Vehicle allocation management system and vehicle allocation management method

Abstract

To allow an unmanned driving type vehicle to effectively use information concerning an abnormality of a road surface.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a vehicle allocation management system comprising: at least one or more unmanned driving type vehicles; and a vehicle allocation management device which manages allocation of the vehicles in response to a vehicle allocation request of a user. The vehicle allocation management device comprises: a road map information database which manages road map information including road surface state information showing a road surface state of a road; a travel route determination unit which determines a travel route by referring to the road map information database on the basis of the vehicle allocation request; a vehicle selection unit which selects a vehicle adapted to the road surface state shown by the road surface state information of the road on the travel route on the basis of the vehicle allocation request; a vehicle allocation plan preparation unit which prepares a vehicle allocation plan on the basis of the travel route of the vehicle; and a vehicle allocation instruction unit which performs a vehicle allocation instruction to the vehicle according to the vehicle allocation plan.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle allocation management system and a vehicle allocation management method. [Background technology]

[0002] Roads are an essential part of the infrastructure for economic activity and social life, ensuring smooth traffic flow. Roads (road surfaces) are subject to deterioration and damage due to weather conditions, traffic volume, aging, and changes in the ground, and are therefore maintained by designated road management companies. However, since it is difficult to identify road surfaces that require repair among the vast distances and areas of roads, technologies for detecting road surface abnormalities have been proposed.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a technology in which an information management center under the control of a road administrator collects driving data including the detection results of on-board sensors from vehicles traveling on roads, detects the location and severity of road surface abnormalities occurring on the road surface on which the vehicle has traveled based on the collected driving data, and predicts future changes in the status of the detected road surface abnormality based on the status change history of other road surface abnormalities that occur in similar environments at the point of occurrence. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-143227 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The technology disclosed in the above patent document enables an information management center to grasp information related to road surface abnormalities for road maintenance, but does not allow vehicles actually traveling on the road to effectively use such information. In particular, in a ride-hailing service using an unmanned vehicle, if the unmanned vehicle cannot appropriately respond to road surface abnormalities, the ride comfort of passengers will be reduced.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle allocation management device and a vehicle allocation management method that allow unmanned vehicles to effectively utilize information related to road surface abnormalities. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention, which aims to solve the above problems, comprises the following invention-specifying matters and technical features.

[0008] According to one aspect, the present invention provides a vehicle dispatch management system including at least one unmanned vehicle and a vehicle dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of the vehicles in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request. The vehicle dispatch management device includes: a road map information database that manages road map information including road surface condition information that indicates the road surface conditions of roads; a travel route determination unit that refers to the road map information database and determines a travel route based on the vehicle dispatch request; a vehicle selection unit that selects, based on the vehicle dispatch request, a vehicle that is suited to the road surface conditions indicated by the road surface condition information of the roads on the travel route; a vehicle dispatch plan creation unit that creates a vehicle dispatch plan based on the travel route of the vehicle; and a vehicle dispatch instruction unit that issues dispatch instructions to the vehicle in accordance with the vehicle dispatch plan.

[0009] The present invention also provides a vehicle allocation management method using a vehicle allocation management device that manages vehicle allocation in response to a vehicle allocation request, a computer program for executing the method, and a recording medium on which the method is non-temporarily recorded. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, the quality of vehicle dispatch services can be improved by having an unmanned vehicle effectively utilize information related to road surface conditions.

[0011] Other technical features, objects, and operational effects or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting, and other effects may also be present. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration model of a vehicle dispatch control device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing details of the vehicle dispatch planning unit in the vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional model of a control device mounted on a vehicle in a vehicle dispatch management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management process performed by the vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management process performed by the vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an autonomous driving process related to a road surface abnormality of an unmanned vehicle in a vehicle dispatch management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments described below are merely examples, and are not intended to exclude various modifications or applications of techniques not explicitly described below. The present invention can be implemented in various modifications (e.g., combinations of the embodiments) without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, in the following description of the drawings, identical or similar parts are denoted by identical or similar reference numerals. The drawings are schematic and do not necessarily correspond to actual dimensions, ratios, etc. Parts in the drawings may have different dimensional relationships or ratios.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management system 1 includes a vehicle dispatch management device 10, an information communication terminal device 20, and a vehicle V, which are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a communication network N. The vehicle dispatch management system 1 can also be connected via the communication network N to a road traffic information management system 30 that provides various traffic information in real time. The vehicle dispatch management system 1 provides, for example, a vehicle dispatch service using multiple vehicles V for a certain area. In the present disclosure, the vehicle V is assumed to be an unmanned vehicle (autonomous vehicle) without a driver.

