Information processor, information processing method, information processing program, and recording medium

Abstract

To provide an information processor that, when there is a possibility that carsickness may arise in a route along which a vehicle travels, determines whether there is a possibility that the carsickness may be inhibited.SOLUTION: An information processor includes an acquisition unit that acquires vehicle travel information on each of plural vehicles which have traveled along the same route, a first determination unit that determines based on the vehicle travel information whether there is a possibility that carsickness may arise on the route, and a second determination unit that, when the first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of carsickness, determines based on whether a variance of pieces of vehicle travel information on the plural vehicles is equal to or larger than a first threshold whether there is a possibility that carsickness may be inhibited depending on a way of driving.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for determining whether it is possible to suppress car sickness, an information processing method thereof, an information processing program, and a storage medium.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when getting in a vehicle, some people may experience car sickness. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for predicting and notifying a physical condition change such as car sickness based on route information indicating a route of a moving body and feature information indicating features of the route. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for searching for a route that is less likely to cause car sickness from the current position to the destination in order to suppress car sickness of a driver of a vehicle traveling in autonomous driving.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in the techniques according to Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when it is unavoidable to drive on a route with many curves or a route with poor paving in order to reach the destination, there is a problem that car sickness cannot be avoided.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of determining whether car sickness can be suppressed, an information processing method thereof, and an information processing program.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires vehicle travel information of each of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled on the same route, a first determination unit that determines whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route based on the vehicle travel information, and when the first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness, a second determination unit that determines whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness by the driving method based on whether the dispersion of the vehicle travel information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a first threshold value.

[0007] Further, in order to solve the above problems, an information processing method according to an aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition step in which a computer acquires vehicle travel information of each of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled on the same route, a first determination step in which the computer determines whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route based on the vehicle travel information, and when it is determined in the first determination step that there is a possibility of motion sickness, a second determination step in which the computer determines whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness by the driving method based on whether the dispersion of the vehicle travel information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a first threshold value.

[0008] Further, in order to solve the above problems, an information processing program according to an aspect of the present invention causes a computer to realize an acquisition function of acquiring vehicle travel information of each of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled on the same route, a first determination function of determining whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route based on the vehicle travel information, and when the first determination function determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness, a second determination function of determining whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness by the driving method based on whether the dispersion of the vehicle travel information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a first threshold value.

[0009] Also, in the above information processing apparatus, when the second determination unit determines that there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness, the information processing apparatus may include a generation unit that generates advice information related to the driving of the vehicle and an output unit that outputs the advice information.

[0010] Further, in the information processing apparatus, the generation unit may generate advice information when the difference between the acceleration of the vehicle travel information with the least change in acceleration among the vehicle travel information of a plurality of vehicles and the average value of the accelerations indicated by the vehicle travel information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a second threshold value.

[0011] Further, the information processing apparatus may include a registration unit that registers the advice information in the map data in association with a route.

[0012] Further, in the information processing apparatus, the vehicle travel information is information indicating fluctuations in acceleration in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the first determination unit may determine that there is a possibility of motion sickness when accelerating and decelerating are repeated on the route.

[0013] Further, in the information processing apparatus, the generation unit may generate advice information instructing to moderate the degree of acceleration or deceleration.

[0014] Further, in the information processing apparatus, the vehicle travel information is information indicating fluctuations in acceleration in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and the first determination unit may determine that there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route when there are fluctuations in acceleration in the left-right direction a predetermined number of times or more.

[0015] Further, in the information processing apparatus, the generation unit may generate advice information instructing a steering operation such that the arc formed when the vehicle turns right or left is as large and smooth as possible.

[0016] Further, in the information processing apparatus, the vehicle travel information is information indicating fluctuations in acceleration in the up-down direction of the vehicle, and the first determination unit may determine that there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route when the fluctuations in acceleration in the up-down direction continue in a predetermined section.

[0017] Further, in the information processing apparatus, the generation unit may generate advice information instructing to suppress the traveling speed.

