Communication quality estimation device, communication quality estimation method, and communication quality estimation program

Abstract

To provide a technique that enables the estimation of future communication quality from actually measured past communication quality information without covering communication conditions that affect communication traffic, in estimating the communication quality of general-purpose wireless communication systems.SOLUTION: A communication quality estimation device of the present invention includes: a communication traffic acquisition unit that predicts an amount of communication traffic based on human flow data under predetermined communication conditions; a communication information receiving unit that generates a communication quality estimation model from a first amount of communication traffic and communication quality information associated with the first amount of traffic; and a communication quality estimation unit that estimates communication quality under estimation conditions from the communication quality estimation model and a second amount of communication traffic predicted under the estimation conditions in the communication traffic acquisition unit. The communication quality estimation device estimates the communication quality of wireless communication used for mobile vehicles for passenger transportation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication quality estimation device, a communication quality estimation method, and a communication quality estimation program for estimating the communication quality of wireless communication used mainly for moving objects involved in passenger transportation. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, with the spread of networks, applications (hereinafter simply referred to as "apps") and services are being provided via networks. To access these apps and services, there are many systems that use general-purpose wireless communication systems such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) and 5G (5th Generation). As an example, the use of such systems in railway systems, which aim to provide safe, accurate, and comfortable train operation, is currently attracting attention.

[0003] In the current railway system, in order to realize safe, accurate, and comfortable train operation, a dedicated wireless system is used, and a siloed wireless system is constructed to satisfy the different communication requirements of each railway application. Therefore, the current railway system has issues such as high implementation and operation costs, and difficulty in linking each railway application. In response to this, by constructing a railway system that utilizes a general-purpose wireless communication system, it is expected to reduce fixed costs by becoming asset-less and zero infrastructure.

[0004] However, there are issues with using a general-purpose wireless communication system, such as the fact that the network must be shared with general users and that wireless coverage is not yet available for railways, making it impossible to guarantee that the communications requirements of railway apps are met across the entire railway line. Therefore, the design of railway systems that take into account the communication quality on the lines that use railway systems and the introduction of communication platforms with communication control functions that guarantee communication quality for each railway application are being considered. A communication platform can guarantee the communication quality of railway applications even in areas where communication quality is insufficient by implementing communication control such as the use of multiple communication paths, transmission of redundant packets, and adaptive switching of communication paths. Therefore, by utilizing a communication platform, it is possible to realize a railway system that aims for safe, accurate, and comfortable train operation even in areas where communication quality is insufficient.

[0005] As described above, system design for providing appropriate applications and services is essential for realizing a system that utilizes a general-purpose wireless communication system, and estimation of communication quality is essential for realizing communication control by a communication platform. Patent Document 1 describes, as a technology relating to a method for estimating communication quality, a communication quality estimation device having an estimation equation generation unit that generates an estimation equation for communication quality using regression analysis from previously acquired data on the relationship between the number of wireless interfaces of a terminal observed per unit time and communication quality, an input unit that accepts an input of the number of wireless interfaces observed per unit time in an estimation target area, a communication quality estimation value calculation unit that calculates a communication quality estimation value using the generated estimation equation from the accepted number of wireless interfaces, and an output unit that outputs the calculated communication quality estimation value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-19368 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] In the general-purpose wireless communication system, since it is a shared network with general users, the size of the wireless resource allocated to the wireless terminal to be estimated varies depending on the change in the communication traffic volume and the number of wireless terminals that are not the subject of estimation and exist within the communication area. Also, the communication quality when using the general-purpose wireless communication system varies depending on the change in the size of the wireless resource allocated to the wireless terminal to be estimated.

[0008] Therefore, in order to estimate future communication quality, it is necessary to take into account communication conditions such as date and time, location, weather, etc., which change the communication traffic of wireless terminals that are not subject to estimation. In other words, in order to realize a technology that estimates communication quality using actually measured past communication quality information, it is necessary to cover all of the above communication conditions, which leads to issues such as high labor and cost required for actually measuring communication quality and storing data, and the amount of data to be stored becoming enormous.

[0009] In the existing method disclosed in Patent Document 1, the relationship between the number of wireless interfaces of a terminal observed per unit time and the communication quality is obtained by regression analysis, and the communication quality is estimated using the obtained estimation formula. However, in order to perform the regression analysis, a sufficient amount of past communication quality information must be accumulated, and the accumulated past communication quality information must cover communication conditions in which communication traffic by wireless terminals not subject to estimation changes. Therefore, the problems of the labor and cost required to acquire future communication quality and the huge amount of data to be accumulated cannot be solved.