[0015] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 is a computing device that comprehensively manages a vehicle dispatch service using multiple vehicles V in a target area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service. The target area may be divided into several small areas (sub-areas). The vehicle dispatch management device 10, for example, implements a vehicle dispatch management server program and executes the vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor to realize the vehicle dispatch service. In particular, the vehicle dispatch management server program of the present disclosure includes a subprogram or module for dispatching to a user a vehicle V that is suited to a driving route determined taking into account the road surface conditions.

[0016] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 includes various databases 12 that accumulate and manage data necessary to realize such a vehicle dispatch service. The databases 12 may include, for example, a user information database 12a, a road map information database 12b, a vehicle information database 12c, and a vehicle dispatch plan database 12d (see FIG. 2). The databases 12 may be configured as part of the vehicle dispatch management device 10, or all or part of the databases 12 may be configured separately from the vehicle dispatch management device 10.

[0017] Generally speaking, under normal circumstances, the vehicle allocation management device 10 receives a vehicle allocation request from a user who wishes to allocate a vehicle V to a destination, refers to the vehicle information database 12c based on the vehicle allocation request, extracts a vehicle V to be allocated to the user from among multiple vehicles V, creates a vehicle allocation plan for the vehicle, and proposes the created vehicle allocation plan to the user. The vehicle allocation management device 10 confirms the proposed vehicle allocation plan upon the user's consent to the proposed vehicle allocation plan, and issues a vehicle allocation instruction to the vehicle V in accordance with the confirmed vehicle allocation plan.

[0018] The vehicle dispatch plan includes a driving route that defines a location where the vehicle V is waiting (a starting waiting location), passing through several points (boarding and disembarking points) along the way where the user gets on and off, to a final waiting location (which is not necessarily the same as the initial waiting location). If the vehicle V is waiting, the vehicle dispatch plan is newly created based on the received vehicle dispatch request, and if the vehicle V is in operation, the vehicle dispatch plan can be updated based on the vehicle dispatch request.

[0019] The vehicle V is a vehicle registered in the vehicle information database 12c that is provided for use by users in the vehicle dispatch service. The vehicle V is an unmanned vehicle (autonomous vehicle) operated by an automatic driving system, and the so-called automatic driving level does not matter. Furthermore, the vehicle type of the vehicle V (e.g., sedan, minivan, SUV, etc.) does not matter.

[0020] The vehicle V is equipped with a control device 400 that controls the vehicle V itself or various onboard equipment in accordance with dispatch instructions from the vehicle dispatch management device 10. Although not shown, the control device 400 is configured to include a processor, memory, etc., and realizes various functions by executing a vehicle control program. Furthermore, under the control of the control device 400, the vehicle V acquires driving management information necessary for autonomous driving from various cameras and sensors mounted on the vehicle V and transmits this information to the vehicle dispatch management device 10. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 can monitor and control the driving of the vehicle V in accordance with the driving management information transmitted from the vehicle V. The driving management information includes, for example, video and audio information about the surroundings of the vehicle V obtained from cameras / microphones, spatial recognition information (point cloud information) obtained from spatial recognition sensors such as LiDAR and RADAR, geographical position information of the vehicle V obtained from a GPS system, and status information obtained from status monitoring sensors that monitor the status of the vehicle V, each device, and each part.

[0021] In the present disclosure, when the control device 400 determines that the vehicle V is approaching a road (a road abnormality warning road) where the road surface condition exceeds a predetermined warning level while traveling along a travel route according to a vehicle dispatch plan, the control device 400 controls the traveling of the vehicle V so that the vehicle V takes a predetermined countermeasure behavior. For example, the control device 400 may control the traveling of the vehicle V so that the inter-vehicle distance with another vehicle (a preceding vehicle) traveling ahead of the vehicle V is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance. The control device 400 may also control the traveling of the vehicle V so that the traveling speed is equal to or less than a predetermined speed. This enables the vehicle V to quickly and reliably recognize abnormalities on the road surface ahead (e.g., unevenness due to damage) using various cameras and sensors. The control device 400 may also control the traveling of the vehicle V so that the vehicle V moves toward or along the shoulder to deal with damage to the asphalt on the road surface.

[0022] The information and communication terminal device 20 is, for example, a computing device through which a user wishing to ride makes a vehicle dispatch request by operating a user interface. The information and communication terminal device 20 is, for example, a smartphone, a pad computer, a laptop personal computer, a desktop computer, etc., but is not limited to these. The information and communication terminal device 20 implements, for example, a vehicle dispatch management client program (a so-called vehicle dispatch app). The information and communication terminal device 20 executes the vehicle dispatch app under the control of a processor, thereby enabling the user to use the vehicle dispatch service of the vehicle dispatch management device 10. For example, the user can make a vehicle dispatch request from a vehicle dispatch request screen (not shown) on the user interface of the information and communication terminal device 20 and, in response, accept the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch management device 10, thereby reserving a ride in the vehicle V.

