Road traffic information generation device, road traffic information generation method, and road traffic information generation program

Abstract

To generate practical road traffic information.SOLUTION: A road traffic information generation device includes at least a probe information acquisition section, a winker information processing section, and a horizontal direction analysis section. The probe information acquisition section acquires probe information including winker information related to a winker operation of a vehicle at each predetermined time for each travel direction and for each link being a zone obtained by dividing a road in a longitudinal direction. When the number of winker operations in the same direction indicated by the winker information in the link is equal to or more than a first predetermined value, the winker information processing section adds the number of the winker operations in the same direction indicated by the winker information in the links on an upstream side of the pre-fixed number so as to allow the number to be a movement total sum of the link. In the other case, the number of the winker operations in the same direction of the link is allowed to be the movement total sum. When an absolute value of a difference between the movement total sums in the right direction and the left direction of the link is greater than a second predetermined value, the horizontal direction analysis section determines a horizontal direction abnormality in the direction with the less movement total sum.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a road traffic information generating device, a road traffic information generating method, and a road traffic information generating program that generate road traffic information for each lane based on probe information related to vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Known examples of road traffic information based on vehicle probe information include “Technical development related to lane-specific road traffic information using vehicle probes” shown on pages 53 to 60 of Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Pacific Consultants Co., Ltd., “Results Report”, March 2022, [Retrieved June 19, 2023], Internet<https: / / www.sip-adus.go.jp / rd / rddata / rd05 / 208.pdf> . [Non-Patent Document 2] New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, “SIP 2nd Phase: Autonomous Driving (System and Service Expansion), Final Report (2018-2022)”, March 6, 2023, [Retrieved June 1, 2023], Internet<https: / / www.sip-adus.go.jp / file / rd05 / rd-result_all.pdf> . Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, conventional technologies are based on demonstration experiments on the use of probe information, and there is a need to further study the possibility of practical application. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has an object to generate more practical road traffic information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The road traffic information generating device of the present invention includes at least a probe information acquiring unit, a turn signal information processing unit, and a lateral direction analyzing unit. The probe information acquiring unit acquires probe information including turn signal information related to the turn signals of the vehicle for each predetermined time for each link, which is a section obtained by dividing the road in the longitudinal direction, for each traveling direction. When the number of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in a link is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, the turn signal information processing unit adds the number of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in a predetermined number of upstream links to determine the total movement of the link, and otherwise determines the number of turn signals in the same direction of the link to be the total movement. When the absolute value of the difference between the total movement of the right direction and the total movement of the left direction of the link is greater than a second predetermined value, the lateral direction analyzing unit determines that the lateral direction abnormality is in the direction with the smaller total movement. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the road traffic information generating device of the present invention, the turn signal information included in the probe information is added to the number of turn signals on the upstream side when the number of turn signals is large to obtain a moving total. Therefore, the number of vehicles avoiding points (avoidance points) that should be avoided due to accidents, construction, etc. can be clearly recognized. Therefore, more practical road traffic information can be generated. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a system including a road traffic information generating device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a processing flow of the road traffic information generating device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an image in which multiple links exist as branches on the downstream side. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the number of vehicles per given time in a certain link indicated by probe information. [Diagram 5]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the number of turn signals and determination of lateral abnormalities. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of brakes and the total brakes. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram for explaining an image of a method for determining whether a speed is normal, an abnormal speed for a particular lane, or an abnormal speed for all lanes based on speed information. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a computer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. Note that components having the same functions are given the same reference numbers and duplicated explanations will be omitted. EXAMPLES

[0009] Fig. 1 shows an example of the functional configuration of a system including a road traffic information generating device of the first embodiment. Fig. 2 shows an example of a processing flow of the road traffic information generating device of the first embodiment. The system shown in Fig. 1 is composed of a road traffic information generating device 100, a network 900, and probe information providing devices 810 and 820. The road traffic information generating device 100 and the probe information providing devices 810 and 820 are communicatively connected via the network 900. In this figure, there are two probe information providing devices, but there may be three or more probe information providing devices.

[0010] The road traffic information generating device 100 includes at least a probe information acquiring unit 110, a turn signal information processing unit 120, and a lateral direction analyzing unit 140. The road traffic information generating device 100 may also include a speed analyzing unit 150, a recording unit 190, a first avoidance point analyzing unit 210, a second avoidance point analyzing unit 220, a junction congestion analyzing unit 230, and a congestion section information generating unit 240. The road traffic information generating device 100 may also include a brake information processing unit 130.

[0011] The recording unit 190 pre-records a link where multiple links exist as branches on the downstream side and a first predetermined number of links on the upstream side of the link as branch determination links for the branch. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an image of a case where multiple links exist as branches on the downstream side. A link is a section obtained by dividing a road in the length direction for each traveling direction. The length of the section is, for example, 50 m, 100 m, 200 m, etc. Probe information, which will be described later, is obtained for each link and at predetermined time intervals, so the length of the section is determined so that a sufficient amount of probe information is obtained that does not allow the vehicle to be identified. Since the main line and the branch have different traveling directions, the links are separate.

