Moving vehicle, information processing device, moving vehicle control system, moving vehicle control method, and program

Abstract

To obtain a moving vehicle capable of reducing discrepancies between reservations and the actual usage status of the moving vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle 4 arranged by reservation includes: a receiving unit 411 for receiving first information regarding the reservation result for a user of the vehicle 4; a matching unit 414 for performing a matching process using first information and second information acquired from the user; and a control information generation unit 415 for generating control information for the vehicle 4 based on the matching result. The first information includes the location and time the user boards the vehicle 4, contained within the reservation result. The vehicle 4 is an autonomous vehicle, and departure is prohibited upon arrival at each boarding / alighting location where the vehicle 4 stops. The matching unit 414 performs a first matching process to determine whether the first information and the second information match, and a second matching process to determine whether all scheduled users have boarded. The control information generation unit 415 generates control information to lift the departure prohibition when the second matching process succeeds.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a mobile object arranged by reservation, an information processing device, a mobile object control system, a mobile object control method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Some of the vehicles capable of transporting people, such as buses, PMVs (Personal Mobility Vehicles), taxis, water buses, and airplanes, are arranged by reservation.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses that in reservation-based buses, users are identified by authenticating them at the bus stop. Patent Document 1 also discloses that this user identification can be used for fare payment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 7072197 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] According to the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to identify whether or not a person at a bus stop is the person who made the reservation for a reservation-based bus. However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not disclose how to prevent inconsistencies between reservations and actual bus usage, such as a user who has made a reservation boarding a bus other than the one they reserved, or the bus departing before all users who have made a reservation have boarded.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a mobile body that can reduce inconsistencies between reservations and the actual usage status of the mobile body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the mobile body of the present disclosure is a mobile body arranged by reservation, and includes: a receiving unit that receives first information, which is information regarding the reservation result of a user who will use the mobile body; a matching unit that performs a matching process using the first information and second information, which is identification information obtained from the user; and a control information generation unit that generates control information for controlling the mobile body according to the matching result of the matching process, wherein the first information includes the location and time at which the user will board the mobile body, which are included in the reservation result; the mobile body is an autonomous vehicle; the control of the mobile body includes control of the mobile body's departure when the mobile body is stopped at a boarding and alighting location for the mobile body; the mobile body is prohibited from departing upon arriving at each boarding and alighting location at which it stops; the matching unit uses the first information and the second information to perform a first matching process that determines whether the first information and the second information are consistent; and a second matching process that determines whether all users who are scheduled to board the mobile body from the boarding and alighting location have boarded the mobile body; and the control information generation unit generates control information for lifting the prohibition on departure if the matching is successful in the second matching process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] The mobile body according to the present disclosure has the effect of suppressing inconsistencies between reservations and the actual usage status of the mobile body. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile object operation system including an in-vehicle terminal device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of a vehicle identification information acquisition device according to a first embodiment; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram illustrating a first example of a process in a mobile object operating system according to a first embodiment; [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation result according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5]FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a second example of the process in the mobile object operation system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a third example of the process in the mobile object operation system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of door opening / closing control in a vehicle according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of control of vehicle departure in the vehicle of the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile object operation system according to a first embodiment in which a matching unit is provided in an operation support device. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal device that performs a matching process and a control information generation process according to the first embodiment; [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a gate controlled by a terminal device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 12] FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a computer system that realizes an operation support device, an in-vehicle terminal device, and a terminal device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile object operation system including an in-vehicle terminal device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a review process of an operation plan according to a second embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of processing in a mobile object operation system according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A mobile object, an information processing device, a mobile object control system, a mobile object control method, and a program according to embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a mobile object operating system including an on-board terminal device according to a first embodiment. The mobile object operating system 100 of this embodiment includes a vehicle 4, which is an example of a mobile object, and an operation support device 1 that supports the operation of the vehicle 4. In this embodiment, the vehicle 4 is described as an example of a mobile object arranged in response to a reservation. However, the mobile object is not limited to the vehicle 4 as long as it is capable of carrying a user and traveling. For example, the mobile object may be a ship such as a water bus, an airplane, a flying car, or the like. Furthermore, the mobile object may be a mobile object with a predetermined route and operating hours, such as a route bus, a community bus, a water bus, or a taxi with a designated stop and dispatch time period, or may be a mobile object with no predetermined route and operating hours.

[0012] In this embodiment, a user using a vehicle 4 can make a reservation for the vehicle 4 using at least one of the bus stop terminal 2 and the user terminal 3, which is a terminal device that can be operated by the user. That is, the bus stop terminal 2 and the user terminal 3 are terminal devices that can accept reservations for the vehicle 4. Hereinafter, the bus stop terminal 2 and the user terminal 3 that can accept reservations for the vehicle 4 will also be referred to as reservation terminals. Note that while FIG. 1 shows an example in which the bus stop terminal 2 and the user terminal 3 are used as reservation terminals, this is not limiting, and the reservation terminal may be only one of the bus stop terminal 2 and the user terminal 3. Note that the mobile operation system 100 may include at least one of the vehicle 4 and the user terminal 3.

[0013] Although one vehicle 4 is shown in FIG. 1, the number of vehicles 4 may be one or more, and is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1. The vehicle 4 may be, for example, a bus, a passenger car, a cart, a PMV, or a mixture of these. Similarly, the number of bus stop terminals 2 and the number of user terminals 3 are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1, and may be more than one. As mentioned above, one of the bus stop terminals 2 and the user terminals 3 may not be used.

[0014] In this embodiment, the operation support device 1 performs a reservation process for a vehicle 4, determines identification information, which is an example of information related to the reservation result, and transmits the identification information to the vehicle 4 assigned to the reservation corresponding to the identification information. As will be described later, the reservation result includes reservation details such as the boarding location (the location where the user boards the mobile object), the boarding time, and the identification information of the vehicle 4 to board (the vehicle 4 assigned to the reservation). The boarding location is specified, for example, by a bus stop, which is an example of a boarding and alighting location for the mobile object. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may also include information indicating a location such as an address, latitude and longitude, or a place name. In the following, an example will be described in which the boarding location is specified by a bus stop, i.e., an example in which the boarding location is a boarding stop. However, the boarding location is not limited to an example in which the boarding location is specified by a bus stop. The reservation result may also include a disembarking location (a location where the user disembarks from the mobile object). In the following, an example will be described in which the disembarking location is a disembarking stop, similar to the boarding location. However, the disembarking location is not limited to an example in which the disembarking location is specified by a bus stop.

[0015] The identification information is information that the user presents for verification (reservation verification) when getting into vehicle 4, and may be reservation identification information that identifies the reservation, or user information that identifies the user. The identification information may also include at least a portion of the contents of the reservation. Details of the identification information will be described later. Vehicle 4 uses the identification information to verify the reservation, and controls vehicle 4 according to the verification result.

[0016] Vehicle 4 is, for example, but is not limited to, an autonomous vehicle. FIG. 1 shows an example in which vehicle 4 is an autonomous vehicle. Vehicle 4 includes an in-vehicle terminal device 41, which is an example of an information processing device, a control device 42, a self-location determining unit 43, a door 44, a traveling mechanism 45, and an identification information acquisition device 46. In-vehicle terminal device 41 and identification information acquisition device 46 constitute a mobile object control system of this embodiment.

[0017] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 1, the control device 42 includes a transmitter / receiver 421 and a vehicle control unit 422. The transmitter / receiver 421 communicates with the operation support device 1 to transmit and receive information to and from the operation support device 1. For example, the transmitter / receiver 421 receives an operation plan from the operation support device 1 and outputs the received operation plan to the vehicle control unit 422. The transmitter / receiver 421 may also receive control information for controlling the running of the vehicle 4 from the operation support device 1 and output the received control information to the vehicle control unit 422. The transmitter / receiver 421 may also transmit location information received from the self-location identification unit 43 to the operation support device 1. The location information is information indicating the location of the vehicle 4, as will be described later.

[0018] The self-location identifying unit 43 identifies the position of the vehicle 4 and outputs position information indicating the identified position to the control device 42. As the self-location identifying unit 43, a GPS receiver that performs GPS (Global Positioning System) positioning or the like can be used, but is not limited to this.

[0019] The vehicle control unit 422 controls the traveling of the vehicle 4 by autonomous driving using the position information received from the self-location identification unit 43 and the operation plan received from the transmission / reception unit 421. For example, the vehicle control unit 422 controls the traveling mechanism 45 based on information acquired by sensors (not shown) such as a camera for detecting obstacles, a LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), and a millimeter wave sensor, the position information received from the self-location identification unit 43, and map information (not shown). The traveling mechanism 45 is a mechanism for traveling the vehicle 4, and includes, for example, a plurality of mechanisms for traveling the vehicle 4, such as an accelerator operation device such as an accelerator pedal, a steering device, and a brake, but the configuration of the traveling mechanism 45 is not limited to these.

[0020] Furthermore, the vehicle control unit 422 controls the opening and closing of the door 44 based on the operation plan or control information transmitted from the operation support device 1. Furthermore, the vehicle control unit 422 performs control related to the vehicle 4 based on control information received from the in-vehicle terminal device 41. For example, the vehicle control unit 422 may control at least one of the opening and closing of the door 44 based on the control information received from the in-vehicle terminal device 41. Furthermore, the vehicle control unit 422 may control the departure of the vehicle 4 based on the control information received from the in-vehicle terminal device 41. Details of the control related to the vehicle 4 will be described later.

[0021] The identification information acquisition device 46 acquires identification information from the user and outputs the acquired identification information to the in-vehicle terminal device 41. The identification information may be represented by a two-dimensional code such as a QR (registered trademark) code, a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols, stored on an IC card such as a transportation IC (Integrated Circuit) card, or biometric authentication information used for biometric authentication. The identification information acquisition device 46 may be a device that acquires the identification information represented by the two-dimensional code by reading the two-dimensional code, an input means such as a numeric keypad, keyboard, touch panel, or button that directly accepts input from the user, a device that reads information stored on an IC card, a device that reads biometric authentication information used for biometric authentication, or a combination of two or more of these.

[0022] 2 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the identification information acquisition device 46 of the vehicle 4 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the identification information acquisition device 46 is provided, for example, on the outside of the vehicle 4. In FIG. 2, the identification information acquisition device 46 is provided beside the door 44, but the arrangement of the identification information acquisition device 46 is not limited to this example. Furthermore, the shape of the vehicle 4 and the shape and position of the door 44 are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 2.

[0023] Returning to the description of FIG. 1 , the in-vehicle terminal device 41 includes a receiving unit 411, a display unit 412, an information storage unit 413, a collating unit 414, and a control information generating unit 415. The receiving unit 411 receives information from the operation support device 1 by communicating with the operation support device 1. For example, the receiving unit 411 receives first information, which is information regarding a reservation result of a user who uses the vehicle 4, from the operation support device 1 and stores the received first information in the information storage unit 413. The first information is, for example, at least one of identification information and a reservation result, and FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the first information is identification information. Furthermore, the receiving unit 411 outputs, for example, information to be displayed by the display unit 412 out of the information received from the operation support device 1 to the display unit 412. For example, the receiving unit 411 may receive an operation plan from the operation support device 1 and output it to the display unit 412.

[0024] The information storage unit 413 stores the first information. Note that, while FIG. 1 illustrates an example in which the receiving unit 411 receives identification information from the operation support device 1 and stores it in the information storage unit 413, the receiving unit 411 may receive at least one of the identification information and the reservation result as information about the reservation result (first information) and store it in the information storage unit 413. When the receiving unit 411 receives the reservation result and the identification information, the reservation result and the identification information are stored in association with each other for each reservation. For example, the reservation result and user information may be transmitted consecutively as a set of data for each reservation, and the receiving unit 411 may assign the reception time of the identification information or the reservation result to the identification information or the reservation result in common, so that the reservation result and the identification information are stored in association with each other in the information storage unit 413. Alternatively, a reservation identification number may be included in both the reservation result and the user information for each reservation, so that the reservation result and the identification information are stored in association with each other in the information storage unit 413. Alternatively, the identification information may be included in the reservation result. The display unit 412 displays the information received from the receiving unit 411 .

