Information processing device

Abstract

To search for an efficient patrol route.SOLUTION: An information processing method includes determining stopping positions of a mobile body when patrolling a plurality of drop-by destinations using the mobile body, and searching for a route for patrolling the determined stopping positions. When determining stopping positions of the mobile body when patrolling the plurality of drop-by destinations using the mobile body, the method includes extracting groups of drop-by destinations that satisfy predetermined conditions from the plurality of drop-by destinations, and for each of the extracted groups, determining one position as a stopping position for dropping by the drop-by destinations included in the group.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] A technique for searching for a route to visit a plurality of destinations has been developed (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-91284 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventional technology assumes that all destinations are visited by a mobile vehicle. However, there are cases where it is more efficient to stop the mobile vehicle and walk around, such as when multiple destinations are close to each other or when multiple destinations are located in the same housing complex.

[0005] One example of a problem to be solved by the present invention is to search for an efficient travel route. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 comprises a stop position determination unit that determines stop positions for a mobile body when the mobile body is used to travel to a plurality of destinations, and a first route search unit that searches for a route for traveling around the determined stop positions, wherein the stop position determination unit for the mobile body comprises an extraction unit that extracts a group of destinations that meets predetermined conditions from among the plurality of destinations, and a first determination unit that determines, for each group extracted by the extraction unit, one position as a stop position for visiting the destinations included in the group.

[0007] The invention described in claim 10 is an information processing method executed by a computer, The method includes a stop position determination step of determining stop positions for a mobile body when the mobile body is used to travel to a plurality of destinations, and a first route search step of searching for a route to travel to the determined stop positions, and the stop position determination step of the mobile body includes an extraction step of extracting a group of destinations that meets predetermined conditions from the plurality of destinations, and a first determination step of determining, for each group extracted in the extraction step, one position as a stop position for visiting the destinations included in the group.

[0008] The invention described in claim 11 is an information processing program that causes a computer to execute the information processing method described in claim 10.

[0009] The invention described in claim 12 is a computer-readable storage medium storing the information processing program described in claim 11. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a route search device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a control unit 110. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a stop position determination unit 113. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of two stops T1 and T2 located along different roads. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of two destinations T3 and T4 separated by a road. [Figure 6] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing operation executed in the information processing device 100. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a processing operation executed by the stop position determination unit 113 in step S602 of FIG. 6. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a processing operation executed by an extraction unit 1131 in step S701 of FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the processing operation executed in the extraction unit 113 in step S802 of FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing operation executed by the extraction unit 113 in step S902 of FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an intersection exists between destinations T5 and T6. [Figure 12] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method used in an extraction unit 1131. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a matrix indicating the distance of a route when traveling between two of destinations Ta, Tb, Tc, Td, Te, and Tf without making a U-turn. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating destinations Ta, Tb, Tc, Td, Te, and Tf. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a stop position determination unit that determines stop positions for a mobile object when the mobile object travels to multiple destinations, and a first route search unit that searches for a route to travel between the determined stop positions. The stop position determination unit for the mobile object includes an extraction unit that extracts groups of destinations that satisfy predetermined conditions from the multiple destinations, and a first determination unit that determines, for each group extracted by the extraction unit, a single stop position for visiting the destinations included in the group. Therefore, in this embodiment, the predetermined conditions include a condition that makes traveling by foot more efficient than traveling by mobile object. Therefore, only one stop position is set for a group for which traveling by foot is more efficient than traveling by mobile object. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to set stop positions for the mobile object for efficient travel. As a result, this embodiment makes it possible to search for an efficient travel route.

[0012] The predetermined condition may include the group satisfying at least one of a first condition and a second condition different from the first condition. The first condition may include the destinations included in the group being a first distance or less from each other. The first condition may include the route travelling to the destinations included in the group being a second distance or less. If the destinations included in the group include two or more destinations separated by a road, the first condition may include the width of the road being a predetermined length or less. The second condition may include the destinations included in the group being located within the same block. The second condition may include the destinations included in the group being located in an apartment building in the same block. In this way, only one stop position is set for a group for which it is more efficient to travel on foot than by mobile object.

[0013] The predetermined conditions may include that the group satisfies at least one of the first condition, the second condition, and the third condition, and the third condition may be different from the first condition and the second condition and include that the stops included in the group are located in the same apartment building. In this way, only one stop position is set for a group for which it is more efficient to travel on foot than by mobile object.

