Operation evaluation system, information processor, and operation evaluation program

Abstract

To provide an operation evaluation system capable of accurately evaluating the vehicle operation by a driver, an information processor, and an operation evaluation program.SOLUTION: An operation evaluation system in an embodiment is a system that includes an in-vehicle unit and an information processor that evaluates the operation of a vehicle by a driver. The in-vehicle unit detects the speed of the own vehicle and the speed of the vehicle in front of the own vehicle, and transmits the speed information showing the detected speed of the own vehicle and speed of the vehicle ahead to the information processor. The information processor is configured so that, when the speed of the vehicle ahead is greater than the legal speed limit and the speed of the own vehicle remains equal to or below the legal speed limit for a certain period of time, the operation of the vehicle by the driver is given additional points depending on the speed information transmitted from the in-vehicle unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving evaluation system, an information processing device, and a driving evaluation program. [Background technology]

[0002] A technique has been proposed in the past that compares the speed of a vehicle with the legal speed limit and issues a warning message if the speed of the vehicle exceeds the legal speed limit (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also proposed is a technique that acquires the speeds of other vehicles traveling around the vehicle and determines whether the acquired speeds of other vehicles exceed the legal speed limit (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-050967 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2021-174457 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when evaluating a driver's driving of a vehicle using conventional technology, there is a risk of the accuracy of the driving evaluation being reduced. That is, for example, when there is a vehicle ahead of the host vehicle, the host vehicle may travel by following the vehicle ahead. In this case, if the speed of the vehicle ahead exceeds the legal speed limit, the host vehicle will also exceed the speed limit if it continues to follow the vehicle ahead. In this way, the host vehicle is likely to exceed the speed limit when there is a vehicle ahead. In conventional technology, the driving is evaluated regardless of whether there is a vehicle ahead, so it is not possible to evaluate the driving in accordance with the surrounding situation, and as a result, there is a risk of the accuracy of the driving evaluation being reduced.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a driving evaluation system, an information processing device, and a driving evaluation program that can accurately evaluate a driver's vehicle driving. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a driving evaluation system that includes an in-vehicle device and an information processing device and evaluates the driving of a vehicle by a driver. The in-vehicle device detects the speed of the vehicle and the speed of a preceding vehicle ahead of the vehicle, and transmits speed information indicating the detected speed of the vehicle and the speed of the preceding vehicle to the information processing device. The information processing device, based on the speed information transmitted from the in-vehicle device, adds points to the evaluation of the driving of the vehicle by the driver when the speed of the preceding vehicle is greater than a legal speed limit and the speed of the vehicle remains equal to or less than the legal speed limit for a certain period of time. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, if the speed of the preceding vehicle is greater than the legal speed limit and the speed of the subject vehicle remains below the legal speed limit for a certain period of time, the driver's driving of the subject vehicle is scored. In this way, even if the preceding vehicle is speeding, the driver is scored for not exceeding the speed limit without being influenced by the surrounding circumstances. This allows the driver to score the driving in accordance with the surrounding circumstances, thereby enabling the vehicle's driving to be scored accurately. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of a driving evaluation method performed by a driving evaluation system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the driving evaluation system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the in-vehicle device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the in-vehicle controller of the in-vehicle device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the controller of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an output unit where the evaluation result is notified. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an in-vehicle device of a driving evaluation system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the in-vehicle controller of the in-vehicle device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the controller of the information processing device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by an in-vehicle controller of an in-vehicle device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing executed by the controller of the information processing device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by an in-vehicle controller of an in-vehicle device according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the controller of the information processing device according to the fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of a driving evaluation system, an information processing device, and a driving evaluation program disclosed herein will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[0010] (First embodiment) First, an overview of the driving evaluation method performed by the driving evaluation system according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram for explaining the overview of the driving evaluation method performed by the driving evaluation system according to the first embodiment.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 1, the driving evaluation system 1 according to the first embodiment is a system that evaluates the driving of a driver of a vehicle A. The driving evaluation includes various evaluations such as the driver's safe driving, eco-driving, and driving skills, but the following description will be given taking as an example a case where the driving evaluation system 1 evaluates the driver's safe driving, etc.

[0012] The driving evaluation system 1 according to this embodiment can evaluate driving in accordance with the circumstances around vehicle A, thereby enabling accurate evaluation of the driver's driving of vehicle A. In the following, vehicle A driven by the driver may be referred to as "subject vehicle A," and vehicle B traveling ahead of subject vehicle A may be referred to as "forefront vehicle B."

[0013] The driving evaluation system 1 includes an in-vehicle device 10 and an information processing device 50. The in-vehicle device 10 is mounted on the vehicle A. The in-vehicle device 10 is a device having, for example, a camera, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, a storage device, a microcomputer, etc. The in-vehicle device 10 also has a communication function for communicating with the information processing device 50 via a communication network. Note that, for example, a drive recorder can be used as the in-vehicle device 10.