[0025] The matching unit 414 performs a matching process using the first information stored in the information storage unit 413 and the second information, which is the identification information acquired from the user by the identification information acquisition device 46. For example, the matching unit 414 performs the matching process (matching) by comparing the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 with the identification information stored in the information storage unit 413, and outputs the matching result to the control information generation unit 415. For example, the matching unit 414 determines that the matching is successful when the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 matches the identification information stored in the information storage unit 413, and determines that the matching is unsuccessful when the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 does not match the identification information stored in the information storage unit 413.

[0026] The matching unit 414 may perform a matching process using both the identification information and the reservation result. For example, the identification information is user information, and the receiving unit 411 receives the identification information and the reservation result and stores the received identification information and reservation result in the information storage unit 413. The matching unit 414 then performs a first matching process to determine whether the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 matches the identification information stored in the information storage unit 413, and a second matching process to determine whether the reservation details match the current situation. If the matching is determined to be successful in both the first matching process and the second matching process, the matching unit 414 may determine that the matching is successful.

[0027] For example, the matching unit 414 may perform the second matching process by determining whether or not the current location matches a boarding stop included in the reservation result corresponding to the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46. The second matching process is not limited to this, and in addition to the determination using the boarding stop, it may also be determined whether or not the difference between the current time and the boarding time included in the reservation result corresponding to the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 is equal to or less than a certain value. Note that, in the case where the boarding location is not in units of bus stops but is, for example, information indicating a location, the second matching process may similarly determine whether or not the difference between the current location and the boarding location included in the reservation result corresponding to the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 is equal to or less than a certain value. The second matching process is not limited to the above example.

[0028] The control information generation unit 415 generates control information for controlling the vehicle 4 according to the matching result of the matching process. In particular, the control information generation unit 415 generates control information for controlling the vehicle 4 using the matching result received from the matching unit 414, and outputs the generated control information to the control device 42. For example, when the vehicle 4 is stopped at a bus stop and the doors 44 are closed, if the matching result received from the matching unit 414 indicates successful matching, the control information generation unit 415 generates control information instructing the door 44 to be opened and outputs the generated control information to the control device 42. This allows the vehicle control unit 422 of the control device 42 to open the door 44 and allow the user who has been successfully matched to board the vehicle 4. The vehicle control unit 422 may close the door 44 when a certain time has elapsed since the door 44 was opened, or the vehicle 4 may be provided with a sensor (not shown) that detects that a user has boarded, and the vehicle control unit 422 may close the door 44 when the sensor detects that a user has boarded. This makes it possible to prevent, for example, a user from getting on a vehicle 4 other than the one he or she reserved, thereby preventing inconsistencies between the reservation and the actual usage of the moving object. Note that, as will be described later, control of the vehicle 4 is not limited to this example.

[0029] In FIG. 1, the control information generating unit 415 outputs a control signal directly to the vehicle control unit 422, but this is not limited to this. The in-vehicle terminal device 41 may have a transmitting unit, the transmitting unit may transmit the control signal to the control device 42, the transceiver unit 421 of the control device 42 may receive the control signal, and the received control signal may be output to the vehicle control unit 422.

[0030] 1 illustrates an example in which the vehicle 4 is provided with an on-board terminal device 41, which is an information processing device of the present embodiment. However, as will be described later, the information processing device of the present embodiment is not limited to being provided inside the vehicle 4, and the information processing device of the present embodiment may be provided outside the vehicle 4. Also, in FIG. 1 , the identification information acquisition device 46 is provided in the vehicle 4. However, this is not limiting. The identification information acquisition device 46 may be provided separately from the vehicle 4. For example, the identification information acquisition device 46 may be provided at a bus stop. For example, the identification information acquisition device 46 may be integrated with the bus stop terminal 2 or may be provided separately from the bus stop terminal 2. The identification information acquisition device 46 may be connected to the bus stop terminal 2, so that the bus stop terminal 2 may transmit the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 to the vehicle 4. Alternatively, the bus stop terminal 2 may transmit the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 to the operation support device 1, and the operation support device 1 may transmit the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 to the vehicle 4. Alternatively, the identification information acquisition device 46 may have a communication function and transmit the acquired identification information to the vehicle 4, or the acquired identification information may be transmitted to the operation support device 1, and the operation support device 1 may transmit the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 to the vehicle 4.

[0031] The operation support device 1 includes a transmission / reception unit 11, a reservation processing unit 12, and an information storage unit 13. The transmission / reception unit 11 is both a transmission unit and a reception unit, and communicates with other devices. For example, the transmission / reception unit 11 receives reservation information from a reservation terminal and outputs the received reservation information to the reservation processing unit 12. The reservation information is information indicating a request for a reservation of a vehicle 4. The reservation information is generated by the reservation terminal based on, for example, a user's input and transmitted to the operation support device 1. The reservation information includes, for example, a boarding stop where the user wishes to board, a desired boarding time where the user wishes to board, a disembarking stop where the user wishes to disembark, and user information which is the user's identification information. However, the reservation information is not limited to this as long as it includes at least the boarding stop and the disembarking stop. Details of the reservation information will be described later.

[0032] The transmitting / receiving unit 11 also transmits the operation plan stored in the information storage unit 13 to the bus stop terminal 2 and the vehicle 4. The transmitting / receiving unit 11 also transmits the reservation result determined by the reservation processing performed by the reservation processing unit 12, which will be described later, to the reservation terminal that is the sender of the reservation information corresponding to the reservation result.

[0033] The reservation processing unit 12 performs reservation processing based on the reservation information received from the transmission / reception unit 11 and the operation plan stored in the information storage unit 13, stores the reservation result in the information storage unit 13, and outputs it to the transmission / reception unit 11. For example, the reservation processing unit 12 assigns a flight suitable for the reservation information from among the vehicles 4 whose operation is planned in the operation plan based on the reservation information, and generates a reservation result based on the operation plan corresponding to the assigned flight. For example, if the operation plan is transmitted to the reservation terminal in advance and displayed on the reservation terminal, the user may determine a desired boarding time from among the flights indicated in the operation plan. Alternatively, the user may specify an arbitrary desired boarding time. In this case, the reservation processing unit 12 selects the flight closest to the desired boarding time as a candidate to be assigned to the reservation, for example, in order, and if there is availability among the candidates, confirms that the candidate is the flight to be assigned to the reservation. Note that a seat may or may not be specified.

[0034] Furthermore, the reservation processing unit 12 determines corresponding identification information for each reservation, i.e., for each reservation result, and stores the determined identification information in the information storage unit 13 in association with the reservation result. For example, the reservation result and the identification information may be associated by including the reservation identification information in both the reservation result and the identification information, or the reservation result and the identification information may be associated by including the identification information in the reservation result. As described above, the identification information is information presented for verification when the user boards the vehicle 4. For example, if user information is used as the identification information, the user information is transmitted from the reservation terminal together with the reservation information at the time of reservation, and the transceiver unit 11 outputs the user information and the corresponding reservation information to the reservation processing unit 12. Then, after performing reservation processing based on the reservation information, the reservation processing unit 12 associates the reservation result with the user information and stores them in the information storage unit 13. The reservation processing unit 12 transmits the identification information corresponding to each flight based on the reservation result via the transceiver unit 11 to the vehicle 4 operating that flight before the start time of that flight. For example, when a flight starts operation, the vehicle 4 may erase past identification information and receive all the identification information for the flight that is about to start operation. If a reservation process for the flight is performed after the flight starts operation, the reservation processing unit 12 sends identification information corresponding to the reservation result obtained by the reservation process to the vehicle 4, and the identification information stored in the vehicle 4 is added.

[0035] Here, an example has been described in which identification information corresponding to a reservation result in which a reservation is assigned to each flight is transmitted to the vehicle 4 for each flight, but the timing at which the identification information is transmitted to the vehicle 4 is not limited to this example. For example, each time the reservation processing unit 12 determines identification information, the identification information may be transmitted to the corresponding vehicle 4. In this case, identification information corresponding to multiple flights is stored in the vehicle 4. For this reason, the reservation processing unit 12 may transmit the identification information to the vehicle 4 together with the flight number or the like, or may transmit the identification information in association with the reservation result. This allows the vehicle 4 to refer to the identification information corresponding to the flight currently in operation when performing verification.

[0036] The information storage unit 13 stores the operation plan, reservation results, and identification information. As described above, the identification information may be included in the reservation results. The reservation results include reservation details, such as reservation identification information such as a reservation number that identifies the reservation, a flight (information identifying the flight, such as a flight name or flight number), a boarding stop, and a disembarking stop. The reservation results may further include at least one of identification information for the vehicle 4, a boarding time, a disembarking time, the number of passengers, and reservation terminal information (described below). The reservation identification information may be assigned by the operation support device 1 or the reservation terminal. For example, the reservation identification information may be assigned by the reservation processing unit 12, the transceiver unit 11, or another component (not shown). While the following describes an example in which a reservation number is used as reservation identification information, the reservation identification information may be a number represented by a number, or a combination of a number and characters such as alphabets, hiragana, katakana, or kanji. Instead of a flight name or flight number, a route and a departure time from a reference stop may be used as information identifying the flight.

[0037] The bus stop terminal 2 is a terminal device installed at a bus stop, and is an example of a boarding and alighting location terminal installed at a boarding and alighting location of a moving object. The bus stop terminal 2 includes a transceiver 21, a reception unit 22, and an output unit 23.

[0038] The transmitter / receiver 21 is both a transmitter and a receiver, and communicates with the operation support device 1 to transmit and receive information to and from the operation support device 1. For example, the transmitter / receiver 21 transmits reservation information received from the reception unit 22 to the operation support device 1. The transmitter / receiver 21 also receives an operation plan from the operation support device 1 and outputs the received operation plan to the output unit 23. The transmitter / receiver 21 also receives a reservation result from the operation support device 1 and outputs the received reservation result to the output unit 23.

[0039] The reception unit 22 accepts input of reservation-related information from a user who wishes to use the vehicle 4. The reception unit 22 may also include at least one of a reading device that reads a two-dimensional code and a card reader that reads information stored in an IC card. The reception unit 22 outputs the accepted information to the transmission / reception unit 21 as reservation information. The reception unit 22 accepts input of reservation-related information that includes at least a disembarking stop, which is the stop where the user will disembark. The information accepted by the reception unit 22 includes, for example, the boarding stop, the disembarking stop, the desired boarding time, and the number of passengers. Note that the information accepted by the reception unit 22 only needs to include information indicating at least the disembarking stop, and other information may be automatically set by the bus stop terminal 2. The automatic setting of other information may be performed by the reception unit 22 or by a setting unit (not shown) in the bus stop terminal 2. When the automatic setting of other information is performed by the reception unit 22, the reception unit 22 generates reservation information by automatically adding the other information to the input information, and outputs the generated reservation information to the transmission / reception unit 21. When the automatic setting of other information is performed by the setting unit, the reception unit 22 outputs the input information to the setting unit, and the setting unit generates reservation information by automatically adding the other information to the input information, and outputs the generated reservation information to the transmission / reception unit 21.

