Information processing method

Abstract

To achieve an appropriate vehicle environment.SOLUTION: An information processing device 1 includes a control part, a communication part, and a storage part, and is capable of communicating with a vehicle 2 through the communication part. An information processing method by the information processing device 1 includes the steps of: receiving sensor information from the vehicle 2; notifying a front seat occupant in vehicle 2 of a determination result and suggesting an adjustment to vehicle 2 equipment when the rear seat occupant in vehicle 2 is determined to be sleeping or about to fall asleep according to sensor information; and executing the adjustment when a request for the adjustment is received from the front seat occupant.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technology for automatically changing the content being played according to the situation of the vehicle occupants without imposing an operation burden on them (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the above background art, the case where the vehicle occupant is a child is not sufficiently considered.

[0005] In view of such circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to realize an appropriate vehicle environment.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is an information processing method by an information processing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatus includes a control unit, a communication unit, and a storage unit, is communicable with a vehicle via the communication unit, receives sensor information from the vehicle, when it is determined from the sensor information that a rear seat occupant in the rear seat of the vehicle is sleeping or likely to sleep, notifies the front seat occupant in the front seat of the vehicle of the determination result, and proposes adjustment of the vehicle equipment, and when receiving a request for the adjustment from the front seat occupant, executes the adjustment. including.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an appropriate vehicle environment can be realized.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an information processing system S of the present embodiment. The information processing system S includes an information processing apparatus 1 and a vehicle 2 that can communicate with each other via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, a mobile communication network, a fixed communication network, or the Internet.

[0010] In FIG. 1, for simplicity of explanation, one information processing apparatus 1 and one vehicle 2 are illustrated. However, the number of each of the information processing apparatus 1 and the vehicle 2 is not limited thereto. For example, the processing executed by the information processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment may be executed by a plurality of information processing apparatuses 1 that are distributed.

[0011] The information processing apparatus 1 is installed in a facility such as a data center. The information processing apparatus 1 is a computer such as a server belonging to a cloud computing system or another computing system.

[0012] The internal configuration of the information processing apparatus 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

[0013] The information processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a storage unit 13. Each component of the information processing apparatus 1 is communicably connected to each other via, for example, a dedicated line.

[0014] The control unit 11 includes, for example, one or more general-purpose processors including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit). The control unit 11 may include one or more dedicated processors specialized for specific processing. Instead of including a processor, the control unit 11 may include one or more dedicated circuits. The dedicated circuit may be, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 11 may include an ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The control unit 11 transmits and receives arbitrary information via the communication unit 12.

[0015] The communication unit 12 includes a communication module for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 12 may include a module corresponding to one or more mobile communication standards including LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th Generation), or 5G (5th Generation). The communication unit 12 may include a communication module or the like corresponding to one or more short-range communication standards or specifications including Bluetooth (registered trademark), AirDrop (registered trademark), IrDA, ZigBee (registered trademark), Felica (registered trademark), or RFID. The communication unit 12 transmits and receives arbitrary information via the network NW.

[0016] The storage unit 13 includes, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory, an optical memory, or a combination of at least two of these, but is not limited thereto. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a RAM or a ROM. The RAM is, for example, an SRAM or a DRAM. The ROM is, for example, an EEPROM. The storage unit 13 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 13 may store the information of the result analyzed or processed by the control unit 11. The storage unit 13 may store various information related to the operation or control of the information processing apparatus 1. The storage unit 13 may store a system program, an application program, and embedded software, etc. The storage unit 13 may be provided outside the information processing apparatus 1 and accessed from the information processing apparatus 1.

[0017] The vehicle 2 includes, for example, any type of automobile such as a gasoline vehicle, a diesel vehicle, an HEV, a PHEV, a BEV, or an FCEV. "HEV" is an abbreviation for hybrid electric vehicle. "PHEV" is an abbreviation for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. "BEV" is an abbreviation for battery electric vehicle. "FCEV" is an abbreviation for fuel cell electric vehicle. The vehicle 2 is driven by a driver. As an alternative, the driving of the vehicle 2 may be automated at any level. The level of automation is, for example, any one of levels 1 to 5 in the SAE level classification. "SAE" is an abbreviation for Society of Automotive Engineers. The vehicle 2 may be a vehicle dedicated to MaaS. "MaaS" is an abbreviation for Mobility as a Service.