[0012] In FIG. 3, links 1 to 7 are main line links, and links 21 and 22 are branch links. The "downstream side" is the side in the direction of travel, and when viewed from link 3, links 2 and 22 are downstream. In other words, multiple links 2 and 22 exist as branches on the downstream side of link 3. The "upstream side" is the side opposite the direction of travel. The "first predetermined number" in FIG. 3 is 2, and the value may be determined appropriately depending on factors such as the length of the link section.

[0013] The probe information acquisition unit 110 acquires probe information including the number of vehicles per predetermined time and blinker information related to the blinkers of the vehicles for each link, which is a section obtained by dividing the road in the length direction, for each traveling direction (S110). The probe information may also include speed information related to the speed of the vehicles for each predetermined time for each link. The probe information may also include the number of vehicles per predetermined time and braking information related to the braking of the vehicles for each link. The "probe information" is information related to vehicles for each link and for each predetermined time that is processed so that the information of each vehicle is not known, and is provided by a probe information provider. The probe information providing devices 810 and 820 in FIG. 1 are devices managed by the probe information provider.

[0014] FIG. 4 shows an example of the number of vehicles at a certain link indicated by the probe information for each predetermined time. In the example of FIG. 4, the "predetermined time" is every 5 minutes. When the number of vehicles included in the probe information acquired for each predetermined time is less than the predetermined number of vehicles, the probe information acquisition unit 110 may also use the probe information for a predetermined time before the predetermined time. In this case, the probe information for the predetermined time before the predetermined time may be multiplied by a coefficient that reduces the weight and then added, so that the number of weighted vehicles becomes the same as the predetermined number of vehicles, and the probe information may be used as the probe information for the predetermined time. The "predetermined number of vehicles" may be appropriately determined to a number considered necessary to maintain the accuracy of generating road traffic information.

[0015] For example, assume that the predetermined number of vehicles is set to 10. At the information generation time 18:55 in FIG. 4, in principle, the probe information is generated from vehicles that existed on the link from 18:50 to 18:55. However, since the number of vehicles is 4, which is less than the predetermined number of vehicles, the information for 5 vehicles from 18:45 to 18:50 is also used for the probe information at the information generation time 18:55. Furthermore, the total number of vehicles for the two predetermined periods is 9, which is one vehicle short. Therefore, the information for 10 vehicles from 18:40 to 18:45 can be multiplied by 0.1, which is the value obtained by dividing the number of vehicles that is short (1 vehicle) by the number of vehicles (10 vehicles), and used for the probe information. At the information generation time 19:00 in FIG. 4, in principle, the probe information is generated from vehicles that existed on the link from 18:55 to 19:00. However, since the number of vehicles is 8, which is less than the predetermined number of vehicles, the information for 4 vehicles from 18:50 to 18:55 is also used for the probe information at the information generation time 19:00. The total number of vehicles for the two specified periods is 12, so the information from 18:50-18:55 is weighted. The vehicle information from 18:50-18:55 can be multiplied by 0.5, which is the value obtained by dividing the number of vehicles that are missing (2) by the number of vehicles (4), and used as the probe information. The number of turn signals and the number of times the brakes are applied can be multiplied by the weight. The speed is used in the speed-related processing that takes into account the vehicle ratio, which will be described later, so the number multiplied by the weight can be used when calculating the number of vehicles.

[0016] When the number of blinkers in the same direction indicated by the blinker information in a link is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, the blinker information processing unit 120 adds the number of blinkers in the same direction indicated by the blinker information in a predetermined number of upstream links to the link, and sets the total movement of the link in the other cases as the total movement of the link. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the determination of the number of blinkers and lateral abnormality. The number of blinkers, the total movement, and the determination result of lateral abnormality in each link at a certain predetermined time are shown. "Right blinker" is blinker information for changing lanes to the right, and "left blinker" is blinker information for changing lanes to the left. In the example of FIG. 5, the "first predetermined value" is set to "1" and the "predetermined number" is set to "1". However, the "first predetermined value" and the "predetermined number" may be appropriately determined in consideration of the length of the link, how far in advance a lane change is to be made when an avoidance point exists, and the like. Moving totals have the effect of highlighting situations where movement is necessary.

[0017] The "right blinker" of link 6 is "1" and the "right blinker" of link 7 is "0", so the "total moving right" of link 6 is "1". The "right blinker" of link 5 is "1" and the "right blinker" of link 6 is "1", so the "total moving right" of link 5 is "2". The "right blinker" of link 4 is "0", which is smaller than the first predetermined value, so the "total moving right" of link 4 is "0". The "right blinker" of link 3 is "3" and the "right blinker" of link 4 is "0", so the "total moving right" of link 3 is "3". The "right blinker" of link 2 is "3" and the "right blinker" of link 3 is "3", so the "total moving right" of link 2 is "6". The "Right Blinker" of link 1 is "0", which is smaller than the first predetermined value, so the "Moving Total Right" of link 1 is "0". The value of the "Moving Total Left" row is obtained by performing the same process.