[0014] The camera of the in-vehicle device 10 captures an image of the outside of the host vehicle A. Specifically, the camera captures an image of the surroundings of the host vehicle A, including the area ahead of the host vehicle A. The in-vehicle device 10 analyzes the image of the outside of the vehicle captured by the camera, and determines whether or not a preceding vehicle B is present ahead of the host vehicle A (step S1).

[0015] When the on-vehicle device 10 determines that a forward vehicle B is present ahead of the host vehicle A, it detects the speed of the forward vehicle B and the speed of the host vehicle A (step S2). Note that the speed of the forward vehicle B is detected based on, for example, a change over time in the distance between the host vehicle A and the forward vehicle B, and the speed of the host vehicle A is detected based on position information of the host vehicle A obtained by a GPS sensor, which will be described later.

[0016] The in-vehicle device 10 transmits driving information including speed information indicating the detected speed of the vehicle A and the speed of the preceding vehicle B to the information processing device 50 (step S3). Note that the driving information may include other information such as an outside-vehicle image and position information of the vehicle A in addition to the speed information.

[0017] The information processing device 50 evaluates the driving of the vehicle A by the driver in accordance with the driving information including the speed information received from the in-vehicle device 10. The information processing device 50 may be configured as a cloud server that provides cloud services via a communication network such as the Internet or a mobile phone network, or may be configured to perform distributed processing using multiple servers. The information processing device 50 also has a communication function for communicating with the in-vehicle device 10 and the like via the communication network.

[0018] If the speed of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the legal speed and the speed of the subject vehicle A remains equal to or less than the legal speed for a certain period of time, the information processing device 50 adds points to the evaluation of the driver's driving of the subject vehicle A (step S4). The legal speed is the legal speed of the road on which the subject vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B are traveling.

[0019] In other words, the processing in step S4 is a process that gives extra points to vehicle A for not exceeding the speed limit, even if there is vehicle B in front of vehicle A that is speeding above the legal speed limit, making it easy for vehicle A to exceed the speed limit.

[0020] Next, the information processing device 50 notifies the evaluation result, for example, the result of the evaluation with the added points in step S4 (step S5). The evaluation result is notified to, for example, the in-vehicle device 10, the terminal device 100 used by the driver (see FIG. 2, which will be described later), the administrator terminal device 200 used by the administrator of the vehicle A (see FIG. 2), etc.

[0021] As described above, in the driving evaluation system 1 according to this embodiment, if the speed of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the legal speed limit and the speed of the subject vehicle A remains equal to or less than the legal speed limit for a certain period of time, the driving of the subject vehicle A by the driver is evaluated with a positive score. In other words, even if the preceding vehicle B is exceeding the speed limit, the driver is evaluated with a positive score for not exceeding the speed limit by driving the subject vehicle A without being influenced by the surrounding circumstances. This makes it possible to evaluate driving in accordance with the surrounding circumstances, and therefore to accurately evaluate the driving of the subject vehicle A.

[0022] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a driving evaluation system 1 according to the first embodiment. Note that the block diagrams such as Fig. 2 show only components necessary for explaining the features of the embodiment, and general components are omitted.

[0023] The driving evaluation system 1 includes the above-described in-vehicle device 10, an information processing device 50, a terminal device 100, and an administrator terminal device 200. The in-vehicle device 10, the information processing device 50, the terminal device 100, and the administrator terminal device 200 are communicably connected via a communication network N.

[0024] The terminal device 100 is a terminal owned by the driver, such as a smartphone, a notebook PC (Personal Computer), a desktop PC, or a tablet terminal. The terminal device 100 is notified of the evaluation result as described above. This allows the driver to check the evaluation of his or her own driving, and also makes it possible to encourage the driver to further improve his or her awareness of safe driving, for example.

[0025] The administrator terminal device 200 is a terminal owned by the administrator of the vehicle A, and may be, for example, a smartphone, a notebook PC, a desktop PC, or a tablet terminal. The administrator terminal device 200 is notified of the evaluation results as described above. This allows the administrator to check the evaluation of the driver's driving. Furthermore, based on the evaluation results, the administrator can encourage the driver to, for example, further improve their awareness of safe driving.

[0026] Next, a configuration example of the in-vehicle device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the in-vehicle device 10.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, the in-vehicle device 10 includes a camera 11, a GPS sensor 12, an output unit 13, an in-vehicle controller (control unit) 20, a storage unit 30, and a communication unit 40.

[0028] The camera 11 is installed at an appropriate position on the host vehicle A and captures an image of the outside of the host vehicle A. The camera 11 captures an image of the area in front of the host vehicle A as the outside image, but is not limited to this, and may also capture an image of the area behind the host vehicle A as the outside image. The camera 11 may also capture an image of the inside of the host vehicle A. The camera 11 outputs the captured outside image to the in-vehicle controller 20. The camera 11 is, for example, a camera equipped with a lens and an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), but is not limited to this.

