Information processing device

Abstract

To provide an improvement in a technology related to platoon driving.SOLUTION: An information processing device 10 includes: a storage part 100; a control unit 101; and a communication unit 102. The storage part 100 stores a driving condition, which is a condition for platoon driving, for each of a plurality of registered vehicles 20. The control unit 201 selects, from the plurality of registered vehicles 20, two or more registered vehicles 20 whose driving conditions satisfy each other, as a vehicle group. The control unit 201 determines a first rule which is a rule for platoon driving of the vehicle group, based on the driving conditions of the vehicle group. The control unit 201 transmits, via the communication unit 102, an instruction to shift to platoon driving based on the first rule to each participating vehicle in the vehicle group that participates in platoon driving based on the first rule.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there are known technologies relating to platooning, in which multiple vehicles travel in a convoy. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a convoy traveling system in which, when a vehicle is traveling independently using ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) and a preceding vehicle that provides a strong windbreak is detected, the vehicle transitions from traveling independently to traveling in convoy with the preceding vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2023-163739 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] From the perspective of improving fuel efficiency and traffic safety, it may be desirable to transition multiple vehicles from independent driving to platooning. However, platooning with multiple vehicles that have different conditions such as fuel efficiency and driving routes may worsen the fuel efficiency of some of the vehicles and may increase the frequency of vehicles joining and leaving the platoon, which may be annoying for drivers.

[0005] The purpose of the present disclosure, made in consideration of the above circumstances, is to improve technology related to platooning. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a storage unit, a control unit, and a communication unit, the storage unit stores driving conditions that are conditions for platooning for each of the plurality of registered vehicles; The control unit selecting, from the plurality of registered vehicles, two or more registered vehicles that mutually satisfy driving conditions as a vehicle group; determining a first rule that is a rule for platooning of the vehicle group based on a driving condition of the vehicle group; An instruction to transition to platooning based on the first rule is transmitted by the communication unit to each participating vehicle of the vehicle group that is participating in platooning based on the first rule. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, technology related to platooning is improved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

[0010] (Outline of this embodiment) An overview of a system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The system 1 includes an information processing device 10 and a plurality of registered vehicles 20. The information processing device 10 and the plurality of registered vehicles 20 are communicably connected to a network 30 such as the Internet and a mobile communication network.

[0011] The information processing device 10 according to this embodiment is a computer such as a server device. The information processing device 10 may be a car navigation device installed in each registered vehicle 20, or a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone carried by the driver of each registered vehicle 20.

[0012] The registered vehicle 20 is a vehicle whose driving conditions are registered in the information processing device 10. The driving conditions may be registered before or during driving. In this specification, the vehicle includes any vehicle such as an automobile, a bus, a truck, or a motorcycle. The registered vehicle 20 may include a gasoline-powered automobile, an electric vehicle (BEV; Battery Electric Vehicle), a hybrid automobile (HEV; Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a plug-in hybrid automobile (PHEV; Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV; Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle). The registered vehicle 20 includes a manually driven vehicle with a level 0 defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), or an autonomously driven vehicle capable of autonomous driving with a level 1 to 5 defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

[0013] First, an overview of an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described, and details will be provided later. An information processing device according to this embodiment includes a storage unit, a control unit, and a communication unit. The storage unit stores driving conditions that are conditions for platooning for each of a plurality of registered vehicles. The control unit selects, from the plurality of registered vehicles, two or more registered vehicles whose driving conditions are mutually satisfied as a vehicle group. The control unit determines a first rule that is a rule for platooning for the vehicle group based on the driving conditions of the vehicle group. The control unit transmits, via the communication unit, an instruction to transition to platooning based on the first rule to each participating vehicle of the vehicle group that participates in platooning based on the first rule.

[0014] The information processing device according to this embodiment selects a vehicle group based on driving conditions from among a plurality of registered vehicles whose driving conditions have been registered in advance, and transitions this vehicle group to platooning under appropriate rules. By repeating this process, multiple vehicle groups are transitioned to platooning under their respective rules. By setting the rules appropriately, it is possible to prevent a deterioration in fuel efficiency of some vehicles during platooning and to reduce the frequency of vehicles joining or leaving platooning.

