Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program for maintaining information related to an inclination of a parking area to park a vehicle.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes: an extraction section for extracting an acceleration to be applied to a vehicle to park in a parking space based on vehicle information generated in the vehicle; a first acquisition section for acquiring an inclination angle of the vehicle to park in the parking space based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction section; a second acquisition section for acquiring information related to the inclination angle by defining the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired by the first acquisition section as the inclination angle of the parking space; and a recording section for recording information related to the inclination angle acquired by the second acquisition section in parking area attribute information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when parking a vehicle in a parking space that can accommodate one vehicle, if the inclination of the parking space to which the vehicle is being guided may cause the door to come into contact with a vehicle parked in an adjacent parking space, the guiding device will guide the vehicle away from the adjacent parking space within the parking space to which the vehicle is being guided (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-137169 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The device described in Patent Document 1 is a type that guides a vehicle when it is attempting to park in a parking space. However, a driver of a vehicle may wish to know information on the slope of a parking lot, i.e., the slope of the entire parking lot or a part of the parking lot including one or more parking spaces, in advance when selecting a parking lot as a destination when moving from a starting point to a destination, rather than being guided when parking in a parking space. As a specific example, the driver may wish to park the vehicle in a parking lot with a smaller slope angle.

[0005] The present disclosure provides an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program that prepare information regarding the slope of a parking lot where a vehicle is parked. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device of one embodiment includes an extraction unit that extracts acceleration applied to a vehicle parked in a parking space based on vehicle information generated by the vehicle, a first acquisition unit that acquires an inclination angle of the vehicle parked in the parking space based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction unit, a second acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the inclination angle, using the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired by the first acquisition unit as the inclination angle of the parking space, and a recording unit that records the information regarding the inclination angle acquired by the second acquisition unit in parking lot attribute information. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program disclosed herein can prepare information regarding the slope of a parking lot where a vehicle is parked. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an information processing device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an information processing device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of acceleration. [Figure 4] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining an example of acquiring a tilt angle. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of calculating a ratio. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining an example of calculating an average tilt angle; [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an information processing method according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An embodiment will be described below.

[0010] [Overview of information processing device 100] First, an overview of an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment.

[0011] The information processing device 100 may be configured as an information preparation device or the like that prepares information about the slope of the parking lot 400 where the vehicle 200 is parked. The information processing device 100 may also be configured as a recording device or the like that records information about the slope of the parking lot 400 as attribute information. The information processing device 100 may also be configured as a guidance device or the like that provides guidance to the driver of the vehicle 200 by using the prepared attribute information about the slope of the parking lot 400. The information processing device 100 is not limited to the device of the example described above, and may constitute various devices or the like. The information processing device 100 may be a computer such as a server, a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, or a smartphone.

[0012] The information processing device 100 acquires vehicle information generated by the vehicle 200. The vehicle information may include acceleration information acquired by an acceleration sensor 210 or the like disposed in the vehicle 200. The vehicle information may include position information acquired by the vehicle 200.

[0013] The information processing device 100 may estimate the parking position of the vehicle 200 using the location information included in the vehicle information, and thereby estimate whether the vehicle 200 is parked in one or more parking spaces 410 arranged in the parking lot 400. Furthermore, the information processing device 100 extracts the acceleration applied to the vehicle 200 parked in the parking space 410 based on the vehicle information (acceleration information). That is, the information processing device 100 extracts the acceleration acquired at the parked vehicle 200 from the vehicle information. The information processing device 100 acquires the inclination angle of the vehicle 200 parked in the parking space 410 based on the extracted acceleration.

[0014] The information processing device 100 generates information on the inclination angle (inclination angle information) by assuming the acquired inclination angle of the vehicle 200 as the inclination angle of the parking space 410. In this case, the information processing device 100 may generate the inclination angle information for the parking lot 400 by acquiring and tallying up the inclination angles of one or more parking spaces 410 in one parking lot 400. The information processing device 100 records the inclination angle information in the parking lot attribute information. The parking lot attribute information may be information accompanying map information related to a road map. That is, the information processing device 100 records the inclination angle information in the attribute information (parking lot attribute information) about the parking lot 400 recorded on the road map. The information processing device 100 may use the map information to provide route guidance (for example, parking lot guidance) when the vehicle 200 travels.

[0015] [Details of the information processing device 100] Next, the information processing device 100 according to an embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the information processing device 100 according to an embodiment.

[0016] The information processing device 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 121, a storage unit 122, a display unit 123, and a control unit 110. The communication unit 121, the storage unit 122, and the display unit 123 may be an embodiment of an output unit. The control unit 110 includes, for example, an extraction unit 111, a first acquisition unit 112, a second acquisition unit 113, a recording unit 114, a setting unit 115, and a guidance unit 116. The control unit 110 may be configured, for example, by an arithmetic processing device of the information processing device 100. The control unit 110 (for example, an arithmetic processing device) may realize the functions of each unit (for example, the extraction unit 111, the first acquisition unit 112, the second acquisition unit 113, the recording unit 114, the setting unit 115, and the guidance unit 116) by, for example, appropriately reading and executing various programs stored in the storage unit 122.

[0017] The communication unit 121 is, for example, a communication interface capable of transmitting and receiving various information to and from a device (external device) outside the information processing device 100. The external device may be, for example, a server 300, a vehicle 200, a user terminal (not shown), and the like.

[0018] The storage unit 122 may store, for example, various information and programs. Examples of the storage unit 122 may be a memory, a solid state drive, a hard disk drive, etc. Note that the storage unit 122 may be, for example, a storage area and a server on a cloud.

[0019] The display unit 123 is, for example, a display capable of displaying various characters, symbols, images, and the like.

