Operation planning device, vehicle dispatch management device, operation planning method, and program

Abstract

To generate an appropriate operation plan for vehicles carrying passengers.SOLUTION: An operation planning device includes an acquisition unit for acquiring an energy function equation defined as a sum of objective functions related to a vehicle operation plan, and a calculation unit for calculating, as an optimal solution, an operation plan that minimizes the energy function. The objective function includes one or more first objective functions based on whether constraint conditions are satisfied and one or more second objective functions for evaluating the degree of achievement of the objective event. The constraint conditions include that the vehicle has one destination. The energy function equation is a weighted sum of the one or more first objective functions and the one or more second objective functions, and the weight assigned to the one or more first objective functions is greater than the weight assigned to the one or more second objective functions to the extent that the operation plan is not selected for which the constraint conditions are not satisfied.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an operation plan formulation device, a vehicle allocation management device, an operation plan formulation method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an invention of a device that formulates a logistics vehicle allocation as a multi-objective optimization problem and applies an annealing method to search for an optimal vehicle allocation and delivery order is known (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The conventional technology is applicable when the goods to be delivered and the available trucks are defined in advance, and there are cases where it cannot cope with situations that change every moment due to customers' vehicle allocation requests.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and one of the objects is to provide an operation plan formulation device, a vehicle allocation management device, an operation plan formulation method, and a program that can cope with situations that change every moment.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The operation plan formulation device, vehicle allocation management device, operation plan formulation method, and program according to this invention adopt the following configuration. (1) The operation plan formulation device according to one aspect of the present invention is an operation plan formulation device that formulates operation plans for a plurality of vehicles in a service in which a vehicle transports passengers from a boarding position to an alighting position. The device includes an acquisition unit that acquires an energy function formula defined as the sum of objective functions related to the operation plans of the vehicles, and a calculation unit that calculates, as an optimal solution, an operation plan that minimizes the value of the energy function formula. The objective function includes one or more first objective functions based on the establishment or non-establishment of constraint conditions, and one or more second objective functions for evaluating the degree of achievement of objective events. The constraint conditions include that the destination of the vehicle is one location. The energy function formula obtains the sum of loads of the one or more first objective functions and the one or more second objective functions. The weight assigned to the one or more first objective functions is larger than the weight assigned to the one or more second objective functions to such an extent that an operation plan in which the constraint conditions are not satisfied is not selected.

[0007] (2) In the aspect of (1) above, the operation plan defines which of the vehicles will go to which boarding position and which of the vehicles will go to which vehicle base for a given boarding request.

[0008] (3) In the aspect of (2) above, the operation plan further defines the arrangement of one or more of the vehicle bases.

[0009] (4) In the aspect of (1) above, the objective event includes giving priority to passengers with a long waiting time and going to pick up many passengers.

[0010] (5) In the aspect of (1) above, the objective event includes shortening the total required time until arriving at the boarding position when going to pick up the passengers.

[0011] (6) In the aspect of (3) above, the objective event includes arranging many of the vehicles at the vehicle bases near locations where the appearance frequency of the passengers is high.

[0012] (7) In the aspect of (2) above, the target event includes shortening the total required time until the vehicle reaches the vehicle base.

[0013] (8) The vehicle allocation management device according to another aspect of the present invention includes the operation plan creation device of the aspect of (1) above, and a plan instruction unit that transmits the operation plan calculated by the calculation unit to at least the vehicle.

[0014] (9) An operation plan creation method according to another aspect of the present invention is an operation plan creation method for creating operation plans for a plurality of vehicles in a service in which a vehicle transports passengers from a boarding position to an alighting position, and is executed using a computer. The method includes a process of obtaining an energy function formula defined as the sum of objective functions related to the operation plan of the vehicle, and a process of calculating, as an optimal solution, an operation plan that minimizes the value of the energy function formula. The objective function includes one or more first objective functions based on the presence or absence of satisfaction of constraint conditions, and one or more second objective functions for evaluating the degree of achievement of a target event. The constraint conditions include that the destination of the vehicle is one location. The energy function formula obtains the load sum of the one or more first objective functions and the one or more second objective functions. The weight assigned to the one or more first objective functions is larger than the weight assigned to the one or more second objective functions to such an extent that an operation plan that does not satisfy the constraint conditions is not selected.