Advantages of the Invention

[0018] An information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention determines whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route traveled by a vehicle, and when there is a possibility of motion sickness, determines whether the motion sickness can be suppressed by the driving method. Therefore, when the information processing apparatus determines that motion sickness can be suppressed by the driving method, for example, it is possible to call attention to the driving.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Hereinafter, an information processing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0021] <Embodiment> <Configuration> As shown in FIG. 1, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit (see 105 in FIG. 1) that acquires vehicle travel information of each of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled on the same route, and a first determination unit (see 105 in FIG. 1) that determines whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route based on the vehicle travel information. When the first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness, a second determination unit (see 105 in FIG. 1) determines whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness by the driving method based on whether the dispersion of the vehicle travel information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a first threshold value. The following will be described in detail.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information processing apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a communication unit 101, an input unit 102, an output unit 103, a storage unit 104, and a CPU 105.

[0023] The information processing apparatus 100 is a computer system realized by a server device, a PC, etc., but is not limited thereto, and may be realized by a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. As an example, the information processing apparatus 100 determines, based on vehicle travel information obtained when a vehicle travels, whether it is easy to get motion sickness on the route on which the vehicle has traveled, and if it is easy to get motion sickness, whether it is possible to perform a driving operation that can suppress it. If it is possible, it may be a device that generates advice. The vehicle travel information includes at least position information indicating the position of the vehicle and time information when the position information is acquired, and may include information on the acceleration of the vehicle. The information on the acceleration of the vehicle may be the acceleration in the left-right direction, the front-rear direction, and the up-down direction with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, or may be information that can specify the acceleration in these directions. The vehicle travel information may be, for example, probe information or CAN information. Here, motion sickness is a type of car sickness and may also be referred to as "motion sickness." Motion sickness is a pathological reaction of the autonomic nervous system that occurs when the brain, which receives information from the inner ear, eyes, and body due to the shaking of the vehicle, repeated irregular acceleration and deceleration, becomes confused, and may be a medical condition that causes symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and vomiting.

[0024] The communication unit 101 has a function of transmitting and receiving information by wired or wireless communication with other devices. For example, the communication unit 101 may receive vehicle driving information from an external device and transmit it to the CPU 105. The external device may be a server device or a system (e.g., VICS (registered trademark)) that stores vehicle driving information, or it may be the vehicle itself. Also, the communication unit 101 may transmit specified information to a specified destination according to an instruction from the CPU 105. As an example, the communication unit 101 may transmit information on roads or routes that are prone to causing drowsiness while driving, or it may transmit advice information including advice on driving when traveling on those roads or routes.

[0025] The input unit 102 has a function of receiving an input from a user of the information processing apparatus 100 and transmitting it to the CPU 105. The input unit 102 can be realized, for example, by a hardware key provided in the information processing apparatus 100, or a soft key such as a touch panel or a touch key. Note that the input to the input unit 102 may be an input by voice. In this case, the input unit 102 is realized by a microphone.

[0026] The output unit 103 has a function of outputting specified data according to an instruction from the CPU 105. For example, the output unit 103 may output information on roads or routes determined by the CPU 105 to be prone to causing drowsiness while driving, or it may output advice information including advice on driving when traveling on those roads or routes. The output of information by the output unit 103 may be output in characters or images to a monitor (display device) attached to or connected to the information processing apparatus 100, or it may output voice from a speaker attached to or connected to the information processing apparatus 100, or it may output information by communication to an external device via the communication unit 101.

[0027] The storage unit 104 is a recording medium that stores various programs and various data required for the operation of the information processing apparatus 100. The storage unit 104 is realized by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), a flash memory, etc., but is not limited thereto. The storage unit 104 can generate advice information indicating advice on a driving method that is less likely to cause driver fatigue based on vehicle driving information, determine whether it is easy to get driver fatigue, or determine whether driver fatigue can be suppressed when it is easy to get driver fatigue. The storage unit 104 may be realized by a cloud storage accessible by the information processing apparatus 100.

[0028] The CPU 105 is a processor that executes the processing to be executed by the information processing apparatus 100 by using various programs and various data stored in the storage unit 104. That is, the CPU 105 executes the information processing program stored in the storage unit 104, and based on the vehicle driving information, determines whether the road or route on which the vehicle has traveled is likely to cause driver fatigue, whether it is possible to suppress driver fatigue (suppress the change in acceleration) when it is easy to get driver fatigue, and if so, gives advice on what kind of driving should be done to generate advice information.

[0029] The CPU 105 may function as an acquisition unit, a first determination unit, a second determination unit, a generation unit, and a registration unit.