[0029] The GPS sensor 12 receives radio waves transmitted from GPS satellites and, based on the received radio waves, acquires position information of the host vehicle A. The GPS sensor 12 outputs the acquired position information to the in-vehicle controller 20.

[0030] The output unit 13 outputs various information such as the evaluation result. For example, the output unit 13 includes at least one of a display unit such as a display and an audio output unit such as a speaker, and outputs various information such as the evaluation result to the driver of the vehicle A.

[0031] The storage unit 30 is realized by a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), or a flash memory. The storage unit 30 stores map information 31, various data, various programs, and the like. The map information 31 is map information including the route (road) on which the host vehicle A is traveling. The map information 31 also includes information regarding the legal speed limit on the route.

[0032] The communication unit 40 is a communication interface that transmits and receives information to and from the information processing device 50 and the like.

[0033] The in-vehicle controller 20 corresponds to a so-called processor. The in-vehicle controller 20 is realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphical Processing Unit), etc. The in-vehicle controller 20 executes a program according to an embodiment (not shown) stored in the storage unit 30, using RAM as a work area. Note that the in-vehicle controller 20 may be partially or entirely configured with hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0034] The in-vehicle controller 20 executes various processes such as a process for detecting the speed of the host vehicle A, a process for determining whether or not there is a preceding vehicle B, a process for detecting the speed of the preceding vehicle B, and a process for transmitting driving information to the information processing device 50. These various processes will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0035] Next, an example of the configuration of the information processing device 50 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device 50.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 4, the information processing device 50 includes a communication unit 60, a controller (control unit) 70, and a storage unit 80.

[0037] The communication unit 60 is a communication interface that transmits and receives information to and from the in-vehicle device 10 and the like.

[0038] The storage unit 80 is realized by a storage device such as a ROM, a RAM, or a flash memory. The storage unit 80 stores evaluation information 81, various data, various programs, and the like. The evaluation information 81 is information indicating the evaluation result of the driver. The evaluation information 81 includes, but is not limited to, information on points indicating the evaluation of driving, which will be described later, and information indicating the content of the added points evaluation.

[0039] The controller 70 corresponds to a so-called processor. The controller 70 is realized by a CPU, an MPU, a GPU, or the like. The controller 70 executes a program according to an embodiment (not shown) stored in the storage unit 80, using RAM as a work area. Note that the controller 70 may be partially or entirely configured by hardware such as an ASIC or FPGA.

[0040] The controller 70 executes various processes, such as a process for evaluating the driving of the driver of the vehicle A, in accordance with the driving information received from the in-vehicle device 10. These various processes will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0041] Next, processing executed by the in-vehicle device 10 and the information processing device 50 will be described with reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the in-vehicle controller 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 according to the first embodiment. The processing shown in Fig. 5 is repeatedly executed every time a predetermined time elapses, but is not limited to this. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the controller 70 of the information processing device 50 according to the first embodiment. The processing shown in Fig. 6 is executed at the timing when driving information is received from the in-vehicle device 10, but is not limited to this.

[0042] 5, the in-vehicle controller 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 acquires vehicle information of the vehicle A (step S10). For example, the in-vehicle controller 20 acquires an outside-vehicle image captured by the camera 11 as the vehicle information. The in-vehicle controller 20 also acquires position information of the vehicle A from the GPS sensor 12 as the vehicle information.

[0043] Next, the in-vehicle controller 20 determines whether or not there is a preceding vehicle B (step S11). Specifically, the in-vehicle controller 20 analyzes the outside-vehicle image captured by the camera 11 using an arbitrary image analysis method, and detects the presence or absence of a preceding vehicle B present in front of the host vehicle A from the analysis results. Note that an example of the image analysis method is a method of determining that a preceding vehicle B is present when a characteristic feature of the preceding vehicle B (e.g., a license plate, a tail lamp, or the like) is detected from the outside-vehicle image.

[0044] When the on-board controller 20 determines that the preceding vehicle B does not exist (step S11, No), it skips the subsequent processing. On the other hand, when the on-board controller 20 determines that the preceding vehicle B exists (step S11, Yes), it detects the speed Va of the host vehicle A (step S12). For example, the on-board controller 20 detects the speed Va of the host vehicle A based on the position information of the host vehicle A acquired from the GPS sensor 12. Specifically, the on-board controller 20 calculates the travel distance of the host vehicle A based on the position information of the host vehicle A, and detects the speed Va of the host vehicle A by dividing the calculated travel distance by the time required for the travel. Note that, in the above example, the on-board controller 20 detects the speed Va of the host vehicle A based on the position information of the host vehicle A, but is not limited thereto. For example, the on-board controller 20 may be configured to acquire the speed information of the host vehicle A from a vehicle speed sensor (not shown) mounted on the host vehicle A.

