Information processing device

Abstract

To more suitably provide information on places popular with locals.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes a control unit which is configured to: acquire a destination of a vehicle; acquire a distance from a home of a user of a vehicle to the destination; determine that the user of the vehicle is a local resident when the distance is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, determine that the user of the vehicle is not a local resident when the distance is greater than the predetermined distance and store the determination result in a storage unit; determine whether or not the destination is a place popular with locals according to the number of times of determining that the user is a local resident and the number of times of determining that the user is not a local resident stored in the storage unit; and output information indicating that the destination is a place popular with locals when it is determined that the destination is a place popular with locals.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses that when a user sets a facility as a destination, a car navigation device uploads user information in which the specific name of the facility, the genre name of the facility, and the regional name of the vehicle number plate are associated with an information center. The information center classifies the accumulated user information by facility genre name and by regional name, and associates and classifies the specific name of the facility in the genre with the popularity in the local area. Then, the user can obtain facility information including the specific name of the facility in the designated genre and the popularity of the facility in the local area, and can easily obtain so-called "hidden gem" information with high popularity in the local area.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to more suitably provide information about places popular among local residents.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is to obtain the destination of a vehicle, obtain the distance from the home of the user of the vehicle to the destination, determine that the user of the vehicle is a local resident in response to the distance being equal to or less than a predetermined distance, determine that the user of the vehicle is not a local resident in response to the distance being longer than the predetermined distance, store the determination result in a storage unit, determine whether the destination is a popular place among local residents according to the number of times of determining that the user is a local resident and the number of times of determining that the user is not a local resident stored in the storage unit, and output information regarding that the destination is a popular place among local residents in response to determining that the destination is a popular place among local residents. An information processing apparatus includes a control unit configured to perform the above.

[0006] In addition, another aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method for causing a computer to execute the above information processing, a program for causing a computer to execute this information processing method, and a computer-readable storage medium that stores this program non-temporarily.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, information about a place popular among local residents can be provided more suitably.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] When a traveler visits a tourist destination, they may wish to go to a popular store among local residents that local people (local residents) usually use. For example, even if one tries to collect information on popular stores among local residents from gourmet websites or tourist information magazines, there may be cases where stores that pay advertising fees are listed in prominent locations, and it may be difficult to find the intended store.

[0010] To solve such problems, in the present disclosure, according to the distance from the user's home of the vehicle to the destination, it is determined whether the user who visits the destination is a local resident. And a destination that is visited by relatively many local residents is determined to be a popular place among local residents. Therefore, the control unit of the information processing apparatus, which is one aspect of the present disclosure, acquires the destination of the vehicle. The destination may be the destination input to the vehicle's navigation device, or may be the position where the vehicle 10 is parked outside the home.

[0011] In addition, the control unit acquires the distance from the user's home of the vehicle to the destination. The home may be registered, for example, in the information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure or the vehicle's navigation device. As another example, the position where the vehicle has been parked for the longest time in the past may be treated as the home. The distance from the home to the destination may be calculated based on map information. Further, the control unit determines that the user of the vehicle is a local resident according to the distance from the user's home of the vehicle to the destination being equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and determines that the user of the vehicle is not a local resident according to this distance being longer than the predetermined distance, and stores the determination result in the storage unit. The predetermined distance is the distance from the user's home to the outermost side of the range that can be said to be the user's local area. The local area may be the person's living area. Also, the local area may be defined by administrative divisions such as municipalities. The control unit determines whether each user who visits the same destination is a local resident and stores the determination result in the storage unit. Thereby, the number of visits by local residents and non-local residents to the same destination is recorded respectively.

[0012] In addition, the control unit determines whether the destination is a popular place among local residents according to the number of times it is determined that the person is a local resident and the number of times it is determined that the person is not a local resident, which are stored in the storage unit. The number of times it is determined that the person is a local resident and the number of times it is determined that the person is not a local resident, which are stored in the storage unit, are considered to be correlated with the destination being popular among local residents. For example, a place popular among local residents is considered to be visited by many local residents. Also, for example, even if local residents visit a place more frequently than non-local residents, it is considered to be a place popular among local residents. Furthermore, for example, even if the same local resident visits the same destination multiple times, it is considered to be a place popular among local residents. Considering these factors, the control unit can determine whether the destination is a popular place among local residents.