[0030] The acquisition unit acquires the vehicle driving information of each of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled the same route. As an example, the acquisition unit may acquire vehicle driving information from an external device via the communication unit 101, or may acquire vehicle driving information stored in a storage medium such as a flash memory connected to the input unit. The route may be determined randomly, or may be determined by selecting a road that is likely to cause driver fatigue from the map information stored in the storage unit 104. The determination of the route may be determined by the user of the information processing apparatus 100, or the CPU 105 may specify and determine a route that satisfies a predetermined criterion (for example, the road shape has a shape that turns right and left more than X times to the left and right).

[0031] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a route that is likely to cause motion sickness. FIG. 2(a) shows an image example 201 showing a mountain road 202. On a mountain road, a road is formed considering the ease of going up and down (or from the mountaintop to the foot of the mountain) from the foot of the mountain to the mountaintop. As shown in FIG. 2(a), on a road (mountain road 202) that bends many times to the left and right and the traveling direction of the vehicle changes by 180 degrees, the passengers' bodies are swayed from side to side, and thus their heads are swayed, making it easy to get motion sick. Also, FIG. 2(b) shows an image example 203 in the middle of the city and shows an example of a route 205. The route 205 may be formed, for example, from a set of probe information 204 as vehicle travel information. Since the route 205 as shown in FIG. 2(b) repeats right and left turns many times, in such a case as well, like the mountain road 202, the passengers' bodies are swayed from side to side, making it easy to get motion sick. Also, it can be said that passengers are more likely to get motion sick not only when their bodies are swayed from side to side but also when their bodies are swayed back and forth or up and down. That is, it can be said that passengers in a vehicle that repeatedly accelerates suddenly and stops suddenly or passengers in a vehicle that travels on a road with severe unevenness such as a gravel road are likely to get motion sick. The acquisition unit may preferentially acquire vehicle travel information of a vehicle that has traveled on such a mountain road 202, or may preferentially acquire vehicle travel information of a vehicle that has traveled on a route as shown in the route 205.

[0032] The acquisition unit transmits the vehicle travel information of each of the plurality of acquired vehicles to the first determination unit and the second determination unit.

[0033] The first determination unit determines whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route indicated by the transmitted vehicle driving information based on the vehicle driving information. Motion sickness may occur depending on the shape of the route on which the vehicle travels and the way of driving by the driver of the vehicle. Therefore, the first determination unit may determine whether there is a possibility of motion sickness based on the acceleration information included in the vehicle driving information. The first determination unit may determine whether there is a possibility of motion sickness based on the change in the acceleration in the left-right direction with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle. Since the vehicle being swayed left and right also sways the passengers in the vehicle left and right, it may be a cause of motion sickness. As an example, the first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness when the change in the acceleration in the left-right direction within the first unit section is equal to or more than a predetermined value and the number of changes in the acceleration in the left-right direction within the second unit section, which is longer than the first unit section, is equal to or more than a predetermined value. Here, the first unit section is a unit section extending in the traveling direction of the vehicle for determining whether there is a change in the acceleration in the left-right direction equal to or more than a predetermined value within the route on which the vehicle travels. For example, it may be a 10 m section, a 30 m section, or a section of other lengths. Also, the second unit section is a unit section extending in the traveling direction of the vehicle for determining whether there has been a change in the acceleration in the left-right direction equal to or more than a predetermined number of times within the route on which the vehicle travels. For example, it may be a 100 m section, a 1 km section, or a section of other lengths, but it is a section longer than the first unit section.

[0034] Further, the first determination unit may determine whether there is a possibility of motion sickness based on the change in acceleration in the traveling direction (front-rear direction) of the vehicle, that is, acceleration and deceleration. If the vehicle repeatedly makes sudden starts and sudden stops, the passengers will be shaken back and forth, which may cause motion sickness. As an example, the first determination unit may determine that there is a possibility of motion sickness when the change in acceleration in the front-rear direction within the third unit interval is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and the number of changes in acceleration in the front-rear direction within the fourth unit interval, which is longer than the third unit interval, is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Here, the third unit interval is a unit interval extending in the traveling direction of the vehicle for determining whether there is a change in acceleration in the front-rear direction equal to or greater than a predetermined value within the route traveled by the vehicle. For example, it may be a 10 m interval, a 30 m interval, or an interval of other lengths. Further, the fourth unit interval is a unit interval extending in the traveling direction of the vehicle for determining whether there has been a change in acceleration in the front-rear direction equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times within the route traveled by the vehicle. For example, it may be a 100 m interval, a 1 km interval, or an interval of other lengths, but it is an interval longer than the third unit interval.

