Determining device, terminal, server, determining method and computer program product

Abstract

This invention provides a determination device, a terminal, a server, a determination method, and a computer program product. The determination device includes: a first acquisition unit that acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between the terminal and one or more other terminals; a second acquisition unit that acquires second information indicating at least one of a determination result indicating whether the other terminals are indoors and the positioning accuracy of the other terminals; and a determination unit that determines whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information. The determination method includes: the step of acquiring the first information indicating the positional relationship between the terminal and one or more other terminals; the step of acquiring the second information indicating at least one of a determination result indicating whether the other terminals are indoors and the positioning accuracy of the other terminals; and the step of determining whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a determination device, a terminal, a server, a determination method, and a computer program product. Background Technology

[0002] Patent documents 1 and 2 describe techniques for determining whether a portable terminal is indoors or outdoors.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-123847

[0004] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-071666 Summary of the Invention

[0005] However, properly determining whether a terminal is indoors remains a challenge. To address this challenge, the purpose of this application is to improve safety. Furthermore, it will further improve traffic safety and contribute to the development of sustainable transportation systems.

[0006] In a first aspect of the present invention, a determination device is provided. The determination device includes a first acquisition unit that acquires first information representing the positional relationship between a terminal and one or more other terminals. The determination device includes a second acquisition unit that acquires second information representing at least one of a determination result indicating whether the other terminals are indoors and the positioning accuracy of the other terminals. The determination device includes a determination unit that determines whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information.

[0007] In the aforementioned determination device, the first information may include information indicating the distance between the terminal and the other terminals.

[0008] In any of the above-mentioned determination devices, the determination unit can select other terminals whose distance from the terminal is shorter than a predetermined value based on the first information, and determine whether the terminal is indoors based on the second information of the selected other terminals.

[0009] Any of the aforementioned determining devices may include a third acquisition unit that acquires third information indicating the movement status of the other terminal. The determining unit can determine whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0010] In any of the above-mentioned determination devices, the determination unit can calculate the importance of the second information based on the third information, and use the importance to determine whether the terminal is indoors.

[0011] In any of the above-mentioned determination devices, the third information may represent the amount of movement of the other terminal per unit time.

[0012] In any of the aforementioned determining devices, the other terminal can be a portable terminal. The third information can represent the number of steps counted in the other terminal.

[0013] In any of the above-mentioned determination devices, the third acquisition unit can acquire the third information based on the change in distance between the terminal and the other terminals obtained through short-range wireless communication.

[0014] In any of the aforementioned determining devices, the second information may represent the positioning accuracy in the other terminal. The positioning accuracy in the other terminal may represent at least one of the following: the receiving sensitivity of the satellite signal received by the other terminal from the positioning satellite, the number of positioning satellites used in the other terminal, and the elevation angle of the satellite signal.

[0015] In any of the above-described determination devices, the determination unit can calculate an indicator value for determining whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information, and determine whether the terminal is indoors by comparing the indicator value with a threshold. The determination device may include a setting unit that sets the threshold based on an instruction from the user of the terminal.

[0016] In a second aspect of the present invention, a terminal is provided. The terminal includes any of the determination devices described above.

[0017] The aforementioned terminal may include a communication control unit, which controls the communication content between the terminal and an external server based on the determination result of the determination unit.

[0018] Each of the aforementioned terminals may include a communication unit that sends the terminal's location information to a server that distributes information indicating traffic risks at the terminal's location. The terminal may also include a communication control unit that, based on the determination result of the determination unit, restricts the communication unit from sending the location information to the server.

[0019] Any of the aforementioned terminals may include a communication unit that receives traffic risk information indicating the location of the terminal from a server distributing such information. The terminal may also include a notification control unit that controls notifications based on the traffic risk information received by the communication unit. When the determination unit determines that the terminal is indoors, the notification control unit may restrict the notifications.

[0020] In a third aspect of the present invention, a server is provided. The server includes any of the determination devices described above.

[0021] The aforementioned server may include a communication control unit, which controls the communication content between the server and the terminal based on the determination result of the determination unit.

[0022] Any of the aforementioned servers may include a communication control unit that controls the transmission of traffic risk information indicating the location where the terminal is present. When the determination unit determines that the terminal is indoors, the communication control unit may restrict the transmission of traffic risk information indicating the location where the terminal is present, compared to when the determination unit determines that the terminal is not indoors.

[0023] In a fourth aspect of the present invention, a determination method is provided. The determination method includes a step of acquiring first information representing the positional relationship between a terminal and one or more other terminals. The determination method also includes a step of acquiring second information representing at least one of a determination result indicating whether the other terminals are indoors and the positioning accuracy of the other terminals. Finally, the determination method includes a step of determining whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information.

[0024] In a fifth aspect of the invention, a program is provided. When executed by a computer, the program causes the computer to function as any of the aforementioned determination devices. The program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium.

[0025] The above summary of the invention does not list all the features of the invention. Furthermore, sub-combinations of these feature groups may also be part of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0026] Figure 1 The illustration illustrates a usage scenario for the auxiliary system 10.

[0027] Figure 2 The functional configuration of terminal 82 is shown.

[0028] Figure 3 The functional configuration of server 60 is shown.

[0029] Figure 4 A flowchart is shown related to the method for determining whether terminal 82 is indoors.

[0030] Figure 5 This diagram illustrates a situation where a terminal 82 located indoors is easily misjudged as being outside the room.

[0031] Figure 6 The importance information used to determine the importance of the second information used in the determination unit 340 is shown in tabular form.

[0032] Figure 7 An example of the execution sequence of processes performed in terminal 82, vehicle information processing device 40 of vehicle 20, and server 60 is shown.

[0033] Figure 8Another example of the execution sequence of processes performed in terminal 82, vehicle information processing device 40 of vehicle 20, and server 60 is shown.

[0034] Figure 9 Another example of the execution sequence of processes performed in terminal 82, vehicle information processing device 40 of vehicle 20, and server 60 is shown.

[0035] Figure 10 An example of a computer 2000 that can implement various embodiments of the present invention, either wholly or partially, is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0036] The present invention will now be described through embodiments thereof, but these embodiments do not limit the scope of the claimed invention. Furthermore, not all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are necessarily necessary for the solution of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 1 The illustration schematically depicts a usage scenario for the assistance system 10. The assistance system 10 includes vehicles 20a and 20b, terminals 82a, 82b, 82c, 82d, 82e, 82f, 82g, and 82h, and a server 60.

[0038] Vehicle 20a is equipped with an on-board information processing device 40a, and vehicle 20b is equipped with an on-board information processing device 40b. Terminal 82a is a terminal carried by person 80a, terminal 82b is a terminal carried by person 80b, terminal 82c is a terminal carried by person 80c, terminal 82d is a terminal carried by person 80d, terminal 82e is a terminal carried by person 80e, terminal 82f is a terminal carried by person 80f, terminal 82g is a terminal carried by person 80g, and terminal 82h is a terminal carried by person 80h.

[0039] In this embodiment, vehicles 20a and 20b are sometimes collectively referred to as "vehicle 20". Vehicle information processing devices 40a and 40b are sometimes collectively referred to as "vehicle information processing device 40". Terminals 82a and 82b, 82c, 82d, 82e, 82f, 82g, and 82h are sometimes collectively referred to as "terminal 82". People 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d, 80e, 80f, 80g, and 80h are sometimes collectively referred to as "person 80". For example, person 80 is a pedestrian.