[0013] Then, according to the determination that the destination is a popular place among local residents, the control unit outputs information regarding the destination being a popular place among local residents. This output may be performed, for example, in response to a request from a vehicle or the user's terminal. In this way, information regarding a place popular among local residents can be provided.

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The configurations of the following embodiments are examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments. Also, the following embodiments can be combined as much as possible.

[0015] <First Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows each of the vehicle 10 and the server 30 constituting the system 1 according to the first embodiment It is a block diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration. In the example of FIG. 1, the system 1 includes a vehicle 10 and a server 30. In FIG. 1, one vehicle 10 is illustrated by way of example, but the vehicle 10 may be plural and is not limited thereto. The vehicle 10 and the server 30 are interconnected by a network N1. Note that the network N1 may be a worldwide public communication network such as the Internet, and a WAN (Wide Area Network) or other communication networks may be adopted. Further, the network N1 may include a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone or a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0016] The server 30 has a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a communication module 33. The server 30 can be configured as a computer having a processor (such as a CPU or GPU), a main storage device (such as a RAM or ROM), and an auxiliary storage device (such as an EPROM, a hard disk drive, or a removable medium). The auxiliary storage device stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, etc., and by executing the programs stored therein, various functions (software modules) that meet a predetermined purpose as described later can be realized. However, some or all of the modules may be realized as hardware modules by a hardware circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA.

[0017] The control unit 31 is an arithmetic unit that realizes various functions of the server 30 by executing a predetermined program. The control unit 31 can be realized by a hardware processor such as a CPU, for example. Further, the control unit 31 may be configured to include a RAM, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a cache memory, etc. Details of the control unit 31 will be described later.

[0018] The storage unit 32 is a means for storing information and is composed of a storage medium such as a RAM, a magnetic disk, or a flash memory. The storage unit 32 stores programs executed by the control unit 31, data used by the programs, and the like. Further, databases (vehicle information DB321 and map information DB322) are constructed in the storage unit 32, and vehicle information and map information are stored in the databases.

[0019] Here, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the table configuration of the vehicle information DB321. The vehicle information DB321 has fields for vehicle ID, user ID, home location, destination, route, and number of visits. In the vehicle ID field, information (vehicle ID) capable of identifying vehicle 10 is stored. In the user ID field, information (user ID) capable of identifying the user is stored. In the home location field, information regarding the location of the user's home is stored. Note that the location of the user's home may be registered in advance in vehicle 10 or server 30. When the location of the user's home is registered in vehicle 10, for example, it may be transmitted from vehicle 10 to server 30 together with the location information of vehicle 10. In the destination field, information regarding the destination of vehicle 10 is stored. The destination of vehicle 10 is the position where the power switch 15 of vehicle 10 is turned off and the system of vehicle 10 is stopped. As another example, the destination may be a destination input to the navigation device of vehicle 10. In this case, information regarding the destination may be transmitted from vehicle 10 to server 30 at an arbitrary time after the destination is input to the navigation device. Further, the destination may be represented by the name, coordinates, or address of a facility.

[0020] The route field stores information about the route based on the position information transmitted from the vehicle 10. The information about the route indicates the transition of the position information from the departure point to the destination of the vehicle 10 and is information about the route actually traveled by the vehicle 10. That is, the position information at predetermined time intervals from when the power switch 15 of the vehicle 10 is turned on until it is turned off is stored in the route field. This position information includes time information corresponding to that position. The visit count field stores information about the number of times the same destination has been visited. The visit count may be counted in the vehicle 10 and transmitted to the server 30, or may be counted by the server 30 according to the vehicle ID, user ID, and destination. The information stored in the vehicle information DB 321 in this way is also referred to as vehicle information hereinafter. The vehicle information includes information about the vehicle ID, user ID, home position, destination, route, and visit count. The vehicle information may be transmitted from the vehicle 10 to the server 30 when the vehicle 10 is in the power-off state, or may be generated by the control unit 31 of the server 30 based on the position information periodically transmitted from the vehicle 10 and information about the startup state of the vehicle 10.

