Vehicle dispatch management device and vehicle dispatch management method

Abstract

To improve the willingness to use mobility services by avoiding disturbance events on vehicle travel routes while limiting the increase in detour costs.SOLUTION: A vehicle dispatch management device 10 is provided with a controller 11 that executes processes of: determining, based on a dispatch request, a transit stop via which an operation route, which is a travel route of a vehicle V included in a dispatch plan, is to be routed; deriving a detour route to the transit stop bypassing an obstruction on the operation route when such an obstruction occurs on the operation route; calculating a detour cost, which is a cost incurred by the vehicle V by traveling the detour route; extracting one or more other transit stops that exist in the vicinity of the original transit stop as new transit stops if the detour cost exceeds a predetermined value; and transmitting candidate location information indicating candidate locations to a terminal device (terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320) having UI units 21 and 321 that display predetermined information visibly to a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle allocation management technology, and more particularly to a vehicle allocation management device and a vehicle allocation management method for managing vehicle allocation. [Background technology]

[0002] Mobility services are services that provide smooth transportation of users and transport of luggage by vehicles. Vehicles provided for mobility services travel along routes determined based on users' dispatch requests, and users board and disembark (or load and unload two objects) at specified points along the travel route.

[0003] On the travel route of a vehicle, events that impede the travel of the vehicle (obstruction events), such as traffic congestion and on-street parking, may occur. For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for providing guidance on changing lanes and re-searching for a route to a destination when an obstruction event occurs on the vehicle's travel route. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-146461 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the travel distance of the re-searched travel route (detour route) may be significantly longer than the original travel route. For this reason, in the conventional technology, the detour cost (e.g., travel time) incurred by the vehicle when traveling the detour route to the destination increases, and there is a risk that the user's willingness to use the mobility service will decrease due to delays in arrival time at the destination, etc. Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle dispatch management device and a vehicle dispatch management method that can avoid obstruction events on a vehicle's driving route while suppressing an increase in detour costs, thereby increasing the willingness to use mobility services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A vehicle dispatch management device of one embodiment of the present disclosure is a vehicle dispatch management device that manages a vehicle dispatch service that dispatches and operates vehicles based on a vehicle dispatch plan in response to a user's dispatch request, and is equipped with a computer that executes the following processes: determining, based on the vehicle dispatch request, intermediate boarding and alighting points that are points where a user gets on and off the vehicle and that are passed through a driving route that is the vehicle's driving path included in the vehicle dispatch plan; deriving a detour route to the intermediate boarding and alighting point by detouring the event that interferes with the vehicle's driving to the intermediate boarding and alighting point; calculating a detour cost that is the cost that the vehicle will incur by driving the detour route; extracting one or more other boarding and alighting points that are present in the vicinity of the original intermediate boarding and alighting point as candidate points for a new intermediate boarding and alighting point if the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; and transmitting candidate point information indicating the candidate points to a terminal device having a display unit that displays predetermined information so that the user can view it.

[0007] Furthermore, a vehicle dispatch management method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle dispatch management method by a vehicle dispatch management device that manages a vehicle dispatch service that dispatches and operates vehicles based on a vehicle dispatch plan in response to a user's dispatch request, and causes a computer to execute the following processes: determining, based on the vehicle dispatch request, intermediate boarding and alighting points that are points where a user gets on and off the vehicle and that are passed through a driving route that is the vehicle's driving path included in the vehicle dispatch plan; if an event that interferes with the vehicle's driving to the intermediate boarding and alighting point occurs on the driving route, deriving a detour route that detours around the event and heads to the intermediate boarding and alighting point; calculating a detour cost that is the cost incurred by the vehicle by driving on the detour route; if the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, extracting one or more other intermediate boarding and alighting points that are present within a predetermined range from the current intermediate boarding and alighting point as candidate points for a new intermediate boarding and alighting point; and transmitting candidate point information indicating the candidate points to a terminal device having a display unit that displays predetermined information so that the user can view it. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it becomes possible to avoid interference events on a vehicle's travel route while suppressing increases in detour costs, thereby increasing the willingness to use mobility services.

[0009] Other technical features, objects, and operational effects or advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limited thereto, and other effects may also be present. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a terminal device illustrated in FIG. [Figure 2B] 2 is a table showing an example of vehicle allocation request information transmitted from the terminal device shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration model of a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4A] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle travel route according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a detour route proposed by a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4C] 1 is a diagram showing an example of candidate locations for new intermediate boarding and alighting locations proposed by a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a block diagram showing a functional model of a control device mounted on a vehicle in a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a vehicle allocation management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of candidate locations for new intermediate boarding and alighting locations proposed by a vehicle dispatch management device according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a vehicle allocation management method according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below is merely an example, and there is no intention to exclude various modifications and application of technologies not specified below. The present disclosure can be implemented by various modifications (for example, combining the respective embodiments) within the scope of the gist of the disclosure. In addition, in the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are represented by the same or similar symbols. The drawings are schematic and do not necessarily match the actual dimensions, ratios, etc. The drawings may also include parts with different dimensional relationships and ratios.

[0012] (First embodiment) 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management system 1 includes a vehicle dispatch management device 10, a terminal device 20 used by a user, and a vehicle V, which are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a communication network N. The vehicle dispatch management system 1 of the present disclosure provides, for example, an on-demand mobility service (vehicle dispatch service) using multiple vehicles V for a certain area.

[0013] In the present disclosure, an "on-demand vehicle dispatch service" is a service that immediately responds to a vehicle dispatch request from a user and assigns (dispatches) a specified vehicle to the user. In other words, in an on-demand vehicle dispatch service, there is no vehicle dispatch reservation time specified by the user. In addition, "immediate response" is a concept that includes not only dispatching a vehicle immediately in response to a vehicle dispatch request from a user, but also a certain degree of time that is normally acceptable to the user. The vehicle dispatch management system 1 of the present disclosure is premised on such an "on-demand vehicle dispatch service," but is not limited to this and may also be applied to, for example, a reservation-based vehicle dispatch service.

[0014] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 includes a controller 11, which is a computing device that comprehensively manages the vehicle dispatch service by a plurality of vehicles V in a target area where the vehicle dispatch service is provided by the vehicle dispatch management system 1. The controller 11, for example, implements a vehicle dispatch management server program and executes the vehicle dispatch management server program stored in a memory under the control of a processor, thereby realizing the vehicle dispatch service of the present disclosure. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 is also capable of inputting and outputting predetermined information related to the vehicle dispatch service via an interface.

[0015] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 includes various databases 12 that manage data necessary to realize such a vehicle dispatch service. As described later, the databases 12 include, for example, a user information database 12a, a map database 12b, a vehicle information database 12c, and a vehicle dispatch plan database 12d (see FIG. 3). In this example, the databases 12 are configured as part of the vehicle dispatch management device 10, but are not limited to this, and all or a part of the databases 12 may be configured separately from the vehicle dispatch management device 10.

[0016] In general, the vehicle allocation management device 10 accepts or acquires a request for allocation of a vehicle V from a terminal device 20 of a user who desires to allocate a vehicle, creates and confirms a vehicle allocation plan for one vehicle V selectively allocated in response to the vehicle allocation request, and issues a vehicle allocation instruction according to the confirmed vehicle allocation plan to the one vehicle V. The vehicle allocation plan is confirmed, for example, in response to the consent of the user.

[0017] In the present disclosure, a vehicle dispatch request for a ride from a general user who is a passenger will be described as an example. Details of the vehicle dispatch request will be described later. The vehicle dispatch request may also be a vehicle dispatch request for luggage delivery from a user who is a shipper (luggage delivery business operator or general user). Therefore, a general user who is not a luggage delivery business operator may also make a luggage delivery vehicle dispatch request (including the luggage departure and arrival points, transportation contents, etc.) to have their luggage delivered.

[0018] In the target area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service, a plurality of boarding and alighting points are set where the vehicle V can stop and where the user can board and alight from the stopped vehicle V. In the present disclosure, the boarding and alighting points are virtual bus stops installed at points shown on a road map stored in the map database 12b. A user uses the vehicle dispatch service by specifying one of the boarding and alighting points as the boarding and alighting point in a vehicle dispatch request.

[0019] The vehicle dispatch plan includes a driving route that indicates a travel path from a location where vehicle V is waiting (a starting waiting location), via boarding and alighting points where users get on and off, to a final waiting location (not necessarily the same as the initial waiting location). Boarding and alighting points that vehicle V passes through on the driving route are called intermediate boarding and alighting points. If vehicle V is waiting, the vehicle dispatch plan is newly created based on a new dispatch request, and if vehicle V is in operation, it can be updated based on a new dispatch request. An update to the vehicle dispatch plan indicates, for example, the addition of a new intermediate boarding and alighting point on the driving route.

[0020] The vehicle V is a vehicle registered in the vehicle information database 12c and is provided for use by a user. The vehicle V may be of any type (e.g., a sedan, a minivan, an SUV, etc.). The vehicle V may be an electric vehicle (EV) powered by an on-board battery. The vehicle V may be, for example, an unmanned vehicle capable of autonomous driving. The vehicle V is not limited to this, and may include a so-called manned vehicle driven by a driver. The vehicle V may be an autonomous vehicle capable of completely autonomous driving, and the so-called level of automation does not matter. The vehicle V is equipped with a control device 300 that controls the vehicle V itself or its mounted equipment (e.g., a navigation device) according to instructions from the vehicle allocation management device 10 (see FIG. 3). The control device 300 acquires position information of the vehicle V via, for example, a GPS system, transmits the information to the vehicle allocation management device 10, and receives a vehicle allocation instruction from the vehicle allocation management device 10 to control the operation of various devices or equipment of the vehicle V. The control device 300 includes, for example, a navigation function that presents a driving route according to a vehicle dispatch plan, and an autonomous driving control function that follows the driving route of the vehicle V if the vehicle V is a fully autonomous vehicle.

[0021] The terminal device 20 is, for example, a computing device for a user wishing to ride to make a vehicle dispatch request by operating a user interface. The terminal device 20 is, for example, a smartphone, a pad computer, a notebook personal computer, a desktop computer, or the like, but is not limited to these.