[0040] Vehicle 20 is a vehicle that travels on road 90. Vehicle 20 is an example of a moving body. Vehicle 20 is constructed with various sensors, such as position sensors including receivers for receiving satellite signals from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellites, vehicle speed sensors, imaging devices, and radar. Onboard information processing unit 40 has the function of processing information acquired by the various sensors included in vehicle 20. Onboard information processing unit 40 has the function of communicating with each of the onboard information processing units 40 and server 60 of other vehicles 20. Onboard information processing unit 40 provides the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) functions of vehicle 20.

[0041] Terminal 82 is, for example, a portable terminal such as a smartphone. Terminal 82 is an example of a mobile terminal. Terminal 82 has positioning capabilities. Terminal 82 receives satellite signals, for example, from a positioning satellite (e.g., a GNSS satellite), and measures its current position based on the received satellite signals. Terminal 82 periodically sends location information representing the measured current position of terminal 82 as the location information of person 80 to server 60.

[0042] Terminal 82 obtains the positioning accuracy calculated based on satellite signals from positioning satellites. Examples of positioning accuracy in terminal 82 include, for instance, the terminal 82's sensitivity to receiving satellite signals, the number of satellites receiving satellite signals, and the elevation angle of the satellite signals.

[0043] Server 60 receives information sent from vehicle-mounted information processing device 40 and terminal 82 via mobile communication. Server 60 can receive information sent from vehicle-mounted information processing device 40 and terminal 82 via communication lines such as mobile communication, the Internet, and dedicated lines.

[0044] Server 60 performs traffic assistance for vehicle 20 based on the location information of vehicle 20 and person 80 received from vehicle information processing device 40 and user terminal 82. For example, server 60 determines whether person 80 and vehicle 20 are approaching within a predetermined time based on the location information of vehicle 20 and person 80, and performs traffic assistance for vehicle 20 and / or person 80 when it is determined that person 80 and vehicle 20 are approaching within the predetermined time. For example, server 60 performs traffic assistance by sending alarm information indicating that vehicle information processing device 40 and user terminal 82 should output an alarm as information indicating traffic risk.

[0045] In this embodiment, terminal 82 determines whether it is inside a building. When it is determined that terminal 82 is not inside a building, terminal 82 sends its location information. On the other hand, when it is determined that terminal 82 is inside a building, terminal 82 suppresses the transmission of its location information. For example, terminals 82f, 82g, and 82h, which are determined to be outside the building 92, send their location information, while terminals 82b, 82c, 82d, and 82e, which are determined to be inside the building 92, do not send their location information.

[0046] Figure 1 The illustration shows a person 80a entering building 92. Terminal 82a performs short-range wireless communication with other terminals 82 around it and receives information indicating the positioning accuracy of the other terminals 82.

[0047] As a short-range wireless communication method, Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard wireless communication can be cited as an example. Terminal 82a obtains the distance between itself and other terminals 82 based on wireless signals used for communication with other terminals 82.

[0048] For example, terminal 82a may determine the distance between itself and other terminals 82 based on the signal strength and / or time-of-flight of the wireless signal used for short-range wireless communication. For instance, terminal 82a may determine the distance between itself and each other terminal 82 based on the RSSI of BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacons from each other terminal 82. Terminal 82a may also determine the distance between itself and each other terminal 82 based on the time-of-flight of UWB (Ultra Wide Band) pulse signals.

[0049] Terminal 82a extracts the positioning accuracy received from other terminals 82 whose distance (sometimes called relative distance) to terminal 82a is shorter than a predetermined value. Based on the extracted positioning accuracy, terminal 82a determines whether it is indoors based on the number of other terminals 82 with positioning accuracy lower than the predetermined value and the number of other terminals 82 with positioning accuracy higher than the predetermined value. As an example, when the number of other terminals 82 with positioning accuracy lower than the predetermined value is greater than the number of other terminals 82 with positioning accuracy higher than the predetermined value, terminal 82a determines that it is indoors.

[0050] For example, among other terminals 82b, 82c, 82d, 82e, 82f, and 82g, whose relative distances are shorter than a predetermined value, the positioning accuracy of terminals 82b, 82c, 82d, and 82g is less than the predetermined value, while the positioning accuracy of terminals 82f and 82g is greater than the predetermined value. Therefore, terminal 82a determines that it is indoors. Consequently, terminal 82a suppresses the transmission of location information to server 60. Thus, it is possible to prevent server 60 from unnecessarily performing traffic assistance for terminal 82a.

[0051] For example, among other terminals 82a, 82f, and 82h whose relative distances are shorter than a predetermined value, the positioning accuracy of terminal 82a is less than the predetermined value, while the positioning accuracy of terminals 82f and 82h is greater than the predetermined value. Therefore, terminal 82g determines that it is not indoors. Specifically, terminal 82g determines that it is outdoors. Consequently, terminal 82g sends its location information to server 60. Thus, server 60 can perform traffic assistance based on the location information of terminal 82g.

[0052] One method for determining whether terminal 82 is indoors is based on the strength of the received satellite signal from the positioning satellite. However, in this method, when the terminal 82 is located near an entrance or window of building 92, and the received satellite signal is stronger than when the terminal 82 is inside building 92, it is sometimes impossible to accurately determine whether terminal 82 is indoors based solely on the strength of the received satellite signal. In contrast, according to this embodiment, when there are many other terminals 82 with low positioning accuracy around terminal 82a, terminal 82a located near an entrance or exit of building 92 is determined to be indoors. Therefore, compared to determining based on the strength of the received satellite signal, it is sometimes possible to accurately determine whether terminal 82a is indoors.

[0053] According to this embodiment, it is possible to suppress the transmission of location information of terminal 82a from within building 92, where the necessity for traffic assistance is low, to server 60. This reduces the power consumption of terminal 82a in transmitting location information. Furthermore, it reduces the computational load required for processing by server 60 for traffic assistance. On the other hand, since terminal 82g outside building 92 transmits its location information to server 60, server 60 can perform traffic assistance based on the location information of terminal 82g. This ensures traffic safety.

[0054] In this embodiment, similar to terminal 82, server 60 has the function of determining whether terminal 82 is indoors. For example, server 60 receives information from each terminal 82 indicating the relative distance between each terminal 82 and other terminals 82, and information indicating the positioning accuracy in each terminal 82. Based on the information received from each terminal 82, server 60 determines whether each terminal 82 is indoors by combining the methods described for terminals 82a, 82g, etc. Server 60 performs traffic assistance considering the determination result of whether terminal 82 is indoors. Since server 60 has the function of determining whether terminal 82 is indoors, even if there are terminals 82 that do not have the function of determining whether their own terminals are indoors, server 60 can still consider the determination result of whether terminal 82 is indoors to assist traffic.

[0055] Figure 2 The functional configuration of terminal 82 is shown. Terminal 82 includes a processing unit 300, a satellite signal receiving unit 304, a communication unit 390, and a storage unit 380.

[0056] The communication unit 390 communicates with the server 60 based on the control of the processing unit 300. The processing unit 300 is implemented as a circuit having, for example, an arithmetic processing device including a processor. The processing unit 300 can be implemented as a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, bus, etc. The storage unit 380 is implemented using a non-volatile storage medium. The processing unit 300 performs processing using information stored in the storage unit 380.

[0057] The processing unit 300 includes a determination device 302, a notification control unit 360, and a communication control unit 370. The determination device 302 includes a first acquisition unit 310, a second acquisition unit 320, a third acquisition unit 330, a determination unit 340, and a setting unit 350. Terminal 82 may not have this feature. Figure 2 The form of some functions in the functional configuration shown.

[0058] The satellite signal receiving unit 304 receives satellite signals transmitted from positioning satellites such as GNSS satellites and outputs the position of the terminal 82 based on the received signals. The satellite signal receiving unit 304 also outputs information indicating positioning accuracy based on the satellite signals.

