INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, AND MaaS PROVIDING METHOD

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of accurately determining the number of passengers in a vehicle.SOLUTION: A control unit of the information processing device determines whether the number of passengers standing in a vehicle exceeds a threshold. The control unit of the information processing device is configured so as to, when the number of standing passengers is below the threshold, determine the number of passengers inside a passenger compartment by analyzing video images of the passenger compartment. The control unit of the information processing device is configured so as to, when the number of standing passengers exceeds the threshold, determine the number of passengers in the vehicle depending on the change in the number of passengers boarding the vehicle and the number of passengers getting-off the vehicle, which are counted using video image analysis of the entrance / exit area of the vehicle. The control unit of the information processing device outputs the determined passenger number information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device and a MaaS providing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a surveillance system. In the surveillance system, captured images are acquired by an imaging unit that captures images of each of the passenger compartments of multiple moving bodies. In the surveillance system, the amount of movement of passengers in each of the passenger compartments of the multiple moving bodies is acquired based on the acquired captured images. In the surveillance system, a priority indicating the degree of need to monitor passengers is calculated based on the acquired amount of movement. Then, in the surveillance system, a display target on a display device that sequentially switches and displays the passenger compartments of each of the multiple moving bodies at a display switching period is determined based on the priority. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-94724 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure aims to accurately grasp the number of passengers in a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The information processing device according to the present disclosure includes: determining whether the number of standing passengers in the vehicle exceeds a threshold; If the number of standing passengers is less than the threshold, the number of passengers in the passenger compartment counted by analyzing a moving image of the passenger compartment of the vehicle is identified as the number of passengers in the vehicle; If the number of standing passengers exceeds the threshold, the number of passengers in the vehicle is identified according to a transition of the number of passengers getting on and off the vehicle counted by analyzing a moving image of the entrance and exit of the vehicle; outputting passenger number information of the identified vehicle; The controller is configured to: [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] The present disclosure allows accurate counting of the number of passengers in a vehicle. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a monitoring system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of passenger compartments, entrance / exit doors, and in-car cameras in a vehicle. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the in-vehicle device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a table configuration of the boarding and alighting information stored in the boarding and alighting information database. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the first process executed by the control unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the second process executed by the control unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The information processing device may use a camera to identify the number of passengers in a vehicle. Here, the information processing device may identify the number of passengers getting on and off the vehicle by analyzing video images of the vehicle entrance / exit. It is assumed that the number of passengers is counted and the number of passengers in a vehicle is identified based on the transition of the counted number of people getting on and off. In this case, the information processing device analyzes video images of passengers getting on and / or getting off the vehicle at the boarding / alighting door.

[0009] In this case, the information processing device may not be able to accurately recognize passengers boarding and disembarking because the video images show passengers boarding and disembarking, passengers boarding and disembarking, or passengers disembarking and overlapping with each other. Furthermore, because the information processing device analyzes video images of passengers boarding and / or disembarking who are moving within the vehicle to get on or off, the accuracy of recognizing passengers boarding and disembarking is lower than when analyzing video images of passengers who are not moving. This can result in errors in the number of passengers boarding and disembarking counted by the information processing device, making it impossible to accurately determine the number of passengers in the vehicle.

[0010] On the other hand, assume that an information processing device counts the number of passengers in a vehicle cabin by analyzing video images of the cabin and identifies the counted number of passengers in the cabin as the number of passengers in the vehicle. At this time, passengers are restricted from moving around frequently within the cabin. Therefore, the information processing device can count passengers who are restricted from moving around in the cabin by analyzing video images of the cabin. This allows the information processing device to identify the number of passengers in the vehicle more accurately than by analyzing video images of the boarding and alighting doors where moving passengers are captured.

[0011] However, there may be passengers standing in the passenger compartment. In this case, if a standing passenger is in front of a seated passenger, the seated passenger may not be captured in the video. Also, a video may be captured in which two standing passengers overlap each other. Therefore, when there are many standing passengers, it is expected that there is a greater possibility of an error in the counted number of passengers in the passenger compartment compared to when there are few standing passengers.