[0022] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the terminal device 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 20 implements, for example, a vehicle dispatch management client program (so-called vehicle dispatch application). The terminal device 20 executes the vehicle dispatch application stored in the memory under the control of the processor, thereby enabling the user to use the vehicle dispatch service of the vehicle dispatch management device 10. The terminal device 20 transmits and receives data to and from the vehicle dispatch management device 10 using a communication device that provides a communication function with an external device. The communication method of the communication device may be, for example, wired communication or wireless communication using a public mobile communication network, satellite communication, or road-to-vehicle communication with the vehicle V. The terminal device 20 may obtain position information of the current position of the terminal device 20 (i.e., the current position of the user) using a positioning device, and may use the position information in the vehicle dispatch application. The positioning device included in the terminal device 20 may be a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver or a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver.

[0023] The terminal device 20 also includes a user interface (UI) unit 21. The UI unit 21 includes at least a display unit (screen) that displays various information. The display unit may be configured to receive user operations and input information (such as a touch panel). For example, the user inputs information related to a vehicle dispatch request (vehicle dispatch request information) from a vehicle dispatch request screen (not shown), which is an example of a display unit on the UI unit, and sends a vehicle dispatch request (transmission of vehicle dispatch request information) to the vehicle dispatch management device 10 via a communication device. In response to this, the user uses the terminal device 20 to approve the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch management device 10, thereby making a reservation for a ride in the vehicle V. The UI unit 21 may include a display unit and an input unit as separate components.

[0024] 2B is a table showing an example of information (dispatch request information) transmitted in a dispatch request from the terminal device 20. As shown in Fig. 2, the dispatch request information in a dispatch request for boarding from a passenger (general user) includes, for example, "user identification information," "start point," "desired boarding point," "desired departure time," "destination," "desired drop-off point," "desired arrival time," and "number of passengers."

[0025] The user identification information is information used to identify the user in the vehicle dispatch management device 10, and may be a user ID or a combination of the user's name (user name) and other identification information (contact information, etc.). The departure point is, for example, the user's current location when the vehicle dispatch request information is sent from the terminal device 20. However, this is not limited to this, and the departure point (for example, the user's home or workplace) may be registered as user information when the user is registered. In this case, the vehicle dispatch request does not need to include information on the departure point. The desired boarding point and desired disembarking point are appropriately selected from the multiple boarding and disembarking points set, as described above. Note that input of the desired boarding point and desired disembarking point may be omitted. The destination is a facility or address that the user wishes to reach. The desired departure time is the desired time that the vehicle V departs from the desired boarding location. The desired arrival time is the desired time that the vehicle V arrives at the desired disembarking location. The number of passengers is the number of passengers boarding the vehicle V from the desired boarding location.

[0026] The vehicle dispatch management system 1 may be connected to a road traffic information management system (not shown) that provides various traffic information in real time via a communication network N. This allows the vehicle dispatch management device 10 and the vehicle V to appropriately acquire information such as road closures, congestion, and accidents, and the time required between points via a specific route.

[0027] In the vehicle dispatch service of the present disclosure, the vehicle V travels along a travel route that passes through a predetermined intermediate stop according to a vehicle dispatch plan created in response to a user's dispatch request, but an event (obstruction event) that obstructs the travel of the vehicle V may occur on the roads that form the travel route. Obstruction events include, for example, on-street parking, traffic jams, accidents, construction, etc., and are events that are not recognized or have not yet occurred when the vehicle dispatch management system 1 creates the vehicle dispatch plan. When an obstruction event occurs on the travel route, the vehicle dispatch management system 1 sets a detour route to the intermediate stop in the vehicle dispatch management device 10. The detour route refers to a travel route that avoids the obstruction event and heads toward the intermediate stop (original detour) on the travel route of the vehicle dispatch plan.

[0028] When traveling along a detour route, the vehicle V incurs a cost (detouring cost) required to detour around the area where the obstruction event occurs. The detouring cost is, for example, the travel time required to reach the intermediate boarding / disembarking point on the detouring route. If the travel time on the detouring route is significantly longer than the operation route in the vehicle dispatch plan, that is, if the detouring cost increases, there may be a significant delay in the time of the user to board / disembark from the vehicle V at the intermediate boarding / disembarking point. In this case, there may be a delay in the user's arrival at the destination or a change in plans, which may impair the convenience of the vehicle dispatch service and reduce the user's willingness to use the vehicle dispatch service.

[0029] Therefore, in the present disclosure, when the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 extracts one or more other boarding and alighting points existing in the vicinity of the current boarding and alighting point as candidates for a new boarding and alighting point, and transmits information on the candidate points to the terminal device 20 having a display unit (UI unit 21) that displays predetermined information in a manner that is visible to the user. In other words, when it is determined that the detour cost will increase, a new boarding and alighting point is proposed to the user. As a result, the vehicle dispatch management system 1 of the present disclosure can increase the willingness to use vehicle dispatch services by avoiding interference with vehicle travel routes while suppressing increases in detour costs.

[0030] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration model of the vehicle dispatch management device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 is configured as a functional configuration model including functional components such as a front-end processing unit 110, a dispatch request acquisition unit 120, a boarding / alighting point determination unit 130, a dispatch plan creation unit 140, a travel route planning unit 150, and a vehicle communication interface (IF) unit 160. The functional components are functional configurations provided in the controller 11. As described above, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 also includes various databases 12. Such a functional model is realized by the controller 11 executing a vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of the processor, thereby cooperating with various hardware resources. The functional configuration model shown here is an example, and all or part of the functions of a certain functional component may be realized by other functional components. For ease of explanation, the figure also shows the user's terminal device 20 and some of the configuration of the vehicle V (control device 300, sensor group 310, in-vehicle terminal 320).

[0031] The user information database 12a stores user information on users who use the vehicle dispatch service. The user information includes, for example, a user ID and password, attribute information, and information on the service usage status. The user information is registered in the user information database 12a under the control of the vehicle dispatch management device 10 (controller 11) by the user inputting predetermined information, for example, when the vehicle dispatch app is first started. The user information may also be updated based on information (vehicle dispatch request information or other additional information) transmitted from the terminal device 20 at the time of a vehicle dispatch request.

[0032] The map database 12b stores map data for at least the target area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service. The map data includes information on addresses, place names, roads, boarding and alighting points, facility names, and the like. The information on roads may also include information on whether stopping and running are possible. The boarding and alighting points indicate geographical positions where users can actually board and alight in the target area. Furthermore, the map data may include information necessary for route search and environmental information such as road congestion conditions, etc. The map data may be any known data, and may be, for example, an external map database that can be connected via an API.

[0033] The vehicle information database 12c stores information (vehicle information) about a plurality of vehicles V available for use by users. The vehicle information includes, for example, information about a vehicle ID, vehicle attributes (vehicle registration number, vehicle type, maximum number of passengers / maximum load capacity, etc.), a current dispatch plan, a current location, and a current status (service status, remaining battery capacity, number of passengers, load capacity, etc.). The current location of the vehicle V is updated as needed based on location information transmitted from the vehicle V, as described later. Each vehicle V holds its own vehicle information in the control device 300, which will be described in detail later.

[0034] The vehicle dispatch plan database 12d stores a vehicle dispatch plan for each vehicle V based on a dispatch request. The vehicle dispatch plan includes an operation route from a waiting location as a starting point to a waiting location as an end point via several intermediate boarding and alighting points (user boarding and alighting points), and a scheduled arrival time for each intermediate boarding and alighting point. Note that the starting point and end point of the operation route of the vehicle dispatch plan are not limited to the waiting location.

[0035] The front-end processing unit 110 performs various processes with the user's terminal device 20. As an example, the front-end processing unit 110 refers to the user information database 12a in response to a login request from a vehicle dispatch application on the user's terminal device 20 and performs login authentication processing. As another example, the front-end processing unit 110 accepts a vehicle dispatch request from the vehicle dispatch application on the user's terminal device 20, transfers it to the vehicle dispatch request acquisition unit 120, and interacts with the terminal device 20 to receive the user's approval or disapproval of the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 140 in response to the request. The front-end processing unit 110 also acquires candidate locations for detour routes and new intermediate boarding and disembarking points derived in response to the occurrence of an obstruction event via the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 140, and interacts with the terminal device 20 to receive the user's approval or disapproval of the vehicle dispatch plans. That is, the front-end processing unit 110 transmits information on the detour route or the candidate locations to the terminal device 20, displays the information on the UI unit 21 of the terminal device 20, and receives a notification of selection (acceptance) or rejection transmitted from the terminal device 20 in response to the information. In this sense, the front-end processing unit 110 also functions as a selection processing unit under the control of the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140.

[0036] The dispatch request acquisition unit 120 receives and acquires a dispatch request from a user via the front-end processing unit 110. The time when the dispatch request acquisition unit 120 receives the dispatch request is the start time of counting various limit times as described below. The dispatch request acquisition unit 120 passes the acquired dispatch request to each of the boarding / alighting point determination unit 130 and the dispatch plan creation unit 140.

[0037] The boarding and alighting point determination unit 130 refers to the map database 12b based on the dispatch request that has been delivered, and determines the boarding and alighting points (e.g., bus stops). That is, the boarding and alighting point determination unit 130 refers to the map database 12b and determines the actual boarding and alighting points (intermediate boarding and alighting points on the travel route) for the desired boarding and alighting points specified by the dispatch request. Note that, if the desired boarding and alighting points are not specified in the dispatch request, the boarding and alighting points may be determined based on the departure point and destination in the dispatch request. The boarding and alighting point determination unit 130 refers to the map database 12b, for example, and determines the boarding and alighting points based on the boarding and alighting points information, environmental information, etc. around the departure point / destination in the dispatch request. In this way, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 according to the present embodiment determines, based on the user's dispatch request, intermediate boarding and alighting points that are points where the user gets on and off the vehicle V and that are passed through by the operation route of the vehicle V included in the dispatch plan. The boarding and alighting point determination unit 130 transfers the determined boarding and alighting points to the dispatch plan creation unit 140.