[0059] Positioning accuracy includes at least one of the following: satellite signal receiving sensitivity, the number of satellites used for positioning, and the elevation angle of the satellite signals. Receiving sensitivity can be the received signal strength. Receiving sensitivity can be, for example, information indicating the signal strength of the satellite signals received by terminal 82. Receiving sensitivity can be the signal-to-noise ratio, carrier noise power density ratio, etc. The number of satellites used for positioning can be the number of satellites available for positioning or the number of satellites already used for positioning. The elevation angle of the satellite signals can be the average elevation angle of the received satellite signals, or it can be the average elevation angle of satellite signals with an elevation angle greater than a predetermined value. Positioning accuracy can be an absolute accuracy value. Positioning accuracy can be various DOP values, etc. The satellite signal receiving unit 304 can output various other types of information indicating positioning accuracy.

[0060] The first acquisition unit 310 acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82. For example, the first information may include information indicating the distance between terminal 82 and other terminals 82.

[0061] The second acquisition unit 320 acquires second information indicating at least one of the determination result of whether the other terminal 82 is indoors and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82. The positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82 may be at least one of the receiving sensitivity of satellite signals received by the other terminal 82 from the positioning satellite, the number of satellites used for positioning in the other terminal 82, and the elevation angle of the satellite signals. The information indicating the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82 may be information indicating whether the positioning accuracy determined by the other terminal 82 is higher than a predetermined value.

[0062] The determination unit 340 determines whether terminal 82 is indoors based on first information and second information. For example, the determination unit 340 selects other terminals 82 whose distance from terminal 82 is shorter than a predetermined value based on the first information, and determines whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the second information of the selected other terminals 82. In this way, by considering the positional relationship of other terminals 82 in the vicinity, the positioning accuracy of other terminals 82 in the vicinity, and / or the determination result of whether terminal 82 is indoors, the determination of whether terminal 82 is indoors can be made with higher accuracy even when it is not easy to determine whether terminal 82 is indoors, such as when terminal 82 is near the entrance or exit of building 92.

[0063] The third acquisition unit 330 acquires third information indicating the movement state of the other terminal 82. The third information may represent the amount of movement of the other terminal 82 per unit time. When the other terminal 82 is a portable terminal, the third information may represent the number of steps counted in the other terminal 82. The third information may represent the number of steps counted by a step counter included in the other terminal 82. For example, the third information may represent the number of steps counted based on acceleration detected by an accelerometer included in the other terminal 82. The third acquisition unit may acquire the third information based on the change in distance between the terminal 82 and the other terminal 82 acquired via short-range wireless communication.

[0064] The determination unit 340 can determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information. The determination unit 340 can calculate the importance of the second information based on the third information and use the calculated importance to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors. The determination unit 340 can also calculate the importance of the second information based on the second and third information and use the calculated importance to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors.

[0065] The determination unit 340 can calculate an index value for determining whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information and the second information, and compare the index value with a threshold value to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors. The setting unit 350 can set the threshold value based on the instruction from the user of the terminal 82.

[0066] The communication control unit 370 controls the communication content between the terminal 82 and the external server based on the determination result of the determination unit 340. For example, when the communication unit 390 sends the location information of the terminal 82 to the server 60 that distributes information indicating the traffic risk at the location where the terminal 82 is located, the communication control unit 370 restricts the communication unit 390 from sending the location information to the server based on the determination result of the determination unit 340.

[0067] The communication unit 390 receives traffic risk information indicating the location of the terminal 82 from the server 60, which distributes traffic risk information. The notification control unit 360 performs control for issuing notifications based on the traffic risk information received by the communication unit 390. When the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82 is indoors, the notification control unit 360 restricts notifications. Thus, when it is determined that the terminal 82 is indoors, notifications regarding traffic risk information can be suppressed.

[0068] The communication unit 390 can send to the server 60 information indicating the positional relationship between the terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82, a determination result indicating whether the terminal 82 is indoors, and information indicating the positioning accuracy of the terminal 82. Furthermore, the communication unit 390 can send to the server 60 information indicating the movement status of the terminal 82. Thus, the server 60 can appropriately determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors. The communication unit 390 can also send the determination result of the determination unit 340 to the server 60, which distributes information indicating the traffic risk at the location where the terminal 82 is present.

[0069] Figure 3 The functional configuration of server 60 is shown. Server 60 includes a processing unit 200, a communication unit 290, and a storage unit 280.

[0070] The communication unit 290 executes communication between each of the vehicle information processing device 40 and the terminal 82 and the server 60 based on the control of the processing unit 200. The processing unit 200 is implemented with circuitry including, for example, an arithmetic processing unit containing a processor. The processing unit 200 can be implemented as a microcomputer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, bus, etc. The storage unit 280 is implemented using a non-volatile storage medium. The processing unit 200 performs processing using information stored in the storage unit 280.

[0071] The communication unit 290 receives location information transmitted from the terminal 82. The communication unit 290 also receives information transmitted from the terminal 82 indicating the positional relationship between the terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82. The communication unit 290 receives information indicating at least one of a determination result showing whether the terminal 82 is indoors and the positioning accuracy of the terminal 82. The communication unit 290 also receives information transmitted from the terminal 82 indicating the movement status of the terminal 82.

[0072] The processing unit 200 includes a determination device 202, an auxiliary control unit 260, and a communication control unit 270. The determination device 202 includes a first acquisition unit 210, a second acquisition unit 220, a third acquisition unit 230, a determination unit 240, and a setting unit 250. A server 60 without these features can be used. Figure 3 The form of some functions in the functional configuration shown.

[0073] The first acquisition unit 210 acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82. For example, the first information may include information indicating the distance between terminal 82 and other terminals 82.

[0074] The second acquisition unit 220 acquires second information indicating at least one of the determination result of whether the terminal 82 is indoors and the positioning accuracy in the terminal 82. The positioning accuracy in the terminal 82 may be at least one of the receiving sensitivity of satellite signals received by the terminal 82 from the positioning satellite, the number of positioning satellites used in the terminal 82, and the elevation angle of the satellite signals.

[0075] The determination unit 240 determines whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information and the second information. For example, the determination unit 240 selects another terminal 82 whose distance from the terminal 82 is shorter than a predetermined value based on the first information, and determines whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the second information of the selected other terminal 82.

[0076] The third acquisition unit 230 acquires third information indicating the movement state of the terminal 82. The third information may represent the amount of movement of the terminal 82 per unit time. When the terminal 82 is a portable terminal, the third information may represent the number of steps counted in the terminal 82. The third information may represent the number of steps counted by a step counter included in the terminal 82. For example, the third information may represent the number of steps counted based on acceleration detected by an accelerometer included in the terminal 82. The third acquisition unit may acquire third information calculated based on the change in distance between the terminal 82 and other terminals 82, acquired by the terminal 82 via short-range wireless communication.

[0077] The determination unit 240 can determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information. The determination unit 240 can calculate the importance of the second information based on the second information and the third information, and use the importance to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors.

[0078] The determination unit 240 can calculate an index value for determining whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information and the second information, and compare the index value with a threshold value to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors. The setting unit 250 can set the threshold value based on the instruction from the user of the terminal 82.

[0079] The communication control unit 270 performs control over sending information indicating the traffic risk at the location where the terminal 82 is located. When the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82 is indoors, the communication control unit 270 restricts the transmission of information indicating the traffic risk at the location where the terminal 82 is located, compared to when the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82 is not indoors. Specifically, when the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82 is indoors, the communication control unit 270 does not send information indicating the traffic risk at the location where the terminal 82 is located; and when the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82 is not indoors, the communication control unit 270 sends information indicating the traffic risk at the location where the terminal 82 is located. As described above, the communication control unit 270 controls the communication content between the server and the terminal 82 based on the determination result of the determination unit 340.