[0045] Next, the on-vehicle controller 20 detects the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B (step S13). Specifically, the on-vehicle controller 20 analyzes the outside-of-vehicle image acquired from the camera 11 using any image analysis method, and calculates the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B. Note that, although an example of calculating the inter-vehicle distance using the outside-of-vehicle image has been shown above, the present invention is not limited to this, and the inter-vehicle distance may also be calculated using a radar (not shown) mounted on the host vehicle A.

[0046] Then, the on-vehicle controller 20 detects the speed Vb of the leading vehicle B based on the change over time in the calculated inter-vehicle distance. Specifically, the on-vehicle controller 20 calculates (detects) the speed Vb of the leading vehicle B by adding the speed difference between the host vehicle A and the leading vehicle B, which is calculated from the change in the inter-vehicle distance per second, to the speed Va of the host vehicle A, as shown in the following equation (1). Vehicle B's speed Vb [km / h] = Vehicle A's speed Va [km / h] + (change in inter-vehicle distance over time [m / s] / 1000 × 3600) Equation (1)

[0047] Next, the in-vehicle controller 20 transmits driving information including speed information indicating the detected speed Va of the host vehicle A and the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B to the information processing device 50 via the communication unit 40 (step S14). The driving information includes information such as the legal speed limit of the road. Specifically, the in-vehicle controller 20 detects the legal speed limit of the road on which the host vehicle A is traveling. For example, the in-vehicle device 10 detects the legal speed limit of the road on which the host vehicle A is traveling based on the position information of the host vehicle A acquired from the GPS sensor 12 and the map information 31 in the storage unit 30, and transmits the legal speed limit information as driving information to the information processing device 50. The driving information may include an outside-vehicle image, the position information of the host vehicle A, and the like.

[0048] 6, the controller 70 of the information processing device 50 receives driving information from the in-vehicle device 10 (step S100). Next, the controller 70 determines, based on the speed information included in the driving information, whether the speed Vb of the forward vehicle B is greater than a first threshold and the speed Va of the host vehicle A is equal to or less than a second threshold (step S101).

[0049] Here, the first threshold and the second threshold are set according to the legal speed limit of the road on which the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B are traveling. For example, the first threshold is set to the legal speed limit, or a value obtained by adding a marginal speed to the legal speed limit. The second threshold is set to the legal speed limit, or a value obtained by subtracting a marginal speed from the legal speed limit. The first threshold and the second threshold may be set to the same speed (for example, the legal speed limit), or may be set to different values.

[0050] Since the first threshold is set according to the legal speed as described above, it can be said that step S101 determines whether the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the legal speed. Also, since the second threshold is set according to the legal speed as described above, it can be said that step S101 determines whether the speed Va of the host vehicle A is equal to or less than the legal speed.

[0051] When the controller 70 determines that the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is not greater than the first threshold value or that the speed Va of the host vehicle A is not equal to or less than the second threshold value (step S101, No), the controller 70 skips the subsequent processing. When skipping, the controller 70 may perform processing to reset a counter, which will be described later.

[0052] On the other hand, when the controller 70 determines that the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the first threshold and the speed Va of the host vehicle A is equal to or less than the second threshold (step S101, Yes), the controller 70 determines whether or not such a speed state has continued for a certain period of time (step S102). Specifically, the controller 70 includes a counter that measures the time since the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B became greater than the first threshold and the speed Va of the host vehicle A became equal to or less than the second threshold, and in step S102, the controller 70 determines whether or not the counter has reached a value indicating the certain period of time. Note that the certain period of time can be set to any value, but is set to a value of, for example, several seconds or several tens of seconds.

[0053] If the controller 70 determines that the above-mentioned speed state has not continued for a certain period of time (step S102, No), the process returns to step S100. On the other hand, if the controller 70 determines that the above-mentioned speed state has continued for a certain period of time (step S102, Yes), the controller 70 adds points to the evaluation of the driver's driving of the vehicle A (step S103). For example, the controller 70 adds points to the evaluation of safe driving and evaluates that the driver drove safely. The controller 70 stores the evaluation result of the driver in the storage unit 80 as evaluation information 81 (see FIG. 4).

[0054] Next, the controller 70 notifies the in-vehicle device 10 and the like of the evaluation result with the added points (step S104). For example, the controller 70 reads out the evaluation information 81 from the storage unit 80 and notifies the in-vehicle device 10 and the like of the evaluation result.

[0055] Here, notification of the evaluation result will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the output unit (display unit) 13 where the evaluation result is notified.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 7 , the controller 70 displays point information indicating an evaluation of the driver's driving of the vehicle A in the display field 13a of the output unit (display unit) 13 of the in-vehicle device 10. The controller 70 also displays the points added to the driving evaluation in the display field 13b. The display field 13b displays the added points and a message encouraging safe driving, such as, for example, "Your driving was safe, adhering to the legal speed limit without being influenced by the speeding vehicle ahead. Please continue to drive safely." This allows the driver to check the evaluation of his or her own driving. The controller 70 can also encourage the driver to further improve his or her awareness of safe driving.