[0020] The extraction unit 111 extracts the acceleration applied to the vehicle 200 parked in the parking space 410 based on the vehicle information generated by the vehicle 200. The extraction unit 111 may acquire the vehicle information from an external device, for example, via the communication unit 121. The external device may be, for example, the server 300 and the vehicle 200. Alternatively, when an external memory in which the vehicle information is stored is connected to an interface of the information processing device 100, the extraction unit 111 may acquire the vehicle information from the external memory. The vehicle information may include acceleration information acquired by an acceleration sensor 210 or the like disposed in the vehicle 200. The vehicle information may also record location information acquired by the vehicle 200. The control unit 110 is able to identify the location of the parking space 410 in which the vehicle 200 is parked, based on the location information included in the vehicle information.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of acceleration. 3, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates acceleration. The vertical axis takes a positive value when acceleration is applied to one side (e.g., the right side) in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 200, and takes a negative value when acceleration is applied to the other side (e.g., the left side).

[0022] An acceleration as shown in Fig. 3 is applied in the vehicle width direction (e.g., Y-axis direction) of parked vehicle 200. When vehicle 200 is parked in a sloping parking space 410, the acceleration is affected by the inclination of the parking space. As an example, when a force is applied to the right side of vehicle 200, the acceleration takes a positive value, and when a force is applied to the left side of vehicle 200, the acceleration takes a negative value. The extraction unit 111 extracts such acceleration.

[0023] One parking lot 400 has, for example, one or more parking spaces 410. The parking space 410 is, for example, a section for parking one vehicle 200. The vehicle 200 generates acceleration information by measuring acceleration while parked, running, stopped, etc., using an acceleration sensor 210 mounted on the vehicle. The vehicle 200 may include the acceleration information in the vehicle information. The vehicle information may be, for example, CAN information, probe information, etc., and may be a record of various information collected by the vehicle 200. The vehicle 200 transmits the vehicle information to the information processing device 100, the server 300, etc.

[0024] Here, the acceleration (for example, the acceleration in the width direction of the vehicle 200) recorded in the vehicle information (for example, the CAN information) is affected by gravity, and therefore can represent the inclination in the width direction of the vehicle. The same is true for the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 200. The first acquisition unit 112 extracts acceleration information from the vehicle information generated by the parked vehicle 200, performs statistical processing on the acceleration at the same time (for example, the acceleration in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 200, etc.), and estimates the angle in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle 200 (parking lot 400 (parking space 410)). If the angle satisfies a predetermined condition (for example, a certain amount or more), the parking lot 400 (parking space 410) is determined to be inclined in the vehicle width direction, and the recording unit 114, which will be described later, registers it in the parking lot attribute information. The guidance unit 116, which will be described later, issues a warning when the vehicle 200 providing route guidance, etc. is parked in the parking lot 400 (parking space 410) and when the door of the vehicle 200 is opened or closed (e.g. immediately after parking), thereby preventing the occurrence of property damage accidents, for example.

[0025] Specifically, the first acquisition unit 112 acquires the inclination angle of the vehicle 200 parked in the parking space 410, based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction unit 111. That is, the first acquisition unit 112 obtains the angle (inclination angle) between a vehicle plane including the front-rear direction (e.g., X-axis direction) of the vehicle 200 and the vehicle width direction (e.g., Y-axis direction) of the vehicle 200, and a horizontal plane (horizontal plane).

[0026] Note that the first acquisition unit 112 acquires the inclination angle of the vehicle 200, but since the vehicle 200 is parked in the parking space 410, acquiring the inclination angle of the vehicle 200 may be rephrased as acquiring the inclination angle of the ground surface of the parking space 410. That is, the first acquisition unit 112 obtains the angle (inclination angle) between the ground surface of the parking space 410 in which the vehicle 200 is parked and a horizontal surface (horizontal plane) based on the acceleration. The angle (inclination angle) in this case is the gradient of the parking space 410.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of acquiring the tilt angle.

[0028] 4, when the vehicle 200 is parked on a ground surface 510 (parking space 410) that is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction (horizontal plane 500), an acceleration A in the inclination direction and a gravitational acceleration g are applied to the vehicle 200. In this case, the acceleration A is expressed by the following formula (1), where the angle (inclination angle) is θ.

[0029]

number

[0030] Solving the angle (tilt angle) θ in equation (1) gives the following equation (2).

[0031]

number

[0032] As a specific example, the acceleration A is 3.0 m / s 2 In this case, the inclination angle (formed angle) θ is calculated as 17.8° using the following formula (3).

[0033]

number

[0034] Note that the first acquisition unit 112 may, for example, consider the acceleration to be a combination of an x-component, a y-component, and a z-component of the front-rear direction (e.g., X-axis direction), the width direction (e.g., Y-axis direction), and the height direction (e.g., Z-axis direction) of the vehicle 200, and may acquire an angle (tilt angle) in the width direction (e.g., Y-axis direction) of the vehicle 200 in the same manner as in the above-mentioned example. Similarly, the first acquisition unit 112 may acquire an angle (tilt angle) in the front-rear direction (e.g., X-axis direction) of the vehicle 200, for example.

[0035] Here, when acceleration information and position information are recorded in the vehicle information, the control unit 110 such as the first acquisition unit 112 can estimate the parking space 410 in which the vehicle 200 is parked by matching the position information with map information related to a road map (performing map matching). Based on the acceleration information of the vehicle 200 parked in the parking space 410 estimated in this manner, the first acquisition unit 112 is able to determine the angle (inclination angle) between the ground surface 510 of the parking space 410 and the horizontal plane 500, i.e., the gradient of the parking space 410.

