Information processing device, electrically-driven mobile body, method, and system

Abstract

To provide a technique for supporting an understand of a situation of an electrically-driven mobile body by a user.SOLUTION: The present invention provides an information processing device comprising: a recording control part that starts a lamination to a first storage part provided in the information processing device of distribution information distributed from an electrically-driven mobile body; and a distribution control part that performs a control so that an extraction of the distribution information and a distribution to a user terminal that are accumulated in the first storage part are started at a first speed or a second speed that is lower than the first speed in the case where the distribution information of a first time is accumulated to the first storage part, or the accumulation to the first storage part of the distribution information is started.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device, an electric vehicle, a method, and a system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, various technologies related to electric vehicles have been known. For example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose a technology in which information (hereinafter also referred to as "distributed information") continuously distributed in time series from an electric vehicle is received by a terminal at a remote location, and the terminal presents the distributed information to a user. According to this technology, the user can remotely monitor the status of the electric vehicle by monitoring the distributed information presented by the terminal. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-62426 [Patent Document 2] JP 2023-8337 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when an electric vehicle enters an area where communication is unavailable, the delivery of information from the electric vehicle to the terminal is interrupted, and the presentation of the delivered information by the terminal is also interrupted, which may make it difficult for the user to understand the situation of the electric vehicle.

[0005] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a technology that assists users in understanding the situation of an electric vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing device comprising: a recording control unit that starts storing distribution information distributed from an electric vehicle in a first memory unit provided in the information processing device; and a distribution control unit that controls extraction of the distribution information stored in the first memory unit and distribution to a user terminal to start at a first speed when a first time worth of the distribution information has been stored in the first memory unit, or at a second speed lower than the first speed when storage of the distribution information in the first memory unit has started.

[0007] The distribution control unit may control, when the distribution information for the first time period has been accumulated in the first memory unit, extraction of the distribution information accumulated in the first memory unit and distribution to the user terminal at the first speed.

[0008] The recording control unit may interrupt the accumulation of the distribution information in the first memory unit based on receiving a notification indicating that the electric vehicle is about to arrive at a previously measured non-communicable area.

[0009] The recording control unit may resume storing the distribution information in the first storage unit based on receiving a notification indicating that the electric vehicle has exited the non-communicable area.

[0010] The distribution control unit may also control, when storage of the distribution information in the first memory unit is started, to start extraction of the distribution information stored in the first memory unit and distribution to the user terminal at the second speed.

[0011] When the distribution information for the first time period has been stored in the first memory unit, the distribution control unit may change the speed of extraction of the distribution information stored in the first memory unit and the speed of distribution to the user terminal to the first speed.

[0012] The distribution control unit may change the speed of each of the extraction of the distribution information stored in the first memory unit and the distribution to the user terminal to a third speed higher than the first speed based on receiving a notification from the electric vehicle indicating that the electric vehicle is not scheduled to arrive again in an out-of-communication area.

[0013] The distribution control unit may change a speed of distribution of the distribution information to the user terminal to the first speed when the distribution information stored in the first storage unit is exhausted.

[0014] When the amount of distribution information stored in the first memory unit becomes greater than a second time period, the distribution control unit may change the speed of each of the extraction of the distribution information stored in the first memory unit and the distribution to the user terminal to a third speed higher than the first speed.

[0015] The distribution control unit may change the speed of extraction of the distribution information stored in the first memory unit and the speed of distribution to the user terminal to the first speed when the distribution information stored in the first memory unit becomes equal to or less than the second time period.

[0016] In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention to solve the above problem, there is provided a method executed by an information processing device, the method including: starting storage of distribution information distributed from an electric vehicle in a first memory unit provided in the information processing device; and when a first time period of the distribution information has been stored in the first memory unit, controlling extraction of the distribution information stored in the first memory unit and distribution to a user terminal to be started at a first speed, or when storage of the distribution information in the first memory unit has been started, at a second speed lower than the first speed.

[0017] In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention to solve the above problem, there is provided an electric vehicle comprising: a distribution control unit that controls distribution of distribution information; and a recording control unit that starts storing the distribution information in a second memory unit provided in the electric vehicle based on detection of the electric vehicle being about to arrive at a previously measured no-communication area, and the distribution control unit controls the start of distribution of the distribution information stored in the second memory unit based on detection of the electric vehicle leaving the no-communication area.

[0018] The recording control unit may determine, based on the route of the electric vehicle, whether or not there is a stay time of the electric vehicle in the non-communicable area, and if it is determined that there is a stay time, estimate the amount of information of the distributed information for the stay time, and the distribution control unit may control so that distribution of the distributed information is started based on the amount of information being at least equal to or less than the remaining capacity of the second memory unit.

[0019] The distribution control unit may control the distribution of the distribution information to the information processing device, and may control the distribution of the distribution information to be started when the amount of information is equal to or less than the remaining capacity of the second memory unit and when the amount of information is equal to or less than the remaining capacity of the first memory unit of the information processing device.

[0020] The recording control unit may calculate the stay time based on an average movement speed of the electric vehicle and the length of the route within the communication-prone area, and may calculate the amount of distribution information for the stay time based on the stay time and the distribution speed of the distribution information.

[0021] The recording control unit may generate a route for the electric vehicle based on a current position of the electric vehicle and destination coordinates of the electric vehicle.

[0022] When the recording control unit detects that the strength of the radio waves received by the communication unit is less than a predetermined strength while the electric vehicle is moving, the recording control unit may associate information indicating a lack of communication with the position of the electric vehicle estimated by self-position estimation.

[0023] In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention to solve the above problem, there is provided a method executed by an electric vehicle, the method including: controlling distribution of distribution information; starting storage of the distribution information in a second memory unit provided in the electric vehicle based on detection of the electric vehicle being about to arrive at a previously measured no-communication area; and controlling to start distribution of the distribution information stored in the second memory unit based on detection of the electric vehicle leaving the no-communication area.