[0057] As described above, the driving evaluation system 1 according to the first embodiment includes the in-vehicle device 10 and the information processing device 50, and is a system that evaluates the driving of the host vehicle A by a driver. The in-vehicle device 10 detects the speed Va of the host vehicle A and the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B that is present in front of the host vehicle A, and transmits speed information indicating the detected speed Va of the host vehicle A and the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B to the information processing device 50. If, according to the speed information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 10, the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the legal speed and the speed Va of the host vehicle A is equal to or less than the legal speed for a certain period of time, the information processing device 50 adds points to the evaluation of the driver's driving of the host vehicle A.

[0058] According to the driving evaluation system 1 of the first embodiment, if the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the legal speed limit and the speed Va of the host vehicle A remains equal to or less than the legal speed limit for a certain period of time, the driver's driving of the host vehicle A is scored. In this way, even if the preceding vehicle B is speeding, the driver is scored for not speeding the host vehicle A without being influenced by the surrounding conditions. This allows the evaluation of driving to be based on the surrounding conditions, and therefore the driving of the host vehicle A can be evaluated with high accuracy.

[0059] (Second embodiment) Next, a driving evaluation system 1 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of an in-vehicle device 10 of the driving evaluation system 1 according to the second embodiment. Note that, in the following, configurations common to the first embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals and descriptions thereof may be omitted.

[0060] In the driving evaluation system 1 according to the second embodiment, the driving of the host vehicle A is evaluated according to inclination information indicating the inclination state of the road, in addition to speed information of the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B. More specifically, the in-vehicle device 10 of the driving evaluation system 1 according to the second embodiment includes an inclination sensor 14, as shown in FIG.

[0061] The inclination sensor 14 is a sensor that detects the inclination angle (for example, the inclination angle in the longitudinal direction) of the road on which the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B are traveling. Specifically, the inclination sensor 14 detects whether the road is a downward slope, a flat road, or an upward slope, and if the road is a downward slope or an upward slope, detects the inclination angle that indicates the degree of inclination. The inclination sensor 14 outputs a signal that indicates the inclination angle of the road to the on-board controller 20. Note that a gyro sensor can be used as the inclination sensor 14.

[0062] Next, processing executed by the in-vehicle device 10 and the information processing device 50 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the in-vehicle controller 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 according to the second embodiment. Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the controller 70 of the information processing device 50 according to the second embodiment.

[0063] 9, in step S10a, the in-vehicle controller 20 acquires, as vehicle information, a signal indicating the inclination angle of the road from the inclination sensor 14, in addition to the above-mentioned outside-vehicle image and position information of the host vehicle A. Next, the in-vehicle controller 20 executes the processes of steps S11 to S13.

[0064] Next, the in-vehicle controller 20 generates inclination information indicating the inclination state of the road on which the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B are traveling, in response to the signal from the inclination sensor 14 (step S13a). The inclination information includes information indicating the inclination angle of the road.

[0065] In the above example, the in-vehicle controller 20 generates inclination information in response to a signal from the inclination sensor 14, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, for example, the map information 31 (see FIG. 8) may include information indicating the inclination angle of the road. The in-vehicle controller 20 may detect the inclination angle of the road on which the vehicle A is traveling based on the position information of the vehicle A acquired from the GPS sensor 12 and the map information 31, and generate inclination information including the detected inclination angle of the road.

[0066] Next, the on-vehicle controller 20 transmits driving information including speed information indicating the speed Va of the host vehicle A and the speed Vb of the forward vehicle B, and tilt information, to the information processing device 50 via the communication unit 40 (step S14a).

[0067] 10, in step S100a, the controller 70 of the information processing device 50 receives driving information including speed information and tilt information from the in-vehicle device 10. Next, the controller 70 executes the processes of steps S101 to S103.

[0068] Next, the controller 70 determines whether the inclination angle of the road is greater than a threshold angle based on the inclination information included in the driving information (step S103a1). Here, the threshold angle is set to a value that allows the road to be estimated to be a downhill slope when the inclination angle of the road is greater than that angle. More specifically, the threshold angle is set to a value that allows the road to be estimated to be a downhill slope when the inclination angle is greater than that angle, meaning that the road is likely to be in a situation where the host vehicle A is likely to exceed the speed limit. Note that the threshold angle can be set to any value.

[0069] When the controller 70 determines that the inclination angle of the road is greater than the threshold angle (step S103a1, Yes), that is, when the road is a downward slope, it evaluates the driving of the vehicle A by the driver with a positive score (step S103a2). For example, the controller 70 evaluates that the driver drove safely by adding a score to the evaluation of safe driving. In detail, even when the road is a downward slope and the vehicle A is in a situation where it is easy to exceed the speed limit, the controller 70 evaluates that the vehicle A did not exceed the speed limit with a positive score.

