Vehicle ride-sharing method and device

Abstract

To provide an automatic driving vehicle ride-sharing method and device capable of reasonably assigning a passenger deplaning from an aircraft arriving at an airport to a vehicle.SOLUTION: When assigning the passenger deplaning from the aircraft arriving at the airport to a vehicle 1 for ride-sharing as an occupant by a terminal D, the deplaning passenger is associated with a time to receive baggage checked in by the deplaning passenger, and a group consisting of the deplaning passengers whose time to receive baggage is close to each other is assigned to the vehicle 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle sharing method and device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses a technology in which, when a user transfers from a first aircraft to a second aircraft at an airport, an autonomous vehicle is dispatched to the disembarkation location of the first aircraft, and after the user disembarks from the first aircraft and gets into the autonomous vehicle, the vehicle is automatically driven to move to the boarding location of the second aircraft. The user, who is an occupant of the vehicle, can get out of the vehicle that has arrived at the boarding location and transfer to the second aircraft. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-194279 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, a service may be considered in which passengers disembarking from an airplane arriving at an airport are allowed to board a vehicle together and travel to the same destination. In this case, it is necessary to rationally assign users (passengers) who have reserved a ride-sharing in advance to a vehicle, but such a vehicle sharing method and device have not yet been put into practical use. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle sharing method and device that can rationally assign passengers disembarking from an aircraft that has arrived at an airport to vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is that when a processing device assigns disembarking passengers of an aircraft arriving at an airport to vehicles in which they will share passenger seats, the processing device links the disembarking passengers with the time they will collect their checked baggage, and groups disembarking passengers who will collect their baggage at similar times and assigns them to vehicles. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, even if passengers disembark from an aircraft that has arrived at an airport, they cannot leave the airport until they have collected their baggage after checking it in. However, by grouping passengers who are scheduled to collect their baggage at similar times and assigning them to vehicles, passengers can be assigned to vehicles in a rational manner. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall diagram showing the schematic configuration of an operation management system for an autonomous driving shared vehicle according to the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a schematic configuration diagram of the communication system between the operating establishment in Figure 1 and users who will be passengers in the autonomous shared vehicle. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the autonomous shared vehicle of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a seat in the autonomous shared vehicle of FIG. 3. [Figure 5] 3 is a flowchart of a calculation process executed by the calculation processing device of FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 6 is a flowchart of a subroutine executed in the calculation process of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] 6 is a flowchart of a subroutine executed in the calculation process of FIG. 5. [Figure 8] 6 is a flowchart of a subroutine executed in the calculation process of FIG. 5. [Figure 9] 6 is a flowchart of a subroutine executed in the calculation process of FIG. 5. [Figure 10] 6 is a flowchart of a subroutine executed in the calculation process of FIG. 5. [Figure 11] 6 is a flowchart of a subroutine executed in the calculation process of FIG. 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that each drawing is a schematic diagram and may differ from the actual vehicle. The operation management system shown in FIG. 1 is based on the premise that an autonomous shared vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as a vehicle) 1 is operated and managed by a specific operating company O, and the vehicle 1 operates autonomously along a specified route at a specified (approximate) date and time. In principle, autonomous driving does not involve the presence of a driver. An overview of operation management of this autonomous shared vehicle 1 will be described. In this operation management, as an example of a general shared ride operation, a user wishing to ride informs the operating company O of the desired route, date and time, etc. The route is specified by a departure point and a destination, and intermediate stops are specified as necessary. In a general shared ride operation, the route may be specified in advance, as with current shared buses, or may be able to be ordered by the user. The date and time may also be specified in advance, as with current shared buses, or may be able to be ordered by the user. A plurality of users who wish to ride along a similar route at a similar date and time ride in the vehicle 1 in a shared manner.

