Information service system, information service device, information service method, and program

Abstract

To provide a technique by which multiple users using a terminal device can well share pieces of information.SOLUTION: An information service system comprises a terminal device used by users and an information service device 14 communicable with the terminal device. The information service device 14 comprises: a group setting unit 60 for setting a group composed of multiple users; an information acquisition unit 62 for acquiring pieces of information about the movement of a mobile used for the users belonging to the group; and an information service unit 64 for serving the information about the movement of the mobile acquired by the information acquisition unit 62 to the terminal device used by the users belonging to the group.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which location information of each mobile terminal can be shared among a plurality of mobile terminals. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2017-530463 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a demand for technology that allows multiple users of terminal devices to effectively share information.

[0005] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first aspect of the present invention is an information provision system comprising a terminal device used by a user and an information provision device capable of communicating with the terminal device, wherein the information provision device comprises a group setting unit that sets a group consisting of a plurality of the users, an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the movement of a moving object used by the users belonging to the group, and an information provision unit that provides the information regarding the movement of the moving object acquired by the information acquisition unit to the terminal device used by the users belonging to the group.

[0007] A second aspect of the present invention is an information providing device capable of communicating with a terminal device used by a user, comprising: a group setting unit that sets a group consisting of a plurality of the users; an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the movement of a moving object used by the users belonging to the group; and an information providing unit that provides the information regarding the movement of the moving object acquired by the information acquisition unit to the terminal device used by the users belonging to the group.

[0008] A third aspect of the present invention comprises a group setting step in which a group setting unit sets a group consisting of a plurality of users, an information acquisition step in which an information acquisition unit acquires information relating to movement of a moving object used by the users belonging to the group, and an information provision step in which an information provision unit provides the information relating to the movement of the moving object acquired in the information acquisition step to a terminal device used by the users belonging to the group.

[0009] A program according to a fourth aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute the information providing method according to the third aspect. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, information can be shared satisfactorily among a plurality of users who use terminal devices. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an information providing system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the mobile terminal. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the information providing device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a moving object. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a group setting process performed by the information providing device. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the information providing process performed by the information providing device. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display screen on which shared information is displayed. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display screen on which shared information is displayed. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the first addition process performed by the information providing device. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the second addition process performed by the information providing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] When a first user of a first mobile terminal and a second user of a second mobile terminal meet up, one or both users may use a moving object such as a vehicle to head to a meeting place (destination). However, the moving object may not be able to move as planned due to congestion, refueling, charging, etc. In particular, electric vehicles require frequent charging, and each charge takes several tens of minutes. Due to these reasons, one of the users may not be able to arrive at the meeting place at the meeting time. In such a case, it is desirable for the user who cannot arrive at the meeting place at the meeting time to contact the other user. However, there is a problem that it is troublesome for the users to make the effort to contact each other. There is also a problem that it is difficult to operate the mobile terminal while driving.

[0013] The information providing system according to the present invention allows a plurality of users belonging to a preset group to share information relating to the movement of a mobile object. Note that in this specification, information relating to the movement of a mobile object is also referred to as mobile object information.

[0014] [1 Configuration of information provision system 10] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system 10. The information providing system 10 includes a plurality of mobile terminals (terminal devices) 12 and an information providing device 14. Each mobile terminal 12 can be connected to a communication line 16 such as the Internet by wireless communication. The information providing device 14 can be connected to the communication line 16 by wired communication or wireless communication. The mobile terminals 12 and the information providing device 14 can perform two-way communication via the communication line 16.

[0015] The mobile terminal 12 is carried by a user. When the user uses the mobile object 18, the mobile terminal 12 is brought into the mobile object 18. In this specification, the mobile object 18 is an electric vehicle driven by power supplied from a battery. The mobile object 18 may be a hybrid vehicle equipped with an engine and a motor, or an engine vehicle. The mobile object 18 may also be a mobile object other than a vehicle.

[0016] The mobile terminal 12 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc., but is not limited thereto. For example, application software for information sharing is installed in the mobile terminal 12. In the following description, one of the multiple mobile terminals 12 is also referred to as a first mobile terminal 12A, and the mobile terminal 12 other than the first mobile terminal 12A is also referred to as a second mobile terminal 12B. In addition, the user of the first mobile terminal 12A is also referred to as a first user, and the user of the second mobile terminal 12B is also referred to as a second user. In addition, the moving body 18 in which the first user rides is also referred to as a first moving body 18A, and the moving body 18 in which the second user rides is also referred to as a second moving body 18B.