[0015] (10): A program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program for formulating an operation plan for a plurality of vehicles in a service in which a vehicle transports a passenger from a boarding position to an alighting position, and causes a computer to perform a process of obtaining an energy function formula defined as a sum of objective functions related to the operation plan of the vehicle, and a process of calculating, as an optimal solution, an operation plan that minimizes the value of the energy function formula. The objective function includes one or more first objective functions based on the presence or absence of satisfaction of constraint conditions, and one or more second objective functions for evaluating the degree of achievement of an objective event. The constraint conditions include that the destination of the vehicle is one location. The energy function formula obtains a load sum of the one or more first objective functions and the one or more second objective functions. The weight given to the one or more first objective functions is larger than the weight given to the one or more second objective functions to such an extent that an operation plan in which the constraint conditions are not satisfied is not selected.

Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the aspects (1) to (10), it is possible to cope with situations that change moment by moment.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the operation plan formulation device, vehicle allocation management device, operation plan formulation method, and program of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an operation scene to be processed by an operation plan creation device. In this operation scene, at an arbitrary location (boarding position P1) in a certain specific closed area, passenger 20 uses a terminal device such as a smartphone to send a boarding request and receive a transportation service. When not in use for transportation, vehicle 10 waits at vehicle base 30, and upon receiving an instruction, heads towards boarding position P1, picks up passenger 20, and moves to alighting position P2. Alternatively, the operation plan creation device may process an operation scene where vehicle base 30 is not set (for example, vehicle 10 continues to move like a floating taxi). In that case, the mathematical expressions may be appropriately modified, such as omitting objective events 3 and 4 described later and the sum (Σ) on the left side of constraint condition 1. In the figure, 40 is a road. The boarding request is delivered to a vehicle allocation management device (which may be the same device as operation plan creation device 100 described later or a different device) via a communication network, and the vehicle allocation management device sends a pick-up instruction to vehicle 10 or a return instruction to vehicle base 30 according to the operation plan created by operation plan creation device 100, thereby realizing the transportation service for passengers by vehicle 10. Vehicle 10 is, for example, a single-passenger autonomous vehicle, but is not limited thereto and may be a manned vehicle or a vehicle capable of carrying multiple passengers. Also, the operation scene may be a public transportation scene or a scene with limited traffic participants such as a golf course, an orchard, or a hospital. Hereinafter, in the said area, the road structure, the distribution P(S k ) of boarding positions, the distribution P(O l ) of alighting positions, and the appearance frequency (boarding request transmission frequency per hour) λ of passenger 20 are assumed to be known. The boarding position P1 and the transmission position of the boarding request may be the same or different.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the operation plan creation device 100. The operation plan creation device 100 includes, for example, an acquisition unit 110, a calculation unit 120, and a storage unit 150. The acquisition unit 110 includes a site information acquisition unit 112 and a mathematical formula definition acquisition unit 114. Components other than the storage unit 150 are realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including a circuit unit; circuitry) such as LSI (Large Scale Integration), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or SOC (System On Chip), or may be realized by the cooperation of software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (a storage device having a non-transitory storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (a non-transitory storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed by mounting the storage medium on a drive device. The storage unit 150 is an HDD, a flash memory, a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and stores information such as site information 152 and definition formula information 154.

[0021] The site information acquisition unit 112 of the acquisition unit 110 acquires information such as the road structure, average speed, distribution P(S k ) of boarding positions, distribution P(O l ) of alighting positions, and appearance frequency λ of passengers 20, which are stored in the storage unit 150 as site information 152.

[0022] The mathematical formula definition acquisition unit 114 acquires an energy function formula defined as the sum of objective functions related to the operation plan of the vehicle 10 by reading the definition formula information 154 of the storage unit 150. Note that the objective function may be set by an operator of the service or the like. In this case, the operation plan creation device 100 acquires the setting information of the objective function via, for example, an interface operating in an operator terminal device used by the operator of the service. The objective function indicates that the smaller the value (closer to zero), the more suitable it is.