[0010] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a technology that enables estimation of future communication quality of a general-purpose wireless communication system from actually measured past communication quality information, without covering all communication conditions that affect communication traffic. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above problems, a communication quality estimation device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a communication traffic acquisition unit that predicts a communication traffic volume based on people flow data under specified communication conditions, a communication information receiving unit that generates a communication quality estimation model from a first communication traffic volume and communication quality information linked to the first traffic volume, and a communication quality estimation unit that estimates communication quality under the estimation conditions from the communication quality estimation model and a second communication traffic volume predicted under the estimation conditions by the communication traffic acquisition unit, and estimates the communication quality of wireless communication used for a mobile body involved in passenger transport. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to estimate future communication quality for the communication conditions to be estimated from communication traffic volume based on people flow data, and there is no need to prepare past communication quality information that covers all communication conditions, so communication quality can be estimated with few labor hours, low cost, and a small amount of data. Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the description of the following embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a physical configuration of a communication quality estimation device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a communication quality estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an output screen from the measurement condition determining device displayed via an output interface in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an output screen from a data estimation device displayed via an output interface in the first to third embodiments. [Diagram 5] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a measurement condition determination device included in a communication quality estimation device of a first embodiment. [Figure 6]1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a data estimation device included in a communication quality estimation device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure of a communication traffic acquisition unit included in a measurement condition determination device and a data estimation device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 8] 1 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure of a measurement time zone acquisition unit included in the measurement condition determination device of the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 4 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure of a communication information receiving unit included in the data estimation device according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10] 4 is a flowchart illustrating an overall processing procedure of a communication quality estimation unit included in the data estimation device according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a measurement condition determination device included in a communication quality estimation device of a second embodiment. [Figure 12] 13 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure of a measurement position acquisition unit included in the measurement condition determination device of the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a physical configuration of an entire railway system that has introduced a communication platform according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication quality estimation device included in a communication control determination device of a third embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a data configuration of information stored in a past communication information database in the third embodiment. [Figure 16] 13 is a flowchart illustrating an overall processing procedure of a communication information receiving unit included in a communication quality estimation device according to a third embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a description will be given of a first embodiment to a third embodiment as modes for carrying out the present invention. Note that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. In addition, in the description of the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0015] [Example 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a physical configuration of a communication quality estimation device according to a first embodiment. This communication quality estimation device makes it possible to obtain information for determining whether or not a railway system utilizing a general-purpose wireless communication system can be introduced, and to estimate communication quality after the introduction and perform communication control. In the present invention, the general-purpose wireless communication system is not limited to LTE or 5G, as long as it is a wireless communication system that is a shared network with general users. The communication quality estimation device 101 includes a measurement condition determination device 102 and a data estimation device 103 .

[0016] The measurement condition determination device 102 is a device that determines communication conditions under which communication quality information required for estimating communication quality in the data estimation device 103 is measured by the data acquisition device 104. Here, the communication conditions are conditions under which communication traffic changes when communication is performed in a specific wireless system, such as date and time, location, and weather.

[0017] The data estimation device 103 is a device that estimates future communication quality from past communication quality information measured by the data acquisition device 104 under communication conditions determined by the measurement condition determination device 102. The present invention is particularly a device that estimates future communication quality as the data estimation device 103, and the communication quality information is information that indicates the quality of communication and has characteristics that vary due to changes in communication conditions, such as throughput, available bandwidth, communication delay time, and packet error rate.

[0018] The data acquisition device 104 is a device for acquiring communication quality under the communication conditions determined by the measurement condition determination device 102. Here, methods for acquiring communication quality include, for example, methods using active measurement and passive measurement, and any method may be used in the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication quality estimation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication quality estimation device 101 is configured by a computer having a processor (CPU (Central Processing Unit)) 201, a memory 202, an auxiliary storage device 204, a communication interface 205, an input interface 203, and an output interface 206. In Fig. 2, "interface" is abbreviated to "I / F".

[0020] The processor (CPU) 201 is an arithmetic device that executes programs stored in the memory 202, and executes various programs to realize the processing of the communication quality estimation device 101. Note that some of the processing performed by the processor (CPU) 201 executing the programs may be executed by other arithmetic devices (for example, hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array)).

[0021] The memory 202 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), which is a non-volatile storage element, and a RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a volatile storage element. The ROM stores unchanging programs (e.g., a Basic Input Output System (BIOS)). The RAM is a high-speed, volatile storage element such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and temporarily stores programs executed by the processor 201 and data used when the programs are executed.

[0022] The auxiliary storage device 204 is a large-capacity non-volatile storage device such as a magnetic storage device (HDD (Hard Disk Drive)) or a flash memory (SSD (Solid State Drive)), and stores data used by the processor 201 when the processor 201 executes a program and the program executed by the processor 201. That is, the program is read from the auxiliary storage device 204, loaded into the memory 202, and executed by the processor 201 to realize each function of the communication quality estimation device 101.

[0023] The communication interface 205 is a network interface device that controls communications with other devices according to a predetermined protocol.

[0024] The input interface 203 is an interface to which an input device 207 such as a keyboard or a mouse is connected for receiving input from an operator.

[0025] The output interface 206 is an interface to which an output device 208 such as a display device is connected, for outputting the results of program execution in a format that can be viewed by an operator.

[0026] The programs executed by the processor 201 are provided to the communication quality estimation device 101 via removable media (such as a CD (Compact Disk)-ROM or a flash memory) and stored in a non-volatile auxiliary storage device 204, which is a non-transitory storage medium. For this reason, the communication quality estimation device 101 may have an interface for reading data from the removable media.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an output screen 301 from the measurement condition determining device 102 displayed via the output interface 206 in the first embodiment. As an output screen 301, a setting list 302 for inputting and setting measurement conditions in the measurement condition determining device 102, and a result list 312 which is an output result based on the input settings are output on a graphical interface.

