Information management device, information management method, vehicle system, and program

Abstract

To provide an information management device, an information management method, a vehicle system, and a program that more appropriately evaluate driving according to traveling states of surrounding vehicles.SOLUTION: An information management device includes: a communication section that communicates with a plurality of vehicles; an acquisition section that acquires traveling information of the plurality of vehicles by the communication section; and an evaluation determination section that determines evaluation whether or not a driver of the vehicle has performed unsafe driving on the basis of the traveling information of a vehicle included in the plurality of vehicles. The evaluation determination section acquires another vehicle present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the unsafe driving has been performed on the basis of the traveling information of another vehicle when it is determined that the vehicle has performed unsafe driving regarding speed, and evaluates unsafe driving of the vehicle on the basis of speed of the vehicle, speed of the acquired another vehicle or positional relationship of the another vehicle, and a speed limit of the vehicle on a traveling lane.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] In recent years, efforts to provide access to sustainable transportation systems that take into consideration vulnerable transport participants have been gaining momentum. To achieve this, efforts are being made to further improve road safety and convenience through research and development of driving assistance technologies. In this context, a technology has recently become known that evaluates the safe driving of drivers according to vehicle speed and speed limit (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-085804 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, a challenge with driving assistance technology is that it is sometimes not possible to appropriately evaluate driving in accordance with the driving conditions of surrounding vehicles.

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, one of the objects of the present application is to provide an information management device, an information management method, a vehicle system, and a program that can more appropriately evaluate driving in accordance with the driving conditions of surrounding vehicles. This will ultimately contribute to the development of a sustainable transportation system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information management device, an information management method, a vehicle system, and a program according to the present invention employ the following configuration. (1): An information management device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit that communicates with a plurality of vehicles, an acquisition unit that acquires driving information of the plurality of vehicles via the communication unit, and an evaluation and judgment unit that performs an evaluation and judgment of whether a driver of the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on the vehicle driving information included in the plurality of vehicles, wherein when the evaluation and judgment unit determines that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, it acquires other vehicles that were present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time the unsafe driving occurred based on the driving information of the other vehicles, and evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speed or positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling.

[0007] (2): In the above aspect (1), the evaluation and judgment unit acquires other vehicles that were present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the vehicle engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, and if at least one of the acquired other vehicles is present behind the vehicle, evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the speed of the other vehicles present behind the vehicle, and the speed limit.

[0008] (3): In the above aspect (1), the evaluation and judgment unit acquires other vehicles present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the vehicle engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, and when at least one of the acquired other vehicles is present behind the vehicle and in a situation in which it is difficult for the vehicle to change lanes, evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the speed of the other vehicles present behind the vehicle, and the speed limit.

[0009] (4) In the above aspect (3), the situation in which it is difficult for the vehicle to change lanes includes a situation in which there is another vehicle within a predetermined distance from the vehicle in an adjacent lane to which the vehicle is to change lanes.

[0010] (5): In the above aspect (1), the communication unit further includes a providing unit that communicates with the driver's terminal device and provides information regarding unsafe driving of the vehicle to the vehicle or the driver's terminal device at a predetermined timing after the driver has finished driving the vehicle.

[0011] (6): In the above aspect (3), the communication unit further includes a provision unit that communicates with a third party's terminal device associated with the driver and provides information regarding unsafe driving of the vehicle to the third party's terminal device at a predetermined timing after the driver has finished driving the vehicle.

[0012] (7): In the above aspect (1), the evaluation and judgment unit judges whether the vehicle is speeding, and if it determines that the reason for the speeding is due to the influence of vehicles surrounding the vehicle, makes an evaluation that is different from the evaluation made in cases where the speeding is caused by other reasons.

[0013] (8): An information management method according to one embodiment of the present invention is an information management method in which a computer communicates with a plurality of vehicles, acquires driving information of the plurality of vehicles, evaluates and determines whether the driver of the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on the driving information of the vehicles included in the plurality of vehicles, and if it is determined that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, acquires other vehicles that were present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time the unsafe driving occurred based on the driving information of the other vehicles, and evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speed or positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling.

[0014] (9): A vehicle system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a recognition unit that recognizes the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, an acquisition unit that acquires driving information of the vehicle and driving information of other vehicles based on the surrounding conditions, and an evaluation and judgment unit that evaluates whether the driver of the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on the driving information of the vehicle, wherein when the evaluation and judgment unit determines that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, it acquires other vehicles that are present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle and evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speed or positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling.

[0015] (10): A program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to communicate with a plurality of vehicles, acquire driving information of the plurality of vehicles, evaluate and determine whether a driver of the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on the driving information of the vehicles included in the plurality of vehicles, and if it is determined that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, acquire other vehicles that were present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time the unsafe driving occurred based on the driving information of the other vehicles, and evaluate the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speed or positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the above aspects (1) to (10), the driving can be more appropriately evaluated according to the traveling conditions of the surrounding vehicles. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information management system 1 including an information management device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle system installed in a vehicle M. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of a terminal device 200. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of an information management device 400. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a driver information DB 462. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of an evaluation judgment result DB 464. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a first scene of unsafe driving regarding the speed of a vehicle. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a second situation of unsafe driving regarding the vehicle speed. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a third situation of unsafe driving regarding the vehicle speed. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a fourth situation of unsafe driving regarding vehicle speed. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram showing an example of an image IM10 provided by a providing unit 440. FIG. [Figure 12] 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process executed by the information management device 400 in the embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of functions of a driving assistance device 120A in a modified example of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of an information management device, an information management method, a vehicle system, and a program according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information management system 1 including an information management device according to an embodiment. The information management system 1 includes, for example, a plurality of vehicles M1 to Mn, terminal devices 200-1 to 200-n used by drivers D1 to Dn who drive the vehicles M1 to Mn, a terminal device 300 used by a user U of the information management system 1, and an information management device 400. Hereinafter, the vehicles M1 to Mn will be simply referred to as a vehicle M except when each of them is to be identified and described. The same applies to the driver D and the terminal device 200. The vehicle M, the terminal devices 200 and 300, and the information management device 400 communicate with each other via a network NW, for example. The network NW includes, for example, a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth (registered trademark), the Internet, a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a public line, a provider device, a dedicated line, a wireless base station, and the like. In addition, the vehicle M may directly communicate with the terminal devices 200 and 300 via a short-range communication network such as a Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth.

[0020] The vehicle M is, for example, a two-wheeled, three-wheeled, or four-wheeled vehicle, and its driving source is an internal combustion engine such as a diesel engine or a gasoline engine, an electric motor, or a combination of these. The electric motor operates using power generated by a generator connected to the internal combustion engine, or discharged power from a secondary battery or a fuel cell. The vehicle M is manually driven by a driver D, but may be a vehicle in which a driving assistance function can be activated. Examples of the driving assistance function include, but are not limited to, Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), and Auto Lane Change Assist (ALCA). When the driving assistance function is activated, one or both of the steering and speed of the vehicle M are automatically controlled by a vehicle system, regardless of the driving operation of the driver D.