[0023] The calculation unit 120 calculates, as the optimal solution, an operation plan that minimizes the value of the energy function formula. The operation plan defines, at least with the number of vehicles 10 as known numbers, which vehicle 10 heads for which boarding position P1 and which vehicle 10 heads for which vehicle base 30 (that is, the destination of the vehicle 10) for the given boarding requests. Further, the operation plan may further define the arrangement of one or more vehicle bases 30. In this case, the vehicle base 30 is not limited to being installed with construction according to the operation plan, and the operation plan may define which of a plurality of vacant lands that are candidates for the vehicle base 30 is used as the vehicle base 30 in advance. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the operation plan defines both the destination of the vehicle 10 and the arrangement of one or more vehicle bases 30. For example, all possible operation plans are comprehensively set, the energy function for each is calculated, and then the operation plan that minimizes the energy function is calculated as the optimal solution.

[0024] Hereinafter, the objective function will be described. In the following description, the symbols 10, 20, and 30 are appropriately omitted. The objective function includes one or more first objective functions based on the establishment or non-establishment of constraint conditions, and one or more second objective functions for evaluating the degree of achievement of the objective event. The constraint conditions include, for example, the following two, but may include other constraint conditions.

[0025] (Constraint condition 1) Constraint condition 1 is that "the destination of one vehicle is one". When this constraint condition is expressed as a first objective function, for example, the function H in formula (1) A0It becomes. In the formula, i is the identifier of the vehicle, k is the identifier of the passenger, j is the identifier of the vehicle base, σ vi,bj is a function that becomes 1 when vehicle i heads towards vehicle base b j and 0 otherwise, and σ vi,ck is a function that becomes 1 when the vehicle i heads towards passenger c k and 0 otherwise. The function H A0 returns 0 if there is only one destination for vehicle i, and a value of 1 or more otherwise.

[0026]

Number

[0027] (Constraint condition 2) Constraint condition 2 is that "there is only one vehicle heading towards a passenger". When this constraint condition is expressed as the first objective function, for example, the function H in formula (2) A1 is obtained.

[0028]

Number

[0029] The target events include, for example, the following four, but may also include other constraint conditions.

[0030] (Target event 1) Target event 1 is to "give priority to passengers with long waiting times and pick up as many passengers as possible". The second objective function corresponding to this target event is, for example, the function H in formula (3) B0 is obtained. In the formula, w ck is the waiting time of passenger ck, and w max is the maximum value of the waiting times of all passengers. Also, w offset is an offset value to prevent the weight of passengers with zero waiting time from becoming zero. The waiting time is stored in the storage unit 150 as part of, for example, the on-site information 152.

[0031]

Number

[0032] (Objective Event 2) Objective Event 2 is to "reduce the total required time until arriving at the boarding position when going to pick up passengers". The second objective function corresponding to this objective event is, for example, the function H in Equation (4) B1 as follows. In the equation, t vi,ck is the required time until vehicle i arrives at the boarding position when going to pick up passenger ck. The required time is calculated by the calculation unit 120 based on the road structure and average speed information included in the on-site information 152, the boarding position, and the position of the vehicle.

[0033] [Number]

[0034] (Objective Event 3) Objective Event 3 is to "allocate more vehicles to vehicle bases near locations where the passenger appearance frequency is high". The second objective function corresponding to this objective event is, for example, the function H in Equation (5) B2 as follows. [Number]

[0035] Here, τ bj will be explained. In the following explanation, S k is the appearance location of the k-th passenger (more specifically, the transmission location of the boarding request), O l is the l-th alighting position, avg_pos is the average position of empty vehicles, and r is the average boarding rate. Defined in this way, the average vehicle allocation time t j to each vehicle base b bj is represented by Equation (6). t bj,ride is the time until the vehicle i with a passenger on board arrives at vehicle base b j , and t bj,not_ride is the time until the vehicle i without a passenger on board arrives at vehicle base b j . t bj,rideThe first term is the time until vehicle i delivers the passenger on board to the alighting position, and the second term is the time until it reaches vehicle base b after delivering the passenger to the alighting position j Also, t bj,avg_pos is the time from the average position of the empty vehicle to the vehicle being dispatched to vehicle base b j .