[0028] First, the measurement conditions are input and set in each item of the setting list 302. The measurement conditions are communication conditions under which communication traffic of wireless communication, which is the target of measuring communication quality information, occurs. In Fig. 3, the setting list 302 displays condition items related to a measurable period 303, a measurement target position 304, weather 305, a wireless system 306, a wireless terminal 307, people flow data 308 used to acquire communication traffic volume, communication traffic parameters 309, and a measurement availability setting 310 for an estimated target position. However, the condition items are not limited to the example in Fig. 3. The condition items that can be measurement conditions and the input items selected therefrom are collected in communication condition information 503 described later, and are designed to be displayed and inputted from there as necessary. Possible input items include wireless system 306, the type of system used for wireless communication such as 3G, LTE, or 5G, wireless terminal, for example, the type of router installed on the vehicle to communicate with the ground, people flow data 308, for example, the type of people flow such as occupancy rate, population, or number of event attendees, and communication traffic parameters 309, for example, the type of combination (preset) of setting values ​​of communication traffic parameters for children, adults, and elderly generations. For measurement feasibility setting 310 for estimated target position, No is checked if measurement at the estimated target position is not possible for some reason, and Yes is checked if measurement is possible.

[0029] Next, execute the process by pressing the measurement condition acquisition start button 311. As a result, a graph showing the predicted communication traffic volume characteristics (communication traffic volume characteristics for measurement) for the time periods included in the measurement period, and a list of the measurement conditions (date and time and weather) and the corresponding predicted communication traffic volumes are displayed as a measurement condition list in the result list 312. The granularity of the time periods is not particularly limited, and may be every hour, for example.

[0030] Thereafter, as described later, a measurement time period for actual measurement is determined from a measurement condition list, and communication quality information during the measurement time period is measured at the measurement target position by a data acquisition device 104. Then, a data estimation device 103 estimates communication quality from the measured communication quality information.

[0031] When inputting and setting measurement conditions before measurement, a possible method is to input multiple possible conditions (for example, for weather 305, sunny, rainy, cloudy, etc.) to create a measurement condition list, and then associate the measurement condition (sunny) that matches the weather at the time of measurement (for example, sunny) with the measured value of communication quality actually measured for the predicted traffic volume. When inputting and setting measurement conditions at the time of measurement, it is sufficient to input the measurement condition (for example, sunny) that corresponds to the environment at the time of measurement.

[0032] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an output screen 401 from the data estimating device 103 displayed via the output interface 206 in the first embodiment. As an output screen 401, a setting list 402 for inputting and setting estimation conditions to the data estimation device 103, and a result list 411 which is an output result based on the input settings are output on a graphical interface.

[0033] First, the estimation conditions are input and set in each item of the setting list 402. The estimation conditions are communication conditions under which the communication traffic of the wireless communication to be estimated occurs. In FIG. 4, the setting list 402 displays items related to a reference destination 403 storing past measured communication quality information 601 used for estimation, an estimation target period 404, weather 405, people flow data 406 used to acquire communication traffic volume, communication traffic parameters 407, a relationship 408 between an estimation target position and a measurement position, and an estimation target position 409. However, the condition items are not limited to the example in FIG. 4. The condition items that can be estimation conditions and the input items selected therefrom are collected in communication condition information 503 described later, and are designed to be displayed and inputted as necessary from there. The contents of the condition items and input items are the same as those in the setting list 302 of the measurement condition determination device 102 in FIG. 3, so that a description thereof will be omitted.

[0034] Next, a process is executed by pressing a communication quality estimation start button 410. This displays a graph showing a communication quality characteristic (communication quality estimation model) for the communication traffic volume used to measure the communication quality information (hereinafter also referred to as a first communication traffic volume), a characteristic (communication traffic volume characteristic for estimation) in a time period included in the estimation target period of the communication traffic volume predicted under the estimation conditions (hereinafter also referred to as a second communication traffic volume), and a communication quality characteristic estimated in the time period (estimated communication quality characteristic). As a result, a system design for providing appropriate applications and services and appropriate communication control in a communication control device 1308 (described later) by the communication platform 1302 are realized based on the displayed estimated communication quality characteristic.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the measurement condition determination device 102 included in the communication quality estimation device 101 according to the first embodiment. The measurement condition determining device 102 includes a communication traffic acquiring unit 504 and a measurement time zone acquiring unit 505 . A communication traffic acquisition unit 504 receives people flow information 501, train operation information 502, and communication condition information 503 as input, and outputs information related to a predicted communication traffic volume in a measurement period. The measurement time period acquisition unit 505 outputs the measurement time period to be measured by the data acquisition device 104 based on the measurement conditions and information related to the predicted communication traffic volume in the measurable period. Here, a description will be given of people flow information 501, train operation information 502, communication condition information 503, and communication traffic volume. These pieces of information can be stored in the memory 202 or the auxiliary storage device 204 in FIG.