[0080] The auxiliary control unit 260 performs auxiliary control over traffic participants. The auxiliary control unit 260 distributes traffic risk information to the terminal 82 and the on-board information processing device 40. For example, the auxiliary control unit 260 predicts the future positions of vehicle 20 and terminal 82 based on the location information of vehicle 20 and terminal 82, and predicts whether vehicle 20 and terminal 82 will approach a predetermined distance within a predetermined time. When it is predicted that vehicle 20 and terminal 82 will approach the predetermined distance within the predetermined time, the auxiliary control unit 260 sends an alarm message to terminal 82 and vehicle 20 instructing them to output an alarm.

[0081] Figure 4 A flowchart related to the method for determining whether terminal 82 is indoors is shown. Figure 4 The following section describes the method by which terminal 82 determines whether it is indoors. The processes outlined in this flowchart are executed periodically within terminal 82.

[0082] In S400, the first acquisition unit 310 acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82. For example, the first information may be information indicating the distance between terminal 82 and other terminals 82. The first acquisition unit 310 may calculate the distance between terminal 82 and each other terminal 82 based on the received strength of BLE beacons transmitted from each other terminal 82. The first acquisition unit 310 may also calculate the distance between terminal 82 and each other terminal 82 based on the time-of-flight of the UWB communication pulse signals transmitted from each other terminal 82.

[0083] In S402, the second acquisition unit 320 acquires second information indicating at least one of the determination result of whether the other terminal 82 is indoors, as obtained from the other terminal 82, and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82. In this embodiment, the second acquisition unit 320 acquires the second information indicating the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82.

[0084] In S404, the third acquisition unit 330 acquires third information indicating the movement status of the other terminal 82. In this embodiment, the third acquisition unit 330 acquires information indicating the number of steps counted per unit time in the other terminal 82 as the third information. The number of steps per unit time is an example of the amount of movement of the terminal 82 per unit time.

[0085] In S406, the determination unit 340 extracts second and third information of other terminals 82 within a predetermined distance. For example, based on the first information, the determination unit 340 selects other terminals 82 whose distance from terminal 82 is shorter than a predetermined value, and extracts the second and third information of the selected terminals 82.

[0086] In S408, the determination unit 340 calculates an index value (hereinafter referred to as "L") of the number of terminals with positioning accuracy lower than a predetermined value and an index value (hereinafter referred to as "H") of the number of terminals with positioning accuracy higher than the predetermined value. Subsequently, in S410, the determination unit 340 compares L calculated in S408 with H, and determines whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the comparison result (S412, S414, etc.). As described above, the determination unit 340 selects other terminals 82 whose distance from the terminal 82 is shorter than the predetermined value based on the first information, and determines whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the second information of the selected other terminals 82.

[0087] When describing the index values L and H, the index value L may be the number of terminals 82 with positioning accuracy lower than the predetermined value, and the index value H may be the number of terminals 82 with positioning accuracy higher than the predetermined value. The index value L may be a weighted sum of the number of terminals 82 with positioning accuracy lower than the predetermined value, and the index value H may be a weighted sum of the number of terminals 82 with positioning accuracy higher than the predetermined value. The index value L may be a weighted sum obtained by weighted addition of the respective second information of the terminals 82 with positioning accuracy lower than the predetermined value, and the index value H may be a weighted sum obtained by weighted addition of the respective second information of the terminals 82 with positioning accuracy higher than the predetermined value.

[0088] The determination unit 340 may determine the importance based on the movement state of the other terminals 82. The determination unit 340 may determine the importance based on the movement state and positioning accuracy of the other terminals 82. Refer to Figure 6 Describe an example of determining the importance based on the movement state and positioning accuracy of the other terminals 82. The determination unit 340 may determine the importance based on the distance between the terminal 82 and the other terminals 82. The determination unit 340 may determine that the shorter the distance between the terminal 82 and the other terminals 82, the greater the importance. The determination unit 340 may determine the importance based on any combination of the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0089] In S41, the determination unit 340 compares L calculated in S408 with H. For example, the determination unit 340 sets thresholds Δ1 and Δ2 for determining whether the terminal 82 is indoors, and the determination unit 340 determines whether L > H + Δ1 (i.e., L - H > Δ1) or L < H + Δ2 (i.e., L - H < Δ2). However, the value of Δ1 is equal to or greater than the value of Δ2. Δ1 may be a positive value, and Δ2 may be a negative value. Δ1 and Δ2 may be 0.

[0090] When it is determined in S410 that L > H + Δ1, the determination unit 340 determines in S412 that the terminal 82 is not indoors. When it is determined in S410 that L < H + Δ2, the determination unit 340 determines in S414 that the terminal 82 is not indoors. That is, the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82 is outdoors. The smaller Δ1 is, the easier it is to determine that the terminal 82 is indoors. The larger Δ2 is, the easier it is to determine that the terminal 82 is not indoors.

[0091] L - H is an example of an index value for determining whether the terminal 82 is indoors. As described in connection with S410, the determination unit 340 can calculate an index value (e.g., L - H) for determining whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, and compare the index value with thresholds (Δ1 and / or Δ2) to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors.

[0092] Δ1 and Δ2 can be thresholds set by the setting unit 350 based on a user's instruction. In this case, the setting unit 350 can set Δ1 and Δ2 based on an instruction from the person 80. For example, the setting unit 350 can cause the person 80 to select whether it is easy to determine that the terminal 82 is indoors, and when the person 80 gives an instruction indicating that it is easy to determine that the terminal 82 is indoors, set Δ1 to a value smaller than a reference value (e.g., 0) by a predetermined value. The setting unit 350 can cause the person 80 to select whether it is easy to determine that the terminal 82 is outdoors, and when the person 80 gives an instruction indicating that it is easy to determine that the terminal 82 is outdoors, set Δ2 to a value larger than a reference value (e.g., 0) by a predetermined value.

[0093] When it is determined in S410 that H + Δ2 ≤ L ≤ H + Δ1, in S416, the determination unit 340 determines indoors and outdoors based on user settings. When it is not possible to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on L and H, the setting unit 350 can present to the person 80 (i) determining based on satellite signals, (ii) determining that the terminal 82 is indoors, or (iii) determining that the terminal 82 is outdoors, as options for user settings, and determine the user settings based on the option selected by the person 80.

[0094] In the case where the person 80 (i) selects to determine based on the position measured by satellite signals and map information, in S416, the determination unit 340 can (a) determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the current position of the terminal 82 detected by the satellite signal receiving unit 304 and the position information of the buildings included in the map information stored in the storage unit 280, (b) determine that the terminal 82 is indoors when the reception intensity of the satellite signals received by the satellite signal receiving unit 304 is lower than a predetermined value, and determine that the terminal 82 is not indoors when the reception intensity of the satellite signals is above the predetermined value.

[0095] If person 80(ii) selects to determine that terminal 82 is indoors, determination unit 340 can determine that terminal 82 is indoors in S416. If person 80(iii) selects to determine that terminal 82 is outdoors, determination unit 340 can determine that terminal 82 is not indoors in S416.

[0096] For reference Figure 4 As described above, the determination unit 340 determines whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information. In other embodiments, the determination unit 340 may determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information and the second information, without considering the third information. In this embodiment, the processing in S404 can be omitted. In this case, the determination unit 340 may extract the second information of other terminals 82 within a predetermined distance in S406, and calculate L and H based on the extracted second information in S408.