[0017] [1-1 Configuration of mobile terminal 12] 2 is a functional block diagram of the mobile terminal 12. Here, the configuration of the first mobile terminal 12A among the mobile terminals 12 will be described. The configuration of the second mobile terminal 12B is the same as that of the first mobile terminal 12A. The first mobile terminal 12A includes an input unit 22, an output unit 24, a positioning unit 26, a first communication unit 28, a second communication unit 30, a calculation unit 32, and a storage unit 34.

[0018] The input unit 22 includes a human-machine interface for the first user to input various information to the first mobile terminal 12 A. For example, the input unit 22 may include a keyboard, a touch panel, or a voice input device.

[0019] The output unit 24 includes a human-machine interface for outputting various pieces of information in a form that can be confirmed by the first user. For example, the output unit 24 may include a display device, an audio output device, or the like.

[0020] The positioning unit 26 includes a receiver for measuring the current location of the first mobile terminal 12A by satellite navigation. For example, the positioning unit 26 may include a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver for receiving radio waves from an artificial satellite 20 (FIG. 1).

[0021] The first communication unit 28 includes a communication module (integrated circuit module) for performing wireless communication with the communication unit 80 (FIG. 4) of the first mobile object 18A. For example, the first communication unit 28 may include a communication module for performing short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). The first communication unit 28 is paired with the communication unit 80 of the first mobile object 18A, thereby being wirelessly connected to the communication unit 80 of the first mobile object 18A.

[0022] The second communication unit 30 includes a communication module (integrated circuit module) for performing two-way communication with another communication device (information providing device 14) connected to the communication line 16.

[0023] The calculation unit 32 may be configured by a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU). That is, the calculation unit 32 may be configured by a processing circuit. At least a part of the calculation unit 32 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). At least a part of the calculation unit 32 may be realized by an electronic circuit including discrete devices.

[0024] The calculation unit 32 includes a battery information acquisition unit 38, a position information acquisition unit 40, a destination information acquisition unit 42, a ride information acquisition unit 44, a communication control unit 46, and an output control unit 48. The battery information acquisition unit 38, the position information acquisition unit 40, the destination information acquisition unit 42, the ride information acquisition unit 44, the communication control unit 46, and the output control unit 48 can be realized by the calculation unit 32 executing a program (application software for information sharing) stored in the storage unit 34.

[0025] The battery information acquisition unit 38 acquires information about the battery from the battery management unit 78 (FIG. 4) of the first mobile object 18A via the first communication unit 28. The information about the battery includes the remaining battery capacity such as SOC (State Of Charge), a charging recommendation threshold for recommending to the first user to charge the battery, and the like. The remaining battery capacity is mobile object information. The charging recommendation threshold may be set in advance by the user, but is not limited to this.

[0026] The position information acquisition unit 40 acquires information indicating the current location of the first mobile terminal 12A from the positioning unit 26. When the first user gets on the first mobile object 18A, the current location of the first mobile terminal 12A corresponds to the current location of the first mobile object 18A. The current location of the first mobile object 18A (the current location of the first mobile terminal 12A) is mobile object information.

[0027] The destination information acquisition unit 42 acquires information indicating the destination of the first moving body 18A from the input unit 22. When the first user gets on the first moving body 18A, the first user operates the input unit 22 to input the destination into the first mobile terminal 12A. The information indicating the destination is stored in the storage unit 34. The destination is moving body information.

[0028] The ride information acquisition unit 44 acquires information indicating whether or not the first user is riding on the first mobile body 18A. For example, the ride information acquisition unit 44 acquires information indicating the running speed of the first mobile body 18A from the speed detection unit 76 (FIG. 4) of the first mobile body 18A via the first communication unit 28. Furthermore, the ride information acquisition unit 44 may determine whether or not the first user is riding on the first mobile body 18A based on the information indicating the running speed of the first mobile body 18A and the information indicating the current location of the first mobile body 18A acquired by the position information acquisition unit 40. Specifically, if the running speed of the first mobile body 18A is zero even though the current location of the first mobile terminal 12A is moving, the ride information acquisition unit 44 determines that the first user is not riding on the first mobile body 18A. The determination result of whether or not the first user is riding on the first mobile body 18A is mobile body information.

