Roadside device and system

Abstract

To reduce a workload of installing a roadside device.SOLUTION: A roadside device of the present disclosure comprises: a first photographing unit, a first notification unit, a second notification unit, and a moving unit. The first photographing unit photographs an area around a roadway. When a pedestrian heading towards the roadway is detected in an image taken by the first photographing unit, the first notification unit provides the pedestrian with first information for indicating the presence of an automatic driving vehicle approaching the roadside device. The second notification unit notifies an information appliance of the automatic driving vehicle of second information for indicating the presence of the pedestrian. The moving unit travels autonomously to a designated location.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a roadside device and a system including the roadside device. [Background technology]

[0002] An alarm system has been proposed that notifies vehicles other than autonomous vehicles or pedestrians, etc., whether they can pass or warns them to be careful, depending on the behavior of the autonomous vehicles that are scheduled to pass through a specified traffic area (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-050629 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The notification system in Patent Document 1 is composed of roadside devices installed at and around crosswalks. It is desirable that such roadside devices can be installed anywhere, such as in blind spots on roadways that are visible to autonomous vehicles. However, there is a concern that the workload for installing roadside devices will increase as the number of roadside devices increases.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to reduce the workload of installing roadside devices. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A roadside device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized by comprising a first imaging unit that captures images of the area around a roadway, a first notification unit that, when a pedestrian heading toward the roadway is detected from the image captured by the first imaging unit, notifies the pedestrian of first information indicating the presence of an autonomous vehicle approaching the roadside device, a second notification unit that notifies an information device of the autonomous vehicle of second information indicating the presence of the pedestrian, and a moving unit that autonomously drives to a specified location.

[0007] A system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a system comprising a plurality of roadside devices, each of which further comprises a battery for operating the roadside device, and a server capable of communicating with the plurality of roadside devices, wherein the server comprises a control unit, and the control unit is configured to acquire information including at least the charging rate of the batteries from the plurality of roadside devices, and to determine a schedule for charging each of the roadside devices based on the information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present disclosure, the workload of installing roadside devices can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram conceptually illustrating a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, together with an example of a road environment to which the system is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the roadside device of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information device of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the server in FIG. [Figure 5] 2 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by a control unit of the roadside device of FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a process of a normal operation of the roadside device shown in FIG. 5. [Figure 7]2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing by a roadside device and a server in the system of FIG. 1. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a system 1 including a roadside device 10 according to the present disclosure, and an example of a road environment around a roadway 80 to which the system 1 is applied. In FIG. 1, solid double-headed arrows indicate transmission and reception of information. Also, dashed double-headed arrows indicate movement of the roadside device 10.

[0012] An autonomous vehicle 40 equipped with an information device 50 is traveling autonomously on a roadway 80. Although only one autonomous vehicle 40 is shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that multiple autonomous vehicles 40 are traveling within the area covered by the present system 1. The autonomous vehicle 40 corresponds to levels 3 to 5 of autonomous driving as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), for example. The autonomous vehicle 40 is configured so that the system takes the lead in driving at least within specific areas and under specific conditions.

[0013] On sidewalk 81 adjacent to the side of roadway 80, or on another road that intersects with roadway 80, pedestrian 100 may be walking toward roadway 80, for example, to cross at crosswalk 82. Pedestrian 100 may be in the shadow of building 110, for example, and may be in the blind spot of various sensors in autonomous vehicle 40 and the driving assistant inside autonomous vehicle 40. Furthermore, autonomous vehicle 40 may be difficult to see from pedestrian 100's side.

[0014] One or more roadside devices 10 are installed on the sidewalk 81 to prevent contact between the autonomous vehicle 40 and the pedestrian 100. The roadside device 10 can notify the pedestrian 100 of first information indicating the presence of an approaching autonomous vehicle 40. Specifically, the roadside device 10 is equipped with an LED display, a light-emitting unit, and / or a speaker, etc., and can notify the pedestrian 100 of the approach of the autonomous vehicle 40 by image, light, and / or sound, etc. The LED display, light-emitting unit, and / or speaker, etc. that notify the pedestrian 100 of the first information are included in the first notification unit. The roadside device 10 may further notify the information device 50 of the autonomous vehicle 40 of second information indicating the presence of the pedestrian 100 via wireless communication. The wireless communication interface, etc. of the roadside device 10 that notifies the autonomous vehicle 40 of the second information are included in the second notification unit.