[0070] Note that the point evaluation in step S103 and the point evaluation in step S103a2 may be to add the same points or different points. Furthermore, in the point evaluation in step S103a2, the points to be added may be changed according to the inclination angle of the road. That is, for example, the points to be added may be changed so as to increase as the inclination angle of the road increases (in other words, as the downward inclination of the road becomes steeper and the situation becomes more likely for vehicle A to exceed the speed limit).

[0071] Next, the controller 70 proceeds to step S104 and notifies the in-vehicle device 10, etc. of the evaluation result. On the other hand, if the controller 70 determines that the inclination angle of the road is not greater than the threshold angle (step S103a1, No), that is, if the road is not a downward slope, the controller 70 skips the processing of step S103a2 and proceeds to step S104.

[0072] In this way, the information processing device 50 according to the second embodiment evaluates the driving of the host vehicle A according to the inclination information indicating the inclination state of the road on which the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B are traveling. As a result, in the second embodiment, the driving can be evaluated in accordance with the inclination state of the road, and as a result, the driving of the host vehicle A can be evaluated more accurately.

[0073] Furthermore, the information processing device 50 according to the second embodiment evaluates the driving of the vehicle A by the driver on a downward slope. Specifically, the information processing device 50 evaluates the driving of the vehicle A on a downward slope when the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the legal speed (here, the first threshold), the speed Va of the vehicle A is equal to or less than the legal speed (here, the second threshold) for a certain period of time, and the road is downward slope. In this way, the information processing device 50 evaluates the driving of the vehicle A on a downward slope and evaluates the driving of the vehicle A on a downward slope for a certain period of time when the vehicle A is not speeding. Therefore, the driving of the vehicle A can be evaluated more accurately.

[0074] (Third embodiment) Next, a description will be given of a driving evaluation system 1 according to a third embodiment. In the driving evaluation system 1 according to the third embodiment, the driving of the host vehicle A is evaluated according to type information indicating the type of road in addition to speed information of the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B.

[0075] Specifically, processing executed by the in-vehicle device 10 and the information processing device 50 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 11 and Fig. 12. Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the in-vehicle controller 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 according to the third embodiment. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the controller 70 of the information processing device 50 according to the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, for example, the map information 31 (see Fig. 3) in the storage unit 30 is configured to include information indicating the type of road (for example, an ordinary road, an expressway, etc.).

[0076] 11, the in-vehicle controller 20 executes the processes of steps S10 to S13. Next, the in-vehicle controller 20 generates type information indicating the type of road on which the subject vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B are traveling, based on the position information of the subject vehicle A acquired from the GPS sensor 12 and the map information 31 (step S13b).

[0077] Next, the on-vehicle controller 20 transmits the driving information including the speed information indicating the speed Va of the host vehicle A and the speed Vb of the forward vehicle B, and the type information, to the information processing device 50 via the communication unit 40 (step S14b).

[0078] 12, in step S100b, the controller 70 of the information processing device 50 receives driving information including speed information and type information from the in-vehicle device 10. Next, the controller 70 executes the processes of steps S101 to S103.

[0079] Next, the controller 70 determines whether the type of the road is an expressway or not based on the type information included in the driving information (step S103b1). Specifically, the controller 70 determines whether the type of the road is an expressway or not, on which the vehicle A is likely to exceed the speed limit.

[0080] When the controller 70 determines that the type of road is an expressway (step S103b1, Yes), it evaluates the driving of the vehicle A by the driver with a positive score (step S103b2). For example, the controller 70 evaluates that the driver drove safely by adding a positive score to the evaluation of safe driving. In detail, even if the type of road is an expressway and the situation is such that the vehicle A is likely to exceed the speed limit, the controller 70 evaluates that the vehicle A did not exceed the speed limit with a positive score.

[0081] Note that the point-adding evaluation in step S103 and the point-adding evaluation in step S103b2 may add the same points, or may add different points. Furthermore, in the point-adding evaluation in step S103b2, the points to be added may be changed depending on the lane of the expressway in which the host vehicle A is traveling. That is, for example, the points to be added may be different when the host vehicle A is traveling in the traveling lane of the expressway and when it is traveling in the passing lane. As an example, the points to be added when the host vehicle A is traveling in the passing lane of the expressway (in other words, when traveling in the passing lane where it is easier to exceed the speed limit compared to the traveling lane) may be greater than the points to be added when traveling in the traveling lane.

[0082] Next, the controller 70 proceeds to step S104 and notifies the in-vehicle device 10, etc. of the evaluation result. On the other hand, if the controller 70 determines that the type of the road is not an expressway (step S103b1, No), that is, if the type of the road is an ordinary road, etc., the controller 70 skips the processing of step S103b2 and proceeds to step S104.

[0083] In this way, the information processing device 50 according to the third embodiment evaluates the driving of the host vehicle A according to the type information indicating the type of road on which the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B are traveling. As a result, in the third embodiment, the driving can be evaluated in accordance with the type of road, and as a result, the driving of the host vehicle A can be evaluated more accurately.

