Information processing device and information processing method

Abstract

To certainly yield a course to an emergency vehicle and to maintain convenience of vehicle allocation service.SOLUTION: An information processing device 300 comprises a second controller 37 which executes processing for: acquiring information showing approach of an emergency vehicle 9 to a service vehicle 3 traveling on a travel route R1; deriving one or more bypass routes bypassing a part of the travel route R1; searching for the one or more bypass routes on which the service vehicle 3 can return to the travel route R1 after passage of the emergency vehicle 9 as candidates of an evacuation route on which the service vehicle 3 travels to evacuate from a course of the emergency vehicle 9; calculating delay time to occur when the service vehicle 3 travels on the bypass routes; extracting the one or more routes on which the delay time becomes equal to or less than an upper limit of delay time to be allowed to a user as permitted bypass routes of the bypass routes as the candidates of the evacuation path; and preferentially determining the route on which start of bypass is relatively late as an evacuation route of the allowed bypass routes.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device and an information processing method for a vehicle (service vehicle) provided for a user's mobility service. [Background technology]

[0002] The service vehicle travels along a route determined based on the user's dispatch request, and the user gets on and off (or two items are loaded and unloaded) at predetermined points along the route. When a service vehicle encounters an emergency vehicle on its driving route, even if it is driving autonomously (automated driving), it must move out of the way of the emergency vehicle by changing lanes or stopping on the shoulder, just as if it were being driven by a driver. However, depending on the road conditions (such as a small number of lanes or traffic congestion) on the service vehicle's driving route, the service vehicle may not be able to move out of the way on the driving route in time for the emergency vehicle to catch up. In this case, as a second-best measure to ensure that the emergency vehicle can be given way, it is expected that the service vehicle will operate in a detour around its original driving route. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technology for operating service vehicles (self-driving vehicles) in the event of an emergency, avoiding roads used by emergency vehicles, as an operation that responds to public purposes rather than ride application information (vehicle dispatch requests) from users. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-170264 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when a service vehicle detours its route to give way to an emergency vehicle, if the detour starts too early, the detour distance will be long, reducing the convenience of the dispatch service; on the other hand, if the detour starts too late, there is a risk that the service vehicle will be overtaken before it can give way to the emergency vehicle. Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing device and an information processing method that can reliably give way to emergency vehicles while maintaining the convenience of vehicle dispatch services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] An information processing device of one embodiment of the present disclosure is an information processing device mounted on a vehicle provided for a vehicle dispatch service that operates vehicles based on a driving plan in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, and includes a controller that executes the following processes: a process of acquiring information indicating the approach of an emergency vehicle to a traveling vehicle that is traveling on a driving route indicated by the driving plan; a process of deriving one or more detour routes that detour around part of the driving route and return to the driving route; a process of searching for one or more routes among the detour routes that allow the traveling vehicle to return to the driving route after the emergency vehicle has passed, as candidate escape routes along which the traveling vehicle can travel to escape from the path of the emergency vehicle; a process of calculating a delay time that will occur if the traveling vehicle travels on the detour route that is the candidate escape route; a process of extracting one or more routes from the detour routes that are candidate escape routes, the delay time of which is less than or equal to the upper limit of the delay time that is acceptable to the user, as allowable detour routes; and a process of prioritizing a route that starts detouring relatively late as the escape route among the allowable detour routes.

[0006] Furthermore, an information processing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method by an information processing device mounted on a vehicle provided for a vehicle dispatch service that operates vehicles based on a driving plan in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, and causes a controller to execute the following processes: a process of acquiring information indicating the approach of an emergency vehicle to a traveling vehicle that is traveling on a driving route indicated by the driving plan; a process of deriving one or more detour routes that detour around part of the driving route and return to the driving route; a process of searching for one or more routes among the detour routes that allow the traveling vehicle to return to the driving route after the emergency vehicle has passed, as candidate escape routes along which the traveling vehicle can travel to escape from the path of the emergency vehicle; a process of calculating a delay time that will occur if the traveling vehicle travels on the detour route that is the candidate escape route; a process of extracting, as an allowable detour route, one or more routes from the detour routes that are the candidate escape routes, whose delay time is equal to or less than an upper limit of the delay time that is acceptable to a user; and a process of determining, from the allowable detour routes, a route that starts detouring relatively late as the escape route. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reliably give way to emergency vehicles while maintaining the convenience of vehicle dispatch services. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a first controller in the vehicle dispatch control device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a second controller in an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the approach of an emergency vehicle to a service vehicle; [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a detour route derived by an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings are schematic and may differ from the actual product. Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention shown below are examples of devices and methods for embodying the technical concept of the present invention, and the technical concept of the present invention does not limit the structure, arrangement, etc. of component parts to those described below. The technical concept of the present invention can be modified in various ways within the technical scope defined by the claims.

[0010] (composition) 1 is a schematic diagram of an example of a vehicle dispatch system according to an embodiment. The vehicle dispatch system 1 according to the embodiment is a system that provides a vehicle dispatch service that dispatches a vehicle in response to a vehicle dispatch request made by a user. In this specification, a vehicle provided for the vehicle dispatch service of the vehicle dispatch system 1 is referred to as a "service vehicle." The vehicle dispatch system 1 includes a vehicle dispatch control device 2, a plurality of service vehicles 3A, 3B, etc., and an electronic device 4 carried by a user. Hereinafter, the service vehicles 3A, 3B, etc. may be collectively referred to as "service vehicles 3."