[0023] The road traffic information management system 30 is an information and communication system that provides road traffic information in real time. For example, the road traffic information management system 30 collects road traffic data from various monitoring equipment installed on roads and travel data from a control device 400 installed in the vehicle V, and manages road traffic information that is integrated, processed, and edited. The monitoring equipment includes, but is not limited to, live cameras and vehicle sensors. The edited road traffic information may include, for example, information on road closures and detour routes, and the travel time between points via a specific route. The road traffic information management system 30 appropriately provides road traffic information to the vehicle dispatch management device 10 and the vehicle V. In addition to weather information, traffic information, and road regulation information, the road traffic information management system 30 may provide the vehicle dispatch management device 10 with video information from live cameras, audio information from sound-collecting microphones, and sensor information from vehicle sensors obtained from the monitoring equipment as travel management information. This enables the vehicle dispatch management device 10 to appropriately monitor and guide the vehicle V according to the travel management information.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration model of a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 may be configured as a functional configuration model including functional components such as a front-end processing unit 110, a vehicle dispatch planning unit 120, and a vehicle communication unit 130. Furthermore, as described above, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 includes various databases 12. This functional model is realized when the vehicle dispatch management device 10 executes a vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor, thereby cooperating with various hardware resources. The functional configuration model shown here is an example, and all or part of the functions of a certain functional component may be realized by other functional components. For ease of explanation, the figure also illustrates a user's information communication terminal device 20 and a control device 400 in the vehicle V.

[0025] The user information database 12a stores information about users who use the vehicle dispatch service (hereinafter referred to as "user information"). The user information includes, for example, a user ID and password, personal attributes (gender, age, address, etc.), and information about service usage status. The user information is registered in the user information database 12a under the control of the vehicle dispatch management device 10 by the user inputting predetermined information, for example, when the vehicle dispatch app is first launched.

[0026] The road map information database 12b stores road map information for the target area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service. The road map information includes map data on, for example, addresses, place names, road networks (road links and nodes), various facilities, etc. The road map information also includes information necessary for searching for a driving route, for example, road information, feature information, and environmental information. The road information includes, for example, road types such as community roads and main roads, and road attribute information such as road width, pedestrian / vehicle dividers, median strips, and lanes. In the present disclosure, the road map information includes road surface condition information indicating the road surface condition of the road (road link). The road surface condition includes, for example, whether the road is unpaved or paved, and the unevenness / roughness of the road surface due to damage to the asphalt, as well as conditions that impede the travel of the vehicle V due to, for example, fallen / tilted objects or planted trees (obstacles), and each condition is associated with a value indicating a level (level value). Such road surface condition information may be collected, for example, by a designated road management company during daily maintenance work, and may also be collected from the vehicle V as driving management information.

[0027] The vehicle information database 12c stores information (vehicle information) about the vehicle V available for use by the user. The vehicle information includes information about the vehicle ID, vehicle attributes (vehicle registration number, vehicle model, maximum number of occupants / maximum load capacity, level of autonomous driving, etc.), vehicle performance, other specifications (overall length, overall width, vehicle height, weight, etc.), current vehicle dispatch plan, current location, and current status (service status, remaining battery capacity (driving range), number of passengers, etc.). The current location and / or status of the vehicle V can be updated at any time based on location information transmitted from the vehicle V. The information about the vehicle performance (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle performance information") includes various specifications related to autonomous driving. For example, the vehicle performance information includes information about each sensor mounted on the vehicle V (such as type (e.g., visible light image sensor, infrared image sensor, RADAR, LiDAR, etc.), configuration (e.g., number, location, orientation, etc.) and / or characteristics (e.g., resolution, angle of view, sensitivity, etc.). In addition, in the present disclosure, the vehicle performance information includes information indicating adaptability to road surface conditions (e.g., suspension performance, tire performance, etc.).

[0028] The vehicle allocation plan database 12d stores a vehicle allocation plan for each vehicle V created by the vehicle allocation planning unit 120 based on a vehicle allocation request. As described above, the vehicle allocation plan includes a driving route from a waiting location serving as a starting point to a waiting location serving as an end point via several points (boarding and disembarking points), an estimated arrival time at each stop point, and the like.

[0029] The front-end processing unit 110 performs various processes between the user and the information communication terminal device 20. As an example, the front-end processing unit 110 refers to the user information database 12a and performs login authentication processing in accordance with a login request from a vehicle dispatching application on the user's information communication terminal device 20. The front-end processing unit 110 also accepts a vehicle dispatch request from the vehicle dispatching application on the user's information communication terminal device 20, passes it to the vehicle dispatch planning unit 120, and interacts with the information communication terminal device 20 to receive the user's approval or disapproval of the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch planning unit 120 in response to the request.