[0012] Therefore, the control unit of the information processing device according to the present disclosure determines whether the number of standing passengers in the vehicle exceeds a threshold value. Here, the threshold value for the number of standing passengers is a value at which an increase in error in the passenger compartment count process of the vehicle passengers based on video image analysis of the passenger compartment is expected. If the number of standing passengers is less than the threshold value, the control unit identifies the number of passengers in the passenger compartment counted by video image analysis of the passenger compartment as the number of passengers in the vehicle. Furthermore, if the number of standing passengers exceeds the threshold value, the control unit identifies the number of passengers in the vehicle based on the transition of the number of passengers boarding and alighting counted by video image analysis of the vehicle's entrance and exit doors. Then, the control unit outputs information on the identified number of passengers in the vehicle.

[0013] As described above, when an increase in error in the number of passengers in the passenger compartment counted by video image analysis of the passenger compartment is expected, the information processing device determines the number of passengers based on the transition of the number of passengers boarding and alighting counted by video image analysis of the boarding and alighting doors. This allows the information processing device to determine the number of passengers in the vehicle more accurately than determining the number of passengers in the vehicle by video image analysis of the passenger compartment.

[0014] Furthermore, when there is no expected error in the number of passengers in the passenger compartment counted by analyzing the video of the passenger compartment, the information processing device determines the number of passengers in the passenger compartment counted by analyzing the video of the passenger compartment as the number of passengers in the vehicle. This allows the information processing device to determine the number of passengers more accurately than determining the number of passengers in the vehicle based on the transition of the number of people boarding and disembarking counted by analyzing the video of the boarding and alighting doors. In this way, the information processing device can accurately determine the number of passengers by using different methods of determining the number of passengers depending on whether the number of standing passengers exceeds a threshold.

[0015] Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative positions of components described in the present embodiments are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present disclosure unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, the hardware configuration, module configuration, functional configuration, and the like described in the present embodiments are not intended to limit the technical scope of the disclosure unless otherwise specified.

[0016] <Embodiment> (System Overview) A monitoring system 1 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the monitoring system 1. The monitoring system 1 is configured to include an on-board device 100 and an in-vehicle camera 200. In the monitoring system 1, the on-board device 100 and the in-vehicle camera 200 are connected to each other via an in-vehicle network. The on-board device 100 and the in-vehicle camera 200 are mounted on a vehicle 10. In this embodiment, the vehicle 10 is a bus. However, the vehicle 10 may be a vehicle other than a bus as long as it is a vehicle on which multiple passengers get on and off. An example of a vehicle 10 other than a bus is a train.

[0017] (In-car camera) In-vehicle camera 200 is an omnidirectional camera installed inside vehicle 10. In-vehicle camera 200 is equipped with a 360-degree fisheye lens. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of a passenger compartment, boarding / alighting doors, and in-vehicle camera 200 inside vehicle 10. As shown in FIG. 2, five passenger seats are provided in the passenger compartment of vehicle 10. Vehicle 10 also has a driver's seat. In addition, a boarding / alighting door is provided on the side of vehicle 10 for passengers to board and alight from. Passengers get on vehicle 10 through the boarding / alighting door and move to the passenger compartment, or move from the passenger compartment and alight from the boarding / alighting door.

[0018] The in-vehicle camera 200 is provided in the center of the vehicle 10. The in-vehicle camera 200 is also provided on the ceiling of the vehicle 10. As a result, the in-vehicle camera 200 captures moving images of the entire interior of the vehicle 10, including the passenger compartment and the entrance and exit doors of the vehicle 10. The in-vehicle camera 200 transmits moving images of the entire interior of the vehicle 10 to the in-vehicle device 100 in real time via the in-vehicle network.

[0019] (In-vehicle device) The in-vehicle device 100 is a device that identifies the number of passengers in the vehicle 10. The in-vehicle device 100 identifies the number of passengers in the vehicle 10 by analyzing moving images (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as "moving images") captured by the in-vehicle camera 200. Specifically, the in-vehicle device 100 identifies the heads of passengers captured in the moving image analysis and counts the number of identified heads.