[0024] In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problem, a system is provided that includes an information processing device and an electric vehicle, wherein the information processing device accumulates distribution information distributed from the electric vehicle in a first memory unit provided in the information processing device, and when a first time period of the distribution information has been accumulated in the first memory unit, controls extraction of the distribution information accumulated in the first memory unit and distribution to a user terminal to be started at a first speed, or when accumulation of the distribution information in the first memory unit has started, at a second speed lower than the first speed, and the electric vehicle controls distribution of the distribution information, and starts accumulation of the distribution information in a second memory unit provided in the electric vehicle based on detection of the electric vehicle being about to reach a previously measured communication unavailable area, and controls to start distribution of the distribution information accumulated in the second memory unit based on detection of the electric vehicle's exit from the communication unavailable area. Effect of the Invention

[0025] As described above, according to the present invention, a technique is provided that enables a user to assist in understanding the situation of an electric vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a map generated by the electric vehicle 100. [Diagram 3] The task execution operation by the system 1 will now be described. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a task execution operation by the system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a task execution operation by the system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a task execution operation by the system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing device 900 as an example of a remote operation system 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0028] 1. First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0029] (1-1. System Configuration) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. With reference to Fig. 1, a configuration example of a system according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in Fig. 1, a system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an electric vehicle 100, a network 300, a remote operation system 400, and a user terminal 500.

[0030] The electric vehicle 100, the remote operation system 400, and the user terminal 500 are each connected to a network 300. For example, the network 300 may be a local area network (LAN).

[0031] (Electric mobile object 100) The electric vehicle 100 includes an information acquisition unit 110, a battery 120, a communication unit 130, a control unit 140, and an edge storage 150.

[0032] The information acquisition unit 110 acquires environmental information around the electric vehicle 100 (hereinafter also simply referred to as "environmental information of the electric vehicle 100"). For example, the environmental information of the electric vehicle 100 may include video data and audio data around the electric vehicle 100. For example, if the information acquisition unit 110 includes a camera, the information acquisition unit 110 may acquire video data by the camera. Also, if the information acquisition unit 110 includes a microphone, the information acquisition unit 110 may acquire audio data by the microphone. Note that the environmental information of the electric vehicle 100 may include only one of the video data and audio data around the electric vehicle 100.

[0033] Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 110 acquires sensor data used for self-position estimation to detect the position of the electric vehicle 100 on a map. Such sensor data may be video data acquired by a camera, or, if the information acquisition unit 110 includes a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensor, may be point cloud data acquired by the LiDAR sensor.

[0034] The battery 120 supplies power to each electrical component included in the electric vehicle 100 .

[0035] The communication unit 130 communicates with each of the remote operation system 400 and the user terminal 500. When there are multiple electric vehicles 100, the communication units 130 included in each of the multiple electric vehicles 100 can communicate with each other. Specifically, the communication unit 130 receives a task execution instruction from the remote operation system 400.

[0036] The communication unit 130 also continuously distributes information including the environmental information of the electric vehicle 100 acquired by the information acquisition unit 110, the position information of the electric vehicle 100 obtained by self-position estimation, and the remaining charge of the battery 120 as distribution information to the remote operation system 400 in a chronological order. Note that the information included in the distribution information may include only a part of the environmental information of the electric vehicle 100, the position information of the electric vehicle 100, and the remaining charge of the battery 120.

[0037] The control unit 140 may be configured as hardware such as a dedicated IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, or may be realized by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program. In this case, a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded may also be provided.

[0038] The control unit 140 performs various information processing for controlling the electric vehicle 100. The various information processing for controlling the electric vehicle 100 includes a map generation function and an autonomous driving function. Furthermore, the control unit 140 performs self-position estimation based on the sensor data obtained by the information acquisition unit 110. The control unit 140 also executes a task according to a task execution instruction received by the communication unit 130 from the remote operation system 400. For example, cleaning work and security work can be assumed as types of tasks. However, the types of tasks are not particularly limited.

[0039] The control unit 140 includes a recording control unit 143 and a distribution control unit 144. The recording control unit 143 and the distribution control unit 144 will be described in detail later.

[0040] The edge storage 150 is configured by a memory, and can function as an example of a second storage unit. For example, the edge storage 150 can temporarily store distribution information before the distribution information is distributed to the remote operation system 400 by the communication unit 130.

[0041] (Remote Operation System 400) The remote operation system 400 is realized by a computer, and corresponds to an example of an information processing device. The remote operation system 400 controls an operation target. The operation targets by the remote operation system 400 are typically the electric vehicle 100 and the user terminal 500. However, the operation targets by the remote operation system 400 are not limited to these. For example, other remotely operable devices may be the operation targets by the remote operation system 400. Furthermore, the operation targets by the remote operation system 400 may include a plurality of operation targets of the same type.

[0042] The remote operation system 400 includes a communication unit 420, a server storage 430, and a control unit 440.

[0043] The communication unit 420 can communicate with the communication unit 130 included in the electric vehicle 100 and the communication unit 510 included in the user terminal 500. The communication unit 420 is a functional unit that transmits a connection request to an operation target and receives a connection request from the operation target. The communication unit 420 also transmits a task execution instruction to the electric vehicle 100. The communication unit 420 can receive distribution information from the electric vehicle 100 that is executing a task. Furthermore, the communication unit 420 can stream the distribution information received from the electric vehicle 100 to the user terminal 50.

[0044] The server storage 430 is configured by a memory and can function as an example of a first storage unit. For example, the server storage 430 can temporarily store the distribution information before the distribution information is distributed to the user terminal 50 by the communication unit 420.