[0038] The dispatch plan creation unit 140 creates and confirms a dispatch plan for a vehicle V selected from multiple candidate vehicles v based on a new dispatch request and information (boarding and alighting point information) on the boarding and alighting points (intermediate boarding and alighting points) newly determined by the boarding and alighting point determination unit 130, and issues dispatch instructions to the vehicle V in accordance with the confirmed dispatch plan. More specifically, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140 first requests the travel route planning unit 150 to derive a route pattern according to the acquired vehicle allocation request. The route pattern indicates a route that passes through all the boarding and alighting points when a new boarding and alighting point determined according to the vehicle allocation request is added to a route that passes through the determined boarding and alighting points. In response to the request to derive a route pattern, the travel route planning unit 150 refers to the map database 12b and the vehicle information database 12c, extracts one or more vehicles V that can match the vehicle allocation request as candidate vehicles v, derives a route pattern according to the boarding and alighting point information for each of the extracted candidate vehicles v, and transfers the derived route pattern to the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140.

[0039] The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140 attempts to create a vehicle allocation plan including a travel route that adds a waiting place as a starting point and a waiting place as an end point to the route pattern based on each route pattern of the candidate vehicle v derived by the travel route planning unit 150. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140 may further narrow down the candidate vehicles v and select, for example, a candidate vehicle v located closest to the determined boarding place from the viewpoint of energy consumption efficiency, etc., among the candidate vehicles v that can arrive at the boarding place by the boarding date and time. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140 proposes the created vehicle allocation plan to the user by transmitting the created vehicle allocation plan to the terminal device 20 via the front-end processing unit 110, and confirms the vehicle allocation plan of one vehicle V upon receiving the user's consent. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140 stores the confirmed vehicle allocation plan in the vehicle allocation plan database 12d and notifies the vehicle communication IF unit 160 to instruct the vehicle V to be dispatched.

[0040] In addition, when the candidate vehicle v is an unmanned vehicle, the route pattern may be derived in the candidate vehicle v. In this case, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140 transmits a route pattern derivation instruction (including a vehicle allocation request and information on intermediate boarding and disembarking points) to the candidate vehicle v (vehicle V which is an unmanned vehicle) via the vehicle communication IF unit 160, and acquires the route pattern derived in the control device 300 of the candidate vehicle v via the vehicle communication IF unit 160.

[0041] The vehicle communication interface (IF) unit 160 exchanges various information with the vehicle V via the communication network N. For example, the vehicle communication IF unit 160 includes a vehicle information acquisition unit 161 that acquires (receives) vehicle information including position information of the vehicle V from the vehicle V, and a vehicle instruction unit 162 that transmits various instructions from the vehicle dispatch management device 10 to the vehicle V.

[0042] The vehicle information acquisition unit 161 communicates with the control device 300 of the vehicle V and acquires vehicle information such as position information of the vehicle V and various information detected by the sensor group 310. Furthermore, when the vehicle V is an unmanned vehicle, the vehicle information acquisition unit 161 communicates with the control device 300 in accordance with an instruction from the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140 to acquire a route pattern derived by the autonomous driving route planning unit 303 (see FIG. 5). The vehicle instruction unit 162 instructs the vehicle V to move according to, for example, a vehicle allocation plan. Specifically, the vehicle instruction unit 162 also refers to the vehicle allocation plan database 12d, identifies a corresponding vehicle allocation plan, and transmits driving instructions to the vehicle V according to the identified vehicle allocation plan. The control device 300 of the vehicle V that receives the driving instructions outputs (displays) a driving route according to the vehicle allocation plan, for example, on the in-vehicle terminal 320, using a navigation function. The vehicle instruction unit 162 can also transmit not only driving instructions but also various information related to vehicle allocation to the control device 300 of the vehicle V, and the transmitted various information is output to the in-vehicle terminal 320 as appropriate.

[0043] Next, a detailed description will be given of each functional component of the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140 includes, for example, a disturbance event acquisition unit 141, a correction unit 142, and a cost calculation unit 143.

[0044] The disruptive event acquisition unit 141 acquires information (disruptive event information) about a disruptive event that has occurred on a travel route included in the dispatch plan of the vehicle V. When the disruptive event acquisition unit 141 acquires the disruptive event information, it determines that a disruptive event has occurred on the travel route. The disruption event information may be generated and transmitted by the control device 300 based on data on the travel route detected by the sensor group 310 of the vehicle V, and may be acquired by the disruption event acquisition unit 141 via the vehicle information acquisition unit 161. The disruption event acquisition unit 141 may also acquire the disruption event information from, for example, a road traffic information management system connected via the communication network N. The disruption event information includes at least location information (for example, latitude / longitude) of the area where the disruption event is occurring.

[0045] FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of a travel route R1 of a vehicle V and an obstruction event that occurred on the travel route R1. The travel route R1 in this example is a travel route toward the boarding / alighting point VS1, which is an initial intermediate boarding / alighting point on the travel route R1. The travel route R1 is a travel route that changes lanes from lane L2 to lane L1, turns left at intersection C1, and heads toward boarding / alighting point VS1 located at point Pt10. In this example, a traffic jam of vehicles occurs in an area Om on the travel route R1 as an obstruction event. The obstruction event that occurred in the area Om is detected, for example, by the sensor group 310 of the vehicle V, and the control device 300 transmits obstruction event information generated based on the detection data to the vehicle dispatch management device 10. The obstruction event acquisition unit 141 acquires the obstruction event information via the vehicle information acquisition unit 161. The detection of the obstruction event in the vehicle V will be described later. The obstruction event (traffic jam) that occurred in the area Om may be transmitted from the road traffic information management system to the vehicle dispatch management device 10, and the obstruction event acquisition unit 141 may acquire it.

[0046] When the obstruction event acquisition unit 141 acquires the obstruction event information, it requests the travel route planning unit 150 to derive a detour route to detour (avoid) the obstruction event and head to the intermediate boarding / disembarking point on the travel route. In response to the detour route derivation request from the obstruction event acquisition unit 141, the travel route planning unit 150 derives a detour route by referring to the obstruction event information, the map database 12b, and the vehicle information database 12c. In other words, when an event (obstruction event) that obstructs the travel of the vehicle V to the intermediate boarding / disembarking point occurs on the travel route of the vehicle allocation plan, the travel route planning unit 150 derives a detour route to detour the obstruction event and head to the intermediate boarding / disembarking point on the travel route of the vehicle allocation plan. There may be one or more detour routes to be derived. For example, based on the location information of the area where the obstruction event is occurring, the driving route planning unit 150 derives a detour route that allows the vehicle to arrive at the original intermediate boarding / disembarking point on the driving route without traveling through the area, and passes the derived detour route and driving time to the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 140.

[0047] Fig. 4B is a diagram showing an example of a detour route derived by the travel route planning unit 150. The detour route R10 derived by the travel route planning unit 150 is a route that detours around the area Om (area where an obstruction event occurs) shown in Fig. 4A, and travels along lane L2, goes straight through intersection C1, turns right at the next intersection C2, goes around section B1, returns to intersection C1, and heads toward the original intermediate stopover point VS1.

[0048] The correction unit 142 corrects (updates) the vehicle dispatch plan of the vehicle V stored in the vehicle dispatch plan database 12d based on the detour route derived by the travel route planning unit 150 in response to the occurrence of an obstruction event. The correction unit 142 determines whether or not to correct the vehicle dispatch plan based on the derived detour route, i.e., whether or not to instruct the vehicle V to travel on the detour route, based on the detour cost. The detour cost is, for example, the driving time (minutes) increased by traveling on the detour route. When the detour cost is less than a predetermined value, the correction unit 142 updates (corrects with a detour route) the operation route to the intermediate boarding / disembarking point in the vehicle dispatch plan. The correction unit 142 transmits the corrected vehicle dispatch plan to the vehicle V via the vehicle instruction unit 162, and instructs (detour instruction) the vehicle V to travel on the detour route. This enables the vehicle V to safely travel to the intermediate boarding / disembarking point by following the detour instruction and taking a detour route that can avoid the obstruction event.

[0049] The correction unit 142 may also transmit information (detouring information) indicating the detouring route and the estimated time of arrival at the intermediate boarding / alighting point via the detouring route (estimated detouring time) to the terminal device (user's terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320). This can reduce the user's anxiety caused by the vehicle V traveling a different traveling route (detouring route) from the original route. The estimated detouring time is calculated together with the calculation of the detouring cost by the cost calculation unit 143.

[0050] Both the user's terminal device 20 and the in-vehicle terminal 320 have a UI unit (UI unit 21, 321) that displays predetermined information so that the user can visually recognize it. This makes it possible to present detour information to the user. For example, the terminal device 20 and the in-vehicle terminal 320 can display a detour route on a map shown on the UI unit 21, 321. The detour information may be transmitted to a terminal device according to the riding status of the user. In other words, when the user is not in the vehicle V, the detour information may be transmitted to the user's terminal device 20, and when the user is in the vehicle V, the detour information may be transmitted to at least one of the user's terminal device 20 and the in-vehicle terminal 320.

[0051] On the other hand, when the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the correction unit 142 updates the intermediate boarding and alighting points (original intermediate boarding and alighting points) on the current travel route. This makes it possible to prevent a decrease in user convenience due to an increase in the detour cost. Specifically, when the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the correction unit 142 extracts one or more other boarding and alighting points existing in the vicinity of the original intermediate boarding and alighting point as candidates for a new intermediate boarding and alighting point, and transmits candidate point information indicating the candidate points to the terminal device (user's terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320) via the front-end processing unit 110. In other words, the correction unit 142 proposes to the user a new candidate boarding and alighting point to replace the original intermediate boarding and alighting point. This makes it possible to suppress a decrease in user convenience and to increase the user's willingness to use the vehicle dispatch service.

[0052] The initial stopover point in the operation route is the drop-off point of the user currently riding or the boarding point of the user who is scheduled to board. In the case of the drop-off point, the initial stopover point is near the user's destination, and in the case of the boarding point, the initial stopover point is near the user's departure point. When a new stopover point is set, it is assumed that the user will walk between the new stopover point and the original stopover point. Therefore, the user will incur a cost (user travel cost) associated with the travel route (walking travel route) between the new stopover point and the original stopover point. If the stopover point is the user's drop-off point, the walking travel route is a travel route from the new stopover point (new drop-off point) to the original stopover point (original drop-off point), and if the stopover point is the user's boarding point, it is a travel route from the original stopover point (original boarding point) to the new stopover point (new boarding point). The user travel cost may be a travel time (minutes) required for walking along the walking route, or a distance (m) of the walking route.