[0015] Information device 50 is a device provided in association with autonomous vehicle 40. Information device 50 may be placed inside autonomous vehicle 40, for example, on the dashboard, or may be a device that is detachable from autonomous vehicle 40 and portable. A tablet terminal, a smartphone, or the like may be used as information device 50. Information device 50 can present various information related to the traveling of autonomous vehicle 40 to an assistant driver on board autonomous vehicle 40. The assistant driver assists the driving operation of autonomous vehicle 40 in a situation where the system of autonomous vehicle 40 is actively performing driving operations. Furthermore, when the assistant driver remotely monitors the driving of autonomous vehicle 40, information device 50 may be placed in a remote facility away from autonomous vehicle 40.

[0016] To install the roadside device 10 at a desired location, the roadside device 10 includes a main body unit 20 that provides the functions of the roadside device 10 and a mobile unit 30 that can autonomously travel to a designated location. In this manner, the roadside device 10 can be installed at a desired location and collected from the installation location by self-propelling using the mobile unit 30 without being carried by a person. The installation location of the roadside device 10 may be specified by an instruction from a server 60 (described later) or another server that manages the roadside device 10.

[0017] The roadside device 10 may also include a battery for operating the roadside device 10. By including a battery, the roadside device 10 does not need to be connected to a power grid. Therefore, the roadside device 10 does not require construction work for connecting to a power grid and can be installed anywhere. The roadside device 10 may be configured to move to a predetermined charging station 90 by the moving unit 30 when the battery's state of charge (SOC) falls below a predetermined threshold. At this time, the roadside device 10 may be replaced by another roadside device 10 at the installation location. In this way, the service of the roadside device 10 can be continuously provided. The predetermined threshold can be set to, for example, 10% or 20%, but is not limited to these. The charging station 90 may also include one or more chargers and can accommodate one or more roadside devices 10.

[0018] A server 60 may be provided to manage charging and replacement of multiple roadside devices 10. The server 60 may be connected to the multiple roadside devices 10 via a network 70 such as the Internet or a virtual private network (VPN) so that they can communicate with each other. The roadside devices 10 may be connected to the network 70 via wireless communication. The server 60 may acquire information including battery state of charge (SOC) from the multiple roadside devices 10 and determine a charging schedule for each roadside device 10 based on this information. The server 60 notifies each roadside device 10 of the determined schedule. The roadside devices 10 can move, provide services as roadside devices 10, and be charged according to this schedule. This makes it possible to manage and operate multiple roadside devices 10 efficiently.

[0019] An example of the configuration of each device that constitutes the system 1 will be described below.

[0020] (Configuration of roadside equipment) As shown in FIG. 2 , the roadside device 10 includes a main body unit 20 and a moving unit 30. The moving unit 30 may be a moving unit that can be separated from the main body unit 20 of the roadside device 10. In this case, the main body unit 20 and the moving unit 30 are mechanically connected by a connecting unit 15. The connecting unit 15 may be at least partially included in at least one of the main body unit 20 and the moving unit 30. The moving unit 30 may be configured so that after moving the roadside device 10 to a designated location, it can be released from the connection with the main body unit 20 and moved to another location, leaving the main body unit 20 at the designated location.

[0021] The main body section 20 includes, for example, a first photographing section 21, a first notifying section 22, a first communicating section 23, a control section 24, a first storage section 25, a main body battery 26, and a battery management section 27.

[0022] The first photographing unit 21 includes a camera that photographs the area around the roadway 80 on which the roadside device 10 is installed. The first photographing unit 21 particularly photographs the sidewalk 81, entrances and exits of facilities adjacent to the roadway 80, and roads intersecting the roadway 80 where vehicles and pedestrians are mixed. The first photographing unit 21 transmits the photographed video to the control unit 24.

[0023] As described above, first notification unit 22 is a device that notifies pedestrian 100 of first information indicating the presence of an approaching autonomously driven vehicle 40. First notification unit 22 includes an LED display, a light-emitting unit, and / or a speaker.