[0040] For example, the bus stop terminal 2 may set the boarding stop to the bus stop where the bus stop terminal 2 is installed, the desired boarding time to the current time (i.e., the time when the input is accepted), and the number of passengers to one. If the number of passengers is fixed to one, reservation information is input for each passenger. The bus stop terminal 2 may also display a prompt to select either a method of specifying only the alighting stop (where the boarding stop, desired boarding time, and number of passengers are fixed) or a method of specifying all of the boarding stop, alighting stop, desired boarding time, and number of passengers, and the accepting unit 22 may display a corresponding selection screen based on the selection result, allowing the user to select the input method. When accepting the boarding stop, alighting stop, desired boarding time, and number of passengers, the bus stop terminal 2 may display the bus stop where the bus stop terminal 2 is installed, the current time, and one as default values ​​for the boarding stop, desired boarding time, and number of passengers, respectively, and may make the displayed default values ​​changeable so that changed input can be accepted.

[0041] The output unit 23 outputs information received from the transmission / reception unit 21. For example, the output unit 23 displays the operation plan received from the transmission / reception unit 21. The output unit 23 also displays the reservation result received from the transmission / reception unit 21. When the transmission / reception unit 21 receives identification information, the output unit 23 may display the identification information received from the transmission / reception unit 21. For example, the output unit 23 may output the information received from the transmission / reception unit 21 by printing, by sound such as voice, or by writing to an IC card. The output unit 23 may be a combination of two or more of a display device for displaying, a printing device, a speaker for outputting sound, and a writing device for writing to an IC card. In addition, although FIG. 1 shows the bus stop terminal 2 equipped with the output unit 23, an output device having the function of the output unit 23 may be provided separately from the bus stop terminal 2. Alternatively, a display device may be provided separately from the output unit 23 equipped in the bus stop terminal 2, and the operation plan may be displayed on the display device, and the reservation result may be displayed on the output unit 23.

[0042] Furthermore, when accepting a reservation, the bus stop terminal 2 may accept input of user information and transmit the accepted user information to the operation support device 1. The user information may be, for example, a user ID set when the vehicle 4 is first registered for use or set in advance, an email address, a telephone number, IC card identification information written on an IC card, or biometric authentication information used for biometric authentication. For example, a two-dimensional code indicating the user ID may be distributed to the user in advance on printed paper or as electronic data. In this case, for example, the reception unit 22 of the bus stop terminal 2 may include a reading device that reads the two-dimensional code, and the bus stop terminal 2 may transmit the user information read by the reading device to the operation support device 1 together with or in the reservation information.

[0043] Furthermore, when IC card identification information is used as user information for identifying the user who made the reservation, the reception unit 22 of the bus stop terminal 2 includes a reading device such as a card reader that reads information from the IC card, and the bus stop terminal 2 includes the user ID read by the reading device in the reservation information or transmits the reservation information together with the reservation information to the operation support device 1. Furthermore, when biometric authentication information is used as user information for identifying the user who made the reservation, the reception unit 22 of the bus stop terminal 2 includes a reading device that acquires biometric authentication information, and the bus stop terminal 2 includes the biometric authentication information acquired by the reading device in the reservation information or transmits the reservation information together with the reservation information to the operation support device 1. Furthermore, when the output unit 23 includes a writing device that writes to the IC card, a card reader / writer in which the writing device and reading device are integrated may be used.

[0044] The user terminal 3 is a terminal device that can be operated by a user, and is, for example, but not limited to, a smartphone, a tablet, a personal computer, etc. The configuration of the user terminal 3 is similar to that of the bus stop terminal 2, and the user terminal 3 also includes a transceiver unit 21, a reception unit 22, and an output unit 23. However, the user terminal 3 may not include some of the functions of the bus stop terminal 2. For example, the user terminal 3 may include a display unit (not shown) instead of the output unit 23.

[0045] Note that application software (hereinafter also referred to as an app) for using the vehicle 4 may be installed on the user terminal 3, and the above-described reservation-related operations may be performed by the app. In this case, for example, a user ID may be determined when registering to use the vehicle 4 using the app. Alternatively, the operation support device 1 or another web server (not shown) may transmit information about a website for making reservations to the user terminal 3, and the user may make a reservation on the website. In this case, for example, a user ID may be determined when registering to use the vehicle 4 using the app. Furthermore, the user terminal 3 may accept input of user information at the time of registration or for each reservation, and transmit the accepted user information to the operation support device 1.

[0046] Next, the operation of the mobile object operation system 100 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating a first example of processing in the mobile object operation system 100 according to this embodiment. In the first example, the identification information is user information. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the operation support device 1 receives the identification information (user information) from the bus stop terminal 2 or the user terminal 3, which is a reservation terminal (step S1). Specifically, the reception unit 22 receives the input of the user information, outputs the received user information to the transmission / reception unit 21, the transmission / reception unit 21 transmits the user information to the operation support device 1, and the transmission / reception unit 11 of the operation support device 1 receives the user information. The user information may be directly input by the user into the reservation terminal, or may be input into the reservation terminal by holding a two-dimensional code or an IC card over a reading device to read the user information. In addition, if the user information is biometric authentication information, the user inputs the identification information into the reservation terminal by bringing a part of their body used for biometric authentication, such as their face or fingerprint, close to or touching the reading device.

[0047] The operation support device 1 receives reservation information including the boarding stop and the disembarking stop (step S2). In detail, the transmitting / receiving unit 11 receives the reservation information from the reservation terminal and outputs the received reservation information to the reservation processing unit 12. The reservation information includes, for example, the boarding stop, the desired boarding time, the disembarking stop, and user information, but is not limited to these, and it is sufficient if it includes at least the boarding stop and the disembarking stop. The reservation information may also include the number of passengers. If the desired boarding time is not included in the reservation information, for example, the operation support device 1 performs reservation processing by interpreting that the user wishes to make a reservation as early as possible from the time the reservation is made.

[0048] Next, the operation support device 1 performs reservation processing (step S3). In detail, for example, the reservation processing unit 12 performs reservation processing based on the operation plan stored in the information storage unit 13 and the reservation information received from the transmission / reception unit 11, and stores the reservation result in the information storage unit 13 and outputs it to the transmission / reception unit 11. The reservation processing unit 12 also determines identification information and stores the identification information in the information storage unit 13. In the first example, the identification information is user information, so the reservation processing unit 12 determines the user information received from the reservation terminal as the identification information. For example, the reservation processing unit 12 extracts a flight with available seats for the boarding section and desired boarding time corresponding to the reservation information based on the determined operation plan and the reservation result stored in the information storage unit 13, and assigns the extracted flight to the reservation corresponding to the reservation information. If there is no available seat for the boarding section and desired boarding time corresponding to the reservation information, the reservation processing unit 12 assigns the flight with available seats for the boarding section that is closest to the desired boarding time to the reservation corresponding to the reservation information. Note that the reservation processing may be performed by any method and is not limited to this example. As a result, a flight to be assigned to the user corresponding to the reservation information is determined, and the reservation result is determined based on the operation plan corresponding to that flight.

[0049] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation result according to this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the reservation result includes a reservation number, a service (service name or number), a vehicle identification number, a boarding stop, a boarding time, a disembarking stop, a disembarking time, the number of passengers, reservation terminal information, and user information. The boarding stop, a disembarking stop, and the number of passengers are information included in the reservation information. As described above, the reservation number may be assigned by the reservation processing unit 12 or by the reservation terminal. The service, vehicle identification number, boarding time, and disembarking time are determined by the reservation process. The reservation terminal information is identification information of the reservation terminal that sent the reservation information. The reservation result may include route information indicating the route or information indicating the type of vehicle 4. The reservation terminal information may include, but is not limited to, the network address of the reservation terminal. For example, if the reservation terminal is a bus stop terminal 2, the reservation terminal information may be identification information of the bus stop terminal 2 previously assigned to each bus stop terminal 2, or information indicating the bus stop where the bus is installed. 4, the reservation result includes reservation terminal information, but the reservation result does not have to include reservation terminal information. Also, as described above, the user information may be stored in the information storage unit 13 separately from the reservation result. In this case, for example, the user information is stored in the information storage unit 13 in association with the reservation number.

[0050] Figure 4 is an example, and the reservation result is not limited to the example shown in Figure 4 as long as it includes the boarding stop and disembarking stop, information for identifying the bus, and at least one of the reservation number and user information. The information for identifying the bus may be the bus name, bus number, etc., or may be the vehicle identification number, boarding stop, and boarding time.

[0051] Returning to the explanation of FIG. 3, the operations support device 1 transmits the reservation result to the reservation terminal (step S4). More specifically, the transmitting and receiving unit 11 transmits the reservation result to the reservation terminal that transmitted the reservation information. The operations support device 1 also transmits the identification information to the vehicle 4 (step S5). More specifically, the transmitting and receiving unit 11 transmits the identification information stored in the information storage unit 13 to the vehicle 4 corresponding to the identification information. In the vehicle 4, the receiving unit 411 of the on-board terminal device 41 receives the identification information and stores the received identification information in the information storage unit 413. As described above, the identification information may be transmitted to the vehicle 4 for each flight before the start time of each flight, or may be transmitted to the vehicle 4 each time the identification information is determined.

[0052] When the reservation terminal receives the reservation result, it displays the reservation result (step S6), thereby allowing the user to recognize the reservation result.

[0053] The vehicle 4 acquires identification information from the user (step S7). In detail, the identification information acquisition device 46 acquires the identification information from the user and outputs the acquired identification information to the matching unit 414. In the first example, the identification information is user information, and the user inputs into the vehicle 4 the same user information as the user information transmitted from the reservation terminal to the operation support device 1 in step S1. The user information may be input directly by the user using the identification information acquisition device 46, as in the case of making a reservation, or may be input by holding a two-dimensional code or an IC card over the identification information acquisition device 46, or may be input by bringing a part used for biometric authentication close to or touching the identification information acquisition device 46.

[0054] The vehicle 4 performs a matching process (step S8). In detail, in the first example, the matching unit 414 performs the matching process by determining whether or not any of the identification information stored in the information storage unit 413 matches the identification information received from the identification information acquisition device 46, and outputs the matching result to the control information generation unit 415.

[0055] The vehicle 4 performs control related to the vehicle 4 according to the result of the matching process (step S9). In detail, the control information generating unit 415 generates control information for performing control related to the vehicle 4 according to the matching result, and outputs the generated control information to the control device 42. The control related to the vehicle 4 is, for example, control of opening and closing the doors 44 and control of the departure of the vehicle 4, and will be described in detail later.

[0056] Note that the identification information may be transmitted to vehicles 4 for each bus trip, for example. However, if the operations support device 1 knows the location of vehicles 4, the identification information may be transmitted for each stop of each bus trip based on the location of vehicles 4. For example, the reservation processing unit 12 of the operations support device 1 or a running control unit (not shown) that controls the running of vehicles 4 may receive location information from vehicles 4 via the transceiver 11, know the location of vehicles 4 based on the received location information, and transmit identification information corresponding to reservations in which the next stop is a boarding stop to the corresponding vehicles 4 via the transceiver 11 during the period from when vehicle 4 departs from a certain stop to when it arrives at the next stop. This allows vehicles 4 to obtain, for each stop, identification information corresponding to reservations in which the next stop is a boarding stop.

[0057] 5 is a sequence diagram showing a second example of processing in the mobile operating system 100 of this embodiment. In the second example, the identification information includes at least one of a reservation number and the contents of the reservation. When the identification information includes the contents of the reservation, all of the contents of the reservation determined as the reservation result may be included in the identification information, or only a part of the contents of the reservation determined as the reservation result may be included in the identification information. Note that, although an example in which the reservation number is the reservation identification information will be described here, the reservation identification information is not limited to the reservation number.