[0036] When there are multiple parking spaces 410 in one parking lot 400, the first acquisition unit 112 is capable of calculating the angle (inclination angle) between the ground surface 510 and the horizontal plane 500 of each of the multiple parking spaces 410, i.e., the gradient of each parking space 410, based on vehicle information generated by the vehicle 200 parked in each parking space 410.

[0037] The second acquisition unit 113 may be configured as one function (acquisition unit) by being combined with the first acquisition unit 112, or may be configured as a function different from that of the first acquisition unit 112. The second acquisition unit 113 regards the tilt angle acquired by the first acquisition unit 112 as information relating to the tilt angle (tilt angle information). When the first acquisition unit 112 obtains the inclination angle of the vehicle 200 as the angle (inclination angle) between the vehicle plane and the horizontal plane, the second acquisition unit 113 may generate inclination angle information by restating the inclination angle of the vehicle 200 as the inclination angle of the parking space 410 in which the vehicle 200 is parked. That is, the second acquisition unit 113 obtains information on the inclination angle (inclination angle information) by assuming the inclination angle of the vehicle 200 obtained by the first acquisition unit 112 as the inclination angle of the parking space 410.

[0038] The second acquisition unit 113 acquires the ratio of parking spaces 410 having an inclination equal to or greater than a threshold, the average inclination angle, etc., as information on the entire parking lot 400. In this case, the second acquisition unit 113 may exclude the inclination of the passage 420 (see FIG. 1 ) for the vehicle 200 in the parking lot 400 by acquiring the inclination angle calculated using the acceleration when the traveling speed of the vehicle 200 becomes 0 km / s from the vehicle information. In addition, when the first acquisition unit 112 has not acquired all the inclination angles of the multiple parking spaces 410 in one parking lot 400, the second acquisition unit 113 may estimate the inclination angle of the parking space 410 (410a) for which the inclination angle has not been acquired based on the inclination angle of another parking space 410 (410b) (see FIG. 1) adjacent to the parking space 410 (410a) for which the inclination angle has not been acquired (for example, another parking space 410b on both sides or one side). In this case, the second acquisition unit 113 may, for example, adopt the larger inclination angle of each of the other parking spaces 410 (410b) on both sides, and set the adopted inclination angle as the inclination angle of the parking space 410 (410a). In addition, the second acquisition unit 113 may determine whether the vehicle 200 has been parked facing forward into the parking space 410 or whether the vehicle 200 has been parked facing backward into the parking space 410 based on information on the direction of travel of the vehicle 200 immediately before parking in the parking space 410, which is recorded in the vehicle information, and align the positive and negative directions of the vehicle 200 in the vehicle width direction (e.g., the Y-axis direction), i.e., the direction of the slope of the parking space 410.

[0039] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of calculating the ratio. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of calculating the average tilt angle.

[0040] Specifically, the second acquisition unit 113 may acquire, as information on the inclination angle (tilt angle information), at least one calculation result selected from the group of (1) and (2) below, that is, at least one calculation result of the ratio calculated in (1) below and the average inclination angle calculated in (2) below. That is, the second acquisition unit 113 may include at least one of the results calculated in (1) and (2) below in the inclination angle information. (1) The inclination angles of one or more parking spaces 410 in the parking lot 400 are collected, and the ratio of parking spaces 410 with an inclination angle equal to or greater than a preset reference inclination angle is determined. (2) An average slope angle calculated based on the slope angles of the parking spaces 410 in the parking lot 400

[0041] In the above (1), as illustrated in Fig. 5, the second acquisition unit 113 acquires (ST12) the inclination angle of each of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces, etc.) arranged in one parking lot 400 (ST11). The second acquisition unit 113 compares (ST13) the inclination angle of each parking space 410 with a reference inclination angle (threshold) and calculates the ratio of the number of parking spaces 410 having an inclination angle equal to or greater than the reference inclination angle (threshold) to the number of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces, etc.) arranged in the parking lot 400 (ST14).

[0042] In the above (2), as exemplified in FIG. 6, the second acquisition unit 113 acquires the inclination angle of each of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces) arranged in one parking lot 400 (ST21) (ST22). The second acquisition unit 113 calculates the average value of the inclination angles (average inclination angle) based on the acquired inclination angles (ST23). In this case, the second acquisition unit 113 may calculate the arithmetic mean, geometric mean, or harmonic mean as the average. The second acquisition unit 113 may also calculate the median as the average.

[0043] In addition, the second acquisition unit 113 may identify the inclination angle of each parking space 410 by using the vehicle information (location information) used when acquiring the inclination angle information, and may include at least one content selected from the group of (1), (2), and the inclination angle of each parking space 410 in the inclination angle information. In addition, when the first acquisition unit 112 acquires the angle (tilt angle) of the vehicle 200 in the vehicle width direction (e.g., the Y-axis direction), i.e., the angle (tilt angle) of the parking space 410 in the vehicle width direction (e.g., the Y-axis direction), the second acquisition unit 113 may include the tilt angle in the vehicle width direction (e.g., the Y-axis direction) in the tilt angle information. Similarly, when the first acquisition unit 112 acquires the angle (tilt angle) of the vehicle 200 in the fore-and-aft direction (e.g., the X-axis direction), i.e., the angle (tilt angle) of the parking space 410 in the fore-and-aft direction (e.g., the X-axis direction), the second acquisition unit 113 may include the tilt angle in the fore-and-aft direction (e.g., the X-axis direction) in the tilt angle information.