[0018] When the absolute value of the difference between the total movement of the right and left directions of the link is greater than a second predetermined value, the lateral direction analysis unit 140 judges that the lateral direction abnormality is in the direction with the smaller total movement (S140). In the example of FIG. 5, the "second predetermined value" is set to "2". Since the "total movement right" of link 4 is "0" and the "total movement left" is "2", and the absolute value of the difference is less than the second predetermined value, the "lateral direction abnormality" is judged to be "normal". Since the "total movement right" of link 3 is "3" and the "total movement left" is "0", and the absolute value of the difference is greater than the second predetermined value, the "lateral direction abnormality" is judged to be "left abnormality". Similarly, the "total movement right" of link 2 is "6" and the "total movement left" is "0", and the absolute value of the difference is greater than the second predetermined value, the "lateral direction abnormality" is judged to be "left abnormality". In addition, the lateral analysis unit 140 may determine that a lateral abnormality exists in the direction with a smaller total movement only for links that are not branch judgment links when the absolute value of the difference between the total movement in the rightward and leftward directions of the link is greater than a second predetermined value.

[0019] The horizontal direction analysis unit 140 may further determine that there is a large horizontal abnormality in the direction with a smaller total movement when the absolute value of the difference between the total movement in the right direction and the total movement in the left direction of the link is greater than a third predetermined value that is greater than the second predetermined value (S140). The "third predetermined value" is set to a value greater than the "second predetermined value". For example, in FIG. 5, the "third predetermined value" is set to "4". First, links 2 and 3 are links that are not branching section determination links. In addition, for link 3, the "total movement right" is "3" and the "total movement left" is "0", and the absolute value of the difference is less than the third predetermined value, so the "large horizontal abnormality" is determined to be "normal". For link 2, the "total movement right" is "6" and the "total movement left" is "0", and the absolute value of the difference is greater than the third predetermined value, so the "large horizontal abnormality" is determined to be "large left abnormality". In addition, the lateral analysis unit 140 may determine that there is a major lateral abnormality in the direction with a smaller total movement only for links that are not branching determination links when the absolute value of the difference between the total movement in the rightward and leftward directions is greater than a third predetermined value.

[0020] If the road traffic information generating device 100 also includes the brake information processing unit 130, when the number of brakes indicated by the brake information on a link is equal to or greater than a fourth predetermined value, the brake information processing unit 130 adds the number of brakes indicated by the brake information on a predetermined number of upstream links to the moving total of the link, and otherwise sets the number of brakes on the link as the brake total (S130). FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the number of brakes and the brake total. In the example of FIG. 6, the "fourth predetermined value" is set to "5" and the "predetermined number" is set to "1". However, the "fourth predetermined value" and the "predetermined number" may be appropriately determined in consideration of the length of the link, how far in advance the brake operation should be performed when a traffic jam exists, and the like. The brake total has the effect of emphasizing a situation in which deceleration is necessary.

[0021] The speed analysis unit 150 judges whether the speed is normal, whether the speed is abnormal for each lane, or whether the speed is abnormal for all lanes, based on the speed information included in the probe information for each link and at each predetermined time (S150). FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an image of a method for judging whether the speed is normal, whether the speed is abnormal for each lane, or whether the speed is abnormal for all lanes, based on the speed information. The horizontal axis indicates the vehicle speed, and the vertical axis indicates the ratio of vehicles that are at or below the speed indicated on the horizontal axis. For example, the speed analysis unit 150 judges that the speed is normal when the speed of the low-speed side judged vehicles, which are a predetermined ratio of vehicles from the low-speed side, is faster than the low-speed threshold value. In FIG. 7, lines 151 and 152 correspond to this. In other words, since there are few vehicles slower than the low-speed threshold value, it is judged that the speed is normal. The speed analysis unit 150 judges that the speed is abnormal for each lane when the speed of the low-speed side judged vehicles is equal to or lower than the low-speed threshold value, and the speed of the high-speed side judged vehicles, which are a predetermined ratio of vehicles from the high-speed side, is equal to or higher than the high-speed threshold value. In FIG. 7, line 153 corresponds to this. The speed analysis unit 150 judges that the speed of the vehicle determined to be on the lower speed side is equal to or lower than the lower speed threshold value and the speed of the vehicle determined to be on the higher speed side is slower than the higher speed threshold value, and judges that the speed of the vehicle determined to be on the lower speed side is abnormal for all lanes. In FIG. 7, this corresponds to line 154. The speed analysis unit 150 may also judge whether the speed is normal, the speed of the vehicle per lane, or the speed of the vehicle per lane is abnormal, based on the brake total. For example, when the brake total is large, the speed of the lower speed threshold value may be increased, and when the brake total is small, the speed of the lower speed threshold value may be decreased.

[0022] In the above description, the speed analysis unit 150 judges independently at each predetermined time. However, the speed may be judged as normal speed, abnormal speed for each lane, or abnormal speed for all lanes, taking into consideration the judgment immediately before. For example, the speed analysis unit 150 first provisionally judges the provisional normal speed, the provisional abnormal speed for each lane, or the provisional abnormal speed for all lanes at each predetermined time of the judgment target. Specifically, the speed analysis unit 150 judges the provisional normal speed when the speed of the low-speed side judged vehicle, which is a predetermined ratio of vehicles from the low-speed side, is faster than the low-speed threshold value. The speed analysis unit 150 judges the provisional abnormal speed for each lane when the speed of the low-speed side judged vehicle is equal to or lower than the low-speed threshold value and the speed of the high-speed side judged vehicle, which is a predetermined ratio of vehicles from the high-speed side, is equal to or higher than the high-speed threshold value. The speed analysis unit 150 judges the provisional abnormal speed for all lanes when the speed of the low-speed side judged vehicle is equal to or lower than the low-speed threshold value and the speed of the high-speed side judged vehicle is slower than the high-speed threshold value.