[0020] Here, it is assumed that the in-vehicle device 100 identifies the number of people getting on the vehicle 10 (hereinafter, may be referred to as the "number of people getting on") and the number of people getting off the vehicle 10 (hereinafter, may be referred to as the "number of people getting off") by analyzing the entrance and exit area in the video image, and identifies the number of passengers in the vehicle 10 using the trends in the number of people getting on and off. Specifically, it is assumed that the in-vehicle device 100 calculates the number of passengers in the vehicle 10 by subtracting the total number of people getting off from the total number of people getting on the vehicle 10.

[0021] The in-vehicle device 100 identifies the number of passengers getting on and off the vehicle 10 by analyzing video images of passengers moving from the boarding / alighting door to the passenger compartment to board the vehicle 10 and / or passengers moving from the passenger compartment and getting off at the boarding / alighting door. At this time, there are cases where the boarding passengers and the alighting passengers, the boarding passengers and the alighting passengers, or the alighting passengers are overlapping in the video images. In such cases, the in-vehicle device 100 may not be able to accurately recognize the boarding passengers and the alighting passengers. There is a match.

[0022] Furthermore, because the in-vehicle device 100 analyzes video images of boarding and / or disembarking passengers moving to board or disembark, the accuracy of recognizing boarding and disembarking passengers is low. In this case, the in-vehicle device 100 may mistakenly identify boarding and disembarking passengers. That is, the in-vehicle device 100 may mistakenly identify boarding passengers as disembarking passengers, or disembarking passengers as boarding passengers. In particular, in the vehicle 10 of this embodiment, boarding and disembarking passengers use the same boarding and disembarking entrance, so boarding and disembarking passengers may use the entrance at the same time. Therefore, boarding and disembarking passengers are more likely to pass each other than when the vehicle 10 has separate boarding and disembarking entrances, and boarding and disembarking passengers are more likely to be mistakenly identified. This may result in an error in the number of boarding and / or disembarking passengers counted by the in-vehicle device 100, making it difficult to accurately identify the number of passengers in the vehicle 10.

[0023] In this embodiment, boarding passengers and disembarking passengers use the same boarding and disembarking entrance. However, the vehicle 10 may be provided with separate boarding entrances for boarding passengers and disembarking entrances for disembarking passengers.

[0024] On the other hand, assume that the in-vehicle device 100 performs a process of counting passengers in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10 by analyzing the passenger compartment portion of the video image (hereinafter, this process may be referred to as a "passenger compartment counting process"). In this case, the in-vehicle device 100 identifies the number of passengers in the passenger compartment counted by the passenger compartment counting process as the number of passengers in the vehicle 10. At this time, passengers in the passenger compartment are restricted from moving frequently within the vehicle. Therefore, the in-vehicle device 100 can count passengers whose movement is restricted in the video image analysis. In other words, the in-vehicle device 100 can count passengers who move less than passengers boarding and disembarking. Therefore, the in-vehicle device 100 can count the number of passengers in the passenger compartment more accurately than counting the number of passengers in the vehicle 10 by analyzing the entrance and exit portions of the video image.

[0025] However, there may be standing passengers in the passenger compartment of vehicle 10. In this case, if a standing passenger is present in front of a passenger sitting in a seat of vehicle 10 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a "seated passenger"), the seated passenger may not be captured in the passenger compartment portion of the video. Furthermore, if there are multiple standing passengers in vehicle 10, a video may be captured in which the standing passengers overlap each other. Therefore, when there are many standing passengers, it is expected that there is a greater possibility of an error occurring in the passenger compartment counting process than when there are few standing passengers.

[0026] Therefore, the in-vehicle device 100 executes a process of determining whether the number of standing passengers in the passenger compartment is equal to or greater than a threshold value. Here, the threshold value for the number of standing passengers is a value at which an increase in error in the passenger compartment counting process is expected. When the number of standing passengers is less than the threshold value, the in-vehicle device 100 identifies the number of passengers in the vehicle 10 through the passenger compartment counting process. When the number of standing passengers is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the in-vehicle device 100 identifies the number of passengers in the vehicle 10 according to the transition of the number of passengers getting on and off counted through a counting process using video analysis of the entrance and exit doors of the vehicle 10 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "entrance and exit door counting process"). Then, the in-vehicle device 100 outputs information indicating the identified number of passengers in the vehicle 10 (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "passenger number information").