[0053] A high user travel cost is a burden on the user, and the higher the user travel cost, the lower the convenience of the ride-hailing service. In other words, the lower the user transition cost, the more the reduction in user convenience when a new intermediate boarding / alighting point is set can be suppressed, and the reduction in willingness to use the ride-hailing service can also be suppressed. Therefore, the correction unit 142 takes into consideration the low user travel cost when extracting candidate locations. This makes it possible to more reliably suppress the reduction in user convenience and further increase the willingness to use the ride-hailing service.

[0054] When extracting candidate locations for new intermediate stop locations, the correction unit 142 extracts (primarily extracts) one or more other stop locations that exist within a predetermined range from the original intermediate stop location (for example, 100 m from the intermediate stop location). By limiting the stop locations that can be candidates (primarily extracted stop locations) to within a predetermined range from the original intermediate stop location, stop locations that are far away from the original intermediate stop location can be excluded from the candidate locations.

[0055] The correction unit 142 requests the boarding / alighting point determination unit 130 to acquire position information of the primarily extracted boarding / alighting points. In response to the acquisition request from the correction unit 142, the boarding / alighting point candidate acquisition unit 131 of the boarding / alighting point determination unit 130 refers to the map database 12b and acquires position information (boarding / alighting point candidate information) of one or more boarding / alighting points (examples of other boarding / alighting points) that exist within a predetermined range from the original intermediate boarding / alighting point. The boarding / alighting point candidate acquisition unit 131 is not limited to boarding / alighting points registered in advance, and may acquire points on the map database 12b where the vehicle V can park as other boarding / alighting points. The boarding / alighting point candidate acquisition unit 131 passes the acquired boarding / alighting point information to the correction unit 142. As a result, the primarily extracted boarding / alighting points are extracted.

[0056] FIG. 4C is a diagram showing an example of a first extraction boarding and alighting point. In this example, one user is riding in the vehicle V, and the original intermediate boarding and alighting point (boarding and alighting point VS1) is the user's alighting point. In this example, boarding and alighting point VS2 exists at point Pt20 and boarding and alighting point VS3 exists at point Pt30 within a predetermined range S (for example, within 100 m) from the original intermediate boarding and alighting point (boarding and alighting point VS1). In addition, boarding and alighting point VS4 exists at point Pt40 outside the predetermined range S. Therefore, multiple boarding and alighting points (boarding and alighting points VS2, VS3) located within the predetermined range S are extracted as the first extraction boarding and alighting points, and the boarding and alighting point candidate acquisition unit 131 acquires boarding and alighting point information related to the multiple boarding and alighting points.

[0057] When the correction unit 142 extracts the first-extracted boarding and alighting points, it derives a candidate travel route from the current location of the vehicle V to the first-extracted boarding and alighting points (boarding and alighting points VS2, VS3) and a walking route from the first-extracted boarding and alighting points to the original intermediate boarding and alighting point (boarding and alighting point VS1). Specifically, the correction unit 142 transfers the position information of the first-extracted boarding and alighting points to the travel route planning unit 150 and requests the derivation of the candidate travel route and the walking route. Based on the route derivation request, the travel route planning unit 150 derives the candidate travel route from the current location of the vehicle V to the first-extracted boarding and alighting point and the walking route by referring to the boarding and alighting point candidate information, the vehicle dispatch plan of the vehicle V, and the map database 12b, and transfers the derived travel route and the walking route to the correction unit 142.

[0058] For example, the travel route planning unit 150 derives candidate travel routes R2 and R3 shown in FIG. 4C as candidate travel routes to the first extracted boarding and alighting points (boarding and alighting points VS2 and VS3). The candidate travel route R2 travels along the lane L2, goes straight through the intersection C1, turns left at the next intersection C2, travels along the section B2, and reaches the boarding and alighting point VS2 opposite the boarding and alighting point VS1 across the road. Similarly to the candidate travel route R2, the candidate travel route R3 turns left at the intersection C2, goes straight along the section B2, and reaches the boarding and alighting point VS3 before the boarding and alighting point VS2. The travel route planning unit 150 derives walking routes r2 and r3 as walking routes from the first extracted boarding and alighting points (boarding and alighting points VS2 and VS3) to the original intermediate boarding and alighting point (boarding and alighting point VS1), which is the user's original alighting point.

[0059] When there are multiple primarily extracted boarding and alighting points, the correction unit 142 preferentially extracts boarding and alighting points with lower user travel costs on the walking route among the multiple primarily extracted boarding and alighting points as candidate points for new intermediate boarding and alighting points. For example, the correction unit 142 may preferentially extract (secondarily extract) primarily extracted boarding and alighting points with user travel costs (e.g., travel time on the walking route) equal to or less than a predetermined value (e.g., 5 minutes or less) as candidate points and propose them to the user. By the secondary extraction, boarding and alighting points with even lower user travel costs are extracted as candidate points from among the primarily extracted boarding and alighting points, and the reduction in user convenience can be more reliably suppressed. The user travel costs are calculated by the cost calculation unit 143. Details of the calculation of the user travel costs will be described later.

[0060] The correction unit 142 may assign a priority to each of the first extracted boarding and alighting points to be proposed to the user depending on the travel cost of the user. For example, the lower the user travel cost, the higher the priority is assigned, and the first extracted boarding and alighting points with a higher priority (for example, within the top three) may be proposed to the user as candidate points. In addition, when there is only one primarily extracted stop, the primarily extracted stop may be directly proposed to the user. In addition, when there is no primarily extracted stop that makes the user travel cost equal to or less than the predetermined value, the primarily extracted stop may be given the above-mentioned priority and the top primarily extracted stop may be proposed to the user.

[0061] The correction unit 142 transmits candidate location information indicating the candidate locations of the new intermediate boarding and alighting points extracted as described above to the user's terminal device 20 and the in-vehicle terminal 320 to propose the new intermediate boarding and alighting points to the user. The candidate location information includes at least the position information of other boarding and alighting points (primarily extracted boarding and alighting points) extracted as candidate locations and walking routes. The candidate location information may also include candidate driving routes of the primary extracted boarding and alighting points extracted as candidate locations. The candidate location information may also include at least one of the scheduled arrival time of the vehicle V at the primary extracted boarding and alighting point extracted as a candidate location, the user travel cost, and the total cost. Here, the total cost is the total (total travel time) of the candidate travel cost, which is the travel time from the current location of the vehicle V to the candidate location, and the user travel cost (walking travel time). The total cost may also be the total (total travel distance) of the candidate travel cost (travel distance) and the user travel cost (walking travel distance). By including these pieces of information in the candidate location information, the user can select a more preferable candidate location as the new intermediate boarding and alighting point. Furthermore, when there is only one candidate location, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not to accept the candidate location as a new intermediate stopover location.

[0062] Both the user's terminal device 20 and the in-vehicle terminal 320 have a UI unit (UI unit 21, 321) that displays predetermined information so that the user can visually recognize it. This makes it possible to suggest new candidate locations for intermediate boarding and alighting points to the user. For example, the terminal device 20 and the in-vehicle terminal 320 can display location information of the candidate locations on a map displayed on the UI unit 21, 321. Furthermore, various information included in the candidate location information can be displayed.

[0063] The correction unit 142 determines one of the candidate locations as a new intermediate stop location upon receiving the user's selection (approval). Specifically, the correction unit 142 receives information on one of the candidate locations selected (approved) by the user from the candidate locations transmitted to the terminal device from the terminal device, and corrects the vehicle allocation plan with the received candidate location as a new intermediate stop location. The correction unit 142 issues an operating instruction to the vehicle V based on the corrected vehicle allocation plan. As a result, the vehicle V travels toward the new intermediate stop location. Furthermore, the correction unit 142 transmits information on the new intermediate boarding / alighting point (new intermediate boarding / alighting point information) to the terminal device (terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320) to which the candidate boarding / alighting point information is to be transmitted. In response to this, the terminal device displays the position information of the new intermediate boarding / alighting point and the walking route on a map shown on the user interface (UI unit 21, 321). The new intermediate boarding / alighting point information also includes the travel route of the vehicle V to the new intermediate boarding / alighting point. This allows the user to travel smoothly between the new intermediate boarding / alighting point and the original boarding / alighting point via the walking route, and further allows the user to open up a travel route to the new intermediate boarding / alighting point.

[0064] The cost calculation unit 143 calculates the detour cost and the user movement cost based on a calculation request from the correction unit 142 . (Calculation of detour costs) More specifically, the cost calculation unit 143 calculates a detour cost (a travel time increased by the detour route) of the detour route derived by the travel route planning unit 150. The cost calculation unit 143 calculates the detour cost based on the detour route delivered from the correction unit 142 at the time of a request for calculation of the detour cost.

[0065] The cost calculation unit 143 calculates the travel time (detouring travel time) of the vehicle V to the original intermediate boarding / alighting point along the detouring route based on the detouring route. The detouring travel time may be calculated by the travel route planning unit 150. Furthermore, the cost calculation unit 143 compares the travel time (initial travel time) to the intermediate boarding and disembarking points when traveling along the travel route with the detour travel time, and calculates the difference (increased time) between the initial travel time and the detour travel time as the detour cost. The calculated detour cost is handed over to the correction unit 142. Note that if the detour travel time is shorter than the initial travel time, no detour cost is incurred.

[0066] Furthermore, the cost calculation unit 143 calculates the estimated time of arrival at the intermediate boarding / alighting point in the case of traveling along the detour route based on the detour travel time (estimated detour time), and passes it over to the correction unit 142. As a result, the correction unit 142 can transmit the scheduled detour time to the terminal device, and present the scheduled detour time according to the detour route to the user. The detour scheduled time is calculated by adding the increased time to the scheduled arrival time at the intermediate boarding / alighting point in the dispatch plan (original scheduled time). In other words, the increased time indicates the delay of the detour scheduled time from the original scheduled time (detour delay time).