[0021] The vehicle M acquires information (travel information) related to the travel of the vehicle M, and transmits the acquired travel information to the information management device 400. The travel information includes FCD (Floating Car Data). Specifically, the travel information includes, for example, information related to the driving operation of the vehicle M by the driver D. The information related to the driving operation may include, for example, not only behavior information such as the speed, acceleration, yaw rate, steering angle, and position information of the vehicle M, but also the amount of operation of the driving operator, the operation of the headlights, the operation of the wipers, and other operation contents of the in-vehicle devices. In addition, the travel information may include the recognition result by the recognition unit of the vehicle M, and may include information related to the operation (execution) status of the driving assistance function (for example, the time and position of the operation, and the type of the driving assistance function).

[0022] The terminal devices 200 and 300 are, for example, smartphones or tablet terminals. The terminal device 200 may be coupled to the vehicle M and function as an in-vehicle device. The terminal device 200 acquires information on the driving support function executed by the vehicle M from the information management device 400, acquires information for inquiring whether or not to suppress the operation of a specific driving support function (for example, RDM), and provides the acquired information to the driver D by displaying an image or outputting a voice. The terminal device 200 also transmits information input by the driver D to the information management device 400. The terminal device 300 is used by a user U such as a person associated with the driver D (for example, a family member or a manager of the driver D's work), acquires information from the information management device 400, and provides the acquired information to the user U by displaying an image or outputting a voice. The user U is an example of a "third party."

[0023] The information management device 400 may be, for example, a server device or a PC (Personal Computer), or may be a cloud server configured by cloud computing consisting of one or more information processing devices. The information management device 400 acquires driving information from a plurality of vehicles M and manages the driving status of the driver D for each vehicle M. The information management device 400 also performs an evaluation and judgment of the unsafe driving of the driver D regarding the vehicle speed, and provides information regarding the judgment result to the vehicle M, the terminal devices 200, 300, and the like. The following will specifically explain the functions of the vehicle M, the terminal devices 200, 300, and the information management device 400. Note that the same functions can be applied to the terminal devices 200 and 300, so the following will explain the terminal device 200, and will omit an explanation of the terminal device 300.

[0024] [vehicle] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle system mounted on a vehicle M. The vehicle system mounted on a vehicle M includes, for example, a camera 10, a radar device 12, a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) 14, an object recognition device 16, a communication device 20, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 30, a vehicle sensor 40, a navigation device 50, an MPU (Map Positioning Unit) 60, a driving operator 80, a driving force output device 92, a brake device 94, a steering device 96, and a driving support device 120. These devices and equipment are connected to each other by a multiplex communication line such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) communication line, a serial communication line, a wireless communication network, or the like. The configuration shown in FIG. 2 is merely an example, and some of the configuration may be omitted, or other configuration may be added.

[0025] The camera 10 is, for example, a digital camera using a solid-state imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The camera 10 is attached to any location of the vehicle M. When capturing an image of the front, the camera 10 is attached to the top of the front windshield, the back of the rearview mirror, or the like. The camera 10, for example, periodically and repeatedly captures images of the periphery of the vehicle M. The camera 10 may be a stereo camera.

[0026] The radar device 12 emits radio waves such as millimeter waves around the vehicle M and detects radio waves reflected by an object (reflected waves) to detect at least the position (distance and direction) of the object. The radar device 12 is attached to an arbitrary location of the vehicle M. The radar device 12 may detect the position and speed of an object by an FM-CW (Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave) method.

[0027] The LIDAR 14 irradiates light (or electromagnetic waves with a wavelength close to that of light) around the vehicle M and measures the scattered light. The LIDAR 14 detects the distance to the target based on the time between light emission and light reception. The irradiated light is, for example, a pulsed laser light. The LIDAR 14 is attached to an arbitrary location of the vehicle M.

[0028] The object recognition device 16 performs sensor fusion processing on some or all of the detection results from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the LIDAR 14 to recognize the position, type, speed, etc. of the object. The object recognition device 16 outputs the recognition result to the driving assistance device 120. The object recognition device 16 may output the detection results from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the LIDAR 14 directly to the driving assistance device 120. The object recognition device 16 may be omitted from the vehicle M.

[0029] The communication device 20 includes, for example, a TCU (Telematics Control Unit). The communication device 20 communicates with the information management device 400 and other vehicles present around the vehicle M, or with various other server devices, using a network NW such as a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth, or a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication). The communication device 20 may also perform wireless communication with a terminal device 200 of a driver D riding in the vehicle M through a short-range communication network such as a Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth, or may perform wired communication with the terminal device 200 by being connected to a communication cable or the like.

[0030] The HMI 30 presents various information to the driver D who is in the vehicle M and accepts input operations by the driver D. The HMI 30 includes, for example, a display device, a speaker, and a vibration device. The display device is, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display. The display device is, for example, a display device provided in the center of the instrument panel of the vehicle M or in front of the driver's seat, which displays various information on the vehicle M, such as a speedometer (speedometer) indicating the traveling speed of the vehicle M or a tachometer (tachometer) indicating the number of revolutions (rotation speed) of an internal combustion engine equipped in the vehicle M, and the operating status of a driving support function, and is a so-called multi-information display. The speaker outputs an alarm, a message sound, a voice, and the like. The vibration device provides a predetermined strength of vibration to the driving operation device 80 such as the driver's seat or the steering wheel to inform the driver D of the situation and give instructions. The HMI 30 may also include, for example, a buzzer, a touch panel, a microphone, a key, and the like. The HMI 30 may also include a turn signal switch that receives commands to turn on or off the turn signals, which inform the outside world of the vehicle M's upcoming lane changes or right or left turns, and a wiper switch that receives commands to operate or stop the wipers.

[0031] The vehicle sensor 40 includes a vehicle speed sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle M, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration, a yaw rate sensor that detects the angular velocity around a vertical axis, a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle, and the like. The vehicle sensor 40 may also include a position sensor that acquires the position of the vehicle M. The position sensor is, for example, a sensor that acquires position information (longitude and latitude information) from a GPS (Global Positioning System) device. The position sensor may also be a sensor that acquires position information using a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 51 of the navigation device 50. Information detected by the vehicle sensor 40 is output to the driving assistance device 120.

[0032] The navigation device 50 includes, for example, a GNSS receiver 51, a navigation HMI 52, and a route determination unit 53. The navigation device 50 holds first map information 54 in a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a flash memory. The GNSS receiver 51 identifies the position of the vehicle M based on a signal received from a GNSS satellite. The position of the vehicle M may be identified or complemented by an inertial navigation system (INS) using the output of the vehicle sensor 40. The navigation HMI 52 includes a display device, a speaker, a touch panel, keys, and the like. The navigation HMI 52 may be partially or entirely shared with the above-mentioned HMI 30. The route determination unit 53, for example, determines a route (hereinafter, a route on a map) from the position of the vehicle M identified by the GNSS receiver 51 (or an arbitrary position input) to a destination input by the driver D using the navigation HMI 52 with reference to the first map information 54. The first map information 54 is, for example, information in which road shapes are expressed by links indicating roads and nodes connected by the links. The first map information 54 may include road curvature and gradient, POI (Point Of Interest) information, and the like. The route on the map is output to the MPU 60. The navigation device 50 may perform route guidance using the navigation HMI 52 based on the route on the map. The navigation device 50 may be realized, for example, by a function of the terminal device 200 of the driver D. The navigation device 50 may transmit a current position and a destination to a navigation server via the communication device 20, and obtain a route equivalent to the route on the map from the navigation server.