[0021] Also, the map information DB 322 stores map information including map data and POI (Point of Interest) such as characters and photos indicating the characteristics of each point on the map data. The map information DB 322 may be provided from another system connected to the network N1, for example, a GIS (Geographic Information System). The map data includes, for example, link data about roads (links), node data about node points, intersection data about each intersection, search data for searching for routes, facility data about facilities, search data for searching for points, etc. Facilities include restaurants. The POI corresponding to a restaurant includes information about the position information of the restaurant, information about the types of dishes provided by the restaurant (for example, Japanese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, Italian cuisine, etc.), information about the contact information of the restaurant, etc.

[0022] The communication module 33 is a communication interface for connecting the server 30 to the network N1. The communication module 33 may be configured to include, for example, a network interface board, a wireless communication interface for wireless communication, etc. The server 30 can perform data communication with each vehicle 10 via the communication module 33.

[0023] Note that the specific hardware configuration of the server 30 can be appropriately omitted, replaced, and added with components according to the embodiment.

[0024] Next, the vehicle 10 will be described. The vehicle 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication module 13, a position information sensor 14, a power switch 15, and a touch panel 16. These components are interconnected by a CAN bus, which is a vehicle-mounted network bus. Note that these components may be components such as a DCM (Data Communication Module), a head unit, a navigation device, an air conditioning system, and a driving system.

[0025] The control unit 11 is an arithmetic unit that realizes various functions of the vehicle 10 by executing a predetermined program. The control unit 11 can be realized by a hardware processor such as a CPU, for example. Also, the control unit 11 may be configured to include a RAM, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a cache memory, etc.

[0026] The storage unit 12 is a means for storing information and is composed of a storage medium such as a RAM, a magnetic disk, or a flash memory. In the storage unit 12, programs executed by the control unit 11, data used by the programs, etc. are stored. Position information acquired by the position information sensor 14 is stored in the storage unit 12. Also, information regarding the user's home position may be stored in the storage unit 12. Also, information regarding the number of visits for each destination may be stored in the storage unit 12.

[0027] The communication module 13 is communication means for connecting the vehicle 10 to the network N1. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 10 can communicate with other devices (for example, the server 30) via the network N1 by using mobile communication services such as 3G, LTE, 5G, 6G, etc.

[0028] The position information sensor 14 acquires the position information (for example, latitude and longitude) of the vehicle 10. The position information sensor 14 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, a wireless communication unit, or the like.

[0029] The power switch 15 is a switch for changing the startup state of the vehicle 10, and is a switch for starting the vehicle 10 or stopping the functions of the vehicle 10 by being pressed by the driver. Note that the state in which the driver presses the power switch 15 and the vehicle 10 is started is called the power-on state, and the state in which the user presses the power switch 15 again and the vehicle 10 stops functioning is called the power-off state. The power switch 15 may be an IG switch. The power-on state corresponds to the IG-on state, and the power-off state corresponds to the IG-off state. The touch panel 16 is a device that receives input from the user and presents information to the user, and is, for example, a touch panel display including an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an EL (Electroluminescence) panel, or the like.

[0030] The control unit 11 of the vehicle 10 transmits the detection value of the position information sensor 14 and the startup state of the vehicle 10 to the server 30 together with the vehicle ID and the time information at predetermined intervals. Note that the startup state of the vehicle 10 may be transmitted to the server 30 triggered by the driver pressing the power switch 15. Here, when the system of the vehicle 10 is not started, it can be determined at the server 30 that the vehicle 10 is in a parked state. Further, the control unit 11 of the vehicle 10 may transmit the above vehicle information to the server 30 triggered by the driver pressing the power switch 15 to stop the functions of the vehicle 10.