[0027] The in-vehicle device 100 may identify the number of passengers in the vehicle 10 by performing a passenger compartment counting process when the number of standing passengers exceeds a threshold value. In addition, the in-vehicle device 100 may identify the number of passengers in the vehicle 10 according to the transition of the number of passengers getting on and off counted by the entrance / exit counting process of the vehicle 10 when the number of standing passengers is less than a threshold value. In this case, Therefore, if the number of standing passengers matches the threshold value, the number of passengers in vehicle 10 can be determined by passenger compartment counting processing, or the number of passengers in vehicle 10 can be determined based on the trends in the number of passengers boarding and disembarking by entrance / exit counting processing.

[0028] The in-vehicle device 100 includes a computer having a processor 110, a main memory 120, an auxiliary memory 130, a communication interface (communication I / F) 140, and a display 150. The processor 110 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) or a digital signal processor (DSP). The main memory 120 is, for example, a random access memory (RAM). The auxiliary memory 130 is, for example, a read-only memory (ROM). The auxiliary memory 130 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a disc recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disc, or a Blu-ray disc. The auxiliary memory 130 may also be a removable medium (portable storage medium). Examples of removable media include a USB memory or an SD card. The communication I / F 140 is, for example, a local area network (LAN) interface board or a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication. The display 150 is a display provided inside the vehicle 10.

[0029] In the in-vehicle device 100, the auxiliary storage unit 130 stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various information tables, and the like. In addition, in the in-vehicle device 100, the processor 110 loads the programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 130 into the main storage unit 120 and executes them, thereby realizing various functions as described below. However, some or all of the functions of the in-vehicle device 100 may be realized by hardware circuits such as ASIC or FPGA. Note that the in-vehicle device 100 does not necessarily have to be realized by a single physical configuration, and may be configured by multiple computers working together. Similarly to the in-vehicle device 100, the in-vehicle camera 200 also includes a computer.

[0030] Next, the functional configuration of the in-vehicle device 100 constituting the monitoring system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the in-vehicle device 100. The in-vehicle device 100 includes a control unit 101, a communication unit 102, a display unit 103, and a boarding / alighting information database 104 (boarding / alighting information DB104). The control unit 101 has a function of performing arithmetic processing for controlling the in-vehicle device 100. The control unit 101 can be realized by a processor 110 in the in-vehicle device 100. The communication unit 102 has a function of connecting the in-vehicle device 100 to an in-vehicle network. The communication unit 102 can be realized by a communication I / F 140 in the in-vehicle device 100.

[0031] The control unit 101 acquires video images of the inside of the vehicle 10 from the in-vehicle camera 200 via the communication unit 102 in real time. The control unit 101 refers to the acquired video images and performs a boarding / alighting entrance counting process. Specifically, the control unit 101 identifies passengers boarding and alighting by analyzing the boarding / alighting entrance portion of the video images. At this time, the control unit 101 recognizes a person moving from the boarding / alighting entrance of the vehicle 10 into the vehicle 10 as a passenger boarding the vehicle 10. The control unit 101 also recognizes a person moving from the boarding / alighting entrance of the vehicle 10 out of the vehicle 10 as a passenger alighting the vehicle 10. The control unit 101 counts the number of passengers boarding and alighting by recognizing the passengers boarding and alighting. The control unit 101 stores the counted number of passengers boarding and alighting in the boarding / alighting information DB 104. The control unit 101 performs the boarding / alighting entrance counting process when the vehicle 10 stops at a bus stop to allow passengers to board or alight.

[0032] The boarding and alighting information DB 104 has a function of storing boarding and alighting information. The boarding and alighting information is information about the transition of the number of people getting on and getting off. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a table configuration of the boarding and alighting information stored in the boarding and alighting information DB 104. As shown in FIG.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 4, the boarding and alighting information has a date and time field, a bus stop ID field, a number of passengers boarding field, a number of passengers alighting field, and a number of passengers field. The date and time field stores information for specifying the date and time. The date and time field stores the date and time when the vehicle 10 stopped at the bus stop. The bus stop ID field stores an identifier (bus stop ID) for specifying the bus stop where the vehicle 10 stopped at the date and time in the corresponding date and time field. The number of passengers boarding field stores information indicating the number of passengers boarding at the date and time in the corresponding date and time field. Furthermore, the number of passengers alighting field stores information indicating the number of passengers alighting at the date and time in the corresponding date and time field.