[0036] The people flow information 501 is information that collects the number and characteristics of people linked to a date and a location (for example, communication traffic characteristics by generation). Here, the location means a target area to be measured or estimated. The granularity of the date and the location is not particularly limited. For example, the date and the location may be every hour, and the location may be latitude information, longitude information, communication area, and station name or line name. The source of the data of the date and the location granularity, the number of people, and the characteristics of the people is not particularly limited. For example, it may be any of the following: using a GPS (Global Positioning System) device, reading the physical position on the rail from a sensor, using operation schedule information that is train operation information 502, and information on the number of passengers and the occupancy rate from a system that manages railway operation. The people flow data acquired from the people flow information 501 includes data on the number of people in each time period at the target location and data on the number of passengers of passenger services. These data may be estimates.

[0037] The train operation information 502 is collected information related to train operation, such as geographical information of railway lines, operation schedule information, etc. The source of the train operation information 502 is not particularly limited. For example, it may be a system that manages railway operations.

[0038] The communication condition information 503 is information that collects condition items (date and time, location, weather, etc.) and input items (2022 / 4 / 1, Station A, sunny, etc.) displayed in the setting list 302 of the measurement condition determination device 102 or the setting list 402 of the data estimation device 103, such as the date and time, location, and weather of the measurement target or estimation target. The communication condition information 503 may also include information on factors that change communication traffic by wireless terminals that are not the estimation target, and may include, for example, information to be input regarding the presence or absence of events or communication failures that have occurred in the vicinity of the location to be estimated. Data linked to the condition items and input items in the communication condition information 503 can be obtained from the people flow information 501 and the train operation information 502.

[0039] The predicted communication traffic volume is a prediction of the total communication traffic volume occupied by all users who share the communication band of a specified wireless system (e.g., LTE), and for example, if five terminal users in a communication area are each communicating at 1 Mbps (bit per second), the communication traffic volume will be 5 Mbps. "User" refers to an individual that affects communication traffic by communicating in a specified communication area, and may include not only a person but also devices such as wireless terminals.

[0040] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the data estimation device 103 included in the communication quality estimation device 101 according to the first embodiment. The data estimation device 103 includes a communication information receiving unit 602 , a communication traffic acquiring unit 504 , and a communication quality estimating unit 603 .

[0041] A communication information receiving unit 602 receives past measured communication quality information 601 linked to communication traffic volume as an input, and outputs a communication quality estimation model for the communication traffic volume. The communication quality estimation unit 603 receives as input a communication quality estimation model for communication traffic volume and the communication traffic volume under the communication conditions to be estimated, and outputs an estimated communication quality under the communication conditions to be estimated.

[0042] Here, the measured communication quality information 601 linked to the first communication traffic volume will be described. The measured communication quality information 601 linked to the first communication traffic volume is communication quality information for the communication traffic volume acquired by the data acquisition device 104. The method of acquiring the first communication traffic volume is not particularly limited. For example, either a method of using a predicted communication traffic volume acquired by the measurement condition determination device 102 or a method of using an actual measurement value of the total amount of communication traffic volume occupied by all users present in the communication area when actually measured by the data acquisition device 104 may be used.

[0043] 7 is a flowchart showing the overall processing procedure of the measurement condition determining device 102 and the communication traffic acquiring unit 504 included in the data estimation device 103 according to the first embodiment. The operation of each processing step will be described below. "start" corresponds to activating the measurement condition acquisition start button 311 in Fig. 3 in the case of the measurement condition determination device 102, and corresponds to activating the communication quality estimation start button 410 in Fig. 4 in the case of the data estimation device 103. Note that in each case, "communication conditions" in each step means measurement conditions or estimation conditions, and "target position" means measurement target position or estimation target position.

[0044] Step S701: Train operation information 502, such as geographical information about railway lines and train schedule information, is acquired from a system related to railway operation.

[0045] Step S702: Based on the people flow information 501 and the communication condition information 503, people flow information linked to the communication condition at the target position is obtained from the train operation information 502 obtained in step S701.

[0046] Step S703: Obtain the time characteristics of the number of users under the communication conditions. For example, the time characteristics of the number of people around the target location, the time characteristics of the number of passengers obtained based on the occupancy rate, and the number of users of surrounding facilities are obtained, and the sum is taken to obtain the time characteristics of the number of users. Note that in addition to the number of people, the number of wireless terminals may also be added. For example, the number of surveillance cameras that utilize a general-purpose wireless communication system installed in a station or the number of terminals used for railway wireless may be included.

[0047] Step S704: Obtain communication traffic parameters under communication conditions from the people flow information 501 and the train operation information 502. The communication traffic parameters are parameters that determine the weight of communication traffic to be passed to one user terminal. For example, there are children (17 years old or younger), adults (18 years old or older and younger than 64 years old), and elderly people (65 years old or older) around the target location, and the size of the communication traffic volume in the general-purpose wireless communication system increases in the order of children, elderly people, and adults. In this case, if the communication traffic parameters of the children, adults, and elderly people are α, β, and γ, respectively, in step S704, a process is performed to determine α=0.1, β=0.6, and γ=0.3. The communication traffic parameters are arbitrary parameters that are determined based on the traffic characteristics of users present in the communication area, and may be determined using the route classification of the estimation target or the type of application used.