[0014] The first determination unit may determine, for each group extracted by the extraction unit, if a node exists between the destinations included in the group, the node as a stopping position for stopping at the destinations included in the group. In this way, it is possible to efficiently visit the destinations included in the group.

[0015] An information processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a computer, and includes a stop position determination step of determining stop positions for a mobile object when traveling to multiple destinations using the mobile object, and a first route search step of searching for a route to travel between the determined stop positions. The stop position determination step of the mobile object includes an extraction step of extracting a group of destinations from the multiple destinations that satisfy a predetermined condition, and a first determination step of determining, for each group extracted in the extraction step, a single stop position for visiting the destinations included in the group. Therefore, in this embodiment, the predetermined condition includes a condition that makes traveling by foot more efficient than traveling by mobile object. Therefore, only one stop position is set for a group for which traveling by foot is more efficient than traveling by mobile object. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to set stop positions for the mobile object for efficient travel. As a result, this embodiment makes it possible to search for an efficient travel route.

[0016] An information processing program according to an embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute the above-described information processing method, making it possible to search for an efficient tour route.

[0017] A storage medium according to one embodiment of the present invention stores the information processing program, which allows the information processing program to be distributed as a standalone program rather than being incorporated into a device, making it easy to perform version upgrades, etc. [Example]

[0018] <Travel route search device 100> FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a route search device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The route search device 100 includes a control unit 110, an input unit 120, a storage unit 130, a communication unit 140, and an output unit 150. The route search device 100 is, for example, a device that searches for a route to be taken by a mobile object (e.g., a vehicle or an air vehicle (including an unmanned vehicle or an unmanned air vehicle)) when visiting multiple destinations. The route search device 100 may be a device installed in the mobile object or a device installed outside the mobile object. For example, the destinations are delivery destinations or pickup destinations if the mobile object is a delivery vehicle, and are the homes of users of the kindergarten or nursing facility if the mobile object is a shuttle bus for a kindergarten or nursing facility.

[0019] The control unit 110 is an information processing device that processes information from a computer or the like. The input unit 120 is an input device that receives information input from a button, keyboard, touch panel, microphone, or the like. The storage unit 130 is a storage device that stores information, such as a memory, hard disk, or solid state drive. The communication unit 140 is a communication device that transmits and receives information to and from other devices. The output unit 150 is an output device that outputs information (an audio output device that outputs audio related to information, such as a speaker, or a display device that displays information, such as a display).

[0020] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the control unit 110. The control unit 110 has a departure / destination information acquisition processing unit 111, a stop information acquisition processing unit 112, a stop position determination unit 114, a route search unit 114, and an output processing unit 115.

[0021] The departure / destination information acquisition processing unit 111 acquires information about the departure point and the destination point. The departure point and the destination point may be the same point or different points. The departure / destination information acquisition processing unit 111 may, for example, acquire information about the departure point and the destination point input by the user to the input unit 120, or may acquire information about the departure point and the destination point stored in the storage unit 130, or may acquire information about the departure point and the destination point from another device (e.g., a mobile object) using communication with the communication unit 140.

[0022] The stop information acquisition processor 112 acquires information about points (stops) to be stopped at on the way from the departure point to the destination point. The stop information acquisition processor 112 may acquire information about stop information input by the user to the input unit 120, or may acquire information about stop information stored in the storage unit 130, or may acquire information about stop information from another device (e.g., a mobile object) using communication with the communication unit 140.

[0023] The stop position determination unit 113 determines a stop position of the mobile object when the mobile object travels to a plurality of destinations. For example, if the mobile object is a vehicle, the stop position is a position where the vehicle stops or parks.

[0024] The route search unit 114 searches for a route for traveling around the stop positions determined by the stop position determination unit 113. That is, the route search unit 114 searches for a route that starts from the departure point acquired by the departure / destination information acquisition processing unit 111, passes through the stop positions determined by the stop position determination unit 113, and then arrives at the destination point acquired by the departure / destination information acquisition processing unit 111. The route search technology used in the route search unit 114 may be any technology that can search for a route that starts from the departure point, passes through one or more stop positions, and then arrives at the destination point.