[0034] The boarding and alighting information shown in Figure 4 is information about the number of passengers boarding and alighting during the period from when vehicle 10 stops at the first bus stop until it stops at the nearest bus stop. When vehicle 10 stops at the first bus stop, there are no passengers getting off vehicle 10. Therefore, "0" is stored in the number of passengers alighting field corresponding to the oldest date and time in the boarding and alighting information (the date and time when vehicle 10 first stopped at the bus stop).

[0035] The number of passengers field stores information indicating the number of passengers calculated from the transition of the number of passengers boarding and the number of passengers alighting. The control unit 101 calculates the sum of the number of passengers boarding in all the number of passengers boarding field. That is, the control unit 101 calculates the total number of passengers boarding from the time the vehicle 10 stopped at the first bus stop to the present. The control unit 101 also calculates the sum of the number of passengers alighting field. That is, the control unit 101 calculates the total number of passengers alighting from the time the vehicle 10 stopped at the first bus stop to the present.

[0036] Here, the value obtained by subtracting the sum of the number of passengers getting off from the sum of the number of passengers getting on matches the number of passengers currently remaining in the vehicle 10. Therefore, the control unit 101 can calculate the current number of passengers in the vehicle 10 by performing a calculation process in which the sum of all the fields for the number of passengers getting off is subtracted from the sum of all the fields for the number of passengers getting on. The control unit 101 stores information indicating the calculated current number of passengers in the vehicle 10 in the number of passengers field.

[0037] Furthermore, the control unit 101 counts the number of people standing by analyzing the passenger compartment portion of the video image received from the in-car camera 200. Here, the control unit 101 identifies passengers who are not in their seats as standing passengers and counts the number of people standing. Then, the control unit 101 executes a process of determining whether the counted number of people standing exceeds a threshold value.

[0038] If the number of standing passengers is equal to or greater than the threshold, an increase in error in the passenger compartment counting process is expected, as described above. Therefore, when the number of standing passengers is equal to or greater than the threshold, the control unit 101 specifies the number of passengers calculated by the calculation process as the number of passengers currently in the vehicle 10. Furthermore, when the number of standing passengers is less than the threshold, the control unit 101 does not expect an increase in error in the passenger compartment counting process. Therefore, when the number of standing passengers is less than the threshold, the control unit 101 specifies the number of passengers calculated by the passenger compartment counting process as the number of passengers currently in the vehicle 10.

[0039] The display unit 103 has a function of displaying various information to the driver of the vehicle 10. The display unit 103 can be realized by the display 150 in the in-vehicle device 100. The control unit 101 outputs (transmits) passenger number information to the display unit 103 via the communication unit 102. The display unit 103 displays the passenger number information received from the control unit 101 to the driver of the vehicle 10. This allows the driver of the vehicle 10 to know the number of passengers in the vehicle 10.

[0040] Here, during a time period when the vehicle 10 is congested (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a "congested time period"), During peak hours, there will be more passengers in the passenger compartments than during non-peak hours. Therefore, the error in the passenger compartment counting process may be larger during peak hours than during non-peak hours. Also, during peak hours, it is expected that the number of people boarding and disembarking will be larger than when the vehicle 10 is not crowded. Therefore, the error in the boarding and alighting gate counting process may be larger during peak hours than during non-peak hours. This results in a larger error in the number of passengers in vehicle 10 indicated by the passenger count information.

[0041] Therefore, during peak hours, the control unit 101 may output notification information together with passenger count information to the display unit 103 via the communication unit 102. Here, the notification information is information that prompts the driver of the vehicle 10 to visually check the number of passengers. This allows the driver of the vehicle 10 to accurately count the number of passengers in the vehicle 10.

[0042] (First process) The first process executed by the control unit 101 of the in-vehicle device 100 in the monitoring system 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart of the first process executed by the control unit 101. The first process is a process for updating boarding and alighting information. Execution of the first process starts when the vehicle 10 arrives at a bus stop for passengers to board and alight.