[0045] The server storage 430 also stores information about tasks that can be executed by the electric vehicle 100. The information about the task includes a location of a planned arrival point of the electric vehicle 100 that executes the task (hereinafter, also referred to as "destination coordinates"). Furthermore, the server storage 430 stores reservation information about task execution by the electric vehicle 100 received from the user terminal 20 by the communication unit 420. The reservation information includes at least the type of task and the start time of task execution.

[0046] The control unit 440 may be configured as hardware such as a dedicated IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, or may be realized by a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program. In this case, a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded may also be provided.

[0047] The control unit 440 includes an operation target information acquisition unit 441, an operation target control unit 442, a recording control unit 443, and a distribution control unit 444. Here, the operation target information acquisition unit 441 and the operation target control unit 442 will be briefly described, and the recording control unit 443 and the distribution control unit 444 will be described later.

[0048] The operation target information acquisition unit 441 acquires the distribution information received by the communication unit 420 from the electric vehicle 100 .

[0049] The operation target control unit 442 generates a task execution instruction for the electric vehicle 100 based on reservation information related to task execution by the electric vehicle 100 stored in the server storage 430, or interrupt information related to task execution by the electric vehicle 100 received by the communication unit 420 from the user terminal 50. In addition, the operation target control unit 442 controls transmission of the generated task execution instruction to the electric vehicle 100 by the communication unit 420.

[0050] The interrupt information is information input by the user when the user desires to use the operation target immediately rather than by reservation (for example, when the operation target is used for purposes such as restoration and maintenance). At least the type of task is set in the interrupt information.

[0051] (User terminal 500) The user terminal 500 is a terminal used by a user who receives the provision of a service. For example, the user may be a staff member at each store in a large commercial facility where multiple stores are gathered. The user terminal 500 may be a PC (Personal Computer) realized by a computer and installed in a predetermined location (e.g., inside a store), or may be a mobile terminal (e.g., a tablet terminal, a smartphone, etc.) carried by the user.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 1, user terminal 500 includes a communication unit 510, an operation unit 520, and a screen unit 530.

[0053] The communication unit 510 communicates with each of the remote operation system 400 and the electric vehicle 100. In addition, when there are multiple user terminals 50, the communication units 510 included in each of the multiple user terminals 50 can communicate with each other.

[0054] For example, the communication unit 510 receives distribution information that is streamed from the remote operation system 400. Furthermore, when reservation information is input by the user to the operation unit 520, the communication unit 510 transmits the reservation information to the remote operation system 400. Furthermore, when interruption information is input by the user to the operation unit 520, the communication unit 510 transmits the interruption information to the remote operation system 400.

[0055] The operation unit 520 accepts user operations. For example, the operation unit 520 may include a dedicated controller, such as a mouse and a keyboard, that is adapted to the characteristics of the operation target. For example, the operation unit 520 accepts input of reservation information from the user. The operation unit 520 also accepts input of interruption information from the user.

[0056] Screen unit 530 is a display that displays a management screen of the operation target. For example, screen unit 530 may be a liquid crystal display or the like. More specifically, screen unit 530 displays distribution information received by communication unit 510. For example, screen unit 530 may display the distribution information received by communication unit 510 in the management screen of the operation target.

[0057] An example of the configuration of the system according to the first embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

[0058] (1-2. System Operation) Next, an example of the operation of the system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 4. Specifically, a map generation operation by the electric vehicle 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 2, a measurement operation of a non-communicable area by the electric vehicle 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 2, and a task execution operation by the system 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4.

[0059] (Map generation operation) Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a map generated by the electric vehicle 100. Referring to Fig. 2, a map 200 generated by a map generation function included in the electric vehicle 100 is shown. For example, such a map 200 may be generated simultaneously with self-location estimation by SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) included in the electric vehicle 100. As an example, the electric vehicle 100 generates such a map 200 before executing a task.

[0060] (No communication area measurement operation) After generating the map, the electric vehicle 100 refers to the generated map and measures the strength of radio waves received by the communication unit 130 while moving widely within the facility. Then, when the recording control unit 143 in the electric vehicle 100 detects that the strength of radio waves received by the communication unit 130 is lower than a predetermined strength while the electric vehicle 100 is moving, it associates information indicating communication failure with the position of the electric vehicle 100 estimated by self-location estimation.

[0061] In this way, a set of positions associated with information indicating communication outages by the recording control unit 143 indicates a communication outage area. Referring to Fig. 2, communication outage areas 212 and 214 measured by the recording control unit 143 are shown.

[0062] (Task execution operation) 3 and 4 are flowcharts showing an example of a task execution operation by the system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. First, in the remote operation system 400, the operation target control unit 442 generates a task execution instruction for the electric vehicle 100 based on reservation information related to task execution by the electric vehicle 100 stored in the server storage 430, or interrupt information related to task execution by the electric vehicle 100 received from the user terminal 50 by the communication unit 420.

[0063] More specifically, when the current time reaches the task execution start time set in the reservation information, the operation target control unit 442 specifies the destination coordinates of the electric vehicle 100 that executes the task based on the type of task set in the reservation information and information about the task. Alternatively, when interrupt information is received from the user terminal 50 by the communication unit 420, the operation target control unit 442 specifies the destination coordinates of the electric vehicle 100 that executes the task based on the type of task set in the interrupt information and information about the task.

[0064] The operation target control unit 442 generates a task execution instruction including the task type and destination coordinates. Then, as shown in Fig. 3, the operation target control unit 442 controls transmission of the generated task execution instruction to the electric vehicle 100 by the communication unit 420 (S610). Next, S611 to S632 (Fig. 4) are executed by the electric vehicle 100. The explanation will be continued by moving on to Fig. 4.