[0011] The vehicle dispatch control device 2 includes a communication device 20, a map database (hereinafter referred to as "map DB") 21, a user information database (hereinafter referred to as "user information DB") 22, a reservation information database (hereinafter referred to as "reservation information DB") 23, a vehicle dispatch information database (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle dispatch information DB") 24, and a first controller 25. The communication device 20 provides a communication function between the first controller 25 and an external device. The communication method used by the communication device 20 may be, for example, wired communication or wireless communication via a public mobile communication network, satellite communication, road-to-vehicle communication with the service vehicle 3, or the like. The first controller 25 transmits and receives data to and from the service vehicle 3 and the electronic device 4 via the communication device 20. Note that the first controller 25 in the vehicle dispatch control device 2 in the vehicle dispatch system 1 may be able to receive data via the communication device 20 from a road traffic information management system (not shown) that provides various traffic information in real time, or from an on-board device provided in an emergency vehicle (not shown). This allows the vehicle dispatch control device 2 and the service vehicle 3 to appropriately acquire information, for example, about road closures, congestion, accidents, etc., and information about emergency vehicles.

[0012] The map DB 21 stores map information of the area where the vehicle dispatch system 1 provides vehicle dispatch services. The map information may include road information related to roads in the area where the vehicle dispatch system 1 provides vehicle dispatch services. For example, the map information may be a navigation map (sometimes referred to as a "navigation map" in the following description) that can be used to calculate a route from the boarding point where the user boards the service vehicle 3 to the destination. The navigation map includes, as information for each road, information on road nodes that indicate reference points on road reference lines (for example, the center line of the road) and information on road links that indicate the section configurations of the roads between the road nodes.

[0013] The user information DB22 stores user information, which is information about users who use the vehicle dispatch service provided by the vehicle dispatch system 1. For example, when using the vehicle dispatch service provided by the vehicle dispatch system 1, the user agrees to certain terms of use, etc., creates an account with the vehicle dispatch system 1, and registers necessary information (information such as the passenger user's name, address, and payment account). For example, the user information DB22 may store user identification information and necessary information as user information.

[0014] Reservation information for the vehicle dispatch service is stored in the reservation information DB 23. For example, the reservation information DB 23 stores necessary reservation information such as user identification information, a boarding location desired by the user (desired boarding location), a disembarking location desired by the user (desired disembarking location), the number of passengers, etc.

[0015] A location used by a user for boarding or disembarking is called a boarding or disembarking point. In the coverage area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service, multiple boarding or disembarking points are set where the service vehicle 3 can stop and where the user can safely board or disembark the stopped service vehicle 3. In the present disclosure, a boarding or disembarking point is a virtual bus stop located at a location indicated in the map information stored in the map DB21. A user uses the vehicle dispatch service by specifying one of the boarding or disembarking points in a vehicle dispatch request. The vehicle dispatch request may include information about the user's departure point and destination. The vehicle dispatch request may also include the maximum arrival time acceptable to the user (the maximum arrival time at the disembarking point). This information may also be stored in the reservation information DB23 as reservation information. The vehicle allocation information DB 24 stores vehicle allocation information, which is information on the allocation status of the service vehicle 3 allocated to the user. For example, the vehicle allocation information may include identification information of the allocated service vehicle 3, identification information of the user who allocated the service vehicle 3, information on the boarding location where the user boards the service vehicle 3 (i.e., the location where the user and the service vehicle 3 meet), and driving plan information regarding the driving route from the boarding location to the disembarking location where the user disembarks.

[0016] The first controller 25 is a computer device that executes information processing in the vehicle dispatch control device 2. The first controller 25 may include a processor 25a and peripheral components such as a storage device 25b. The processor 25a may be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit). The storage device 25b may include any of a semiconductor storage device, a magnetic storage device, and an optical storage device. The storage device 25b may include memories such as a register, a cache memory, a ROM (Read Only Memory) used as a main memory device, and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The functions of the first controller 25 described below are realized by, for example, the processor 25a executing a computer program stored in the storage device 25b. The functions and processing of the first controller 25 will be described later.

[0017] The service vehicle 3 is a vehicle that operates in response to requests from users of the vehicle dispatch service (a so-called on-demand transportation vehicle), and may be, for example, a shared taxi or a robot taxi. For example, the service vehicle 3 is an autonomous vehicle (unmanned vehicle) that drives autonomously (automatically driven by the second controller 37) according to a driving plan transmitted from the vehicle dispatch control device 2 without the involvement of a driver. The service vehicle 3 may also be an autonomous vehicle that is capable of completely autonomous driving, and the so-called level of automation does not matter. The service vehicle 3 may be a vehicle whose driving mode can be switched between a manual driving mode driven by a human driver and an autonomous driving mode. In this case, when the service vehicle 3 is in the manual driving mode, it can assist the driver in driving the service vehicle 3 according to the route information by presenting the driving plan transmitted from the vehicle dispatch control device 2 to the driver. In this specification, an example will be described in which the service vehicle 3 is an autonomous driving vehicle.

[0018] The service vehicle 3 is equipped with a sensor 30, a positioning device 31, a map database (hereinafter referred to as "map DB") 32, a communication device 33, a terminal device 34, a display device 35, on-board equipment 36, a second controller 37, and an actuator 38. The sensor 30 (an example of a surrounding environment acquisition unit) includes an object sensor that detects objects around the service vehicle 3, and a vehicle sensor that detects various information obtained from the service vehicle 3 (vehicle state). The object sensor detects the surrounding environment of the service vehicle 3, such as the relative position of the service vehicle 3 and an object present around the service vehicle 3, the distance between the service vehicle 3 and the object, and the direction in which the object is present. The object sensor may include, for example, a camera that captures the surrounding environment of the service vehicle 3. Furthermore, for example, the object sensor may include a distance measuring device such as a laser range finder (LRF), radar, or a laser radar of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). The object sensor outputs surrounding environment information, which is information indicating the detected surrounding environment of the service vehicle 3, to the second controller 37.

[0019] The vehicle sensors may include, for example, a vehicle speed sensor that detects the traveling speed (vehicle speed) of the service vehicle 3, a wheel speed sensor that detects the rotational speed of each tire equipped on the service vehicle 3, a three-axis acceleration sensor (G sensor) that detects the acceleration (including deceleration) in three axial directions of the service vehicle 3, a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle (including the turning angle), a gyro sensor that detects the angular velocity generated in the service vehicle 3, and a yaw rate sensor that detects the yaw rate. The vehicle sensors output vehicle state information to the second controller 37.