[0084] Furthermore, the information processing device 50 according to the third embodiment evaluates the driving of the vehicle A by the driver with a positive score when the type of road is an expressway. Specifically, the information processing device 50 evaluates with a positive score when the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the legal speed (here, the first threshold value), the speed Va of the vehicle A remains equal to or less than the legal speed (here, the second threshold value) for a certain period of time, and the type of road is an expressway. In this way, even when the type of road is an expressway and the vehicle A is in a situation where it is likely to exceed the speed limit, the information processing device 50 evaluates with a positive score for the vehicle A not exceeding the speed limit, thereby enabling a more accurate evaluation of the driving of the vehicle A.

[0085] (Fourth embodiment) Next, a driving evaluation system 1 according to a fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the second embodiment and the third embodiment are combined. Specifically, the driving evaluation system 1 according to the fourth embodiment evaluates the driving of the host vehicle A according to inclination information and type information in addition to speed information of the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B. Note that, in the following, explanations that overlap with the second and third embodiments may be omitted or simplified.

[0086] 13 and 14, the processing executed by the in-vehicle device 10 and the information processing device 50 according to the fourth embodiment will be specifically described. Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the in-vehicle controller 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 according to the fourth embodiment. Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of processing executed by the controller 70 of the information processing device 50 according to the fourth embodiment.

[0087] In the fourth embodiment, the in-vehicle device 10 includes an inclination sensor 14 (see FIG. 8). In the fourth embodiment, the map information 31 (see FIG. 8) in the storage unit 30 includes information indicating the type of road (e.g., general road, expressway, etc.).

[0088] 13, in step S10c, the in-vehicle controller 20 acquires, as vehicle information, a signal indicating the inclination angle of the road from the inclination sensor 14, in addition to the above-mentioned outside-vehicle image and position information of the host vehicle A. Next, the in-vehicle controller 20 executes the processes of steps S11 to S13.

[0089] Next, the vehicle controller 20 generates tilt information in response to the signal from the tilt sensor 14, and generates type information based on the position information of the host vehicle A from the GPS sensor 12 and the map information 31 (step S13c).

[0090] Next, the on-vehicle controller 20 transmits driving information including speed information, tilt information, and type information of the host vehicle A and the preceding vehicle B to the information processing device 50 via the communication unit 40 (step S14c).

[0091] 14, in step S100c, the controller 70 of the information processing device 50 receives driving information including speed information, type information, and other information from the in-vehicle device 10. Next, the controller 70 executes the processes of steps S101 to S103.

[0092] Next, the controller 70 determines whether the inclination angle of the road is greater than the threshold angle (step S103c1). If the controller 70 determines that the inclination angle of the road is greater than the threshold angle (step S103c1, Yes), that is, if the road is a downward slope, the controller 70 adds points to the evaluation of the driver's driving of the vehicle A (step S103c2).

[0093] On the other hand, if the controller 70 determines that the inclination angle of the road is not greater than the threshold angle (No in step S103c1), that is, if the road is not a downward slope, it skips the process of step S103c2.

[0094] Next, the controller 70 determines whether the type of the road is an expressway (step S103c3). If the controller 70 determines that the type of the road is an expressway (step S103c3, Yes), the controller 70 adds points to the evaluation of the driver's driving of the vehicle A (step S103c4).

[0095] The point-adding evaluation in step S103, the point-adding evaluation in step S103c2, and the point-adding evaluation in step S103c4 may add the same points, or may add different points from each other.

[0096] Next, the controller 70 proceeds to step S104 and notifies the in-vehicle device 10, etc. of the evaluation result. On the other hand, if the controller 70 determines that the type of the road is not an expressway (step S103c3, No), that is, if the type of the road is an ordinary road, etc., the controller 70 skips the processing of step S103c4 and proceeds to step S104.

[0097] In this way, the information processing device 50 according to the fourth embodiment evaluates the driving of the vehicle A according to the inclination information indicating the inclination state of the road and the type information indicating the type of the road. As a result, in the fourth embodiment, the driving can be evaluated in accordance with the inclination state of the road and the type of the road, and as a result, the driving of the vehicle A can be evaluated with even greater accuracy.

[0098] Furthermore, the information processing device 50 according to the fourth embodiment evaluates the driving of the vehicle A by the driver with a positive score when the road is a downward slope and the road type is an expressway. Specifically, the information processing device 50 evaluates with a positive score when the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the legal speed limit (first threshold), the speed Va of the vehicle A remains equal to or less than the legal speed limit (second threshold) for a certain period of time, the road is a downward slope, and the road type is an expressway. In this way, the information processing device 50 evaluates with a positive score for the vehicle A not exceeding the speed limit even when the road is a downward slope and the road type is an expressway, making it easy for the vehicle A to exceed the speed limit. This allows the driving of the vehicle A to be evaluated with even greater accuracy.