[0031] Next, the control unit 31 of the server 30 will be described in detail. Based on the vehicle information acquired from a plurality of vehicles 10, the control unit 31 of the server 30 identifies places popular among local residents. Hereinafter, the description will be made on the premise that this place is a restaurant. However, it may be other stores or facilities, not limited to restaurants. Also, the control unit 31 can also determine whether the destination is a restaurant by referring to the map information DB322. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the determination method of local residents. In FIG. 3, P1 indicates the home position of the user of the vehicle 10, and P2 indicates the destination of the vehicle 10 (which may also be the arrival location). This destination is a restaurant. Also, the dashed line indicates the route of the vehicle 10. In FIG. 3, the dotted line indicates a circle with a radius of a predetermined distance centered on the destination P2. The range surrounded by this dotted line is considered to be the range where the homes of local residents who visited the destination P2 are located. The predetermined distance may be, for example, the average distance traveled by vehicle 10 when local people eat and drink at local restaurants.

[0032] When the destination P2 of the vehicle 10 is a restaurant and the distance from the home of the user of the vehicle 10 to the restaurant which is the destination P2 is equal to or less than the predetermined distance, the control unit 31 counts the number of times local residents have visited the restaurant. The value counted in this way is referred to as the "number of visits by local residents". When the same vehicle 10 visits the destination P2 multiple times, the weight of the counted number of times is made larger. For example, when a local resident visits the same destination P2 for the first time, it is counted as 1 time, when visiting for the second time, it is counted as 2 times, and when visiting for the third time, it is counted as 3 times. That is, when the same local resident visits the same destination P2 three times, the number of visits by local residents is 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 times. In this way, the control unit 31 adds the number of times local residents have visited the destination P2 to the number of visits by local residents.

[0033] On the one hand, when the destination P2 of the vehicle 10 is a restaurant and the distance from the user's home of the vehicle 10 to the restaurant which is the destination P2 is longer than a predetermined distance, the control unit 31 counts the number of times people other than local residents visit the restaurant. The value thus counted is referred to as the "number of visits by non-local residents". Different from the number of visits by local residents, the number of visits by non-local residents does not perform weight assignment based on the actual number of visits when counting. That is, when the same person other than local residents visits the same destination P2 three times, the number of visits by non-local residents is 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 times. When counting, weight assignment based on the actual number of visits is not performed. That is, when the same person other than local residents visits the same destination P2 three times, the number of visits by non-local residents is 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 times.

[0034] In addition, when the destination P2 of the vehicle 10 is a restaurant, the control unit 31 counts the total number of people who have visited the destination P2. This total number of people is hereinafter referred to as the "actual number of visits". Weight assignment as described above is not performed on the actual number of visits.

[0035] Note that the location of the user's home of the vehicle 10 may be a pre-registered location or may be the location where the vehicle 10 has been parked for the longest time. Information regarding the user's home is associated with the vehicle ID and the user ID and stored in the storage unit 32 by the control unit 31.

[0036] Then, a value obtained by dividing the sum of the number of visits by local residents and the number of visits by non-local residents by the actual number of visits is defined as the local index. That is, the local index is represented by the following formula. Local index = (Number of visits by local residents + Number of visits by non-local residents) / Actual number of visits

[0037] The local index is a value that increases as the number of visits by the same local residents increases. Here, the fact that the same user visits the same restaurant multiple times is considered to mean that the user likes that restaurant. Therefore, it can be said that the larger the local index, the more popular the restaurant is among local residents. Note that the local index is not limited to the above formula and may be calculated by other formulas. For example, the ratio of the total number of visits by local residents to the actual number of visits may be used as the local index. That is, when the ratio of local residents among the people who visit the restaurant is large, it may be considered that the restaurant is popular among local residents.

[0038] When the local index in a restaurant is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control unit 31 determines that the restaurant is a popular restaurant among local residents. When the control unit 31 determines that a restaurant is a popular restaurant among local residents, it stores information indicating that the restaurant is a popular restaurant among local residents (hereinafter also referred to as popularity information) in the POI corresponding to the restaurant stored in the map information DB 322.

[0039] Then, the control unit 31 provides the popularity information to the user's terminal or the vehicle 10. For example, when a route search is performed in the navigation device of the vehicle 10, if there is a restaurant recognized as popular among local residents near the destination or the route, information about the restaurant may be displayed on the touch panel 16. For example, when a map is displayed on the touch panel 16, an icon may be displayed so that the position of the restaurant recognized as popular among local residents can be seen on the map. Further, when the user taps the icon, information about the restaurant may be displayed on the touch panel 16.