[0097] Although Figure 4 The example described uses the case where the second information represents the positioning accuracy, but the second information can be information obtained from other terminals 82 indicating whether the other terminals 82 are indoors. Specifically, the second information can be information indicating the determination result of the determination unit 340 of the other terminals 82. In this case, in S408, the determination unit 340 can set the index value of the number of other terminals 82 determined to be not indoors to L, and the index value of the number of other terminals 82 determined to be indoors to H. As described above, the second information can be the determination result of whether the other terminals 82 are indoors and / or information indicating the positioning accuracy of the other terminals 82.

[0098] exist Figure 4The example described illustrates that in S406, the determination unit 340 extracts second and third information of other terminals 82 within a predetermined distance from terminal 82, and in S408 calculates index values ​​L and H based on the second and third information extracted in S406. As another example, in S406, the determination unit 340 may extract the second and third information of the terminal 82, which is the object of determination regarding whether it is indoors. Furthermore, in S408, the determination unit 340 may determine that the importance of the second information of terminal 82 itself is higher than that of other terminals 82. In S408, when the number of other terminals 82 within a predetermined distance from terminal 82 is less than a predetermined number, the determination unit 340 may determine that the importance of the second information of terminal 82 itself is higher than that of other terminals 82. Therefore, by considering the second and third information of the terminal 82 itself, which is the object of determination regarding whether it is indoors, to calculate the index values ​​L and H, information about the positioning accuracy of terminal 82 itself can be reflected in the determination result of whether terminal 82 is indoors. This can sometimes improve the accuracy of the determination result.

[0099] Figure 5 This diagram illustrates a situation where a terminal 82 located indoors is easily misjudged as not being indoors. Symbol 500 indicates the position of terminal 82, which is the object used to determine whether it is indoors.

[0100] Symbols 501 and 502 indicate the locations of other terminals 82 within building 92. Among the other terminals 82 corresponding to symbols 501 and 502, assuming the positioning accuracy based on satellite signals is below a predetermined value, terminal 82 is determined to be within building 92. Symbols 511, 512, 513, and 514 indicate the locations of other terminals 82 outside building 92. Among the other terminals 82 corresponding to symbols 511, 512, 513, and 514, assuming the positioning accuracy based on satellite signals is above a predetermined value, terminal 82 is determined not to be within building 92.

[0101] exist Figure 5 In the situation shown, the number of other terminals 82 with positioning accuracy lower than the predetermined value is 2, and the number of other terminals 82 with positioning accuracy higher than the predetermined value is 4. If the determination method in the determination unit 340 adopts the method of determining that terminal 82 is not indoors (not outdoors) when the number of other terminals 82 with positioning accuracy higher than the predetermined value is greater than the number of other terminals 82 with positioning accuracy lower than the predetermined value, then it is determined that terminal 82 corresponding to symbol 500 is not indoors.

[0102] In this scenario, terminal 82, corresponding to symbol 500, sends its location information to server 60, and server 60 also considers the location information of terminal 82 within building 92 to perform traffic assistance processing. In this situation, the power consumption for sending location information may increase in terminal 82, and the computational load required for traffic assistance processing may increase in server 60.

[0103] Figure 6 The importance information used to determine the importance of the second information used in the determination unit 340 is shown in tabular form. The importance information is information that correlates the amount of movement, positioning accuracy / indoor determination result, and importance.

[0104] "Mobility" refers to the amount of movement made by other terminals 82. Figure 6 In this context, "small" movement indicates that the terminal 82 moves a small amount per unit time, while "large" movement indicates that the terminal 82 moves a large amount per unit time. The "movement amount" can be determined based on the number of steps per unit time obtained from other terminals 82. For example, when the number of steps per unit time obtained from other terminals 82, as indicated by the third information, is less than a predetermined value, the determination unit 340 can set the movement amount to "small," and when the number of steps per unit time obtained from other terminals 82, as indicated by the third information, is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the determination unit 340 can set the movement amount to "large." Besides the number of steps, the "movement amount" can also be a value calculated based on the historical location data sent from other terminals 82, or a value calculated based on the time-varying distance between terminal 82 and other terminals 82 detected through short-range wireless communication (e.g., BLE, UWB).

[0105] "Positioning Accuracy / Indoor Determination Result" indicates the positioning accuracy of other terminals 82 and the determination result of whether other terminals 82 are indoors. Figure 6 In the context of positioning accuracy, "high" indicates that the positioning accuracy of other terminals 82 is above the predetermined value, while "low" indicates that the positioning accuracy of other terminals 82 is below the predetermined value. An indoor determination result of "indoor" indicates that other terminals 82 are determined to be indoors, while an indoor determination result of "outdoor" indicates that other terminals 82 are determined to be outside the indoor environment.

[0106] "Importance" indicates the importance of the positioning accuracy / indoor judgment result in the judgment performed by the judgment unit 340. Importance is a weighting coefficient used when calculating the index value L and the index value H. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the importance of other terminals 82 with low mobility is 3, while the importance of the positioning accuracy / indoor determination result of other terminals 82 with high mobility is 1. Thus, the smaller the mobility, the higher the importance is set.

[0107] Generally speaking, it can be said that the smaller the movement of the terminal 82, the more reliable the positioning accuracy and / or indoor determination result at the current location of the terminal 82. Therefore, the smaller the movement of the terminal 82, the greater its importance, thereby improving the reliability of the index values ​​L and H calculated by the determination unit 340.

[0108] For example, in Figure 5 In the illustrated scenario, terminals 82 corresponding to symbols 501 and 502 are carried by people 80 inside the building 92, while terminals 82 corresponding to symbols 511 to 514 are carried by people 80 walking around. Generally, since people outside the building move faster than those inside, the movement of terminals 82 increases. Therefore, when the importance of the positioning accuracy and / or indoor determination result in terminals 82 corresponding to symbols 501 and 502 is 3, and the importance of the positioning accuracy and / or indoor determination result in terminals 82 corresponding to symbols 511 to 514 is 1, the calculated index value L is 6, and the calculated index value H is 4. Thus, in terminal 82 corresponding to symbol 500, the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is indoors.

[0109] For reference Figures 4 to 6 As described above, the determination unit 340 can determine whether terminal 82 is indoors by considering the movement of other terminals 82, thereby improving the reliability of the determination result. Figure 6 The example illustrates the case where the importance of the second information is calculated based on the second and third information, but the importance of the second information can also be calculated based on the third information.

[0110] Figure 7 An example of the execution sequence of processes performed in terminal 82, vehicle information processing device 40 of vehicle 20, and server 60 is shown. Figure 7 Specifically, the execution sequence is shown when information terminal 82a determines whether it is indoors based on positioning accuracy information from terminals 82b and 82c, and when terminal 82a determines whether to send location information. Figure 7 In the execution sequence, it is determined that terminals 82b and 82c are outdoors.

[0111] In S700, the vehicle information processing unit 40 sends the location information of the vehicle 20 to the server 60. The transmission of location information from the vehicle information processing unit 40 to the server 60 is performed periodically.

[0112] In S702, terminal 82b sends information indicating its positioning accuracy and movement to terminal 82a. In S704, terminal 82c sends information indicating its positioning accuracy and movement to terminal 82a. The information indicating positioning accuracy and movement can be sent periodically from terminals 82b and 82c. The information can be sent from terminals 82b and 82c via broadcast. The information can be sent from terminals 82b and 82c in response to a request from terminal 82a. The information can also be sent from terminals 82b and 82c via unicast. In terminal 82a, the second acquisition unit 320 acquires the positioning accuracy sent from terminals 82b and 82c, and the third acquisition unit 330 acquires information indicating the movement sent from terminals 82b and 82c.