[0020] The positioning device 31 measures the current position and attitude of the service vehicle 3. The positioning device 31 may include, for example, a Global Navigation System (GNSS) receiver. The GNSS receiver may be, for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. The positioning device 31 may also include an inertial navigation system. The positioning device 31 outputs current position information of the measured current position to the second controller 37.

[0021] The map DB 32 stores map information. The map information may include navigation map data and high-precision map data suitable for use as a map for autonomous driving (hereinafter simply referred to as a "high-precision map"). Similar to the map DB 21, the map DB 32 also shows boarding and disembarking locations set within the coverage area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service. The communication device 33 provides a communication function between the service vehicle 3 and an external device. The communication method used by the communication device 33 may be, for example, wireless communication via a public mobile communication network, satellite communication, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, or road-to-vehicle communication. The service vehicle 3 (an information processing device 300, described later) transmits and receives data to and from the dispatch control device 2 using the communication device 33. The service vehicle 3 also transmits and receives data to and from a predetermined server device that manages an external system, which is an example of the external device.

[0022] The terminal device 34 is an interface device that exchanges information between the user in the service vehicle 3 and the second controller 37. For example, the terminal device 34 includes at least a display device that outputs visual information output from the second controller 37. The display device displays predetermined information so that the user can visually recognize it. The terminal device 34 may also include a speaker or buzzer that outputs an alarm sound, a notification sound, or audio information. Furthermore, for example, the terminal device 34 includes an operator or a voice input device that accepts user operation input to the second controller 37. The operator may be a mechanical interface device such as a button, switch, lever, dial, or keyboard, or may be a button, switch, lever, dial, or keyboard displayed on a touch panel. Furthermore, for example, if the service vehicle 3 is a manually operated vehicle that is manually driven by a driver, the terminal device 34 may be used as an interface device for exchanging information between the driver and the second controller 37.

[0023] The display device 35 is provided on the outer surface (e.g., roof, front, side and / or rear) of the body of the service vehicle 3, and displays the visual information output by the second controller 37 toward the outside of the service vehicle 3. The display device 35 may be, for example, a display that displays text and image information output by the second controller 37. The in-vehicle devices 36 are various devices mounted on the service vehicle 3. For example, the in-vehicle devices 36 may be in-vehicle audio devices, air conditioning devices, and lighting devices.

[0024] The second controller 37 is an electronic control unit (ECU) that controls the service vehicle 3. The second controller 37 includes a processor 37a and peripheral components such as a storage device 37b. The processor 37a may be, for example, a CPU or an MPU. The storage device 37b may include non-transitory tangible storage media such as registers, cache memory, and memories such as ROM and RAM used as main storage devices. The functions of the second controller 37 described below are realized, for example, by the processor 37a executing computer programs stored in the storage device 37b.

[0025] For example, if the service vehicle 3 is an autonomous vehicle, the second controller 37 performs information processing to drive the service vehicle 3 in accordance with the driving plan transmitted from the dispatch control device 2 based on the surrounding environment information and vehicle status information from the sensor 30, the positioning results from the positioning device 31, and the high-precision map in the map DB 32, and executes autonomous driving control. The actuator 38 operates the steering device, drive device and braking device of the service vehicle 3 in response to control signals generated by the second controller 37 to generate vehicle behavior of the service vehicle 3, thereby automatically driving the service vehicle 3. The actuator 38 includes a steering actuator, an accelerator opening actuator and a brake control actuator.

[0026] In the service vehicle 3 of this embodiment, the second controller 37 and the configuration for inputting data related to information processing in the second controller (sensor 30, positioning device 31, map DB 32, communication device 33 and terminal device 34) constitute the information processing device 300.

[0027] As will be described in more detail below, when the vehicle dispatch control device 2 detects that an emergency vehicle is approaching a service vehicle 3 that is autonomously traveling according to a travel plan, it transmits information related to the approaching emergency vehicle (emergency vehicle information) to the information processing device 300 of the service vehicle 3. Upon acquiring the emergency vehicle information, the information processing device 300 searches for an evacuation area for withdrawing from the path of the emergency vehicle and determines an appropriate evacuation area based on the search results. Furthermore, if no appropriate evacuation area exists, it derives a detour route that bypasses the travel route on which the service vehicle 3 is currently traveling and withdraws from the path of the emergency vehicle. This allows the service vehicle 3 to yield to the emergency vehicle even during autonomous traveling, just as it would during manual driving.

[0028] The electronic device 4 is an information processing device used by users of the vehicle dispatch service. The electronic device 4 is, for example, a portable personal digital assistant or a small, easily portable computer. The electronic device 4 includes a positioning device 40, a communication device 41, a human-machine interface (HMI) 42, and a third controller 43. The positioning device 40 measures the current position of the electronic device 4 (i.e., the current position of the user). The positioning device 40 may include, for example, a GNSS receiver. The GNSS receiver may be, for example, a GPS receiver. The positioning device 40 may also include an inertial navigation system. The positioning device 40 outputs current position information of the electronic device 4 to the third controller 43.

[0029] The communication device 41 provides a communication function between the electronic device 4 and an external device. The communication method used by the communication device 41 may be, for example, wireless communication via a public mobile communication network, satellite communication, etc. The electronic device 4 transmits and receives data to and from the vehicle dispatch control device 2 via the communication device 41. The HMI 42 is an interface device that exchanges information between the electronic device 4 and the user. The HMI 42 includes a display device that displays predetermined information so that the user can see it, and a speaker or buzzer that outputs alarm sounds, notification sounds, and audio information. The HMI 42 also includes controls and a voice input device that accept operation inputs to the electronic device 4 by the user. The controls may be buttons, switches, levers, dials, keyboards, touch panels, etc.