[0040] Also, when a restaurant is searched in the navigation device of the vehicle 10, the control unit 31 may preferentially display the restaurants recognized as popular among local residents. Further, when the user searches for a restaurant using a predetermined application program on the user's terminal, the control unit 31 may preferentially present the restaurants recognized as popular among local residents.

[0041] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing executed in the server 30 in the first embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is executed for each vehicle 10 at predetermined time intervals. In step S101, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 has parked. The control unit 31 determines that the vehicle 10 has parked, for example, when it changes from the powered-on state (which may be the IG-on state) to the powered-off state (which may be the IG-off state). The state of the power switch 15 (which may be an IG switch) is included in the vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle 10 and stored in the vehicle information DB 321. Note that information indicating that the vehicle 10 has parked may be transmitted to the server 30. Also, as another example in step S101, the control unit 31 may determine whether or not the destination P2 has been set in the navigation device of the vehicle 10. In this case, when the destination P2 is set in the navigation device, the control unit 11 of the vehicle 10 notifies the server 30 that the destination P2 has been set. This notification may include information regarding the destination P2. If the control unit 31 makes an affirmative determination in step S101, the process proceeds to step S102, and if it makes a negative determination, this routine ends.

[0042] In step S102, the control unit 31 acquires the destination P2. The control unit 31 acquires, as the destination P2, the position at the time when the power switch 15 of the vehicle 10 is turned off. Also, as another example, in step S102, the control unit 31 may acquire the destination P2 set in the navigation device. In step S103, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the destination P2 is a food and beverage store. The control unit 31 extracts the POI corresponding to the destination P2 from the map information DB 322 and determines whether or not information regarding a food and beverage store is included. If the control unit 31 makes an affirmative determination in step S103, the process proceeds to step S104, and if it makes a negative determination, this routine ends. Note that if information regarding places popular among local residents other than just food and beverage stores is to be collected, the process of step S103 may be omitted.

[0043] In step S104, the control unit 31 acquires the home position P1 of the user of the vehicle 10. The home position P1 is stored in the storage unit 32 in association with the vehicle ID and the user ID. In step S105, the control unit 31 calculates the distance D1 from the home position P1 to the destination P2. The control unit 31 calculates the distance D1 by referring to the map information DB322. This distance D1 may be a straight-line distance or a distance along a route. In step S106, the control unit 31 determines whether the distance D1 from the home position P1 to the destination P2 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. The predetermined distance is a distance that can be said to be that of local residents as shown in FIG. 3 and is stored in the storage unit 32. If the control unit 31 makes an affirmative determination in step S106, the process proceeds to step S107, and if it makes a negative determination, the process proceeds to step S109.

[0044] In step S107, the control unit 31 refers to the vehicle information DB321 and acquires the latest number of visits corresponding to the same user and the same destination P2. This number of visits is the number of visits to the previous destination and does not include this current visit. In step S108, the control unit 31 counts the number of visits C1 by local residents to the destination P2. The control unit 31 extracts the number of visits C1 by local residents added to the POI corresponding to the destination P2 from the map information DB322. Further, the control unit 31 updates the number of visits C1 by local residents by adding the value obtained by adding 1 to the number of visits acquired in step S107 to the number of visits C1 by local residents. The control unit 31 adds the updated number of visits C1 by local residents to the POI corresponding to the destination P2 in the map information DB322. Also, the control unit 31 adds 1 to the actual number of visits added to the POI corresponding to the destination P2 in the map information DB322 to update the actual number of visits. The control unit 31 adds the updated actual number of visits to the POI corresponding to the destination P2 in the map information DB322.

[0045] Meanwhile, in step S109, the control unit 31 counts the number of visits C2 to places other than the local resident corresponding to destination P2. The control unit 31 extracts the number of visits C2 to places other than the local resident attached to the POI corresponding to destination P2 from the map information DB 322. Furthermore, the control unit 31 updates the number of visits C2 to places other than the local resident by adding 1 to the number of visits C2 to the POI corresponding to destination P2 in the map information DB 322. The control unit 31 also adds 1 to the number of actual visits attached to the POI corresponding to destination P2 in the map information DB 322 to update the actual visit number. The control unit 31 adds the updated number of actual visits to the POI corresponding to destination P2 in the map information DB 322.