[0030] The vehicle allocation planning unit 120 extracts candidate vehicles (candidate vehicles) from among the vehicles V in the target area based on the received vehicle allocation request, and creates and executes a vehicle allocation plan for the candidate vehicles. A vehicle allocation plan may be created for each of several different candidate driving routes. The vehicle allocation planning unit 120 proposes the created vehicle allocation plan to the user and confirms it upon receiving the user's consent. The vehicle allocation planning unit 120 then stores the confirmed vehicle allocation plan in the vehicle allocation plan database 12d and issues a dispatch instruction to the corresponding vehicle V via the vehicle communication unit 130. The vehicle V dispatched based on the vehicle allocation request travels to a bus stop at the specified boarding location, picks up the user there, and travels to a bus stop at the destination (drop-off location), where the user is dropped off. In the present disclosure, the vehicle allocation planning unit 120 determines a driving route for the boarding and alighting location indicated in the vehicle allocation request, taking into account the road surface conditions, selects a vehicle V that is suitable for the determined driving route, and creates a vehicle allocation plan for the selected vehicle.

[0031] The vehicle communication unit 130 exchanges various types of information with the vehicle V via the communication network N. For example, the vehicle communication unit 130 acquires vehicle information including the position information of the vehicle V and passes it on to the vehicle allocation planning unit 120, and also transmits driving instructions to the vehicle V in accordance with the vehicle allocation plan by the vehicle allocation planning unit 120. The vehicle communication unit 130 also acquires road surface condition information from the vehicle V while it is traveling and passes it on to the vehicle allocation planning unit 120.

[0032] 3 is a block diagram showing details of a vehicle dispatch planning unit in a vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch planning unit 120 includes, for example, a vehicle dispatch request acquisition unit 121, a driving route determination unit 122, a vehicle information acquisition unit 123, a vehicle selection unit 124, a vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 125, a vehicle dispatch instruction unit 126, and a road surface condition information collection unit 127.

[0033] The vehicle allocation request acquisition unit 121 acquires or accepts a vehicle allocation request from a user via the front-end processing unit 110. The time when the vehicle allocation request acquisition unit 121 acquires a vehicle allocation request becomes the time when timing of various limit times (such as a boarding limit time and a disembarking limit time, which are the limit times by which a user must board or disembark) for creating a vehicle allocation plan starts.

[0034] The travel route determination unit 122 determines an optimal travel route based on the dispatch request. For example, the travel route determination unit 122 determines a travel route from the departure point to the destination by having the route search engine search for a route while referring to the road map information database 12b based on the boarding point (departure point) and disembarking point (destination) indicated in the dispatch request. In this case, the travel route determination unit 122 determines the travel route based on the road surface condition information in the road map information database 12b. The determined travel route is associated with road surface condition information for each road link. More specifically, the travel route determination unit 122 can determine the travel route so that it includes roads (road links) whose road surface condition level values ​​indicated by the road surface condition information are equal to or greater than a predetermined allowable lower limit. In other words, even if the road surface condition is not particularly good, the road may be included in the travel route as long as it does not adversely affect the user's riding comfort. This allows the vehicle V to travel along a travel route that avoids roads that adversely affect the user's riding comfort.

[0035] The vehicle information acquisition unit 123 acquires vehicle information from each vehicle V via the vehicle communication unit 130 at a predetermined timing. The vehicle information may include, for example, vehicle position information and remaining energy amount of the vehicle V. For example, the vehicle information acquisition unit 123 may acquire vehicle information transmitted from each vehicle V periodically, or may request a specific vehicle V to transmit vehicle information periodically or irregularly, and acquire vehicle information transmitted from the specific vehicle V in response to the request. The vehicle information acquisition unit 123 stores the acquired vehicle information of each vehicle V in the vehicle information database 12c.

[0036] The vehicle selection unit 124 extracts and selects a specific vehicle suited to the travel route from among multiple vehicles V. For example, the vehicle selection unit 124 first refers to the vehicle information database 12c, etc., and extracts vehicles V near the boarding location indicated in the dispatch request based on the location information indicated by the vehicle information. Next, the vehicle selection unit 124 selects a vehicle V suited to the travel route from the extracted vehicles V, taking into consideration constraints such as various limit allowable time. Furthermore, in the present disclosure, the vehicle selection unit 124 selects a vehicle V having vehicle performance indicated by vehicle performance information suited to the road surface conditions indicated by the road surface condition information in the road map information database 12b. For example, when some roads on the travel route have slightly uneven road surfaces, the vehicle selection unit 124 may select a vehicle V with high ground clearance and / or good suspension. Furthermore, when some roads on the travel route have narrow road widths, the vehicle selection unit 124 may select a compact vehicle V with a narrow width. This makes it possible to minimize the adverse effects of road surface conditions on the user's riding comfort. The vehicle selection unit 124 may also select a vehicle V equipped with a camera and a sensor that can accurately recognize road surface conditions.