[0065] 4, in the electric vehicle 100, the communication unit 130 receives a task execution instruction from the remote operation system 400 (S611). The recording control unit 143 generates a planned route for the electric vehicle 100 to travel when the task is executed by the electric vehicle 100, based on the current position of the electric vehicle 100 estimated by the self-position estimation function of the electric vehicle 100 and the destination coordinates included in the task execution instruction (S612).

[0066] 2, the current position P0 and destination coordinates P1 of the electric vehicle 100 are shown. Also shown is a route 220 generated by the recording control unit 143 based on the current position P0 and destination coordinates P1 of the electric vehicle 100. As in this example, the recording control unit 143 generates the route 220 as a route from the current position P0 of the electric vehicle 100 to the destination coordinates P1.

[0067] The recording control unit 143 determines whether the route 220 includes at least a part of the non-communication area based on the generated route 220 (S613). This determines whether the electric vehicle 100 stays in the non-communication area. If the route 220 does not include either a part or the whole of the non-communication area (NO in S613), the operation proceeds to S631.

[0068] When the route 220 includes at least a part of the non-communication area ("YES" in S613), the recording control unit 143 calculates the length of the route 220 within the non-communication area based on the generated route 220 and the non-communication area 214 measured in advance (S621). In the example shown in Fig. 2, the route 220 does not include either a part or the whole of the non-communication area 212, but includes a part of the non-communication area 214. Therefore, the recording control unit 143 calculates the length of the route 220 within the non-communication area 214.

[0069] The recording control unit 143 acquires the average moving speed of the electric vehicle 100 (S622). For example, if the average moving speed of the electric vehicle 100 is stored in advance in the edge storage 150, the average moving speed of the electric vehicle 100 may be acquired from the edge storage 150.

[0070] The recording control unit 143 also calculates the stay time t of the electric vehicle 100 in the communication unavailable area 214 based on the average movement speed of the electric vehicle 100 and the length of the path 220 in the communication unavailable area 214 (S623). For example, the recording control unit 143 may calculate the stay time t of the electric vehicle 100 in the communication unavailable area 214 by dividing the length of the path 220 in the communication unavailable area 214 by the average movement speed of the electric vehicle 100.

[0071] The recording control unit 143 estimates the amount of information of the distribution information for a time period corresponding to the stay time t (hereinafter, simply referred to as "stay time t") in the non-communicable area 214 of the electric vehicle 100 based on the speed of distribution of the distribution information to the remote operation system 400 (S624). More specifically, the recording control unit 143 can estimate the amount of information of the distribution information for the αt time period by multiplying the stay time t by a predetermined coefficient α (where α≧1) and the speed of distribution of the distribution information to the remote operation system 400.

[0072] The delivery control unit 144 checks the remaining capacity of each of the edge storage 150 and the server storage 430 (S625). For example, the delivery control unit 144 may directly check the remaining capacity of the edge storage 150. The delivery control unit 144 may also control the communication unit 130 so that an inquiry about the remaining capacity of the server storage 430 is sent to the remote operation system 400, and when a response to the inquiry is received from the server storage 430 by the communication unit 130, the delivery control unit 144 may obtain the remaining capacity of the server storage 430 from the response. Note that in this specification, the remaining capacity is an area of ​​memory that is not used as a storage area for significant data, and is also referred to as free space.

[0073] The delivery control unit 144 determines whether the remaining capacity of each of the edge storage 150 and the server storage 430 is sufficient (S626). More specifically, the delivery control unit 144 determines whether the amount of delivery information for αt time is equal to or less than the remaining capacity of each of the edge storage 150 and the server storage 430.

[0074] The delivery control unit 144 may determine whether the remaining capacity of only one of the edge storage 150 and the server storage 430 is sufficient. For example, a case may be assumed in which the total capacity of the edge storage 150 is smaller than the total capacity of the server storage 430. In such a case, the delivery control unit 144 may determine whether the remaining capacity of only the edge storage 150 is sufficient.

[0075] If the amount of distribution information for αt time is less than or equal to the remaining capacity of at least one of the edge storage 150 and the server storage 430, the distribution control unit 144 determines that the remaining capacity of one of the edge storage 150 and the server storage 430 is insufficient ("NO" in S626), and determines whether the route generation retries are within three times (S627).

[0076] If the number of retries to generate the route is three or less ("YES" in S627), the recording control unit 143 generates a route different from the route generated in S612 (S628) and proceeds to S613. On the other hand, if the number of retries to generate the route is more than three ("NO" in S627), the delivery control unit 144 notifies the administrator of the insufficient remaining capacity by controlling the communication unit 130 to send a notification indicating the insufficient remaining capacity of the storage to the user terminal 500 used by the administrator (S629). Note that the threshold value for the number of retries to generate the route is not limited.

[0077] On the other hand, when the amount of distribution information for αt time is equal to or less than the remaining capacity of each of the edge storage 150 and the server storage 430, the recording control unit 143 determines that the remaining capacity of each of the edge storage 150 and the server storage 430 is sufficient ("YES" in S626), and controls the communication unit 130 to start distribution of the distribution information to the remote operation system 400 (S631). After that, the electric vehicle 100 starts task execution and starts autonomous traveling (S632).

[0078] Returning to Fig. 3, the description will be continued. In the remote operation system 400, the communication unit 420 starts receiving the distribution information distributed by the electric vehicle 100 (S633). Then, the recording control unit 443 starts storing the distribution information in the server storage 430 (S634).

[0079] The delivery control unit 444 determines whether or not the delivery information for αt time has been accumulated in the server storage 430 (S701). If the delivery information for αt time has not been accumulated in the server storage 430 ("NO" in S701), the delivery control unit 444 executes S701 again.