[0023] Thereafter, the speed analysis unit 150 judges whether the speed is normal, the lane-specific speed abnormality, or the all-lane speed abnormality, taking into consideration the provisional judgment of the immediately preceding predetermined time. Specifically, when the provisional judgment of the immediately preceding predetermined time is the provisional speed normal, the speed analysis unit 150 judges the speed to be normal regardless of the provisional judgment of the immediately preceding predetermined time. In the case of the provisional lane-specific speed abnormality, the speed analysis unit 150 judges the speed to be normal when the provisional speed is normal in the prescribed time immediately preceding the prescribed time, judges the speed to be abnormal for all lanes when the provisional all-lane speed is abnormal in the prescribed time immediately preceding the prescribed time, and judges the speed to be abnormal for lane-specific speed when the provisional lane-specific speed is abnormal in the prescribed time immediately preceding the prescribed time. In the case of the provisional all-lane speed abnormality, the speed analysis unit 150 judges the speed to be normal when the provisional speed is normal in the prescribed time immediately preceding the prescribed time, and judges the speed to be abnormal for all lanes when the provisional all-lane speed is abnormal in the prescribed time immediately preceding the prescribed time. In this way, by taking into consideration the immediately preceding tentative decision, it is possible to avoid frequent changes in decision when the distribution of vehicle speeds is changing unstably near the decision boundary.

[0024] In the above description, the speed analysis unit 150 judges each link independently. However, the speed may be judged as normal, lane-specific speed abnormal, or all-lane speed abnormal by considering the judgment of the upstream and downstream links. For example, the speed analysis unit 150 first judges the link as all-lane speed abnormal if both the upstream link and the downstream link adjacent to the judgment target link have all-lane speed abnormality. After that, the speed analysis unit 150 judges the link as lane-specific speed abnormality if both the upstream link and the downstream link adjacent to the judgment target link have lane-specific speed abnormality. Finally, the speed analysis unit 150 judges the link as all-lane speed abnormality if the upstream link and the downstream link adjacent to the judgment target link have all-lane speed abnormality and lane-specific speed abnormality. In this way, by considering the judgment of the immediately preceding upstream and downstream links, it is possible to avoid frequent changes in judgment when the distribution of the vehicle speed changes unstably near the judgment boundary.

[0025] The first avoidance point analysis unit 210 judges that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between two links when the link that is not a branching determination link is not abnormal in the lateral direction, and the upstream link is abnormal in the lateral direction and has a lane-specific speed abnormality or an all-lane speed abnormality (S210). In FIG. 5, links 1 to 7 are assumed to be links that are not branching determination links. Although not shown in FIG. 5, link 2 is assumed to have a lane-specific speed abnormality. In this case, the first avoidance point analysis unit 210 judges that an avoidance point exists on the left side near the boundary between link 1 and link 2. An "avoidance point" means a point that should be avoided, and various causes such as an accident vehicle, construction, or merging at an interchange are considered. For example, suppose that a broken-down vehicle is stopped in the left lane near the boundary between link 1 and link 2 on a two-lane road. In order to pass, the vehicle must move to the right lane, so many vehicles use their right turn signals. In the case where the driver realizes early that it is better to move to the right lane, there is a possibility that the driver will move to the right lane on link 3, so the right turn signal is also used on link 3. The "avoidance point" exists in the direction indicated by the lateral anomaly (the vicinity of the boundary between link 1 and link 2 in FIG. 5 is on the left side). The first avoidance point analysis unit 210 may determine whether the avoidance point is on the right side or the left side based on the information on the lateral anomaly.

[0026] The first avoidance point analysis unit 210 may further determine that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between a link that is not a branching section determination link and an adjacent upstream link when the link is not lateral abnormal, the adjacent upstream link is not lateral abnormal, is lane-specific speed abnormality or all-lane speed abnormality, and another upstream link is lateral abnormal. In FIG. 5, the downstream link of link 1 is not shown, and the downstream link of link 1 is set as link 0 and is not lateral abnormal. Also, link 1 is set as lane-specific speed abnormality. In this case, it is determined that an avoidance point exists on the left side near the boundary between link 0 and link 1. In this determination, since link 1 is in a state of lane-specific speed abnormality, the first avoidance point analysis unit 210 considers that the avoidance point has not yet been passed, and determines that an avoidance point exists on the left side near the boundary between link 0 and link 1.

[0027] In addition, the first avoidance point analysis unit 210 may determine that an avoidance point exists near the downstream side of the first link with lane speed abnormality on the upstream side when the link that is not a branching section determination link has a normal speed and a lateral abnormality occurs, if a link with lane speed abnormality exists within a third predetermined number of links on the upstream side and no lateral abnormality exists within a range where lane speed abnormality exists continuously. For example, when lane speed abnormality occurs due to merging, and the speed becomes normal after merging but there is a difference in speed between lanes, there may be many vehicles that change lanes at the link with normal speed. Furthermore, the first avoidance point analysis unit 210 may determine that an avoidance point exists near the upstream side of the first link with lane speed abnormality on the downstream side when the link that is not a branching section determination link has a normal speed and a lateral abnormality occurs, if a link with lane speed abnormality exists within a third predetermined number of links on the downstream side and no lateral abnormality exists within a range where lane speed abnormality exists continuously. For example, if the driver recognizes that there is an abnormal lane speed ahead of the vehicle (downstream), he or she may change lanes on a link with normal speed that is upstream of the link where the lane speed abnormality is located.