[0009] To achieve this, a user can contact an operating agency O from a terminal T such as a smartphone or a personal computer (hereinafter also referred to as a PC) (actual communication is performed via a communications agency). The operating agency O can also communicate with the vehicle 1. The operating agency O can also communicate with another agency C, in this example, an aviation agency at an airport. In this embodiment, the vehicle 1 is configured to be able to obtain various information about users (boarding and disembarking) who will be the occupants of the vehicle 1 from, for example, the other agency (airport aviation agency) C. The vehicle 1 can also perform road-to-vehicle communication with infrastructure equipment E such as a roadside unit, and can also perform vehicle-to-vehicle communication with another vehicle M. Road-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication can exchange road information such as traffic signal information, regulation information, and traffic congestion and congestion, and can also obtain information about objects in the blind spot of the vehicle 1, for example. Communication between the operating agency O and the vehicle 1 is also included as part of road-to-vehicle communication.

[0010] FIG. 2 shows an outline of a communication system between a terminal T of a user who will become a passenger and a terminal D, such as a PC, in an operating establishment O. The terminal D in the operating establishment O can also communicate with, for example, a database B managed by another establishment C, which stores the user information. When the other establishment C is an aviation establishment at an airport, the user is generally a passenger boarding or disembarking an aircraft, and the user data includes information such as the route and departure and arrival times of the aircraft, the arrival gate, and the location of the circle belt from which checked baggage is dispensed. In this embodiment, after a user who will become a passenger boarding or disembarking an aircraft arrives at the airport, the user is assigned to a shared vehicle 1 and automatically driven to the destination. For this purpose, when a user makes a boarding or disembarking reservation request, the operating establishment O acquires the arrival airport and arrival time of the aircraft, the arrival gate, the destination after boarding the vehicle 1, information on whether baggage will be checked in, and the name and brand of the checked baggage. Examples of luggage names and brands include strollers, large musical instruments, bicycles, pets, and furniture, and these are also stored as (special) luggage attributes. Examples of non-special "luggage attributes" include "hand luggage," "trunk case," and "suitcase." Furthermore, if the flight number of the aircraft being boarded is known, the arrival airport, arrival gate, and arrival time can also be determined. Terminal D is a computer system (arithmetic processing device) such as a personal computer, and is equipped with a processor that performs arithmetic processing and a storage device that stores programs and data.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle 1 is equipped with a drive unit 2 for driving the vehicle 1, a braking unit 3 for braking the vehicle 1, and a steering unit 4 for steering the vehicle 1. The drive unit 2 is equipped with a drive source (not shown) such as an engine or an electric motor, and is also equipped with a drive controller 2a for controlling the drive force of the vehicle 1 generated by the drive source. The drive controller 2a is equipped with a processor P that handles arithmetic processing for electronically controlling the operating state of the drive source, and a storage device R that stores programs executed by the processor P. The braking unit 3 is equipped with a braking mechanism (not shown) such as a hydraulic brake mechanism or an electric brake mechanism, and is also equipped with a brake controller 3a that controls the braking force of the vehicle 1 generated by the braking mechanism. The brake controller 3a is equipped with a processor P that handles arithmetic processing for electronically controlling the operating state of the braking mechanism, and a storage device R that stores programs executed by the processor P. The steering device 4 is equipped with a steering mechanism (not shown) such as a hydraulic steering mechanism or an electric steering mechanism, and is also equipped with a steering controller 4a for controlling the steering state of the vehicle 1 by the steering mechanism. The steering controller 4a is equipped with a processor P that handles arithmetic processing for electronically controlling the operating state of the steering mechanism, and a storage device R that stores programs to be executed by the processor P. An external display device 51 is provided on the outer surface of the vehicle 1 for displaying, for example, the destination and car number of the vehicle 1.