[0058] In the example shown in Fig. 5, the identification information determined by the operation support device 1 is presented to the user corresponding to the reservation information, and the user can input this identification information into the vehicle 4 when getting into the vehicle 4, so user information does not need to be used. Step S2 shown in Fig. 5 is the same as step S2 shown in Fig. 3. In the example shown in Fig. 5, step S1 shown in Fig. 3 is not performed, but this is not limiting and step S1 may also be performed. By transmitting the user information from the reservation terminal to the operation support device 1, the user information can be used, for example, for collecting fees when using the vehicle 4 and managing the usage history of each user.

[0059] When the operation support device 1 receives the reservation information, it performs reservation processing (step S3a). In detail, for example, the reservation processing unit 12 performs reservation processing in the same manner as in step S3, and stores the reservation result in the information storage unit 13. The reservation processing unit 12 further determines identification information and stores the identification information in the information storage unit 13. In the second example, as described above, the identification information is, for example, a reservation number. The reservation number may be assigned by the operation support device 1 or by the reservation terminal. The reservation number is stored in the information storage unit 13 as the reservation result together with the reservation details. If the identification information is a reservation number, the reservation processing unit 12 determines the reservation number in the reservation result as the identification information.

[0060] The identification information may also be the reservation number and at least part of the reservation details. In this case, the reservation processing unit 12 determines the reservation number and at least part of the reservation details in the reservation result as the identification information. Specifically, for example, the reservation processing unit 12 may use the reservation number and boarding stop as the identification information, or the reservation number, boarding stop, and boarding time as the identification information.

[0061] The identification information may not include the reservation number, but may include at least part of the reservation details. For example, the identification information may be the boarding stop and boarding time, or the bus name, boarding stop, and boarding time.

[0062] The identification information may further include the bus stop as part of the reservation information, and the reservation information included in the identification information is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

[0063] When the identification information is displayed on the reservation terminal (described later) as a two-dimensional code, the identification information is expressed using alphanumeric characters that can be expressed in a two-dimensional code. For example, if the information displayed in the two-dimensional code is alphanumeric and includes a reservation number, boarding stop, and boarding time, and if the reservation result includes information about the reservation number, boarding stop, and boarding time that is not expressed in alphanumeric characters, the information is converted into alphanumeric characters. The conversion into alphanumeric characters may be performed using, for example, a predetermined conversion table, but any method for converting into alphanumeric characters may be used. Furthermore, when the identification information is displayed as a two-dimensional code, an image of the two-dimensional code may be transmitted as the identification information, or the information displayed as the two-dimensional code may be transmitted to the reservation terminal, which then converts the information into a two-dimensional code and outputs it.

[0064] The operation support device 1 transmits the reservation results and the identification information to the reservation terminal (step S4a). Specifically, the transmitter / receiver 11 transmits the reservation results and the identification information to the reservation terminal that transmitted the reservation information. If the identification information is part of the reservation results transmitted to the reservation terminal, the order in which items from the reservation results are to be arranged to form the identification information may be determined in advance as generation information. Instead of transmitting the reservation results and the identification information to the reservation terminal, the operation support device 1 may transmit only the reservation results to the reservation terminal. The operation support device 1 may also transmit, along with the reservation results, generation information indicating the order in which items are to be arranged to form the identification information. In these cases, for example, the reservation terminal may include an identification information generation unit (not shown), which extracts information from the reservation results based on the generation information to generate the identification information. Even if the identification information matches the reservation results transmitted to the reservation terminal, the operation support device 1 may transmit only the reservation results to the reservation terminal. As described above, when the identification information is displayed as a two-dimensional code, the reservation terminal extracts information from the reservation results based on the generated information, and then converts the extracted information into alphanumeric characters that can be expressed as a two-dimensional code, just like the operation support device 1.

[0065] Steps S5 and S6 are the same as in the example shown in Fig. 3. However, the identification information sent in step S5 is the identification information generated by the operation support device 1 in the example shown in Fig. 5. The reservation terminal outputs the identification information (step S10). In detail, the reservation terminal may output the identification information by displaying the identification information. Furthermore, if the reservation terminal is a bus stop terminal 2, the identification information may be output by printing or the like, or the identification information may be output by writing the identification information to an IC card.

[0066] Steps S7 to S9 are the same as the example shown in Fig. 3. However, in step S7, the user inputs the identification information output in step S10 into the vehicle 4. In the example shown in Fig. 5, user information may be transmitted from the reservation terminal at the time of reservation, and the operation support device 1 may further include the user information in the identification information.

[0067] The identification information may be the reservation number alone. However, if the identification information is the reservation number alone, for example, if vehicle 4 transmits the identification information for each bus, the matching process in vehicle 4 will be successful even if the user attempts to board the bus they have reserved from a different bus stop than the boarding stop. On the other hand, if the identification information further includes the boarding stop, matching will fail if the boarding stop is different, thereby improving the effectiveness of preventing wrong boarding compared to when the identification information is the reservation number alone. Furthermore, by including the boarding stop in the identification information, vehicle 4 can grasp the number of passengers at each stop and can control vehicle 4 based on the number of passengers at each stop. As described in the example of FIG. 3, if the operation support device 1 is aware of the location of vehicle 4, transmitting identification information for each bus stop can achieve the same effect even when the identification information is the reservation number alone.

[0068] 6 is a sequence diagram showing a third example of processing in the mobile object operating system 100 of this embodiment. In the third example, as in the first example, the identification information is user information, but the matching unit 414 of the vehicle 4 performs matching processing using not only the identification information but also the reservation result. In the third example, the information related to the reservation used for matching is the identification information and the reservation result.

[0069] Steps S1 to S4 are the same as in the example shown in Fig. 3. The operation support device 1 transmits the reservation result and identification information (user information) to the corresponding vehicle 4 (step S5a). In the third example, the receiving unit 411 of the vehicle 4 associates the received reservation result with the identification information and stores them in the information storage unit 413. Steps S6 and S7 are the same as in the example shown in Fig. 3.

[0070] After step S7, the vehicle 4 performs a matching process (step S8a). Specifically, in the third example, the matching unit 414 performs a first matching process to determine whether any of the identification information stored in the information storage unit 413 matches the identification information received from the identification information acquisition device 46, and a second matching process to determine whether the reservation details match the current situation. In the second matching process, the reservation details in the reservation result corresponding to the identification information used in the first matching process are used to determine whether the reservation details match the current situation. For example, as described above, the second matching process determines whether the current location matches the boarding stop included in the reservation result corresponding to the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46, but the second matching process is not limited to this example. The matching unit 414 determines the matching to be successful when it determines the matching to be successful in both the first matching process and the second matching process.

[0071] Step S9 is the same as the example shown in Fig. 3. In the third example, not only is a first verification process using user information performed, but a second verification process using reservation details is also performed, which can more effectively prevent passengers from boarding the wrong bus than in the first example, where identification information is sent for each bus. In addition, vehicle 4 can grasp the number of passengers at each stop, and can control vehicle 4 based on the number of passengers at each stop.

[0072] In the third example shown in Fig. 6, when user information is used as identification information, a comparison is made between the identification information and the reservation result, but when a reservation number is used as identification information, a comparison may be made between the identification information and the reservation result in the same way. In this case, as in the second example, the reservation terminal outputs the identification information.

[0073] As described above, the first information and the second information may include user information for identifying a user, and the first information and the second information may include reservation identification information for identifying a reservation. Also, for example, the first information may include a boarding stop (where the user boards the mobile) and a boarding time (time the user boards the mobile) included in the reservation result, and the second information may also include a boarding stop (where the user boards the mobile) and a boarding time (time the user boards the mobile) included in the reservation result.

[0074] In the first example shown in Fig. 3, the in-vehicle terminal device 41 performs verification using user information held by the user as identification information, so there is no need to present the identification information to the user when displaying the reservation result. On the other hand, the identification information may include not only the user information but also at least a part of the reservation content. In this case, as in the second example, the operation support device 1 transmits the identification information to the reservation terminal, and the reservation terminal outputs the identification information.

[0075] Next, an example of control related to the vehicle 4 of this embodiment will be described. For example, the control related to the vehicle 4 may involve controlling the opening and closing of the doors 44 when the vehicle 4 is stopped at a bus stop, i.e., when the moving object is stopped at a boarding and disembarking location. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the control of the opening and closing of the doors 44 in the vehicle 4 of this embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 corresponds to the processing from step S7 onward in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6. The processing shown in FIG. 7 is started, for example, when the vehicle 4 arrives at a bus stop and the doors 44 are closed. That is, when the vehicle 4 arrives at the bus stop, the doors 44 are closed. As shown in FIG. 7, the vehicle 4 determines whether or not identification information has been input (step S21). More specifically, the matching unit 414 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41 determines whether or not identification information has been received from the identification information acquisition device 46. As described above, the identification information acquisition device 46 acquires identification information from the user by direct input from the user, reading a two-dimensional code, reading an IC card, or the like, and outputs the acquired identification information to the matching unit 414 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41.

[0076] If no identification information has been input (step S21 No), the vehicle 4 repeats step S21. If identification information has been input (step S21 Yes), the vehicle 4 performs a matching process (step S22). In detail, the matching unit 414 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41 performs the matching process based on the identification information received from the identification information acquisition device 46 and information related to the reservation result stored in the information storage unit 413. As described above, the information related to the reservation result may be the identification information, or may be the identification information and the reservation result.

[0077] The vehicle 4 determines whether the matching is successful (step S23). Specifically, the matching unit 414 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41 determines whether the result of the matching process in step S22 is successful. If the matching is not successful (step S23 No), the vehicle 4 notifies the vehicle 4 of a matching error (step S25) and terminates the process. In step S25, for example, the matching unit 414 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41 notifies an output device, such as a display device or speaker (not shown), provided in the vicinity of the identification information acquisition device 46 that the matching has failed, thereby notifying the vehicle 4 of an error in the display device or output device. Alternatively, the identification information acquisition device 46 may have a built-in output device, such as a display device or speaker, and the matching unit 414 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41 may notify the vehicle 46 of an error in the identification information acquisition device 46 by notifying the vehicle 46 of the matching failure. The error notification may be a sound, such as a buzzer, indicating an error, or a display or voice output indicating that there is no reservation for the vehicle 4. If the answer is No in step S23, the vehicle 4 may end the process without performing step S25. After the process ends, the process shown in FIG.

[0078] If the verification is successful (Yes in step S23), the vehicle 4 opens the door 44 (step S24) and ends the process. Specifically, in step S24, the verification unit 414 notifies the control information generation unit 415 of the verification result indicating that the authentication for opening the door 44 has been successful, and the control information generation unit 415 generates control information instructing to open the door 44 and outputs the generated control information to the control device 42. As a result, the vehicle control unit 422 of the control device 42 opens the door 44. Note that after opening the door 44, the vehicle control unit 422 may close the door 44 when a certain time has elapsed since the door 44 was opened, or a sensor (not shown) that detects that a user has entered the vehicle 4 may be provided, and the vehicle control unit 422 may close the door 44 when the sensor detects that a user has entered the vehicle 4.

[0079] In this way, when the matching result indicates that the matching process was successful, the control information generation unit 415 generates control information that instructs opening the door 44. By performing the process shown in Fig. 7, if a user attempts to board a vehicle 4 different from the vehicle 4 that the user reserved, the door 44 of the vehicle 4 will not open. This makes it possible to prevent the user from boarding the wrong vehicle 4.

[0080] Furthermore, as the control related to vehicle 4, for example, control of the departure of vehicle 4, that is, control of the departure of the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped at a location where passengers board or disembark, may be performed. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the control of the departure of vehicle 4 in vehicle 4 according to this embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 also corresponds to the processing from step S7 onwards in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6. The processing shown in FIG. 8 is started, for example, when vehicle 4 arrives at a bus stop and door 44 is open. Furthermore, in the example shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that one or more of the following conditions are satisfied: identification information is transmitted from the operation support device 1 for each bus stop; the identification information includes the boarding stop; and a matching process is performed using the identification information and the reservation result. Steps S21 to S23 and S25 are the same as those in the example shown in FIG. 7.