[0033] The MPU 60 includes, for example, a recommended lane determination unit 61, and holds second map information 62 in a storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory. The recommended lane determination unit 61 divides the route on the map provided by the navigation device 50 into a plurality of blocks (for example, by dividing it into 100 [m] blocks in the vehicle travel direction), and determines a recommended lane for each block by referring to the second map information 62. The recommended lane determination unit 61 determines which lane from the left the vehicle should travel in. When a branch point is present on the route on the map, the recommended lane determination unit 61 determines a recommended lane so that the vehicle M can travel a reasonable route to proceed to the branch point. The second map information 62 is map information with higher accuracy than the first map information 54. The second map information 62 includes, for example, information on the center of the lane, information on the boundary of the lane (road dividing line), and the like. The second map information 62 may include road information such as the number of lanes and road width, traffic regulation information (for example, road speed limits, stop positions, no parking positions), address information (address and postal code), facility information, telephone number information, etc. The second map information 62 may be updated at any time by the communication device 20 communicating with other devices.

[0034] The driving operators 80 include, for example, a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a turn signal switch, and other operators. The driving operators 80 are fitted with sensors that detect the amount of operation or the presence or absence of operation, and the detection results are output to the driving support device 120, or some or all of the driving force output device 92, the brake device 94, and the steering device 96.

[0035] The driving force output device 92 outputs a driving force (torque) for the vehicle to travel to the driving wheels. The driving force output device 92 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, an electric motor, a transmission, etc., and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) that controls these. The ECU controls the above components according to information input from the driving assistance device 120 or information input from the driving operator 80.

[0036] The brake device 94 includes, for example, a brake caliper, a cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the brake caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the cylinder, and a brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor according to information input from the driving support device 120 or information input from the driving operation element 80, so that a brake torque corresponding to a braking operation is output to each wheel. The brake device 94 may include a backup mechanism that transmits hydraulic pressure generated by operation of a brake pedal included in the driving operation element 80 to the cylinder via a master cylinder. Note that the brake device 94 is not limited to the configuration described above, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that controls an actuator according to information input from the driving support device 120 to transmit hydraulic pressure in the master cylinder to the cylinder.

[0037] The steering device 96 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor changes the direction of the steered wheels by applying a force to, for example, a rack-and-pinion mechanism. The steering ECU drives the electric motor to change the direction of the steered wheels according to information input from the driving support device 120 or information input from the driving operator 80. The steering device 96 may also be provided with a steering reaction force mechanism that, under the control of the driving support device 120, applies a predetermined reaction force to rotate the steering wheel in the opposite direction to the steering direction of the steering wheel operated by the driver D (to make it difficult to rotate in the steering direction), thereby suppressing the steering operation of the driver D.

[0038] The driving support device 120 includes, for example, a recognition unit 122, a driving control unit 124, a driving information acquisition unit 126, an HMI control unit 130, and a storage unit 140. Some or all of the recognition unit 122, the driving control unit 124, the driving information acquisition unit 126, and the HMI control unit 130 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium) such as the HDD or flash memory of the driving assistance device 120, or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and installed in the HDD or flash memory of the driving assistance device 120 by inserting the storage medium (non-transient storage medium) into a drive device.

[0039] The storage unit 140 is realized by, for example, a HDD, a flash memory, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), or a RAM (Random Access Memory). For example, the storage unit 140 stores driving history data 142, programs, and various other information. The driving history data 142 is history information of driving information of the vehicle M acquired by the driving information acquisition unit 126.

[0040] The recognition unit 122 recognizes the surrounding situation of the vehicle M based on information input from the camera 10, the radar device 12, and the LIDAR 14 via the object recognition device 16. For example, the recognition unit 122 recognizes the position (relative position with respect to the vehicle M), speed (relative speed with respect to the vehicle M), acceleration, and other states of objects (e.g., other vehicles, pedestrians, road structures) in the vicinity of the vehicle M (within a predetermined distance) based on the input information. The position of the object is recognized as a position on an absolute coordinate system with a representative point of the vehicle M (center of gravity, center of drive shaft, etc.) as the origin, and is used for control. The position of the object may be represented by a representative point such as the center of gravity or a corner of the object, or may be represented by an area. The "state" of the object may include the acceleration or jerk of the object, or the "action state" (e.g., whether or not the object is changing lanes or is about to change lanes).

[0041] The recognition unit 122 recognizes, for example, the lane in which the vehicle M is traveling (driving lane). For example, the recognition unit 122 recognizes the driving lane by comparing a pattern of road dividing lines (for example, an arrangement of solid lines and dashed lines) obtained from the second map information 62 with a pattern of road dividing lines around the vehicle M recognized from a camera image. The recognition unit 122 may recognize the driving lane by recognizing road boundaries (road boundaries) including not only road dividing lines but also shoulders, curbs, medians, guardrails, etc. in addition to the road dividing lines. In this recognition, the position of the vehicle M acquired from the navigation device 50 and the processing results by the INS may be taken into consideration. The recognition unit 122 recognizes stop lines, obstacles, red lights, toll booths, and other road phenomena. The recognition unit 122 may also recognize the number of lanes and road signs in the vicinity based on the analysis results of the image captured by the camera image and map information.

[0042] Furthermore, when recognizing the travel lane, the recognition unit 122 recognizes the position and attitude of the vehicle M with respect to the travel lane. For example, the recognition unit 122 may recognize the degree of deviation of a reference point (e.g., center of gravity or center) of the vehicle M from the center of the lane and the angle with respect to a line connecting the centers of the lanes in the traveling direction of the vehicle M as the relative position and attitude of the vehicle M with respect to the travel lane. Alternatively, the recognition unit 122 may recognize the position of the reference point of the vehicle M with respect to either side end of the travel lane (road division line or road boundary) as the relative position of the vehicle M with respect to the travel lane.

[0043] During manual driving by the driver D using the driving operator 80, the driving control unit 124 activates a driving support function that satisfies a predetermined operating condition among driving support functions (e.g., RDM, FCW, CMBS, ACC, ALCA) that the vehicle M can operate (execute) based on the surrounding conditions recognized by the recognition unit 122. For example, when the driving control unit 124 activates a driving support function corresponding to the surrounding conditions, the driving control unit 124 displays an image or outputs a sound, or issues a predetermined warning using vibration or steering reaction force, etc., to alert the driver D. When the driving control unit 124 displays an image or outputs a sound due to the operation of the driving support function, the driving control unit 124 causes the HMI control unit 130 to output a predetermined image or sound from the HMI 30. When the driving control unit 124 vibrates the steering wheel or the driver's seat, the driving control unit 124 controls the vibration device 36 to output a predetermined vibration. When the driving control unit 124 applies a steering reaction force, the driving control unit 124 controls the steering reaction force mechanism of the steering device 96 to apply a steering reaction force in a predetermined direction.