[0012] The vehicle 1 also includes an environment recognition system 5 for recognizing the surrounding environment, a communication system 6 for performing the road-to-vehicle communication and vehicle-to-vehicle communication described above, and a vehicle control device 7 for achieving a target driving trajectory and a target speed profile set by an automatic driving control device 8 (described later) to perform substantially automatic driving of the vehicle 1. The environment recognition system 5 includes a surrounding environment information acquisition means (not shown) such as a camera, radar, or sensor, as well as an environment recognition controller 5a that detects where things are around the vehicle 1 based on the surrounding environment information acquired by the surrounding environment information acquisition means. The environment recognition controller 5a includes a processor P that controls arithmetic processing for analyzing the surrounding environment information, and a storage device R that stores programs executed by the processor P. Note that technology for analyzing surrounding environment information and detecting where things are has already been fully developed. The communication system 6 includes a communication device (not shown) such as a wireless communication device, as well as a communication controller 6a that controls communication targets and communication states of the communication device. The communication controller 6a is configured with a processor P that handles arithmetic processing for controlling communication targets and communication states, i.e., communication timing and communication time, and a storage device R that stores programs executed by the processor P. The vehicle control device 7 is configured with a vehicle controller 7a that manages the control states of control targets in the drive unit 2, braking unit 3, and steering unit 4 based on control inputs such as surrounding environment information obtained by the environment recognition system 5 and communication information obtained by the communication system 6. The vehicle controller 7a is configured with a processor P that handles arithmetic processing for obtaining control outputs of the operating states of the control targets from the control inputs, and a storage device R that stores programs executed by the processor P. The vehicle controller 7a also has a function of displaying the name and code of the vehicle 1, which are determined by arithmetic processing described below, on an external display device 51.

[0013] Furthermore, the vehicle 1 is equipped with an automatic driving control device 8 for setting a target driving trajectory and a target speed profile of the vehicle 1 during automatic driving. This automatic driving control device 8 achieves automatic driving of the vehicle 1 from a departure point to a destination, including intermediate points. This automatic driving logic is configured, for example, with current automatic driving logic of level 3 or higher. As an example of automatic driving, a driving action plan is prepared in advance for the driving trajectory and driving speed of the vehicle 1. For this driving action plan, the vehicle 1 is equipped with a positioning device that detects the position and attitude of the vehicle 1, high-precision map data, and the like. The positioning device is configured, for example, with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, and receives radio waves from multiple navigation satellites to measure the current position of the vehicle 1. The high-precision map data includes, for example, information on road nodes that indicate reference points on road reference lines (e.g., center lines of roads) and information on road links that indicate the section configurations of roads between the road nodes, as information on a road unit basis. A driving action plan is a lane-level driving action plan for a medium- to long-distance range that specifies the driving lane in which vehicle 1 will travel and the driving actions required to travel in this lane. To achieve this, a route space map representing the route around vehicle 1 and the presence or absence of objects, and a risk map quantifying the risk level of the driving area are generated based on the position and attitude of vehicle 1, the positions and attitudes of objects around vehicle 1, and a high-precision map. Using this route space map and risk map, a driving action plan is generated for vehicle 1 to automatically travel along a predetermined planned route. If it is determined that another vehicle is approaching vehicle 1, a driving action plan is generated that includes stopping or decelerating vehicle 1 or evasive steering. Then, based on this driving action plan, the motion characteristics of vehicle 1, and the route space map, candidate driving trajectories and speed profiles for vehicle 1 are generated. The future risk of each candidate is evaluated based on the risk map, and the optimal driving trajectory and speed profile are selected and set as the target driving trajectory and target speed profile for vehicle 1. In order to perform this calculation processing, the automatic driving control device 8 is equipped with an automatic driving controller 8a, which is configured with a processor P that controls the calculation processing and a memory device R that stores programs executed by the processor P, etc.