[0044] The recording unit 114 records the information related to the inclination angle (inclination angle information) acquired by the second acquisition unit 113 in the parking lot attribute information. The parking lot attribute information is information that accompanies the road map (recorded in the map information). That is, the parking lot 400 is recorded in the road map (map information), and various information (parking lot attribute information) is recorded for the parking lot 400. The recording unit 114 records, for example, the inclination angle information acquired as described above in the parking lot attribute information corresponding to the underlying parking lot 400 (the parking lot for which the inclination angle information is generated). As a result, the inclination angle information for each of the multiple parking lots 400 is recorded in the road map (map information).

[0045] The map information (parking lot attribute information) may be stored in the storage unit 122 or in a server 300 external to the information processing device 100. Therefore, the recording unit 114 may control the communication unit 121 to record the inclination angle information in the map information (parking lot attribute information) stored in the server 300. Furthermore, the recording unit 114 may control the storage unit 122 to record the inclination angle information in the map information (parking lot attribute information).

[0046] The recording unit 114 may control the display unit 123 to display an inclination angle based on the inclination angle information, or may control the display unit 123 to display a road map based on the parking lot attribute information (map information) in which the inclination angle information is recorded.

[0047] The setting unit 115 and the guidance unit 116 described later are used, for example, when performing parking lot search and route guidance by utilizing the parking lot attribute information (map information) prepared as described above.

[0048] Therefore, the setting unit 115 and the guidance unit 116 may be configured as functions of one control unit 110 together with the above-mentioned extraction unit 111, first acquisition unit 112, second acquisition unit 113, and recording unit 114. In this case, the information processing device 100 can provide various services (for example, parking lot search and route guidance, etc.) to an external device (not shown) connected via the communication unit 121 by using the prepared parking lot attribute information (map information). In this case, the external device may be, for example, a user terminal used by a user, and a route guidance device (navigation device) mounted on the vehicle 200. The user terminal may be, for example, a mobile terminal that can be moved, such as a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, or a stationary terminal such as a desktop.

[0049] Alternatively, the setting unit 115 and the guidance unit 116 may be configured as functions of another control unit (another arithmetic processing device, etc.) (not shown) different from the control unit 110 including the above-mentioned extraction unit 111, first acquisition unit 112, second acquisition unit 113, and recording unit 114. That is, the other control unit (another arithmetic processing device, etc.) may realize the functions of each unit (for example, the setting unit 115 and the guidance unit 116, etc.) by appropriately reading and executing various programs, etc. stored in the memory. The other control unit may be mounted on a user terminal, a route guidance device (navigation device) (not shown), etc. In this case, the user terminal and the route guidance device (navigation device) mounted with the other control unit may be included in the concept of the "information processing device" of the present disclosure.

[0050] The setting unit 115 sets a relatively lower priority for parking lots 400 with a relatively high ratio of inclined parking spaces 410 and parking lots 400 with a relatively large average inclination angle. The priority is used by the guidance unit 116, which will be described later, when performing parking lot searches, destination searches, and the like.

[0051] Specifically, based on information regarding the inclination angle (inclination angle information), the setting unit 115 sets at least one of a priority based on the proportion of parking spaces 410 with an inclination angle equal to or greater than a reference inclination angle that are allocated in the parking lot 400, and a priority based on the average inclination angle. In other words, when at least one selected from the groups (1) and (2) below is recorded in the parking lot attribute information (inclination angle information) recorded by the recording unit 114, the setting unit 115 sets a priority for the parking lot 400 according to the recorded contents of (1) and (2). (1) The inclination angles of one or more parking spaces 410 in the parking lot 400 are collected, and the percentage of parking spaces 410 with an inclination angle equal to or greater than a preset reference inclination angle is determined (see FIG. 5). (2) An average inclination angle calculated based on the inclination angles of the parking spaces 410 in the parking lot 400 (see FIG. 6 ).

[0052] For example, when the ratio of (1) above is relatively high, that is, when the number of parking spaces 410 in one parking lot 400 having an inclination angle equal to or greater than the reference inclination angle (threshold) is relatively large compared to the number of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces, etc.) arranged in that parking lot 400, the setting unit 115 may set the priority of the parking lot 400 relatively low. In addition, the setting unit 115 may set the priority of the parking lot 400 relatively high, for example, when the ratio of (1) above is relatively low, that is, when the number of parking spaces 410 in one parking lot 400 that have an inclination angle equal to or greater than the reference inclination angle (threshold) is relatively small compared to the number of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces, etc.) arranged in that parking lot 400. In other words, the setting unit 115 sets a relatively high priority to parking lots 400 in which the ratio of the above (1) is relatively low, compared to parking lots 400 in which the ratio of the above (1) is relatively high.

[0053] For example, if the average inclination angle of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces, etc.) in one parking lot 400 (2) above) is relatively large, the setting unit 115 may set the priority of that parking lot 400 to be relatively low. In addition, for example, if the average inclination angle of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces, etc.) in one parking lot 400 (2) above) is relatively small, the setting unit 115 may set the priority of that parking lot 400 to be relatively high. In other words, the setting unit 115 sets a relatively high priority to a parking lot 400 having a relatively small average inclination angle of (2) above, compared to a parking lot 400 having a relatively high average inclination angle of (2) above.

[0054] The guidance unit 116 is capable of performing, for example, a parking lot search and a destination search when traveling from a departure point to a destination. When searching for parking lots 400, the guidance unit 116 preferentially guides the parking lots 400 whose priority is set higher by the setting unit 115. In this case, the parking lot search may include a destination search. As an example, when performing a destination search for moving from a departure point to a destination by the vehicle 200, the guidance unit 116 searches for the parking lot 400 that is the destination. The guidance unit 116 may guide the parking lots 400 by displaying a list of multiple parking lots 400 whose priority is set higher. In this case, the guidance unit 116 may guide the user to a predetermined number of parking lots 400 in the vicinity of the destination in order of the parking lot 400 whose priority is the highest. The guidance unit 116 may preferentially guide the user to the parking lot 400 by displaying the searched parking lot 400 (the parking lot whose priority is set higher) on the display unit 123, a display unit (guidance display unit) (not shown) arranged in the route guidance device, a display unit (terminal display unit) arranged in the user terminal, or the like.