[0018] The vehicle 2 includes a front seat side facility FS provided on the front side of the vehicle 2 and a rear seat side facility RS provided on the rear side of the vehicle 2. The front seat side facility FS includes at least one of the following facilities. · Display device FS1 (e.g., navigation screen) · Output device FS2 such as a speaker or Bluetooth (registered trademark) compatible headphones · Microphone FS3 · Front Seat FS4

[0019] The rear seat side equipment RS includes at least one of the following equipment. · Child seat RS1 with an automatic posture adjustment function · Sensor RS2 capable of detecting a sleeping state (for example, a camera, a body movement sensor, a position sensor, a thermometer) · Multimedia device RS3 for rear seat passengers having media functions such as music playback · Rear seat

[0020] Hereinafter, the information processing method executed by the information processing apparatus 1 will be described in detail.

[0021] In FIG. 3, an embodiment for putting a child sleeping in the rear seat into a deep sleep is described.

[0022] In S1, the control unit 11 receives sensor information from the sensor RS2, and determines from the sensor information whether a child (an example of a rear seat passenger) sitting on the child seat in the rear seat is sleeping. The front seat passenger and the rear seat passenger may be in a parent-child relationship. When the result is No in S1, the control unit 11 executes S1 again. When the result is Yes in S1, in S2, the control unit 11 notifies the front seat passenger in the front seat FS4 of the determination result, and proposes to the front seat passenger to adjust the equipment of the vehicle 2. The adjustment of the equipment here includes a change in the posture (for example, reclining) of the child seat RS1. The notification and the proposal are executed by text or voice via the display device FS1 or the output device FS2.

[0023] At S3, the control unit 11 determines whether it has received a request to adjust the equipment of the vehicle 2. For example, the control unit 11 may detect the speech of the front-seat passenger sitting in the front seat FS4 via the microphone FS3, and use the agent function to determine whether the front-seat passenger has responded to the proposal for equipment adjustment. As an alternative example, the control unit 11 may determine whether the front-seat passenger has responded to the proposal for equipment adjustment from the result of the icon selection made by the front-seat passenger in the front seat FS4 with respect to the display device FS1. The icon may be, for example, a binary selection of "Yes" and "No" displayed on the screen.

[0024] When the answer is Yes at S3, at S4, the control unit 11 executes the adjustment of the equipment according to the request. For example, the control unit 11 changes the posture of the child seat RS1 so that the child can fall into a deep sleep. When the answer is No at S3, the control unit 11 does not execute S4.

[0025] At S5, the control unit 11 receives sensor information from the sensor RS2 and determines whether the rear-seat passenger has woken up. When the answer is Yes at S5, the control unit 11 executes S1. When the answer is No at S5, the control unit 11 executes S5 again.

[0026] When the control unit 11 detects that the ACC power is off, it may end the flow shown in FIG. 3.

[0027] As an additional example or an alternative example, the adjustment of the equipment in S2, S3, and S4 may include stopping the playback of the multimedia device RS3.

[0028] In FIG. 4, an embodiment for lulling a drowsy child in the rear seat to sleep is described.

[0029] In S11, the control unit 11 receives sensor information from the sensor RS2 and determines from the sensor information whether a child (an example of a rear seat occupant) sitting on the rear seat child seat is likely to fall asleep. When the result in S11 is No, the control unit 11 executes S11 again. When the result in S11 is Yes, in S12, the control unit 11 notifies the front seat occupant in the front seat FS4 of the determination result and proposes to the front seat occupant to adjust the facilities. The adjustment of the facilities here includes changing the posture of the child seat RS1. The notification and proposal are executed by text or voice via the display device FS1 or the output device FS2.