[0081] If the answer is Yes in step S23, the vehicle 4 stores the input identification information (step S31). Specifically, the matching unit 414 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41 stores the identification information received from the identification information acquisition device 46 in a predetermined primary storage area of ​​the information storage unit 413, or in a temporary storage unit (not shown) separate from the information storage unit 413. In step S31, instead of storing the input identification information, the matching unit 414 may count the number of people for whom matching has been successful by incrementing a variable indicating the number of times matching has been successful by 1. The initial value of the variable indicating the number of times matching has been successful is set to 0. In addition, if the identification information used in the matching process or the reservation results stored in the information storage unit 413 include the number of passengers, the matching unit 414 may increment the variable indicating the number of times matching has been successful by the number of passengers corresponding to the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46.

[0082] The vehicle 4 determines whether all users scheduled to board have boarded the vehicle (step S32). More specifically, when the operation support device 1 transmits identification information for each bus stop, the verification unit 414 of the on-board terminal device 41 determines whether all of the identification information received from the operation support device 1 for each bus stop, that is, the identification information corresponding to the bus stops currently stopped, stored in the information storage unit 413, has been stored in the primary storage area or temporary storage unit of the information storage unit 413. Similarly, when the identification information includes the boarding stop, and when the identification information and the reservation result are stored in the information storage unit 413, the verification unit 414 of the on-board terminal device 41 determines whether all of the identification information corresponding to the bus stops currently stopped has been stored in the primary storage area or temporary storage unit of the information storage unit 413. Step S32 is a verification process for permitting departure.

[0083] Also, if the number of successful matches is counted in step S31, in step S32, the matching unit 414 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41 calculates the number of passengers corresponding to the bus stop at which the bus is currently stopped, using the identification information stored in the information storage unit 413, or the identification information and reservation results stored in the information storage unit 413, and determines whether the calculated number of passengers matches the variable indicating the number of successful matches.

[0084] If there is any user who is scheduled to board but has not yet boarded (step S32 No), the vehicle 4 repeats the process from step S21. If all users who are scheduled to board have boarded (step S32 Yes), the vehicle 4 departs (step S33) and ends the process. In detail, in step S33, for example, the matching unit 414 notifies the control information generation unit 415 of a matching result indicating that the matching process for permitting departure has been successful, and the control information generation unit 415 generates control information for closing the door 44 and outputs the generated control information to the control device 42. As a result, the vehicle control unit 422 of the control device 42 closes the door 44. The vehicle control unit 422 is set so that departure is not permitted unless the door 44 is closed, and when the vehicle control unit 422 closes the door 44, departure of the vehicle 4 is permitted. As a result, the vehicle 4 departs at the scheduled departure time. In other words, vehicle 4 is prohibited from departing while door 44 is open, and when vehicle 4 arrives at the bus stop, door 44 is closed, prohibiting vehicle 4 from departing. If the answer to step S32 is Yes, control information instructing door 44 to close is generated as control information for lifting the prohibition on departure.

[0085] In the above example, the departure of vehicle 4 is controlled by controlling the opening and closing of door 44. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. Alternatively, the departure of vehicle 4 may be controlled by controlling the traveling of vehicle 4. That is, when vehicle 4 stops at a bus stop, vehicle control unit 422 sets the traveling mode, which is a mode related to the traveling of vehicle 4, to a prohibition mode in which departure of vehicle 4 is prohibited. That is, when vehicle 4 arrives at a bus stop, departure of vehicle 4 is prohibited. In this state, the processing shown in FIG. 8 is performed. In step S33, the matching unit 414 notifies the control information generation unit 415 of a matching result indicating successful authentication for permitting departure, and the control information generation unit 415 generates control information instructing the setting of the traveling mode to a permitted mode that permits departure of vehicle 4, and outputs the generated control information to the control device 42. That is, when matching is successful in the second matching process, the control information generation unit 415 generates control information for lifting the prohibition on departure. Upon receiving the control information, the vehicle control unit 422 of the control device 42 sets the traveling mode to a permitted mode. As a result, vehicle 4 departs at the scheduled departure time. Note that in step S33, control information generation unit 415 may generate control information instructing departure instead of control information instructing setting the driving mode to the permitted mode, output the generated control information to control device 42, and vehicle control unit 422 of control device 42 may cause vehicle 4 to depart upon receiving the control information. Note that the method of controlling the departure of vehicle 4 using the collation result in collation unit 414 is not limited to the example described above.

[0086] 8, it is possible to prevent vehicle 4 from departing without all users who have reserved vehicle 4 being on board, and to suppress inconsistencies between the reservation and the actual usage status of the moving object. Note that even if the determination in step S32 is No, vehicle 4 may be allowed to depart if a certain amount of time has passed since the departure time.

[0087] Note that both the process shown in Fig. 7 and the process shown in Fig. 8 may be performed. In this case, the departure of vehicle 4 shown in Fig. 8 is performed by the travel control of vehicle 4. For example, the process shown in Fig. 8 may be started with door 44 closed, and if step S23 is Yes, step S31 shown in Fig. 8 is performed and step S24 shown in Fig. 7 is performed, and door 44 may be closed when a certain time has passed since door 44 was opened or when a sensor detects that a user has boarded the vehicle.

[0088] In the example shown in Fig. 1, the matching unit 414 is provided in the in-vehicle terminal device 41, but the matching unit in this embodiment may be provided in the operation support device. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the mobile object operation system in this embodiment when the matching unit is provided in the operation support device. Components having the same functions as those in Fig. 1 are assigned the same reference numerals as in Fig. 1, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0089] The mobile object operation system 100a shown in Fig. 9 includes a vehicle 4a, which is an example of a mobile object, and an operation support device 1a that supports the operation of the vehicle 4a. As shown in Fig. 9, the vehicle 4a is similar to the vehicle 4 shown in Fig. 1 except that the vehicle 4a includes an on-board terminal device 41a instead of the on-board terminal device 41 shown in Fig. 1. The on-board terminal device 41a has the collating unit 414 and the information storage unit 413 removed from the on-board terminal device 41 shown in Fig. 1, and includes a transmitting / receiving unit 416 instead of the receiving unit 411. The operation support device 1a has a collating unit 14 added to the operation support device 1 shown in Fig. 1.

[0090] In the example shown in FIG. 9, the transmitting / receiving unit 416 transmits the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 to the operation support device 1a. In the operation support device 1a, the transmitting / receiving unit 11 receives the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 and outputs the received identification information to the matching unit 14. The matching unit 14 performs a matching process using the reservation results and the identification information stored in the information storage unit 13. For example, based on the vehicle 4 that transmitted the identification information and the current time, the matching unit 14 extracts reservation results that have the bus stop where the vehicle 4 that transmitted the identification information is stopped as the boarding stop from the reservation results stored in the information storage unit 13, and performs a matching process similar to the matching unit 414 shown in FIG. 1 using the identification information (the identification information stored in the information storage unit 13) corresponding to the extracted reservation results and the identification information received from the transmitting / receiving unit 11. Note that the matching unit 14 may also perform a matching process using the identification information and the reservation results similar to the matching unit 414 shown in FIG. 1. The matching unit 14 outputs the matching result to the transmitting / receiving unit 11, and the transmitting / receiving unit 11 transmits the matching result to the vehicle 4 that is the sender of the identification information corresponding to the matching result.

[0091] The transmitter / receiver 416 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41a receives the matching result from the operation support device 1a and outputs the received matching result to the control information generator 415. Based on the matching result received from the transmitter / receiver 416, the control information generator 415 generates control information for controlling the vehicle 4, similar to the configuration example shown in Fig. 1, and outputs the generated control information to the control device 42. As such, in the example shown in Fig. 9, the vehicle 4a transmits identification information acquired from the user to the operation support device 1a, the operation support device 1a performs a matching process using the identification information received from the vehicle 4a, transmits the matching result to the vehicle 4a, and the vehicle 4a generates control information for controlling the vehicle 4a based on the matching result.

[0092] Furthermore, the operation support device 1a may further include a control information generation unit that generates control information for controlling the vehicle 4a based on the collation result output from the collation unit 14, similar to the control information generation unit 415. In this case, the control information generated by the control information generation unit of the operation support device 1a is transmitted to the vehicle 4a by the transmitter / receiver 11, and the transmitter / receiver 421 of the control device 42 receives the control information and outputs the received control information to the vehicle control unit 422. In this case, the operation support device 1a serves as the information processing device of this embodiment.

[0093] The in-vehicle terminal device 41 shown in Fig. 1 is an example of the information processing device of this embodiment, but as illustrated in Fig. 9, the information processing device of this embodiment may be realized by multiple devices. In the example shown in Fig. 9, the information processing device of this embodiment is composed of the collating unit 14 of the operation support device 1a and the in-vehicle terminal device 41a of the vehicle 4a. When the information processing device of this embodiment is realized by multiple devices, the division of functions among the multiple devices is not limited to the example described above.

[0094] 9, for example, the control information generation unit 415 may be removed from the on-board terminal device 41 of the vehicle 4 shown in FIG. 1, and a control information generation unit that performs processing similar to that of the control information generation unit 415 may be added to the operation support device 1, so that the vehicle 4 transmits the matching result to the operation support device 1, and the control information generation unit of the operation support device 1 generates the control information. In this case as well, the control information generated by the control information generation unit of the operation support device 1 is transmitted to the vehicle 4 by the transmitter / receiver 11, the transmitter / receiver 421 of the control device 42 receives the control information, and outputs the received control information to the vehicle control unit 422.

[0095] 1 and 9, the identification information acquisition device 46 is provided in the vehicle 4, 4a. However, as described above, the identification information acquisition device 46 may be provided separately from the vehicle 4, 4a, for example, at a bus stop. For example, the identification information acquisition device 46 may be provided in the bus stop terminal 2, and when the vehicle 4, 4a arrives at the bus stop, a user inputs identification information to the identification information acquisition device 46. In this case, the identification information acquisition device 46 has a communication function, and the identification information acquisition device 46 may transmit the identification information directly to a device that performs the matching process, such as the vehicle 4 or the operation support device 1a that performs the matching process, or may transmit the identification information to a device that performs the matching process via another device. In an example in which the matching process is performed by the vehicle 4, for example, the transceiver 21 of the bus stop terminal 2 may receive the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 and transmit the received identification information to the vehicle 4 that has stopped at the bus stop. Alternatively, the transmitting / receiving unit 21 of the bus stop terminal 2 may transmit the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 to the operation support device 1, and the operation support device 1 may then transmit the identification information to the vehicle 4 parked at the bus stop where the bus stop terminal 2 is installed. In addition, in an example in which the operation support device 1a performs the matching process, the transmitting / receiving unit 21 of the bus stop terminal 2 may transmit the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 to the operation support device 1a.

[0096] Furthermore, the identification information acquisition device 46 may include a matching unit and transmit the matching result to the vehicle 4a shown in Fig. 9. In this case, the identification information acquisition device 46 has a communication function, and may transmit the matching result directly to a device that generates control information, such as the vehicle 4, 4a or the operation support device 1a to which a control information generation unit has been added, or may transmit the result to the device that generates control information via another device.