[0055] Furthermore, the guidance unit 116 may issue a warning when the vehicle 200 enters (for example, before and after entry), and may guide the vehicle 200 within the parking lot 400, or the like.

[0056] That is, when providing route guidance with the parking lot 400 as the destination, the guidance unit 116 may output guidance (attention) related to the fact that the parking space 410 is inclined, based on information on the inclination angle (inclination angle information), from the time when the vehicle 200 enters the parking lot 400 until the vehicle 200 is parked in the parking space 410. For example, when providing route guidance to a parking lot 400 whose priority is set relatively low by the setting unit 115 using map information in which the parking lot attribute information (inclination angle information) is recorded, the guidance unit 116 may provide at least one of the following: that the parking space 410 is inclined, and that caution should be exercised when opening and closing the door. The guidance unit 116 can identify the location of the parking lot 400 with the parking lot attribute information (inclination angle information) based on the position information acquired by the vehicle 200 in real time and the map information, and can provide a notice when entering the parking lot 400.

[0057] In this case, when the setting unit 115 sets the priority of the parking space 400 according to the inclination angle of the parking space 410 in the vehicle width direction (e.g., the Y-axis direction) as in variant example 3 described below, when providing route guidance to a parking space 400 with a low priority, the guidance unit 116 may provide at least one of the following guidance: that the parking space 410 has a lateral inclination, and that care should be taken when opening and closing the door.

[0058] In addition, if the guidance unit 116 determines, for example, based on past vehicle information, that the parking lot 400 for which route guidance is currently being provided has been used multiple times, if the vehicle 200 has only the driver in it, and if the doors of the vehicle 200 are locked, the guidance unit 116 may provide the above-mentioned guidance (warning), or may not provide guidance (warning).

[0059] When providing route guidance with parking lot 400 as the destination, guidance unit 116 may provide guidance to a parking space 410 with a smaller inclination angle based on information on the inclination angle (inclination angle information). That is, when providing route guidance (guidance to parking lot 400) using map information in which parking lot attribute information (inclination angle information) is recorded, guidance may be provided to park vehicle 200 in a parking space 410 with a smaller inclination angle out of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces, etc.) in parking lot 400 to be guided, based on the inclination angle of each parking space 410 in parking lot 400 recorded in the parking lot attribute information. Alternatively, when information on the planar size of each parking space 410 is recorded in the parking lot attribute information, the guidance unit 116 may provide guidance to park the vehicle 200 in a parking space 410 having a larger planar size (or a planar size equal to or larger than a threshold value) even if the inclination angle of the parking space 410 is relatively large.

[0060] The guidance unit 116 may provide the above-mentioned guidance and attention by displaying characters, symbols, images, etc., or by outputting sounds, voices, etc. from a speaker (not shown).

[0061] [Information processing method] Next, an information processing method according to an embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an information processing method according to an embodiment.

[0062] First, a process for preparing information (parking lot attribute information) about the inclination angle of the parking lot 400 (parking space 410) will be described.

[0063] In step ST101, the extraction unit 111 extracts the acceleration applied to the vehicle 200 parked in the parking space 410, based on the vehicle information generated by the vehicle 200.

[0064] In step ST102, the first acquisition unit 112 acquires the tilt angle of the vehicle 200 parked in the parking space 410, based on the acceleration extracted in step ST101.

[0065] In step ST103, the second acquisition unit 113 acquires inclination angle information by assuming the inclination angle of the vehicle 200 acquired in step ST102 as the inclination angle of the parking space 410. In this case, the second acquisition unit 113 may acquire, as information to be recorded in the tilt angle information, at least one of the calculation results of the average tilt angle calculated in the following (1) and (2). (1) The inclination angles of one or more parking spaces 410 in the parking lot 400 are collected, and the percentage of parking spaces 410 with an inclination angle equal to or greater than a preset reference inclination angle is determined (see FIG. 5). (2) An average inclination angle calculated based on the inclination angles of the parking spaces 410 in the parking lot 400 (see FIG. 6 ).

[0066] In step ST104, the recording unit 114 records the inclination angle information acquired in step ST104 in the parking lot attribute information.

[0067] Next, a process of providing various kinds of guidance to a user using the parking lot attribute information prepared by the above-mentioned processes of steps ST101 to ST104 will be described. Note that the processes of steps ST105 to ST106 described later do not have to be performed consecutively after the processes of steps ST101 to ST104 described above, or may be performed consecutively.

[0068] In step ST105, the setting unit 115 sets, based on the inclination angle information of step ST104, at least one of a priority based on the proportion of parking spaces 410 with an inclination angle equal to or greater than the reference inclination angle that are allocated to the parking lot 400, and a priority based on the average inclination angle.

[0069] In step ST106, when searching for parking lots 400, the guidance unit 116 gives priority to the guidance of parking lots 400 that have been set to have higher priorities in step ST105. When providing route guidance with parking lot 400 as the destination, guidance unit 116 may output guidance (warning) related to the fact that parking space 410 has a slope, between the time when vehicle 200 enters parking lot 400 and the time when vehicle 200 is parked in parking space 410, based on the slope angle information of step ST104. When providing route guidance to the parking lot 400 as the destination, the guidance unit 116 may provide guidance to a parking space 410 with a smaller inclination angle based on the inclination angle information in step ST104.

[0070] [Variations] The above-mentioned setting unit 115 may perform the following process, for example.