[0035] Further, the first determination unit may determine whether there is a possibility of motion sickness based on the change in the vertical acceleration with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, that is, the vertical vibration of the vehicle. If the vehicle travels on a gravel road or a road with severe unevenness, the passengers will be shaken vertically, which may cause motion sickness. As an example, the first determination unit may determine that there is a possibility of motion sickness when the change in the acceleration in the front-rear direction within the fifth unit interval is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and the number of changes in the vertical acceleration within the sixth unit interval, which is longer than the fifth unit interval, is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Here, the fifth unit interval is a unit interval extending in the traveling direction of the vehicle for determining whether there is a change in the vertical acceleration equal to or greater than a predetermined value within the path traveled by the vehicle. For example, it may be a 10 m interval, a 30 m interval, or an interval of other lengths. Also, the sixth unit interval is a unit interval extending in the traveling direction of the vehicle for determining whether there has been a predetermined number of changes in the vertical acceleration within the path traveled by the vehicle. For example, it may be a 100 m interval, a 1 km interval, or an interval of other lengths, but it is an interval longer than the fifth unit interval.

[0036] Note that the first unit interval, the third unit interval, and the fifth unit interval may be the same interval (interval length) or different intervals. Similarly, the second unit interval, the fourth unit interval, and the sixth unit interval may be the same interval (interval length) or different intervals.

[0037] Figure 3(a) is a graph showing an example of the lateral acceleration change 301 of a vehicle. Figure 3(a) is a graph showing the distance in the driving route on the horizontal axis and the change in the lateral acceleration with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle on the vertical axis. Regarding the acceleration of the graph shown in Figure 3(a), a positive value may be regarded as the acceleration from the left side to the right side of the vehicle (right-side acceleration), and a negative value may be regarded as the acceleration from the right side to the left side of the vehicle (left-side acceleration), and this may be reversed in terms of positive and negative. As shown in Figure 3(a), it can be said that the occupant is more likely to get drunk when the swing width d1 of the change from the right-side acceleration to the left-side acceleration or the swing width d1 of the change from the left-side acceleration to the right-side acceleration is large. In particular, when the occurrence of this swing width d1 occurs during a short first unit interval L1 and occurs multiple times (in the example of Figure 3(a), it is 2 times, but it is not limited to 2 times) in a second unit interval L2 longer than the first unit interval, it can be said that the occupant is more likely to get drunk.

[0038] When the first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness, it transmits that fact to the second determination unit.

[0039] The second determination unit determines whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness by the driving manner of the vehicle in the route where the first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness.

[0040] The second determination unit may determine based on whether the variance of the vehicle driving information is equal to or greater than a first threshold value based on the vehicle driving information of a plurality of vehicles. Here, the vehicle driving information may be, for example, any one of the change in the lateral direction of the vehicle's acceleration, the change in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle's acceleration, and the change in the vertical direction of the vehicle's acceleration, and the variance may be the variance of any of these changes. A large variance in the vehicle driving information means that there is variation in the driving manner on that route. Despite driving on the same route, variation in the driving manner means that the passenger's physical sensation changes depending on the driver's driving manner. That is, among the vehicle driving information of each of the plurality of vehicles, there may be vehicle driving information in which the vehicle sway considered as one of the causes of motion sickness is suppressed. Therefore, when the variance in the driving of a plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, the second determination unit determines that there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness.

[0041] When the second determination unit determines that there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness, it transmits that fact to the generation unit.

[0042] When the second determination unit determines that there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness, the generation unit generates advice information indicating the driving manner of the vehicle that can suppress motion sickness. The generation unit may cause the output unit 103 to output the generated advice information. Further, the generation unit may transmit the generated advice information to the registration unit.

[0043] The generation unit may generate advice information when the difference between the acceleration of the vehicle driving information with the least change in acceleration among the vehicle driving information of a plurality of vehicles and the average value of the accelerations of the vehicle driving information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a second threshold value. Here, the vehicle driving information with the least change in acceleration is, that is, it can be said that it is driving by a skilled driver. Therefore, when there is a predetermined or greater difference between the driving of a skilled driver and the average of the driving by a plurality of drivers, it can be said that anyone can drive better, that is, it is less likely to get motion sickness. In that case, the generation unit may generate advice information.