[0113] In S706, in terminal 82a, the first acquisition unit 310 acquires the relative distance between each of terminals 82b and 82c. The first acquisition unit 310 can calculate the relative distance based on beacon signals from terminals 82b and 82c, and can also calculate the relative distance based on wireless signals for data communication that include wireless signals transmitted in S702 and S704.

[0114] In S710, the satellite signal receiving unit 304 of terminal 82a performs positioning based on satellite signals received from GNSS satellites and outputs the current position of terminal 82a.

[0115] In S711, terminal 82a determines whether it is indoors. Specifically, the setting unit 350 of terminal 82a determines whether it is indoors based on the relative distance acquired by the first acquisition unit 310, information indicating positioning accuracy acquired by the second acquisition unit 320, and information indicating the amount of movement acquired by the third acquisition unit 330. Specifically, by referring to... Figures 4 to 6 The described method determines whether terminal 82a is indoors.

[0116] In S712, the communication control unit 370 of terminal 82a determines whether to send location information. When the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is not indoors, the communication control unit 370 decides to send location information. On the other hand, when the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82a is indoors, the communication control unit 370 decides not to send location information. As described above, the communication control unit 370 controls the communication content between terminal 82 and the external server based on the determination result of the determination unit 340. Specifically, the communication control unit 370 restricts the communication unit 390 from sending location information to server 60 based on the determination result of the determination unit 340. In this execution sequence, the case where the communication control unit 370 decides to send location information will be described.

[0117] In S713, the communication control unit 370 of terminal 82a sends location information, indicating the current location of terminal 82a as measured by the satellite signal receiving unit 304, to the server 60. The processing in S710 to S713 is executed periodically in terminal 82a. Similarly, the communication control units 370 of terminals 82b and 82c periodically send location information, indicating the current location of terminals 82b and 82c as measured by their respective satellite signal receiving units 304, to the server 60. Figure 7 In the execution sequence, to prevent the description from becoming complicated, the transmission of location information from terminals 82a, 82b, and 82c to server 60 is shown together in S713. Figure 7 The execution sequence does not mean that the timing of sending location information from each terminal 82 to the server 60 is the same.

[0118] In S714, the auxiliary control unit 260 of the server 60 determines whether to perform traffic assistance for the vehicle 20 and the terminal 82 based on the location information of the terminal 82 obtained from the terminal 82 and the location information of the vehicle 20 obtained from the vehicle information processing device 40.

[0119] For example, the traffic assistance control unit 260 predicts the future position of terminal 82 based on the historical location information of terminal 82, and predicts the future position of vehicle 20 based on the historical location information of vehicle 20. When the predicted future position of vehicle 20 is close to the future position of terminal 82 within a predetermined time based on the predicted future positions of terminal 82 and vehicle 20, the traffic assistance control unit 260 determines to perform traffic assistance. Figure 7 In the execution sequence, it is assumed that traffic assistance is performed on terminal 82a.

[0120] When it is determined that traffic assistance will be provided to terminal 82a, in S716, the assistance control unit 260 controls the communication unit 290 via the communication control unit 270, thereby sending assistance information indicating the output of an alarm to the on-board information processing device 40. Furthermore, in S718, the assistance control unit 260 controls the communication unit 290 via the communication control unit 270, thereby sending assistance information indicating the output of an alarm to the terminal 82a, which is determined to be the object of traffic assistance. As described above, the communication control unit 270 performs control based on the control of the assistance control unit 260 to send information indicating the traffic risk at the location where terminal 82a is located.

[0121] When auxiliary information is received from server 60, in S722, the vehicle information processing unit 40, based on the auxiliary information, issues a notification to the occupants of vehicle 20 through its HMI (Human Machine Interface) function. For example, the vehicle information processing unit 40 notifies the occupants to be aware of a pedestrian jumping onto road 90. The vehicle information processing unit 40 can notify the occupants of vehicle 20 to be aware of a pedestrian jumping onto road 90 via sound and display on a display device provided by vehicle 20.

[0122] When terminal 82a receives auxiliary information from server 60, in S720, terminal 82a notifies person 80 of the presence of vehicle 20 approaching person 80 through its HMI function. Terminal 82a can notify person 80 of the presence of vehicle 20 approaching person 80 through sound and / or vibration.

[0123] according to Figure 7 The execution sequence can suppress the transmission of location information when it is determined that terminal 82 is indoors. Therefore, the power consumption of terminal 82 can be reduced. Furthermore, since the server 60 can suppress the processing of location information of terminal 82 when it is indoors, the computational load required for the processing performed by server 60 can be reduced. Additionally, when it is determined that terminal 82 is indoors, the output of warning messages can be suppressed. Therefore, the output of alarms from terminal 82 when it is indoors can be suppressed. Thus, problems caused by unnecessary alarms output from terminal 82 can be reduced.

[0124] Figure 8 Other examples of execution sequences of processes performed in terminal 82, vehicle information processing device 40 of vehicle 20, and server 60 are shown. Figure 8 Specifically, it illustrates the execution sequence of terminal 82a determining whether it is indoors based on positioning accuracy information from terminals 82b and 82c, and terminal 82a determining whether to output an alarm based on this determination result. Figure 8 In the execution sequence, it is assumed that terminals 82b and 82c are outdoors.

[0125] about Figure 7 and Figure 8 The processes in S700, S702, S704, S706, S710, S711, S713, S714, S716, S718 and S722 have the same symbol to represent the same process, so the description of these processes is omitted.

[0126] In S718, under the control of the auxiliary control unit 260, auxiliary information instructing the output of an alarm is sent to the terminal 82a. When the auxiliary information is received from the server 60, the terminal 82a determines in S719 whether to output an alarm. Specifically, when the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82a is indoors based on the nearest indoor / outdoor location, the notification control unit 360 of the terminal 82a decides to output an alarm. When the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82a is not indoors based on the nearest indoor / outdoor location, the notification control unit 360 decides not to output an alarm. As described above, in the terminal 82a, the communication unit 390 receives traffic risk information indicating the location where the terminal 82a is located from the server 60, which distributes information indicating traffic risk, and notifies the control unit 360 to perform control for issuing a notification based on the traffic risk information received by the communication unit 390. Specifically, when the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82a is indoors, the notification control unit 360 restricts the notification. In this execution sequence, the case where the notification control unit 360 of the terminal 82a decides to output an alarm will be described.

[0127] When the notification control unit 360 decides to output an alarm in S719, in S720, the person 80 is notified of the presence of a vehicle 20 approaching the person 80 via the HMI function of the terminal 82. Because Figure 8 Processing in S720 and Figure 7 The process is the same as that in S720, so a description of that process will be omitted.

[0128] according to Figure 8 The execution sequence can suppress the output of alarm information when it is determined that terminal 82 is indoors. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the output of alarms from terminal 82 when it is indoors. As a result, troubles caused by unnecessary alarms output from terminal 82 can be reduced.

[0129] Figure 9 Another example of the execution sequence of processes performed in terminal 82, vehicle information processing device 40 of vehicle 20, and server 60 is shown. Figure 9 In particular, the execution sequence is shown when the server 60 determines whether the terminal 82 is indoors.

[0130] about Figure 9 and Figure 7 The processes in S700, S710, S716, S718, S720 and S722 have the same symbol to represent the same process, so the description of these processes is omitted.

[0131] In S902, terminal 82a acquires the movement amount of terminal 82a. For example, terminal 82a acquires information representing the number of steps counted per unit time by a step counter possessed by terminal 82a as the movement amount.