[0025] The output processing unit 115 outputs information about the route determined by the route determination unit 114. The departure / destination information acquisition processing unit 111 may output information about the route from the output unit 150, or may output the route from an output device installed in another device using communication with another device (e.g., a mobile object) via the communication unit 140.

[0026] There are some destinations that are more efficient to visit on foot than by mobile, such as multiple destinations that are close to each other or multiple destinations that are located in an apartment complex in the same block.

[0027] Therefore, in this embodiment, the stop position determination unit 113 includes an extraction unit 1131, a first determination unit 1132, and a second determination unit 1133, as shown in FIG.

[0028] The extraction unit 1131 extracts a group of destinations that meets a predetermined condition from among a plurality of destinations.

[0029] The first determination unit 1132 determines, for the group extracted by the extraction unit 1131, one position as a stopping position for the mobile object to stop at the destinations included in the group.

[0030] The second determination unit 1133 determines a stopping position of the mobile body for stopping at each of the destinations not included in the group extracted by the extraction unit 1131. At this time, the second determination unit 1133 determines, for example, a separate stopping position for each of the destinations not included in the group extracted by the extraction unit 1131.

[0031] As described above, in this embodiment, one position is determined as the stopping position of the mobile body for stopping at destinations included in a group that satisfies a predetermined condition. In other words, one stopping position is determined for each group that satisfies the predetermined condition. For this reason, in this embodiment, by including in the predetermined condition a condition that makes it more efficient to travel by foot than by mobile body, only one stopping position is set for a group for which it is more efficient to travel by foot than by mobile body. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to set stopping positions for the mobile body for efficient travel. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to search for an efficient travel route.

[0032] For example, when multiple destinations are close to each other, it may be more efficient to visit them on foot than by mobile. Also, when multiple destinations are far from each other but are in the same block, it may be more efficient to visit them on foot than by mobile. For example, in the case of deliveries, when multiple destinations are close to each other or in the same block, it is more efficient to park the delivery vehicle and transport the packages using a cart or small unmanned delivery robot that is more maneuverable than a delivery vehicle, rather than using a delivery vehicle to make the rounds.

[0033] Therefore, the above-mentioned predetermined condition may include satisfying at least one of a first condition including "the destinations included in the group are a first distance or less from each other" and a second condition including "the destinations included in the group are located in the same block." In particular, it is highly likely that multiple destinations located in an apartment complex in the same block will be visited more efficiently by walking than by mobile object. Therefore, the above-mentioned second condition may further include "the destinations included in the group are located in an apartment complex in the same block."

[0034] Furthermore, since it is more efficient to visit multiple destinations in the same apartment complex by walking than by mobile object, the predetermined conditions may include satisfying at least one of the first condition, the second condition, and a third condition including "destinations included in the group are in the same apartment complex."

[0035] For example, even if two destinations are close to each other, as shown in FIG. 3, the two destinations T1 and T2 may be located along different roads. In such a case, if the distance of the route between the two destinations T1 and T2 is long, it is more efficient to visit the two destinations T1 and T2 by mobile object than to walk around. Therefore, for example, the first condition may include the condition that "the route to visit the destinations included in the group is equal to or shorter than a second distance." Here, the second distance may be set appropriately.

[0036] Furthermore, even if two destinations are close to each other and located along the same road, destinations T3 and T4 may be separated by the road, as shown in FIG. 5. In such a case, if the road has many lanes (i.e., is wide) and there is a lot of traffic, crossing the road is difficult, and it is more efficient to travel between destinations T3 and T4 by mobile than to travel on foot. Therefore, the first condition may include the following: "If the destinations included in the group include two or more destinations separated by a road, the width of the road is equal to or less than a predetermined length." Here, the predetermined length may be set as appropriate.

[0037] 6 is a diagram showing an example of processing operations executed in the information processing device 100. The departure / destination information acquisition processing unit 111 acquires information about the departure point and the destination point, and the stop information acquisition processing unit 112 acquires information about the stop destinations (step S601). The stop position determination unit 113 determines the stop positions of the mobile object when the mobile object is used to travel to multiple stop destinations (step S602). The route search unit 114 searches for a route to travel to the stop positions determined by the stop position determination unit 113 (step S603).