[0014] As shown in an example in FIG. 4, this vehicle 1 is configured with a plurality of seats 10, each divided for one occupant, and all of the seats 10 face the front of the vehicle. As with a typical seat, a seat back 54 is erected on the rear side of a seat cushion 53, and a headrest 55 is attached to the upper end of this seat back 54. For example, as shown in the figure, if two rows of seats 10 are arranged, a monitor (display device) 9 is attached to the rear side of the headrest 55 of the first row at the front of the vehicle. A monitor 9 is also provided for each seat 10 in the front row of the vehicle, on the front side of the vehicle. These monitors 9 display moving images such as television broadcasts and movies while the vehicle 1 is autonomously driving, and can also display information such as the current operating status of the vehicle 1, such as the vehicle's current position on the route and the arrival time at intermediate points and destinations, in response to a request from the occupants. Furthermore, a luggage compartment of sufficient size (capacity) is provided at the rear of the vehicle 1, and the luggage compartment can easily accommodate the above-mentioned checked baggage, such as furniture and large musical instruments. The luggage compartment may be located somewhere other than the rear of the vehicle.

[0015] Next, the calculation process for ride-sharing executed by the terminal D of the operating establishment O will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 5. As described above, this calculation process is executed to assign users who will disembark from an aircraft arriving at an airport and who have made a reservation for autonomous driving to their destination to a vehicle 1 with a similar destination. The program for this calculation process is stored in advance in the terminal D as application software (hereinafter simply referred to as an app). For example, the operator launches the app and executes it at any timing. Examples of the arbitrary timing include when a user who plans to disembark at a certain (specific) airport makes a reservation for a ride, before a specific date and time when an aircraft (flight) is scheduled to depart on a certain (specific) date and time, or at the departure time of a certain (specific) aircraft (flight). Furthermore, this app may be executed repeatedly until all users who have made reservations before the later-described consideration date and time are assigned to a vehicle 1. The app is configured to access the database B at any timing to obtain necessary information.

[0016] In this calculation process, first, in step S1, a considered arrival aircraft is selected according to the calculation process in Figure 6, which will be described later. A "considered arrival aircraft" refers to an aircraft that will arrive at a certain (specific) airport before the date and time to be considered. Next, the process proceeds to step S2, where a person who has not made a reservation to collect baggage is selected according to the calculation process in Figure 7, which will be described later. A "person who has not made a reservation to collect baggage" refers to a user who has made a reservation to board vehicle 1 after disembarking and who will not check in baggage. Next, the process proceeds to step S3, where a person who has made a reservation to collect baggage is selected according to the calculation process in Figure 8, which will be described later. A "person who has made a reservation to collect baggage" refers to a user who has made a reservation to board vehicle 1 after disembarking and who will (or has checked in) check in baggage (as can be inferred). Next, the process proceeds to step S4, where the destination of the considered reservation person is classified according to the calculation process in Figure 9, which will be described later. The term "consideration reservation holder" refers to a baggage claim holder who is able to claim their checked baggage before the date and time of the consideration, and a non-consideration reservation holder who is not dropping off baggage and will arrive at a predetermined location at the airport, such as the arrival lobby, around the time the baggage claim holder will claim their baggage. The predetermined location does not necessarily have to be within the airport, but may be a predetermined location near the airport. The term "destination" refers to an area in a predetermined direction and a predetermined distance from a certain (specific) airport. For example, if the airport is "Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport)," the destination is divided into "Yokohama direction" and "Chiba direction." Next, the process proceeds to step S6, where the consideration reservation holders for each destination are shared according to the calculation process shown in FIG. 10, which will be described later. Next, the process proceeds to step S6, where the route of the shared vehicle 1 is set according to the calculation process shown in FIG. 11, which will be described later. This embodiment assumes that the ride reservation holders (users) divided by destination are transported to all of their destinations. Next, the process proceeds to step S7, where the person who made the reservation (user) is notified of vehicle allocation information according to individual calculation processing (not shown). This "vehicle allocation information" is informationalized by linking a vehicle 1 specified by a destination, name, code, etc., such as "Yokohama (destination), stroller (name), car No. 1 (code)," with a specific boarding location and a specific boarding time, as will be described later.In other words, the dispatch information will be something like, "Please board Yokohama Stroller Car No. 1, which is arriving at (or will arrive at) location XX, at XX on XX / XX." Notification methods include, for example, sending a message to the user's device T or contacting them by phone using an artificial voice.