[0080] On the other hand, when αt hours' worth of distribution information has been accumulated in the server storage 430 ("YES" in S701), the distribution control unit 444 controls the extraction of the distribution information accumulated in the server storage 430 and the distribution to the user terminal 500 to be started at a speed equal to the speed at which the distribution information is received from the electric vehicle 100 (first speed) (S702).

[0081] This maintains a state in which distribution information received by the remote operation system 400 from the electric vehicle 100 from αt hours ago is distributed from the remote operation system 400 to the user terminal 500, and a state in which the distribution information for αt hours is stored in the server storage 430. In this specification, extracting distribution information from a memory may mean taking the distribution information out of the memory and making the storage area of ​​the memory where the distribution information was stored free space.

[0082] Next, in the electric vehicle 100, the recording control unit 143 detects whether the electric vehicle 100 is about to reach an area where communication is unavailable (S711). For example, whether the electric vehicle 100 is about to reach an area where communication is unavailable may be determined based on whether the current position of the electric vehicle 100 is between a position a predetermined distance before the edge of the area where communication is unavailable and a position to the edge.

[0083] When the recording control unit 143 does not detect the electric vehicle 100 about to arrive at the non-communication area ("NO" in S711), it executes S711 again.

[0084] On the other hand, when the recording control unit 143 detects that the electric vehicle 100 is about to reach the communication unavailable area ("YES" in S711), it controls the communication unit 130 so that a notification indicating that the electric vehicle 100 is about to reach the communication unavailable area is transmitted to the remote operation system 400 (S712). In the remote operation system 400, the recording control unit 443 suspends the accumulation of the distribution information in the server storage 430 (S715) based on the reception of the notification indicating that the electric vehicle 100 is about to reach the communication unavailable area (S714).

[0085] As a result, the distribution information stored in the server storage 430 is extracted even though the distribution information is not stored in the server storage 430. Therefore, the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430 gradually decreases. Furthermore, the recording control unit 143 starts storing the distribution information in the edge storage 150 based on receiving a notification indicating that the electric vehicle 100 is about to arrive at an unavailable communication area.

[0086] The distribution control unit 144 detects whether the electric vehicle 100 has left the communication unavailable area (S721). If the electric vehicle 100 has not left the communication unavailable area (NO in S721), the distribution control unit 144 executes S721 again.

[0087] On the other hand, when the distribution control unit 144 detects that the electric vehicle 100 has left the communication unavailable area ("YES" in S721), it controls the communication unit 130 so that a notification indicating that the electric vehicle 100 has left the communication unavailable area is sent to the remote operation system 400 (S722).

[0088] Furthermore, the distribution control unit 144 controls the communication unit 130 so as to start distribution of the distribution information stored in the edge storage 150 to the remote operation system 400 (S723). At this time, in order to increase the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430, it is preferable for the distribution control unit 144 to distribute the distribution information stored in the edge storage 150 to the remote operation system 400 at a speed faster than the speed at which the distribution information was distributed in S631.

[0089] In the remote operation system 400, the record control unit 443 restarts storing the distribution information in the server storage 430 (S725) based on receiving a notification indicating that the electric vehicle 100 has left the non-communicable area (S724).

[0090] The delivery control unit 144 determines whether the electric vehicle 100 has reached the destination based on the current position of the electric vehicle 100 and the destination coordinates (S731). When the delivery control unit 144 determines that the electric vehicle 100 has not reached the destination ("NO" in S731), it executes S731 again. On the other hand, when the delivery control unit 144 determines that the electric vehicle 100 has reached the destination ("YES" in S731), it controls the communication unit 130 so that a notification indicating that the electric vehicle 100 has reached the destination is transmitted to the remote operation system 400 (S732).

[0091] At this time, extraction of distribution information from edge storage 150 and distribution to remote operation system 400 are performed until the distribution information stored in edge storage 150 is depleted, and then distribution of distribution information from electric vehicle 100 to remote operation system 400 is terminated.

[0092] When the communication unit 420 receives a notification indicating that the electric vehicle 100 has reached the destination, the distribution information is extracted from the server storage 430 and distributed to the user terminal 500 until all the distribution information stored in the server storage 430 is exhausted. Then, the distribution of the distribution information stored in the server storage 430 ends (S733).

[0093] While the distribution of the distribution information stored in server storage 430 is not complete ("NO" in S734), S702 is executed again, but when the distribution of the distribution information stored in server storage 430 is complete ("YES" in S734), the distribution of the distribution information to user terminal 500 is completed.

[0094] An example of the operation of the system according to the first embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above.

[0095] (1-3. Effects) As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the edge storage 150 and the server storage 450 are used as buffers for temporarily storing distribution information. As a result, even if information distribution from the electric vehicle 100 to the remote operation system 400 is temporarily interrupted, information is continuously distributed to the user, which helps the user understand the situation of the electric vehicle 100.

[0096] According to the first embodiment of the present invention, it may be assumed that the delivery of the delivery information to the user terminal 500 will be delayed until the delivery information is accumulated in the server storage 450. However, by using the out-of-communication area and the planned travel route of the electric vehicle 100, the amount of delivery information accumulated in the server storage 450 can be reduced, so that the delay in the delivery of the delivery information to the user terminal 500 can be reduced.

[0097] The effects achieved by the system according to the first embodiment of the present invention have been described above.

[0098] 2. Second embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0099] (2-1. System Configuration) First, a configuration example of a system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration example of the system according to the second embodiment of the present invention is similar to the configuration example of the system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, Fig. 1 is also used as a diagram showing the configuration example of the system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0100] An example of the configuration of the system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

[0101] (2-2. System Operation) Next, an operation example of the system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 5. The map generating operation and the communication unavailable area measuring operation described with reference to Fig. 2 are common between the first embodiment of the present invention and the second embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, among the operation examples of the system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, detailed descriptions of the map generating operation and the communication unavailable area measuring operation will be omitted, and the task execution operation will be described in detail.