[0044] FIG. 3(b) is a graph showing acceleration change example 312 when a skilled driver drives a vehicle and acceleration change example 311 showing the average value of acceleration when a driver who is not a skilled driver drives the vehicle. Both acceleration change example 311 and acceleration change example 312 are acceleration change examples of vehicles traveling on the same route, and the acceleration at the travel distance in the travel route may be the acceleration measured by each vehicle at the same location in the travel direction. As shown by the difference between acceleration change example 312 and acceleration change example 311 in FIG. 3(b), when a skilled driver drives a vehicle, the change in acceleration is smaller compared to the driving by a driver who is not a skilled driver. When the acceleration change of the driving by a driver who is not a skilled driver becomes larger compared to the acceleration change example 312 of the skilled driver, there is a high possibility that a driving method that can suppress motion sickness can be proposed for many drivers. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3(b), when the difference between the acceleration of the skilled driver and the acceleration of the driver who is not a skilled driver is large, the generation unit generates advice information for that location (or a little ahead in the vehicle traveling direction of that location). That is, for a location where motion sickness-prone driving is likely to occur, in order to suppress it, by generating advice information for the front in the vehicle traveling direction of that location and associating it with the map information, the occurrence of motion sickness can be suppressed. In the present embodiment, when the difference d2 between acceleration change example 312 of the skilled driver and acceleration change example 311 of the average value of acceleration of the driver who is not a skilled driver is equal to or greater than the second threshold value, the generation unit generates advice information for the position where the vehicle existed at a position ahead in the traveling direction from the position at that time. For example, when the difference d2 between acceleration change example 312 and acceleration change example 311 at position p1 in FIG. 3(b) is equal to or greater than the second threshold value, the generation unit may generate it for the position of the vehicle indicated by the vehicle travel information at position p1 or a position ahead in the travel direction from that position. Note that, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the difference d2 is not limited to the peak of the acceleration change. Further, when generating the advice information, the generation unit may generate advice information having content corresponding to the number of times the difference d2 becomes equal to or greater than the second threshold value after the position where the advice information is generated.For example, when the occurrence of acceleration changes in the left - right direction is continuous, for example, it may be possible to generate advice information such as "Since there will be continuous curves ahead, please reduce the speed and the amount of steering wheel turning." Also, when generating the advice information, the generation unit may generate advice information with content corresponding to the difference d2 at the position where the advice information is generated and the distance on the driving route until the difference d2 becomes greater than or equal to the second threshold value next time. For example, when the distance until the difference d2 becomes greater than or equal to the second threshold value next time is less than a predetermined distance, the advice information is generated so that the acceleration change is also reduced in the driving at the current position and the next position. When the distance until the difference d2 becomes greater than or equal to the second threshold value next time is less than a predetermined distance, it may also be possible to generate advice information about the driving so that the acceleration change is reduced considering only the current position. Further, when generating the advice information at the current position, the generation unit may generate the advice information according to the magnitude relationship between the current difference d2 and the next difference d2. That is, when the current difference d2 is larger than the next difference d2, advice information that emphasizes the driving method capable of suppressing the current acceleration change is generated. When the current difference d2 is smaller than the next difference d2, advice information that emphasizes the driving method capable of suppressing the next acceleration change may be generated.

[0045] The generation unit generates, as the advice information, advice information for suppressing a sudden change in the reverse direction of the acceleration.

[0046] For example, when the acceleration change in the left - right direction is large, the generation unit may generate advice information that proposes to reduce the angle of turning the steering wheel within the range where the vehicle can turn so that the change in acceleration in the left - right direction is reduced. Also, the generation unit may generate advice information that proposes to perform lane - keeping (so - called in - out) of the vehicle with respect to the lane so as to reduce the acceleration in the left - right direction, that is, the acceleration applied to the occupant in the left direction with respect to the traveling direction when turning from right to left, or the acceleration applied to the occupant in the right direction with respect to the traveling direction when turning from left to right. For example, the generation unit may generate advice information that instructs a steering operation such that the arc when the vehicle turns right or left is as large and smooth as possible.

[0047] Also, for example, when the acceleration change in the front - rear direction is large, the generation unit may generate advice information that proposes to reduce the amount of depression of the brake while starting to step on the brake earlier than before so that the change in acceleration in the front - rear direction is reduced and the vehicle can be decelerated to a desired speed at a desired position. Also, the generation unit may generate advice information that proposes, with respect to the accelerator, not to suddenly increase the amount of depression but to gradually increase the amount of depression by stepping on it slightly first so that the change in acceleration in the front - rear direction is reduced. This advice information regarding the acceleration change in the front - rear direction may be generated with respect to the acceleration change in the left - right direction and may specifically be used as advice information for before and after cornering.