[0017] Next, the calculation process of FIG. 6 executed in step S1 of the calculation process of FIG. 5 will be described. In this calculation process, first, in step S11, a date and time to be considered is selected. This date and time to be considered refers to a certain (specific) date and time when a user who has made a reservation will be assigned to vehicle 1. This roughly corresponds to "month, day, time: 00:00" in the vehicle dispatch information described above. This date and time to be considered may be selected by an operator, for example, or may be selected randomly by a computer system. However, as will be described later, the date and time to be considered is affected by the arrival date and time (time) of an aircraft arriving at a certain (specific) airport, and since there is a high possibility that there will not be enough reservations for an aircraft that is too far in the future, it is more efficient not to set the date and time to be too far in the future. Next, proceeding to step S2, an aircraft that will arrive at a certain (specific) airport before the date and time to be considered is selected as the aircraft arriving at the airport. For example, an aircraft that is scheduled to arrive at the airport up to one hour before the date and time to be considered is selected as the aircraft arriving at the airport. For example, if the time to collect checked baggage can be specified within 30 minutes of the arrival of the aircraft, the arrival time of the selected aircraft may be set to 30 minutes before the considered home country. Next, the process proceeds to step S13, where the arrival gate and arrival time of the aircraft selected in step S12 are linked to the aircraft arriving at the airport and stored, and then the process returns.

[0018] Next, the calculation process of FIG. 7 executed in step S2 of the calculation process of FIG. 5 will be described. In this calculation process, first in step S14, boarding reservation holders who have not checked in (will not check in) baggage are selected from among passengers disembarking from an aircraft arriving at the airport. This baggage check can be determined, for example, according to the user's declaration at the time of boarding reservation if it is before the departure of the aircraft arriving at the airport, or based on user information stored in database B if it is after the departure of the aircraft arriving at the airport. Next, the process proceeds to step S15, and from the selected boarding reservation holders, boarding reservation holders who will be at a predetermined location within the airport by the consideration date and time (= predetermined time) are selected. The predetermined location within the airport may be, for example, the arrival lobby. It may also be a predetermined location near the airport, such as a parking lot near the airport. Next, the process proceeds to step S16, where the boarding reservation holders selected in step S15 are stored as those who have not made a reservation to collect baggage, and then the process returns.

[0019] Next, the calculation process of FIG. 8 executed in step S3 of the calculation process of FIG. 5 will be described. In this calculation process, first, in step S17, a baggage collection time is set based on the arrival gate and arrival time of the aircraft arriving at the airport. This baggage collection time is the time when passengers disembarking from the aircraft arriving at the airport can collect their checked baggage. For example, as described above, if the passengers can collect their baggage 30 minutes after the arrival time of the aircraft arriving at the airport, the baggage collection time is set to 30 minutes after the arrival time. However, on the other hand, for example, the farther the arrival gate of the aircraft arriving at the airport is from the baggage handling area for checked baggage, the longer it takes to travel from the baggage compartment of the aircraft arriving at the airport to the baggage handling area, and therefore the later the baggage collection time is likely to be. Furthermore, the more baggage checked on a single aircraft arriving at the airport, the later the baggage collection time is likely to be. The former can be taken into account even before the aircraft departing from the airport, but the latter cannot be determined until after the aircraft departing from the airport. While it is possible to set the baggage collection time taking these variables into account, currently, it is sufficient to set the baggage collection time based on the time between the arrival time of the aircraft arriving at the airport and when the baggage can be collected, which is determined empirically. Furthermore, if checked baggage tracking is possible, the baggage collection time can also be set based on, for example, the arrival time of the aircraft arriving at the airport, the timing of unloading from the aircraft arriving at the airport, the arrival time of the baggage at the baggage handling area, and the time the baggage is loaded onto the circle belt at the baggage handling area. Next, the process proceeds to step S18, where airport arrival aircraft with baggage collection times later than the considered date and time set in step S17 are excluded from the list of stored airport arrival aircraft. In other words, if the aforementioned dispatch information for vehicle 1, "XX month XX day XX:XX," is the considered date and time, passengers with reservation times for baggage collection later than this date and time cannot board vehicle 1 (the fact that the boarding time and baggage collection time are originally different will be explained later). Next, the process proceeds to step S19, where passengers with reservation times for boarding among the passengers disembarking from the airport arrival aircraft remaining in step S18 are stored as passengers with reservation times for baggage collection, and then returns.