[0024] The first communication unit 23 provides a road-to-vehicle communication function with the autonomously driven vehicles 40 located in the vicinity of the roadside device 10, and a communication function with the server 60. The first communication unit 23 may include a wireless communication interface compatible with a communication system conforming to ARIB STD-T109 or IEEE802.11p. The first communication unit 23 may also include a wireless communication interface compatible with a mobile communication system based on a fourth generation mobile communication system (4G) such as LTE or a fifth generation mobile communication system (5G). The first communication unit 23 functions as a second notification unit that notifies the information device 50 of the autonomously driven vehicle 40 of second information indicating the presence of a pedestrian 100.

[0025] The control unit 24 is configured to include a single or multiple processors and memories. The processors include general-purpose processors that execute programmed functions by loading specific programs, and dedicated processors specialized for specific processing. The dedicated processors include DSPs (Digital Signal Processors), ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), etc. The control unit 24 manages each component of the roadside device 10 and executes processing as the roadside device 10.

[0026] The control unit 24 may communicate with nearby autonomous vehicles 40 via the first communication unit 23. When there is an autonomous vehicle 40 traveling nearby, the control unit 24 may continuously acquire and monitor the position of the autonomous vehicle 40 from the autonomous vehicle 40.

[0027] The control unit 24 can detect the pedestrian 100 by performing image processing on the video captured by the first imaging unit 21. Based on the orientation of the face or body of the detected pedestrian 100, changes in position over time, and the like, the control unit 24 can determine whether the pedestrian 100 is heading toward the roadway 80. When the control unit 24 detects the pedestrian 100 heading toward the roadway 80, it can notify the pedestrian 100 of first information and notify the information device 50 of the autonomous vehicle 40 of second information.

[0028] The first storage unit 25 includes one or more memories. The memories are, for example, semiconductor memories, magnetic memories, or optical memories. Each memory included in the first storage unit 25 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The first storage unit 25 stores any information used in the operation of the roadside device 10.

[0029] The first storage unit 25 stores a program for the roadside device 10 executed by the control unit 24 and information used by the control unit 24. The first storage unit 25 may store, for example, coordinate information about the installation location of the roadside device 10, and information about the layout of the roadway 80, sidewalk 81, crosswalk 82, buildings 110, and the like around the installation location of the roadside device 10. Furthermore, when the control unit 24 performs template matching to recognize a pedestrian 100 from the video captured by the first imaging unit 21, the first storage unit 25 may store a template to be used for template matching. Furthermore, when the control unit 24 recognizes a pedestrian using machine learning, the first storage unit 25 may store a trained model for recognizing the pedestrian 100.

[0030] The main battery 26 is a secondary battery that can be repeatedly charged and discharged. The main battery 26 provides power to each component of the main body 20. The main battery 26 includes, but is not limited to, a lithium-ion battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, a sodium-ion battery, a magnesium-air battery, a lithium-air battery, or a zinc-air battery. The main battery 26 may also be an all-solid-state battery.

[0031] The battery management unit 27 monitors the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 and controls charging and discharging of the main battery 26. The battery management unit 27 may include a battery fuel gauge that measures the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26. The battery fuel gauge can calculate the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 based on the voltage value of the main battery 26 and / or the integrated value of the current flowing into or out of the main battery 26. The battery management unit 27 can output the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 to the control unit 24.

[0032] When the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 received from the battery management unit 27 falls below a predetermined threshold, the control unit 24 may stop use of the main battery 26 and cause the moving unit 30 to start moving to a predetermined charging location 90. Furthermore, the control unit 24 can estimate when the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 will fall below the predetermined threshold. If a server 60 is provided, the control unit 24 may notify the server 60 via the first communication unit 23 of the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 and / or information on the time when the state of charge (SOC) is estimated to fall below the predetermined value.

[0033] Next, the moving unit 30 will be described. The moving unit 30 includes a movement control unit 31, a drive mechanism 32, a position detection unit 33, a second storage unit 34, a sensor unit 35, and a moving battery 36. If the system 1 includes a server 60, the moving unit 30 may further include a second communication unit 37 that communicates with the server 60.

[0034] The movement control unit 31 is configured to include a single or multiple processors and memories, similar to the control unit 24 of the main body unit 20. The movement control unit 31 controls each component of the movement unit 30 to move the movement unit 30 to a specified location or a charging location 90. The movement control unit 31 operates the drive mechanism 32 and moves the roadside device 10 based on the current location of the movement unit 30 detected by a location detection unit 33 (described later) and map information stored in a second storage unit 34.