[0048] Also, for example, when the acceleration change in the up - down direction is large, the generation unit may generate advice information that proposes to suppress the vehicle speed so that the change in acceleration in the up - down direction is reduced.

[0049] When generating the advice information, the generation unit may also hold in advance a table of advice information to be proposed according to the change state of the acceleration and generate the advice information according to the table.

[0050] Alternatively, the generation unit may generate advice information using a learning model that has learned the correspondence between the change pattern of acceleration over a predetermined time period and the advice information to be proposed at that time. The learning model may be a model that has learned, as teacher data, data that associates a graph showing the change in acceleration (or data showing the numerical change in acceleration) with advice information (advice content) that it is desirable to propose to the driver who has caused the vehicle to change its acceleration. Therefore, the learning model becomes a model that generates advice information by inputting a graph showing the change in acceleration (or data showing the numerical change in acceleration). The learning model may be generated in advance and stored in the storage unit 104. Alternatively, the CPU 105 of the information processing apparatus 100 may function as a learning unit to generate a learning model. In this case, the CPU 105 may generate a learning model using a support vector machine, a neural network, or the like. Further, the generation unit may use a so-called generative AI to generate advice information.

[0051] Also, the advice information may be generated by the user of the information processing apparatus 100.

[0052] The registration unit registers the advice information generated by the generation unit in the map information, associating it with the road included in the route to which the advice information corresponds.

[0053] The above is a configuration example of the information processing apparatus 100.

[0054] <Operation Example of Information Processing Apparatus> From here, the operation of the information processing apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the information processing apparatus 100.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 4, the acquisition unit of the CPU 105 acquires vehicle travel information of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled the same route (step S401). The CPU 105 may acquire the information from a server device or the like that stores external vehicle travel information via the communication unit 101, or may acquire the information stored in the storage unit 104 in advance, or may acquire the information input via the input unit 102.

[0056] The first determination unit of the CPU 105 determines whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route (step S402). Specifically, the first determination unit may determine that there is a possibility of motion sickness when the number of times the acceleration change is equal to or greater than a predetermined value within the first unit interval is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times within the second unit interval based on the acquired vehicle travel information. This acceleration change may be a change in acceleration in the vehicle traveling direction, that is, a change in acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, or a change in acceleration in the left-right direction with respect to the vehicle traveling direction, that is, a change in acceleration in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, or a change in acceleration in the up-down direction with respect to the vehicle traveling direction, that is, a change in acceleration in the up-down direction (gravity direction) of the vehicle. In addition, the first determination unit may determine that there is a possibility of motion sickness when the route indicated by the vehicle travel information turns left and right a predetermined number of times, or may be determined to have a possibility of motion sickness when there is information that the route is an unpaved gravel road.

[0057] When it is determined that there is no possibility of motion sickness on the route (NO in step S402), the CPU 105 ends the process.

[0058] When it is determined that there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route (YES in step S402), the second determination unit of the CPU 105 determines whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness (step S403). That is, motion sickness may occur when the passenger's body is shaken by the shaking of the vehicle during driving, and it is possible to determine whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness depending on the driving manner of the vehicle. The CPU 105 may determine that there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness when the dispersion of the vehicle driving information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold on the route. The vehicle driving information may be any one of the accelerations in the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle.

[0059] When it is determined that motion sickness cannot be suppressed on the route (NO in step S403), the CPU 105 ends the process.

[0060] When it is determined that motion sickness can be suppressed by the driving manner on the route (YES in step S403), the CPU 105 determines whether the difference from an expert driver is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (step S404). Here, the expert driver may be a driver who performs driving with the least change in vehicle driving information (acceleration) on the route. Also, the object to be compared with the vehicle driving information of the expert driver may be the vehicle driving information of other drivers, or the vehicle driving information with a driving skill below a certain standard (the change in acceleration is equal to or greater than a predetermined value), or may be the average value of the vehicle driving information of multiple drivers. The fact that the difference in acceleration due to the driving of the expert driver is equal to or greater than a predetermined value compared to the average value of multiple drivers means that the driving of the expert driver can be a model for suppressing motion sickness for these multiple drivers. Therefore, the CPU 105 compares the vehicle driving information of the expert driver on the route with the average value of the vehicle driving information of multiple other drivers on the route, and determines that advice information is generated when the difference is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0061] When it is determined that there is a difference equal to or greater than a predetermined value between the driving by an expert driver and the driving by a non-expert driver (YES in step S404), the generation unit of the CPU 105 generates advice information including the content of the advice to be proposed at that time (step S405). The CPU 105 generates advice information for a previous position that can suppress acceleration changes, which is advice information prior to the point in time when it is determined that there is a difference equal to or greater than a predetermined value between the expert driver and the non-expert driver.