[0043] In the first process, first, in S101, an entrance / exit counting process is executed by analyzing the entrance / exit portion of the moving image. The entrance / exit counting process is executed until passengers have completely boarded and disembarked from the vehicle 10. The entrance / exit counting process is executed, for example, from when the door of the vehicle 10 is opened until it is closed again.

[0044] Next, in S102, a calculation process is executed. Specifically, the number of passengers in vehicle 10 is calculated by referring to the number of passengers getting on and getting off counted by the entrance / exit count process and the past number of passengers getting on and getting off in the entrance / exit information stored in the entrance / exit information DB 104. Next, in S103, the number of passengers getting on and getting off identified by the entrance / exit count process and the calculated number of passengers are newly recorded in the entrance / exit information stored in the entrance / exit information DB 104, thereby updating the entrance / exit information. Then, the first process is terminated.

[0045] (Second process) The second process executed by the control unit 101 of the in-vehicle device 100 in the monitoring system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the second process executed by the control unit 101. The second process is a process in which the control unit 101 outputs passenger count information. The second process is executed, for example, when the vehicle 10 departs after stopping at a bus stop for passengers to board and disembark. The second process may also be executed a predetermined time after the vehicle 10 departs from the bus stop where the vehicle 10 stopped for passengers to board and disembark. This allows the second process to be executed in the vehicle 10 after the passengers have completely moved into the passenger compartment.

[0046] In the second process, first, in S201, the passenger compartment portion of the video image is analyzed and the number of standing passengers is counted. Next, in S202, it is determined whether the number of standing passengers is equal to or greater than a threshold. If the determination in S202 is affirmative, there is a higher possibility that an error will occur in the number of passengers counted by the passenger compartment counting process, compared to if the determination in S202 is negative.

[0047] Therefore, if a positive determination is made in S202, in S203, the boarding and alighting information is acquired from the boarding and alighting information DB 104. Next, in S204, the latest date and time in the boarding and alighting information is acquired. The number of passengers in the passenger number field corresponding to the field is identified as the number of passengers in vehicle 10. In this way, the number of passengers in vehicle 10 is calculated from the transition of the number of passengers boarding and alighting counted by the entrance / exit counting process. Next, in S205, passenger number information about the identified number of passengers in vehicle 10 is output to display unit 103. Then, the second process ends.

[0048] On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in S202, there is a lower possibility that an error will occur in the number of passengers obtained by the cabin counting process compared to when a positive determination is made in S203. Therefore, the cabin counting process is executed in S206. Next, in S204, the number of passengers counted by the cabin counting process is identified as the number of passengers in vehicle 10. Next, in S205, passenger number information regarding the identified number of passengers is output to display unit 103. Then, the second process is terminated.

[0049] As explained above, in the monitoring system 1, when the number of standing passengers is equal to or greater than the threshold and an increase in error in the cabin counting process is expected, the number of passengers calculated by the calculation process is used as the number of passengers in the vehicle 10, and passenger number information is output. This makes it possible to output more accurate passenger number information than the cabin counting process. Furthermore, when the number of standing passengers is less than the threshold and an increase in error in the cabin counting process is not expected, the number of passengers in the cabin counted by the cabin counting process is used as the number of passengers in the vehicle 10, and passenger number information is output. This makes it possible to output more accurate passenger number information than the calculation process.

[0050] Furthermore, in this embodiment, one in-vehicle camera 200 is installed in vehicle 10. In this case, there may be areas that cannot be captured by in-vehicle camera 200. Therefore, compared to when multiple in-vehicle cameras 200 are installed in vehicle 10, counting errors are more likely to occur in the passenger compartment counting process and the entrance / exit counting process. Therefore, in monitoring system 1, a method for specifying the number of passengers in vehicle 10 that is less likely to cause errors is selected depending on whether the number of standing passengers exceeds a threshold, thereby outputting more accurate passenger number information. As a result, the driver of vehicle 10 can accurately grasp the number of passengers in vehicle 10.