[0029] The communication control unit 46 controls the second communication unit 30 to transmit each piece of mobile object information acquired by the battery information acquisition unit 38, the position information acquisition unit 40, the destination information acquisition unit 42, and the ride information acquisition unit 44 to the information providing device 14.

[0030] The output control unit 48 controls the output unit 24 so that the mobile object information of one or more mobile objects 18 (the first mobile object 18A and the second mobile object 18B) provided by the information providing device 14 is output.

[0031] The storage unit 34 is a computer-readable storage medium. The storage unit 34 is composed of a volatile memory (not shown) and a non-volatile memory (not shown). The volatile memory is, for example, a random access memory (RAM). The non-volatile memory is, for example, a read only memory (ROM), a flash memory, etc. Data and the like are stored in, for example, the volatile memory. Programs, tables, maps, etc. are stored in, for example, the non-volatile memory. At least a part of the storage unit 34 may be provided in the above-mentioned processor, integrated circuit, etc.

[0032] The storage unit 34 stores user information 50 and related person information 52. The user information 50 is information for identifying the first user and the first mobile terminal 12A. The user information 50 includes, for example, an identifier of the first user (user ID, etc.) and an identifier of the first mobile terminal 12A (individual identification number, telephone number, etc.). The related person information 52 includes an identifier of a second user who is a related person of the first user (user ID, etc.) and an identifier of the second mobile terminal 12B (individual identification number, telephone number, etc.). The related person information 52 includes information about one or more second users.

[0033] [1-2 Configuration of information providing device 14] 3 is a functional block diagram of the information providing device 14. The information providing device 14 may be configured by, for example, a physical server or a cloud server. The information providing device 14 includes a calculation unit 56 and a storage unit 58.

[0034] The arithmetic unit 56 may be configured by a processor such as a CPU or a GPU. That is, the arithmetic unit 56 may be configured by a processing circuitry. At least a part of the arithmetic unit 56 may be realized by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. At least a part of the arithmetic unit 56 may be realized by an electronic circuit including a discrete device.

[0035] The calculation unit 56 includes a group setting unit 60, an information acquisition unit 62, an information provision unit 64, a slack time calculation unit 66, and a search unit 68. The group setting unit 60, the information acquisition unit 62, the information provision unit 64, the slack time calculation unit 66, and the search unit 68 can be realized by the calculation unit 56 executing a program stored in the storage unit 58.

[0036] The group setting unit 60 sets a group consisting of a plurality of users. The group setting unit 60 stores group information 74 relating to the set group in the storage unit 58. The group information 74 includes identification information of the group, identification information of users belonging to the group, and identification information of mobile terminals 12 possessed by the users belonging to the group.

[0037] The information acquisition unit 62 acquires mobile body information of the mobile body 18 used by the user. The information acquisition unit 62 acquires at least one of information indicating the remaining battery level, information indicating the current location, information indicating the destination, and information indicating the presence or absence of an occupant from the mobile terminal 12 carried by the user. The information acquisition unit 62 also estimates a scheduled time of arrival at the destination and a scheduled travel route based on traffic information provided by an external device, information indicating the current location, and information indicating the destination. The scheduled time of arrival at the destination is the time when the mobile body 18 is scheduled to arrive at the destination. The scheduled travel route is the route along which the mobile body 18 is scheduled to travel from the current location to the destination. The scheduled time of arrival at the destination and the scheduled travel route are mobile body information.

[0038] The information providing unit 64 provides the mobile object information acquired by the information acquiring unit 62 to the mobile terminals 12 carried by the users belonging to the same group.

[0039] The margin time calculation unit 66 calculates the margin time. The margin time is the difference between one estimated time of arrival at a destination and another estimated time of arrival at a destination among the estimated times of arrival at the destinations of multiple moving bodies 18 that have the same destination. For example, when the destination of a first moving body 18A of the multiple moving bodies 18 coincides with the destination of a second moving body 18B of the multiple moving bodies 18, the margin time calculation unit 66 calculates the margin time based on the difference between the estimated time of arrival at the destination of the first moving body 18A and the estimated time of arrival at the destination of the second moving body 18B.

[0040] The search unit 68 searches the map information 72 for charging stations where both the first mobile object 18A and the second mobile object 18B can be charged.

[0041] The storage unit 58 is a computer-readable storage medium. The storage unit 58 is configured with a volatile memory (not shown) and a non-volatile memory (not shown). The volatile memory is, for example, a RAM. The non-volatile memory is, for example, a ROM, a flash memory. Data and the like are stored in, for example, the volatile memory. Programs, tables, maps, and the like are stored in, for example, the non-volatile memory. At least a part of the storage unit 58 may be provided in the above-mentioned processor, integrated circuit, and the like.