[0030] The third controller 43 is an electronic control unit that controls the operation of the electronic device 4. The third controller 43 includes a processor 43a and peripheral components such as a storage device 43b. The processor 43a may be, for example, a CPU or an MPU. The storage device 43b may include a non-transitory tangible storage medium such as a memory used as a main storage device, such as a ROM or RAM, a memory register, or a cache memory.

[0031] Before reserving a vehicle dispatch service, the user may install dedicated application software for using the vehicle dispatch system 1 in advance on the electronic device 4 and make the reservation using the dedicated application software. Alternatively, the user may use the browser function of the electronic device 4 to reserve a vehicle dispatch service on an internet site that accepts reservations for vehicle dispatch services.

[0032] The electronic device 4 accepts input operations by the user on the HMI 42 regarding reservations for the vehicle dispatch service. For example, the user inputs necessary information such as the user's identification information, the number of passengers, the desired boarding location, boarding date and time, the desired disembarking location (destination), and the arrival limit time. The third controller 43 generates a vehicle dispatch request for applying for a reservation for the vehicle dispatch service based on the information input by the user.

[0033] The third controller 43 transmits the information of the vehicle allocation request to the vehicle allocation control device 2 via the communication device 41. The vehicle allocation control device 2 stores the information of the vehicle allocation request in the reservation information DB 23 as reservation information. The dispatch control device 2 selects a service vehicle 3 to be dispatched to the user based on the reservation information, and calculates the route (travel route) that the service vehicle 3 carrying the user will take and the estimated time that the service vehicle 3 will arrive at the desired boarding and disembarking locations based on the user's desired boarding location (desired boarding location) and disembarking location (desired disembarking location) (included in the dispatch request), the arrival limit time, etc. The vehicle dispatch control device 2 transmits the derived travel route plan information including the travel route, scheduled time, etc. to the electronic device 4. The electronic device 4 presents this information to the user via the HMI 42.

[0034] For example, suppose that the vehicle dispatch control device 2 receives a vehicle dispatch request from a predetermined user (user A) and dispatches a service vehicle 3A to user A. In this case, when user A and service vehicle 3A arrive at their respective planned boarding points by the scheduled time, user A gets into service vehicle 3A, and service vehicle 3A starts traveling with user A from the desired boarding point to the desired disembarking point.

[0035] The operation and function of each unit of the vehicle dispatch system 1 of the embodiment will be described in more detail below. Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the first controller 25 of the vehicle dispatch control device 2. The first controller 25 includes a reservation setting unit 60, a location information acquisition unit 61, a vehicle dispatch unit 62, a driving plan setting unit 63, and an emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64.

[0036] When the reservation setting unit 60 receives a vehicle allocation request from the electronic device 4, it registers the information included in the vehicle allocation request (information on the user's identification information, number of passengers, desired boarding location, boarding date and time, and desired disembarking location) in the reservation information DB 23. The location information acquisition unit 61 receives the current location information of the electronic device 4 transmitted from the electronic device 4. The location information acquisition unit 61 also receives the current location information of the service vehicle 3 transmitted from the service vehicle 3.

[0037] The vehicle allocation unit 62 determines the service vehicle 3 to be provided to the user based on the desired boarding location included in the vehicle allocation request and the current location of the service vehicle 3. For example, the vehicle allocation unit 62 may select the service vehicle 3 located closest to the desired boarding location from among the service vehicles 3 that are not currently being used by other users and that can arrive at the desired boarding location by the boarding date and time. The vehicle allocation unit 62 registers the identification information of the selected service vehicle 3 in the vehicle allocation information DB 24.

[0038] The driving plan setting unit 63 derives a driving route from the desired boarding location included in the dispatch request to the desired disembarking location based on the map information stored in the map DB 21. As a result, the desired boarding location and the desired disembarking location become the boarding location and disembarking location on the driving route. In addition, the driving plan setting unit 63 calculates the scheduled time of arrival of the service vehicle 3 at the boarding location as the scheduled meeting time between the user and the service vehicle 3. In addition, the driving plan setting unit 63 calculates the scheduled arrival time of the service vehicle 3 at the disembarking location on the driving route. The driving plan setting unit 63 derives the driving route so that the scheduled arrival time does not exceed the arrival limit time in the dispatch request (reservation information). The driving plan setting unit 63 registers the derived driving route, the boarding points, the disembarking points, the scheduled meeting time, and the scheduled arrival time of the driving route in the vehicle allocation information DB 24. As a result, the driving route derived by the driving plan setting unit 63 based on the vehicle allocation request (reservation information), the boarding points, the disembarking points, the scheduled meeting time, and the scheduled arrival time of the driving route are registered in the vehicle allocation information DB 24 as a driving plan for the vehicle allocation service provided to the user. The driving plan setting unit 63 transmits driving plan information relating to the driving plan to the service vehicle 3 selected by the vehicle allocation unit 62 (that is, the service vehicle 3 provided for use by the user) and the electronic device 4. The electronic device 4 that has received the travel plan information displays on the HMI 42 the travel route, the boarding and disembarking locations along the travel route, the scheduled meeting time, and the scheduled arrival time.

[0039] Furthermore, in the vehicle dispatch control device 2, the emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 transmits to the service vehicle 3 the approach of an emergency vehicle to the service vehicle 3. The emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 acquires information (emergency vehicle information) about emergency vehicles traveling within the area covered by the vehicle dispatch service. For example, the emergency vehicle information is transmitted from an in-vehicle device provided in an emergency vehicle traveling within the area covered by the vehicle dispatch service or from a road traffic information service, and is collected in the emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 via the communication device 20. The emergency vehicle information includes, for example, the type of emergency vehicle, the traveling mode of the emergency vehicle, location information of the emergency vehicle, the speed of the emergency vehicle (average speed, etc.), the traveling route of the emergency vehicle, the destination of the emergency vehicle, etc.