[0030] In S13, the control unit 11 determines whether a request for adjusting the facilities of the vehicle 2 has been received. For example, the control unit 11 may detect the speech of the front seat occupant in the front seat FS4 via the microphone FS3 and determine whether the front seat occupant has responded to the proposal for adjusting the facilities by means of an agent function. As an alternative example, the control unit 11 may determine whether the front seat occupant has responded to the proposal for adjusting the facilities from the result of the icon selection made by the front seat occupant with respect to the display device FS1. The icon may be, for example, a two-way selection of "Yes" and "No" used for matters on the screen.

[0031] When the result in S13 is Yes, in S14, the control unit 11 executes the adjustment of the facilities according to the request. For example, the control unit 11 changes the posture of the child seat RS1 so as to lull the child to sleep. When the result in S13 is No, the control unit 11 does not execute S14.

[0032] In S15, the control unit 11 receives sensor information from the sensor RS2 and determines whether the rear seat occupant has woken up. When the result in S15 is Yes, the control unit 11 executes S11. When the result in S15 is No, the control unit 11 executes S15 again.

[0033] When the control unit 11 detects that the ACC power is off, it may end the flow shown in FIG. 4.

[0034] As an additional example or an alternative example, the adjustment of the equipment in S12, S13, and S14 may include a change in the reproduced content of the multimedia device RS3.

[0035] As described above, according to this embodiment, the operation of the control unit 11 includes receiving sensor information from the vehicle 2, determining from the sensor information that a rear seat passenger in the rear seat of the vehicle 2 is sleeping or likely to sleep, notifying the determination result to the front seat passenger in the front seat of the vehicle 2, proposing an adjustment of the equipment of the vehicle 2, and when receiving a request for adjustment from the front seat passenger, executing the adjustment. With this configuration, the information processing device 1 can realize an appropriate vehicle environment without the front seat passenger always being aware of the rear seat passenger.

[0036] Also according to this embodiment, the rear seat passengers include the children of the front seat passenger. The adjustment of the equipment includes a change in the posture of the child seat used by the rear seat passenger, a stop of the reproduction of the multimedia device for the rear seat passenger, or a change in the reproduced content of the multimedia device. With this configuration, the information processing device 1 can, for example, reduce the interference with sleep and the promotion of early waking up by adjusting the equipment when the content is being reproduced when a child in the rear seat falls asleep, or when the child seat is not in a posture suitable for sleep. Thus, the information processing device 1 can reduce the crying or noise of the child in the vehicle and the interference with driving.

[0037] It should be noted that although the present disclosure is described based on the drawings and embodiments, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. In addition, changes are possible without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each means or each step can be rearranged so as not to be logically contradictory, and a plurality of means or steps can be combined into one or divided.

[0038] For example, in the above embodiment, a program that executes all or part of the functions or processes of the information processing apparatus 1 can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium, and is, for example, a magnetic recording device, an optical disk, a magneto-optical recording medium, or a semiconductor memory. The distribution of the program is performed, for example, by selling, transferring, or lending a portable recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) on which the program is recorded. The distribution of the program may also be performed by storing the program in the storage of an arbitrary server and transmitting the program from the arbitrary server to another computer. The program may also be provided as a program product. The present disclosure can also be realized as a program executable by a processor.

Explanation of Signs

[0039] 1 Information processing apparatus

Claims

1. An information processing method by an information processing apparatus, wherein the information processing apparatus includes a control unit, a communication unit, and a storage unit, and is capable of communicating with a vehicle via the communication unit, receiving sensor information from the vehicle, when it is determined from the sensor information that a rear seat passenger in the rear seat of the vehicle is sleeping or likely to sleep, notifying the front seat passenger in the front seat of the vehicle of the determination result and proposing an adjustment of the facilities of the vehicle, when receiving a request for the adjustment from the front seat passenger, executing the adjustment, An information processing method comprising the above.

2. In the information processing method according to Claim 1, the rear seat passenger includes a child of the front seat passenger. An information processing method.

3. In the information processing method according to Claim 1, the adjustment of the facilities includes changing the posture of a child seat used by the rear seat passenger. An information processing method.

4. In the information processing method according to Claim 1, the adjustment of the facilities includes stopping the reproduction of a multimedia device for the rear seat passenger or changing the reproduction content of the multimedia device. An information processing method.

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