by operating according to a control / processing program or according to the operation steps installed as a circuit. Moreover, the control unit 123 communicates with the server device 10 and the like via the communication unit 121 to transmit and receive various information and execute the operations related to the present embodiment.

[0033] The functions of the terminal device 12 are realized by the processor included in the control unit 123 executing a control program. The control program is a program for causing the processor to function as the control unit 123. In addition, part or all of the functions of the terminal device 12 may also be realized by a dedicated circuit included in the control unit 123. In addition, the control program may be stored in a non-temporary recording / storage medium readable by the control unit 123 and read by the control unit 123 from the medium.

[0034] The input unit 125 includes one or more input interfaces. The input interfaces include, for example, physical keys, capacitive keys, pointing devices, and a touch screen integrated with a display. In addition, the input interfaces include a microphone for accepting voice input and a camera for acquiring a captured image. And the input interfaces include a scanner or a camera for scanning an image code, and an IC card reader. The input unit 125 accepts an operation for inputting information used in the operation of the control unit 123 and sends the input information to the control unit 123. In addition, the input unit 125 sends the captured image of the camera to the control unit 123.

[0035] The output unit 126 includes one or more output interfaces. The output interfaces include, for example, a display and a speaker. The display is, for example, an LCD or an organic EL display. The output unit 126 outputs the information obtained through the operation of the control unit 123.

[0036] Figure 3This is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of the server device 10 of the present embodiment. Each step is executed by the control unit 103. For example, it is executed by receiving an instruction from the terminal device 12 operated by an operator. Figure 3 steps.

[0037] In step S30, the control unit 103 acquires simple simulation data. The control unit 103 reads and acquires the simple simulation data 109 pre-stored in the storage unit 102. Alternatively, the operator inputs arbitrary simple simulation data through the input unit 125 of the terminal device 12, and the control unit 123 of the terminal device 12 sends the input data to the server device 10 through the communication unit 121. The control unit 103 of the server device 10 receives the information sent from the terminal device 12 through the communication unit 101. Thus, the control unit 103 acquires simple simulation data. Alternatively, it may be that the operator inputs arbitrary simple simulation data through the input unit 105 of the server device 10, and the control unit 103 acquires the input simple simulation data.

[0038] In step S31, the control unit 103 executes the simple simulation process. The operator inputs an instruction to execute the simple simulation process through the input unit 125 of the terminal device 12. The control unit 123 of the terminal device 12 sends the input instruction to the server device 10 through the communication unit 121. The control unit 103 of the server device 10 receives the instruction sent from the terminal device 12 through the communication unit 101. Thus, the control unit 103 uses the simple simulation data to execute the simple simulation process according to the simulation program 108. The detailed content related to the simple simulation process is as Figure 4 、 Figure 5 shown.

[0039] Figure 4 This is a flowchart showing an example of the operation steps of the server device 10 that executes the simple simulation process. Figure 4 Each step is a step defined by the simulation program 108. In addition, Figure 5 This is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the simple simulation defined by the simulation program 108. As Figure 5As shown, in order to simply simulate the closest distance between the vehicle 51 (where P1 to P5 in parentheses indicate the positions over time) in the block 50 traveling along the travel path 52 from the starting point 52S to the ending point 52E on the streets 57-1 and 57-3 and other vehicles 54 or pedestrians 55 moving intersectingly with the travel path 52. Here, the configuration of the streets 57-1 to 57-3 in the block 50 is specified by the simulation program 108, and the surrounding conditions such as the travel mode of the vehicle 51, the movement modes of objects such as other vehicles 54 or pedestrians 55, and the positions, sizes / shapes of the obstacles 56-1, 56-2, etc. are specified as different for each simulation mode data 22 by the simulation mode data 22. For example, as the movement modes of objects such as other vehicles 54 or pedestrians 55, the movement paths, movement speeds, acceleration / deceleration speeds, etc. of the objects are specified. In addition, as the travel mode of the vehicle 51, the travel path, vehicle speed, acceleration / deceleration speed, etc. of the vehicle 51 are specified. And, as the blind spot mode, the positions, ranges, etc. of the blind spots around the vehicle 51 are specified by the positions, sizes / shapes of the obstacles 56-1, 56-2, etc. And, the field of view 53 of the camera of the vehicle 51 is specified by a variation in visibility. For example, in a change assuming a relatively small amount of light such as on a cloudy day or at night, the range of the field of view 53 is set to be relatively small.