[0037] The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 125 creates a vehicle allocation plan for the selected vehicle V based on the determined travel route. As described above, road surface condition information is associated with each road link in the determined travel route. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 125 updates the vehicle allocation request for the vehicle V that is currently in operation. For example, after creating a vehicle allocation plan for vehicle V in response to a vehicle allocation request from a certain user, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 125 may further update the vehicle allocation plan in response to a vehicle allocation request from another user so as to have the user disembark at a disembarkation location and then have the other user board at the same disembarkation location or another disembarkation location.

[0038] Furthermore, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 125 proposes the created / updated vehicle allocation plan to the user via the front-end processing unit 110. This allows the user to approve or disapprove (accept or not approve) the proposed vehicle allocation plan. When the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 125 receives approval from the user for the proposed vehicle allocation plan, it finalizes the approved vehicle allocation plan and stores the finalized vehicle allocation plan in the vehicle allocation plan database 12d.

[0039] The vehicle dispatch instruction unit 126 issues a dispatch instruction to the corresponding vehicle V according to the confirmed vehicle dispatch plan. Furthermore, if there is a change in the vehicle dispatch plan, the vehicle dispatch instruction unit 126 instructs the corresponding vehicle V to change the vehicle dispatch plan. The control device 400 of the vehicle V that has received the dispatch instruction determines, for example, a detailed actual driving route according to the driving route in the vehicle dispatch plan, and performs control so that the vehicle V drives autonomously along the actual driving route. For example, the vehicle dispatch instruction unit 126 issues a dispatch instruction to the vehicle V in accordance with the user's dispatch request to pick up the user at the bus stop where the user boards the vehicle and travel to the bus stop where the user disembarks.

[0040] The road surface condition information collection unit 127 collects road surface condition information for roads within the target area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service. For example, a predetermined road management company may input road surface condition information for roads into a terminal device (not shown) during daily maintenance work and transmit this information to the vehicle dispatch management device 10. In response to this, the road surface condition information collection unit 127 may collect the road surface condition information. Alternatively, the road surface condition information collection unit 127 may collect road surface condition information based on driving management information acquired from the vehicle V while the vehicle V is traveling. The road surface condition information collection unit 127 stores the collected road surface condition information in the road map information database 12b. This allows road surface condition information for roads to be collected in real time, and the vehicle dispatch plan described above is created based on the latest road surface condition information.

[0041] 4 is a block diagram showing a functional model of a control device mounted on a vehicle in a vehicle dispatch management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the control device 400 includes, for example, a location information acquisition unit 410, a communication unit 420, a user interface unit (denoted as "UI" in the figure) 430, a navigation database 440, and an autonomous driving control unit 450.

[0042] The position information acquisition unit 410 acquires the position information of the vehicle V from the GPS system. The position information acquisition unit 410 passes the position information acquired from the GPS system to the communication unit 420 to transmit it to the vehicle dispatch management device 10.

[0043] The communication unit 420 is a communication interface for exchanging various information with the vehicle communication unit 130 of the vehicle dispatch management device 10. For example, the communication unit 420 receives a transmission request for vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle communication unit 130, and in response transmits vehicle information including location information to the vehicle communication unit 130. The communication unit 420 also receives a dispatch instruction transmitted from the vehicle communication unit 130, and passes it on to the user interface unit 430 and the driving route control unit %%.

[0044] The user interface unit 430 displays information related to the vehicle dispatch service to the user while the user is in the vehicle. For example, the user interface unit 430 displays the driving route to the drop-off location, the expected arrival time, etc., based on the vehicle dispatch instruction transmitted from the vehicle dispatch management device 10.

[0045] The navigation database 440 stores navigation information for the autonomous driving of the vehicle V in the target area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service based on various road map information stored in the navigation database 440. The navigation information typically includes road map information and driving history information of the vehicle V. The navigation database 440 of the vehicle V is generally the same as the above-mentioned road map information database 12b in that it includes map information, but the map information level differs for each vehicle V. Furthermore, the road map information of the navigation database 440 may be updated by the autonomous driving control unit 450 based on the actual autonomous driving of the vehicle V, and the stored map information and driving history information may be updated. For example, the road map information of the navigation database 440 may be detailed according to the driving history of the vehicle V. The navigation database 440 may also include information regarding street views of the driving route photographed by the autonomously driving unmanned vehicle V_AD, for example.