[0051] (Variation 1) In this embodiment, the in-vehicle device 100 executes a process of determining whether the identified number of standing passengers exceeds a threshold. On the other hand, in this modified example, the in-vehicle device 100 executes a process of determining whether standing passengers are present. That is, in this modified example, the in-vehicle device 100 sets the threshold for the number of standing passengers to 1 and executes a process of determining whether the identified number of standing passengers exceeds 1 (threshold). At this time, all passengers of the vehicle 10 are seated in the passenger compartment. Therefore, in the passenger compartment portion of the moving image, all passengers are seated. This prevents seated passengers from overlapping with standing passengers in the moving image. Furthermore, even if seated passengers are sitting next to each other, their heads are sufficiently separated, preventing their heads from overlapping in the moving image. Therefore, errors are least likely to occur in the passenger compartment counting process. Therefore, setting the threshold for the number of standing passengers to 1 enables the most accurate passenger compartment counting process. As a result, the driver of the vehicle 10 can accurately grasp the number of passengers in the vehicle 10.

[0052] (Variation 2) In this embodiment, the vehicle 10 is a vehicle driven by a driver. However, the vehicle 10 may also be an autonomous vehicle without a crew member on board. In this case, if the number of passengers is not identified by the in-vehicle device 100, a person who counts the number of passengers (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as a "counting person") is required. Here, the counting person boards the vehicle 10 and counts the number of passengers. In addition, the counting person may be located inside the vehicle. The number of passengers may be counted by remotely monitoring video captured by camera 200. However, since the in-vehicle device 100 can accurately identify the number of passengers, there is no need to prepare counting personnel. Therefore, the in-vehicle device 100 can accurately grasp the current number of passengers while suppressing labor costs.

[0053] In this modification, the in-vehicle device 100 outputs (transmits) the occupant number information to an external server that manages the number of passengers in the vehicle 10 via a WAN (Wide Area Network), which is a global public communication network such as the Internet, or a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone. This allows the administrator of the external server or the like to accurately grasp the number of passengers in the vehicle 10.

[0054] (Variation 3) In this embodiment, the in-vehicle device 100 counts the number of standing passengers by analyzing the passenger compartment portion of the video image. However, the in-vehicle device 100 may acquire the number of standing passengers by other methods. For example, the in-vehicle device 100 may acquire the number of standing passengers based on the detection result of a human presence sensor that detects people present in a portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10 where standing passengers are allowed to board (standing passenger portion).

[0055] (Variation 4) The monitoring system 1 can be used in various situations. The monitoring system 1 may be used to provide MaaS (Mobility as a Service), which is a service that utilizes mobility.

[0056] <Other embodiments> The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the processes and means described in the present disclosure may be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0057] Furthermore, a process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by a single device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is realized can be flexibly changed.

[0058] The present disclosure can also be realized by providing a computer program implementing the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer, and having one or more processors in the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer via a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the computer's system bus or via a network. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media include any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions, such as a magnetic disk (e.g., a floppy disk or a hard disk drive (HDD)), an optical disk (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, or a Blu-ray disk), a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, or an optical card. [Explanation of symbols]

[0059] 1. Surveillance system 10. Vehicle 100...In-vehicle equipment 101 Control unit 102··Communications Department 103...Display section 104 Boarding and alighting information database 200··In-car camera

Claims

1. determining whether the number of standing passengers in the vehicle exceeds a threshold; If the number of standing passengers is less than the threshold, the number of passengers in the passenger compartment counted by analyzing a moving image of the passenger compartment of the vehicle is identified as the number of passengers in the vehicle; If the number of standing passengers exceeds the threshold, the number of passengers in the vehicle is identified according to a transition of the number of passengers getting on and off the vehicle counted by analyzing a moving image of the entrance and exit of the vehicle; outputting passenger number information of the identified vehicle; a controller configured to execute Information processing device.

2. Determining whether the number of passengers standing exceeds the threshold value includes determining whether there are any passengers standing. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The vehicle is provided with one entrance / exit.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. In the video image analysis of the passenger compartment and the video image analysis of the boarding / alighting entrance, video images captured by a single camera that simultaneously captures the passenger compartment and the boarding / alighting entrance are used.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The vehicle is an autonomous vehicle without a passenger on board.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2.

6. Using the information processing device according to claim 1, MaaS (Mobility as a Service) provision method.

Images