[0040] In Figure 4 step S401, the control unit 103 starts the recognition process. The recognition process is, for example, a process of capturing an object in the field of view 53 of the camera of the vehicle 51.

[0041] In step S402, the control unit 103 determines whether the sensor range has been determined. The sensor range is, for example, the field of view 53 of the camera. If the field of view 53 is set to a range corresponding to the position of the vehicle 51 in the block 50, it can be determined that the sensor range has been determined (the "yes" in step S402), and the control unit 103 proceeds to step S403. In the case where it is determined that the sensor range has not been determined (the "no" in step S402), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S410, makes a decision to maintain the vehicle speed of the vehicle 51, and ends Figure 4 the process.

[0042] In step S403, the control unit 103 determines whether there is an object being blocked. For example, since the field of view 53 of the vehicle 51 at positions P1, P3, and P5 does not include the obstacles 56-1 and 56-2, it is determined that there is no object being blocked. Since the field of view 53 of the vehicle 51 at positions P2 and P4 includes the obstacles 56-1 and 56-2 respectively, it is determined that there is an object being blocked. When it is determined that there is an object being blocked (Yes in step S403), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S404. When it is determined that there is no object being blocked (No in step S403), the control unit 103 proceeds to step S410 to make a decision to maintain the vehicle speed of the vehicle 51, and the process ends. Figure 4 of the process.

[0043] In step S404, the control unit 103 starts to decelerate the vehicle 51 based on static parameters. The static parameters are arbitrary values predefined by the simulation program 108 and correspond to the deceleration for the preliminary deceleration of the vehicle 51.

[0044] In step S405, the control unit 103 determines the vehicle-to-vehicle deceleration. For example, when the vehicle 51 travels to position P3, other vehicles 54 traveling along the street 57-2 intersecting the street 57-3 in the direction 54D are captured in the field of view 53. The control unit 103 derives, for example, the time until the other vehicle 54 intersects the travel path 52 based on the time-dependent change in the position of the other vehicle 54, and determines the deceleration to avoid contact with the other vehicle 54. Alternatively, when the other vehicle 54 is not included in the field of view 53, or when the time until the other vehicle 54 intersects the travel path 52 is longer than any arbitrary reference, the control unit 103 may maintain the vehicle speed of the vehicle 51. The arbitrary reference is set to be longer than the required time of the vehicle 51 until the point where the other vehicle 54 intersects the travel path 52.

[0045] In step S406, the control unit 103 determines the vehicle-to-pedestrian deceleration. For example, when the vehicle 51 travels to position P5, a pedestrian 55 moving in the direction 55D across the street 57-3 is captured in the field of view 53. The control unit 103 derives, for example, the time until the pedestrian 55 intersects the travel path 52 based on the time-dependent change in the position of the pedestrian 55, and determines the deceleration to avoid contact with the pedestrian 55. Alternatively, when the pedestrian 55 is not included in the field of view 53, or when the time until the pedestrian 55 intersects the travel path 52 is longer than any arbitrary reference, the control unit 103 may maintain the vehicle speed of the vehicle 51. The arbitrary reference is set to be longer than the required time of the vehicle 51 until the point where the pedestrian 55 intersects the travel path 52.

[0046] In step S407, the control unit 103 adjusts the deceleration. For example, the control unit 103 adjusts the deceleration to be equal to or less than the maximum deceleration that the vehicle 51 can achieve in terms of specifications.

[0047] In step S408, the control unit 103 determines the vehicle speed. For example, the control unit 103 decelerates according to the adjusted deceleration to determine the vehicle speed of the deceleration of the vehicle 51. Thereby, a simulation is performed in which the vehicle 51 travels at the decelerated vehicle speed. In this simple simulation, the control unit 103 can generate CG (Computer Graphics) images representing the block 50, the vehicle 51, other vehicles 54, pedestrians 55, obstacles 56-1, 56-2, etc. and send them to the terminal device 12. By doing so, the operator can visually confirm the CG image representing the simple simulation through the terminal device 12.

[0048] In step S409, the control unit 103 stores the closest distance between the vehicle 51 and the object. For example, the control unit 103 derives the distance in the case where the vehicle 51 travels at the decelerated vehicle speed and is closest to other vehicles 54 or pedestrians 55, and stores it in the storage unit 102 together with the identification information of the simulation mode data 22. The case where the vehicle 51 contacts other vehicles 54 or pedestrians 55 is also included in the closest.