[0048] Step S705: The time characteristic of the communication traffic volume under the communication conditions is obtained from the time characteristic of the number of users under the communication conditions obtained in step S703 and the communication traffic parameters under the communication conditions obtained in step S704. Here, a method of obtaining the time characteristic of the communication traffic volume under the communication conditions will be described using the example shown in steps S703 and S704. The communication traffic volume at a certain time t is calculated by α×(time characteristic of the number of children (t))+β×(time characteristic of the number of adults (t))+γ×(time characteristic of the number of elderly people (t))=0.1×(time characteristic of the number of children (t))+0.6×(time characteristic of the number of adults (t))+0.3×(time characteristic of the number of elderly people (t)). By deriving this formula over the entire measurable time period, the time characteristic of the communication traffic volume under the communication conditions can be obtained.

[0049] 8 is a flowchart showing the overall processing procedure of the measurement time period acquisition unit 505 included in the measurement condition determination device 102 according to the first embodiment. The operation of each processing step will be described below.

[0050] Step S801: The time characteristics of the communication traffic volume under the measurement conditions acquired by the communication traffic acquisition unit 504 are sampled at an appropriate granularity. The granularity of the sampling time is not particularly limited, and sampling may be performed every hour, for example.

[0051] Step S802: The communication traffic volumes associated with the sampling times are rearranged according to the magnitude of the communication traffic volumes.

[0052] Step S803: Obtain measurement time periods classified to an appropriate granularity by focusing on the communication traffic volume linked to the communication condition information 503. The method of acquisition is not particularly limited, and for example, a measurement time period showing a communication traffic volume equal to or greater than a predetermined value is considered, but it is also possible to arbitrarily set a time period that is convenient for measurement. The granularity for classifying the communication traffic volume is not particularly limited, and for example, it may be classified in increments of 1 Mbps.

[0053] 9 is a flowchart showing the overall processing procedure of the communication information receiving unit 602 included in the data estimation device 103 according to the embodiment 1. The operation of each processing step will be described below.

[0054] Step S901: During the measurement time period, the data acquisition device 104 acquires the actual communication quality information 601 associated with the communication traffic volume.

[0055] Step S902: The communication quality information acquired in step S901 is processed to generate a communication quality estimation model for the communication traffic volume. The processing of the communication quality information includes a process of removing outliers, a process of rounding appropriately the position and time granularity of the measured communication quality information, and a process of sorting the communication quality information by the size of the communication traffic volume. The process of removing outliers includes, for example, cluster analysis and Smirnoff-Grubbs test, and any of these methods may be used. The communication quality estimation model for the communication traffic volume to be generated may be generated as discrete data, as a formula, or as a probabilistic model.

[0056] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the overall processing procedure of the communication quality estimation unit 603 included in the data estimation device 103 according to the first embodiment.

[0057] Step S1001: The communication traffic acquisition unit 504 acquires the communication traffic volume under the communication conditions (estimation conditions) to be estimated.

[0058] Step S1002: A communication quality estimation model for the communication traffic volume based on the actually measured communication quality information generated by the communication information receiving unit 602 is acquired.

[0059] Step S1003: An estimated communication quality under the estimation conditions is obtained from the communication traffic volume under the estimation conditions obtained in steps S1001 and S1002 and the communication quality estimation model for the communication traffic volume based on the actually measured communication information. Regarding the method of obtaining the estimated communication quality, for example, the communication traffic volume under the estimation conditions at time t is A(t), and the communication quality estimation model for the communication traffic volume R based on the actually measured communication quality information is B(t, R). In this case, the estimated communication quality at time t is B(A(t), R), and the estimated communication quality under the communication conditions to be estimated can be obtained by performing the same calculation over all times to be estimated.

[0060] In the first embodiment, a communication quality estimation model for the communication traffic volume is generated from the measured communication quality information 601 measured based on the communication traffic volume acquired from the measurement condition determination device 102, and an estimated communication quality is acquired using the communication quality estimation model and the communication traffic volume under the communication conditions to be estimated. As a result, if a communication quality estimation model for the estimation target position can be generated, it is possible to acquire communication quality under comprehensive communication conditions at the estimation target position without requiring actual measurement covering environments with different communication conditions such as date and time and weather by utilizing the strong correlation between communication quality and communication traffic volume. For example, if the weather of the measurement condition is set to "sunny" (see 305 in FIG. 3), the communication quality information is measured, and a communication quality estimation model is generated, an estimated communication quality characteristic can be acquired even if the weather of the estimation condition is set to "rain" (see 405 in FIG. 4). Similarly, if station A is selected as the measurement target position in the measurement condition and a communication quality estimation model is generated, the communication quality can be estimated even if the estimation target position is station B.

[0061] [Example 2] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. However, in describing the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be focused on. Points in the second embodiment that are not specifically mentioned are the same as those in the first embodiment. Example 2 also assumes estimation of communication quality for the purpose of determining whether or not to introduce a railway system that utilizes a general-purpose wireless communication system and for controlling communication after introduction, but shows an example of estimating communication quality when measurement at the estimation target location is impossible for some reason.