[0046] The autonomous driving control unit 450 determines an actual detailed driving route (e.g., lanes, etc.) based on various road map information stored in the navigation database 440 in accordance with the vehicle dispatch plan provided by the vehicle dispatch management device 10, and controls the autonomous driving of the vehicle V accordingly. The autonomous driving control unit 450 may, for example, update the road map information and driving history information in the navigation database 440 as the vehicle V autonomously drives along the driving route. The autonomous driving control unit 450 may also transmit the updated road map information and driving history information of the vehicle V to the vehicle dispatch management device 10 via the communication unit 420.

[0047] In the present disclosure, the autonomous driving control unit 450 monitors whether the vehicle V has approached a road abnormality warning road while traveling along the travel route. A road abnormality warning road is a road (road link) where the road surface condition indicated by road surface condition information exceeds a predetermined warning level. For example, the autonomous driving control unit 450 determines whether the vehicle V has approached a road where the road surface condition exceeds a predetermined warning level based on the current position indicated by the vehicle position information of the vehicle V and the road surface condition information associated with the travel route. When the autonomous driving control unit 450 determines that the vehicle V has approached a road where the road surface condition exceeds a predetermined warning level, the autonomous driving control unit 450 controls the travel of the vehicle V so that a predetermined countermeasure behavior is taken. The warning level may be set according to the type of road surface condition. For example, as the predetermined countermeasure behavior, the autonomous driving control unit 450 may control the travel of the vehicle V so that the inter-vehicle distance with another vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle V is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance. This enables the vehicle V to quickly and reliably recognize abnormalities on the road surface ahead (e.g., unevenness due to damage) using various cameras and sensors. Alternatively, as a predetermined countermeasure behavior, the autonomous driving control unit 450 may control the driving of the vehicle V so that the driving speed (vehicle speed) is equal to or less than a predetermined speed. This allows the vehicle V to reliably recognize abnormal areas on the road surface ahead (e.g., unevenness due to damage) and also allows the vehicle V to safely pass through or avoid the abnormal areas. In this case, the autonomous driving control unit 450 may determine the vehicle speed according to the vehicle performance indicated by the vehicle performance information of the vehicle V. For example, if the vehicle V has an excellent suspension, the autonomous driving control unit 450 may control the driving without reducing the vehicle speed compared to a normal vehicle V that does not have such a suspension.

[0048] 5 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a vehicle dispatch management process by a vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. This process is realized by the vehicle dispatch management device 10 executing a vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor, in cooperation with various hardware resources.

[0049] As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 waits until a new vehicle dispatch request is received from a user (S501). Meanwhile, for example, a user wishing to ride operates a vehicle dispatch app on the user interface of the information communication terminal device 20 to input a vehicle dispatch request. In this example, the vehicle dispatch request includes user location information. When a vehicle dispatch request is received from a user (Yes in S501), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 refers to the road map information database 12b based on the vehicle dispatch request, and determines bus stops (boarding and disembarking locations) for the user to board and disembark (S502).

[0050] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 determines a driving route based on the determined boarding and disembarking locations, with reference to the road map information database 12b, and further selects a vehicle suited to the driving route (S503). The process of determining the driving route and selecting the vehicle will be described later.

[0051] Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 creates or updates a vehicle allocation plan based on the determined driving route (S504). Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 proposes the content of the created or updated vehicle allocation plan to the user (S505). That is, the vehicle allocation management device 10 transmits the content of the created or updated vehicle allocation plan to the information communication terminal device 20, and in response, the information communication terminal device 20 displays the content on the user interface and prompts the user to accept or reject the proposed vehicle allocation plan.

[0052] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 determines whether or not consent has been received from the user for the proposed vehicle dispatch plan (S506). If consent has been received from the user for the proposed vehicle dispatch plan (Yes in S506), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 confirms the current vehicle dispatch plan (S507). The vehicle dispatch management device 10 stores the confirmed vehicle dispatch plan in the vehicle dispatch plan database 12d. Subsequently, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 transmits a notification of confirmation of the vehicle dispatch reservation to the information communication terminal device 20, and transmits a dispatch instruction based on the vehicle dispatch plan to the vehicle V (S508).

[0053] On the other hand, if the vehicle dispatch management device 10 receives a non-acceptance (rejection) from the user in response to the proposed vehicle dispatch plan (No in S506), it cancels the current vehicle dispatch plan based on the user's vehicle dispatch request (S509). In this case, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 returns the temporarily held vehicle dispatch plan that was used to recreate the vehicle dispatch plan to the original held vehicle dispatch plan. If the user desires a different vehicle dispatch service, the user will make a new vehicle dispatch request.

[0054] 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a vehicle dispatch management process by a vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, this figure is a flowchart showing details of the process (S503) related to determining a travel route and selecting a vehicle shown in FIG.