[0049] Return to Figure 3, in step S32, the control unit 103 performs a screening process. The control unit 103 performs the screening process according to the simulation program 108. For the detailed simulation process related to the driving control program, the control unit 103 extracts virtual surrounding conditions in which the vehicle and the object present a specified form from among a plurality of virtual surrounding conditions of the results of the simple simulation. For example, the control unit 103 extracts the simulation mode data 22 in which the closest distance between the vehicle and the object becomes below an arbitrary reference. The reference for the closest distance is a value arbitrarily determined within a range such as several tens of centimeters to 2 meters, which is likely to cause a contact accident to a certain extent. When deriving the closest distance between the vehicle 51 and the object, the control unit 103 can, for example, consider the movement path, movement speed, acceleration / deceleration speed, etc. of the object, i.e., the object movement pattern, through an arbitrary algorithm to derive the closest distance. In addition, the control unit 103 can also consider changes in the driving pattern such as the driving path, vehicle speed, acceleration / deceleration speed, etc. of the vehicle 51 through an arbitrary algorithm to derive the closest distance. Moreover, the control unit 103 can consider the road surface condition through an arbitrary algorithm and adjust the braking distance when the vehicle 51 decelerates to derive the closest distance. Alternatively, the control unit 103 can extract an arbitrary number of simulation mode data 22 in ascending order of the closest distance between the vehicle and the object. That is, it extracts virtual surrounding conditions in which the closest distance between the vehicle and the object enters an arbitrary upper digit in ascending order. The control unit 103 stores the identification information of the simulation mode data 21 corresponding to the extracted simulation mode data 22 in the storage unit 102. Here, the simulation mode data 21 corresponding to the extracted simulation mode data 22 corresponds to the sample surrounding conditions.

[0050] In step S33, the control unit 103 executes a detailed simulation process. An operator inputs an instruction to execute the detailed simulation process through the input unit 125 of the terminal device 12. The control unit 123 of the terminal device 12 sends the input instruction to the server device 10 through the communication unit 121. The control unit 103 of the server device 10 receives the instruction sent from the terminal device 12 through the communication unit 101. Thus, the control unit 103 executes the detailed simulation process according to the driving control program 104 using the detailed simulation data 107. At this time, the control unit 103 executes the detailed simulation using the simulation mode data 21 extracted through the screening process. The control unit 103 executes the driving control program 104 by imitating the installation environment of the driving control program 104 in the vehicle, and thus outputs signals, data, etc. such as the output of the ECU according to the detailed simulation data 107. Further, the control unit 103 extracts the simulation mode data 21 in which the closest distance between the vehicle and the object becomes below an arbitrary reference. The reference for the closest distance is a value arbitrarily determined within a range of, for example, several tens of centimeters to 2 meters, which is a level at which there is a possibility of a contact accident. In the detailed simulation process, the control unit 103 may generate a CG image representing the virtual surrounding environment corresponding to the simulation mode data 21 and the movement of the vehicle 51 corresponding to the output obtained by executing the driving control program 104, and send it to the terminal device 12. By doing so, the operator can visually confirm the CG image representing the detailed simulation through the terminal device 12.

[0051] According to the present embodiment, by executing the simple simulation process related to the simulation program based on the driving control program, it is possible to extract the sample surrounding conditions while maintaining the simulation accuracy to some extent. Moreover, by executing the detailed simulation process for the sample surrounding conditions, it is possible to execute the simulation with a smaller processing load overall compared to the case of executing the detailed simulation in all surrounding conditions. Specifically, by removing the phenomena outside the recognition range of the vehicle from the screening, it is possible to concentrate on the phenomena caused by difficulties in recognizing the vehicle due to the public infrastructure in the block and execute the detailed simulation. In this way, it is possible to shorten the processing time while ensuring the accuracy of the simulation of vehicle operation in the block.

[0052] In the present embodiment, the simple simulation process, the screening process, and the detailed simulation process may be executed in a distributed manner by two or more server computers. In addition, the above-described steps described as the operations of the server device 10 also include the case where they are executed by an information processing device such as a stand-alone PC. Further, the server computer or an information processing device such as a PC may be configured to be able to communicate with an ECU for mounting on a vehicle or a control device equivalent thereto, and imitate the operation environment of the detailed simulation by including a configuration such as an ECU.