[0036]

Number

[0037] Appearance position S k When a passenger appears at, the probability p(x|S k ) that a vehicle is dispatched from position x is obtained by Equation (7). t x,Sk is the travel time from position x to the appearance position S k , t bj,Sk is the travel time from vehicle base b j to the appearance position S k , t = t x,Sk means the event that the vehicle dispatch time from position x to the appearance position is t x,Sk , v avg is the average vehicle speed, t avg is the average waiting time (the total waiting time of passengers within the observed period up to the present divided by the number of passengers within the same observed period). The numerator of the rightmost term in Equation (7) assumes that the probability density that the vehicle dispatch time is t xk follows an exponential function, and the denominator of the rightmost term means that the farther the position x and the appearance position S k are, the lower the probability density decreases proportionally to the radius at farther places.

[0038]

Number

[0039] Then, by replacing position x in Equation (7) with vehicle base b j and substituting it into the middle term of Equation (8), τ bj is calculated by Equation (9).

[0040]

Number

[0041] (Target Event 4) The target event 4 is to "reduce the total required time until the vehicle reaches the vehicle base". The second objective function corresponding to this target event is, for example, the function H in Equation (10) B3 becomes as follows.

[0042]

Number

[0043] Using the first objective function and the second objective function exemplified above, the energy function is represented by Equation (11). The calculation unit 120 calculates, for example, the energy function for each operation plan, and selects the operation plan with the minimum energy function as the optimal solution. Here, the weights α0 and α1 assigned to one or more first objective functions are larger than the weights β0 to β3 assigned to one or more second objective functions to such an extent that an operation plan that does not satisfy the constraint conditions is not selected. That is, H B0、 H B1、 H B2、 H B3 Even when all of them reach the minimum value that can be assumed, if either H A0 or H A1 is not zero, the weights are set so that the energy function does not reach the minimum value.

[0044] H = α0H A0 + α1H A1 + β0H B0 + β1H B1 + β2H B2 + β3H B3 …(11)

[0045] By performing the processing in this way, it is possible to suitably perform the processing using the optimization device of the annealing method. As a result, it is possible to appropriately (accurately and with low load) generate an operation plan for a vehicle that runs with passengers. Also, past probabilistic information (distribution P(S of boarding positions k) Distribution P(O of alighting positions l ) and the frequency of occurrence of passengers 20 (the frequency of sending ride requests per hour) λ), it is possible to appropriately respond to situations that change moment by moment in order to generate an operation plan.

[0046] As described above, the operation plan establishment device may constitute a vehicle allocation management device together with a plan instruction unit that conveys the operation plan to the vehicle. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the vehicle allocation management device 50. The vehicle allocation management device 50 includes an operation plan establishment device 100 and a plan instruction unit 60. The plan instruction unit 60 is realized, for example, by a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software), and may be realized by hardware such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, GPU, or SOC, or may be realized by the cooperation of software and hardware. The plan instruction unit 60 transmits the operation plan to at least the vehicle 10 via the network NW. The network NW is a WAN (Wide Area Network), LAN (Local Area Network), Internet, Wi-fi network, cellular network, or the like. If the arrangement of the vehicle base 30 is about "which of the plurality of vacant lots is used as the vehicle base", the operation plan can be achieved by conveying the arrangement of the vehicle base 30 to the vehicle 10.

[0047] The above-described embodiments can be expressed as follows. An operation plan establishment device that establishes operation plans for a plurality of vehicles in a service in which a vehicle transports a passenger from a boarding position to an alighting position, A storage medium that stores computer-readable instructions, A processor connected to the storage medium, The processor, by executing the computer-readable instructions (the processor executing the computer-readable instructions to:) Obtain an energy function formula defined as the sum of objective functions related to the operation plan of the vehicle, Calculate the operation plan that minimizes the energy function as the optimal solution, The objective function includes One or more first objective functions based on whether the constraint conditions are satisfied, and One or more second objective functions for evaluating the degree of achievement of the target event, and The constraint conditions include that the vehicle has one destination, The energy function is obtained as the weighted sum of the one or more first objective functions and the one or more second objective functions, The weight assigned to the one or more first objective functions is larger than the weight assigned to the one or more second objective functions to such an extent that an operation plan that does not satisfy the constraint conditions is not selected. An operation plan formulation device.