[0042] The storage unit 58 stores map information 72. The map information 72 includes information on various facilities (such as charging stations) in addition to information on nodes and links. The information on various facilities includes information on the geographic coordinates, addresses, telephone numbers, and facility overviews of the facilities.

[0043] The storage unit 58 stores group information 74. As described above, the group information 74 includes identification information of a group, identification information of a user belonging to the group, identification information of a mobile terminal 12 possessed by a user belonging to the group, etc. The identification information of the group, the identification information of a user, and the identification information of a mobile terminal 12 possessed by a user are linked to one another.

[0044] [1-3 Configuration of 18 moving objects] 4 is a functional block diagram of the mobile object 18. The mobile object 18 includes a speed detection unit 76, a battery management unit 78, and a communication unit 80. The speed detection unit 76 includes, for example, a speed sensor. The speed sensor detects the traveling speed of the mobile object 18. The battery management unit 78 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The battery management unit 78 calculates the remaining battery capacity such as SOC (State Of Charge). The communication unit 80 includes a communication module (integrated circuit module) for performing wireless communication with the first communication unit 28 of the mobile terminal 12. For example, the communication unit 80 may include a communication module for performing short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0045] [2 Operation of information provision system 10] [2-1 Group setting process] Fig. 5 is a flowchart of a group setting process performed by the information providing device 14. The user operates the mobile terminal 12 to instruct the information providing device 14 to set a group. The group setting process shown in Fig. 5 is performed at the timing when the information providing device 14 accepts the instruction to set a group.

[0046] In step S1, the group setting unit 60 acquires group setting information. For example, a first user who wants to set a group operates the first mobile terminal 12A to select one or more second users and instruct the setting of a group. The first mobile terminal 12A transmits group setting information according to the user's operation to the information providing device 14. The group setting information includes identification information of users (the first user and one or more second users) who are registered in the group, identification information of the mobile terminals 12 owned by each user, and the like.

[0047] In step S2, the group setting unit 60 sets a group based on the acquired group setting information. The group setting unit 60 creates group information 74 based on the group setting information acquired in step S1. The group setting unit 60 assigns any group identification information to the created group information 74.

[0048] [2-2 Information provision processing] Next, a process of sharing mobile object information among multiple users belonging to the same group will be described. Each user runs application software for information sharing on the mobile terminal 12. Each mobile terminal 12 transmits mobile object information and user information 50 to the information providing device 14 at a predetermined timing.

[0049] Fig. 6 is a flowchart of the information provision process performed by the information provision device 14. The information provision process shown in Fig. 6 is performed as needed. Here, an example is shown in which the mobile object information of the first mobile object 18A used by the first user is shared by the second mobile terminal 12B carried by the second user. Note that the second user may be one person or multiple people.

[0050] In step S11, the information acquisition unit 62 acquires the mobile object information and the user information 50 transmitted from the first mobile terminal 12A.

[0051] In step S12, the information acquisition unit 62 estimates the scheduled arrival time at the destination and the scheduled driving route based on the traffic information provided by an external device, the acquired information indicating the current location, and the acquired information indicating the destination. In this way, the information acquisition unit 62 acquires the information indicating the scheduled arrival time at the destination and the scheduled driving route.

[0052] In step S13, the information providing unit 64 identifies users with whom the information will be shared, based on the group identification information acquired by the information acquiring unit 62 and the group information 74 stored in the storage unit 58. That is, the information providing unit 64 identifies users who belong to a group in the group identification information, based on the group information 74. Note that the information providing unit 64 may identify users with whom the information will be shared, based on the user information 50 acquired by the information acquiring unit 62 and the group information 74 stored in the storage unit 58.

[0053] In step S14, the information providing unit 64 provides the mobile object information acquired by the information acquiring unit 62 to the mobile terminal 12 carried by the specified user. As a result, the mobile object information of the first mobile object 18A used by the first user is provided to the mobile terminal 12 of the user belonging to the group.

[0054] As a result, the mobile object information of the first mobile object 18A used by the first user is shared by users in the group to which the first user (and the second user) belongs. The information providing device 14 performs a similar process for the second mobile terminal 12B. As a result, the mobile object information of the second mobile object 18B used by the second user is also shared by users in the group to which the second user (and the first user) belongs.