[0038] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the processing operation executed by the stop position determination unit 113 in step S602 of Fig. 6. The extraction unit 1131 extracts a group of stop positions that satisfy a predetermined condition from among a plurality of stop positions (step S701). For the group extracted by the extraction unit 1131, the first determination unit 1132 determines one position as a stop position for a mobile body to stop at the stop positions included in the group, and the second determination unit 1133 determines a stop position for a mobile body to stop at each of the stop positions not included in the group extracted by the extraction unit 1131 (step S702).

[0039] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the processing operation executed by the extraction unit 1131 in step S701 of Fig. 7. The extraction unit 1131 extracts a group that satisfies a second condition (step S801). The extraction unit 1131 extracts a group of destinations that satisfies a first condition from among destinations that are not included in a group that satisfies the second condition (step S802).

[0040] 9 is a diagram showing an example of a processing operation executed by the extraction unit 113 in step S802 of FIG. 8. The extraction unit 1131 extracts groups of destinations that are within a first distance from each other in a straight line from among destinations that are not included in a group that satisfies a second condition (step S801). From the extracted groups, the extraction unit 1131 extracts groups that satisfy both the condition that "the route that travels around the destinations included in the group is equal to or shorter than a second distance" (condition 1) and the condition that "if the destinations included in the group include two or more destinations that are separated by a road, the width of the road is equal to or shorter than a predetermined length" (condition 2) (step S902).

[0041] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the processing operation executed by the extraction unit 1131 in step S902 of Fig. 9. The processing operation shown in Fig. 10 is executed for each of the groups extracted by the extraction unit 1131 in step S901 of Fig. 9.

[0042] If the route to visit the destinations included in the group is not equal to or less than the second distance (step S1001, NO), the process ends. If the route to visit the destinations included in the group is equal to or less than the second distance (step S1001, YES), it is checked whether the destinations included in the group include two or more destinations separated by a road (step S1002).

[0043] If the destinations included in the group do not include two or more destinations separated by a road (step S1002, NO), the group is determined to satisfy the first condition, and the group is extracted as a group that satisfies the first condition (step S1003).If the destinations included in the group include two or more destinations separated by a road (step S1002, YES), it is checked whether the width of the road is equal to or less than a predetermined length (step S1004).

[0044] If the width of the road is not equal to or less than the predetermined length (step S1004, NO), the process ends. If the width of the road is equal to or less than the predetermined length (step S1004, YES), the group is determined to satisfy the first condition, and the group is extracted as a group that satisfies the first condition (step S1003).

[0045] <First Determining Unit 1132> The first determination unit 1132 determines, for each of the groups extracted by the extraction unit 1131, one position as a stopping position of the mobile body for stopping at the destinations included in the group. At this time, various methods can be considered as a method for determining one stopping position. The first determination unit 1132 may determine the position of any of the destinations included in the group as the stopping position of the mobile body for stopping at the destinations included in the group, or may determine a position different from the positions of any of the destinations included in the group as the stopping position of the mobile body for stopping at the destinations included in the group.

[0046] For example, as shown in Fig. 11, an intersection may exist between multiple destinations included in a group. In such a case, it is preferable to determine this intersection as a stopping position of the mobile body for stopping at the destinations included in the group. In other words, for each group extracted by the extraction unit 1131, if a node exists between the destinations included in the group, it is preferable that the first determination unit 1132 determines the node as a stopping position for stopping at the destinations included in the group. In the example shown in Fig. 11, an intersection (node) exists between two destinations T5 and T6.

[0047] <Extraction part 1131> The method used by extraction unit 1131 when extracting a group of destinations that are within a first distance from each other from among a plurality of destinations may be any method that can extract a group of destinations that are within a first distance from each other from among a plurality of destinations.

[0048] For example, a cluster of destinations may be extracted by clustering based on the distance between two points, and the extracted cluster may be divided to extract groups of destinations that are within a first distance from each other in a straight line. In this case, the distance between the two points may be the straight-line distance between the two points, or the distance of a route connecting the two points without making a U-turn. For example, if the distance between the two points is the distance of a route connecting the two points without making a U-turn, multiple destinations T7, T8, T9, and T10 on the same side of the road are clustered as shown in FIG. 12. In this case, the distance D1 between destinations T7 and T10 at both ends of destination cluster C may be greater than or equal to the first distance. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 12, the cluster may be divided so that the destinations are within the first distance from each other in a straight line, thereby extracting groups G1 and G2 of destinations that are within the first distance from each other in a straight line. In the example shown in Figure 12, the distance D2 between destinations T7 and T8 is within the first distance, and the distance D3 between destinations T9 and T10 is within the first distance, so a group G1 of destinations T7 and T8 and a group G2 of destinations T9 and T10 are extracted.