[0048] As described above, the embodiments for implementing the present invention have been described using embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Signs

[0049] 50 Vehicle allocation management device 60 Plan instruction unit 100 Operation plan formulation device 110 Acquisition unit 112 On-site information acquisition unit 114 Mathematical formula definition acquisition unit 120 Calculation unit 150 Storage unit

Claims

1. In a service where a vehicle transports passengers from a boarding position to an alighting position, an operation plan establishment device that formulates operation plans for a plurality of vehicles, an acquisition unit that acquires an energy function formula defined as the sum of objective functions related to the operation plan of the vehicle; a calculation unit that calculates, as an optimal solution, an operation plan that minimizes the value of the energy function formula; wherein the objective function includes one or more first objective functions based on whether a constraint condition is satisfied, and one or more second objective functions for evaluating the degree of achievement of an objective event; and the constraint condition includes that the destination of the vehicle is one location; the energy function formula obtains the weighted sum of the one or more first objective functions and the one or more second objective functions; the weight assigned to the one or more first objective functions is larger than the weight assigned to the one or more second objective functions to such an extent that an operation plan that does not satisfy the constraint condition is not selected; an operation plan establishment device.

2. The operation plan defines, for a given boarding request, which vehicle goes to which boarding position and which vehicle goes to which vehicle base. The operation plan establishment device according to Claim 1.

3. The operation plan further defines the arrangement of one or more of the vehicle bases. The operation plan establishment device according to Claim 2.

4. The objective event includes giving priority to passengers with long waiting times and going to pick up many passengers. The operation plan establishment device according to Claim 1.

5. The objective event includes shortening the total time required to reach the boarding position when going to pick up the passengers. The operation plan establishment device according to Claim 1.

6. The objective event includes arranging many vehicles at vehicle bases near places where the appearance frequency of the passengers is high. The operation plan establishment device according to Claim 3.

7. The objective event includes shortening the total time required for the vehicle to reach the vehicle base. The operation plan establishment device according to Claim 2.

8. The operation plan establishment device according to Claim 1, and a plan instruction unit that transmits the operation plan calculated by the calculation unit to at least the vehicle. A vehicle allocation management device comprising the same.

9. An operation plan establishment method that is executed using a computer and formulates operation plans for a plurality of vehicles in a service where a vehicle transports passengers from a boarding position to an alighting position, A process of obtaining an energy function expression defined as the sum of objective functions related to the operation plan of the vehicle, A process of calculating, as an optimal solution, an operation plan that minimizes the value of the energy function expression, and The objective function Includes one or more first objective functions based on whether the constraint conditions are satisfied, One or more second objective functions for evaluating the degree of achievement of the target event, And The constraint conditions include that the vehicle has only one destination, The energy function expression obtains the weighted sum of the one or more first objective functions and the one or more second objective functions, The weight assigned to the one or more first objective functions is larger than the weight assigned to the one or more second objective functions to such an extent that an operation plan that does not satisfy the constraint conditions is not selected. Operation plan formulation method.

10. A program for formulating operation plans for a plurality of vehicles in a service where a vehicle transports passengers from a boarding position to an alighting position, Causing a computer to Execute a process of obtaining an energy function expression defined as the sum of objective functions related to the operation plan of the vehicle, Execute a process of calculating, as an optimal solution, an operation plan that minimizes the value of the energy function expression, The objective function Includes one or more first objective functions based on whether the constraint conditions are satisfied, One or more second objective functions for evaluating the degree of achievement of the target event, And The constraint conditions include that the vehicle has only one destination, The energy function expression obtains the weighted sum of the one or more first objective functions and the one or more second objective functions, The weight assigned to the one or more first objective functions is larger than the weight assigned to the one or more second objective functions to such an extent that an operation plan that does not satisfy the constraint conditions is not selected. Program.

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