[0044] Furthermore, when the driving assistance function is activated, the driving control unit 124 may generate a target trajectory so that the vehicle M travels along the recommended lane determined by the MPU 60 without coming into contact with surrounding objects, and control at least one of the driving drive force output device 92, the brake device 94, and the steering device 96 so that the vehicle M travels along the generated target trajectory. As a result, one or both of the steering and the speed of the vehicle M are controlled, and automatic driving of the vehicle M according to the purpose is performed.

[0045] The travel information acquisition unit 126 acquires travel information of the vehicle M. For example, the travel information acquisition unit 126 acquires travel information based on information input by the HMI 30, the detection result of the vehicle sensor 40 (including at least the speed of the vehicle M), the detection result (operation amount) of the sensor provided on the driving operator 80, the recognition result by the recognition unit 122, the control content (operation result of the driving support function) by the travel control unit 124, and the like. These are stored in the storage unit 140 as travel history data 142 together with time information of input, detection, or control. In addition, the travel information acquisition unit 126 transmits the acquired information (travel history data 142) to the information management device 400 at a predetermined timing (for example, at the end of driving or at a predetermined cycle). In addition, the travel information acquisition unit 126 may add identification information (for example, a vehicle ID) for identifying the vehicle M or identification information (for example, a driver ID) for identifying the driver D to the information to be transmitted.

[0046] The HMI control unit 130 notifies the driver D of the vehicle M of predetermined information by the HMI 30, and acquires the operation contents of the driver D accepted via the HMI 30. The predetermined information includes, for example, information related to the driving of the vehicle M, such as information related to the state of the vehicle M and information related to the driving support function in operation. The information related to the state of the vehicle M includes, for example, information such as the speed of the vehicle M, engine speed, and shift position. The information related to the driving control may include, for example, information indicating which driving support function is in operation. The predetermined information includes information related to unsafe driving of the vehicle M by the driver D (for example, an evaluation judgment result described later), and the like. The predetermined information may also include information unrelated to the driving control of the vehicle M, such as television programs, content (for example, movies) stored in a storage medium such as a DVD.

[0047] For example, the HMI control unit 130 may generate an image (which may be a still image or a video) containing the above-mentioned specified information and display the generated image on the display device of the HMI 30, or may generate sound indicating the specified information and output the generated sound to a speaker of the HMI 30.

[0048] [Terminal Device] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the terminal device 200. The terminal device 200 includes, for example, a terminal-side communication unit 210, an input unit 220, an output unit 230, a control unit 240, an application execution unit 250, and a terminal-side storage unit 260. A part or all of the control unit 240 and the application execution unit 250 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). In addition, a part or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including a circuit unit; circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory in advance (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium), and may be installed in the storage device by mounting the storage medium in a drive device or a card slot of the terminal device 200.

[0049] The terminal-side storage unit 260 may be realized by the various storage devices described above, or an EEPROM, a ROM, a RAM, etc. The terminal-side storage unit 260 stores, for example, a driving evaluation application 262, programs, and various other information.

[0050] The terminal side communication unit 210 communicates with the information management device 400 and other external devices via, for example, a network NW. The terminal side communication unit 210 may also communicate with the vehicle M via a short-range communication network or the network NW.

[0051] The input unit 220 accepts input from the driver D by operating various keys, buttons, etc. The input unit 220 may also include a microphone that accepts voice input from the driver D. The input unit 220 accepts input of, for example, a request to use a service provided by the information management device 400, driver information, and answer information regarding an inquiry as to whether or not to suppress a driving support function.

[0052] The output unit 230 includes, for example, a display unit 232 and a speaker 234. The output unit 230 outputs predetermined information to the display unit 232 and the speaker 234. The display unit 232 is, for example, an LCD or an organic EL display. The input unit 220 may be integrated with the display unit 232 as a touch panel. The display unit 232 displays various information in the embodiment. The speaker 234 outputs predetermined sound. For example, the output unit 230 outputs an image or sound corresponding to information provided by the information management device 400, or outputs information input by the input unit 220.

[0053] The control unit 240 controls the overall functions of the terminal device 200. For example, the control unit 240 controls communication by the terminal side communication unit 210, input / output by the input unit 220 and the output unit 230, and controls the execution of the driving evaluation application 262 by the application execution unit 250.

[0054] The application execution unit 250 is realized by executing a driving evaluation application 262 stored in the terminal side storage unit 260. The driving evaluation application 262 is, for example, downloaded from an external device via the network NW and installed in the terminal device 200. The driving evaluation application 262 is application software that acquires information about unsafe driving of the driver D of the vehicle M from the information management device 400 and outputs the acquired information to the output unit 230. The information about unsafe driving may include an evaluation result for the unsafe driving. In addition, the driving evaluation application 262 transmits information input by the input unit 220 to the information management device 400. Note that the transmitted information may be provided with identification information (for example, a terminal ID) for identifying the terminal device 200 or a driver ID for identifying the driver D.

[0055] In the case of the functional configuration of the terminal device 300, in the explanation of the functional configuration of the terminal device 200 described above, "terminal device 200" is read as "terminal device 300", and the information provided to "driver D" is provided to "user U".

[0056] [Information management device] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information management device 400. The information management device 400 includes, for example, a communication unit 410, an acquisition unit 420, an evaluation and judgment unit 430, a provision unit 440, and a device-side storage unit 460. A part or all of the acquisition unit 420, the evaluation and judgment unit 430, and the provision unit 440 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). In addition, a part or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in a storage device (non-transient storage medium) such as an HDD or flash memory in advance, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (non-transient storage medium) such as a DVD or CD-ROM, and may be installed by mounting the storage medium in a drive device of the information management device 400. The information management device 400 may be realized by an operator of a driving assistance function provision service installing a program on a cloud server, in which case the owner of the hardware of the information management device 400 may be different from the operator of the service.

[0057] The device-side storage unit 460 may be realized by the above-mentioned various storage devices, or EEPROM, ROM, RAM, etc. For example, a driver information DB (Database) 462, an evaluation judgment result DB 464, map information 466, programs, and various other information are stored in the device-side storage unit 460. The map information 466 may be the same map information as the above-mentioned map information (the first map information 54 and the second map information 62), or may be map information with higher resolution and a wider range. At least a part of the information included in the device-side storage unit 460 may be stored in an external device (for example, a DB server) that can communicate with the information management device 400.