[0046] In step S110, the control unit 31 calculates the local index. That is, the control unit 31 calculates "(C1 + C2) / actual visit count." The control unit 31 calculates the local index based on the number of visits by local residents C1, the number of visits by non-local residents C2, and the actual visit count currently added to the POI corresponding to destination P2 in the map information DB 322. In step S111, the control unit 31 determines whether the local index calculated in step S110 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The predetermined value is stored in the memory unit 32 as a local index corresponding to a restaurant that is popular among local residents. If the control unit 31 makes a positive determination in step S111, the process proceeds to step S112; if the control unit 31 makes a negative determination, the process proceeds to step S114.

[0047] In step S112, the control unit 31 recognizes the destination P2 as a popular restaurant, and in step S113, the control unit 31 adds popularity information to the POI in the map information DB 322 that corresponds to the destination P2.

[0048] On the one hand, in step S114, the control unit 31 determines that the destination P2 is not a popular restaurant. Then, in step S115, the control unit 31 adds information indicating that the POI corresponding to the destination P2 in the map information DB322 is not a popular restaurant. If popularity information has been added previously, the popularity information is deleted.

[0049] In step S116, the control unit 31 updates the vehicle information DB321. That is, the information acquired this time is stored in each field of the vehicle information DB321. Also, the control unit 31 provides the information stored in the map information DB322 in response to a request from the user's terminal or the vehicle 10. For example, when the control unit 11 of the vehicle 10 displays a map on the touch panel 16, it requests popularity information from the server 30. Then, the control unit 11 of the vehicle 10 that has received the popularity information from the server 30 displays an icon corresponding to the popularity information on the map displayed on the touch panel 16. Also, for example, by adding information regarding the types of dishes provided by a restaurant to the POI, information regarding popular stores corresponding to the types of dishes input by the user can be provided to the user.

[0050] Here, it is conceivable to determine whether the vehicle 10 is a local resident's vehicle by image recognition of the license plate of the vehicle 10. However, the camera for photographing the license plate does not always exist, and when the area corresponding to the license plate is different from the actual living area of the user, it becomes difficult to accurately determine whether the user is a local resident. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to more accurately determine whether the vehicle 10 is a local resident's vehicle without photographing the license plate of the vehicle 10. Also, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to more suitably identify places popular among local residents and provide information about those places.

[0051] <Second Embodiment> In the second embodiment, the control unit 31 of the server 30 provides information about shortcuts used by local residents. The control unit 31 compares the route taken by the local residents with the route normally guided by the navigation device, and if there is a difference, determines that the difference is due to shortcuts used by local residents. This comparison is performed, for example, on a link-by-link basis, and shortcuts are identified on a link-by-link basis.

[0052] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing executed by the server 30 in the second embodiment. The execution of the flowchart shown in Fig. 5 is triggered by the control unit 31 making a positive determination in step S106 of Fig. 4.

[0053] In step S201, the control unit 31 calculates the actual route that the vehicle 10 has actually traveled. The control unit 31 acquires the route. The actual route is stored in the route field of the vehicle information DB 321 as a transition of the position information of the vehicle 10 from power-on to power-off, so the control unit 31 acquires the actual route from the route field of the vehicle information DB 321. The actual route is an example of the second route.

[0054] In step S202, the control unit 31 generates a normal route from the departure point of the vehicle 10 to the destination P2. The normal route here is a route generated when a route from the departure point to the destination P2 is searched for in the navigation device of the vehicle 10. The control unit 31 generates the normal route using the same algorithm as the navigation device of the vehicle 10. The normal route is an example of a first route.

[0055] In step S203, the control unit 31 extracts the difference between the normal route and the actual route for each link. Then, in step S204, if there is a difference between the normal route and the actual route, the control unit 31 stores that part of the actual route as a shortcut in the storage unit 32. At this time, the control unit 31 also associates that part of the normal route with the actual route and stores it in the storage unit 32. The control unit 31 provides information about this shortcut to the vehicle 10 in response to a request from the vehicle 10.