[0067] In this example, the detour travel time to the boarding / alighting point VS1 on the detour route R10 (see FIG. 4B) is 15 minutes, and the initial travel time to the boarding / alighting point VS1 is 10 minutes. In this case, the cost calculation unit 143 calculates the detour cost as 5 minutes (= detour travel time - initial travel time). In this example, the predetermined value for determining whether or not a detour route is possible is a fixed value (e.g., 5 minutes). In this case, the correction unit 142 determines that the value of the detour cost is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (5 minutes), does not correct the dispatch plan for the detour route, and extracts a candidate location that is a new candidate for a detour location to replace the original detour location (in this example, detour location VS1). When the detour cost is the increased time, the predetermined value used by the correction unit 142 to determine whether or not a detour route is possible may be determined based on the desired boarding time and the desired arrival time of the dispatch request. For example, the predetermined value may be the time (minutes) from the scheduled boarding (or disembarking) time to the maximum boarding (or disembarking) time that the user can tolerate.

[0068] The detour cost may be the travel distance of the detour route taken by the vehicle V. For example, the detour cost may be a value indicating the increase in travel distance (Km) due to the detour route. In this case, the cost calculation unit 143 compares the operation route in the vehicle dispatch plan with the detour route, and calculates the increase in travel distance (Km) on the detour route as the detour cost. If the travel distance of the detour route is shorter than that of the operation route, no detour cost is incurred. When the detour cost is an increase in the travel distance, the predetermined value may be appropriately set to a fixed value (for example, 0.5 km).

[0069] (Calculation of user movement cost and total cost) The cost calculation unit 143 calculates the user travel cost for a walking travel route between the first extracted boarding / alighting point derived by the travel route planning unit 150 and the original intermediate boarding / alighting point based on a calculation request from the correction unit 142. When a calculation request for the user travel cost is made, the correction unit 142 transfers to the cost calculation unit 143 the walking travel route and a travel route (candidate travel route) from the first extracted boarding / alighting point to the original intermediate boarding / alighting point.

[0070] The cost calculation unit 143 calculates the walking travel time based on the walking route and transfers it to the correction unit 142 as the user travel cost. The walking travel time may be calculated based on, for example, the distance (m) of the user's walking route and the average walking speed of an adult. For example, the cost calculation unit 143 derives the distance (m) of the walking route (walking route r2) from the boarding / alighting point VS2 (see FIG. 4C), which is the first extraction boarding / alighting point, to the boarding / alighting point VS1, which is the initial intermediate boarding / alighting point (the user's initial alighting point), and calculates the user's travel time on the walking route r2 based on the distance and the average walking speed (m / min). Similarly, the cost calculation unit 143 calculates the user's travel time on the walking route r3, which is the walking route from the boarding / alighting point VS3, which is the first extraction boarding / alighting point, to the boarding / alighting point VS1.

[0071] As shown in Fig. 4C, the boarding / alighting point VS2 is located at a point (Pt20) closer to the original intermediate boarding / alighting point VS1 than the boarding / alighting point VS3. Therefore, in this example, the user travel cost (travel time) calculated for the walking route r2 is 3 minutes, and the user travel cost calculated for the walking route r3 is 6 minutes, so the user travel cost for the walking route r2 is lower than the user travel cost for the walking route r3.

[0072] Here, for example, a condition for secondary extraction of candidate locations for a new intermediate boarding / alighting point is assumed to be "the travel time of the walking route is 5 minutes or less." In this case, the correction unit 142 may secondary extract the boarding / alighting point VS2 as a candidate location and propose it to the user, assuming that the travel time of the walking route r2 (3 minutes) satisfies the above condition. This allows candidate locations (other boarding / alighting points) with low user travel costs to be preferentially proposed to the user as new intermediate boarding / alighting point candidates.

[0073] In addition, in conjunction with the calculation of the user travel cost, the cost calculation unit 143 may calculate the travel time (candidate travel cost) of the vehicle V on the candidate travel route based on the candidate travel route, and deliver the total of this and the travel time (user travel cost) of the walking travel route as the total cost to the correction unit 142. The cost calculation unit 143 may also calculate the travel time of the candidate travel route and the estimated arrival time at the primary extracted boarding and alighting point based on the travel time, and deliver this to the correction unit 142. In this way, the correction unit 142 can transmit candidate point information including the estimated arrival time of the vehicle V at the candidate point (a secondarily extracted boarding and alighting point out of the primary extracted boarding and alighting points), the user travel cost, and the total cost to the terminal device (user's terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320).

[0074] Above, we have described in detail each component of the vehicle dispatch control device 10. Next, the functional configuration of the vehicle V will be described with reference to FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional model of the control device 300 mounted on the vehicle V in the vehicle dispatch management system 1. The control device 300 is a computing device that controls the vehicle V. The control device 300, for example, implements a vehicle control program and executes the vehicle control program under the control of a processor, thereby controlling the vehicle V in the vehicle dispatch service of the present disclosure. Note that in this example, the vehicle V is described as an unmanned vehicle (autonomous driving vehicle), but the vehicle V in the present disclosure is not limited to an unmanned vehicle.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 5, the control device 300 includes, for example, a position information acquisition unit 301, a communication unit 302, an autonomous driving route planning unit 303, a driving control unit 304, a vehicle information database 306, and a navigation database 307. The position information acquisition unit 301 acquires position information of the vehicle V from a GPS system. The position information acquisition unit 301 passes the position information acquired from the GPS system to the communication unit 302 to transmit the information to the vehicle allocation management device 10. The communication unit 302 is a communication interface (IF) for exchanging various information with the vehicle communication IF unit 160 of the vehicle allocation management device 10.

[0076] As an example, the communication unit 302 receives a request to transmit vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle communication IF unit 160, and in response thereto, transmits the above-mentioned position information and the vehicle information stored in the vehicle information database 306 to the vehicle communication IF unit 160. The vehicle information in the vehicle information database 306 includes information on a vehicle ID, vehicle attributes (vehicle registration number, vehicle type, maximum number of passengers / maximum load capacity, etc.), a current dispatch plan, a current position, and a current status (service status, remaining battery capacity, number of passengers, load capacity, etc.), etc. As another example, the communication unit 302 receives driving instructions and candidate location information transmitted from the vehicle communication IF unit 160, and transfers them to the in-vehicle terminal 320. The user interface (UI) unit 321 of the in-vehicle terminal 320 is, for example, a touch panel display, and displays various information such as the driving route of the vehicle V, detour routes, and candidate location information to the user, and accepts user inputs thereto. The UI unit 321 may have a display as a display unit and an input unit (keyboard, various buttons, etc.) separately. For example, the UI unit 321 displays candidate location information, and accepts the user's input of candidate location selection (or consent) thereto. The input contents to the UI unit 321 are output to the control device 300 and transmitted to the vehicle dispatch management device 10 via the communication unit 302.

[0077] The autonomous driving route planning unit 303 derives a route pattern for the vehicle V according to the vehicle dispatch request in response to a route pattern derivation instruction from the vehicle dispatch management device 10. Specifically, the autonomous driving route planning unit 303 derives one or more route patterns according to the vehicle dispatch request by referring to map information stored in the navigation database 307 according to the boarding and alighting points included in the route pattern derivation instruction. The driving control unit 304 controls the actual driving of the vehicle V that is compatible with autonomous driving. The driving control unit 304 determines a detailed actual driving route based on the driving route included in the driving instructions from the vehicle dispatch management device 10 and the navigation database 307, and performs autonomous driving control along the actual driving route. In addition, the driving control unit 304 determines whether or not an obstruction event has occurred when the vehicle V approaches a branch point (e.g., an intersection or a parking lot entrance) of the actual driving route. If an obstruction event has occurred, the driving control unit 304 generates obstruction event information and transmits the obstruction event information to the vehicle dispatch management device 10 via the communication unit 302. The determination of an obstruction event will be described later.

[0078] The data acquisition unit 305 acquires detection data detected by the sensor group 310 and outputs the data to the driving control unit 304 . Here, the configuration of the sensor group 310 will be described. The sensor group 310 includes an imaging device 311 and a distance measuring device 312, and detects road conditions, obstacles, etc. while the vehicle V is traveling. The imaging device 311 is a camera equipped with an imaging element such as a CCD, an ultrasonic camera, an infrared camera, etc. The distance measuring device 312 is a device for calculating the relative position, relative distance, relative speed, etc. of an object with respect to the unmanned vehicle V_AD, and is, for example, a radar device such as a laser radar, a laser range finder (LRF), a LiDAR (Light detection and ranging) unit, an ultrasonic radar, or a sonar. The imaging device 311 and the distance measuring device 312 detect objects around the vehicle V at a predetermined time interval, and output the detection data to the control device 300 (data acquisition unit 305). The detection data of the sensor group 310 is used for the traveling control of the vehicle V in the traveling control unit 304 and for the judgment of an obstruction event in the data acquisition unit 305.

[0079] The data acquisition unit 305 includes an image information acquisition unit 351 that acquires an image captured by an imaging device 311 of the sensor group 310, and a distance measurement information acquisition unit 352 that acquires a calculation result of a distance measurement device 312 of the sensor group 310. When the data acquisition unit 305 acquires detection data (image data and distance measurement data) of the sensor group 310 by the image information acquisition unit 351 and the distance measurement information acquisition unit 352, the data acquisition unit 305 outputs the detection data (image data and distance measurement data) of the sensor group 310 to the driving control unit 304.

[0080] When approaching a branch point, the driving control unit 304 refers to the detection data (image data and distance measurement data) of the sensor group 310 output from the data acquisition unit 305, and determines whether an obstruction event exists on the actual driving route. For example, when the vehicle V is traveling on the travel route R1 (see FIG. 4A) as the actual travel route and is approaching the intersection C1, the travel control unit 304 analyzes the road conditions of the lane L1 for lane change from the lane L2 to the lane L1 based on the detection data of the sensor group 310. Specifically, it is determined whether or not an area for the vehicle V to change lanes can be secured on the lane L1 in the section up to the intersection C1. In this example, the sensor group 310 detects an obstacle (a congested vehicle) in the area Om on the lane L1, and the detection data includes image data and distance measurement data indicating the congestion in the area Om. When the travel control unit 304 determines based on the detection data that an area for lane change cannot be secured up to the intersection C1 (an obstruction event exists), it generates obstruction event information. The obstruction event information includes at least the current location of the vehicle V and the position information of the area Om where the obstruction event information is occurring.