[0028] If no lateral anomalies occur within the range where lane-specific speed anomalies occur, it is not possible to determine whether the avoidance point is on the right or left side. Even in such a case, a lateral anomaly may occur on a link with normal speed within the "third specified number" upstream or downstream of the link where lane-specific speed anomalies occur. In this case, information on the lateral anomaly that occurred on the link with normal speed may be used to determine whether the avoidance point is on the right or left side. The "third specified number" may be appropriately determined according to the length of the link, for example, "2". If the "third specified number" is set too large, there is a risk that the avoidance point will be determined to be on the right or left side based on a lateral anomaly that is unrelated to lane-specific speed anomalies. Therefore, the "third specified number" needs to be set appropriately, and may be appropriately reviewed after operation to ensure that it is set appropriately.

[0029] The second avoidance point analysis unit 220 determines that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between the link and the upstream link when a second predetermined number of links on the upstream side are links with large lateral anomalies in the same direction and the link is not a large lateral anomaly. The second avoidance point analysis unit 220 also determines that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between the link and the upstream link when a second predetermined number of links on the upstream side are links with large lateral anomalies in the same direction, the link is a large lateral anomaly in the opposite direction to the upstream link, and the downstream link of the link is not a large lateral anomaly (S220). For example, in a section where all lanes have continuous speed anomalies, the speeds may differ slightly for each lane. In such a case, it is desirable to determine an avoidance point based only on the analysis results of the lateral analysis unit 140 without using information on the speed (normal speed, lane-specific speed anomaly, all lanes speed anomaly). Therefore, when the lateral anomaly is large, the second avoidance point analysis unit 220 determines an avoidance point without considering the speed anomaly. If the "second predetermined number" is "1", in the case of FIG. 5, it is determined that there is an escape point on the left side near the boundary between link 1 and link 2. However, if the "second predetermined number" is "2", in the case of FIG. 5, the second escape point analysis unit 220 does not determine that there is an escape point. For example, in a section where all-lane speed abnormalities are likely to occur consecutively, there may be consecutive links with large lateral abnormalities. The "second predetermined number" may be appropriately determined in consideration of the actual conditions of the road. In addition, after passing an escape point, there may be many vehicles that turn on their blinkers to return to the side that they were avoiding. Therefore, when the direction of the large lateral anomaly temporarily changes and there is no large lateral anomaly downstream, an escape point often exists around the position where the direction of the large lateral anomaly changed.

[0030] When the link that is the junction determination link has an abnormal lane speed or an abnormal all-lane speed, and any one of the multiple links that exist as junctions has a normal speed, the junction congestion analysis unit 230 acquires congestion information of the junction based on the results of the speed analysis of the multiple links that exist as junctions (S230). When there are multiple links downstream, a vehicle that wants to proceed in the junction direction uses a turn signal in the junction direction. In this way, the turn signal is used frequently in the junction determination link. Therefore, it is difficult to use the turn signal information to analyze the congestion situation. On the other hand, when any one of the multiple links has a normal speed, it is considered that the cause of the junction determination link having an abnormal lane speed or an abnormal all-lane speed lies in a link other than the junction determination link. Therefore, it is sufficient to acquire congestion information of the junction based on the results of the speed analysis of the multiple links that exist as junctions.

[0031] The "junction congestion information" includes at least information on speed, and preferably includes information on speed for each lane. However, it may include information other than speed, such as an escape point. For example, consider a case where the downstream junction side link has an abnormal speed for all lanes, the downstream main line link has a normal speed, and the upstream link (main line link) continuing from the junction part has an abnormal speed for each lane or an abnormal speed for all lanes. For vehicles proceeding on the main line, it is sufficient to have an escape point on the junction side between the most upstream link with an abnormal speed for each lane or an abnormal speed for all lanes and the link upstream of that link. On the other hand, it is sufficient to instruct vehicles proceeding to the junction to move to the lane on the junction side before the most upstream link with an abnormal speed for each lane or an abnormal speed for all lanes. For example, it is sufficient to send information to vehicles proceeding to the junction that the lane on the junction side has an abnormal speed for all lanes and information on the most upstream link with an abnormal speed for each lane or an abnormal speed for all lanes. Next, consider the case where the downstream branching link has a normal speed, the main line link has an abnormal speed for all lanes, and the upstream link (main line link) continuing from the branching part has an abnormal speed for each lane or an abnormal speed for all lanes. There is no need to set an escape point for vehicles proceeding in either direction. Information that the main line link has an abnormal speed for all lanes can be sent to vehicles proceeding on the main line side. Vehicles proceeding to the branching direction can be instructed to move to the branching lane before reaching the most upstream link with an abnormal speed for each lane or an abnormal speed for all lanes. For example, information on the upstream link with an abnormal speed for each lane or an abnormal speed for all lanes can be sent. In this way, congestion information for the branching can be obtained and processed based on the results of speed analysis of multiple links existing as branchings.