[0015] In the information processing device according to this embodiment, by using pre-registered driving conditions, it becomes easier to set rules for platooning based on complex driving conditions.

[0016] The information processing device according to this embodiment can schedule not only vehicles located close to each other but also vehicles located far from each other to travel in a convoy, thereby enabling a large number of vehicles to be scheduled to travel in a convoy, thereby improving the fuel efficiency of the large number of vehicles.

[0017] As described above, this embodiment improves the technology related to platooning.

[0018] Next, each component of the system 1 will be described in detail.

[0019] (Configuration of information processing device 10) As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 10 includes a storage unit 100, a control unit 101, and a communication unit .

[0020] The storage unit 100 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 100 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 100 stores any information used in the operation of the information processing device 10 and driving conditions that are conditions for platooning for each of the multiple registered vehicles 20. The storage unit 100 may store, for example, a system program, an application program, and embedded software. The information stored in the storage unit 100 may be updatable, for example, by information received from the network 30 via the communication unit 102. For example, the driving conditions of each registered vehicle 20 may be updated by each registered vehicle 20.

[0021] In this embodiment, the driving conditions include scheduled conditions. The scheduled conditions include conditions for the driving route and driving time period. The scheduled conditions may also include conditions for the driving distance, driving period, and rest period. The driving conditions may include one or more of vehicle conditions, platoon conditions, and driver conditions. The vehicle conditions may include one or more of the following: vehicle type, size, grade, vehicle height, fuel economy, vehicle speed range at which fuel economy is at or above the maximum value or a predetermined threshold value relative to the maximum value (e.g., at or above half of the maximum value), remaining fuel, remaining battery charge, and level of autonomous driving defined by the SAE. The platoon conditions may include one or more of the following: the order of the vehicle during driving (e.g., first, last, or other), vehicle speed, inter-vehicle distance, and the maximum number of vehicles that can participate in the platoon. The driver conditions may also include one or more of the driver's traffic accident history, traffic violation history, platoon participation history, and an index indicating poor driving based on these histories.

[0022] The control unit 101 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The control unit 101 controls the operation of the registered vehicle 20.

[0023] The communication unit 102 includes at least one communication interface that connects to the network 30. The communication interface corresponds to, for example, a mobile communication standard such as 4G or 5G, a V2X communication standard such as DSRC or cellular V2X, or a wireless LAN communication standard such as IEEE802.11. "4G" is an abbreviation for 4th generation. "5G" is an abbreviation for 5th generation. "DSRC" is an abbreviation for dedicated short range communications. "V2X" is an abbreviation for vehicle-to-everything. "IEEE" is an abbreviation for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

[0024] (Configuration of registered vehicles 20) As shown in FIG. 1, the registered vehicle 20 includes a storage unit 200, a control unit 201, and a communication unit 202.

[0025] The storage unit 200 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 200 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 200 stores any information used in the operation of the registered vehicle 20. The storage unit 200 may also store the driving conditions of the vehicle platoon. For example, the storage unit 200 may store a system program, an application program, embedded software, etc.

[0026] The control unit 201 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The control unit 201 controls the operation of the registered vehicle 20.

[0027] The communication unit 202 includes at least one communication interface that connects to the network 30. The communication interface corresponds to, for example, a mobile communication standard such as 4G or 5G, a V2X communication standard such as DSRC or cellular V2X, or a wireless LAN communication standard such as IEEE802.11.

[0028] (Operation flow of information processing device 10) The operation of the information processing device 10 according to one embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The operation shown in Fig. 2 is executed when the storage unit 100 of the information processing device 10 stores driving conditions, which are conditions for platooning, for each of the multiple registered vehicles 20. The driving conditions are registered in the information processing device 10 before or during driving.