[0058] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the driver information DB 462. The driver information DB 462 is information in which, for example, a driver ID is associated with personal information, terminal information, vehicle information, and driving history data. The personal information includes, for example, information such as name, age, sex, address, and contact information. The terminal information is identification information (for example, a terminal ID) for identifying the terminal device 200 used by the driver D. The terminal information may also include address information for the information management device 400 to communicate with the terminal device 200. The terminal information may also include address information for communicating with the terminal device 300 of a user U (for example, a family member or a work manager of the driver D) associated with the driver D in addition to the above information. The vehicle information is, for example, identification information (vehicle ID) of the vehicle driven by the driver D. The vehicle information may also include address information for the information management device 400 to communicate with the vehicle M. The driving history data is, for example, history data of driving information of the vehicle M. Furthermore, the driver information DB 462 may store authentication information (e.g., a password, etc.) for the information management device 400 to authenticate the driver D. Such information may be registered by a registration process from the terminal device 200, or may be acquired from data transmitted from the vehicle M at a predetermined timing.

[0059] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the evaluation judgment result DB 464. The evaluation judgment result DB 464 is information in which, for example, time information, position information, unsafe driving type, and evaluation judgment result are associated with each other. The time information stores date and time information at which the evaluation judgment unit 430 judges that the driver D has performed unsafe driving. The position information stores position information at which the unsafe driving was performed. Information on the unsafe driving type is stored. The evaluation judgment result stores an evaluation result for unsafe driving related to the speed of the vehicle M. These pieces of information are stored, for example, for each driver ID. The evaluation judgment result DB 464 is generated by the evaluation judgment unit 430.

[0060] Returning to FIG. 4, the communication unit 410 communicates with various devices via a network NW or the like. The communication unit 410 includes, for example, a first communication unit 412 and a second communication unit 414. The first communication unit 412 communicates with the terminal device 200 of the driver D and the terminal device 300 of the user U, which are connected via the network NW or a communication cable. The second communication unit 414 communicates with the vehicle M via the network NW. For example, the second communication unit 414 communicates with a plurality of vehicles M that have a driving assistance function and can acquire driving information. The first communication unit 412 and the second communication unit 414 may be implemented by different hardware or different software. The communication unit 410 may also communicate with other external devices via the network NW.

[0061] The acquisition unit 420 acquires various information from the terminal device 200, the vehicle M, an external device connected via the network NW, etc., based on the information received by the communication unit 410. For example, the acquisition unit 420 acquires driving history data (driving information) of the vehicle M and information on the driver D from the vehicle M. The acquisition unit 420 associates the acquired information with a vehicle ID, etc., and stores it in the driver information DB 462. The acquisition unit 420 may also acquire information from the terminal device 300.

[0062] The evaluation and determination unit 430, for example, determines whether or not the driver D of each vehicle M (driver D) has engaged in unsafe driving while driving the vehicle M, based on information (travel information, etc.) acquired by the second communication unit 414 from the multiple vehicles M. Unsafe driving may be, for example, driving that violates rules such as the Road Traffic Act, or driving that is presumed to be unsafe driving that is set in advance other than the rules. Unsafe driving includes, for example, speeding (speed limit violation, speeding), violation of a stop sign obligation, violation of parking and stopping prohibitions, lane departure (running out of lane), sudden stopping, sudden starting, etc.

[0063] For example, the evaluation and determination unit 430 acquires driving history data for each driver for a predetermined period from the driver information DB 462, and acquires the speed and position information of the vehicle M for each predetermined time included in the driving history data. Next, the evaluation and determination unit 430 refers to the map information 466 based on the position information, and acquires traffic regulation information (speed limit, stop position, no parking position, etc.) of the road on which the vehicle M travels. Then, for example, when the speed of the vehicle M exceeds the speed limit by a predetermined speed or more, the evaluation and determination unit 430 judges that the vehicle M is driving unsafely by speeding. In addition, when the speed of the vehicle M near the stop position is not zero (0) (when the vehicle is not stopped), the evaluation and determination unit 430 judges that the vehicle M is driving unsafely by violating the stop sign. In addition, when the speed of the vehicle M is zero (stopped state) for a predetermined time or more and the position is a no parking position, the evaluation and determination unit 430 judges that the vehicle M is driving unsafely by violating the parking prohibition. Furthermore, the evaluation and determination unit 430 may determine that the driving is unsafe, ie, lane departure, when the RDM is activated among the driving support functions installed in the vehicle M. Furthermore, the evaluation and determination unit 430 may determine that the driving is unsafe, ie, sudden acceleration or sudden deceleration, when the amount of speed change in a predetermined time is equal to or greater than a predetermined amount, depending on the speed increase or decrease. Note that the type of unsafe driving is not limited to this.

[0064] Furthermore, the evaluation determination unit 430 performs an evaluation of the unsafe driving related to the speed of the vehicle M based on the traveling conditions of the surrounding vehicles. The evaluation process when it is determined that the driving is unsafe with respect to the speed of the vehicle M will be described later. When it is determined that the driving of the driver D is unsafe, the evaluation determination unit 430 associates the time information, the position information, and the type of the determined unsafe driving and stores them in the evaluation determination result DB 464. Furthermore, the evaluation determination unit 430 stores an evaluation result, which will be described later, as an evaluation determination result for the unsafe driving related to the speed of the vehicle M in the evaluation determination result DB 464.

[0065] The providing unit 440 provides the vehicle M or the terminal device 200 of the driver D with information on the unsafe driving of the driver D judged by the evaluation judgment unit 430 (for example, information stored in the evaluation judgment result DB 464) at a predetermined timing. The predetermined timing is, for example, a predetermined timing after the driver D finishes driving the vehicle M, and more specifically, at the end of the day when the driver D drives the vehicle M, or a predetermined time after the driver D finishes driving the vehicle M. The providing unit 440 may also provide information on the unsafe driving at a timing when an inquiry is made from the vehicle M or the terminal device 200. By outputting the provided information, the vehicle M or the terminal device 200 can make the driver D look back on his / her driving history, and can easily suppress unsafe driving in the next and subsequent drives. The providing unit 440 can provide information continuously by providing information at a predetermined period set in advance, and can make safe driving a habit.

[0066] Furthermore, the providing unit 440 may provide information on unsafe driving to the terminal device 300 of the user U associated with the driver D. This allows, for example, a third party (such as the family member or work manager of the driver D) to monitor the driving situation (unsafe driving) of the driver D. By providing such a monitoring service, a third party can give driving advice or caution to the driver D, and the driver D can be made aware of safer driving.

[0067] [Evaluation process for unsafe driving regarding vehicle speed] Next, a specific example of evaluation processing when it is determined that the vehicle M has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed will be described. For example, when it is determined that the vehicle M has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, the evaluation determination unit 430 acquires other vehicles that exist within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the unsafe driving occurred based on the driving information of the other vehicles, and evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speed or positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling. The contents of evaluation in several situations (cases) will be described below. In addition, in the following example, it will be described that the unsafe driving in terms of the speed of the vehicle M is overspeeding.