[0062] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a measurement condition determination device 102 included in a communication quality estimation device 101 according to the second embodiment. The measurement condition determining device 102 comprises a communication traffic acquiring unit 504 , a measurement time zone acquiring unit 505 , and a measurement position acquiring unit 1102 .

[0063] A measurement position acquisition unit 1102 receives train operation information 502, communication condition information 503, and user capacity information 1101 as input, and outputs a measurement target position. The user accommodation capacity information 1101 is information that collects the capacity to accommodate users in a wireless system linked to a location. For example, there is the bandwidth of the communication system, the number of component carriers of carrier aggregation, the cell placement density at the estimation target location, and the number of base stations. Note that the type and number of user accommodation capacity information to be used are not particularly limited, and it is sufficient that one or more parameters are collected.

[0064] 12 is a flowchart showing the overall processing procedure of the measurement position acquisition unit 1102 of the measurement condition determination device 102 of the embodiment 2. The operation of each processing step will be described below, but the description of the same steps as the first processing step (S701) of the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0065] Step S1201: User capacity information at the estimation target location is acquired.

[0066] Step S1202: From the train operation information 502 acquired in step S701, capacity information at positions that are not the estimation target is acquired.

[0067] Step S1203: A location that is not the estimation target acquired in step S1202 and has a user capacity that is the same as or close to the user capacity at the estimation target location acquired in step S1201 is acquired as a measurement location. Note that when multiple user capacities can be acquired, there is no priority order for those parameters. For example, if the user capacity at the estimation target location is 20 MHz (Hertz) and the number of component carriers is two, and location A, which has a user capacity other than the estimation target, has 20 MHz and one component carrier, and location B has 10 MHz and two component carriers, either A or B may be selected as the measurement location.

[0068] As an actual operation mode, for example, when the estimation target position (position C) is not measurable, No is input to the estimation target position measurement feasibility setting 310 in the setting list 302 of the measurement condition determination device 102, positions A, B, and D are input and set as candidate positions where measurement is possible in the measurement target position 304, other measurement conditions are input, and the measurement condition acquisition start button 311 is activated. Then, the process of FIG. 12 is performed, and data associated with positions A and B having the same or close user capacity is displayed in the measurement condition list in the result list 312 (the user capacity of position D is assumed to be different), from which the measurement target position is determined and the communication quality information is actually measured. After that, in the setting list 402 of the data estimation device 103, No is input to the relationship between the estimation target position and the measurement position 408 together with other estimation conditions, position C is input to the estimation target position 409, and the communication quality estimation start button is activated, and the result list 411, which is the output result, is obtained. However, the procedure is not limited to this.

[0069] As described above, the second embodiment is characterized in that a communication quality estimation model for communication traffic volume is generated based on measurement information from another location that is equal to the user accommodation capacity of the estimation target location, and the communication quality at the estimation target location where measurement is impossible is used for estimation. This makes it possible to acquire communication quality under comprehensive communication conditions without having to comprehensively change the location from which communication quality is to be acquired and perform actual measurements.

[0070] [Example 3] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. However, in describing the third embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be focused on. Points in the third embodiment that are not specifically mentioned are the same as those in the first embodiment. The third embodiment assumes estimation of communication quality for the purpose of implementing communication control during operation of a railway system that utilizes a general-purpose wireless communication system.

[0071] FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a physical configuration of an entire railway system that has introduced a communication platform 1302 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The railway system shown in Fig. 13 employs a configuration in which communications related to train operation and customer services are carried out between multiple railway application devices on the moving train and on the ground via a general-purpose wireless communication system, thereby providing a wireless communication system that realizes safe, accurate, and comfortable railway operation.

[0072] In the general-purpose wireless communication system, in a communication area where services can be provided, an application terminal 1301, a communication platform 1302, and a communication control decision device 1306 are installed on the ground, and communication is performed with a wireless terminal 1305 and application terminal 1301 installed on the vehicle via a core network 1303 and a wireless access network 1304.

[0073] The application terminal 1301 is a device that transmits and receives data using communication control by the communication platform 1302, and realizes train operations, customer services, and the like.

[0074] The communication control by the communication platform 1302 is, for example, performed in an area where the throughput is insufficient, so as to use a communication path that is predicted to have better communication performance. For example, in Fig. 13, when the required communication quality is not satisfied when the wireless access network A is used as the communication path, the communication platform 1302 performs communication control so as to use the path of the wireless access network B. In addition, communication control such as lowering the transmission image quality of image information may be performed.

[0075] The communication control determining device 1306 includes a communication quality estimating device 1307 and a communication control device 1308 .

[0076] The communication quality estimation device 1307 is a device that outputs an estimated value of the communication quality of the railway application to the communication control device 1308. In the third embodiment, the invention particularly focuses on the communication quality estimation device 1307 that estimates the communication quality.

[0077] The communication control device 1308 is a device that determines communication control in the communication platform 1302 based on the estimated value of communication quality obtained from the communication quality estimation device 1307, and delivers setting values ​​related to the communication control to the communication platform 1302. The delivery of the setting values ​​to the on-board communication platform 1302 may use a shared network or a dedicated line.