[0040] When the emergency vehicle is in an emergency driving mode (driving with its siren sounding) and there is a service vehicle 3 that is temporarily moving out of the path of the emergency vehicle, the emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 transmits the approach of the emergency vehicle to the service vehicle 3.

[0041] For example, the emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 determines whether or not there is a service vehicle 3 to be evacuated based on emergency vehicle information. The emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 grasps the positional relationship between the service vehicle 3 and the emergency vehicle and recognizes changes in the positional relationship between the service vehicle 3 and the emergency vehicle over time. The change in the positional relationship may be recognized based on emergency vehicle information (position information, destination, or driving route of the emergency vehicle) while referring to the map DB 21 and the dispatch information DB 24. The emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 extracts, as a traveling vehicle, a service vehicle 3 traveling near the emergency vehicle, for example, based on the position information of the service vehicle 3 and the emergency vehicle. A traveling vehicle is, for example, a service vehicle 3 traveling along a driving route in a driving plan and in which a user is riding. Furthermore, if the road on which the extracted traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3) is traveling is the same as the road on which the emergency vehicle is traveling, the traveling direction of the traveling vehicle is the same as the emergency vehicle, and the distance between the traveling vehicle and the emergency vehicle is becoming shorter over time, the emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 determines that the traveling vehicle, that is, the service vehicle 3, needs to be evacuated.

[0042] The emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 may determine whether the lane in which the emergency vehicle and the service vehicle 3 are traveling are the same, instead of the road. If the road is the same, it is not relevant whether the lanes are the same. In other words, even if the lane in which the emergency vehicle and the vehicle are traveling are different, it may be determined that they are traveling on the same road.

[0043] When the emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 determines that there is a service vehicle 3 (traveling vehicle) to be evacuated, it transmits the latest emergency vehicle information to the service vehicle 3 to be evacuated via the communication device 20. As a result, the service vehicle 3, which is a traveling vehicle, can detect the approach of the emergency vehicle and evacuate from the path of the emergency vehicle to give way. The evacuating of the service vehicle 3 from the path of the emergency vehicle will be described later. The emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64 may continue to transmit emergency vehicle information to the service vehicle 3 to be evacuated until the emergency vehicle passes (until the distance between the emergency vehicle and the service vehicle 3 exceeds a predetermined threshold). This allows the information processing device 300 of the service vehicle 3 to determine the timing to end evacuating from the emergency vehicle (the timing when the emergency vehicle passes) based on the latest emergency vehicle information.

[0044] 3 is a block diagram of an example of the functional configuration of the second controller 37 of the service vehicle 3. The second controller 37 includes a location information transmission unit 70, an automatic driving control unit 71, an emergency vehicle detection unit 72, an arrival time calculation unit 73, an evacuation determination unit 74, a detour route derivation unit 75, and a detour status confirmation unit 76. Each of the service vehicles 3 (service vehicles 3A, 3B, etc.) used for the vehicle dispatch service of the vehicle dispatch system 1 includes a second controller 37 having equivalent functions. The position information transmitting unit 70 acquires the position information of the service vehicle 3 from the positioning device 31. The position information transmitting unit 70 transmits the position information to the vehicle dispatch control device 2 via the communication device 33.

[0045] The automatic driving control unit 71 executes automatic driving control to drive the service vehicle 3 in accordance with the driving plan information transmitted from the vehicle dispatch control device 2. Note that reservation information corresponding to the driving plan information may also be transmitted from the vehicle dispatch control device 2. For example, the autonomous driving control unit 71 calculates a target driving trajectory for the service vehicle 3 to travel based on the current position and attitude of the service vehicle 3, the driving route in the driving plan information, a high-precision map, and the surrounding environment of the service vehicle 3. For example, the autonomous driving control unit 71 generates a route space map that represents the route around the service vehicle 3 and the presence or absence of objects, and a risk map that quantifies the degree of risk during driving, and generates a target driving trajectory based on the motion characteristics of the service vehicle 3, vehicle state information, the route space map, and the risk map. Then, the autonomous driving control unit 71 drives the actuator 38 so that the service vehicle 3 travels along the generated target driving trajectory. Furthermore, when the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 detects the approach of an emergency vehicle, the automatic driving control unit 71 corrects the generated target driving trajectory to temporarily move the service vehicle 3 out of the path of the emergency vehicle.

[0046] The emergency vehicle detection unit 72 acquires emergency vehicle information, which is information indicating the approach of an emergency vehicle to the host vehicle (service vehicle 3), which is a traveling vehicle. The emergency vehicle detection unit 72 receives the emergency vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle dispatch control device 2 by the communication device 33. As a result, the service vehicle 3 detects the approach of the emergency vehicle to the host vehicle. The arrival time calculation unit 73 calculates an estimated time until the emergency vehicle arrives at (catches up with) the service vehicle 3 (host vehicle) based on the emergency vehicle information acquired by the emergency vehicle detection unit 72. For example, the arrival time calculation unit 73 calculates an estimated time indicating the remaining time until the emergency vehicle arrives at the host vehicle based on the position information and speed of the service vehicle 3 and the position information and speed of the emergency vehicle in the emergency vehicle information. For example, the arrival time calculation unit 73 may calculate the distance (distance D1) between the emergency vehicle 9 and the service vehicle 3 from the position information of the emergency vehicle 9 and the service vehicle 3, which is a traveling vehicle, shown in FIG. 4, which will be described later, and calculate the estimated time based on the calculated distance D1.

[0047] The evacuation determination unit 74 determines whether or not the service vehicle 3, which is a traveling vehicle, needs to detour along the travel route on which it is traveling (the travel route in the travel plan) in order to evacuate from the path of the emergency vehicle. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle traveling on a travel route R1, and an emergency vehicle approaching the service vehicle 3. In this example, an emergency vehicle 9 is approaching the service vehicle 3A traveling on the travel route R1, and the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 acquires emergency vehicle information. In this case, the service vehicle 3A is required to stop or enter a nearby area and give way to the emergency vehicle 9 before the service vehicle 3A catches up with the service vehicle 3A.