[0097] In the above example, the vehicle 4, 4a is an autonomous vehicle. However, the vehicle 4, 4a may be a manually driven vehicle driven by a driver. In this case, the control information generation unit 415 generates control information for controlling the vehicle 4, 4a as information to notify the occupant of the vehicle 4, 4a, and outputs the generated control information to the display unit 412 instead of the vehicle control unit 422. The display unit 412 displays the control information. The occupant of the vehicle 4, 4a may be a driver or a non-driver. The occupant controls the vehicle 4, such as opening and closing the door 44 of the vehicle 4 or starting the vehicle 4, using the control information displayed on the display unit 412. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 7 , the control information generation unit 415 may generate control information instructing the door 44 to be opened if step S23 is Yes, and may generate control information instructing the door 44 to remain closed if step S23 is No. 8, if the answer is Yes in step S32, the control information generator 415 may generate control information that prompts the vehicle to depart. The specific content of the control information is not limited to these examples, and may be any content that allows the occupant to control the vehicle 4.

[0098] At least one of the collation process and the control information generation process (the control information generation process based on the collation result) may be performed by an information processing device other than the on-board terminal device 41, 41a and the operation support device 1, 1a.

[0099] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal device that performs the matching process and the control information generation process of this embodiment. The terminal device 5 shown in Fig. 10 includes a transmitter / receiver 51, a display unit 52, an information storage unit 53, a matching unit 54, and a control information generation unit 55. The terminal device 5 shown in Fig. 10 is an example of the information processing device of this embodiment.

[0100] The transmitter / receiver 51 communicates with other devices. For example, the transmitter / receiver 51 receives identification information from the operation support device 1 and stores the received identification information in the information storage unit 53. The transmitter / receiver 51 may receive identification information and a reservation result from the operation support device 1 and store the received identification information and reservation result in the information storage unit 53. The transmitter / receiver 51 also transmits control information generated by the control information generator 55 to the vehicle 4b. Although not shown, the vehicle 4b has a configuration in which the in-vehicle terminal device 41 and the identification information acquisition device 46 are removed from the vehicle 4 shown in FIG. 1.

[0101] The display unit 52, the information storage unit 53, the matching unit 54, and the control information generation unit 55 are the same as the display unit 412, the information storage unit 413, the matching unit 414, and the control information generation unit 415 of the in-vehicle terminal device 41 shown in FIG. 1 . The identification information acquisition device 6 is the same as the identification information acquisition device 46. The terminal device 5 and the identification information acquisition device 6 constitute the mobile object control system of this embodiment. In FIG. 10 , the identification information acquisition device 6 is directly connected to the matching unit 54, but this is not limited thereto. The identification information acquisition device 6 may have a communication function, the identification information acquisition device 6 may transmit the acquired identification information to the terminal device 5, the transceiver unit 51 of the terminal device 5 may receive the identification information, and the received identification information may be output to the matching unit 54. Furthermore, the identification information acquisition device 6 may be integrated with the terminal device 5.

[0102] The terminal device 5 and the identification information acquisition device 6 are installed, for example, at a bus stop. Therefore, the terminal device 5 receives, from the operation support device 1, identification information (or the identification information and the reservation result) corresponding to the reservation of the vehicle 4 that will stop at the corresponding bus stop. The operation support device 1 may transmit the identification information (or the identification information and the reservation result) corresponding to the reservation of the vehicle 4 to the terminal device 5 a certain time before the vehicle 4 arrives at the bus stop, or may transmit the identification information (or the identification information and the reservation result) of all buses that will arrive at the bus stop within a certain period of time to the terminal device 5. In the latter case, the operation support device 1 may transmit the identification information (or the identification information and the reservation result) for each bus to the terminal device 5. Alternatively, if the reservation result or identification information includes identification information of vehicle 4, such as a vehicle identification number corresponding to the reservation result, the matching unit 54 of the terminal device 5 may extract the identification information (or the identification information and reservation result) corresponding to the upcoming arrival based on the departure time of vehicle 4 (the boarding time in the reservation result), and perform matching processing using the extracted identification information (or the identification information and reservation result).

[0103] Furthermore, the bus stop terminal 2 may have the function of the terminal device 5. In this case, the transceiver 21 of the bus stop terminal 2 may also have the function of the transceiver 51. Furthermore, for example, an identification information acquisition device 6 having a communication function may be installed at a bus stop, and the terminal device 5 may be installed at a location different from the bus stop, and the terminal device 5 may acquire identification information from the identification information acquisition device 6 by communicating with the identification information acquisition device 6.

[0104] 1, vehicle 4b may further include an identification information acquisition device 46, and terminal device 5 may receive identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 from vehicle 4b, perform a matching process and a control information generation process using the received identification information, and transmit the generated control information to vehicle 4b. Terminal device 5 may receive the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 46 from vehicle 4 via the operation support device 1. Vehicle 4a may be used instead of vehicle 4b, and terminal device 5 may transmit the matching result to vehicle 4a. In this case, terminal device 5 may also transmit the matching result via the operation support device 1. Vehicle 4a generates control information using the matching result received from terminal device 5. In this example, the information processing device is composed of terminal device 5 and in-vehicle terminal device 41a.

[0105] Alternatively, the terminal device 5 and the identification information acquisition device 6 shown in FIG. 10 may be installed at a bus stop, and a gate at the bus stop for boarding the vehicle 4 may be opened and closed as control related to the vehicle 4. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a gate controlled by the terminal device 5 of this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the terminal device 5 and the identification information acquisition device 6 are installed at a bus stop, and the opening and closing of a gate 7 installed at the bus stop is controlled based on the verification result by the terminal device 5. In the example shown in FIG. 11, a user inputs identification information to the identification information acquisition device 6 when boarding the vehicle 4. The terminal device 5 performs the same process as in FIG. 7. In this case, the gate 7 is also closed when the vehicle 4 arrives at the bus stop, and the same process as in FIG. 7 is started in this state. However, in the example shown in FIG. 11, in step S24 shown in FIG. 7, the control information generation unit 55 of the terminal device 5 generates control information instructing the gate 7 to be opened as control information for control related to the vehicle 4, and outputs the generated control information to a drive control device (not shown) that drives the gate 7. As a result, the drive control device opens the gate 7, allowing the user to board. In FIG. 11, the terminal device 5 is provided separately from the bus stop terminal 2, but the terminal device 5 and the bus stop terminal 2 may be integrated.

[0106] Furthermore, even when the control related to the vehicle 4 involves controlling the opening and closing of the gate 7, the terminal device 5 may be installed at a location separate from the bus stop. In this case, the identification information acquisition device 6 may have a communication function, and transmit identification information to the terminal device 5. Alternatively, the identification information acquisition device 6 may be connected to the bus stop terminal 2, and the bus stop terminal 2 may transmit the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 6 to the terminal device 5. In this case, the terminal device 5 transmits the generated control information to a drive control device (not shown) that drives the gate 7. The operation support device 1 may also function as the terminal device 5 that controls the opening and closing of the gate 7. Alternatively, the on-board terminal device 41 of the vehicle 4 may include a transceiver 416 instead of the receiver 411, and the on-board terminal device 41 of the vehicle 4 may receive identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device 6 installed at the bus stop where the vehicle 4 is stopped, perform a matching process using the received identification information, and generate control information for controlling the opening and closing of the gate 7 based on the matching result. The in-vehicle terminal device 41 transmits the generated control information to a drive control device (not shown) that drives the gate 7 .

[0107] Furthermore, as the control relating to the vehicle 4, at least one of the control of opening and closing the gate 7, the control of opening and closing the door 44 shown in FIG. 7, and the control of the departure of the vehicle 4 shown in FIG. 8 may be performed.

[0108] Next, the hardware configurations of the operation support devices 1 and 1a, the on-board terminal devices 41 and 41a, and the terminal device 5 of this embodiment will be described. The operation support devices 1 and 1a, the on-board terminal devices 41 and 41a, and the terminal device 5 of this embodiment function as the operation support devices 1 and 1a, the on-board terminal devices 41 and 41a, and the terminal device 5, respectively, by executing computer programs that describe the processes of the operation support devices 1 and 1a, the on-board terminal devices 41 and 41a, and the terminal device 5 on a computer system. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer system that realizes the operation support devices 1 and 1a, the on-board terminal devices 41 and 41a, and the terminal device 5 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, this computer system includes a control unit 101, an input unit 102, a memory unit 103, a display unit 104, a communication unit 105, and an output unit 106, which are connected via a system bus 107.

[0109] In FIG. 12 , the control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes a program describing the processes of the operation support device 1, 1a, the in-vehicle terminal device 41, 41a, and the terminal device 5 of this embodiment. The input unit 102 is composed of, for example, a keyboard, buttons, a mouse, and the like, and is used by a user of the computer system to input various information. The memory unit 103 includes various memories such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory) and a storage device such as a hard disk, and stores programs to be executed by the control unit 101, necessary data obtained during processing, and the like. The memory unit 103 is also used as a temporary storage area for programs. The control unit 101 and the memory unit 103 constitute, for example, a processing circuit. The processing circuit may be a single circuit or multiple circuits. The display unit 104 is composed of a display, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and the like, and displays various screens to the user of the computer system. Note that a touch panel in which the input unit 102 and the display unit 104 are integrated may also be used. The communication unit 105 is a receiver and a transmitter that perform communication processing. The output unit 106 is a speaker or the like. Note that Fig. 12 is an example, and the configuration of the computer system is not limited to the example of Fig. 12. For example, the output unit 106 may not be provided.

[0110] Here, an example of the operation of the computer system until the program of this embodiment is ready to be executed will be described. In the computer system having the above-mentioned configuration, the program is installed in the storage unit 103 from, for example, a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM inserted in a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM drive or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM drive (not shown). Then, when the program is executed, the program read from the storage unit 103 is stored in the main storage area of ​​the storage unit 103. In this state, the control unit 101 executes the processes of the operation support devices 1, 1a, the in-vehicle terminal devices 41, 41a, and the terminal device 5 of this embodiment in accordance with the program stored in the storage unit 103.

[0111] In the above description, a program describing the processing in each of the operational support device 1, 1a, the in-vehicle terminal device 41, 41a, and the terminal device 5 is provided using a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM as a recording medium, but this is not limited to this. Depending on the configuration of the computer system, the capacity of the program to be provided, etc., it is also possible to use a program provided via a transmission medium such as the Internet via the communication unit 105.

[0112] The program of this embodiment, for example, causes a computer system that controls a mobile object arranged by reservation to execute the following steps: receiving first information, which is information regarding the reservation result of a user who will use the mobile object; performing a matching process using the first information and second information, which is identification information obtained from the user; and generating control information for controlling the mobile object according to the matching result of the matching process.

[0113] The collation unit 414 and the control information generation unit 415 shown in Fig. 1 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in Fig. 12 executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Fig. 12. The storage unit 103 is also used to realize the collation unit 414 and the control information generation unit 415. The reception unit 411 shown in Fig. 1 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in Fig. 12. Some of the functions of the reception unit 411 may be realized by the control unit 101 and the storage unit 103. The information storage unit 413 shown in Fig. 1 is part of the storage unit 103.

[0114] The reservation processing unit 12 shown in Fig. 1 is realized by executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Fig. 12 by the control unit 101 shown in Fig. 12. The storage unit 103 is also used to realize the reservation processing unit 12. The transmission / reception unit 11 shown in Fig. 1 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in Fig. 12. Some of the functions of the transmission / reception unit 11 shown in Fig. 1 may be realized by the control unit 101 and the storage unit 103. The information storage unit 13 shown in Fig. 1 is part of the storage unit 103.

[0115] The transmitting / receiving unit 416 shown in Fig. 9 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in Fig. 12. Some functions of the transmitting / receiving unit 416 may be realized by the control unit 101 and the storage unit 103. The collating unit 14 shown in Fig. 9 is realized by the control unit 101 shown in Fig. 12 executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Fig. 12.