[0071] That is, the setting unit 115 may set the priority according to the preference of a user (e.g., a driver of the vehicle 200, etc.). As an example, some users may wish to park the vehicle 200 in a parking space 410 with a small inclination angle. As another example, some users may wish to park the vehicle 200 in a parking space 410 that is located closer to a facility adjacent to the parking space 410, regardless of the inclination angle of the parking space 410. The setting unit 115 may set the priority of the parking lot 400 according to such individual user's wishes (preferences). In this case, the setting unit 115 may perform processing such as the following modified example 1 (modified examples 1-1 and 1-2) and modified example 2.

[0072] As mentioned above, (1) and (2) used in the following modified examples 1 and 2 will be described again. (1) The inclination angles of one or more parking spaces 410 in the parking lot 400 are collected, and the percentage of parking spaces 410 with an inclination angle equal to or greater than a preset reference inclination angle is determined (see FIG. 5). (2) An average inclination angle calculated based on the inclination angles of the parking spaces 410 in the parking lot 400 (see FIG. 6 ).

[0073] (Variation 1) As an example, the setting unit 115 may acquire an individual parking situation (individual user parking situation) of a vehicle user (the same user) according to the inclination angle of the parking space 410 based on past vehicle information and map information in which parking lot attribute information is recorded, and set a priority according to the individual user parking situation and at least one of the contents of (1) and (2) above.

[0074] (Variation 1-1) That is, the setting unit 115 may aggregate the inclination angles of parking spaces 410 in which the same user has previously parked the vehicle 200 based on vehicle information (e.g., location information, etc.) and map information in which parking lot attribute information is recorded, and set the priority using the above (2) based on the average inclination angle (average inclination angle for individual users) (individual user parking situation) obtained by averaging the aggregated inclination angles. In this case, the setting unit 115 may set a relatively high priority for the parking lots 400 having the average inclination angle (2) smaller than the individual user average inclination angle, for example. Furthermore, the setting unit 115 may set a relatively low priority for parking lots 400 having the above average inclination angle (2) that is greater than the individual user average inclination angle, for example.

[0075] (Variation 1-2) In addition, the setting unit 115 may aggregate the inclination angles of parking spaces 410 in which the same user has previously parked the vehicle 200 based on vehicle information (e.g., location information, etc.) and map information in which parking lot attribute information is recorded, and may set a priority by correcting the ratio of (1) above (weighting the ratio) based on an average inclination angle (average inclination angle for individual users) (individual user parking situation) obtained by averaging the aggregated inclination angles. In this case, for example, when the average inclination angle for an individual user is larger than the reference inclination angle (1) above, the setting unit 115 may make a correction so that the ratio of (1) above becomes smaller according to the difference between the reference inclination angle and the average inclination angle for the individual user, and set the priority of the parking lot 400 to be relatively high. In addition, for example, when the average inclination angle for an individual user is smaller than the reference inclination angle (1) above, a correction may be made to increase the ratio of (1) above according to the difference between the reference inclination angle and the average inclination angle for an individual user, and the priority of parking lot 400 may be set relatively low.

[0076] (Variation 2) In addition, the setting unit 115 may acquire an individual parking situation (individual user parking situation) of a vehicle user (the same user) according to the inclination angle of the parking space 410 and the distance between the parking space 410 and the facility based on past vehicle information and map information in which parking lot attribute information is recorded, and set a priority according to the individual parking situation and at least one of the contents of (1) and (2) above.

[0077] That is, based on vehicle information (e.g., location information, etc.) and map information in which parking lot attribute information is recorded, the setting unit 115 aggregates the inclination angle of parking space 410 in which the same user has previously parked vehicle 200 and the distance between parking space 410 in which vehicle 200 has been parked and the facility (the entrance to the facility), and regardless of the inclination angle of parking space 410 (even if the inclination angle of parking space 410 is relatively large), if the distance between parking space 410 in which vehicle 200 has been parked and the facility (the entrance to the facility) is relatively short (e.g., the distance is less than a threshold value, etc.) (acquisition of individual user parking status), the setting unit 115 may use the above (1) and (2) to set the priority of parking lot 400 as in at least one of the following (A) and (B).

[0078] (A) For example, even when the ratio of the above (1) is relatively high (first high case), the setting unit 115 may set the priority of the parking lot 400 relatively low compared to when the ratio is relatively higher (second high case) (first high case<second high case). In this case, the setting unit 115 may set the priority for the first high case to be approximately the same as the priority for when the ratio of the above (1) is relatively low.

[0079] (B) For example, even when the average inclination angle of (2) above is relatively large (first large case), the setting unit 115 may set the priority of the parking lot 400 relatively low compared to when the average inclination angle is relatively larger (second large case) (first large case<second large case). In this case, the setting unit 115 may set the priority for the first large case to be approximately the same as the priority for the above (2) when the average inclination angle is relatively small.

[0080] (Variation 3) Furthermore, the setting unit 115 may perform, for example, a process as in Modification 3. In this case, the setting unit 115 can set the level of priority in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

[0081] That is, the setting unit 115 may set the priority according to the inclination angle of the parking space 410 in the vehicle width direction (for example, the Y-axis direction) included in the parking lot attribute information (inclination angle information). As an example, the setting unit 115 may set the priority of a parking lot 400 depending on the average inclination angle calculated based on the inclination angle in the Y-axis direction of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces) in one parking lot 400. As another example, the setting unit 115 may set the priority of a parking lot 400 based on the proportion of the number of parking spaces 410 in the parking lot 400 that have an inclination angle (inclination angle in the Y-axis direction) that is equal to or greater than a reference inclination angle (threshold value) in the Y-axis direction to the number of one or more parking spaces 410 (e.g., all parking spaces, etc.) arranged in the parking lot 400.