[0102] (Task execution operation) FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a task execution operation by the system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0103] However, S610 to S634, S711 to S725, and S731 to S734 are common between the first embodiment of the present invention and the second embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, detailed descriptions of S610 to S634, S711 to S725, and S731 to S734 of the task execution operations by the system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be omitted, and other operation examples will be described in detail.

[0104] 5, when accumulation of the distribution information in the server storage 430 starts in S634, the distribution control unit 444 controls the communication unit 420 to start extraction of the distribution information accumulated in the server storage 430 and distribution to the user terminal 500 at a speed β times (where β<1) the speed at which the distribution information is received from the electric vehicle 100 (S811). Note that the β times speed corresponds to a speed (second speed) lower than the speed at which the distribution information is received from the electric vehicle 100. In addition, the value of β is not limited, and may be, for example, β=0.8.

[0105] In the remote operation system 400, if the delivery information for αt time has not been stored in the server storage 430 ("NO" in S821), the delivery control unit 444 executes S811 again. On the other hand, if the delivery information for αt time has been stored in the server storage 430 ("YES" in S821), the delivery control unit 444 changes the speed of extraction of the delivery information stored in the server storage 430 and delivery to the user terminal 500 to the same speed as the speed at which the delivery information is received from the electric vehicle 100 (S822).

[0106] This maintains a state in which the distribution information received by the remote operation system 400 from the electric vehicle 100, the distribution information from αt hours ago, is distributed from the remote operation system 400 to the user terminal 500, and a state in which αt hours' worth of distribution information is stored in the server storage 430.

[0107] In the electric vehicle 100, the control unit 140 determines whether or not the electric vehicle 100 is scheduled to reach the non-communication area again (S831). For example, the control unit 140 may determine whether or not the electric vehicle 100 is scheduled to reach the non-communication area again by determining whether or not a route from the current position of the electric vehicle 100 to the destination includes at least a part of the non-communication area.

[0108] In the electric vehicle 100, if the electric vehicle 100 is scheduled to reach the non-communication area again ("YES" in S831), the control unit 140 executes S711 again. On the other hand, if the electric vehicle 100 is not scheduled to reach the non-communication area again ("NO" in S831), the control unit 140 controls the communication unit 130 so that a notification indicating that the electric vehicle 100 is not scheduled to reach the non-communication area again is sent to the remote operation system 400 (S832).

[0109] In the remote operation system 400, based on receiving a notification from the electric vehicle 100 indicating that the electric vehicle 100 is not scheduled to enter the communication unavailable area again, the control unit 440 instructs the distribution control unit 444 to transition to a mode (hereinafter also referred to as "high-speed distribution mode") that increases the speed of both extraction of distribution information stored in the server storage 430 and distribution to the user terminal 500 (S833).

[0110] While the delivery control unit 444 is not instructed to transition to the high-speed delivery mode ("NO" in S834), S822 is executed again. On the other hand, when the delivery control unit 444 is instructed to transition to the high-speed delivery mode ("YES" in S834), the delivery control unit 444 changes the speed of each of the extraction of the delivery information stored in the server storage 430 and the delivery to the user terminal 500 to a speed γ times (where γ≧1) the speed at which the delivery information is received from the electric vehicle 100 (S835). Note that the γ times speed corresponds to a speed (third speed) higher than the speed at which the delivery information is received from the electric vehicle 100. In addition, the value of γ is not limited, and may be, for example, γ=1.2.

[0111] As a result, the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430 gradually decreases.

[0112] In the remote operation system 400, if there is distribution information stored in the server storage 430 ("NO" in S841), the distribution control unit 444 executes S835 again. On the other hand, if there is no more distribution information stored in the server storage 430 ("YES" in S841), the distribution control unit 444 changes the speed of extraction of the distribution information stored in the server storage 430 and distribution to the user terminal 500 to the same speed as the speed at which the distribution information is received from the electric vehicle 100 (S842).

[0113] An example of the operation of the system according to the second embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail.

[0114] (2-3. Effects) As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, similarly to the first embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide an effect that it is possible to assist the user in understanding the situation of the electric vehicle 100.

[0115] Furthermore, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the effects achieved by the first embodiment of the present invention, the delivery of the delivery information to the user terminal 500 is not made to wait until the delivery information is accumulated in the server storage 450. This allows the user to monitor the status of the electric vehicle 100 while suppressing delays from the actual status of the electric vehicle 100. Furthermore, since the timing at which the user starts and ends status monitoring of the electric vehicle 100 is accelerated, it is expected that the user's time will be used more effectively.

[0116] The effects achieved by the system according to the second embodiment of the present invention have been described above.

[0117] 3. Third embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0118] (3-1. System Configuration) First, a configuration example of a system according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration example of the system according to the third embodiment of the present invention is similar to the configuration example of the system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, Fig. 1 is also used as a diagram showing the configuration example of the system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0119] An example of the configuration of the system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

[0120] (3-2. System Operation) Next, an operation example of the system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The map generating operation and the communication unavailable area measuring operation described with reference to Fig. 2 are common between the first embodiment of the present invention and the third embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, among the operation examples of the system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, detailed explanations of the map generating operation and the communication unavailable area measuring operation will be omitted, and the task execution operation will be described in detail.

[0121] (Task execution operation) FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a task execution operation by the system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0122] However, S610 to S634, S711, S713, S721, S723, and S732 to S734 are common between the second embodiment of the present invention and the third embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, among the task execution operations by the system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, detailed explanations of S610 to S634, S711, S713, S721, S723, and S732 to S734 will be omitted, and other operation examples will be explained in detail.