[0055] As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 extracts several travel route candidates based on the determined boarding and disembarking locations by referring to the road map information database 12b, and tentatively selects one of them (S601). Each travel route candidate has the same boarding and disembarking locations, but different roads (links) along the way.

[0056] Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 refers to the road map information database 12b to acquire road surface condition information for each road in the candidate travel route (S602). Subsequently, the vehicle allocation management device 10 determines, based on the acquired road surface condition information, whether the road surface condition of each road in the candidate travel route is equal to or greater than a predetermined allowable lower limit (S603). If the vehicle allocation management device 10 determines that the road surface condition of each road in the candidate travel route is not equal to or greater than the predetermined allowable lower limit (No in S603), the vehicle allocation management device 10 selects the next candidate travel route and similarly determines whether the road surface condition of each road in the candidate travel route is equal to or greater than a predetermined allowable lower limit (S601 to S603). In other words, if the candidate travel route includes a road that adversely affects the riding comfort of a user riding in the vehicle V, such a candidate travel route is excluded.

[0057] On the other hand, when the vehicle allocation management device 10 determines that the road surface condition of each road in the candidate driving route is equal to or greater than a predetermined allowable lower limit (Yes in S603), the vehicle allocation management device 10 determines the candidate driving route as the driving route (S604). Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 attempts to extract a vehicle V that is suitable for the determined driving route, and determines whether or not there is a vehicle V that is suitable for the driving route (S605). Specifically, the vehicle allocation management device 10 refers to the vehicle information database 12c to extract a vehicle V that has vehicle performance indicated by the vehicle performance information that is suitable for the road surface condition of the road on the driving route. For example, if the road in part of the driving route is slightly uneven, a vehicle V that has suspension performance that can handle such unevenness is extracted.

[0058] If the vehicle dispatch management device 10 determines that there is no vehicle V that is suitable for the driving route (No in S605), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 returns to the processing of S601 and repeats the above processing until a vehicle V that is suitable for the driving route is found. Although not shown, if the vehicle dispatch management device 10 cannot extract a candidate driving route, it notifies the user who made the vehicle dispatch request that the vehicle cannot be dispatched.

[0059] On the other hand, when the vehicle dispatch management device 10 determines that there is a vehicle V that is suitable for the travel route (Yes in S605), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 selects the vehicle V as the vehicle V to be dispatched to the user (S606). When the vehicle dispatch management device 10 extracts multiple vehicles V that can be suitable for the travel route, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 selects the vehicle V that is closest to the user's boarding location, taking into consideration constraints such as various limit allowable times.

[0060] In this way, in response to a user's request for a vehicle dispatch, a driving route is determined that avoids as much as possible roads with road surface conditions that adversely affect the user's riding comfort, and even if the driving route includes roads with road surface conditions that are not necessarily good, a vehicle V that can adapt to the route is selected.

[0061] 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an autonomous driving process related to a road surface abnormality of an unmanned vehicle in a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This process is realized by the control device 400 of the vehicle V executing a vehicle control program under the control of a processor, thereby cooperating with various hardware resources. The control device 400 executes this process to deal with abnormalities in road surface conditions during autonomous driving control through the execution of the vehicle control program.

[0062] That is, as shown in the figure, during normal autonomous driving control of the vehicle V, the control device 400 monitors whether the vehicle V has approached a road requiring road abnormality warning (S701). For example, the control device 400 determines whether the vehicle V has approached a road where the road surface condition exceeds a predetermined warning level based on the current position indicated by the vehicle position information of the vehicle V and the road surface condition information associated with the driving route.

[0063] If the control device 400 determines that the vehicle V has approached a road surface abnormality warning road during autonomous driving control of the vehicle V (Yes in S701), the control device 400 controls the vehicle's driving so that a predetermined response behavior is taken (S702). For example, the control device 400 may control the vehicle V's driving so that the inter-vehicle distance between the vehicle V and another vehicle driving in front of the vehicle V is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance. The control device 400 may also control the vehicle V's driving so that the vehicle speed is equal to or less than a predetermined speed. The control device 400 controls the vehicle V's driving with the predetermined response behavior until the vehicle V passes through the road surface abnormality warning road (No in S703).

[0064] Then, if the control device 400 determines that the vehicle V has passed through a road abnormality warning road (Yes in S703), the control device 400 releases the control in the response behavior, returns the vehicle V to normal autonomous driving control (S704), and again monitors the approach to the road abnormality warning road (S701).