[0116] The collation unit 54 and the control information generation unit 55 shown in Fig. 10 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in Fig. 12 executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in Fig. 12. The storage unit 103 is also used to realize the collation unit 54 and the control information generation unit 55. The transmission / reception unit 51 shown in Fig. 10 is realized by the communication unit 105 shown in Fig. 12. Some of the functions of the transmission / reception unit 51 may be realized by the control unit 101 and the storage unit 103. The information storage unit 53 shown in Fig. 10 is part of the storage unit 103.

[0117] The operation support devices 1 and 1a and the terminal device 5 may be realized by multiple computer systems. For example, the operation support devices 1 and 1a may be realized by a cloud computer system. The bus stop terminal 2 and the user terminal 3 shown in FIG. 1 are also realized by computer systems.

[0118] As described above, in this embodiment, the information processing device performs a matching process using information related to the reservation result of the vehicle 4, and generates control information for controlling the vehicle 4 based on the matching result. This makes it possible to prevent inconsistencies between the reservation and the actual usage status of the moving object.

[0119] Embodiment 2 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a mobile object operation system including an on-board terminal device according to a second embodiment. A mobile object operation system 100b according to this embodiment is similar to the mobile object operation system 100 according to the first embodiment, except that it includes an operation support device 1b instead of the operation support device 1. Components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and redundant explanations will be omitted. Below, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly explained.

[0120] The operation support device 1b is obtained by adding a change information generation unit 16 and an operation plan determination unit 15 to the operation support device 1 of the first embodiment. The operation plan determination unit 15 changes (updates) the operation plan stored in the information storage unit 13 based on at least one of the reservation status and operation impact information indicating whether or not an event that may affect the operation of the vehicle 4 has occurred.

[0121] The operation plan includes, for example, information for identifying the service, such as the service name, the departure time for each stop, and the identification information of the assigned vehicle 4. Furthermore, if there are multiple routes for which an operation plan is to be created, the operation plan may include route information (information for identifying the route). In other words, the operation route and operation time may be defined as the operation plan.

[0122] If a change to the operation plan is necessary, the operation plan determination unit 15 creates a changed operation plan, stores the created operation plan in the information storage unit 13, and outputs the created operation plan to the transmission / reception unit 11. The transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the changed operation plan to the bus stop terminal 2 and the vehicle 4.

[0123] A change to the operation plan may be, for example, a change to the departure time of a bus from a bus stop without changing the buses or the route; a change to the number of buses by increasing or decreasing the number of buses without changing the route; a change to the route; or a combination of two or more of these. When a reduction in the number of buses is performed, the operation plan determination unit 15 may reduce the number of buses by thinning out the number of buses, or may reduce the number of buses by extending the interval between buses within a certain period of time. Similarly, when an increase in the number of buses is performed, the operation plan determination unit 15 may increase the number of buses by adding a bus between one bus and the next, or may increase the number of buses by shortening the interval between buses within a certain period of time. The change to the operation plan is not limited to the above-described examples and may be any change.

[0124] Furthermore, for example, the operation plan determination unit 15 may determine whether to change the operation plan at a predetermined review timing, that is, when a review condition for the operation plan is satisfied, and may change the operation plan when it is determined that the operation plan should be changed. The operation plan may be reviewed periodically.

[0125] That is, for example, a predetermined cycle for reviewing the operation plan may be determined, and the condition for reviewing the operation plan may be that a time corresponding to one cycle has elapsed since the review. Alternatively, the condition for reviewing the operation plan may be that an administrator has input an instruction to review the operation plan. Alternatively, the condition for reviewing the operation plan may be that new reservation information has been received. For example, based on the reservation results and the newly received reservation information, if there is a flight whose occupancy rate is equal to or greater than a first threshold, the operation plan determination unit 15 may increase the number of flights on the route corresponding to the flight during the time period corresponding to the flight.

[0126] Furthermore, for example, when reducing the number of services when the occupancy rate is low, the condition for reviewing the operation plan may be a condition that it is a certain time before the start of operation of each service. In this case, for example, if there is a service whose occupancy rate is equal to or lower than a second threshold based on the reservation results, the operation plan determination unit 15 may reduce the number of services in the time period corresponding to that service. Furthermore, for example, the operation plan determination unit 15 may set the condition for reviewing the operation plan as a condition that it is a certain time before the start of operation of each service, and change the route of a service that has a section where the occupancy rate is equal to or lower than a third threshold to a route that skips that section. The method for changing the operation plan in response to reservations is not limited to the above example, and may be any method.

[0127] The operation plan determination unit 15 may also change the operation plan based on, for example, operation impact information indicating whether or not an event that may affect the operation of the vehicle 4 has occurred. In this case, the condition for reviewing the operation plan is that operation impact information has been received. The operation impact information includes, for example, at least one of equipment information indicating an occurrence of a malfunction of the vehicle 4 or insufficient charge of the vehicle 4, traffic information indicating a situation such as road congestion or road closure, and weather information indicating weather. Note that, for example, insufficient charge of the vehicle 4 indicates that the remaining charge of the storage battery mounted on the vehicle 4 is below a threshold value when the vehicle 4 is a vehicle powered by electricity stored in the storage battery. The operation impact information may be input by an administrator or transmitted from another device. When the operation impact information is transmitted from another device, the operation plan determination unit 15 acquires the operation impact information by receiving the operation impact information from the other device via the transmission / reception unit 11.

[0128] The operation impact information may be input or transmitted to the operation plan determination unit 15 by an administrator, for example, when an event that affects operation occurs. For example, when a breakdown occurs in a vehicle 4, the administrator may input identification information (vehicle identification number) of the vehicle 4 and equipment information indicating the breakdown in the vehicle 4. Furthermore, when congestion occurs and a delay occurs, information indicating the section where the delay occurs and the degree of the delay (for example, information indicating the number of minutes delay in arrival at the bus stop) may be input as traffic information. Alternatively, the operation impact information may be transmitted periodically. For example, the equipment information may be transmitted from the vehicle 4. For example, information indicating the remaining charge of the storage battery of each vehicle 4 may be transmitted periodically as the device information. The traffic information may be transmitted, for example, from a device that provides traffic information (not shown). The weather information may be transmitted, for example, from a device that provides weather information (not shown). As described above, the operation plan may be changed in response to at least one of the occurrence of a breakdown in a vehicle 4 and the occurrence of insufficient charge in a vehicle 4, or may be changed in response to the congestion status of the road on which the vehicle 4 travels.

[0129] When an operation plan for a vehicle 4 is changed, the change information generation unit 16 extracts change-affected reservations, which are reservations that will be affected by the change in the operation plan, and generates change information related to changes to the change-affected reservations. For example, the change information generation unit 16 extracts change-affected reservations that will be affected by the change, using the content of the change (content of the change in the operation plan) notified from the operation plan determination unit 15 and the reservation results stored in the information storage unit 13, and determines the terminal device corresponding to the change-affected reservation as the destination of change information indicating that the change-affected reservation has been changed.

[0130] The terminal device corresponding to the change-affected reservation is, for example, the reservation terminal used to make the change-affected reservation, but is not limited to this as long as it can present change information to the user corresponding to the change-affected reservation. For example, if the reservation terminal is a bus stop terminal 2, when reserving a vehicle 4, user information such as a telephone number corresponding to the user terminal 3 of the user who made the reservation and the user's email address may be transmitted from the reservation terminal to the operation support device 1b. The operation support device 1b can transmit the change information to the user terminal 3 of the user who made the reservation by using the user information corresponding to the change information, for example, via a voice message, SMS (Short Message Service), or email. Alternatively, if the reservation terminal is a bus stop terminal 2, the bus stop terminal 2 may have a function for performing authentication using authentication information, and the change information may be transmitted from the operation support device 1b to the corresponding bus stop terminal 2. Then, the bus stop terminal 2 that receives the change information may notify the user that there is a change to the reservation, obtain authentication information from the user who noticed the notification, and display the change information if the authentication is successful. The change information includes, for example, at least one of a change in boarding time, a change in disembarking time, a change in the route traveled by the reserved vehicle 4, a change in the flight, and a change in the type of the reserved vehicle 4.

[0131] Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the review process of the operation plan according to the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 14, the operation support device 1b determines whether or not the review condition of the operation plan is satisfied (step S41). In detail, the operation plan determination unit 15 determines whether or not the review condition of the operation plan is satisfied. The review condition of the operation plan may be, for example, as described above, a condition that one cycle has elapsed, a condition that an input instructing a review has been made by the manager, a condition that a certain time has passed before the start of operation of each flight, a condition that operation impact information has been acquired, or other conditions.

[0132] If the operation plan review condition is not satisfied (step S41: No), the operation support device 1b repeats step S41. If the operation plan review condition is satisfied (step S41: Yes), the operation support device 1b determines whether there is a change to the operation plan (step S42). In detail, the operation plan determination unit 15, for example, calculates the occupancy rate of each bus based on the reservation results stored in the information storage unit 13 and changes the operation plan by increasing or decreasing the number of buses based on the occupancy rate. Alternatively, the operation plan determination unit 15 may change the route of the vehicle 4 to a route that skips some sections based on the occupancy rate. Alternatively, the operation plan determination unit 15 may change the operation time or increase or decrease the number of buses based on the above-mentioned operation impact information. Alternatively, the operation plan determination unit 15 may change the operation plan based on input from the manager indicating the content of the change to the operation plan. The method of changing the operation plan is not limited to the above example and may be any method. When the operation plan is changed, the operation plan determination unit 15 determines that there is a change to the operation plan.

[0133] If there is no change in the operation plan (step S42 No), the operation support device 1b ends the processing. If there is a change in the operation plan (step S42 Yes), the operation support device 1b identifies flights that will be affected by the change (step S43). In detail, when the operation plan determination unit 15 determines that there is a change in the operation plan, it identifies flights that will be affected by the change and notifies the change information generation unit 16 of information indicating the identified flights.

[0134] The operations support device 1b extracts reservations (change-affected reservations) that will be affected by the change (change in the operation plan) and determines the terminal device corresponding to the reservation (terminal device corresponding to the change-affected reservation) (step S44). In detail, the change information generation unit 16 extracts reservations that will be affected by the change from the reservation results stored in the information storage unit 13, based on the information notified from the operation plan determination unit 15 (information indicating flights that will be affected by the change).

[0135] The operations support device 1b transmits change information regarding the change to the corresponding terminal device (step S45), transmits identification information corresponding to the extracted reservation to the vehicle 4 corresponding to the reservation (step S46), and terminates the process. In detail, the change information generation unit 16 generates change information indicating the content to be changed for the reservation affected by the change, outputs the generated change information to the transmission / reception unit 11, and instructs the transmission / reception unit 11 to transmit the change information to the terminal device determined in step S44 as the transmission destination, and the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the change information in accordance with the instruction. As described above, the change information includes, for example, at least one of a change in boarding time, a change in disembarking time, a change in the route traveled by the reserved vehicle 4, a change in the flight, and a change in the type of the reserved vehicle 4.

[0136] FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing in the mobile object operating system 100b of this embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 15, as in the first example of the first embodiment, the identification information is user information. Steps S1 to S6 are the same as the example shown in FIG. 3. The operation support device 1b changes the operation plan (step S51). FIG. 15 shows an example in which a Yes decision is made in step S41 shown in FIG. 14, and then a Yes decision is made in step S42, resulting in a change to the operation plan. FIG. 15 also shows an example in which the reservation corresponding to the reservation information transmitted in step S2 has been changed due to the change to the operation plan, and more specifically, shows an example in which the vehicle 4 corresponding to the reservation has been changed.