[0068] <Scene 1> FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a first scene of unsafe driving related to the speed of a vehicle. In the example of FIG. 7, two lanes L1 and L2 that can travel in the same direction (X-axis direction in the figure) are shown. The lane L1 is divided by road dividing lines LN1 and LN2, and the lane L2 is divided by road dividing lines LN2 and LN3. In the example of FIG. 7, the road dividing line LN2 is a dividing line that indicates that a lane change is possible between the lanes L1 and K2. A vehicle M1 (hereinafter referred to as the host vehicle M1) is traveling on the lane L2 at a speed VM1 along the extension direction of the lane L2. Vehicles M2 to M4 are surrounding vehicles (other vehicles as viewed from the host vehicle M1) that exist within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle M1 (hereinafter referred to as the other vehicles M2 to M4). In the example of FIG. 7, the other vehicle M2 is traveling on the same lane ahead of the host vehicle M1 at a speed VM2. Another vehicle M3 is traveling behind the host vehicle M1 in the same lane at a speed VM3. Another vehicle M4 is traveling in the adjacent lane (lane L1) adjacent to the lane in which the host vehicle M1 is traveling, in the same traveling direction as the host vehicle M1 at a speed VM4.

[0069] For example, the evaluation determination unit 430 acquires other vehicles M2-M4 present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle M1 at the time when the vehicle M1 performed unsafe driving in terms of speed, and when at least one of the acquired other vehicles M2-M4 is present behind the vehicle M1 and it is difficult for the vehicle M1 to change lanes, evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle M1 based on the speed of the vehicle M1, the speed VM3 of the other vehicle M3 present behind the vehicle M1, and the speed limit of the lane L2. The situation in which it is difficult for the vehicle M1 to change lanes includes, for example, a situation in which another vehicle is present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle M in the adjacent lane to which the vehicle M1 is to change lanes. The situation in which it is difficult for the vehicle M1 to change lanes includes a situation in which the adjacent lane is under construction or a situation in which lane changing is prohibited.

[0070] For example, in a first scenario, other vehicles M2 and M3 are present within a predetermined distance in front of and behind the host vehicle M1, and another vehicle M4 is present within a predetermined distance from the host vehicle M1 in an adjacent lane (lane L1) to the lane L2 in which the host vehicle M1 is traveling. In such a scenario, the host vehicle M1 has difficulty changing lanes from lane L2 to lane L1, and is unable to leave the group of vehicles. Therefore, if the speeds VM2-VM4 of the other vehicles M2-M4 are exceeding the speed limits for the lanes L1 and L2, there is a high possibility that the speed VM1 of the host vehicle M1 will also exceed the speed limit. Therefore, in the first scene, if it is determined that the vehicle M1 (driver D) is driving unsafely by speeding, the evaluation judgment unit 430 evaluates that this judgment result is due to the driver D of the vehicle M1 being influenced by surrounding vehicles (other vehicles M2 to M4) (in other words, the driver was forced to exceed the speed limit due to the driving conditions of the surrounding vehicles, or the driver was driving in accordance with the driving conditions of the surrounding vehicles, so there is room for leniency).

[0071] <Second scene> FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a second scene of unsafe driving related to the vehicle speed. The example of FIG. 8 is different from the example of FIG. 7 in that there is no other vehicle M2 traveling ahead of the host vehicle M1 among the other vehicles M2 to M4. In this case as well, if the other vehicles M3 and M4 are traveling at a speed exceeding the speed limit, the host vehicle M1 is in a situation where it is difficult to change lanes, and travels at a speed matching the other vehicles M3 and M4. Therefore, even in the case shown in FIG. 8, the evaluation determination unit 350 determines that the host vehicle M1 (driver D) is driving unsafely by speeding, and evaluates that this determination is due to the driver D of the host vehicle M1 being influenced by surrounding vehicles (other vehicles M3 to M4).

[0072] <Scene 3> Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining a third scene of unsafe driving related to the vehicle speed. The example of Fig. 9 is different from the example of Fig. 8 in that, among the other vehicles M3-M4, there is no other vehicle M4 traveling in the lane L1 adjacent to the lane in which the host vehicle M1 is traveling. Even in the third scene, when the other vehicle M3 is present behind the host vehicle M1, the evaluation determination unit 430 evaluates the unsafe driving of the host vehicle M1 based on the speed VM1 of the host vehicle M1, the speed VM3 of the other vehicle M3 present behind the host vehicle M1, and the speed limit of the lane L2.

[0073] For example, as in the third scene, when there is no other vehicle in the adjacent lane but the other vehicle M3 is traveling at a speed exceeding the speed limit, the host vehicle M1 is in a situation where the other vehicle M3 approaches the host vehicle M1 with an unnecessarily short inter-vehicle distance or tailgates the host vehicle M1 from behind. Therefore, the host vehicle M1 is likely to accelerate according to the speed VM3 of the other vehicle M3. Therefore, even in the third scene as shown in FIG. 9, when the evaluation determination unit 430 determines that the host vehicle M1 (driver D) is driving unsafely by exceeding the speed, this determination is made as if the driver D of the host vehicle M1 is being influenced by surrounding vehicles (particularly the following other vehicle M3).

[0074] <Scene 4> FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a fourth scene of unsafe driving related to the speed of the vehicle. The example of FIG. 9 is different from the example of FIG. 7 in that, among the other vehicles M2 to M4, the other vehicle M3 traveling behind the host vehicle M1 and the other vehicle M4 traveling in the lane L1 adjacent to the lane in which the host vehicle M1 is traveling are not present. In the fourth scene, since there are no vehicles behind or in the adjacent lanes, the speed VM1 of the host vehicle M1 can be adjusted by the driver D himself, regardless of the speed VM2 of the other vehicle M2. Therefore, in the case of the fourth scene, the evaluation determination unit 350 determines that the host vehicle M1 (driver D) is driving unsafely by speeding, and this determination is made by evaluating that the driver D of the host vehicle M1 is not influenced by the surrounding vehicle (other vehicle M2) (in other words, the driver D is speeding at his own will (or alone)).

[0075] In this way, when the evaluation unit 430 judges the speeding of the vehicle M1 and determines that the speeding is due to the influence of the surrounding vehicles of the vehicle M1, the evaluation unit 430 performs an evaluation different from the evaluation of the speeding for other reasons. Therefore, it is possible to perform a more appropriate evaluation of unsafe driving related to the speed of the vehicle M based on the positional relationship between the speed of the surrounding vehicles and the vehicle M1.

[0076] In the above example, the evaluation judgment unit 430 obtains the speed information, position information, etc. of other vehicles from driving information (driving history data) obtained from the other vehicles, but this is not limited to this. For example, the evaluation judgment unit 430 may obtain the recognition result of the surrounding conditions recognized by the recognition unit 122 of the host vehicle M1 from the driving history data of the host vehicle M1, and perform evaluation in each of the above-mentioned situations based on the relative position and relative speed information of other surrounding vehicles included in the recognition result.

[0077] [Provider] Next, a specific description will be given of the information provided by the providing unit 440. For example, the providing unit 440 generates information on unsafe driving based on the information stored in the evaluation judgment result DB 464, based on the evaluation judgment result in which the evaluation judgment unit 430 judges the driving to be unsafe, and provides the generated information to at least one of the vehicle M, the terminal device 200 of the driver D, and the terminal device 300 of the user U at a predetermined timing.

