Information processing device

Abstract

To improve technology for notifying a driver of a vehicle of an alert.SOLUTION: An information processing device 20 comprises a control unit 23 which is configured to: acquire parking position information from a vehicle 10 when parking of the vehicle 10 is detected; estimate a risk of flooding to an interior of the vehicle 10 when predetermined meteorological information is announced in an area including the parking position; and transmit a notification to a portable terminal 30 carried by the driver of the vehicle 10 that is estimated to be at risk of flooding, the notification encouraging the driver to move the vehicle 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are known techniques for notifying a driver of a vehicle of a warning. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle warning system that displays a flooded state of a road on a car navigation system. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-124602 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, because warnings are not displayed on parked vehicles, there was room for improvement in the technology used to notify drivers of warnings.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve the technology for notifying a vehicle driver of an alarm. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an information processing device including a communication unit and a control unit that communicates via the communication unit, wherein when the control unit detects that a vehicle is parked, it acquires parking location information from the vehicle, and when specified weather information is announced in an area including the parking location, it estimates a risk of water entering the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and sends a notification to a mobile device carried by the driver of the vehicle that is estimated to be at risk of water entry, encouraging the driver to move the vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a technique for notifying a vehicle driver of an alert is improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration example of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the information processing device. [Diagram 3] This is a table posted on the Japan Meteorological Agency's website explaining the intensity and pattern of rain. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

[0010] (Overview of the embodiment) An overview of a system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The system 1 includes a vehicle 10, an information processing device 20, a mobile terminal 30, and a weather data server 40. The vehicle 10, the information processing device 20, the mobile terminal 30, and the weather data server 40 are communicatively connected to a network 2 including, for example, the Internet and a mobile communication network.

[0011] The vehicle 10 is, for example, an automobile, but is not limited thereto and may be any vehicle. The automobile may be, but is not limited to, a gasoline-powered vehicle, a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), a HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or a FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle). The number of vehicles 10 included in the system 1 may be determined arbitrarily. The vehicle 10 communicates with the information processing device 20 via the network 2.

[0012] The information processing device 20 is, for example, a computer such as a server device, etc. The information processing device 20 communicates with the vehicle 10, the mobile terminal 30, and the weather data server 40 via the network 2.

[0013] The mobile terminal 30 is a smartphone or a mobile phone carried by a driver of the vehicle. The mobile terminal 30 communicates with the information processing device 20 via the network 2.

[0014] The weather data server 40 is a computer such as a server device owned by a company that operates a service that provides weather data. The weather data server 40 communicates with the information processing device 20 via the network 2. The weather data includes various advisories or warnings issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

[0015] First, an overview of this embodiment will be described, and details will be described later. When the information processing device 20 detects that the vehicle 10 is parked, it acquires information on the parking position from the vehicle 10, and when predetermined weather information is announced in the area including the parking position, it estimates the risk of water inundation into the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10, and transmits a notification to the mobile terminal 30 carried by the driver of the vehicle 10 that is estimated to be at risk of water inundation, encouraging the driver to move the vehicle 10.

[0016] Thus, according to this embodiment, the information processing device 20 estimates the risk of flooding that the vehicle 10 may experience, and transmits a notification to the mobile device 30 carried by the driver of the vehicle 10 estimated to be at risk of flooding, urging the driver to move the vehicle 10. Therefore, even if the driver of the vehicle 10 is away from the vehicle 10, the driver can quickly respond to a request to move the vehicle 10. This improves the technology for notifying the driver of the vehicle 10 of an alert, in that the likelihood that the parked vehicle 10 can avoid flood damage is increased.

[0017] (Vehicle configuration) As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 includes a communication unit 11, a positioning unit 12, a measurement unit 13, an output unit 14, a storage unit 15, and a control unit 16.

[0018] The communication unit 11 includes one or more communication interfaces that connect to the network 2. The communication interfaces correspond to mobile communication standards such as, but are not limited to, 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation). In this embodiment, the vehicle 10 communicates with the information processing device 20 via the communication unit 11 and the network 2.

[0019] The positioning unit 12 includes one or more devices that acquire position information of the vehicle 10. Specifically, the positioning unit 12 includes, for example, a receiver compatible with GPS, but is not limited thereto, and may include a receiver compatible with any satellite positioning system.

[0020] The measurement unit 13 includes one or more sensors. The measurement unit 13 may include a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an altitude sensor, an air pressure sensor, etc. However, the sensors are not limited to these.

[0021] The control unit 16 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor is, for example, but is not limited to, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process. The programmable circuit is, for example, but is not limited to, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The dedicated circuit is, for example, but is not limited to, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 16 controls the operation of the entire vehicle 10.

[0022] (Configuration of information processing device) As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 20 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a control unit .