[0032] The congestion section information generating unit 240 generates information indicating the beginning and end of the congestion information for each lane as congestion section information (S240) by associating congestion information with all lanes of the link when the link is an all-lane speed abnormality, and by associating congestion information with the lane in the direction to be avoided based on the information on the avoidance point when the link is an all-lane speed abnormality. If the congestion section for each lane can be clearly defined, it becomes easier to control vehicles on a lane-by-lane basis.

[0033] According to the road traffic information generating device 100, when there are many turn signals, the total movement is calculated by adding the turn signal information included in the probe information with the number of turn signals on the upstream side. Therefore, the number of vehicles avoiding points that should be avoided (avoidance points) caused by accidents, construction, etc. can be clearly recognized. In addition, using the speed information, it is possible to accurately and stably determine whether the speed is normal, whether the speed is abnormal for each lane, and whether the speed is abnormal for all lanes. In addition, since different judgments can be made near branchings and in areas without branchings, the situation can be accurately judged. Therefore, more practical road traffic information can be generated. [Variation 1]

[0034] In the first embodiment, the road traffic information generating device 100 is provided with the second avoidance point analysis unit 220 on the premise that the road traffic information generating device 100 is provided with the first avoidance point analysis unit 210. However, the road traffic information generating device 100 may be provided with the second avoidance point analysis unit 220 without providing the first avoidance point analysis unit 210. In this case, the road traffic information generating device 100 can be expressed as follows.

[0035] The road traffic information generating device 100 of the modified example includes at least a probe information acquiring unit 110, a turn signal information processing unit 120, a lateral analysis unit 140, and a second avoidance point analyzing unit 220. The probe information acquiring unit 110, the turn signal information processing unit 120, and the second avoidance point analyzing unit 220 are the same as those of the first embodiment. The lateral analysis unit 140 is also substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but when the absolute value of the difference between the total movement in the right direction and the total movement in the left direction of a link that is not a branching section determination link is greater than a third predetermined value, it is determined that there is a major lateral anomaly in the direction in which the total movement is smaller. Since the second avoidance point analyzing unit 220 can determine an avoidance point based on a major lateral anomaly, even in the first modified example, more practical road traffic information can be generated than in the prior art.

[0036] [Programs, recording media] The various processes described above can be implemented by loading a program that executes each step of the above method into the recording unit 2020 of the computer 2000 shown in FIG. 8, and operating the control unit 2010, input unit 2030, output unit 2040, display unit 2050, etc.

[0037] The program describing the processing contents can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, which may be, for example, a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, a semiconductor memory, or any other type of recording medium.

[0038] The program may be distributed, for example, by selling, transferring, lending, etc. portable recording media such as DVDs and CD-ROMs on which the program is recorded. Furthermore, the program may be distributed by storing the program in a storage device of a server computer and transferring the program from the server computer to other computers via a network.

[0039] A computer that executes such a program, for example, first stores the program recorded on a portable recording medium or the program transferred from a server computer in its own storage device. Then, when executing a process, the computer reads the program stored in its own recording medium and executes a process according to the read program. As another execution form of the program, the computer may directly read the program from the portable recording medium and execute a process according to the program, or may execute a process according to the received program each time a program is transferred from the server computer to the computer. The above-mentioned process may be executed by a so-called ASP (Application Service Provider) type service that realizes a processing function only by issuing an execution instruction and obtaining a result, without transferring a program from the server computer to the computer. Note that the program in this embodiment includes information used for processing by an electronic computer and equivalent to a program (data that is not a direct command to the computer but has a nature that specifies the processing of the computer, etc.).

[0040] In addition, in this embodiment, the present device is configured by executing a predetermined program on a computer, but at least a part of the processing contents may be realized by hardware. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 100 Road traffic information generation device 110 Probe information acquisition unit 120 Turn Signal Information Processing Department 130 Brake Information Processing Department 140 Lateral analysis section 150 Speed ​​analysis section 190 Recording Department 210 1st escape point analysis department 220 2nd escape point analysis department 230 Junction Traffic Jam Analysis Unit 240 Traffic jam section information generation unit 810,820 Probe information providing device 900 Network

Claims

1. a probe information acquiring unit that acquires probe information including turn signal information related to a turn signal of a vehicle for each link, which is a section obtained by dividing a road in a longitudinal direction, for each traveling direction; a turn signal information processing unit that, when the number of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in a link is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, adds the number of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in a predetermined number of upstream links to determine the moving total for the link, and otherwise determines the number of turn signals in the same direction for the link as the moving total; a lateral direction analysis unit that determines that a lateral abnormality has occurred in the direction with the smaller total movement when the absolute value of the difference between the total movement in the right direction and the total movement in the left direction of the link is greater than a second predetermined value; A road traffic information generating device comprising:

2. 2. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 1, the probe information also includes speed information regarding a vehicle speed for each of the links for each of the predetermined time periods; a recording unit that records a link having a plurality of links on a downstream side thereof as a branch and a first predetermined number of links on an upstream side of the link as branch portion determination links of the branch; a speed analysis unit that judges whether the speed is normal, whether the speed is abnormal for each lane, or whether the speed is abnormal for all lanes, for each link and for each predetermined time period based on the speed information; The system further includes a first avoidance point analysis unit that determines that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between two links when the link that is not the branch point determination link is not a lateral abnormality and the upstream link is a lateral abnormality and a lane-specific speed abnormality or an all-lane speed abnormality. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

3. 3. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 2, the lateral direction analysis unit determines that a large lateral anomaly has occurred in a direction in which the total movement is smaller when an absolute value of a difference between the total movement in the right direction and the total movement in the left direction of a link that is not a branch determination link is greater than a third predetermined value that is greater than a second predetermined value; The system also includes a second avoidance point analysis unit that determines that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between a link and an upstream link when a second predetermined number of links on the upstream side are links with a major lateral anomaly in the same direction and the link is not a major lateral anomaly, and that determines that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between the link and an upstream link when a second predetermined number of links on the upstream side are links with a major lateral anomaly in the same direction, the link is a major lateral anomaly in the opposite direction to the upstream side, and the link downstream of the link is not a major lateral anomaly. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

4. a probe information acquiring unit that acquires probe information including turn signal information related to a turn signal of a vehicle for each link, which is a section obtained by dividing a road in a longitudinal direction, for each traveling direction; a turn signal information processing unit that, when the number of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in a link is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, adds the number of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in a predetermined number of upstream links to determine the moving total for the link, and otherwise determines the number of turn signals in the same direction for the link as the moving total; a lateral direction analysis unit that determines that a large lateral abnormality has occurred in a direction with a smaller total movement when an absolute value of a difference between the total movement in the right direction and the total movement in the left direction of a link that is not a branch determination link is greater than a third predetermined value; a second avoidance point analysis unit which, when a second predetermined number of links on the upstream side are links with major lateral anomalies in the same direction and the links are not major lateral anomalies, determines that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between the link and the upstream link, and, when a second predetermined number of links on the upstream side are links with major lateral anomalies in the same direction, the links are major lateral anomalies in the opposite direction to the upstream link, and the links downstream of the links are not major lateral anomalies, determines that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between the link and the upstream link; A road traffic information generating device comprising:

5. 3. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 2, The first avoidance point analysis unit determines that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between a link that is not a branching section determination link and an adjacent upstream link when the link does not have a lateral abnormality, the adjacent upstream link does not have a lateral abnormality, the adjacent upstream link has a lane-specific speed abnormality or an all-lane speed abnormality, and another upstream link has a lateral abnormality. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

6. 3. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 2, The first avoidance point analysis unit determines that an avoidance point exists near the downstream side of the first upstream link with the lane speed abnormality when the link other than the branch point determination link has a normal speed and a lateral abnormality, and when a link with lane speed abnormality exists within a third predetermined number of links on the upstream side, and no lateral abnormality exists within a range where lane speed abnormalities exist consecutively. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

7. 3. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 2, The first avoidance point analysis unit determines that an avoidance point exists near the upstream side of the first downstream link with the lane speed abnormality when the link other than the branch point determination link has a normal speed and a lateral abnormality, and when a link with lane speed abnormality exists within a third predetermined number of downstream links, and no lateral abnormality exists within a range where lane speed abnormalities exist consecutively. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

8. 8. A road traffic information generating device according to claim 2, further comprising: The vehicle also includes a junction congestion analysis unit that acquires congestion information about junctions based on the results of speed analysis of the plurality of links when the link that is the junction judgment link is an abnormal speed for each lane or an abnormal speed for all lanes and the speed of any one of the plurality of links is normal. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

9. 3. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 2, The velocity analysis unit If the speed of the low-speed side determination vehicle, which is a predetermined percentage of vehicles from the low-speed side, is faster than the low-speed threshold value, the speed is determined to be normal; When the speed of the low-speed side determination vehicle is equal to or lower than the low-speed threshold value and the speed of the high-speed side determination vehicle, which is a predetermined ratio of vehicles from the high-speed side, is equal to or higher than the high-speed threshold value, the vehicle is determined to have an abnormal lane-specific speed; When the speed of the vehicle on the low speed side is equal to or lower than the low speed threshold and the speed of the vehicle on the high speed side is slower than the high speed threshold, it is determined that the speed of the vehicle on the high speed side is abnormal in all lanes. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

10. 3. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 2, The velocity analysis unit For each predetermined time period to be judged, If the speed of the low-speed vehicle, which is a predetermined percentage of the vehicles from the low-speed side, is faster than the low-speed threshold, the provisional speed is determined to be normal. When the speed of the low-speed side determination vehicle is equal to or lower than the low-speed threshold value and the speed of the high-speed side determination vehicle, which is a predetermined ratio of vehicles from the high-speed side, is equal to or higher than the high-speed threshold value, it is determined that there is a provisional lane-specific speed abnormality; When the speed of the low-speed vehicle is equal to or lower than the low-speed threshold and the speed of the high-speed vehicle is slower than the high-speed threshold, the vehicle is determined to have a provisional all-lane speed abnormality; If the provisional speed is normal, the speed is determined to be normal. In the case of a provisional lane-specific speed abnormality, if the provisional speed is normal for the specified time immediately preceding the specified time, the speed is determined to be normal; if the provisional all-lane speed is abnormal for the specified time immediately preceding the specified time, the speed is determined to be abnormal for all lanes; and if the provisional lane-specific speed is abnormal for the specified time immediately preceding the specified time, the speed is determined to be abnormal for each lane; In the case of a provisional all-lane speed abnormality, if the provisional speed is normal for the specified time immediately preceding the specified time, the speed is determined to be normal, and if the provisional all-lane speed abnormality or the provisional lane-specific speed abnormality is for the specified time immediately preceding the specified time, the speed is determined to be abnormal for all lanes. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