[0035] The drive mechanism 32 includes a motor, tires, a power transmission mechanism that transmits the power of the motor to the tires, a direction changing mechanism that changes the direction of movement, and a braking mechanism that slows down or stops the moving unit 30. The drive mechanism 32 can move the moving unit 30 to a desired location through a desired route under the control of the movement control unit 31.

[0036] The position detection unit 33 detects the current position of the mobile unit 30. The position detection unit 33 includes a receiver compatible with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The position detection unit 33 can obtain information such as the latitude and longitude of the current position of the mobile unit 30 using signals from the GNSS receiver. The GNSS is a system that measures the position of the mobile unit 30 using artificial satellites, and includes, for example, the Global Positioning System (GPS), GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou. The position detection unit 33 can transmit the positioning result of the current position of the mobile unit 30 based on the GNSS signal to the mobile control unit 31 at predetermined intervals.

[0037] The second storage unit 34 includes one or more memories, similar to the first storage unit 34. The second storage unit 34 stores map information of an area including the location where the roadside device 10 is installed and the charging location 90. The map information may include information on paths that the roadside device 10 can travel, such as sidewalks and passages without steps.

[0038] The sensor unit 35 includes various sensors for detecting the conditions of the route along which the moving unit 30 is moving. The sensor unit 35 includes, for example, a second image capturing unit 38, which is a camera that captures images of the area around the moving unit 30. The sensor unit 35 may further include one or more of an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a millimeter-wave radar, a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), etc. The sensor unit 35 can detect obstacles on the route along which the moving unit 30 is moving. When an obstacle is found on the route, the movement control unit 31 controls the drive mechanism 32 to avoid the obstacle.

[0039] The travel battery 36 is a secondary battery similar to the main body battery 26. The travel battery 36 supplies power to each component of the travel unit 30. The travel unit 30 may further include a component that manages the travel battery 36, similar to the battery management unit 27 of the main body unit 20.

[0040] When a plurality of roadside devices 10 are managed by the server 60, the second communication unit 37 provides a function for communicating with the server 60. The second communication unit 37 may include a wireless communication interface compatible with a mobile communication system such as 4G or 5G. When the moving unit 30, which is a mobile unit, is separated from the main body unit 20, the second communication unit 37 can obtain information about the next destination from the server 60.

[0041] In the above description, the roadside device 10 is described as being separable into the main body 20 and the mobile unit 30, which is a mobile unit. However, the roadside device 10 may have a structure in which the main body 20 and the mobile unit 30 are integrated and cannot be separated. In this case, the mobile unit 30 may not have a mobile control unit 31, and the function of the mobile control unit 31 may be performed by the control unit 24 of the main body 20. Furthermore, the mobile unit 30 may not have a second memory unit 34, and the function of the second memory unit 34 may be performed by the first memory unit 25 of the main body 20. Furthermore, the mobile unit 30 may not have a mobile battery 36, and power may be supplied to each component of the mobile unit 30 from the main body battery 26 of the main body 20.

[0042] The second image capturing unit 38 included in the sensor unit 35 can be used as a backup for the first image capturing unit 21. In other words, when a failure occurs in the first image capturing unit 21, the roadside device 10 may be configured to detect the pedestrian 100 using the image captured by the second image capturing unit 38 instead of the first image capturing unit 21. This increases the availability of the roadside device 10 as a whole.

[0043] (Configuration of information devices) As shown in FIG. 3, the information device 50 includes a communication unit 51, a position detection unit 52, an output unit 53, and a control unit .

[0044] The communication unit 51 includes a communication interface corresponding to communication with the first communication unit 23 of the roadside device 10. The communication unit 51 can receive notification of the second information from the roadside device 10. The communication unit 51 is configured to transmit the received second information to the control unit 54.

[0045] Like the position detection unit 33 of the roadside device 10, the position detection unit 52 includes a receiver compatible with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). When the information device 50 is mounted on the autonomously driven vehicle 40, the position detection unit 52 transmits the detected current position to the control unit 54 as the current position of the autonomously driven vehicle 40. The position detection unit 52 may be built into the information device 50. However, the information device 50 may also acquire information about the current position from a positioning device provided in the autonomously driven vehicle 40. When the information device 50 is located remotely from the autonomously driven vehicle 40, the information device 50 can use the current position acquired from the autonomously driven vehicle 40 without using the position detection unit 52 of the information device 50.