[0048] The evacuation determination unit 74 may determine whether or not the service vehicle 3 can evacuate from the emergency vehicle 9 on the travel route R1 on which the service vehicle 3 is traveling, and if it determines that evacuation is not possible, may determine that the service vehicle 3 needs to detour the travel route on which the service vehicle 3 is traveling. For example, the evacuation determination unit 74 may determine whether or not there is an evacuation area on the travel route R1 on which the service vehicle 3 is traveling where the service vehicle 3 can stop in order to evacuate from the path of the emergency vehicle 9, and if there is no evacuation area, may determine that the service vehicle 3 needs to detour the travel route R1 on which the service vehicle 3 is traveling (a detour route needs to be derived).

[0049] Here, the evacuation area refers to an area that the service vehicle 3, which is a traveling vehicle, can reach within the estimated time and where the traveling vehicle can stop safely. For example, if the farthest point that the service vehicle 3 can reach within the estimated time is intersection C2 shown in Figure 4, the evacuation area would be an area in which the service vehicle 3 can stop in the section from the current position near intersection C1 to intersection C2. Note that the area within the intersection and within a predetermined distance (for example, 5 m) from the intersection does not qualify as an evacuation area.

[0050] Candidates for the evacuation area may include, for example, pick-up and drop-off points set in the target area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service, and non-boarding and drop-off areas that are not suitable for users to board and disembark from the service vehicle 3 but can be used to temporarily evacuate a traveling vehicle (for example, service vehicle 3A). The non-boarding and drop-off areas may be, in descending order of safety, areas with vehicle protection fences (guardrails, etc.) and plantings, private land (parking lots, driveways within facilities, etc.) that the service vehicle 3 can enter and travel around, and areas (spaces) between parked vehicles on the road. The evacuation determination unit 74 may preferentially determine as the evacuation area a boarding / disembarking location that the service vehicle 3, which is a traveling vehicle, can reach within the estimated time. Also, if the only candidate that can be reached within the estimated time is a non-boarding / disembarking area, the nearest non-boarding / disembarking area may be determined as the evacuation area, or a non-boarding / disembarking area with high safety may be determined as the evacuation area.

[0051] When the evacuation determination unit 74 determines the evacuation area, it refers to the map DB 32 to acquire location information of the evacuation area and outputs the acquired location information to the automatic driving control unit 71. The automatic driving control unit 71 adds the location information of the evacuation area to the driving route during driving and adjusts the driving plan so that the vehicle passes through the evacuation area and heads to the destination (drop-off point). This allows the service vehicle 3 (e.g., service vehicle 3A), which is the driving vehicle, to wait in the evacuation area for the emergency vehicle to pass and then return to the original driving route. When the evacuation determination unit 74 determines that the emergency vehicle has passed, it outputs data indicating the passage of the emergency vehicle to the automatic driving control unit 71. The evacuation determination unit 74 may detect the passage of the emergency vehicle based on the surrounding environment information output from the sensor 30, or may detect the passage of the emergency vehicle based on the location information of the latest emergency vehicle information received from the vehicle dispatch control device 2 (emergency vehicle information transmission unit 64).

[0052] The detour route deriving unit 75 derives a detour route as a candidate for an evacuation route along which a traveling vehicle can travel to evacuate from the path of an emergency vehicle. In this embodiment, the detour route deriving unit 75 derives, as the detour route, a route that detours around a part of the traveling route and returns to the traveling route. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a detour route derived by the detour route derivation unit 75. In this example, the detour route R2 is a route that turns left at the intersection C1, detours around a part of the travel route R1 (between the intersection C1 and the intersection C2), goes around the section B1, and returns to the original travel route R1 at the intersection C2. When it is necessary to detour the travel route on which the traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3) is traveling in order to evacuate from the route of the emergency vehicle, the detour route deriving unit 75 derives a detour route that detours around the travel route. For example, when the evacuation determination unit 74 determines that there is no evacuation area on the travel route R1 of the service vehicle 3A and that it is necessary to detour from the travel route R1, the detour route deriving unit 75 derives a detour route R2. This allows the service vehicle 3A to give way to the emergency vehicle 9 even when there is no evacuation area. In response to a request for derivation of a detour route from the evacuation determination unit 74, the detour route derivation unit 75 may derive a detour route that allows evacuation from the path of the emergency vehicle 9 based on emergency vehicle information, the current position of the traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3A), map information in the map DB 32, the traveling route R1 in the traveling plan, etc.

[0053] Even if a moving vehicle simply travels on a detour route, it may not be able to give way to an emergency vehicle. For example, it may happen that when a moving vehicle travels on a detour route and returns to its original route, the emergency vehicle has not yet passed (the emergency vehicle may be traveling behind the returning moving vehicle on the original route). Therefore, the detour route derivation unit 75 searches for one or more (one or more) detour routes that detour around a part of the travel route, as candidates for the escape route, that allow the traveling vehicle to return to the travel route after the emergency vehicle has passed. In other words, the detour route derivation unit 75 searches for detour routes that satisfy a search condition that the time when the traveling vehicle will return to the travel route will be after the emergency vehicle has passed, as candidates for the escape route. This allows the emergency vehicle to go ahead on the original travel route while the traveling vehicle is traveling on the detour route, and ensures that the traveling vehicle can give way to the emergency vehicle.

[0054] The detour route derivation unit 75 searches for a detour route (a detour route that is a candidate for an evacuation route) that satisfies the above search conditions in the following procedure. The detour route derivation unit 75 may derive all detour routes that allow the emergency vehicle to start detouring before catching up with the traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3A), and search for a detour route that satisfies the above search conditions from the derived detour routes. For example, the detour route derivation unit 75 may derive all detour routes that allow the emergency vehicle to start detouring from the traveling route within the above estimated time calculated by the arrival time calculation unit 73. Note that this detour route may be any route that allows the emergency vehicle to return to the traveling route in the traveling plan (e.g., traveling route R1), and the point of return is not limited to the traveling direction of the traveling route. For example, the detour route may be a route that returns to the traveling route at a point (a point in the opposite direction to the traveling direction) before the detour start point (e.g., intersection C1).