[0062] The registration unit of the CPU 105 registers the generated advice information in association with a position prior to the point in time when it is determined that advice for the map information is to be generated (step S406), and ends the process.

[0063] Note that when it is determined that there is no difference equal to or greater than a predetermined value between the driving by an expert driver and the driving by a non-expert driver (NO in step S404), the process may end without generating advice information.

[0064] The above is an operation example of the information processing apparatus 100.

[0065] <Summary> As described above, the information processing apparatus 100 can qualitatively determine whether a route on which a vehicle has traveled is likely to cause motion sickness based on vehicle travel information indicating information on the vehicle that has traveled on the route. Then, the information processing apparatus 100 can determine whether motion sickness can be suppressed depending on the driving method for a vehicle traveling on the route, and when it is likely to be suppressed, can generate advice information based on the driving method of an expert driver.

[0066] <Supplementary Note> Needless to say, the information processing apparatus according to the above embodiment is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be implemented by other methods. Hereinafter, various modification examples will be described.

[0067] (1) In the above-described embodiment, the advice information generated by the generation unit and registered by the registration unit in the map information may be presented to the driver when the vehicle attempts to travel to the position associated with the advice information. A navigation device that performs route guidance using the map information in which the advice information is registered may display the registered advice information or output the content of the advice information as voice when the vehicle passes (or attempts to pass) through the position where the advice information is registered on the route that the vehicle travels. The navigation device may be an information processing device that receives an input of a departure point and a destination, searches for a route, and presents it to the user, and may be a device that displays a map of the surroundings centered on the current position and performs route guidance to reach the destination. For example, assume that the vehicle is traveling at position 501 on road 202 as shown in Fig. 5(a). And assume that advice information is associated with this position on the map information. In such a case, as shown in Fig. 5(b), the navigation device (or a smartphone, etc.) mounted on the vehicle may display the advice information on the display screen 501.

[0068] By registering the advice information in the map information by the information processing device 100, a navigation device that executes navigation using this map information can give prior advice on a driving method that is less likely to cause motion sickness when the vehicle attempts to travel on a route that is likely to cause motion sickness. When the driver of the vehicle drives according to the advice, the passengers boarding the vehicle are less likely to experience motion sickness.

[0069] (2) In the above-described embodiment, as a condition for the generation unit to generate the advice information, it is assumed that the difference between the acceleration of the vehicle travel information with the least change in acceleration and the average value of the accelerations of the vehicle travel information of the plurality of vehicles is a predetermined value or more, but it is not limited to this. The generation unit may generate the advice information, for example, when the difference between the vehicle travel information with the most variation in acceleration shown by the vehicle travel information and the vehicle travel information with the least variation among the vehicles that have traveled the route is a predetermined threshold value or more.

[0070] (3) In the above-described embodiment, when it is determined that there is a possibility of motion sickness and it is determined that motion sickness cannot be suppressed by the driving method, the registration unit may register the location as a caution point where motion sickness may occur with respect to the map information.

[0071] Further, when performing navigation using the map information in which caution points where motion sickness may occur are registered, the navigation device may search for a route so as not to pass through the caution points as much as possible when searching for a route, and present the route.

[0072] (4) In the above-described embodiment, the information processing device 100 determines whether motion sickness can be suppressed by the possibility of motion sickness or the driving method based on the acceleration in the left-right direction, front-rear direction, or up-down direction. However, the vehicle driving information used for the determination is not limited to these. The vehicle driving information may include, for example, accelerations such as yaw, roll, and pitch of the vehicle, and the above-described determination may be made using the changes in these accelerations. For example, the acceleration in the yaw direction can be treated in the same manner as the above-described acceleration in the left-right direction. Also, the accelerations in the roll direction and pitch direction can be treated in the same manner as the acceleration in the up-down direction of the vehicle.