[0055] As described above, the information providing device 14 acquires the mobile body information of each mobile body 18, and provides the acquired mobile body information to each mobile terminal 12. As shown in Fig. 7, the output control unit 48 of each mobile terminal 12 displays on the display screen 82 the shared information including the mobile body information (battery remaining amount, current location, destination, estimated time of arrival at the destination, planned driving route, etc.) of each mobile body 18 (18A, 18B).

[0056] It is noted that the first user may be riding on the first moving body 18A, while the second user may not be riding on the moving body 18. In this case, as shown in Fig. 8, the output control unit 48 of each of the first mobile terminal 12A and the second mobile terminal 12B displays shared information including moving body information (battery remaining amount, current location, destination, estimated time of arrival at the destination, estimated driving route, etc.) of the first moving body 18A on the display screen 82.

[0057] According to the above-mentioned information providing process, a user belonging to a group can automatically provide mobile object information about the mobile object 18 to other users belonging to the group. Therefore, even if the arrival time of the mobile object 18 at the destination is expected to be delayed, the user does not need to contact the other users via the mobile terminal 12. Therefore, the user does not feel bothered by contacting other users. Also, each user can know what the other users are doing.

[0058] [2-3 First additional process (processing to provide information indicating slack time)] The information providing device 14 can provide further information for each mobile unit 18 based on the mobile unit information.

[0059] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the first addition process performed by the information providing device 14. The first addition process shown in FIG. 9 is an information providing process targeted at users who use each of a plurality of moving bodies 18 having the same destination. The first addition process is a process of providing information indicating a margin time. As described above, the margin time is represented as the difference between one scheduled arrival time at a destination and another scheduled arrival time at a destination among the scheduled arrival times at the destinations of a plurality of moving bodies 18 having the same destination. The first addition process shown in FIG. 9 is executed after the process of step S13 of the information providing process shown in FIG. 6.

[0060] In step S21, the margin time calculation unit 66 determines whether or not there is a moving object 18 with a matching destination in the group. If there is a moving object 18 with a matching destination (step S21: YES), the process proceeds to step S22. On the other hand, if there is no moving object 18 with a matching destination (step S21: NO), the first addition process ends.

[0061] In step S22, the margin time calculation unit 66 selects one of the multiple moving bodies 18 that have the same destination. For example, the margin time calculation unit 66 selects the moving body 18 that has the latest scheduled arrival time at the destination among the multiple moving bodies 18 that have the same destination. Furthermore, the margin time calculation unit 66 calculates the difference (margin time) between the scheduled arrival time at the destination of the selected moving body 18 and the scheduled arrival time at the destination of another moving body 18 that has the same destination.

[0062] In step S23, the information providing unit 64 provides information indicating the margin time calculated by the margin time calculation unit 66 to the mobile terminal 12 carried by the user who uses the mobile body 18 having the same destination. For example, if the estimated arrival time of the first mobile body 18A at the destination is 30 minutes later than the estimated arrival time of the second mobile body 18B at the destination, the information providing unit 64 provides information indicating the margin time of 30 minutes to the second mobile terminal 12B. Note that the information providing unit 64 may provide information indicating that the estimated arrival time of the first mobile body 18A at the destination is 30 minutes later than the estimated arrival time of the second mobile body 18B to the first mobile terminal 12A.

[0063] According to the first additional process described above, the user is notified of the margin time, which allows the user to make effective use of the margin time.

[0064] [2-4 Second additional process (processing for providing information on charging stations)] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the second addition process performed by the information providing device 14. The second addition process shown in FIG. 10 is an information providing process targeted at users who use each of a plurality of mobile objects 18 having the same destination. The second addition process is a process of providing information about charging stations. The information about the charging stations includes information such as the geographic coordinates, address, telephone number, and facility overview of the charging stations. The second addition process shown in FIG. 10 is executed after the process of step S13 of the information providing process shown in FIG. 6.

[0065] In step S31, the search unit 68 determines whether or not there is a moving object 18 with a matching destination in the group. If there is a moving object 18 with a matching destination (step S31: YES), the process proceeds to step S32. On the other hand, if there is no moving object 18 with a matching destination (step S31: NO), the second addition process ends.