[0065] As described above, according to this embodiment, the vehicle dispatch management system 1 effectively utilizes road surface condition information of roads associated with a driving route, thereby enabling the vehicle dispatching system 1 to dispatch a driving route and a vehicle V to a user that take ride comfort into consideration, thereby improving the quality of vehicle dispatch services. In particular, according to this embodiment, the vehicle dispatch management system 10, in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, determines a driving route that avoids roads with road surface conditions that adversely affect the user's ride comfort as much as possible, and dispatches a vehicle V suited to such a driving route to the user. Furthermore, when the vehicle V approaches a road abnormality warning road while autonomously controlling its driving route, the vehicle V takes a predetermined countermeasure behavior, thereby alerting the user to abnormal road surface conditions, reliably recognizing the abnormal area, and safely passing through and / or avoiding the abnormal area.

[0066] The above-described embodiments are merely examples for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to these embodiments. The present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0067] For example, in the methods disclosed herein, steps, operations, or functions may be performed in parallel or in a different order unless the results are inconsistent. The steps, operations, and functions described are provided merely as examples, and some of the steps, operations, and functions may be omitted or combined into one, or other steps, operations, or functions may be added, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0068] Furthermore, although various embodiments are disclosed in this specification, specific features (technical matters) in one embodiment can be added to or substituted for specific features in other embodiments, with appropriate modifications, and such forms are also included in the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1...Vehicle dispatch management system 10...Vehicle dispatch management device 110...Front-end processing unit 120... Vehicle Allocation Planning Department 121... Vehicle dispatch request acquisition unit 122...Driving route determination unit 123...Vehicle information acquisition unit 124...Vehicle selection section 125... Vehicle Allocation Planning Department 126...Dispatch Instruction Department 127...Road surface condition information collection unit 130...Vehicle communication unit 12...Database 12a...User information database 12b...Road map information database 12c...Vehicle information database 12d... Vehicle dispatch plan database 20...Information and communication terminal equipment 30...Road traffic information management system 40...Vehicle 400...Control device 410...Location information acquisition unit 420…Communications Department 430...User interface section 440...Navigation database 450...Autonomous driving control unit N: Communication network

Claims

1. A vehicle dispatch management system including at least one unmanned vehicle and a vehicle dispatch management device that manages dispatch of the vehicle in response to a vehicle dispatch request from a user, The vehicle dispatch management device a road map information database for managing road map information including road surface condition information indicating the road surface condition; a travel route determination unit that determines a travel route by referring to the road map information database based on the vehicle dispatch request; a vehicle selection unit that selects, based on the vehicle dispatch request, a vehicle that is suited to the road surface conditions indicated by the road surface condition information of the roads on the travel route; a vehicle allocation plan creation unit that creates a vehicle allocation plan based on the travel route of the vehicle; a vehicle allocation instruction unit that issues vehicle allocation instructions to the vehicles in accordance with the vehicle allocation plan, Vehicle dispatch management system.

2. the travel route determination unit determines the travel route so that the travel route is made up of roads whose road surface conditions indicated by the road surface condition information are equal to or greater than a predetermined allowable lower limit value. The vehicle dispatch management system according to claim 1 .

3. a road surface condition information collection unit that collects, from the vehicle, road surface condition information of the road on which the vehicle has traveled; the road surface condition information collecting unit stores the collected road surface condition information in the road map information database; The vehicle dispatch management system according to claim 2 .

4. a vehicle information database that manages vehicle information of the vehicle, including vehicle performance information; the vehicle selection unit selects the vehicle having the vehicle performance indicated by the vehicle performance information that is adapted to the road surface condition indicated by the road surface condition information. The vehicle dispatch management system according to claim 3 .

5. When the vehicle that has received the dispatch instruction approaches the road where the road surface condition indicated by the road surface condition information exceeds a predetermined warning level while traveling along the travel route, the vehicle controls the travel of the vehicle so as to take a predetermined countermeasure behavior. The vehicle allocation management system according to claim 1.

6. As the predetermined countermeasure behavior, the vehicle controls the traveling of the vehicle so that a distance between the vehicle and another vehicle traveling ahead is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance. The vehicle allocation management system according to claim 5.

7. As the predetermined countermeasure behavior, the vehicle controls the traveling of the vehicle so that the traveling speed is equal to or less than a predetermined speed. The vehicle allocation management system according to claim 6.

8. A vehicle allocation management method using a vehicle allocation management device that manages the allocation of unmanned vehicles in response to a user's vehicle allocation request. managing road map information including road surface condition information indicating road surface conditions in a road map information database; determining a driving route by referring to the road map information database based on the vehicle dispatch request; selecting a vehicle that is suited to the road surface conditions indicated by the road surface condition information of the roads on the travel route based on the vehicle dispatch request; creating a vehicle allocation plan based on the travel route of the vehicle; issuing a dispatch instruction to the vehicles in accordance with the dispatch plan; Vehicle allocation management method.

Images