[0081] 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a vehicle dispatch management method (a detouring process for an obstruction event) by the vehicle dispatch management device according to the present embodiment. The detouring process for an obstruction event is a process executed when the vehicle V is operating according to a dispatch plan. This processing is realized by the controller 11 of the vehicle dispatch management device 10 executing a vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor, thereby cooperating with various hardware resources.

[0082] As shown in the figure, the controller 11 determines boarding and alighting points on the driving route based on the user's vehicle dispatch request in the boarding and alighting point determination unit 130 (S601), creates a vehicle dispatch plan in the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 140, and issues driving instructions to the vehicle V (S602). Next, the controller 11 judges whether or not an obstruction event has occurred on the travel route of the vehicle V (S603). For example, when the obstruction event acquisition unit 141 acquires obstruction event information from the control device 300 of the vehicle V, the controller 11 judges that an obstruction event has occurred (Yes in S603), derives a detour route, and calculates the detour cost (S604). Specifically, the travel route planning unit 150 derives a detour route based on the derivation request from the obstruction event acquisition unit 141. Furthermore, the cost calculation unit 143 calculates the detour cost (e.g., increased time) of the detour route based on the calculation request from the correction unit 142. On the other hand, when the obstruction event acquisition unit 141 has not acquired obstruction event information, the controller 11 waits until an obstruction event is acquired (No in S603).

[0083] Next, the controller 11 determines whether the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (S605). Specifically, the correction unit 142 determines whether the detour cost calculated by the cost calculation unit 143 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The cost calculation unit 143 may calculate the detour travel time and the scheduled detour time when calculating the detour cost.

[0084] When the controller 11 determines that the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (Yes in S605), it extracts other boarding and alighting points around the original boarding and alighting point on the travel route in order to extract candidates for new intermediate boarding and alighting points (S606). Specifically, when it is determined that the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the boarding and alighting point candidate acquisition unit 131 extracts (primary extraction) other boarding and alighting points within a predetermined range from the original boarding and alighting point based on an extraction request from the correction unit 142. On the other hand, if the controller 11 determines that the detour cost is less than the predetermined value (No in S605), it performs the processes of steps S614 and S615 described below to make the vehicle V travel along the detour route.

[0085] Next, the controller 11 derives a travel route (candidate travel route) to the primarily extracted boarding / alighting point (S607), and further derives a walking route between the primarily extracted boarding / alighting point and the original intermediate boarding / alighting point (S608). Specifically, based on the derivation request from the correction unit 142, the travel route planning unit 150 derives the candidate travel route and the walking route.

[0086] Furthermore, the controller 11 calculates the user travel cost incurred by the user when traveling along the walking route (S609), and prioritizes extracting (secondary extraction) other boarding and alighting locations (primary extraction boarding and alighting locations) with lower user travel costs as candidate locations for new intermediate boarding and alighting locations (S610). Specifically, the cost calculation unit 143 calculates the user travel cost (e.g., travel time for a walking route) based on a calculation request from the correction unit 142, and the correction unit 142 secondarily extracts, as candidate locations, locations with low user travel costs from among the primarily extracted boarding and alighting locations (e.g., primarily extracted boarding and alighting locations with user travel costs equal to or less than a predetermined value) based on the calculated user travel cost.

[0087] Next, the controller 11 transmits candidate location information indicating the extracted candidate locations to a terminal device (user's terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320) to suggest the candidate locations to the user (S611), and determines whether the user's selection (or consent) to the proposed candidate locations has been accepted (S612). Specifically, when the user is in the vehicle V, the candidate location information may be transmitted from the correction unit 142 via the vehicle instruction unit 162 to the control device 300 of the vehicle V, or may be transmitted via the front-end processing unit 110 to the user's terminal device 20. Note that when the user is not in the vehicle, the candidate location information may be transmitted only to the terminal device 20.

[0088] The candidate location information transmitted to the vehicle V is output from the control device 300 to the in-vehicle terminal 320 and displayed on the UI unit 321. The candidate location information transmitted to the terminal device 20 is displayed on the UI unit 21. As a result, candidate locations are proposed to the user, and the user selects one of the proposed candidate locations (input layer to the UI units 321, 21) and agrees to the change (resetting) of the intermediate boarding and alighting locations. When the controller 11 acquires (receives) information on one candidate location from a terminal device (the in-vehicle terminal 320, the terminal device 20), it determines that the candidate location has been accepted (Yes in S612), and corrects the vehicle allocation plan with the new intermediate boarding / disembarking location (S613). Specifically, the correction unit 142 acquires information on one candidate location selected by the user from the terminal device via the vehicle information acquisition unit 161 or the front-end processing unit 110, and corrects the vehicle allocation plan with the one candidate location and the candidate travel route of the candidate location. As a result, an operating instruction is issued to the vehicle V based on the corrected vehicle allocation plan, and the vehicle V travels toward the new intermediate boarding / disembarking location.

[0089] Next, the controller 11 transmits information on the new intermediate stop (new intermediate stop information) to the terminal device (the in-vehicle terminal 320, the terminal device 20) to which the candidate stop information is to be transmitted (S614). This notifies the user of the new intermediate stop. The new intermediate stop information may be generated based on the candidate stop information. For example, the location information, the candidate driving route, the walking route, the estimated arrival time, etc. of the selected candidate stop may be set as the location information, the driving route, the walking route, and the estimated arrival time of the new intermediate stop.

[0090] On the other hand, when the controller 11 cannot obtain information on one of the candidate locations from the terminal device (the in-vehicle terminal 320, the terminal device 20), it determines that the candidate location has not been accepted (No in S612), and corrects the dispatch plan with the detour route (S615) in the same manner as when the detour cost is not equal to or greater than a predetermined value (No in S605). Specifically, the correction unit 142 corrects the dispatch plan with the detour route, and an operation instruction is issued to the vehicle V based on the corrected dispatch plan. As a result, the vehicle V travels along the detour route toward the original intermediate stop. Next, the controller 11 transmits the detour route and the arrival time at the original intermediate stop on the detour route (estimated detour time) to the terminal device (the in-vehicle terminal 320, the terminal device 20) (S616). Specifically, when calculating the detour cost, the cost calculation unit 143 calculates the scheduled detour time, and the correction unit 142 transmits the scheduled detour time together with the detour route to the terminal device. This makes it possible to present the user with a detour route and a scheduled detour time.

[0091] In this way, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 includes a controller 11 that executes the following processes: a process of determining, based on a dispatch request (S601), an initial intermediate boarding / disembarking point along the operating route of the vehicle dispatch plan; a process of deriving a detour route that detours around the obstruction event and heads toward the initial intermediate boarding / disembarking point when an obstruction event occurs on the operating route (S604); a process of calculating a detour cost, which is the cost incurred by the vehicle V by traveling the detour route (S604); a process of extracting one or more other intermediate boarding / disembarking points existing in the vicinity of the initial intermediate boarding / disembarking point as candidate points for a new intermediate boarding / disembarking point when the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (from Yes in S605 to S610); and a process of transmitting candidate point information to a terminal device (terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320) having a display unit (UI unit 21, 321) that displays predetermined information in a manner that allows the user to view it (S611). This makes it possible to avoid obstacles on the vehicle's travel route and to suggest new candidate locations for intermediate boarding and disembarking points to the user, thereby suppressing an increase in detour costs and increasing the willingness to use mobility services.

[0092] [Modifications] In the vehicle dispatch service according to the present disclosure, one vehicle may be dispatched in response to vehicle dispatch requests from multiple users. In other words, the vehicle dispatch service according to the present disclosure may include a ride-sharing service such as a carpooling service (ride-along) for multiple passengers. When multiple users ride together in a vehicle V, the dispatch plan includes the boarding and disembarking locations of each user as intermediate boarding and disembarking locations.

[0093] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining setting of new intermediate boarding and alighting points in a case where a plurality of users are on board the vehicle V. In FIG. For example, when multiple users (users A and B) are riding in a vehicle V, the operation route R5 of the vehicle dispatch plan includes multiple (e.g., two) intermediate boarding and alighting points (VS1, VS4) as the alighting points of each user. Specifically, the multiple intermediate boarding and alighting points include boarding and alighting point VS1, which is an earlier boarding and alighting point on the operation route R11, and boarding and alighting point VS4, which is a later boarding and alighting point on the operation route R11.

[0094] In this example, an obstruction event occurs in area Om, and a detour route R10 (see Figure 4B) toward the first boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS1) is derived, but the detour cost is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, so a candidate location for a new intermediate boarding / alighting point to replace the first boarding / alighting point is extracted. When extracting candidate locations for the first-arrival boarding / alighting point, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 (controller 11) according to this modification extracts (primarily extracts) one or more other boarding / alighting points (boarding / alighting points VS2, VS3) existing in the vicinity (within a predetermined range S) of the first-arrival boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS1). This is similar to the primary extraction by the correction unit 142 and the boarding / alighting point candidate acquisition unit 131 in the above embodiment. In this modification, the controller 11 derives candidate driving routes (driving routes from the vehicle's current location to the primarily extracted boarding / alighting point) and walking routes (walking routes between the primarily extracted boarding / alighting point and the original first-arrival intermediate boarding / alighting point) in the driving route planning unit 150, as in the above embodiment, and calculates the user's travel cost during travel along the walking route in the cost calculation unit 143.

[0095] In this modification, the controller 11 further derives a travel route (relay travel route) from the first extracted boarding / alighting point to the subsequent boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS4). Specifically, the travel route planning unit 150 derives a relay travel route based on a derivation request from the correction unit 142. The travel route planning unit 150 derives a relay travel route based on the position information of the first extracted boarding / alighting point handed over from the correction unit 142, the current vehicle dispatch plan, and the map database 12b, and hands over the relay travel route to the correction unit 142.