[0046] The output unit 53 includes a display that outputs information as an image and / or a speaker that outputs information as sound. The display may be selected from various displays such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescence (EL) display, and an inorganic EL display.

[0047] The control unit 54, like the control unit 24 of the roadside device 10, is configured to include a single or multiple processors and memories.

[0048] Control unit 54 transmits the current position of autonomous vehicle 40 detected by position detection unit 52 to nearby roadside devices 10 via communication unit 51 at regular intervals. This allows roadside devices 10 to recognize the presence of an approaching autonomous vehicle 40. Note that the current position of autonomous vehicle 40 may be detected by a positioning device of autonomous vehicle 40 and transmitted from autonomous vehicle 40 to roadside device 10.

[0049] Furthermore, when control unit 54 acquires the second information from communication unit 51, output unit 53 notifies the driving assistant of the presence of pedestrian 100 by image and / or sound. In this way, the driving assistant can pay attention to pedestrian 100 on sidewalk 81. Pedestrian 100 may be located in a blind spot of autonomous vehicle 40. If pedestrian 100 approaches autonomous vehicle 40, the driving assistant can intervene in the autonomous driving performed by the system and slow down or stop autonomous vehicle 40.

[0050] The information device 50 may further include a storage unit that stores information and programs necessary for the information processing of the information device 50, and an input unit that inputs information to the information device 50.

[0051] (Server configuration) As shown in FIG. 4, the server 60 includes a communication unit 61, a storage unit 62, and a control unit 63.

[0052] The communication unit 61 includes a communication interface corresponding to communication with the first communication unit 23 and / or the second communication unit 37 of the plurality of roadside devices 10. The communication unit 61 acquires information including the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 from the plurality of roadside devices 10 and transmits the information to the control unit 63. The information acquired by the communication unit 61 from the roadside devices 10 may further include information on whether or not a failure has occurred in the roadside device 10 and / or information on the installation location of the roadside device 10. The communication unit 61 can transmit the charging schedule for each roadside device 10 determined by the control unit 63 to each roadside device 10.

[0053] The storage unit 62 includes one or more memories, similar to the first storage unit 25 of the roadside device 10. The storage unit 62 may store the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 of each roadside device 10 acquired via the communication unit 61, and a charging schedule for each roadside device 10 determined by the control unit 63.

[0054] The control unit 63, like the control unit 24 of the roadside device 10, is configured to include a single or multiple processors and memories. The control unit 63 can predict the time when the state of charge (SOC) of an in-use roadside device 10 included in the multiple roadside devices 10 will fall below a threshold. Alternatively, the control unit 63 can acquire the time when the predicted state of charge (SOC) of each roadside device 10 will fall below a threshold via the communication unit 61. The control unit 63 may determine a charging schedule based on the predicted time. The control unit 63 can instruct a standby roadside device 10 to autonomously travel to the location where the in-use roadside device 10 is installed by the predicted time and take over from the in-use roadside device 10. When determining the charging schedule for the roadside devices 10, the control unit 63 may take into account information about the installation location of each roadside device 10. The information about the installation location is reflected in the estimation of the travel time of the roadside device 10.

[0055] In addition, when the control unit 63 acquires information informing that a failure has occurred in the roadside device 10 in use, it can instruct one of the roadside devices 10 on standby to autonomously move to the location where the roadside device 10 in use is installed and take over from the roadside device in use.

[0056] (First information processing method) 5 and 6, a processing method executed by the control unit 24 and the mobility control unit 31 of the roadside device 10 in an embodiment in which a server 60 that manages multiple roadside devices 10 is not provided will be described. In the following, the processing executed by the mobility control unit 31 will also be described as processing executed by the control unit 24.

[0057] The method disclosed in this specification can be executed by a processor included in the roadside device 10 according to a program. Such a program can be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of recording media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media, magneto-optical recording media, and semiconductor memory. Magnetic storage media include, for example, hard disks and magnetic tapes. Magneto-optical recording media include, for example, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs). Semiconductor memories include random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), and flash memories. Non-transitory computer-readable media are not limited to these.