[0078] FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the communication quality estimation device 1307 included in the communication control determination device 1306 of the third embodiment. The communication quality estimation device 1307 includes a communication information receiving unit 1401 , a past communication information database (hereinafter, referred to as DB (DataBase)) 1402 , a communication traffic acquiring unit 504 , and a communication quality estimating unit 603 .

[0079] The communication information receiving unit 1401 acquires communication quality information linked to the first communication traffic volume from the past communication information DB based on the communication condition information 503, and outputs a communication quality estimation model for the first communication traffic volume.

[0080] In the past communication information DB 1402, information required for a communication quality estimation model for a first communication traffic volume generated in the communication information receiving unit 1401 is recorded.

[0081] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example 1501 of a data configuration of information stored in the past communication information DB 1402 in the third embodiment. The past communication information DB 1402 stores items related to communication quality information such as date and time, location, wireless terminal, wireless system, transmission direction, system bandwidth as user accommodation capacity, communication traffic volume (first communication traffic volume) as communication quality, and throughput associated therewith. The data configuration 1501 only needs to include items necessary for generating a communication quality estimation model for the first communication traffic volume, and is not necessarily limited to the items shown in FIG. 15. The first communication traffic volume stored in the past communication information DB 1402 may be a predicted value or an actual measurement value. It is also possible to accumulate the communication conditions, communication traffic volume, and communication quality information acquired and used when generating the communication quality estimation model in the first or second embodiment as data in the past communication information DB 1402.

[0082] For example, with regard to the first line of data configuration 1501, at "2022 / 1 / 1 7:00", the wireless system "LTE" present at "Location A" has the capability of transmitting "20 MHz" in the "Down Link" direction, and when the communication traffic volume in the communication area is "100 MBps", the throughput is "10 MBps". In addition, the number of component carriers and the cell placement density in the communication area may be stored as user accommodation capacity other than the system bandwidth, and there is no restriction on the number and type of parameters used. Also, although the throughput is shown in Fig. 15 as communication quality, it is sufficient to record the communication quality to be estimated, such as the packet error rate and communication delay time, and there is no restriction on the type.

[0083] Fig. 16 is a flowchart showing the overall processing procedure of the communication information receiving unit 1401 of the communication quality estimation device 1307 in the embodiment 3. The operation mode of each processing step will be described below, but the description of the same step as the last processing step (S902) in the flowchart shown in Fig. 9 will be omitted.

[0084] Step S1601: From the past communication information DB 1402, communication conditions, user accommodation capacity, communication traffic volume, and communication quality information linked thereto (hereinafter, also referred to as “past communication information data”) are obtained.

[0085] Step S1602: Search whether past communication information data matching the estimation condition exists. If matching data exists (yes), proceed to step S1603, and if matching data does not exist (no), proceed to step S1604.

[0086] Step S1603: Extract past communication information data at the position to be estimated that matches in step S1602.

[0087] Step S1604: Search again the past communication information DB 1402 for past communication information data with communication conditions that are the same as or close to the user capacity at the location to be estimated, and extract matching data. This process is performed when past communication information data associated with the location to be estimated does not exist in the past communication information DB 1401. The content of the process is the same as in the second embodiment.

[0088] As described above, the third embodiment is characterized in that, during operation of the railway system, the communication quality is estimated even when the communication conditions at the position to be estimated are unprecedented. This makes it possible to obtain the communication quality even in an environment where the line is predicted to be unprecedentedly congested, thereby realizing appropriate communication control in the communication platform 1302 and realizing safe, accurate, and comfortable train operation without reducing the availability of the railway application.

[0089] Here, the present invention is not limited to the railway systems described in the first to third embodiments. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a system of a moving object that moves along a set route according to a schedule. In addition, although the first to third embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, a part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with a configuration of another embodiment, or a configuration of another embodiment may be added to a configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, other configurations may be added, deleted, or replaced with respect to a part of the configuration of each embodiment. In addition, various information has been exemplified in a table format, but this information may be managed in a format other than a table.