[0132] In S913, the communication control unit 370 of terminal 82a sends to the server 60 location information of terminal 82 as measured by satellite signal receiver 304 in S710, positioning accuracy output from satellite signal receiver 304 in S710, movement amount of terminal 82a acquired in S902, and relative distance between terminal 82a and other terminals 82 acquired in S706. The processes in S902, S706, S710, and S913 are executed periodically in terminal 82a. Similarly, the communication control units 370 of terminals 82b and 82c send to the server 60 location information of their respective terminals 82, positioning accuracy of their respective terminals 82, movement amount of their respective terminals 82, and relative distance between their respective terminals 82 and other terminals 82. Figure 9 In the execution sequence, to prevent the description from becoming complicated, the transmission of location information from terminals 82a, 82b, and 82c to server 60 is shown together in S913. Figure 9 The execution sequence does not mean that the timing of sending location information, positioning accuracy, movement amount and relative distance from each terminal 82 to the server 60 is the same.

[0133] In S911, server 60 determines whether each terminal 82 is indoors. Specifically, server 60 determines this by referring to a reference... Figure 4 The same process described above is used to determine whether terminal 82 is indoors. More specifically, in server 60, first acquisition unit 210 acquires the relative distance sent from each terminal 82, second acquisition unit 220 acquires the positioning accuracy sent from each terminal 82, and third acquisition unit 230 acquires the movement amount sent from each terminal 82. For each terminal 82, determination unit 240 extracts the positioning accuracy and movement amount of other terminals 82 within a predetermined distance based on the relative distance, positioning accuracy, and movement amount, and calculates index values ​​L and H based on the extracted positioning accuracy and movement amount. Determination unit 240 determines whether each terminal 82 is indoors by comparing the calculated index values ​​L and H.

[0134] In S914, the auxiliary control unit 260 of the server 60 determines whether to provide traffic assistance to the vehicle 20 and the terminal 82 based on the location information of the terminal 82 obtained from the terminal 82 and the location information of the vehicle 20 obtained from the vehicle information processing device 40. At this time, the auxiliary control unit 260 excludes the terminal 82 determined by the determination unit 240 to be indoors, and determines whether to provide traffic assistance to the vehicle 20 and the terminal 82 determined by the determination unit 240 to be not indoors. Apart from this, the processing and reference of the auxiliary control unit 260 in S914... Figure 7 The processing described in S714 is the same.

[0135] For reference Figure 9 The auxiliary control unit 260 excludes terminals 82 determined by the determination unit 240 to be indoors from determining whether to perform traffic assistance, and the communication control unit 270 sends auxiliary information to terminals 82, which are the recipients of the auxiliary information, based on the control of the auxiliary control unit 260. Therefore, when the determination unit 240 determines that terminal 82 is indoors, compared to when the determination unit 240 determines that terminal 82 is not indoors, the communication control unit 270 can limit the transmission of information indicating the traffic risk at the location of terminal 82. In this way, the communication control unit 270 controls the communication content between the server and terminal 82 based on the determination result of the determination unit 240.

[0136] according to Figure 9 The execution sequence can suppress the auxiliary judgment of S914 for terminals 82 that are indoors, thus reducing the amount of computation involved in the processing performed by the server 60. Furthermore, since the output of alarm information can be suppressed in terminals 82 that are determined to be indoors, problems caused by unnecessary alarms being output from terminals 82 can be reduced.

[0137] As described above, according to the auxiliary system 10, it is possible to determine whether terminal 82 is indoors by considering the positional relationship of other terminals 82 in the vicinity, the positioning accuracy of other terminals 82 in the vicinity, and / or the determination result of whether it is indoors. Therefore, even in cases where it is not easy to determine whether terminal 82 is indoors, such as when terminal 82 is near the entrance or exit of building 92, it is possible to determine whether terminal 82 is indoors with higher accuracy.

[0138] Figure 10 Examples of computer 2000 that may embody all or part of the various embodiments of the present invention are shown. Programs installed on the computer 2000 enable the computer 2000 to function as a device or unit of a device, such as a terminal 82 and server 60, according to the embodiments, to perform operations associated with that device or unit of that device, and / or to perform processes or steps according to the embodiments. Such programs may be executed by CPU 2012 to enable the computer 2000 to perform the processing flow described herein and specific operations associated with several or all of the functional blocks in the block diagrams.

[0139] The computer 2000 based on this embodiment includes a CPU 2012 and RAM 2014, which are interconnected via a main controller 2010. The computer 2000 also includes a ROM 2026, flash memory 2024, a communication interface 2022, and an input / output chip 2040. The ROM 2026, flash memory 2024, communication interface 2022, and input / output chip 2040 are connected to the main controller 2010 via an input / output controller 2020.

[0140] CPU2012 operates according to the programs stored in ROM2026 and RAM2014, thereby controlling each unit.

[0141] The communication interface 2022 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The flash memory 2024 stores programs and data used by the CPU 2012 within the computer 2000. The ROM 2026 stores startup programs executed by the computer 2000 when activated, and / or programs dependent on the hardware of the computer 2000. The input / output chip 2040 can also connect various input / output units such as keyboards, mice, and monitors to the input / output controller 2020 via input / output ports such as serial ports, parallel ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, monitor ports, USB ports, and HDMI (registered trademark) ports.

[0142] The program is provided via a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or USB flash drive, or via a network. RAM 2014, ROM 2026, or flash memory 2024 are examples of computer-readable storage media. The program is installed into flash memory 2024, RAM 2014, or ROM 2026 and executed by CPU 2012. The information processing described within these programs is read by computer 2000, enabling cooperation between the program and the aforementioned types of hardware resources. The apparatus or method can be configured to perform information manipulation or processing in accordance with the use of computer 2000.

[0143] For example, when communication is performed between the computer 2000 and an external device, the CPU 2012 can execute a communication program loaded into the RAM 2014, and instruct the communication interface 2022 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of the CPU 2012, the communication interface 2022 reads the transmission data stored in the transmission buffer processing area provided in the recording medium such as the RAM 2014 and the flash memory 2024, sends the read transmission data to the network, and writes the received data received from the network to the receive buffer processing area provided on the recording medium, etc.

[0144] In addition, CPU 2012 can read all or a required portion of a file or database stored in a recording medium such as flash memory 2024 into RAM 2014, and perform various processing on the data in RAM 2014. CPU 2012 then writes the processed data back to the recording medium.

[0145] Various types of information, such as programs, data, tables, and databases, can be saved to the recording medium and applied to information processing. The CPU 2012 can perform various operations, information processing, conditional judgments, conditional branches, unconditional branches, information retrieval / replacement, etc., as described in this specification, on data read from the RAM 2014, and write the results back to the RAM 2014. Furthermore, the CPU 2012 can retrieve information from files, databases, etc., within the recording medium. For example, if multiple items, each having an attribute value associated with a second attribute, are stored in the recording medium, the CPU 2012 can retrieve the item whose first attribute value matches the condition from these multiple items, read the second attribute value stored in that item, and thereby obtain the second attribute value associated with the first attribute that satisfies a preset condition.

[0146] The programs or software modules described above can be stored on or near the computer 2000 on a computer-readable storage medium. Recording media such as hard disks or RAM provided in server systems connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as computer-readable storage media. Programs stored on computer-readable storage media can be provided to the computer 2000 via a network.

[0147] The programs installed in the computer 2000, enabling the computer 2000 to function as a terminal 82, can operate in the CPU 2012, etc., thereby allowing each unit of the computer 2000 as the terminal 82 (e.g., the determination device 302, etc.) to perform its function. The information processing described in these programs is read into the computer 2000, whereby it functions as a specific unit cooperating with the software and the various hardware resources described above, i.e., each unit of the terminal 82. Furthermore, by utilizing these specific units to perform the calculation or processing of information corresponding to the purpose of using the computer 2000 in this embodiment, a terminal 82 specific to the purpose of use is constructed.