11. 3. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 2, The velocity analysis unit If both the upstream link and the downstream link adjacent to the link to be judged have an abnormal speed for all lanes, the link is judged to have an abnormal speed for all lanes. If both the upstream link and the downstream link adjacent to the link to be judged have lane-specific speed abnormalities, the link is judged to have lane-specific speed abnormalities. If the upstream and downstream links adjacent to the target link have speed abnormalities for all lanes and speed abnormalities for each lane, the target link is determined to have speed abnormalities for all lanes. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

12. 3. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 2, The system further includes a congestion section information generating unit that generates information indicating the beginning and end of congestion information for each lane as congestion section information by associating congestion information with all lanes of the link when the link has an abnormal speed for all lanes, and by associating congestion information with lanes in a direction to be avoided based on information on the avoidance point when the link has an abnormal speed for each lane. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

13. 2. The road traffic information generating device according to claim 1, The probe information acquisition unit If the number of vehicles included in the probe information acquired at each predetermined time is less than the predetermined number of vehicles, the probe information for a predetermined time prior to the predetermined time is multiplied by a coefficient for lowering the weight and then added, so that the number of weighted vehicles becomes the same as the predetermined number of vehicles, and the resulting probe information is used as the probe information for the predetermined time. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

14. A road traffic information generating device according to any one of claims 2 and 9 to 11, the probe information also includes braking information regarding vehicle braking for each of the links at each of the predetermined times; a brake information processing unit that, when the number of brakes indicated by the brake information on a link is equal to or greater than a fourth predetermined value, adds the number of brakes indicated by the brake information on a predetermined number of upstream links to the link to determine the moving total of the link, and otherwise determines the number of brakes on the link to be the brake total; The speed analysis unit judges whether the speed is normal, whether the speed is abnormal for each lane, or whether the speed is abnormal for all lanes, based on the brake total. A road traffic information generating device comprising:

15. a probe information acquiring step of acquiring probe information including turn signal information related to a turn signal of a vehicle for each link, which is a section obtained by dividing a road in a length direction, for each travel direction; a turn signal information processing step of adding the numbers of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in a predetermined number of upstream links to determine the moving total for the link when the number of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in the link is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, and otherwise determining the number of turn signals in the same direction in the link to be the moving total; a lateral direction analysis step of determining that a lateral anomaly has occurred in the direction with a smaller total movement sum when the absolute value of the difference between the total movement sums in the right direction and the left direction of the link is greater than a second predetermined value; A road traffic information generating method that executes the above.

16. A road traffic information generating method according to claim 15, comprising the steps of: the probe information also includes speed information regarding a vehicle speed for each of the links for each of the predetermined time periods; a link having a plurality of links on a downstream side thereof as a branch and a first predetermined number of links on the upstream side of the link are recorded in advance as branch portion determination links of the branch; a speed analysis step of determining whether the speed is normal, whether the speed is abnormal for each lane, or whether the speed is abnormal for all lanes, for each link and for each predetermined time period based on the speed information; If the link that is not the branch point determination link is not a lateral abnormality, and the upstream link is a lateral abnormality and a lane-specific speed abnormality or an all-lane speed abnormality, a first avoidance point analysis step is also executed to determine that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between the two links. A road traffic information generating method comprising:

17. a probe information acquiring step of acquiring probe information including turn signal information related to a turn signal of a vehicle for each link, which is a section obtained by dividing a road in a length direction, for each travel direction; a turn signal information processing step of adding the numbers of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in a predetermined number of upstream links to determine the moving total for the link when the number of turn signals in the same direction indicated by the turn signal information in the link is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value, and otherwise determining the number of turn signals in the same direction in the link to be the moving total; a lateral analysis step of determining that a large lateral anomaly has occurred in a direction with a smaller total movement when an absolute value of a difference between the total movement in the right direction and the total movement in the left direction of a link that is not a branch determination link is greater than a third predetermined value; a second avoidance point analysis step of determining that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between a link on the upstream side and the link on the upstream side when a second predetermined number of links on the upstream side are links with major lateral anomalies in the same direction and the link on the upstream side is not a major lateral anomaly, and determining that an avoidance point exists near the boundary between the link on the upstream side and the link on the upstream side when a second predetermined number of links on the upstream side are links with major lateral anomalies in the same direction and the link on the upstream side is a major lateral anomaly in the opposite direction to the upstream side and the link on the downstream side of the link on the upstream side is not a major lateral anomaly; A road traffic information generating method that executes the above.

18. A road traffic information generating program for causing a computer to function as the road traffic information generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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