[0056] For example, when performing a route search in vehicle 10, the control unit 11 of vehicle 10 requests information regarding detours from server 30. When the control unit 11 of vehicle 10 acquires information regarding detours from server 30, it first generates a normal route. Then, it determines whether the normal route includes a link where a detour exists. If the normal route includes a link where a detour exists, the control unit 11 of vehicle 10 causes both the normal route and the detour route to be displayed on the touch panel 16, and allows the user to select the route to be guided. Also, as another example, the control unit 11 of vehicle 10 may guide only the detour.

[0057] In this way, it is also possible to provide the user with information regarding detours used by local residents.

[0058] <Other Embodiments> The above embodiments are merely examples, and the present disclosure can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof. The processes and means described in the present disclosure can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs. Also, the process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by a plurality of devices. Alternatively, the process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by one device. In a computer system, how each function is realized by what hardware configuration (server configuration) can be flexibly changed.

[0059] The location of the home can also be estimated as follows. For example, it is considered that the place with the highest frequency of being the starting point and the destination is the home. Therefore, each time route guidance is performed, for each of the starting point and the destination, the number of times of being the starting point or the destination is counted, and the location with the highest count number may be treated as the home. In this case, it is not necessary to register the home in the navigation device. Also, even when route search is performed on a terminal (for example, a smartphone) of a user other than the vehicle 10, the same can be applied. In this case, the control unit 31 of the server 30 obtains necessary information from the user's terminal. At this time, the starting point and the destination of the vehicle 10 may be treated as the same as the starting point and the destination of the user's terminal.

[0060] Also, immediately after moving, there may be cases where it is inappropriate to regard the user as a local resident. Therefore, for example, only when the location of the home does not change for a predetermined period (for example, half a year) or more, that location may be treated as the home, or that user may be treated as a local resident. The present disclosure can also be realized by supplying a computer program that implements the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer and causing one or more processors included in the computer to read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer by a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the system bus of the computer, or may be provided to the computer via a network. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes, for example, any type of disk such as a magnetic disk (floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk drive (HDD), etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD disk, Blu-ray disk, etc.), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, an optical card, and any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.

[0061]

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0062] 1 System 10 Vehicle 30 Server 31 Control Unit 32 Memory Unit 33 Communication Module

Claims

1. Obtaining the destination of the vehicle; Obtaining the distance from the home of the user of the vehicle to the destination; Determining that the user of the vehicle is a local resident according to that the distance is less than or equal to a predetermined distance, and determining that the user of the vehicle is not a local resident according to that the distance is longer than the predetermined distance, and storing the determination result in a storage unit; Determining whether the destination is a popular place among local residents according to the number of times determined to be a local resident and the number of times determined not to be a local resident stored in the storage unit; Outputting information regarding that the destination is a popular place among local residents according to the determination that the destination is a popular place among local residents; An information processing apparatus comprising a control unit configured to execute the above.

2. The control unit: When the same local resident visits the same destination, performing weighting according to the number of visits to count the number of visits of the local resident corresponding to the destination; When a user who is not a local resident visits the destination, counting the number of visits of those other than the local resident corresponding to the destination without performing the weighting according to the number of visits; Counting the actual number of times that the local residents and those other than the local residents visit the destination; Calculating an index indicating that the destination is a popular place among local residents by dividing the total value of the counted number of visits of the local residents and the counted number of visits of those other than the local residents by the counted actual number of times; Determining that the destination is a popular place among local residents according to that the index is greater than or equal to a predetermined value; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further configured to execute the above.

3. The control unit: Determining whether a restaurant exists at the destination; Obtaining the distance from the home of the user of the vehicle to the destination according to the determination that the restaurant exists at the destination; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further configured to execute the above.

4. The control unit: Transmitting information regarding a popular place among local residents to the vehicle or the user terminal that has made a request according to a request from the vehicle or the user terminal; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further configured to execute the above.

5. The control unit: The control unit: ​ ​ Generating a first route from the user's home of the vehicle to the destination; Obtaining a second route, which is the actual route traveled by the vehicle from the user's home of the vehicle to the destination, in response to the distance being less than or equal to the predetermined distance; Causing the difference between the first route and the second route to be stored in a storage unit as a detour; Outputting information regarding the detour to the vehicle; configured to further execute; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

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