[0023] The communication unit 21 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 2. The communication interfaces correspond to, for example, a mobile communication standard, a wired LAN (Local Area Network) standard, or a wireless LAN standard, but are not limited to these and may correspond to any communication standard. In this embodiment, the information processing device 20 communicates with the vehicle 10, the mobile terminal 30, and the weather data server 40 via the communication unit 21 and the network 2.

[0024] The storage unit 22 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 22 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 22 stores any information used in the operation of the information processing device 20. For example, the storage unit 22 may store a system program, an application program, a database, vehicle identification information of the registered vehicle 10, map information covering the entire country or a specified region, location information at a specified date and time received from the vehicle 10, or specified weather information received from the weather data server 40. The information stored in the storage unit 22 may be updatable with information acquired from the network 2 via the communication unit 21, for example.

[0025] The control unit 23 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The control unit 23 controls the operation of the information processing device 20 as a whole.

[0026] (Mobile device configuration) As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile terminal 30 includes a communication unit 31, a positioning unit 32, an input unit 33, an output unit , a storage unit 35, and a control unit .

[0027] The communication unit 31 is configured to include at least one communication module that can be connected to the network 2. The communication module is, for example, a communication module compatible with a mobile communication standard such as LTE, 4G, or 5G. However, the communication module is not limited thereto. The communication module may be compatible with any communication standard.

[0028] The control unit 36 ​​may include at least one processor, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination of these. The control unit 36 ​​controls each unit of the mobile terminal 30 and executes processes related to the operation of the mobile terminal 30.

[0029] (Weather data server configuration) As shown in FIG. 1, the weather data server 40 includes a communication unit 41, a storage unit 42, and a control unit 43.

[0030] The communication unit 41 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 2. The communication interface corresponds to, for example, a mobile communication standard, a wired LAN (Local Area Network) standard, or a wireless LAN standard, but is not limited to these and may correspond to any communication standard. In this embodiment, the weather data server 40 communicates with the information processing device 20 via the communication unit 41 and the network 2.

[0031] The control unit 43 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The control unit 23 controls the operation of the weather data server 40 as a whole.

[0032] (Operation flow of information processing device) The operation of the information processing device 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. This operation relates to notifying the driver of the parked vehicle 10 that the vehicle is moving.

[0033] S101: The control unit 23 registers the vehicle identification information of the vehicle 10.

[0034] The control unit 23 registers the vehicle identification information received in advance from the vehicle 10, and stores it in the storage unit 22. The vehicle identification information is, for example, information such as the automobile registration number or vehicle number, the vehicle name, the chassis number, the model, the name or title of the driver who drives the vehicle 10, the address, the telephone number / email address of the mobile terminal 30, and the driver's license number / validity period, but is not limited to these.

[0035] S102: The control unit 23 detects that the vehicle 10 is parked.

[0036] S103: The control unit 23 acquires parking position information from the vehicle 10.

[0037] The positioning unit 12 of the vehicle 10 measures the position information of the vehicle 10. The position information is information of latitude and longitude. The measurement unit 13 of the vehicle 10 measures the height above sea level at the location of the vehicle 10 using an altitude sensor or an air pressure sensor. The position information may be information that adds the height above sea level to the latitude and longitude. The control unit 16 transmits the position information of the vehicle 10 to the communication unit 21 of the information processing device 20 via the communication unit 11 and the network 2. When the control unit 23 detects that the position of the vehicle 10 has not changed for a predetermined time, it acquires map information from the memory unit 22 and compares it with the position of the vehicle 10. When the position of the vehicle 10 matches the position of a parking space such as a parking lot in the map information, parking of the vehicle 10 is detected.

[0038] When parking of the vehicle 10 is detected, the control unit 23 stores in the memory unit 22 the parking position information (latitude, longitude, and altitude above sea level) received from the vehicle 10.

[0039] S104: The control unit 23 acquires, from the weather data server 40, meteorological information for the area including the parking position of the vehicle 10.

[0040] S105: The control unit 23 checks whether or not predetermined weather information has been announced in the area including the parking position of the vehicle 10. If the predetermined weather information has been announced, the process proceeds to S106, and if the predetermined weather information has not been announced, the process proceeds to S109.

[0041] The specified weather information includes various advisories or warnings issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The Japan Meteorological Agency issues a heavy rain advisory or flood advisory when there is a risk of disaster due to heavy rain, a heavy rain warning or flood warning when there is a risk of serious disaster, and a heavy rain special warning when there is a very high risk of serious disaster. The Japan Meteorological Agency further issues record short-term heavy rain information when it observes and analyzes short-term heavy rain that occurs only once every few years. Note that the criteria for warnings or advisories differ depending on the region. In this disclosure, the specified weather information includes heavy rain advisories, flood advisories, heavy rain warnings, flood warnings, heavy rain special warnings, and record short-term heavy rain information, but the specified weather information is not limited to these.