[0123] As shown in FIG. 6, when accumulation of distribution information in server storage 430 starts in S634, as long as the distribution of the distribution information accumulated in server storage 430 is not completed ("NO" in S734), distribution control unit 444 checks the amount of information of the distribution information accumulated in server storage 430 (S911).

[0124] When the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430 is less than αt hours ("YES" in S912), the distribution control unit 444 controls the communication unit 420 to start extracting the distribution information stored in the server storage 430 and distributing it to the user terminal 500 at a speed β times the speed at which the distribution information is received from the electric vehicle 100 (S811).

[0125] This gradually increases the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430. Then, S734 is executed again.

[0126] On the other hand, if the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430 is equal to or greater than αt time ("NO" in S912), the distribution control unit 444 proceeds to S921. If the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430 is greater than (αt+A) time (second time) (where A>0) ("YES" in S921), the distribution control unit 444 changes the speed of extraction of the distribution information stored in the server storage 430 and distribution to the user terminal 500 to a speed γ times the speed at which the distribution information is received from the electric vehicle 100 (S835).

[0127] This gradually reduces the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430. Then, S734 is executed again. Note that the value of A is not limited. For example, the value of A may be arbitrarily set by the administrator.

[0128] When the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430 is equal to or less than (αt+A) time (second time) ("NO" in S921), the distribution control unit 444 changes the speed of extraction of the distribution information stored in the server storage 430 and distribution to the user terminal 500 to the same speed as the speed at which the distribution information is received from the electric vehicle 100 (S842). Then, S734 is executed again.

[0129] (3-3. Effects) As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, similarly to the first embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide an effect that it is possible to assist the user in understanding the situation of the electric vehicle 100.

[0130] Furthermore, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, similarly to the second embodiment of the present invention, the user can monitor the status of the electric vehicle 100 while suppressing delays from the actual status of the electric vehicle 100. Furthermore, since the timing at which the user starts and ends monitoring the status of the electric vehicle 100 is accelerated, it is expected that the user's time will be utilized more effectively.

[0131] Furthermore, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the remote operation system 400 can control the amount of distribution information stored in the server storage 430 even if it is not known whether the electric vehicle 100 is in a non-communicable area. Therefore, the configuration of the system 1 can be simplified, and the number of development steps for the system 1 can be reduced. This also allows the system 1 to be constructed with high reliability.

[0132] The effects achieved by the system according to the third embodiment of the present invention have been described above.

[0133] (4. Hardware configuration example) Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the remote operation system 400 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. The hardware configuration of the user terminal 500 may be realized in the same manner as the hardware configuration of the remote operation system 400.

[0134] In the following, an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 900 will be described as an example of the hardware configuration of the remote operation system 400 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the hardware configuration example of the information processing device 900 described below is merely one example of the hardware configuration of the remote operation system 400. Therefore, the hardware configuration of the remote operation system 400 may be such that unnecessary components are deleted from the hardware configuration of the information processing device 900 described below, or new components are added.

[0135] 7 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing device 900 as an example of the remote operation system 400 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing device 900 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 902, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 903, a host bus 904, a bridge 905, an external bus 906, an interface 907, an input device 908, an output device 909, a storage device 910, and a communication device 911.

[0136] The CPU 901 functions as an arithmetic processing device and control device, and controls the overall operation of the information processing device 900 in accordance with various programs. The CPU 901 may also be a microprocessor. The ROM 902 stores programs and arithmetic parameters used by the CPU 901. The RAM 903 temporarily stores programs used in the execution of the CPU 901 and parameters that change appropriately during the execution. These are connected to each other by a host bus 904 consisting of a CPU bus etc.

[0137] The host bus 904 is connected to an external bus 906, such as a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect / Interface) bus, via a bridge 905. It is not necessary to configure the host bus 904, bridge 905, and external bus 906 separately, and these functions may be implemented in a single bus.

[0138] The input device 908 is composed of input means such as a mouse, keyboard, touch panel, button, microphone, switch, and lever for the user to input information, and an input control circuit that generates an input signal based on the user's input and outputs it to the CPU 901. A user who operates the information processing device 900 can input various data to the information processing device 900 and instruct the information processing device 900 to perform processing operations by operating this input device 908.

[0139] The output device 909 includes, for example, a display device such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display device, a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) device, an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) device, or a lamp, and an audio output device such as a speaker.

[0140] The storage device 910 is a device for storing data. The storage device 910 may include a storage medium, a recording device for recording data in the storage medium, a reading device for reading data from the storage medium, and a deleting device for deleting data recorded in the storage medium. The storage device 910 is configured, for example, with an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). This storage device 910 drives a hard disk and stores programs executed by the CPU 901 and various data.

[0141] The communication unit 911 is, for example, a communication interface configured with a communication device for connecting to a network, etc. Also, the communication unit 911 may be compatible with either wireless communication or wired communication.

[0142] An example of the hardware configuration of the remote operation system 400 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

[0143] (5. Supplementary Notes) Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such an example. It is clear that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can conceive of various modified or altered examples within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[0144] For example, in the embodiment of the present invention, the electric vehicle 100 has tires, but the electric vehicle 100 may be any object that moves by electricity. For example, the electric vehicle 100 may be a caterpillar, a drone, or the like. Alternatively, the electric vehicle 100 may be an object that moves by walking on multiple legs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0145] 1 System 100 Electric mobile objects 110 Information Acquisition Department 120 Battery 130 Communications Department 140 Control section 143 Recording control section 144 Distribution control section 150 Edge Storage 20 Terminals 212, 214 Communication unavailable area 220 Routes 400 Remote Operation System 420 Communications Department 430 Server Storage 440 Control Unit 441 Operational Target Information Acquisition Unit 442 Operation target control section 443 Recording control section 444 Distribution Control Unit 450 Server Storage 50 User terminals

Claims

1. An information processing device, a recording control unit that starts storing distribution information distributed from an electric vehicle in a first storage unit included in the information processing device; a delivery control unit that controls, when a first time period of the delivery information is stored in the first storage unit, to start extraction of the delivery information stored in the first storage unit and delivery to a user terminal at a first speed, or, when storage of the delivery information in the first storage unit is started, at a second speed lower than the first speed; Information processing device.