[0099] (First Modification) In each of the above-described embodiments, the in-vehicle device 10 and the information processing device 50 cooperate to execute various processes, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, in the first modified example, although not shown in the drawings, the in-vehicle device 10 may be configured to execute some or all of the processes executed by the information processing device 50. That is, for example, the in-vehicle device 10 detects the speed Va of the host vehicle A and the speed Vb of the leading vehicle B. In accordance with the speed information indicating the detected speed Va of the host vehicle A and the speed Vb of the leading vehicle B, the in-vehicle device 10 adds points to the evaluation when the speed Vb of the leading vehicle B is greater than the legal speed and the speed Va of the host vehicle A is equal to or less than the legal speed for a certain period of time.

[0100] (Second Modification) Furthermore, in the second modified example, although not shown in the drawings, some or all of the processing performed by the in-vehicle device 10 may be configured to be performed by the information processing device 50. That is, for example, the information processing device 50 detects the speed Va of the host vehicle A and the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B. The information processing device 50 adds points to the evaluation if, based on the speed information indicating the detected speed Va of the host vehicle A and the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B, the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is greater than the legal speed and the speed Va of the host vehicle A is equal to or less than the legal speed for a certain period of time.

[0101] In the above-described embodiments and modified examples, examples have been given in which the driving of the host vehicle A is scored positively. However, in addition to this, the driving of the host vehicle A may also be scored negatively. For example, the driving evaluation system 1 may score negatively the driving of the host vehicle A by the driver when the speed Vb of the preceding vehicle B is higher than the legal speed limit and the speed Va of the host vehicle A is also higher than the legal speed limit. In other words, the driving evaluation system 1 may score negatively the driving of the host vehicle A when the host vehicle A exceeds the legal speed limit by following a preceding vehicle that is exceeding the legal speed limit.

[0102] Further advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0103] 1. Driving evaluation system 10 Onboard equipment 20 In-vehicle controller 50 Information processing equipment 70 Controller

Claims

1. A driving evaluation system that includes an in-vehicle device and an information processing device and evaluates driving of a vehicle by a driver, The in-vehicle device Detecting the speed of the host vehicle and the speed of a preceding vehicle that is in front of the host vehicle; transmitting speed information indicating the detected speed of the vehicle and the speed of a preceding vehicle to the information processing device; The information processing device includes: When the speed of the preceding vehicle is greater than a legal speed limit and the speed of the vehicle itself is equal to or less than the legal speed limit for a certain period of time according to the speed information transmitted from the in-vehicle device, the driving of the vehicle by the driver is evaluated with a positive score. Driving evaluation system.

2. The information processing device includes: evaluating the driving of the host vehicle in accordance with inclination information indicating an inclination state of a road on which the host vehicle and the forward vehicle are traveling; The driving evaluation system according to claim 1 .

3. The information processing device includes: According to the speed information and the slope information, if the speed of the preceding vehicle is greater than the legal speed limit, the speed of the host vehicle is equal to or less than the legal speed limit for a certain period of time, and the road is a downward slope, the driving of the host vehicle by the driver is evaluated with a positive score. The driving evaluation system according to claim 2 .

4. The information processing device includes: evaluating the driving of the host vehicle in accordance with type information indicating the type of road on which the host vehicle and the forward vehicle are traveling; The driving evaluation system according to claim 1 .

5. The information processing device includes: According to the speed information and the type information, if the speed of the preceding vehicle is greater than the legal speed limit, the speed of the own vehicle is equal to or less than the legal speed limit for a certain period of time, and the type of the road is an expressway, the driving of the own vehicle by the driver is evaluated with a positive score. The driving evaluation system according to claim 4 .

6. The information processing device includes: evaluating the driving of the host vehicle in accordance with inclination information indicating an inclination state of a road on which the host vehicle and the forward vehicle are traveling and type information indicating a type of the road; The driving evaluation system according to claim 1 .

7. The information processing device includes: According to the speed information and the slope information, if the speed of the preceding vehicle is greater than the legal speed limit, the speed of the vehicle is equal to or less than the legal speed limit for a certain period of time, the road is a downward slope, and the type of the road is an expressway, the driving of the vehicle by the driver is evaluated with a positive score. The driving evaluation system according to claim 6 .

8. a controller that, in accordance with speed information indicating a speed of the vehicle driven by the driver and a speed of a preceding vehicle ahead of the vehicle, adds points to the driving of the vehicle by the driver when the speed of the preceding vehicle is greater than a legal speed limit and the speed of the vehicle continues to be equal to or less than the legal speed limit for a certain period of time; An information processing device comprising:

9. A driving evaluation program for evaluating driving of a vehicle by a driver, Detecting the speed of the host vehicle and the speed of a preceding vehicle that is in front of the host vehicle; According to speed information indicating the detected speed of the vehicle and the speed of a preceding vehicle, when the speed of the preceding vehicle is greater than a legal speed limit and the speed of the vehicle continues to be equal to or less than the legal speed limit for a certain period of time, the driving of the vehicle by the driver is evaluated with a positive score; A driving evaluation program that causes a computer to execute the above.

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