[0090] The following are some possible embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these. [Aspect 1] a communication traffic acquisition unit that predicts a communication traffic volume based on people flow data under a predetermined communication condition; a communication information receiving unit that generates a communication quality estimation model from a first communication traffic amount and communication quality information associated with the first communication traffic amount; a communication quality estimation unit that estimates a communication quality under the estimation conditions from the communication quality estimation model and a second communication traffic volume predicted under the estimation conditions by the communication traffic acquisition unit, A communication quality estimation device that estimates the communication quality of wireless communication used for a moving object involved in passenger transportation. [Aspect 2] The first communication traffic volume is data predicted under measurement conditions by the communication traffic acquisition unit. 2. The communication quality estimation device according to embodiment 1. [Aspect 3] a measurement time zone determination unit that determines a measurement time zone based on the measurement conditions and the first communication traffic volume predicted under the measurement conditions; measuring the communication quality information under the measurement conditions in the measurement time period determined by the measurement time period determination unit; The communication quality estimation device according to aspect 2. [Aspect 4] The people flow data includes data on the number of people present at the target location by time period, or data on the number of passengers in a passenger service; The communication quality estimation device according to any one of the first to third aspects. [Aspect 5] the predetermined communication condition includes any one of date and time, location, weather, wireless system, wireless terminal, communication traffic parameter, wireless system fault information, and event information around the target location; The communication quality estimation device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects. [Aspect 6] The communication quality information includes any one of a throughput, an available bandwidth, a communication delay time, and a packet error rate. The communication quality estimation device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. [Aspect 7] a measurement position acquisition unit that determines a position to be measured based on user capacity information at a position to be estimated and user capacity information at a position that is not a target of estimation; The communication quality estimation device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects. [Aspect 8] The user capacity information includes any one of information regarding a bandwidth of a communication system, a number of component carriers of carrier aggregation, a cell deployment density at an estimation target position, and a number of base stations; A communication quality estimation device according to aspect 7. [Aspect 9] a past communication information database that stores the first communication traffic volume and the communication quality information linked to the first communication traffic volume; The communication quality estimation device according to any one of aspects 1 and 4 to 6. [Aspect 10] The past communication information database stores at least communication conditions, user capacity information, communication traffic volume, and communication quality information. A communication quality estimation device according to aspect 9. [Aspect 11] The wireless communication used for the moving object related to passenger transportation is wireless communication of a railway system using a general-purpose wireless. The communication quality estimation device according to any one of the first to tenth aspects. [Aspect 12] A step 1 of generating a communication quality estimation model from a first communication traffic amount and communication quality information associated with the first communication traffic amount; A step 2 of predicting a second communication traffic volume based on the people flow data under the estimated conditions; and a step 3 of estimating a communication quality under the estimation condition from the communication quality estimation model and the second communication traffic volume, A communication quality estimation method for estimating the communication quality of wireless communication used in a moving object involved in passenger transportation. [Aspect 13] A communication quality estimation program comprising instructions for causing a processor to execute steps 1 to 3 of the communication quality estimation method according to aspect 12. [Explanation of symbols]

[0091] 101... communication quality estimation device, 102... measurement condition determination device, 103... data estimation device, 104...data acquisition device, 201...processor (CPU), 202...memory, 203...input 1 / F, 204: auxiliary storage device, 205: communication I / F, 206: output I / F, 504: communication traffic acquisition unit; 505: measurement time zone acquisition unit; 602: communication information receiving unit; 603: communication quality estimating unit; 1102...Measurement position acquisition unit, 1301... application terminal, 1302... communication platform, 1303... core network 1304...radio access network, 1305...wireless terminal, 1306: communication control determination device, 1307: communication quality estimation device, 1308: communication control device 1401: communication information receiving unit, 1402: past communication information DB

Claims

1. a communication traffic acquisition unit that predicts a communication traffic volume based on people flow data under a predetermined communication condition; a communication information receiving unit that generates a communication quality estimation model from a first communication traffic amount and communication quality information associated with the first communication traffic amount; a communication quality estimation unit that estimates a communication quality under the estimation conditions from the communication quality estimation model and a second communication traffic volume predicted under the estimation conditions by the communication traffic acquisition unit, The people flow data includes data on the number of people present at the target location by time period, or data on the number of passengers in a passenger service; A communication quality estimation device that estimates the communication quality of wireless communication used for a moving object involved in passenger transportation.

2. The first communication traffic volume is data predicted under measurement conditions by the communication traffic acquisition unit. The communication quality estimation device according to claim 1 .

3. a measurement time zone determination unit that determines a measurement time zone based on the measurement conditions and the first communication traffic volume predicted under the measurement conditions; measuring the communication quality information under the measurement conditions in the measurement time period determined by the measurement time period determination unit; The communication quality estimation device according to claim 2 .

4. the predetermined communication condition includes any one of date and time, location, weather, wireless system, wireless terminal, communication traffic parameter, wireless system fault information, and event information around the target location; The communication quality estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The communication quality information includes any one of a throughput, an available bandwidth, a communication delay time, and a packet error rate. The communication quality estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. a measurement position acquisition unit that determines a position to be measured based on user capacity information at a position to be estimated and user capacity information at a position that is not a target of estimation; The communication quality estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. The user capacity information includes any one of information regarding the bandwidth of the communication system, the number of component carriers of carrier aggregation, the cell deployment density at the estimation target position, and the number of base stations; The communication quality estimation device according to claim 6.

8. a past communication information database that stores the first communication traffic volume and the communication quality information linked to the first communication traffic volume; The communication quality estimation device according to claim 1 .

9. The past communication information database stores at least communication conditions, user capacity information, communication traffic volume, and communication quality information. The communication quality estimation device according to claim 8.

10. The wireless communication used for the moving object related to passenger transportation is wireless communication of a railway system using a general-purpose wireless. The communication quality estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 8 and 9.

11. A step 1 of generating a communication quality estimation model from a first communication traffic amount and communication quality information associated with the first communication traffic amount; A step 2 of predicting a second communication traffic volume based on people flow data including either data on the number of people present at a target location per time period or data on the number of passengers of a passenger service under an estimation condition; and a step 3 of estimating a communication quality under the estimation condition from the communication quality estimation model and the second communication traffic volume, A communication quality estimation method for estimating the communication quality of wireless communication used in a moving object involved in passenger transportation.

12. A communication quality estimation program comprising instructions for causing a processor to execute steps 1 to 3 of the communication quality estimation method according to claim 11.

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