[0029] S100: The control unit 101 of the information processing device 10 selects, from among a plurality of registered vehicles 20, two or more registered vehicles 20 whose mutual driving conditions are satisfied as a vehicle group.

[0030] In this embodiment, the driving conditions include schedule conditions, which include conditions for driving route and driving time zone. In this embodiment, selecting a vehicle group includes selecting, from among a plurality of registered vehicles 20, two or more registered vehicles 20 whose driving route and driving time zone conditions are mutually satisfied as a vehicle group. Satisfying the driving route and driving time zone conditions means that the driving route schedules for a specified time zone are completely or partially identical (e.g., 10% or more, 20% or more, 50% or more, or 80% or more of the entire schedule). The schedule conditions may further include schedules for rest periods. The control unit 101 may exclude from the vehicle group registered vehicles 20 whose driving distance or driving period is below a threshold in order to reduce the frequency of joining or leaving the platoon.

[0031] From the viewpoint of safety, fuel economy, etc., the driving conditions may further include vehicle conditions. For example, for safety, the control unit 101 may select, as a vehicle group, registered vehicles 20 having the same level of autonomous driving defined by the SAE. Furthermore, for fuel economy, for example, the control unit 101 may select, as a vehicle group, registered vehicles 20 having completely or substantially the same vehicle speed range in which fuel economy is at the maximum value or a value equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value relative to the maximum value (for example, a value equal to or greater than half of the maximum value).

[0032] From the viewpoint of safety, fuel economy, etc., the driving conditions may further include platooning conditions. For example, for safety reasons, the control unit 101 may select, as a vehicle group, registered vehicles 20 whose vehicle speed conditions during driving are completely or substantially the same. Furthermore, for example, for fuel economy and safety reasons, the control unit 101 may select, as a vehicle group, registered vehicles 20 whose inter-vehicle distance conditions are completely or substantially the same.

[0033] From the viewpoint of safety, the driving conditions may further include driver conditions. For example, for safety reasons, the control unit 101 may exclude from the vehicle group any registered vehicle 20 that has previously been involved in a traffic accident or traffic violation.

[0034] In another embodiment, selecting a vehicle group may include selecting a host vehicle based on driving conditions, identifying one or more guest vehicles from among the plurality of registered vehicles 20 that meet the driving conditions of the host vehicle, and selecting the host vehicle and the one or more guest vehicles as a vehicle group.

[0035] The control unit 101 may select the registered vehicle 20 with the longest travel distance or travel period as the host vehicle. The control unit 101 may determine the host vehicle using any algorithm, for example, to improve fuel efficiency or reduce the frequency of joining or leaving the platoon.

[0036] The control unit 101 may identify a registered vehicle 20 that satisfies the driving conditions of the host vehicle as one or more guest vehicles. For example, the control unit 101 may identify a registered vehicle 20 that completely or partially matches the driving route and driving time zone conditions of the host vehicle (for example, 10% or more, 20% or more, 50% or more, or 80% or more of each condition) as one or more guest vehicles.

[0037] S101: The control unit 101 determines a first rule, which is a rule for platooning of the vehicle group, based on the traveling conditions of the vehicle group.

[0038] The first rule includes a driving rule, which may include one or more rules regarding the speed of each vehicle, the order, the distance between vehicles, the platoon driving route, the platoon driving time period, the driving lane, and the maximum number of vehicles that can participate in the platoon driving.

[0039] The order of each vehicle may be determined so as to match the order of the vehicle under each vehicle's driving conditions. To facilitate departure from the platoon, a vehicle that leaves the platoon midway may be ordered at the end. To provide the windbreak effect of platooning to following vehicles, the order of each vehicle may be determined in descending order of vehicle size, class, or height. For example, the order of each vehicle may be determined so that the largest vehicle is at the front and the smallest vehicle is at the back.

[0040] To prevent the platoon vehicles from interfering with other vehicles or from being separated by a traffic light's stop instruction, the upper limit number of vehicles may be a predetermined value, for example, five vehicles or less.