[0053] In the above, the embodiments have been described based on the respective drawings and examples. However, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and corrections based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and corrections are included within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each mechanism, each step, etc. can be reconfigured in a logically consistent manner, and multiple mechanisms, steps, etc. can be combined into one or divided.

[0054] Description of Reference Numerals:

[0055] 1... Information processing system; 10... Server device; 11... Network; 12... Terminal device; 101, 121... Communication unit; 102, 122... Storage unit; 103, 123... Control unit; 105, 125... Input unit; 106, 126... Output unit; 104... Travel control program; 107... Detailed simulation data; 108... Simulation program; 109... Simple simulation data.

Claims

1. An operation method of an information processing device, wherein: include: Acting under a plurality of virtual conditions by means of a simulation program for executing, according to a part of the conditions of the surrounding environment in which the vehicle is traveling, a part of the control action involved in a control program for controlling the travel of the vehicle according to the conditions; and extracting a first virtual situation in which the vehicle and the object assume a predetermined form from among the plurality of virtual situations for the simulation step involved in the control program, In the simulation step, a control operation according to the control program in the first virtual situation is executed.

2. The method for operating an information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The part of the situation includes at least one of a moving speed of the object, an acceleration / deceleration of the object, a moving path of the object, and a blind spot position, size, and shape of the vehicle.

3. The method for operating an information processing device according to claim 2, wherein: The portion of the condition also includes one or more of visibility and road surface condition.

4. The method for operating an information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: A part of the control operation is acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle in a predetermined travel path.

5. The operation method of the information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The predetermined state refers to a situation in which the closest distance between the vehicle and the object satisfies a first criterion.

6. The method for operating an information processing device according to claim 1, wherein: Also included is the simulation step.

7. The method for operating an information processing device according to claim 6, wherein: In the simulation step, it is determined whether the closest distance between the vehicle and the object satisfies a second criterion.

8. An information processing device, wherein: have: a storage unit storing a simulation program for executing, based on a part of a condition of a surrounding environment in which the vehicle is traveling, a part of a control action related to a control program for controlling the travel of the vehicle based on the condition; and a control unit that operates under a plurality of virtual conditions through the simulation program, and extracts a first virtual condition in which the vehicle and the object present a predetermined form from the plurality of virtual conditions for the simulation process involved in the control program, In the simulation step, a control operation according to the control program in the first virtual situation is executed.

9. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein: The part of the situation includes at least one of a moving speed of the object, an acceleration / deceleration of the object, a moving path of the object, and a blind spot position, size, and shape of the vehicle.

10. The information processing device according to claim 9, wherein: The portion of the condition also includes one or more of visibility and road surface condition.

11. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein: A part of the control operation is acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle in a predetermined travel path.

12. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein: The predetermined state refers to a situation in which the closest distance between the vehicle and the object satisfies a first criterion.

13. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein: The control unit further executes the simulation step.

14. The information processing device according to claim 13, wherein: The control unit determines whether the closest distance between the vehicle and the object satisfies a second criterion in the simulation step.

15. A computer-readable non-transitory medium storing a program, wherein: The program causes the information processing device to execute the following processing: Acting under a plurality of virtual conditions by means of a simulation program for executing, according to a part of the conditions of the surrounding environment in which the vehicle is traveling, a part of the control action involved in a control program for controlling the travel of the vehicle according to the conditions; and extracting a first virtual situation in which the vehicle and the object assume a predetermined form from among the plurality of virtual situations for the simulation step involved in the control program, In the simulation step, a control operation according to the control program in the first virtual situation is executed.

16. The computer-readable non-transitory medium of claim 15, wherein: The part of the situation includes at least one of a moving speed of the object, an acceleration / deceleration of the object, a moving path of the object, and a blind spot position, size, and shape of the vehicle.

17. The computer-readable non-transitory medium of claim 16, wherein: The portion of the condition also includes one or more of visibility and road surface condition.

18. The computer-readable non-transitory medium of claim 15, wherein: A part of the control operation is acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle in a predetermined travel path.

19. The computer-readable non-transitory medium of claim 15, wherein: The predetermined state refers to a situation in which the closest distance between the vehicle and the object satisfies a first criterion.

20. The computer-readable non-transitory medium of claim 15, wherein: The information processing device is further configured to execute the simulation step.

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