[0042] Figure 3 is a table posted on the Japan Meteorological Agency's website explaining the intensity and pattern of rain. As shown in Figure 3, the outdoor conditions change depending on the level of rainfall per hour. For example, when the amount of rainfall per hour is between 30mm and 50mm, it is said that the roads will become like rivers and will be flooded.

[0043] S106: The control unit 23 estimates a risk of water ingress into the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10.

[0044] S107: If the control unit 23 estimates that there is a risk of water ingress into the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10, the process proceeds to S108. If the control unit 23 estimates that there is no risk of water ingress, the process proceeds to S109.

[0045] The control unit 23 may estimate that there is a risk of flooding into the vehicle interior when the one-hour rainfall in the area including the parking position exceeds a threshold. The threshold is, for example, 30 mm at which roads start to become flooded, but is not limited to this. The table in FIG. 3 predicts that when the one-hour rainfall reaches 30 mm or more and less than 50 mm, the road will become like a river, that is, the road will be flooded. At this time, if the parking position is located along a flooded road (at the same height above sea level), the control unit 23 estimates that there is a possibility of flooding damage occurring into the vehicle interior when the one-hour rainfall reaches 30 mm.

[0046] On the other hand, when the vehicle 10 is parked on the second floor of a multi-storey car park, for example, the risk of flooding into the vehicle cabin is estimated based on the altitude (height above sea level) of the second floor of the multi-storey car park. As described above, the height above sea level of the parking position is measured by an altitude sensor or a barometric pressure sensor mounted on the vehicle 10, but the measurement method is not limited to these. The height above sea level of the parking position may be calculated based on information transmitted to the vehicle 10 from a beacon transmitter installed in the multi-storey car park, for example.

[0047] S107: The control unit 23 transmits a notification to the mobile terminal 30 carried by the driver of the vehicle 10 estimated to be at risk of flooding, encouraging the driver to move the vehicle 10.

[0048] When multiple pre-registered vehicles 10 are parked in an area that is estimated to be at risk of flooding, the control unit 23 may simultaneously push a notification to the multiple vehicles 10 to encourage them to move.

[0049] S107: The control unit 23 may select to end the information processing. If the information processing is not to be ended, the process returns to S102 and the information processing is continued.

[0050] As described above, when the information processing device 20 of this embodiment detects that the vehicle 10 is parked, it acquires parking location information from the vehicle 10, and when specified weather information is announced in the area including the parking location, it estimates the risk of water flooding into the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10, and sends a notification to the mobile terminal 30 carried by the driver of the vehicle 10 that is estimated to be at risk of water flooding, encouraging the driver to move the vehicle 10.

[0051] According to this configuration, the information processing device 20 estimates the risk of flooding that the vehicle 10 may experience, and transmits a notification to the mobile device 30 carried by the driver of the vehicle 10 estimated to be at risk of flooding, urging the driver to move the vehicle 10. Therefore, even if the driver of the vehicle 10 is away from the vehicle 10, the driver can quickly respond to a request to move the vehicle 10. This improves the technology for notifying the driver of the vehicle 10 of an alert, in that the likelihood that the parked vehicle 10 can avoid flood damage is increased.

[0052] Although the present disclosure has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each component or step can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and multiple components or steps can be combined or divided into one.

[0053] In the above-described embodiment, the information processing device 20 transmits a notification based on the risk of flooding into the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10. However, the risk of damage to the vehicle 10 is not limited to the risk of flooding. The risk of damage may be a risk of damage to the vehicle 10 caused by a strong wind, a tornado, heavy snowfall, or the like.

[0054] Also, for example, an embodiment is possible in which a general-purpose computer functions as the information processing device 20 according to the above-described embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing contents for realizing each function of the information processing device 20 according to the above-described embodiment is stored in the memory of the general-purpose computer, and the program is read and executed by a processor. Therefore, the present disclosure can also be realized as a program executable by a processor, or a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores the program. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1 System 2 Network 10 Vehicles 11 Communications Department 12 Positioning unit 13. Measurement section 14 Output section 15 Storage section 16 Control section 20 Information processing device 21 Communications Department 22 Memory section 23 Control Unit 30 Mobile Devices 31 Communications Department 32 Positioning unit 33 Input section 34 Output section 35 Storage section 36 Control Unit 40 Weather Data Server 41 Communications Department 42 Storage section 43 Control Unit

Claims

[Claim 1] The Communications Department and A control unit that performs communication by the communication unit, The control unit, when detecting that a vehicle is parked, acquires parking location information from the vehicle, and when specified weather information is announced in an area including the parking location, estimates a risk of water flooding into the passenger compartment of the vehicle, and sends a notification to a mobile device carried by the driver of the vehicle estimated to be at risk of water flooding, urging the driver to move the vehicle.

Images