[0096] As shown in Fig. 7, relay travel route R4 reaches boarding / alighting point VS3 via a route similar to travel route R3 shown in Fig. 4C, and then travels straight through intersection C3 to reach boarding / alighting point VS4. On the other hand, among the relay travel routes derived by travel route planning unit 150, a relay travel route (not shown) heading from boarding / alighting point VS2 to a subsequent boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS4) turns left at intersection C3, passes through intersection C1, and travels halfway around section B3 to reach boarding / alighting point VS4.

[0097] Furthermore, the controller 11 calculates a relay cost, which is a cost incurred by the vehicle V when traveling along the derived relay travel route from the first extracted boarding / alighting point to the subsequent boarding / alighting point. Specifically, the correction unit 142 transfers the derived relay driving route to the cost calculation unit 143 and requests calculation of the cost of the vehicle V for driving the relay driving route (relay driving cost). The cost calculation unit 143 derives the driving time (provisional relay time) of the vehicle V on the relay driving route based on the relay driving route, and compares it with the driving time (initial relay time) from the first boarding / alighting point to the last boarding / alighting point on the operation route in the vehicle dispatch plan. The cost calculation unit 143 calculates the difference (increased time) of the provisional relay time from the initial relay time as the relay cost. Note that the relay cost may be an extension (extension distance) of the distance of the relay driving route with respect to the distance of the operation route from the first boarding / alighting point to the last boarding / alighting point in the vehicle dispatch plan.

[0098] The correction unit 142 excludes the first-stage extracted boarding / alighting points with high relay costs from the candidate points based on the relay costs calculated by the cost calculation unit 143. In other words, boarding / alighting points with lower relay costs are preferentially extracted (second-stage extracted) as candidate points. This makes it possible to exclude boarding / alighting points that increase relay costs from the candidate points, and to prevent a decrease in convenience for users who use later boarding / alighting points.

[0099] In this example, the initial relay time from the first boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS1) to the last boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS4) on the travel route R1 is 3 minutes. In addition, since the distance from boarding / alighting point VS3 to boarding / alighting point VS4, which is the last boarding / alighting point, is shorter than that from boarding / alighting point VS2, the provisional relay time of the relay travel route (not shown) from boarding / alighting point VS2 calculated by the cost calculation unit 143 is 7 minutes (an increase of 4 minutes from the initial relay time), and the provisional relay time of the relay travel route R4 from boarding / alighting point VS3 is 4 minutes (an increase of 1 minute from the initial relay time). In this case, the correction unit 142 excludes boarding / alighting point VS2, which has a long provisional relay time, i.e., a high relay cost (a large increase in time), from the candidate points, and preferentially extracts boarding / alighting point VS3, which has a low relay cost (a small increase in time), as a candidate point for a new first boarding / alighting point. The correction unit 142 transmits the boarding / alighting points secondarily extracted based on the relay costs as candidate location information to the terminal device (terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320) as new candidate locations for the first boarding / alighting point. This makes it possible to propose to the user a new first boarding / alighting point that can suppress an increase in the user travel cost of user A when traveling between the original intermediate boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS1) and also suppress a significant arrival delay at the subsequent boarding / alighting point of user B. Therefore, even in a ride-sharing service, it is possible to increase the willingness to use the mobility service by suppressing an increase in detour costs while avoiding obstruction events on the vehicle's travel route.

[0100] In this modified example, as in the above embodiment, the candidate location information may include at least one of the scheduled arrival time of the vehicle V at the first extracted boarding / alighting point extracted as the candidate location, the user travel cost, and the total cost. Furthermore, the candidate location information may include the scheduled arrival time at the subsequent boarding / alighting point. In this case, the cost calculation unit 143 may calculate the scheduled arrival time at the subsequent boarding / alighting point by adding the provisional relay time to the scheduled arrival time at the first extracted boarding / alighting point. The correction unit 142 may determine one of the candidate locations selected (approved) by the user as a new first boarding / alighting location, and may correct the dispatch plan with the determined new first boarding / alighting location, the travel route to the new first boarding / alighting location, and the relay travel route. The correction unit 142 may also transmit information on the new first boarding / alighting location to the terminal device as new route location information.

[0101] In this way, according to this modification, the vehicle V can detour around the area Om where the obstruction event occurs, drop off the user A at a new first boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS3) existing in the vicinity of the original first boarding / alighting point, and reach the later boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS4) without a significant delay from the original schedule. Therefore, an increase in the user travel cost of the user A when moving from the new first boarding / alighting point to the original intermediate boarding / alighting point (boarding / alighting point VS1) can be suppressed, and a significant delay in arrival of the user B at the later boarding / alighting point can also be suppressed.

[0102] The correction unit 142 may exclude the primarily extracted boarding / alighting points whose relay cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value from the candidate points. Alternatively, the correction unit 142 may extract the primarily extracted boarding / alighting points whose relay cost is less than a predetermined value as the candidate points, or may set a higher priority for the primarily extracted boarding / alighting points whose relay cost is lower, and extract the primarily extracted boarding / alighting points whose priority is higher (for example, within the top three) as the candidate points.

[0103] Furthermore, according to the configuration of this variant, the configuration can be applied to various cases in ride-sharing services, such as when the first boarding / alighting point is one user's disembarking point and the later boarding / alighting point is another user's boarding point, when the first boarding / alighting point is one user's boarding point and the later boarding / alighting point is another user's boarding point, when the first boarding / alighting point is one user's boarding point and the later boarding / alighting point is another user's disembarking point, and when the first boarding / alighting point is one user's disembarking point and the later boarding / alighting point is another user's disembarking point.

[0104] Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing a first modified example of the vehicle allocation management method according to the first embodiment. In Fig. 8, the same processes as those in the vehicle allocation management method according to the above embodiment (see Fig. 6) are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0105] Specifically, the controller 11 executes the same processes as those in steps S601 to S606. In this modified example, in step S601, a plurality of boarding / alighting points (including the first boarding / alighting point and the last boarding / alighting point) at which each of a plurality of users gets on and off are determined. In addition, in step S606, other boarding / alighting points in the vicinity (within a predetermined range) of the first boarding / alighting point are primarily extracted. When the controller 11 derives the driving routes (candidate driving routes) to the other boarding / alighting points extracted primarily in the same manner as in step S607, it derives a relay driving route to the subsequent boarding / alighting point (in FIG. 8, this is indicated as a "relay route") and calculates a relay cost (S801). Specifically, based on a derivation request from the correction unit 142, the driving route planning unit 150 derives a relay driving route from the primarily extracted boarding / alighting point to the subsequent boarding / alighting point, and based on a calculation request from the correction unit 142, the cost calculation unit 143 calculates the relay cost.

[0106] Next, the controller 11 excludes other boarding and alighting points with high relay costs (primarily extracted boarding and alighting points) from the candidate points for the new first-arrival boarding and alighting point (S802). Specifically, the correction unit 142 compares relay costs at the primarily extracted boarding and alighting points, and extracts the remaining primarily extracted boarding and alighting points excluding boarding and alighting points with high relay costs as candidate points (secondary extraction). As a result, the primarily extracted boarding and alighting points with low relay costs are preferentially extracted as candidate points. Note that the controller 11 may secondarily extract boarding and alighting points with low user travel costs as in the above embodiment, and further exclude boarding and alighting points with high relay costs (tertiary extraction). Furthermore, similarly to steps S608 to S609, the controller 11 derives a walking travel route in the travel route planning unit 150, and calculates the user travel cost in the cost calculation unit 143. As a result, in this modified example as well, the walking travel route and the user travel cost can be transmitted to a terminal device (the terminal device 20, the in-vehicle terminal 320) and presented to the user.

[0107] Thereafter, the controller 11 performs the same processing as in steps S611 to S616. In this modification, in step S611, candidate location information indicating the first boarding / alighting point is transmitted to the terminal device (terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320). In addition, in step S612, one candidate location selected (accepted) by the user becomes a new intermediate boarding / alighting point (first boarding / alighting point), and in step S613, the vehicle dispatch plan is corrected with the one candidate location (new intermediate boarding / alighting point), the candidate travel route, and the relay travel route, and in step S614, information on the new intermediate boarding / alighting point is transmitted to the terminal device. In addition, if the candidate location is not accepted (No in step S612) and if the detour cost is less than a predetermined value (No in step S605), the vehicle dispatch plan is corrected with the detour route.

[0108] In this manner, in this modified example, when extracting candidate locations for an earlier boarding / alighting point (e.g., boarding / alighting point VS1), the controller 11 derives relay travel routes from one or more primarily extracted boarding / alighting points (e.g., boarding / alighting points VS2, VS3) existing around the earlier boarding / alighting point to a later boarding / alighting point (e.g., boarding / alighting point VS4), calculates relay costs that are costs incurred by the vehicle V when traveling along the derived relay travel route from the earlier extracted boarding / alighting point to the later boarding / alighting point, and excludes (secondarily extracts) the earlier extracted boarding / alighting points with high relay costs from the candidate locations. This makes it possible to avoid interference events while suppressing a decrease in convenience for users who use the earlier boarding / alighting point and the later boarding / alighting point, thereby increasing the willingness to use the vehicle dispatch service.

[0109] (Other variations) In the above embodiment and modified example, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 derives a detour route and a relay driving route, extracts candidate locations for new intermediate boarding and alighting points, and calculates various costs (detour cost, user movement cost, relay cost) as processing related to avoiding an obstruction event, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the control device 300 of the vehicle V may be configured to perform processing related to avoiding such obstruction events. In this case, the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 140 acquires the detour route, relay driving route, and new intermediate boarding and alighting points derived by the control device 300 of the vehicle V via the vehicle information acquisition unit 161, and corrects the vehicle dispatch plan based on the acquired information. In the above embodiment, when the user does not select (agree to) a candidate location for a new intermediate stop, the vehicle V is caused to travel to the original intermediate stop via a detour route; however, the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the controller 11 may include the original intermediate stop in the candidate locations for the new intermediate stop. That is, the candidate information may include information indicating the original intermediate stop. In this case, the candidate information may include the scheduled arrival time at the original intermediate stop via the detour route and the detour route. This allows not only the candidate locations but also the original intermediate stop to be proposed to the user as an option. In addition, when the user selects to head to the original intermediate stop, the user's willingness to use the ride-hailing service is not reduced.