[0148] The programs installed in the computer 2000, enabling the computer 2000 to function as a server 60, can operate in the CPU 2012, etc., thereby allowing each unit of the computer 2000 as the server 60 (e.g., the determination device 202, etc.) to perform its function. The information processing described in these programs is read into the computer 2000, whereby it functions as a specific unit cooperating with the software and the various hardware resources described above, i.e., each unit of the server 60. Furthermore, by utilizing these specific units to perform the calculation or processing of information corresponding to the intended use of the computer 2000 in this embodiment, a server 60 specific to the intended use is constructed.

[0149] Various implementations have been described with reference to block diagrams, etc. In the block diagrams, each functional block may represent (1) a step of an operation process or (2) a unit of a device having the function of performing the operation. Specific steps and units may be implemented by dedicated circuits, programmable circuits supplied together with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, and / or processors supplied together with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. Dedicated circuits may include digital and / or analog hardware circuits, and may also include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. Programmable circuits may include logic AND, logic OR, logic XOR, logic NAND, logic NOR, and other logic operations, flip-flops, registers, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), and other reconfigurable hardware circuits including memory elements.

[0150] A computer-readable storage medium can include any tangible device capable of storing instructions executable by a suitable device, such that the computer-readable storage medium having the instructions stored therein constitutes at least a portion of a product containing instructions executable for implementing units that perform operations specified in a process flow or block diagram. Examples of computer-readable storage media include electrical storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, etc. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media include floppy disks (registered trademark), floppy magnetic disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital multipurpose disk (DVD), Blu-ray (RTM) discs, memory sticks, integrated circuit cards, etc.

[0151] Computer-readable instructions may include assembly instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine delegate instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, status setting data, or any type of source code or object code described by any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk (registered trademark), JAVA (registered trademark), C++, and conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages.

[0152] Computer-readable instructions are provided via a wide area network (WAN) such as a local area network (LAN) or the Internet to a processor or programmable circuit of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device. These computer-readable instructions can be executed to implement units that perform the operations specified in the described processing flow or block diagram. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, and microcontrollers.

[0153] The present invention has been described above using embodiments, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. Such modifications or improvements can also be included within the technical scope of the present invention, as is evident from the claims.

[0154] Regarding the execution order of actions, processes, steps, and procedures in the apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims, specification, and drawings, it should be noted that unless explicitly stated as "before" or "firstly," any order is permissible as long as the output of a previous process is not used in a subsequent process. Even if terms such as "firstly" or "next" are used for convenience in describing the flow of actions in the claims, specification, and drawings, this does not imply that the actions must be performed in that specific order.

[0155] [Explanation of Labels in the Attached Image]

[0156] 10 auxiliary systems

[0157] 20 vehicles

[0158] 40 Vehicle-mounted information processing devices

[0159] 60 servers

[0160] 82 terminal

[0161] 92 buildings

[0162] 80 people

[0163] 90 Road

[0164] 200 Processing Department

[0165] 202 Determination Device

[0166] 210 First Acquisition Department

[0167] 220 Second Acquisition Department

[0168] 230 Third Acquisition Department

[0169] 240 Judgment Department

[0170] 250 Setting Department

[0171] 260 Auxiliary Control Unit

[0172] 270 Communications Control Department

[0173] 280 Storage Division

[0174] 290 Department of Communications

[0175] 300 Processing Department

[0176] 302 Detection Device

[0177] 304 Satellite Signal Receiving Unit

[0178] 310 First Acquisition Department

[0179] 320 Second Acquisition Department

[0180] 330 Third Acquisition Department

[0181] 340 Judgment Department

[0182] 350 Setting Department

[0183] 360 Notification Control Department

[0184] 370 Communications Control Department

[0185] 380 Storage Division

[0186] 390 Communications Department

[0187] 2000 Computer

[0188] 2010 Main Controller

[0189] 2012 CPU

[0190] 2014 RAM

[0191] 2020 Input / Output Controller

[0192] 2022 communication interface

[0193] 2024 Flash Memory

[0194] 2026 ROM

[0195] 2040 input / output chip.

Claims

1. A determining device, wherein, have: The first acquisition unit acquires first information representing the positional relationship between the terminal and one or more other terminals; The second acquisition unit acquires second information representing at least one of the determination result of whether the other terminal is indoors and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal; as well as The determination unit determines whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information.

2. The determining device according to claim 1, wherein, The first information includes information indicating the distance between the terminal and the other terminals.

3. The determining device according to claim 2, wherein, The determination unit selects other terminals whose distance from the terminal is shorter than a predetermined value based on the first information, and determines whether the terminal is indoors based on the second information of the selected other terminals.

4. The determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, It also includes a third acquisition unit that acquires third information indicating the movement status of the other terminals. The determination unit determines whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information.

5. The determining device according to claim 4, wherein, The determination unit calculates the importance of the second information based on the third information, and uses the importance to determine whether the terminal is indoors.

6. The determining device according to claim 4, wherein, The third piece of information represents the amount of movement of the other terminals per unit of time.

7. The determining device according to claim 4, wherein, The other terminals are portable terminals. The third piece of information represents the number of steps counted in the other terminals.

8. The determining device according to claim 4, wherein, The third acquisition unit acquires the third information based on the change in distance between the terminal and the other terminals obtained through short-range wireless communication.

9. The determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The second information indicates the positioning accuracy in the other terminals. The positioning accuracy in the other terminal refers to at least one of the following: the receiving sensitivity of the satellite signal received by the other terminal from the positioning satellite, the number of satellites used for positioning in the other terminal, and the elevation angle of the satellite signal.

10. The determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The determination unit calculates an indicator value for determining whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information, and determines whether the terminal is indoors by comparing the indicator value with a threshold. The determination device also includes a setting unit that sets the threshold based on an instruction from a user of the terminal.

11. A terminal, wherein, The device comprises the determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. The terminal according to claim 11, wherein, It also includes a communication control unit, which controls the communication content between the terminal and an external server based on the determination result of the determination unit.

13. The terminal according to claim 11, wherein, It also has: The communications unit sends the location information of the terminal to a server that distributes information indicating traffic risks at the location where the terminal is present; and The communication control unit restricts the communication unit from sending the location information to the server based on the determination result of the determination unit.

14. The terminal according to claim 11, wherein, have: The communications department receives information from a server that distributes information indicating traffic risks, representing the location where the terminal is present; as well as The notification control unit performs control for issuing notifications based on information indicating the traffic risk received from the communication unit. When the determination unit determines that the terminal is indoors, the notification control unit restricts the notification.

15. A server, wherein, The device comprises the determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

16. The server according to claim 15, wherein, It also includes a communication control unit, which controls the communication content between the server and the terminal based on the determination result of the determination unit.

17. The server according to claim 15, wherein, It also includes a communication control unit, which controls the transmission of information indicating traffic risks at the location where the terminal is present. When the determination unit determines that the terminal is indoors, compared to when the determination unit determines that the terminal is not indoors, the communication control unit restricts the transmission of information indicating traffic risks at the location where the terminal is present.

18. A determination method, wherein, have: The step of obtaining first information representing the positional relationship between a terminal and one or more other terminals; The step of obtaining second information representing at least one of the determination result of whether the other terminal is indoors and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal; as well as The step of determining whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information.

19. A computer program product, wherein, It includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor, implements the determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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