[0082] [Functions and circuits] Next, the functions and circuits of the above-mentioned information processing device 100 will be described. Each unit of the information processing device 100 may be realized as a function of a computer's arithmetic processing device or the like. That is, the extraction unit 111, the first acquisition unit 112, the second acquisition unit 113, the recording unit 114, the setting unit 115, and the guidance unit 116 (control unit 110) of the information processing device 100 may be realized as an extraction function, a first acquisition function, a second acquisition function, a recording function, a setting function, and a guidance function (control function) by the computer's arithmetic processing device or the like, respectively. The information processing program can cause a computer to realize each of the above-mentioned functions. The information processing program may be recorded in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a memory, a solid-state drive, a hard disk drive, or an optical disk. The storage medium may be rephrased as a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores the information processing program. As described above, each unit of the information processing device 100 may be realized by an arithmetic processing device of a computer or the like. The arithmetic processing device or the like is constituted by, for example, an integrated circuit or the like. Therefore, each unit of the information processing device 100 may be realized as a circuit constituting the arithmetic processing device or the like. That is, the extraction unit 111, the first acquisition unit 112, the second acquisition unit 113, the recording unit 114, the setting unit 115, and the guidance unit 116 (control unit 110) of the information processing device 100 may be realized as an extraction circuit, a first acquisition circuit, a second acquisition circuit, a recording circuit, a setting circuit, and a guidance circuit (control circuit) constituting the arithmetic processing device of a computer or the like. The communication unit 121, the storage unit 122, and the display unit 123 (output unit) of the information processing device 100 may be realized as a communication function, a storage function, and a display function (output function) including the functions of an arithmetic processing device, etc. The communication unit 121, the storage unit 122, and the display unit 123 (output unit) of the information processing device 100 may be realized as a communication circuit, a storage circuit, and a display circuit (output circuit) by being configured, for example, by an integrated circuit, etc. The communication unit 121, the storage unit 122, and the display unit 123 (output unit) of the information processing device 100 may be realized as a communication device, a storage device, and a display device (output device) by being configured, for example, by being configured by a plurality of devices.

[0083] The information processing device 100 can combine one or any two or more of the above-mentioned units. In this disclosure, the term "information" is used, but the term "information" can be replaced with "data" and the term "data" can be replaced with "information."

[0084] [Aspects and Effects of the Present Embodiment] Next, one aspect of this embodiment and the effects of each aspect will be described. Note that each aspect described below is an example at the time of filing, and this embodiment is not limited to the aspects described below. In other words, this embodiment is not limited to each aspect described below, and may be realized by appropriately combining each of the above-mentioned parts. In addition, a lower aspect may be able to cite any of the higher aspects. The effects described below are merely examples, and the effects of each aspect are not limited to those described below. Each aspect may, for example, have at least one of the effects described below.

[0085] (Aspect 1) An information processing device of one embodiment includes an extraction unit that extracts acceleration applied to a vehicle parked in a parking space based on vehicle information generated by the vehicle, a first acquisition unit that acquires an inclination angle of the vehicle parked in the parking space based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction unit, a second acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the inclination angle, using the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired by the first acquisition unit as the inclination angle of the parking space, and a recording unit that records the information regarding the inclination angle acquired by the second acquisition unit in parking lot attribute information.

[0086] The above-mentioned one aspect also includes an information processing device that includes an extraction unit that extracts acceleration applied to a vehicle parked in a parking space based on vehicle information generated by the vehicle, an acquisition unit (e.g., the first acquisition unit and second acquisition unit described above) that acquires the inclination angle of the vehicle parked in the parking space (i.e., the inclination angle of the parking space in which the vehicle is parked) based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction unit and generates information related to the inclination angle, and a recording unit that records the information related to the inclination angle acquired by the acquisition unit in the parking lot attribute information.

[0087] This enables the information processing device to prepare information regarding the inclination of a parking lot (parking space) in which a vehicle is parked.

[0088] In addition, generally, when a vehicle is parked in a parking space with a slope (sloping ground), the ease of opening and closing the door of the vehicle due to its own weight is different from that when the vehicle is parked in a parking space with a less steep slope. For this reason, when opening and closing the door of a vehicle parked on a slope, there is a risk that the door may come into contact with another vehicle parked in an adjacent parking space. As an example, in parking lots in hilly areas and tourist spots, the entire lot may be sloped or the slope of the lot may not be uniform. On the other hand, as an example, in parking lots in hilly areas and tourist spots, the ground may be leveled so that only the parking spaces have a gentle slope. For this reason, there has been a demand for making it easier for vehicle users (e.g., the driver and passengers) to find a safe parking space. Therefore, the information processing device of this embodiment records information (inclination angle information) about the inclination of the parking lot (parking space) in the parking lot attribute information, making it possible to inform the vehicle user of the information about the inclination of the parking lot (parking space), making it easier for the user to find a safe parking space. In addition, the information processing device can also alert the vehicle user when opening and closing the vehicle door.

[0089] (Aspect 2) In one embodiment of the information processing device, the second acquisition unit may collect the inclination angles of one or more parking spaces in the parking lot as information regarding the inclination angles, and acquire at least one of the calculation results of the ratio of parking spaces in the parking lot that have an inclination angle equal to or greater than a predetermined reference inclination angle, and an average inclination angle calculated based on the inclination angles of the parking spaces in the parking lot. This allows the information processing device to prepare information about parking lots (parking spaces) that vehicle users find difficult to park in and parking lots (parking spaces) that vehicle users find difficult to get in and out of. In other words, the information processing device can prepare information about parking lots (parking spaces) that vehicle users find easy to park in and parking lots (parking spaces) that vehicle users find easy to get in and out of.