[0110] The above-described embodiments are merely examples for explaining the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure to these embodiments. The present disclosure can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, in the methods disclosed herein, steps, operations, or functions may be performed in parallel or in a different order, provided that the results are consistent. The steps, operations, and functions described are provided merely as examples, and some of the steps, operations, and functions may be omitted or combined into one, or other steps, operations, or functions may be added, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0111] In addition, although various embodiments are disclosed in this specification, specific features (technical matters) in one embodiment can be added to or substituted for specific features in other embodiments, with appropriate modifications, and such forms are also included in the gist of the present disclosure.

[0112] (Effects of the embodiment) (1) The vehicle dispatch management device 10 and the vehicle dispatch management method by the vehicle dispatch management device 10, which manage a vehicle dispatch service that dispatches and operates vehicles based on a dispatch plan in response to a user's dispatch request, execute the following processes in a controller 11: determining, based on the dispatch request, intermediate boarding and alighting points that are points where a user gets on and off vehicle V and that are passed through a driving route that is the driving path of vehicle V included in the dispatch plan; deriving a detour route that detours around the intermediate boarding and alighting point when an event that obstructs the driving of vehicle V to the intermediate boarding and alighting point occurs on the driving route; calculating a detour cost that is the cost that vehicle V will incur by driving the detour route; extracting one or more other boarding and alighting points that are present in the vicinity of the original intermediate boarding and alighting point as candidate points for a new intermediate boarding and alighting point when the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; and transmitting candidate point information indicating the candidate points to a terminal device (terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320) having a UI unit (UI unit 21, 321) that displays predetermined information visually viewable by a user. This makes it possible to avoid disruptive events on the vehicle's travel route (operation route), while suppressing increases in detour costs and increasing the willingness to use mobility services. (2) When there are multiple other boarding / alighting points within a specified range of the original intermediate boarding / alighting point, the controller 11 derives walking routes for traveling on foot between each of the other boarding / alighting points and the original intermediate boarding / alighting point, calculates a user travel cost, which is the cost associated with traveling along the walking route, and preferentially extracts boarding / alighting points with lower user travel costs as the candidate points among the multiple other boarding / alighting points. This reduces the burden on the user when traveling to the original intermediate boarding or disembarking point, and more reliably prevents the reduction in user convenience that comes with avoiding disruptive events.

[0113] (3) The controller 11 may preferentially extract other boarding and alighting locations (primary extracted boarding and alighting locations) whose user travel costs are equal to or less than a predetermined value as candidate locations. This can reliably reduce the burden on the user when traveling to the original intermediate stop. (4) The controller 11 may transmit candidate location information including position information of other boarding / alighting locations extracted as candidate locations (primary extracted boarding / alighting locations) and walking routes to the terminal device. This allows the user to take into consideration the location of each candidate location and the walking route, and select a more preferable candidate location as a new intermediate boarding / alighting location. (5) The controller 11 derives candidate driving routes from the current location of the vehicle V to other boarding and alighting locations (primarily extracted boarding and alighting locations), and the candidate location information may include candidate driving routes to other boarding and alighting locations extracted as candidate locations. This allows the user to select a new intermediate boarding / disembarking location while taking into consideration the driving route of the vehicle V to the candidate location. (6) The controller 11 calculates the scheduled arrival time of the vehicle V at the other boarding / alighting point based on a driving route (candidate driving route) from the current location of the vehicle V to the other boarding / alighting point, and the candidate point information may include the scheduled arrival time at the other boarding / alighting point (primary extracted boarding / alighting point) extracted as a candidate point. This allows a new stopover point to be selected taking into account the estimated arrival time. (7) The controller 11 may receive information about a candidate location selected by the user from the candidate locations transmitted to the terminal device (terminal device 20, in-vehicle terminal 320) from the terminal device, and may correct the dispatch plan to use the selected candidate location as a new intermediate boarding / disembarking location. This allows the vehicle V to travel to a new intermediate boarding / disembarking point based on the user's request. (8) The controller 11 may transmit new route point information indicating a new route point to a terminal device (the terminal device 20, the in-vehicle terminal 320). This makes it possible to present information about the new intermediate stop on the terminal device, allowing the user to grasp the location of the new intermediate stop and travel smoothly between the new intermediate stop and the original stop.

[0114] (9) The operation route of the vehicle dispatch plan includes a plurality of intermediate boarding and alighting points, which may include an earlier boarding and alighting point that arrives first on the operation route and a later boarding and alighting point that arrives last on the operation route. When extracting candidate locations for the earlier boarding and alighting point, the controller 11 derives a travel route (intermediate travel route) of the vehicle V from one or more other boarding and alighting points (primarily extracted boarding and alighting points) existing around the earlier boarding and alighting point to the later boarding and alighting point, calculates an intermediate cost, which is a cost incurred by the vehicle V when traveling along the derived travel route from the primarily extracted boarding and alighting point to the later boarding and alighting point, and excludes boarding and alighting points with a high intermediate cost from the candidate locations. This makes it possible to avoid interference and head to the first-arrival stop while minimizing the reduction in convenience for both users using the first-arrival stop and users using the later-arrival stop, thereby increasing the willingness to use ride-hailing services. [Explanation of symbols]

[0115] 1. Vehicle dispatch management system 10...Vehicle allocation management device 110...Front-end processing unit 120…Dispatch request acquisition unit 130…Boarding and alighting point determination section 131… Boarding and alighting point candidate acquisition section 140… Vehicle Allocation Planning Department 141…Disturbance Event Acquisition Unit 142...Correction section 143…Cost Calculation Department 150…Route planning section 160...Vehicle communication interface unit 161…Vehicle information acquisition unit 162…Dispatch Instructions Department 12. Database 12a…User information database 12b…Map database 12c…Vehicle information database 12d…Vehicle allocation plan database 20...Terminal device 21...User interface section N: Communication network V…Vehicle 300...Control device 301...Location information acquisition unit 302…Communications Department 303…Autonomous Driving Route Planning Department 304...Travel control unit 305…Data acquisition section 310: Sensor group 311...imaging device 312...Distance measuring device 320…In-vehicle terminal 321...User interface section

Claims

1. A vehicle dispatch management device that manages a vehicle dispatch service that dispatches and operates vehicles based on a vehicle dispatch plan in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, A process of determining, based on the dispatch request, intermediate boarding and alighting points at which a user gets on and off the vehicle and which are passed through by a travel route that is a travel route of the vehicle included in the dispatch plan; When an event that interferes with the travel of the vehicle to the intermediate stop occurs on the travel route, a process of deriving a detour route to the intermediate stop by detouring the event; A process of calculating a detour cost, which is a cost incurred by the vehicle due to traveling the detour route; extracting one or more other boarding and alighting points existing in the vicinity of the original intermediate boarding and alighting point as candidates for the new intermediate boarding and alighting point when the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; and transmitting candidate site information indicating the candidate sites to a terminal device having a display unit that displays predetermined information in a manner that is visible to a user.

2. The computer includes: When there are a plurality of other boarding and alighting points within a predetermined range from the original intermediate boarding and alighting point, deriving a walking route for walking between each of the other boarding and alighting points and the original intermediate boarding and alighting point, calculating a user travel cost which is a cost associated with travel along the walking route, and preferentially extracting boarding and alighting points with lower user travel costs from among the multiple other boarding and alighting points as the candidate points; The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

3. The computer preferentially extracts the other boarding and alighting locations, the other boarding and alighting locations having the user travel cost equal to or less than a predetermined value, as the candidate locations. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 2.

4. The computer transmits, to the terminal device, the candidate location information including location information of the other boarding and alighting locations extracted as the candidate locations and the walking route. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 2.

5. The computer derives a driving route from the current location of the vehicle to the other boarding / alighting location, The candidate location information includes a travel route to the other boarding and alighting location extracted as the candidate location. The vehicle dispatch management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. the computer calculates an estimated arrival time of the vehicle at the other boarding / alighting point based on a travel route from the current location of the vehicle to the other boarding / alighting point; The candidate location information includes the scheduled arrival time at the other boarding / alighting location extracted as the candidate location. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 4.

7. the computer receives from the terminal device information on one of the candidate locations selected by the user from among the candidate locations transmitted to the terminal device, and corrects the vehicle dispatch plan by setting the one candidate location as a new intermediate boarding / disembarking location. The vehicle dispatch management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

8. The computer transmits new route information indicating the new route points to the terminal device, The new route information includes a driving route to the new route. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 7.

9. The operation route of the vehicle dispatch plan includes a plurality of intermediate boarding and alighting points, The plurality of intermediate boarding and alighting points include an earlier boarding and alighting point that arrives first on the operation route and a later boarding and alighting point that arrives last on the operation route, The computer includes: When extracting the candidate locations for the first boarding / alighting point, a travel route of the vehicle from one or more of the other boarding / alighting points existing around the first boarding / alighting point to the later boarding / alighting point is derived, a relay cost which is a cost incurred by the vehicle when traveling along the derived travel route from the other boarding / alighting point to the later boarding / alighting point is calculated, and boarding / alighting points with a high relay cost are excluded from the candidate locations. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

10. A vehicle dispatch management method by a vehicle dispatch management device that manages a vehicle dispatch service that dispatches and operates vehicles based on a vehicle dispatch plan in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, A process of determining, based on the dispatch request, intermediate boarding and alighting points at which a user gets on and off the vehicle and which are passed through by a travel route that is a travel route of the vehicle included in the dispatch plan; When an event that interferes with the travel of the vehicle to the intermediate stop occurs on the travel route, a process of deriving a detour route to the intermediate stop by detouring the event; A process of calculating a detour cost, which is a cost incurred by the vehicle due to traveling the detour route; extracting one or more other boarding and alighting points existing in the vicinity of the original intermediate boarding and alighting point as candidates for the new intermediate boarding and alighting point when the detour cost is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; and transmitting candidate site information indicating the candidate sites to a terminal device having a display unit that displays predetermined information in a manner that allows a user to view the candidate sites.

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