[0137] The operation support device 1b transmits the change information to the reservation terminal (step S52). In detail, the operation support device 1b extracts reservations that will be affected by the change in the operation plan, and transmits the change information to the terminal device corresponding to the extracted reservation. In this example, the terminal device corresponding to the extracted reservation is the reservation terminal, but as described above, the terminal device corresponding to the reservation is not limited to the reservation terminal. Although not shown in the figure, the reservation processing unit 12 changes the reservation result corresponding to the extracted reservation based on the changed operation plan. Furthermore, the operation support device 1b transmits identification information to the vehicle 4 corresponding to the extracted reservation (the changed vehicle 4) (step S53). Furthermore, the operation support device 1b may transmit the change information to the vehicle 4 corresponding to the extracted reservation (the original vehicle 4) (not shown in the figure). The original vehicle 4 that receives the change information may delete information related to the reservation.

[0138] The reservation terminal displays the change information (step S54), allowing the user to understand the changes to the reservation.

[0139] When getting into a vehicle 4 corresponding to the changed reservation, the user inputs the identification information into the vehicle 4. As a result, steps S7 to S9 are performed by the changed vehicle 4, similar to the example shown in FIG. 3. In this way, even when the operation plan is changed, the change information is notified to the user affected by the change in the operation plan, and the identification information is transmitted to the vehicle 4 corresponding to the changed reservation, so that the matching process is appropriately performed. Note that in FIG. 15, an example in which the identification information is user information has been described. However, as described in the first embodiment, the identification information may include, for example, a reservation number, or may include the reservation number and the reservation details. If the identification information includes the reservation details, in step S53, the reservation processing unit 12 changes the identification information according to the changed reservation details, and the changed identification information is transmitted from the transmission / reception unit 11 to the changed vehicle 4. Furthermore, as described in the first embodiment, the identification information and the reservation result may be transmitted from the operation support device 1b. In this case, when the operation plan is changed, the changed reservation result together with the identification information is transmitted to the vehicle 4 corresponding to the reservation affected by the change in the operation plan. As a result, when the operation plan is changed, the receiving unit 411 of the vehicle 4 receives the first information updated based on the changed reservation details of the reservations affected by the change in the operation plan, and the matching unit 414 performs matching processing using the updated first information. Note that, although Fig. 15 shows an example in which the reserved vehicle 4 is changed due to a change in the operation plan, when the vehicle 4 is not changed but the details of other reservations are changed, the identification information is transmitted to the same vehicle 4 as before the change.

[0140] The operation support device 1b of this embodiment is realized, for example, by the computer system shown in FIG. 12, similar to the operation support device 1 of the first embodiment. The change information generation unit 16 and the operation plan determination unit 15 shown in FIG. 13 are realized by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 12 executing a program stored in the storage unit 103 shown in FIG. 12. The storage unit 103 is also used in the change information generation unit 16 and the operation plan determination unit 15. The operation support device 1b may be realized by a plurality of computer systems. Furthermore, for example, the operation support device 1b may be realized by a cloud computer system.

[0141] As in the first embodiment, the operation support device 1b may be provided with a matching unit 14, a control information generation unit, or both the matching unit 14 and the control information generation unit. The division of functions between the operation support device 1b and the in-vehicle terminal device 41 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 13 . That is, the operation support device 1b may be an information processing device that performs at least one of a matching process and a control information generation process (a control information generation process based on a matching result), or an information processing device may be configured by the operation support device 1b and the in-vehicle terminal device 41. Furthermore, in the configuration example described in FIG. 10 , the operation support device 1b may be used instead of the operation support device 1. As in the first embodiment, the vehicle 4 is not limited to an autonomous vehicle and may be a manually driven vehicle. The generated control information may be displayed on the display unit 4122 as information to be notified to the occupant.

[0142] As described above, in this embodiment, when the operation plan of vehicle 4 is changed, change information is sent to the terminal device corresponding to the reservation affected by the change in the operation plan, and identification information is sent to vehicle 4 based on the changed operation plan.

[0143] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and may be combined with other known technologies, or different embodiments may be combined with each other. It is also possible to omit or modify parts of the configurations as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0144] 1, 1a, 1b Operation support device, 2 Stop terminal, 3 User terminal, 4, 4a, 4b Vehicle, 5 Terminal device, 6, 46 Identification information acquisition device, 7 Gate, 11, 21, 31, 51, 416, 421 Transmitter / receiver unit, 12 Reservation processing unit, 13, 53, 413 Information storage unit, 14, 54, 414 Matching unit, 15 Operation plan determination unit, 16 Change information generation unit, 22, 32 Reception unit, 23 Output unit, 33, 52, 412 Display unit, 41, 41a In-vehicle terminal device, 42 Control device, 43 Self-position determination unit, 44 Door, 45 Travel mechanism, 55, 415 Control information generation unit, 100, 100a, 100b Mobile operation system, 411 Receiving unit, 422 Vehicle control unit.

Claims

1. A vehicle arranged by reservation, a receiving unit for receiving first information which is information relating to a reservation result of a user who uses the mobile object; a matching unit that performs a matching process using the first information and second information that is identification information acquired from the user; a control information generating unit that generates control information for controlling the moving object in accordance with a result of the matching process; Equipped with the first information includes a location and a time at which the user boards the vehicle, which are included in the reservation result; the moving body is an autonomous vehicle, the control related to the moving body includes control of the departure of the moving body when the moving body is stopped at a boarding and disembarking location of the moving body; The departure of the moving body is prohibited upon arrival at each of the boarding and alighting locations at which the moving body stops, the matching unit performs a first matching process of determining whether the first information and the second information are consistent with each other, using the first information and the second information, and a second matching process of determining whether all of the users who are scheduled to board the moving body from the boarding and alighting location have boarded the moving body; The mobile body is characterized in that the control information generation unit generates the control information for lifting the prohibition on departure when the verification is successful in the second verification process.

2. the control related to the moving body includes control of opening and closing of doors of the moving body when the moving body is stopped at a boarding and disembarking location; When the vehicle arrives at the boarding and disembarking location, the door is closed, 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control information generation unit generates the control information instructing the door to be opened when the matching result indicates that the matching in the matching process is successful.

3. the control related to the moving body includes control of opening and closing a gate provided at the boarding and disembarking location of the moving body when the moving body is stopped at the boarding and disembarking location; the gate is closed when the vehicle arrives at the boarding and disembarking location, The mobile body according to claim 1, characterized in that the control information generation unit generates the control information instructing the gate to be opened when the matching result indicates that the matching in the matching process is successful.

4. A mobile body as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the first information and the second information include user information which is information for identifying the user and is information used for the reservation of the user.

5. 4. The mobile body according to claim 1, wherein the first information and the second information include reservation identification information for identifying the reservation.

6. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the second information includes a location and a time at which the user boards the vehicle, which are included in the reservation result.

7. The moving body is prohibited from departing while a door of the moving body is open, The vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, when the matching is successful in the second matching process, the control information generation unit generates the control information instructing the vehicle to close the door as the control information for lifting the prohibition on departure.

8. 4. The moving body according to claim 1, wherein the control information generating unit outputs the control information to a vehicle control unit that controls the moving body.

9. a display unit; the control information generation unit outputs the control information to the display unit; 4. The moving body according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the control information.

10. The mobile body described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when an operation plan of the mobile body is changed, the receiving unit receives the first information updated based on the content of the reservation after the change that is affected by the change in the operation plan, and the matching unit performs the matching process using the updated first information.

11. An information processing device for controlling a mobile object arranged by reservation, a matching unit that performs a matching process using first information, which is information related to a reservation result of a user who uses the mobile object, and second information, which is identification information acquired from the user; a control information generating unit that generates control information for controlling the moving object in accordance with a result of the matching process; Equipped with the first information includes a location and a time at which the user boards the vehicle, which are included in the reservation result; the moving body is an autonomous vehicle, the control related to the moving body includes control of the departure of the moving body when the moving body is stopped at a boarding and disembarking location of the moving body; The departure of the moving body is prohibited upon arrival at each of the boarding and alighting locations at which the moving body stops, the matching unit performs a first matching process of determining whether the first information and the second information are consistent with each other, using the first information and the second information, and a second matching process of determining whether all of the users who are scheduled to board the moving body from the boarding and alighting location have boarded the moving body; The information processing device is characterized in that the control information generation unit generates the control information for lifting the prohibition on departure when the verification is successful in the second verification process.

12. 12. The information processing device according to claim 11, wherein the information processing device is an operation support device that performs reservation processing for the mobile object.

13. 12. The information processing device according to claim 11, wherein the information processing device is a boarding and alighting location terminal that is installed at a boarding and alighting location of the mobile body and that accepts the reservation for the mobile body from the user.

14. an information processing device that controls a mobile object arranged by reservation; an identification information acquisition device that acquires identification information from a user; Equipped with The information processing device includes: a matching unit that performs a matching process using first information, which is information related to a reservation result of a user who uses the mobile object, and second information, which is the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition device; a control information generating unit that generates control information for controlling the moving object in accordance with a result of the matching process; Equipped with the first information includes a location and a time at which the user boards the vehicle, which are included in the reservation result; the moving body is an autonomous vehicle, the control related to the moving body includes control of the departure of the moving body when the moving body is stopped at a boarding and disembarking location of the moving body; The departure of the moving body is prohibited upon arrival at each of the boarding and alighting locations at which the moving body stops, the matching unit performs a first matching process of determining whether the first information and the second information are consistent with each other, using the first information and the second information, and a second matching process of determining whether all of the users who are scheduled to board the moving body from the boarding and alighting location have boarded the moving body; A mobile object control system characterized in that the control information generation unit generates the control information for lifting the prohibition on departure when the matching is successful in the second matching process.

15. the information processing device and the identification information acquisition device are installed at a boarding and disembarking location of the moving body, the control related to the moving body includes control of opening and closing a gate provided at the boarding and alighting location of the moving body when the moving body is stopped at the boarding and alighting location; the gate is closed when the vehicle arrives at the boarding and disembarking location, The mobile object control system according to claim 14, characterized in that the control information generation unit generates the control information instructing the gate to be opened when the matching result indicates that the matching in the matching process is successful.

16. A mobile object control method for a mobile object arranged by reservation, comprising: receiving first information that is information regarding a reservation result of a user who uses the mobile device; performing a matching process using the first information and second information, which is identification information acquired from the user; generating control information for controlling the moving object in accordance with a result of the matching process; Including, the first information includes a location and a time at which the user boards the vehicle, which are included in the reservation result; the moving body is an autonomous vehicle, the control related to the moving body includes control of the departure of the moving body when the moving body is stopped at a boarding and disembarking location of the moving body; The departure of the moving body is prohibited upon arrival at each of the boarding and alighting locations at which the moving body stops, In the matching process, a first matching process is performed using the first information and the second information to determine whether the first information and the second information are consistent with each other, and a second matching process is performed to determine whether all the users who are scheduled to board the moving body from the boarding / alighting location have boarded the moving body, A mobile object control method, characterized in that, when the verification is successful in the second verification process, the control information for lifting the prohibition on departure is generated.

17. A computer system that controls a vehicle arranged by reservation, receiving first information that is information regarding a reservation result of a user who uses the mobile device; performing a matching process using the first information and second information, which is identification information acquired from the user; generating control information for controlling the moving object in accordance with a result of the matching process; A program for executing the first information includes a location and a time at which the user boards the vehicle, which are included in the reservation result; the moving body is an autonomous vehicle, the control related to the moving body includes control of the departure of the moving body when the moving body is stopped at a boarding and disembarking location of the moving body; The departure of the moving body is prohibited upon arrival at each of the boarding and alighting locations at which the moving body stops, In the matching process, a first matching process is performed using the first information and the second information to determine whether the first information and the second information are consistent with each other, and a second matching process is performed to determine whether all the users who are scheduled to board the moving body from the boarding / alighting location have boarded the moving body, a program for generating the control information for lifting the prohibition on departure when the verification is successful in the second verification process;

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