[0041] The first rule may include a reward rule regarding a reward to be given to participating vehicles in the platoon to encourage active participation in the platoon. In particular, the reward rule may include a rule regarding a reward to be given to the leading vehicle among the participating vehicles to provide an advantage to the leading vehicle that does not benefit from the wind protection effect of the platoon. The reward may be, for example, the distribution of a discount coupon or the awarding of a predetermined number of points.

[0042] The first rule may include a rule regarding the cost or deposit required to participate in platooning to ensure that participating vehicles comply with the driving rules. The cost or deposit may be calculated based on, for example, the platoon driving distance or the platoon driving time period. The first rule may further include a rule regarding a penalty to be imposed on participating vehicles that violate the driving rules. For example, the deposit of a participating vehicle that violates a driving rule may be confiscated. A violation of a driving rule may be, for example, deviation from a specified lane / vehicle speed range or unauthorized departure from the platoon. The confiscated deposit may be distributed to participating vehicles that comply with the driving rules. The penalty may be points awarded when a driving rule is violated. For example, if the points exceed a threshold, the participating vehicle may be prohibited from participating in platooning.

[0043] The control unit 101 may determine a first rule, which is a rule for platooning of the vehicle group, based on some of the driving conditions of the vehicle group. For example, the control unit 101 may determine the first rule, particularly the platooning route and the platooning time period, based on the driving route and driving time period conditions of the vehicle group.

[0044] The control unit 101 may determine the host vehicle using any algorithm, for example, from the perspective of fuel efficiency, safety, or frequency of joining or leaving the platoon.

[0045] S102: The control unit 101 transmits, via the communication unit 102, an instruction to transition to platooning based on the first rule to each participating vehicle in the vehicle group that is participating in platooning based on the first rule.

[0046] The control unit 101 may communicate with each vehicle in the vehicle group to determine the participating vehicles. Specifically, the control unit 101 may transmit, via the communication unit 102, to each vehicle in the vehicle group, a first rule and a message confirming whether or not the vehicle will participate in the platooning based on the first rule, receive, via the communication unit 102, a message indicating acceptance of participation from a vehicle that has accepted participation in the platooning, and determine the vehicle that has accepted participation in the platooning as the participating vehicle. Alternatively, the control unit 101 may determine all registered vehicles 20 in the first group as participating vehicles.

[0047] The control unit 101 may further transmit, via the communication unit 102, an instruction to an automatically driven vehicle among the participating vehicles to perform automatic driving based on the first rule.

[0048] S100 to S102 may be repeated until it becomes impossible to select a vehicle group from the plurality of registered vehicles 20 so that the driving conditions of each vehicle in the vehicle group are mutually satisfied. By repeating this process, the plurality of vehicle groups are shifted to platooning under their respective rules.

[0049] The control unit 101 may allow one or more additional vehicles to join the vehicle group midway. Specifically, the control unit 101 may further identify one or more additional vehicles that satisfy the driving conditions of the vehicle group from among the multiple registered vehicles 20, determine a second rule that is a rule for platooning for the one or more additional vehicles based on the driving conditions of the vehicle group and the one or more additional vehicles, and transmit, via the communication unit 102, an instruction to transition to platooning based on the second rule to each of the one or more additional vehicles.

[0050] The additional vehicle may be, for example, a registered vehicle 20 that has been pre-registered in the memory unit 100, or a registered vehicle 20 that has been newly registered after an instruction to transition to platooning has been sent to the participating vehicles.

[0051] The second rule may be completely or partially consistent with the first rule (e.g., 10% or more, 20% or more, 50% or more, or 80% or more of the total). The driving rules of the second rule, particularly the platoon driving route and platoon driving time period, may be different from the driving rules of the first rule. The order of the additional vehicle may be at the end to make it easier for it to join the platoon.