[0066] In step S32, the search unit 68 determines whether all the predetermined conditions for searching for a charging station are satisfied. Here, it is assumed that the destination of the first mobile body 18A and the destination of the second mobile body 18B are the same. If the remaining battery charge of the first mobile body 18A is equal to or less than the charging recommendation threshold of the first mobile body 18A, the search unit 68 determines that the first predetermined condition is satisfied. If the remaining battery charge of the second mobile body 18B is equal to or less than the charging recommendation threshold of the second mobile body 18B, the search unit 68 determines that the second predetermined condition is satisfied. If the distance between the current location of the first mobile body 18A and the current location of the second mobile body 18B is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, the search unit 68 determines that the third predetermined condition is satisfied. If all the predetermined conditions are satisfied (step S32: YES), the process proceeds to step S33. On the other hand, if any of the predetermined conditions is not satisfied (step S32: NO), the second addition process ends.

[0067] In step S33, the search unit 68 searches for a charging station. For example, the search unit 68 searches the map information 72 for a charging station that is within a predetermined distance from both the current location of the first mobile body 18A and the current location of the second mobile body 18B and that can simultaneously charge the first mobile body 18A and the second mobile body 18B.

[0068] In step S34, the information providing unit 64 provides information about the charging stations searched for by the searching unit 68 to each mobile terminal 12 (the first mobile terminal 12A and the second mobile terminal 12B). The information providing unit 64 may provide information about a plurality of charging stations to each mobile terminal 12. The information providing unit 64 may preferentially provide to each mobile terminal 12 information about charging stations that are located in the traveling direction of the first mobile body 18A and the second mobile body 18B and are closest to the current location of the first mobile body 18A and the current location of the second mobile body 18B.

[0069] The second additional process described above allows multiple users to meet at the same charging station and charge their respective vehicles 18 simultaneously.

[0070] Instead of the mobile terminal 12, a terminal device (for example, a navigation device) provided in the mobile object 18 may be used.

[0071] [3 Notes] In addition to the above disclosure, the following notes are also disclosed.

[0072] (Appendix 1) The information provision system (10) is an information provision system comprising terminal devices (12, 12A, 12B) used by users and an information provision device (14) capable of communicating with the terminal devices, wherein the information provision device comprises a group setting unit (60) that sets a group consisting of a plurality of the users, an information acquisition unit (62) that acquires information regarding the movement of mobile objects (18, 18A, 18B) used by the users belonging to the group, and an information provision unit (64) that provides the information regarding the movement of the mobile objects acquired by the information acquisition unit to the terminal devices used by the users belonging to the group.

[0073] According to the above configuration, a user belonging to a group can automatically provide mobile object information related to a mobile object to other users belonging to the group. Therefore, even if the arrival time of the mobile object at the destination is expected to be delayed, the user does not need to contact the other users through a terminal device (mobile terminal). Therefore, the user does not feel bothered by contacting other users. Also, each user can know what the other users are doing.

[0074] (Appendix 2) In the information provision system described in Appendix 1, the moving body may be an electric vehicle driven by power supplied from a battery, and the information regarding the movement of the moving body may include at least one of a remaining battery charge, a current location, a destination, a scheduled time of arrival at the destination, a scheduled driving route, and the presence or absence of an occupant.

[0075] (Appendix 3) In the information provision system described in Appendix 2, the information provision device further includes a margin time calculation unit (66) that calculates a margin time based on a difference between an estimated arrival time of the first moving body (18A) at the destination and an estimated arrival time of the second moving body (18B) at the destination when the destination of a first moving body (18A) among the multiple moving bodies coincides with the destination of a second moving body (18B) among the multiple moving bodies, and the information provision unit may provide information indicating the margin time to at least one of the terminal device used by the user using the first moving body and the terminal device used by the user using the second moving body.

[0076] According to the above configuration, the user is notified of the margin time, which allows the user to make effective use of the margin time.

[0077] (Appendix 4) In the information provision system described in Appendix 2, a charging recommendation threshold for recommending to the user to charge the battery is set in advance, and the information provision device includes a search unit (68) that searches for a charging station at which both the first mobile body and the second mobile body can charge when the destination of a first mobile body among the multiple mobile bodies coincides with the destination of a second mobile body among the multiple mobile bodies, the remaining battery charge of the first mobile body is equal to or less than the charging recommendation threshold of the first mobile body, the remaining battery charge of the second mobile body is equal to or less than the charging recommendation threshold of the second mobile body, and the distance between the current location of the first mobile body and the current location of the second mobile body is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and the information provision unit may provide information regarding the charging station searched for by the search unit to the terminal device used by the user who uses the first mobile body and the terminal device used by the user who uses the second mobile body.