[0078] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an image IM10 provided by the providing unit 440. Note that the display mode, such as the layout and display contents, of the image IM10 is not limited to the example of FIG. 11. The image IM10 has, for example, an unsafe driving content display area AR11, an evaluation comment display area AR12, and a switch display area AR13 as an evaluation result screen of the driving situation. The unsafe driving content display area AR11 displays information on the date and time, location, and type of unsafe driving that was determined to be unsafe driving in the driving of the vehicle M of the driver D providing the information during a predetermined period (for example, one day or one week, etc.). Note that in the case of speeding, information such as how many kilometers was exceeded may be displayed.

[0079] The evaluation comment display area AR12 displays the evaluation content for the judgment of unsafe driving. For example, when the reason for unsafe driving is evaluated as being due to the driving conditions of surrounding vehicles, the evaluation comment display area AR12 displays a comment according to the evaluation result. In the example of FIG. 11, the evaluation comment display area AR12 displays text information such as "It seems that there are many speeding incidents. However, the speeding at point C seems to have been influenced by surrounding vehicles." Note that the evaluation comment is not limited to this, and may be, for example, "The driver is driving in accordance with the driving conditions of the surrounding vehicles, so there is room for leniency." In this way, by notifying the driver of the evaluation content that is somewhat tolerant depending on the surrounding conditions rather than simply pointing out unsafe driving regarding the vehicle speed, the driver is less likely to feel uncomfortable and the degree of satisfaction is increased, which makes the driver more proactive in driving safely.

[0080] When the providing unit 440 provides the content of the image IM10 to the terminal device 300 of the user U, the content displayed in the evaluation comment display area AR12 does not have to be included.

[0081] The switch display area AR13 includes, for example, an icon IC11 that accepts closing (ending display) of the image IM10 displayed on the terminal device 200 or 300. The icon IC11 is, for example, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) switch. For example, when it is accepted that the driver D has selected the icon IC11 displayed on the terminal device 200, the terminal device 200 ends the display of the image IM10. Also, when it is accepted that the user U has selected the icon IC11 displayed on the terminal device 300, the terminal device 300 ends the display of the image IM10.

[0082] [Processing flow] Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the information management device 400 in the embodiment. In the example of Fig. 12, of the various types of processing executed by the information management device 400, the processing for evaluating and determining unsafe driving will be mainly described.

[0083] In the example of FIG. 12, the acquisition unit 420 acquires driving information from a plurality of vehicles M (step S100). Next, the evaluation determination unit 430 determines whether the driver D has performed unsafe driving of the vehicle M based on the driving information (step S110). Next, the evaluation determination unit 430 determines whether or not the driver D has performed unsafe driving regarding the speed of the vehicle M among the driving information determined to be unsafe driving (step S120). If the evaluation determination unit 430 determines that the driver D has performed unsafe driving, the evaluation unit 430 evaluates the unsafe driving regarding the speed of the vehicle M (step S130). After the process of step S130, or if the process of step S120 determines that the driver D has not performed unsafe driving regarding the speed of the vehicle M, the provision unit 440 generates information regarding unsafe driving (step S140) and provides the generated information to at least one of the vehicle M, the terminal device 200 of the driver D, and the user U associated with the driver D (step S150). This ends the process of this flowchart.

[0084] [Variations] In the embodiment, at least a part of the functions of the information management device 400 may be provided in the vehicle M. For example, the evaluation determination unit 430 may be provided on the driving support device side of the vehicle M. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the functions of the driving support device 120A in the modified embodiment. The driving support device 120A shown in FIG. 13 replaces the driving support device 120 of the vehicle system shown in FIG. 2. The driving support device 120A includes a recognition unit 122, a driving control unit 124, a driving information acquisition unit 126, an evaluation determination unit 128, an HMI control unit 130, and a storage unit 140. In the example of FIG. 13, the driving information acquisition unit 126 is an example of an "acquisition unit". The driving support device 120A is different from the driving support device 120 in that it has an evaluation determination unit 128. Therefore, the following description will be mainly focused on the evaluation determination unit 128.

[0085] The evaluation determination unit 128, like the above-mentioned evaluation determination unit 430, determines unsafe driving of the driver D of the vehicle M based on the driving information (driving history data 142) of the vehicle M. In addition, when the unsafe driving determination result is determined to be unsafe driving related to the speed of the vehicle M, the evaluation determination unit 128 evaluates the unsafe driving. In this case, the driving information acquisition unit 126 queries the information management device 400 about information related to the position and time when the unsafe driving related to the speed of the vehicle M was performed, and acquires driving information of other vehicles that were present near the position where the unsafe driving was performed at the same time. Then, like the above-mentioned evaluation determination unit 430, the evaluation determination unit 128 evaluates whether the speeding is due to the influence of the driving conditions of surrounding vehicles. In addition, when it is determined that vehicle M has been driven unsafely in terms of its speed based on the surrounding conditions recognized by the recognition unit 122 of vehicle M, the evaluation judgment unit 128 may obtain the speed and positional relationship of other vehicles in the vicinity, and further obtain the speed limit of the driving lane by referring to map information (e.g., the second map information 62) from the position information, and evaluate whether or not the speeding is due to the influence of the driving conditions of the surrounding vehicles.

[0086] Furthermore, the HMI control unit 130 generates information regarding unsafe driving (e.g., image IM10) based on the evaluation judgment result by the evaluation judgment unit 128, and provides the generated information to the HMI 30 and terminal devices 200, 300. The processing flow on the vehicle system side in the modified example is similar to the processing flow shown in Fig. 12. However, in the modified example, the "acquisition unit 420", "evaluation judgment unit 430", and "provision unit 440" in the explanation of Fig. 12 shall be read as "travel information acquisition unit 126", "evaluation judgment unit 128", and "HMI control unit 130", respectively.

[0087] In this way, according to the modified example, the vehicle system can provide the evaluation and judgment process regarding unsafe driving and information regarding unsafe driving.

[0088] In addition, the vehicle system of the embodiment may not be provided with a driving assistance function. In the above-mentioned embodiment, "unsafe driving" may be rephrased as "violating driving". In this case, the providing unit 440 may provide information on the violating driving to a terminal device of an agency that performs traffic control or the like. In this case, information including evaluation comments and the like is provided.

[0089] As described above, according to the embodiment, the information management device 400 includes a communication unit 410 that communicates with a plurality of vehicles, an acquisition unit 420 that acquires driving information of the plurality of vehicles by the communication unit 410, and an evaluation and judgment unit 430 that performs an evaluation and judgment as to whether or not the driver of the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on the driving information of the plurality of vehicles. When the evaluation and judgment unit 430 determines that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, it acquires other vehicles that were present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the unsafe driving occurred based on the driving information of the other vehicles, and evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speed or positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, thereby making it possible to more appropriately evaluate the driving according to the driving conditions of the surrounding vehicles.