[0073] (5) In the above-described embodiment, a method for determining whether a driver is likely to be drowsy based on vehicle driving information in an information processing apparatus, and further determining whether the drowsiness can be suppressed by the driving manner when the driver is likely to be drowsy, and furthermore, when it is possible to suppress drowsiness, a method for generating advice information therefor is specified by the processor of the information processing apparatus executing a predetermined program or the like. However, this may also be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, LSI (Large Scale Integration)) or the like in the apparatus, or a dedicated circuit. Also, these circuits may be realized by one or a plurality of integrated circuits, and the functions of the plurality of functional units shown in the above-described embodiment may be realized by one integrated circuit. LSI may also be referred to as VLSI, super LSI, ultra LSI, etc. depending on the degree of integration. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the information processing apparatus 100 may be composed of a communication circuit 101a, an input circuit 102a, an output circuit 103a, a storage circuit 104a, and a control circuit 105a, which respectively correspond to a communication unit 101, an input unit 102, an output unit 103, a storage unit 104, and a CPU 105.

[0074] Also, the above program may be recorded on a recording medium readable by a processor. As the recording medium, a "non-transitory tangible medium", for example, a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, etc. can be used. Also, the above program may be supplied to the above processor via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) capable of transmitting the program. That is, for example, a configuration may be adopted in which a program is downloaded and executed from a network using an information processing device such as a smartphone. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the above program is embodied by electronic transmission.

[0075] Incidentally, the above program can be implemented using, for example, script languages such as ActionScript and JavaScript (registered trademark), and object-oriented programming languages such as Objective-C, Java (registered trademark), C++, Python, and R. However, these languages are just examples.

[0076] (6) The various examples shown in the above embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0077] 100 Information processing apparatus 101 Communication unit 102 Input unit 103 Output unit 104 Storage unit 105 CPU (acquisition unit, first determination unit, second determination unit, generation unit, registration unit)

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires vehicle driving information for each of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled on the same route; A first determination unit that determines whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route based on the vehicle driving information; When the first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness, a second determination unit that determines whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness by the driving method based on whether the variance of the vehicle driving information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a first threshold value; An information processing apparatus comprising:

2. A generation unit that generates advice information related to the driving of the vehicle when the second determination unit determines that there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness; An output unit that outputs the advice information; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

3. The generation unit generates the advice information when the difference between the acceleration of the vehicle driving information with the smallest change in acceleration among the vehicle driving information of the plurality of vehicles and the average value of the accelerations indicated by the vehicle driving information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a second threshold value. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that:

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a registration unit that registers the advice information in map data in association with the route.

5. The vehicle driving information is information indicating fluctuations in the acceleration of the vehicle in the front-rear direction, The first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route when there are repeated accelerations and decelerations on the route. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that:

6. The generation unit generates the advice information that gives an instruction to moderate the degree of acceleration or deceleration. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that:

7. The vehicle driving information is information indicating fluctuations in the acceleration of the vehicle in the left-right direction, The first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route when there are fluctuations in acceleration in the left-right direction a predetermined number of times or more. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that:

8. The generation unit generates the advice information that gives an instruction for a steering operation such that the arc when the vehicle turns right or left is as large and smooth as possible. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that:

9. The vehicle driving information is information indicating fluctuations in the acceleration of the vehicle in the up-down direction, When the variation in acceleration in the vertical direction continues within a predetermined range, the first determination unit determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that.

10. The generation unit generates the advice information that gives an instruction to suppress the traveling speed. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that.

11. A computer, An acquisition step of acquiring vehicle travel information of each of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled on the same route, A first determination step of determining whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route based on the vehicle travel information, When it is determined in the first determination step that there is a possibility of motion sickness, based on whether the variance of the vehicle travel information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a first threshold value, a second determination step of determining whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness by the driving method. An information processing method for executing.

12. In a computer, An acquisition function of acquiring vehicle travel information of each of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled on the same route, A first determination function of determining whether there is a possibility of motion sickness on the route based on the vehicle travel information, When the first determination function determines that there is a possibility of motion sickness, based on whether the variance of the vehicle travel information of the plurality of vehicles is equal to or greater than a first threshold value, a second determination function of determining whether there is a possibility of suppressing motion sickness by the driving method. An information processing program for realizing.

13. A recording medium on which the information processing program according to claim 12 is recorded.

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