[0055] The detour route derivation unit 75 may search for a detour route that satisfies the above search conditions from among the derived detour routes, based on the position information and speed of each of the traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3A) and the emergency vehicle. This makes it possible to reliably search for candidate evacuation routes that allow the emergency vehicle 9 to evacuate from the route. For example, the detour route derivation unit 75 acquires the current position of the service vehicle 3A from the positioning device 31, and acquires the traveling speed of the service vehicle 3A from the sensor 30 (vehicle sensor). The detour route derivation unit 75 also acquires the current position and speed of the emergency vehicle 9 from the latest emergency vehicle information transmitted by the vehicle dispatch control device 2.

[0056] For example, the detour route derivation unit 75 calculates the evacuation travel time and evacuation travel distance required for the emergency vehicle 9 to evacuate from the route of the detour route based on the position information and speed of the service vehicle 3A and the emergency vehicle 9. The evacuation travel time may be, for example, the travel time from the current position of the emergency vehicle 9 along the route (for example, along travel route R1) until the emergency vehicle 9 passes the return point on the detour route. The return point indicates the point where the detour route returns to the original travel route (intersection C2 on detour route R2). The evacuation travel distance may be the travel distance during the evacuation travel time when the service vehicle 3A is traveling at its current speed.

[0057] The detour route derivation unit 75 may search for candidate detour routes (detour routes that satisfy the above search conditions) based on the calculated evacuation travel time and evacuation travel distance. This makes it possible to more reliably search for candidate evacuation routes that allow the emergency vehicle 9 to escape from the route. For example, the detour route derivation unit 75 may determine that the detour route satisfies the above search conditions (it is possible to return to the driving route R1 after the emergency vehicle 9 has passed) if the detour driving time (e.g., 5 minutes and 30 seconds) taken for the service vehicle 3A to travel along the detour route R2 and reach the return point exceeds the above evacuation driving time (e.g., 5 minutes). Also, for example, the speed of the service vehicle 3A is assumed to be equal to or slower than the emergency vehicle 9. In this case, the detour route derivation unit 75 may determine that the detour route satisfies the search condition (it is possible to return to the travel route R1 after the emergency vehicle 9 has passed) when, for example, the detour travel distance (e.g., 300 m) from when the service vehicle 3A travels on the detour route (e.g., detour route R2) to when it reaches the return point is longer than the evacuation travel distance (e.g., 250 m).

[0058] Furthermore, the detour route derivation unit 75 may calculate the return time at which the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, will return to the traveling route based on the traveling distance and traveling time of the detour route, and may determine whether or not the service vehicle 3A can return to the original traveling route (traveling route R1) after the emergency vehicle 9 has passed (whether or not the above search condition is satisfied) based on the return time. This makes it possible to more reliably search for candidate evacuation routes that allow the emergency vehicle 9 to evacuate from the route. For example, the detour route deriving unit 75 may calculate, as the return time, the time at which the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, arrives at the return point based on the detour travel time. Furthermore, the detour route deriving unit 75 may calculate, as the passage time, the time at which the emergency vehicle 9 passes the return point based on the evacuation travel time. For example, if the return time on a detour route (e.g., detour route R2) is later than the passage time, the detour route deriving unit 75 may determine that the service vehicle 3A can return to the original travel route (travel route R1) after the emergency vehicle 9 has passed, and that the search condition is satisfied.

[0059] The detour route derivation unit 75 may search for a detour route that is a candidate for an evacuation route, i.e., a detour route that satisfies the above search conditions, from one or more detour routes as described above, and output the search results to the detour status confirmation unit 76.

[0060] The detour status confirmation unit 76 selects, as an evacuation route, a detour route that can maintain the convenience of the vehicle dispatch service from the search results of the detour route derivation unit 75, i.e., from the detour routes that satisfy the above search conditions and are candidate detour routes. For example, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may calculate, for each detour route that satisfies the above search conditions, a delay time that occurs when the traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3A) travels on that detour route, and determine an evacuation route based on the delay time. The detour status confirmation unit 76 compares the travel time (initial travel time) from the current location to the drop-off location when traveling along the travel route in the travel plan (travel route R1 in this example) with the travel time (evacuation travel time) when traveling to the drop-off location via a detour route to evacuate from the path of the emergency vehicle 9. In this comparison, the detour status confirmation unit 76 calculates the difference (increase in time) between the initial travel time and the evacuation travel time as the delay time.

[0061] The detour status confirmation unit 76 calculates the delay time for one or more detour routes that are candidates for the evacuation route, and extracts one or more routes whose delay time is equal to or less than the upper limit of the delay time acceptable to the user as acceptable detour routes. Here, the upper limit of the delay time acceptable to the user is referred to as the "user tolerance value." The user tolerance value may be calculated based on the arrival limit time included in the dispatch request (reservation information). For example, the difference between the arrival limit time and the scheduled arrival time in the travel plan corresponds to the user tolerance value (minutes). For example, if the arrival limit time is "11:30" and the scheduled arrival time is "11:20," the user tolerance value is 10 minutes. The detour status confirmation unit 76 extracts a detour route (search result of the detour route derivation unit 75) whose calculated delay time is equal to or less than the user's tolerance value as an allowable detour route. This makes it possible to exclude from the candidates for evacuation routes any detour route that may cause a delay that is unacceptable to the user.