2. The distribution control unit When the distribution information for the first time period has been accumulated in the first storage unit, control is performed so that extraction of the distribution information accumulated in the first storage unit and distribution to the user terminal are started at the first speed. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The recording control unit interrupting the accumulation of the distribution information in the first storage unit based on the reception of a notification indicating that the electric vehicle is about to arrive at a previously measured non-communicable area; The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. The recording control unit restarting the accumulation of the distribution information in the first storage unit based on the reception of a notification indicating the exit of the electric vehicle from the communication unavailable area; The information processing device according to claim 3 .

5. The distribution control unit When storage of the distribution information in the first storage unit is started, control is performed so that extraction of the distribution information stored in the first storage unit and distribution to the user terminal are started at the second speed. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. The distribution control unit When the distribution information for the first time period has been accumulated in the first storage unit, a speed of extraction of the distribution information accumulated in the first storage unit and a speed of distribution to the user terminal are changed to the first speed. The information processing device according to claim 5 .

7. The distribution control unit changing a speed of extracting the delivery information stored in the first storage unit and a speed of delivering the delivery information to the user terminal to a third speed higher than the first speed, based on receiving a notification from the electric vehicle indicating that the electric vehicle has no plans to reach the communication unavailable area again; The information processing device according to claim 6.

8. The distribution control unit when the distribution information stored in the first storage unit is exhausted, a speed of distribution of the distribution information to the user terminal is changed to the first speed; The information processing device according to claim 7.

9. The distribution control unit When the amount of the distribution information stored in the first storage unit becomes greater than a second time period, a speed of extracting the distribution information stored in the first storage unit and a speed of delivering the distribution information to the user terminal are changed to a third speed higher than the first speed. The information processing device according to claim 6.

10. The distribution control unit When the amount of the distribution information stored in the first storage unit becomes equal to or less than the second time period, a speed of extraction of the distribution information stored in the first storage unit and a speed of distribution to the user terminal are changed to the first speed. The information processing device according to claim 9.

11. A method executed by an information processing device, comprising: Starting accumulation of distribution information distributed from an electric vehicle in a first storage unit included in the information processing device; When the distribution information for a first time period has been accumulated in the first storage unit, control is performed so that extraction of the distribution information accumulated in the first storage unit and distribution to a user terminal are started at a first speed, or when accumulation of the distribution information in the first storage unit is started, at a second speed lower than the first speed; A method comprising:

12. An electric vehicle, A distribution control unit that controls distribution of distribution information; a recording control unit that starts storing the delivery information in a second storage unit included in the electric vehicle based on detection of the electric vehicle being about to arrive at a previously measured communication unavailable area, The distribution control unit and controlling the distribution of the distribution information stored in the second storage unit to be started based on detection of the exit of the electric vehicle from the communication unavailable area. Electric mobile object.

13. the recording control unit determines whether or not the electric vehicle has stayed in the communication unavailable area based on a route of the electric vehicle, and when it is determined that the electric vehicle has stayed in the communication unavailable area, estimates an amount of information of the delivery information for the stay time; the distribution control unit controls the distribution of the distribution information to be started based on the fact that the amount of information is at least equal to or less than the remaining capacity of the second storage unit. The electric vehicle according to claim 12.

14. The distribution control unit Controlling the distribution of the distribution information to an information processing device; and performing control so that distribution of the distribution information is started when the amount of information is equal to or less than the remaining capacity of the second storage unit and when the amount of information is equal to or less than the remaining capacity of a first storage unit of the information processing device. The electric vehicle according to claim 13.

15. the recording control unit calculates the stay time based on an average moving speed of the electric vehicle and a length of the route within the communication unavailable area, and calculates an amount of information of the distribution information for the stay time based on the stay time and a distribution speed of the distribution information. The electric vehicle according to claim 13.

16. the recording control unit generates a route for the electric vehicle based on a current position of the electric vehicle and a destination coordinate of the electric vehicle. The electric vehicle according to claim 13.

17. The recording control unit When it is detected that the strength of the radio wave received by the communication unit is lower than a predetermined strength while the electric vehicle is moving, information indicating that communication is unavailable is associated with the position of the electric vehicle estimated by self-position estimation. The electric vehicle according to claim 12.

18. A method performed by an electrically powered vehicle, comprising: Controlling distribution of broadcast information; starting to store the distribution information in a second storage unit included in the electric vehicle based on detection of the electric vehicle being about to arrive at a previously measured communication unavailable area; Based on detection of the exit of the electric vehicle from the communication unavailable area, control is performed so that distribution of the distribution information stored in the second storage unit is started; A method comprising:

19. A system including an information processing device and an electric vehicle, The information processing device includes: Storing the distribution information distributed from the electric vehicle in a first storage unit included in the information processing device; When a first time period of the distribution information is accumulated in the first storage unit, control is performed so that extraction of the distribution information accumulated in the first storage unit and distribution to a user terminal are started at a first speed, or when accumulation of the distribution information in the first storage unit is started, at a second speed lower than the first speed; The electric vehicle is Controlling the distribution of the distribution information; Based on detection of the electric vehicle being about to reach a previously measured communication unavailable area, a second storage unit of the electric vehicle starts storing the distribution information; and controlling the distribution of the distribution information stored in the second storage unit to be started based on detection of the exit of the electric vehicle from the communication unavailable area. system.

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