[0058] First, the manager of the roadside device 10 specifies a location where the roadside device 10 is to be installed. The location can be specified via a server or the like that manages the roadside device 10. The control unit 24 moves the roadside device 10 to the specified location (S101).

[0059] The control unit 24 executes normal operation as the roadside device 10 at the specified location (S102). The normal operation of the roadside device 10 is shown in the flowchart of Fig. 6. The normal operation of the roadside device 10 will be described below with reference to Fig. 6.

[0060] The control unit 24 acquires an image of the vicinity of the roadway 80 from the first photographing unit 21 (S201).

[0061] The control unit 24 performs image recognition processing on the acquired image of the vicinity of the roadway 80. The control unit 24 determines whether or not there is a pedestrian 100 moving towards the roadway 80 from the image of the road vicinity (S202).

[0062] When there is a pedestrian 100 moving toward the roadway 80 (S202: Yes), the control unit 24 determines whether or not there is an approaching autonomous vehicle 40 (S203). The control unit 24 can determine whether or not there is an autonomous vehicle 40 based on information about the current location of an autonomous vehicle 40 transmitted from an autonomous vehicle 40 traveling in the vicinity.

[0063] When an approaching autonomous vehicle 40 is detected (S203: Yes), the control unit 24 notifies the pedestrian 100 of first information indicating the presence of the approaching autonomous vehicle 40 (S204). This notification is made by displaying on the LED display, which is the first notification unit 22, illuminating or blinking the light-emitting unit, and / or by audio notification from the speaker, etc. This allows the pedestrian 100 to know of the presence of the approaching autonomous vehicle 40.

[0064] Furthermore, the control unit 24 notifies the information device 50 of second information, which is information indicating the presence of the pedestrian 100 (S205). The second information is notified to the driving assistant by an image and / or sound output by the output unit 53 of the information device 50. This allows the driving assistant of the autonomous vehicle 40 to know the presence of the pedestrian 100.

[0065] Either the process of S202 or the process of S203 may be executed first. That is, the control unit 24 may execute the process of S203 before the process of S202. Also, either the process of S204 or the process of S205 may be executed first. That is, the control unit 24 may execute the process of S205 before the process of S204.

[0066] If there is no pedestrian 100 heading towards the roadway 80 in S202 (S202: No), and if there is no approaching autonomously driven vehicle 40 in S203 (S203: No), the control unit 24 does not perform the processes of S204 and S205.

[0067] After step S205, the control unit 24 returns to the processing of the flowchart of Fig. 5. The control unit 24 acquires the battery state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 from the battery management unit 27 (S103).

[0068] The control unit 24 compares the battery state of charge (SOC) with a predetermined threshold (S104). If the battery state of charge (SOC) exceeds the predetermined threshold (S104: No), the control unit 24 returns to S102 and continues normal operation of the roadside device 10.

[0069] If the battery state of charge (SOC) is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold (S104: No), the control unit 24 stops the operation of the roadside device 10 as the roadside device 10 and moves the roadside device 10 to the charging site 90 (S105). The roadside device 10 charges the main battery 26 at the charging site 90.

[0070] According to the first information processing method, the mobile unit 30 of the roadside device 10 autonomously travels to a specified location, allowing an administrator to install the roadside device 10 at the desired location simply by specifying the location. This reduces the workload for installing the roadside device 10 compared to, for example, a method in which the roadside device 10 is manually transported to the desired location and installed. Furthermore, because the roadside device 10 includes a main battery 26, there is no need to perform construction work to connect the roadside device 10 to an existing power grid. This allows the roadside device 10 to be easily installed at any location. Furthermore, because the control unit 24 determines a decrease in the state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 and charges the main battery 26, there is no need to manually monitor the battery state of charge (SOC) of the roadside device 10. This reduces the number of personnel and costs involved in operating the roadside device 10.

[0071] (Second information processing method) Next, information processing by the roadside devices 10 and the server 60 when a server 60 that manages a plurality of roadside devices 10 is provided will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

[0072] First, the control unit 24 of the roadside device 10 moves the roadside device 10 to a specified location (S301).

[0073] The control unit 24 of the roadside device 10 executes normal operation as the roadside device 10 at the specified location (S302). The normal operation of the roadside device 10 is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

[0074] The control unit 24 of the roadside device 10 acquires the battery state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 from the battery management unit 27 (S303).