[0020] Next, the calculation process of Fig. 9 executed in step S4 of the calculation process of Fig. 5 will be described. In this calculation process, first in step S21, it is determined whether or not a reservation person who has already been allocated for the considered date and time, which will be described later, is stored. If a reservation person who has already been allocated for the considered date and time is stored, the process proceeds to step S22. If not, the process proceeds to step S23. In step S22, the reservation person who has already been allocated is excluded from the stored reservation person who has not received baggage and the reservation person who has received baggage, and the remaining (reserved person) is set as a reservation person under consideration, and then the process proceeds to step S24. In step S23, the stored reservation person who has not received baggage and the reservation person who has received baggage are combined and stored as a reservation person under consideration, and then the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, the destinations of all the reservation people under consideration are selected. Next, the process proceeds to step S25, and all the destinations selected in step S24 are sorted by direction from the airport. The method for dividing the destinations is as described above. For example, if the airport is "Tokyo International Airport" and the divided destination is "Yokohama (city)", "Kawasaki (city)" can be included in the "Yokohama" destination. In other words, if vehicle 1 departs from "Tokyo International Airport" and passes through "Kawasaki" on its way to "Yokohama", "Kawasaki" can be set as a stopover relatively efficiently. However, if there are many passengers with "Kawasaki" as their destination, it is also possible to set "Kawasaki" itself as a "destination". Next, proceed to step S26, divide all potential reservation passengers by destination, and then return.

[0021] Next, the calculation process of Fig. 10 executed in step S5 of the calculation process of Fig. 5 will be described. In this calculation process, first, in step S31, it is determined whether the number of considered reservation users for the divided destination has reached the capacity per vehicle 1. If the number of considered reservation users for the divided destination has reached the capacity, the process proceeds to step S32. If not, the process proceeds to step S33. In step S32, it is determined whether the number of considered reservation users for the divided destination who share a (special) baggage attribute has reached the capacity per vehicle 1. If the number of considered reservation users for the divided destination who share a (special) baggage attribute has reached the capacity, the process proceeds to step S34. If not, the process proceeds to step S35. In step S34, passengers equal to the capacity are selected from the considered reservation users who have reached the capacity and share the destination and baggage attribute, and the selected passengers are assigned to a specific vehicle (a certain vehicle) 1. The vehicle is identified as, for example, "Yokohama, stroller, vehicle 1," and then the process proceeds to step S36. On the other hand, in step S35, the system selects passengers from among the considered reservations for destinations that have reached capacity (without taking baggage attributes into consideration), assigns them to a specific vehicle (a certain vehicle), identifies the vehicle, and then proceeds to step S36. In step S36, the assigned considered reservations are removed from the group (list) of considered reservations, and then proceeds (returns) to step S31. In contrast, in step S33, as will be described later, it is determined whether or not a vehicle that can be considered for the considered date and time is registered for the divided destination, and if a vehicle that can be considered for the considered date and time is registered, it proceeds to step S37, and if not, it proceeds to step S38. In step S37, it is determined whether or not the remaining considered reservations for the divided destination can be assigned to a vehicle that can be considered, in other words, whether or not the capacity will be exceeded if the remaining considered reservations are assigned to a vehicle that can be considered, and if the vehicle that can be considered will not exceed its capacity, it proceeds to step S38, and if not, it proceeds to step S39. In step S38, the remaining persons under consideration for the divided destination are assigned to vehicles available for consideration, and the vehicles are identified before returning. Meanwhile, in step S39, the remaining persons under consideration for the divided destination are assigned to individual specific vehicles (certain vehicles) 1, and the vehicles are identified before proceeding to step S40.In step S40, the identified vehicle is registered as a vehicle available for review on the review date and time, and then the process returns.