[0078] According to the above configuration, a plurality of users can meet at the same charging station and charge their respective mobile objects simultaneously.

[0079] (Appendix 5) In the information providing system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4, the terminal device may be a mobile terminal carried by the user.

[0080] (Appendix 6) The information providing device is an information providing device capable of communicating with a terminal device used by a user, and includes a group setting unit that sets a group consisting of a plurality of the users, an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the movement of a moving object used by the users belonging to the group, and an information providing unit that provides the information regarding the movement of the moving object acquired by the information acquisition unit to the terminal device used by the users belonging to the group.

[0081] (Appendix 7) The information providing method includes a group setting step in which a group setting unit sets a group consisting of a plurality of users, an information acquisition step in which an information acquisition unit acquires information relating to the movement of a moving object used by the users belonging to the group, and an information providing step in which the information providing unit provides the information relating to the movement of the moving object acquired in the information acquisition step to a terminal device used by the users belonging to the group.

[0082] (Appendix 8) The program causes a computer to execute the information providing method described in Appendix 7.

[0083] The present invention is not limited to the above disclosure, and various configurations can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0084] 10... Information provision system 12... Mobile terminal (terminal device) 12A...first mobile terminal 12B...second mobile terminal 14...Information providing device 18...Mobile object 18A...First moving body 18B...Second moving body 60: Group setting unit 62: Information acquisition unit 64...Information provision section 66...Margin of error calculation section 68…Search section

Claims

1. An information providing system including a terminal device used by a user and an information providing device capable of communicating with the terminal device, The information providing device includes: a group setting unit that sets a group consisting of a plurality of the users; an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the movement of a mobile object used by the user belonging to the group; an information providing unit that provides the information regarding the movement of the moving object acquired by the information acquiring unit to the terminal device used by the user belonging to the group; An information provision system comprising:

2. 2. The information providing system according to claim 1, the moving object is an electric vehicle driven by power supplied from a battery, An information providing system, wherein the information regarding the movement of the mobile object includes at least one of a remaining battery level, a current location, a destination, a scheduled time of arrival at the destination, a scheduled travel route, and the presence or absence of an occupant.

3. 3. The information providing system according to claim 2, the information providing device further includes a margin time calculation unit that calculates a margin time based on a difference between an estimated time of arrival at the destination of the first moving body and an estimated time of arrival at the destination of the second moving body when the destination of a first moving body among the plurality of moving bodies coincides with the destination of a second moving body among the plurality of moving bodies, An information provision system in which the information provision unit provides information indicating the spare time to at least one of the terminal device used by the user using the first mobile body and the terminal device used by the user using the second mobile body.

4. 3. The information providing system according to claim 2, A charging recommendation threshold for recommending charging of the battery to the user is set in advance; the information providing device includes a search unit that searches for a charging station at which both the first mobile body and the second mobile body can be charged when the destination of a first mobile body among the plurality of mobile bodies coincides with the destination of a second mobile body among the plurality of mobile bodies, the remaining battery charge of the first mobile body is equal to or less than the recommended charging threshold of the first mobile body, the remaining battery charge of the second mobile body is equal to or less than the recommended charging threshold of the second mobile body, and a distance between the current location of the first mobile body and the current location of the second mobile body is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, An information provision system in which the information provision unit provides information regarding the charging station searched for by the search unit to the terminal device used by the user who uses the first mobile body and the terminal device used by the user who uses the second mobile body.

5. In the information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, An information providing system, wherein the terminal device is a mobile terminal carried by the user.

6. An information providing device capable of communicating with a terminal device used by a user, a group setting unit that sets a group consisting of a plurality of the users; an information acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the movement of a mobile object used by the user belonging to the group; an information providing unit that provides the information regarding the movement of the moving object acquired by the information acquiring unit to the terminal device used by the user belonging to the group; An information providing device comprising:

7. a group setting step in which a group setting unit sets a group consisting of a plurality of users; an information acquisition step of acquiring information regarding the movement of a mobile object used by the user belonging to the group by an information acquisition unit; an information providing step of providing, by an information providing unit, the information regarding the movement of the moving object acquired in the information acquiring step to a terminal device used by the user belonging to the group; An information providing method comprising:

8. A program for causing a computer to execute the information providing method according to claim 7.

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