[0049] When extracting clusters of destinations by clustering based on the distance between two points, if the distance between the two points is the distance of the route when traveling between the two points without making a U-turn, it is advisable to use a matrix such as that shown in Fig. 13. The matrix shown in Fig. 13 shows the distance of the route when traveling between two points among destinations Ta, Tb, Tc, Td, Te, and Tf shown in Fig. 14 without making a U-turn. In the matrix shown in Fig. 13, Dab is the distance of the route when traveling from destination Ta to destination Tb without making a U-turn, Dba is the distance of the route when traveling from destination Tb to destination Ta without making a U-turn, ..., Def is the distance of the route when traveling from destination Te to destination Tf without making a U-turn, and Dfe is the distance of the route when traveling from destination Tf to destination Te without making a U-turn. 13 and 14, if clustering is performed so that destinations whose route distance when traveling without making a U-turn is less than a predetermined distance are clustered, destinations Ta, Tb, Td, Te, and Tf will be clustered. In the matrix shown in Fig. 13, destinations Daf, Dfe, Deb, and Dbd are less than the predetermined distance, and destinations other than Daf, Dfe, Deb, and Dbd are greater than the predetermined distance.

[0050] The present invention has been described above in terms of preferred embodiments thereof. While the present invention has been described herein with reference to specific examples, various modifications and variations can be made to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 100 Circulating route search device 110 control section 111 Departure / destination information acquisition processing unit 112 Stopover information acquisition processing unit 113 Stop position determination section extraction section 1131 Extraction part 1132 First Decision Section 1133 Second Decision Section 114 Route Search Unit 115 Output Processing Unit 120 Input section 130 Storage section 140 Communications Department 150 Output section

Claims

1. a stop position determination unit that determines a stop position of the mobile object when the mobile object is used to travel to a plurality of destinations; a first route search unit that searches for a route for traveling around the determined stop positions, The moving body stop position determination unit an extraction unit that extracts a group of destinations that meets a predetermined condition from the plurality of destinations; an information processing device comprising: a first determination unit that determines, for each of the groups extracted by the extraction unit, one position as a stopping position for stopping at the destinations included in the group;

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined condition includes that the group satisfies at least one of a first condition and a second condition different from the first condition.

3. The information processing device according to claim 2 , wherein the first condition includes that the destinations included in the group are each within a first distance.

4. The information processing device according to claim 3 , wherein the first condition includes that a route to visit the destinations included in the group is equal to or shorter than a second distance.

5. 5. The information processing device according to claim 3, wherein the first condition includes that if the destinations included in the group include two or more destinations separated by a road, the width of the road is equal to or less than a predetermined length.

6. The information processing device according to claim 3 , wherein the second condition includes that the stops included in the group are located in the same section.

7. The information processing device according to claim 6 , wherein the second condition includes that the destinations included in the group are located in an apartment complex in the same block.

8. the predetermined condition includes that the group satisfies at least one of the first condition, the second condition, and a third condition; The third condition is: different from the first condition and the second condition, The information processing device according to claim 6 , wherein the destinations included in the group are located in the same apartment complex.

9. 9. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein, for each group extracted by the extraction unit, if a node exists between destinations included in the group, the first determination unit determines the node as a stopping position for stopping at the destinations included in the group.

10. 1. A computer-implemented information processing method, comprising: a stop position determination step of determining a stop position of the mobile body when the mobile body is used to travel to a plurality of destinations; a first route search step of searching for a route for traveling around the determined stop positions, The step of determining a stop position of the moving body includes: an extraction step of extracting a group of destinations that satisfy a predetermined condition from the plurality of destinations; a first determination step of determining, for each of the groups extracted in the extraction step, one location as a stopping location for stopping at the destinations included in the group.

11. An information processing program that causes a computer to execute the information processing method according to claim 10.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing the information processing program according to claim 11.

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