[0022] Next, the calculation process of Fig. 11 executed in step S6 of the calculation process of Fig. 5 will be described. In this calculation process, first in step S41, destinations of all occupants (= passengers who have booked a ride) of a specified (certain) vehicle are selected. Next, the process proceeds to step S42, and the destination farthest from (a certain) airport among all selected destinations is set as the route destination. Next, the process proceeds to step S43, and all selected destinations other than the route destination are arranged, in principle, in order of proximity to the airport, and route stopovers are set, and then the process returns. The word "in principle" is used because, for example, if destinations are simply arranged in order of proximity to the airport, there is a possibility that a route stopover will be made longer or travel in the opposite direction to the route destination depending on road conditions (one-way streets, closed-traffic sections, etc.), and in such cases, the order of stopovers of route stopovers (= destinations other than the route destination) is adjusted according to the high-precision map information.

[0023] According to this calculation process, passengers with reservations who will collect their baggage soon are assigned to vehicle 1 according to the capacity for each destination. It is easy to assign passengers with reservations based on the arrival time of the aircraft arriving at the airport, but in reality, disembarking passengers who have checked their baggage (= passengers with reservations) cannot leave the airport until they collect their baggage. Therefore, by linking the baggage collection time with disembarking passengers who have reservations and grouping passengers with reservations who will collect their baggage soon by destination and assigning them to vehicle 1, vehicle 1 can be used effectively and passengers with reservations to collect their baggage can be assigned to vehicle 1 efficiently. On the other hand, disembarking passengers (= passengers with reservations) who will not check their baggage can board vehicle 1 immediately after disembarking. However, if the arrival gate is far from the boarding location of vehicle 1, the timing at which they can board vehicle 1 may be delayed. Therefore, for passengers who do not collect baggage, a boarding condition is set that they can arrive at a specified location at or near the airport at a specified time (in this example, the considered date and time) close to the baggage collection time, and passengers who meet this boarding condition (i.e., passengers who do not collect baggage) are added to a group of passengers who have made baggage collection reservations. This allows passengers who do not check in baggage to be efficiently assigned to vehicle 1. Furthermore, passengers who have made reservations for the same destination are assigned to the same vehicle 1 and are transported to their destination via a stopover point close to the airport. Therefore, even if the destination is the same, passengers whose destination is close to the airport can be dropped off in an orderly manner, and all passengers can be transported to their destination. Furthermore, passengers who have made reservations for the same destination and who share the same baggage attributes can be assigned to the same vehicle. For example, a passenger who has checked in a stroller may find it difficult to load the stroller, which is baggage, into vehicle 1, or their child may be making noise in vehicle 1. In such a case, passengers who have made reservations and are loading the same stroller onto vehicle 1 will understand each other's situation and may even help each other load the stroller onto the vehicle. The same situation can arise for passengers who have made reservations and are carrying bicycles or large musical instruments. This can reduce the stress of passengers who share the same vehicle 1. Furthermore, since passengers who have made reservations for the same destination will generally board vehicle 1 up to its capacity, vehicles 1 can be used efficiently.