[0090] (Aspect 3) An information processing device according to one embodiment may include a setting unit that sets at least one of a priority according to the proportion of parking spaces with an inclination angle equal to or greater than a reference inclination angle that are located in a parking lot, and a priority according to an average inclination angle, based on information regarding the inclination angle, and a guidance unit that, when searching for parking lots, preferentially guides users to parking lots that have been set with a higher priority by the setting unit. This enables the information processing device to preferentially provide information on parking lots (parking spaces) where the vehicle user finds it easy to park and parking lots (parking spaces) where the vehicle user finds it easy to get in and out of the vehicle, for example.

[0091] (Aspect 4) In one embodiment of an information processing device, when providing guidance on a route to a parking lot as a destination, the guidance unit may output guidance related to the fact that the parking space has a slope between the time the vehicle enters the parking lot and the time the vehicle is parked in the parking space, based on information regarding the slope angle. As a result, the information processing device can issue warnings when parking the vehicle and when opening and closing the doors, for example, in parking lots (parking spaces) that the vehicle user finds difficult to park in, and in parking lots (parking spaces) that the vehicle user finds difficult to get in and out of.

[0092] (Aspect 5) In one aspect of the information processing device, when providing route guidance to a parking lot as a destination, the guidance unit may provide guidance to a parking space with a smaller inclination angle based on the information on the inclination angle. In addition, the information processing device can provide information on parking spaces that are easy for the vehicle user to park in and parking spaces that the vehicle user finds easy to get in and out of.

[0093] (Aspect 6) In one aspect of the information processing method, a computer executes an extraction step of extracting acceleration applied to a vehicle parked in a parking space based on vehicle information generated by the vehicle, a first acquisition step of acquiring an inclination angle of the vehicle parked in the parking space based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction step, a second acquisition step of acquiring information regarding the inclination angle, using the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired by the first acquisition step as the inclination angle of the parking space, and a recording step of recording the information regarding the inclination angle acquired by the second acquisition step in parking lot attribute information. As a result, the information processing method can achieve the same effects as the information processing device according to the above-described aspect.

[0094] (Aspect 7) An information processing program according to one embodiment causes a computer to realize an extraction function that extracts acceleration applied to a vehicle parked in a parking space based on vehicle information generated by the vehicle, a first acquisition function that acquires an inclination angle of the vehicle parked in the parking space based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction function, a second acquisition function that acquires information regarding the inclination angle by using the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired by the first acquisition function as the inclination angle of the parking space, and a recording function that records the information regarding the inclination angle acquired by the second acquisition function in parking lot attribute information. As a result, the information processing program can achieve the same effects as the information processing device according to the above-described aspect. [Explanation of symbols]

[0095] 100 Information processing device 110 Control section 111 Extraction part 112 First acquisition part 113 Second Acquisition Department 114 Recording Section 115 Setting section 116 Information Department 121 Communications Department 122 Storage section 123 Display section 200 vehicles 210 Acceleration Sensor 300 Servers 400 Parking 410 Parking Space

Claims

1. an extraction unit that extracts an acceleration applied to a vehicle parked in a parking space based on vehicle information generated by the vehicle; a first acquisition unit that acquires an inclination angle of the vehicle parked in the parking space based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction unit; a second acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the inclination angle by using the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired by the first acquisition unit as the inclination angle of the parking space; A recording unit that records information regarding the inclination angle acquired by the second acquisition unit in parking lot attribute information; An information processing device comprising:

2. The second acquisition unit collects, as information regarding the inclination angle, the inclination angles of one or more parking spaces in the parking lot, and acquires at least one of the calculation results of a ratio of parking spaces having an inclination angle equal to or greater than a preset reference inclination angle arranged in the parking lot, and an average inclination angle calculated based on the inclination angles of the parking spaces in the parking lot. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. A setting unit that sets at least one of a priority according to a ratio of parking spaces having an inclination angle equal to or larger than a reference inclination angle that are arranged in the parking lot and a priority according to an average inclination angle based on the information on the inclination angle; a guidance unit that, when searching for a parking lot, gives priority to and guides the user to a parking lot that has been set to a higher priority by the setting unit; The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising:

4. When providing route guidance to a parking lot as a destination, the guidance unit outputs guidance relating to the fact that the parking space is inclined, from the time the vehicle enters the parking lot until the vehicle is parked in the parking space, based on information regarding the inclination angle. The information processing device according to claim 3 .

5. When providing route guidance to a parking lot as a destination, the guidance unit provides guidance to a parking space with a smaller inclination angle based on information regarding the inclination angle. The information processing device according to claim 3 .

6. The computer an extraction step of extracting an acceleration applied to the vehicle parked in the parking space based on vehicle information generated by the vehicle; a first acquisition step of acquiring an inclination angle of the vehicle parked in the parking space based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction step; a second acquisition step of acquiring information about the inclination angle by using the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired in the first acquisition step as the inclination angle of the parking space; a recording step of recording information regarding the inclination angle acquired by the second acquisition step in parking lot attribute information; An information processing method for performing the above.

7. On the computer, An extraction function for extracting an acceleration applied to a vehicle parked in a parking space based on vehicle information generated by the vehicle; A first acquisition function that acquires an inclination angle of the vehicle parked in the parking space based on the acceleration extracted by the extraction function; a second acquisition function that acquires information regarding the inclination angle by using the inclination angle of the vehicle acquired by the first acquisition function as the inclination angle of the parking space; A recording function of recording information regarding the inclination angle acquired by the second acquisition function in parking lot attribute information; An information processing program that realizes this.

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