[0075] The control unit 24 of the roadside device 10 transmits information on the battery state of charge (SOC) of the main battery 26 to the server 60 (S304).

[0076] The control unit 63 of the server 60 acquires the information on the battery state of charge (SOC) received from the roadside device 10 (S305).

[0077] The roadside device 10 repeats steps S302 to S304 at regular intervals (S306), thereby allowing the roadside device 10 to continue normal operation.

[0078] The control unit 63 of the server 60 determines a charging schedule for each roadside device 10 based on the battery state of charge (SOC) received from the roadside device 10 (S307). The charging schedule includes a schedule for moving between the location where the roadside device 10 is installed and the charging location 90, and a schedule for arranging a replacement roadside device 10.

[0079] The control unit 63 of the server 60 transmits the determined charging schedule to the roadside device 10 (S308). The control unit 63 of the server 60 may also transmit the charging schedule to the replacement roadside device 10.

[0080] The control unit 63 of the roadside device 10 in use receives the charging schedule (S309).

[0081] The control unit 63 of the server 60 instructs the replacement roadside device 10 to move to the installation location of the roadside device 10 in use (S310). As a result, the replacement roadside device 10 moves to the installation location of the roadside device 10 in use.

[0082] The control unit 24 of the roadside device 10 in use ends the normal operation of the roadside device 10 in accordance with the charging schedule received in S309, and switches over to the replacement roadside device 10 (S311).

[0083] The used roadside device 10 that has been replaced with the replacement roadside device 10 moves to the charging station 90 (S312). The used roadside device 10 has its main battery 26 charged at the charging station 90 and waits for the next use. If necessary, the roadside device 10 has its mobile battery 36 charged at the charging station 90.

[0084] According to the second information processing method, the server 60 generates and manages charging schedules for multiple roadside devices 10, so that a roadside device 10 in use with a low battery state of charge (SOC) can be sequentially replaced with a charged roadside device 10. This not only achieves the effect of the first information processing method, but also makes it possible to continuously use the roadside device 10 at its designated installation location.

[0085] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and many variations and modifications are possible. For example, the functions included in each means, step, etc. can be rearranged so as not to cause logical contradictions, and multiple means or steps can be combined into one or divided. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1 System 10 Roadside equipment 15 Connecting part 20 Main body 21 First Filming Section 22 First Notification Department 23 First Communication Department (Second Notification Department) 24 Control Unit 25 1st memory section 26 Main unit battery 27 Battery management unit 30 Mobile unit 31 Movement control unit 32 Drive mechanism 33 Position detection unit 34 2nd memory section 35 Sensor section 36 Portable Battery 37 2nd Filming Department 40 Self-driving vehicles 50 Information equipment 51 Communications Department 52 Position detection unit 53 Output section 54 Control Unit 60 servers 61 Communications Department 62 Memory section 63 Control Unit 70 Network 80 Roadway 81 Sidewalk 82 Crosswalk 90 Charging Stations 100 pedestrians 110 Building

Claims

1. A roadside device, a first photographing unit that photographs the area around the roadway; a first notification unit that, when a pedestrian heading toward the roadway is detected from the image captured by the first imaging unit, notifies the pedestrian of first information indicating the presence of an autonomous vehicle approaching the roadside device; a second notification unit that notifies an information device of the autonomous driving vehicle of second information indicating the presence of the pedestrian; A mobile unit that travels autonomously to a designated location; A roadside device comprising:

2. 2. The roadside device according to claim 1, further comprising a battery for operating the roadside device, and configured to move to a predetermined charging location by the moving unit when a charging rate of the battery falls below a predetermined threshold.

3. 2. The roadside device according to claim 1, wherein the mobile unit is configured as a mobile unit that can be separated from the roadside device.

4. 4. A roadside device according to claim 3, wherein the mobile unit is provided with a second image capturing unit used for autonomous driving, and the roadside device is configured to detect pedestrians using images captured by the second image capturing unit instead of the first image capturing unit when a failure occurs in the first image capturing unit.

5. a plurality of roadside devices according to claim 1, each of which further comprises a battery for operating the roadside device; a server capable of communicating with the plurality of roadside devices; A system comprising: the server includes a control unit configured to acquire information including at least the charging rates of the batteries from the plurality of roadside devices, and to determine a charging schedule for each of the roadside devices based on the information.

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