[0024] The vehicle operation management system according to the embodiment, particularly the ride-sharing system for autonomous shared vehicles 1, has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the above embodiment and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, for ease of understanding, the baggage collection time is treated as the baggage collection time, the predetermined time, and the boarding time (the latter two being the considered date and time). However, these do not have to be the same time; in fact, they are often different times. For example, if the boarding location for vehicle 1 is far from the baggage collection location or the predetermined location where non-baggage-collection reservations are located, the boarding time must be set taking into account the travel time from those locations to the boarding location. Furthermore, since the baggage collection location is generally different from the arrival lobby (closer to the arrival gate than the arrival lobby), in order for baggage-collection reservations to be present in the arrival lobby at the same time as non-baggage-collection reservations, the predetermined time must be later than the baggage collection time. Furthermore, the above embodiment is based on the premise that autonomous vehicle 1 transports users (users) divided into destinations to all of their destinations. However, it is also possible to set a representative destination for each destination, or to set multiple such representative destinations within a destination. On the other hand, taking into consideration that vehicle 1 is operated by autonomous driving and the convenience of those who have made reservations (users), it may be considered best to take passengers to all destinations. Also, in the above embodiment, passengers who have made reservations to board vehicle 1 (passengers who disembark) are divided by destination, but the destination of vehicle 1 may be limited to one or more locations. Also, in the above embodiment, vehicle 1 is described as an autonomous vehicle that is operated by autonomous driving, but this vehicle 1 does not have to be an autonomous vehicle.

[0025] In this embodiment, when disembarking passengers arriving at an airport are assigned to vehicles 1 as crew members at terminal D, the times at which the disembarking passengers will collect their checked baggage are linked to the disembarking passengers, and disembarking passengers who will collect their baggage at similar times are grouped and assigned to vehicles 1. Disembarking passengers who have checked their baggage cannot leave the airport until they collect it, but as described above, disembarking passengers can be assigned to vehicles 1 in a rational manner. In addition, by including disembarking passengers who are not checking in baggage and who can arrive at a specified location in the airport or nearby at a specified time close to the baggage collection time in the allocation grouping, passengers who have made reservations and are not checking in baggage can also be efficiently allocated to vehicle 1. In addition, by classifying the destinations of disembarking passengers by destination, classifying disembarking passengers by the classified destination, and grouping disembarking passengers with the same classified destination into allocation groups, the reuse of vehicles 1 is made more efficient and there is no waste. In addition, by grouping disembarking passengers who have the same or similar attributes of checked baggage for allocation, it may be possible to reduce the stress of passengers who are riding in the same vehicle 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 1...vehicle, 7...vehicle control device, 7a...vehicle controller, 8...automatic driving control device, 8a...automatic driving controller, B...database, D...terminal (arithmetic processing device)

Claims

1. A vehicle sharing method in which a processing unit assigns passengers disembarking from an aircraft arriving at an airport to vehicles in which the passengers will ride as crew members, The vehicle sharing method is characterized in that the processing device links the disembarking passengers with the time they will collect their checked baggage, groups the disembarking passengers who have similar baggage collection times, and assigns them to the vehicle.

2. The vehicle sharing method according to claim 1, characterized in that the grouping includes disembarking passengers who do not check in baggage and who can arrive at a specified location in or near the airport at a specified time close to the baggage collection time.

3. The vehicle sharing method according to claim 1, characterized in that the destinations of the disembarking passengers are divided by destination, the disembarking passengers are divided by the divided destination, and the disembarking passengers who are traveling to the same divided destination are targeted for grouping.

4. The vehicle sharing method according to claim 1, wherein the passengers disembarking from the aircraft have a common or similar attribute of the baggage they are checking in as the grouping targets.

5. A vehicle sharing device including a processing unit that assigns passengers disembarking from an aircraft arriving at an airport to vehicles where the passengers will be riding as crew members, The vehicle sharing device is characterized in that the processing device links the disembarking passengers with the time they will collect their checked baggage, groups the disembarking passengers who have similar baggage collection times, and assigns them to the vehicle.

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