[0090] Furthermore, according to an embodiment, the vehicle system includes a recognition unit 122 that recognizes the surrounding conditions of the vehicle, an acquisition unit (driving information acquisition unit 126) that acquires driving information of other vehicles based on the vehicle's driving information and the surrounding conditions, and an evaluation and judgment unit 128 that evaluates and judges whether the driver of the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on the vehicle's driving information.When the evaluation and judgment unit 128 determines that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, it acquires other vehicles present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle, and evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the vehicle's speed, the acquired speed or positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling, thereby making it possible to more appropriately evaluate the driving according to the driving conditions of the surrounding vehicles.

[0091] According to the embodiment, for example, different evaluations can be made for speeding caused by adjusting to the surrounding traffic flow and speeding caused independently when there is no traffic flow, so that the situation and background of the speeding can be grasped in detail, and the degree of satisfaction with the judgment and evaluation results can be improved. According to the embodiment, it is possible to use the evaluation judgment results for classification of improvement actions.

[0092] For example, in the embodiment, when unsafe driving is performed in terms of vehicle speed, vehicles traveling nearby at that time are extracted, and unsafe driving is evaluated and determined comprehensively based on the vehicle's speed at that time, the speed of surrounding vehicles, and the speed limit. In this case, if the speed limit is exceeded, the determination is "unsafe," but by adding an evaluation comment such as "the driver is driving in accordance with the driving conditions of the surrounding vehicles, so there is room for leniency," it is possible to reduce discomfort felt by the driver and the user associated with the driver.

[0093] According to the embodiment, for example, by receiving a notification about unsafe driving of the day at a predetermined timing such as at the end of the day when the vehicle was driven or after a predetermined time has elapsed since the end of the vehicle driving, the driver can look back on his / her driving history and can easily suppress unsafe driving in the next and subsequent drives. Also, by providing the notification at a predetermined cycle, the driver can be provided with continuous information and can make safe driving a habit.

[0094] The above-described embodiment can be expressed as follows. a storage medium for storing computer-readable instructions; a processor coupled to the storage medium; The processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: Communicate with multiple vehicles, Acquire driving information of the plurality of vehicles; Evaluating and determining whether or not a driver of a vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on driving information of the vehicle included in the plurality of vehicles; When it is determined that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, other vehicles that were present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the unsafe driving occurred are acquired based on travel information of the other vehicles; evaluating unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speeds of the other vehicles or the positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling; Information management device.

[0095] The above-described embodiment can also be expressed as follows. a storage medium for storing computer-readable instructions; a processor coupled to the storage medium; The processor executes the computer-readable instructions to: Recognize the vehicle's surroundings, Acquire driving information of the vehicle and driving information of other vehicles based on the surrounding conditions; Evaluating and determining whether or not the driver of the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on the driving information of the vehicle; When it is determined that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, other vehicles present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle are acquired; evaluating unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speeds of the other vehicles or the positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling; Vehicle systems.

[0096] The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] 1...information management system, 10...camera, 12...radar device, 14...LIDAR, 16...object recognition device, 20...communication device, 30...HMI, 40...vehicle sensor, 50...navigation device, 60...MPU, 80...driving operator, 120, 120A...driving support device, 122...recognition unit, 124...driving control unit, 126...driving information acquisition unit, 128, 430...evaluation and judgment unit, 130...HMI control unit, 140...storage unit, 200...terminal device, 210...terminal side communication unit, 220...input unit, 230...output unit, 240...control unit, 250...application execution unit, 260...terminal side memory unit, 400...information management device, 410...communication unit, 420...acquisition unit, 430...evaluation and judgment unit, 440...provision unit, 460...device side memory unit

Claims

1. A communication unit that communicates with a plurality of vehicles; an acquisition unit that acquires driving information of the plurality of vehicles by the communication unit; An evaluation and determination unit that performs an evaluation and determination as to whether or not a driver of the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on vehicle driving information included in the plurality of vehicles, The evaluation and determination unit is When it is determined that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, other vehicles that were present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the unsafe driving occurred are acquired based on travel information of the other vehicles; evaluating unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speeds of the other vehicles or the positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling; Information management device.

2. the evaluation and determination unit acquires other vehicles present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the vehicle engaged in unsafe driving related to speed, and when at least one of the acquired other vehicles is present behind the vehicle, evaluates the unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the speed of the other vehicles present behind the vehicle, and the speed limit. The information management device according to claim 1 .

3. The evaluation and determination unit acquires other vehicles that are present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at a time when the vehicle engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, When at least one of the acquired other vehicles is present behind the vehicle and it is difficult for the vehicle to change lanes, an evaluation of unsafe driving of the vehicle is performed based on the speed of the vehicle, the speed of the other vehicles present behind the vehicle, and the speed limit. The information management device according to claim 1 .

4. The situation in which it is difficult for the vehicle to change lanes includes a situation in which another vehicle is present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle in an adjacent lane to which the vehicle is to change lanes. The information management device according to claim 3 .

5. The communication unit communicates with a terminal device of the driver, A providing unit that provides information regarding unsafe driving of the vehicle to the vehicle or a terminal device of the driver at a predetermined timing after the driver has finished driving the vehicle. The information management device according to claim 1 .

6. The communication unit communicates with a terminal device of a third party associated with the driver, A providing unit that provides information regarding unsafe driving of the vehicle to the third party's terminal device at a predetermined timing after the driver has finished driving the vehicle. The information management device according to claim 1 .

7. The evaluation and determination unit determines whether the vehicle is speeding, and when it is determined that the reason for the speeding is due to the influence of surrounding vehicles of the vehicle, performs an evaluation different from that when the vehicle is speeding for other reasons. The information management device according to claim 1 .

8. The computer Communicate with multiple vehicles, Acquire driving information of the plurality of vehicles; Evaluating and determining whether or not a driver of a vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on driving information of the vehicle included in the plurality of vehicles; When it is determined that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, other vehicles that were present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the unsafe driving occurred are acquired based on travel information of the other vehicles; evaluating unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speeds of the other vehicles or the positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling; Information management method.

9. A recognition unit that recognizes a surrounding situation of the vehicle; an acquisition unit that acquires driving information of the vehicle and driving information of other vehicles based on the surrounding conditions; An evaluation and determination unit that evaluates and determines whether or not a driver of the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on driving information of the vehicle, The evaluation and determination unit is When it is determined that the vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, other vehicles present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle are acquired; evaluating unsafe driving of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle, the acquired speeds of the other vehicles or the positional relationship of the other vehicles, and the speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling; Vehicle systems.

10. On the computer, Communicate with multiple vehicles, Acquiring driving information of the plurality of vehicles; evaluating and determining whether or not a driver of a vehicle has engaged in unsafe driving based on driving information of the vehicle included in the plurality of vehicles; when it is determined that the vehicle engaged in unsafe driving in terms of speed, acquiring other vehicles that were present within a predetermined distance from the vehicle at the time when the unsafe driving was engaged based on travel information of the other vehicles; evaluating unsafe driving of the vehicle based on a speed of the vehicle, the acquired speed or positional relationship of the other vehicle, and a speed limit of the lane in which the vehicle is traveling; program.

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