[0052] The control unit 101 may communicate with the additional vehicle to confirm whether or not the additional vehicle will join the platoon. Specifically, the control unit 101 may transmit the second rule and a message confirming whether or not the additional vehicle will join the platoon based on the second rule to the additional vehicle via the communication unit 102, receive a message indicating acceptance of participation from the additional vehicle that has accepted participation in the platoon via the communication unit 102, and transmit an instruction to transition to platooning to the additional vehicle that has accepted participation in the platoon via the communication unit 102.

[0053] The control unit 101 may further transmit, via the communication unit 102, an instruction to an automatically driven vehicle among the second vehicles to perform automatic driving based on the second rule.

[0054] As described above, the information processing device according to this embodiment selects a vehicle group based on driving conditions from among a plurality of registered vehicles whose driving conditions have been registered in advance, and transitions this vehicle group to platooning under appropriate rules. By repeating this process, multiple vehicle groups are transitioned to platooning under their respective rules. By setting the rules appropriately, it is possible to prevent a deterioration in fuel efficiency of some vehicles during platooning and to reduce the frequency of vehicles joining or leaving platooning.

[0055] In the information processing device according to this embodiment, by using pre-registered driving conditions, it becomes easier to set rules for platooning based on complex driving conditions.

[0056] The information processing device according to this embodiment can schedule not only vehicles located close to each other but also vehicles located far from each other to travel in a convoy, thereby enabling a large number of vehicles to be scheduled to travel in a convoy, thereby improving the fuel efficiency of the large number of vehicles.

[0057] As described above, this embodiment improves the technology related to platooning.

[0058] Although the present disclosure has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each component or step can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and multiple components or steps can be combined or divided into one.

[0059] In the above-described embodiment, the configuration and operation of the information processing device 10 may be distributed among multiple computers that can communicate with each other. For example, the information processing device 10 may be a car navigation device installed in each registered vehicle 20, or a portable terminal carried by the driver of each registered vehicle 20. The storage unit 100 of each information processing device 10 may store driving conditions that are conditions for platooning for each registered vehicle 20. In this case, the control unit 101 of each information processing device 10 may determine, as the host vehicle, a registered vehicle 20 that has transmitted a platooning proposal to another registered vehicle 20 via the communication unit 102.

[0060] As used herein, "substantially" refers to an amount of at least 50%, at least 70%, at least 90%, or at least 95%. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1 System 10. Information processing equipment 100 Storage section 101 Control section 102 Communications Department 20 Registered Vehicles 200 Storage section 201 Control Unit 202 Communications Department 30 Network

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: a storage unit; a control unit; and a communication unit; the storage unit stores driving conditions that are conditions for platooning for each of the plurality of registered vehicles; The control unit selecting, from the plurality of registered vehicles, two or more registered vehicles that mutually satisfy driving conditions as a vehicle group; determining a first rule that is a rule for platooning of the vehicle group based on a traveling condition of the vehicle group; The information processing device transmits, via the communication unit, an instruction to transition to platooning based on the first rule to each participating vehicle in the vehicle group that is participating in platooning based on the first rule.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the driving conditions include conditions of a driving route and a driving time zone.

3. 3. The information processing device according to claim 2, wherein the selection of the vehicle group comprises: selecting, from the plurality of registered vehicles, registered vehicles that satisfy both the conditions of the travel route and the travel time zone as the vehicle group.

4. 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit further comprises: transmitting, via the communication unit, to each vehicle of the vehicle group, the first rule and a message confirming whether or not the vehicle will participate in the platooning based on the first rule; receiving a message indicating acceptance of participation from the vehicle that has accepted the participation by the communication unit; An information processing device that determines a vehicle that has agreed to participate in the platooning as the participating vehicle.

5. 5. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit further comprises: Identifying one or more additional vehicles from among the plurality of registered vehicles that satisfy the driving conditions of the vehicle group; determining a second rule that is a rule for platooning of the one or more additional vehicles based on driving conditions of the vehicle group and the one or more additional vehicles; an information processing device that transmits, via the communication unit, to each of the one or more additional vehicles, an instruction to transition to platooning based on the second rule.

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