[0062] Furthermore, if the detour from travel route R1 is started too early, the travel distance due to the detour will increase, the travel time will be longer, and delays may occur. Also, if the detour is started too late, there is a risk that the emergency vehicle 9 will catch up with the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle. Therefore, the detour status confirmation unit 76 prioritizes a route that starts detouring relatively late among the extracted allowable detour routes and determines it as the evacuation route. This prevents the evacuation route from being longer than necessary in terms of travel distance and travel time, and ensures that the route is given to the emergency vehicle 9 while maintaining the convenience of the vehicle dispatch service.

[0063] For example, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may determine as the evacuation route a route that starts detouring relatively late, within a range where the emergency vehicle 9 does not catch up with the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, among the allowable detour routes, i.e., the allowable detour routes extracted from the search results of the detour route derivation unit 75. In other words, among the allowable detour routes that allow the emergency vehicle 9 to start detouring before catching up with the traveling vehicle, the route with the farthest detour start point may be determined as the evacuation route. This delays the start of the detour to a degree that prevents the emergency vehicle 9 from overtaking, shortens the travel distance of the detour, and avoids a situation in which the emergency vehicle 9 is not ahead of the moving vehicle (is positioned behind the moving vehicle) after the detour is completed (after returning to the driving route R1 from the evacuation route), thereby making it possible to reliably give way to the emergency vehicle 9. In other words, it is possible to reliably give way to the emergency vehicle 9 while maintaining the convenience of the vehicle dispatch service.

[0064] For example, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may sort the allowable detour routes in order of the furthest starting point of the detour, and prioritize the allowable detour route with a delay time equal to or less than a predetermined value as the evacuation route. Alternatively, a group of allowable detour routes with a delay time equal to or less than a predetermined value may be formed, and an evacuation route may be prioritized from within the group. Furthermore, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may select, as the evacuation route, an allowable detour route with a delay time equal to or less than a predetermined value and with a travel distance or travel time from the current position of the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, to the start point of the detour (for example, intersection C1 on detour route R2) equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0065] The detour status confirmation unit 76 may determine, as the evacuation route, the route that starts the detour latest among one or more allowable detour routes. This makes it possible to reliably give way to emergency vehicles 9 while more reliably maintaining the convenience of the vehicle dispatch service. For example, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may determine, as the evacuation route, the route that has the longest distance from the current position of the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, to the start point of the detour (for example, intersection C1 on detour route R2), as the route that starts the detour latest. Furthermore, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may determine, as the evacuation route, the route that takes the longest time to reach the start point of the detour. If there is only one allowable detour route, the detour status checking unit 76 may determine the allowable detour route as the evacuation route.

[0066] Furthermore, if there is no allowable detour route whose delay time is equal to or less than the user's tolerance, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may request the detour route derivation unit 75 to derive a detour route again (search for a detour route that satisfies the above search conditions) after a certain time. In other words, if an allowable detour route is not extracted, the second controller 37 of the information processing device 300 may repeatedly search for detour routes that are candidates for evacuation routes at regular intervals. This makes it possible to appropriately search for detour routes that are candidates for evacuation routes in accordance with changes in road conditions, etc., and extract an allowable detour route.

[0067] Furthermore, when the distance D1 (see FIG. 4) between the emergency vehicle 9 and the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, is equal to or less than a certain value, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may prioritize a route that starts detouring relatively early among the search results (detour routes that satisfy the above-mentioned search conditions) of the detour route derivation unit 75 and determine it as the evacuation route, regardless of whether it is an allowable detour route or not. This makes it possible to reliably avoid a situation in which the emergency vehicle 9 catches up with the emergency vehicle 9 and it becomes impossible to give way. For example, when the distance D1 is equal to or less than a certain value, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may select an immediately available detour route as the evacuation route without extracting an allowable detour route. The detour status confirmation unit 76 may select, as the evacuation route, the route with the shortest distance to the detour start point from among the search results of the detour route derivation unit 75, as the immediately available detour route. This makes it possible to more reliably avoid a situation in which it is impossible to give way to the emergency vehicle 9.

[0068] The detour status confirmation unit 76 outputs the determined evacuation route (for example, detour route R2) to the automatic driving control unit 71 (an example of a driving control unit). As a result, when the traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3A) travels along travel route R1 and reaches intersection C1, for example, the automatic driving control unit 71 controls the traveling of the traveling vehicle so that the traveling vehicle turns left at intersection C1 and travels along detour route R2. The detour status confirmation unit 76 may transmit evacuation information including the evacuation route to a terminal device (at least one of the electronic device 4 and the terminal device 34 of the information processing device 300). This allows a user in a traveling vehicle to be notified that the vehicle will be traveling along the evacuation route to avoid the path of the emergency vehicle 9. The evacuation information may include a delay time in addition to the evacuation route. This allows a user in a traveling vehicle to predict the arrival time at the drop-off point in the travel plan. The evacuation information may also include the delay time and the estimated arrival time (estimated time of evacuation) if the vehicle travels along the evacuation route. This allows a more detailed notification of the contents of the travel plan that will be changed due to the evacuation of the emergency vehicle 9 from the path of the emergency vehicle 9. Furthermore, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may transmit the determined evacuation route to the vehicle dispatch management device 2 via the communication device 33. The first controller 25 (e.g., the dispatch unit 62) of the vehicle dispatch management device 2 may update the dispatch information in the vehicle dispatch information DB 24 based on the content of the received evacuation route. This allows the vehicle dispatch control device 2 and the information processing device 300 to share information about the travel of the traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3A) along the evacuation route.

[0069] (operation) Fig. 6 is a flowchart of an example of the operation of the information processing device 300 in the service vehicle 3. Here, using Fig. 6 together with Figs. 4 and 5, an example of an information processing method executed by the second controller 37 when the service vehicle 3, which is a traveling vehicle, retreats from the path of an emergency vehicle will be described. In step S1, the second controller 37 (emergency vehicle detection unit 72) determines whether or not an emergency vehicle is approaching the service vehicle 3 (for example, service vehicle 3A), which is the host vehicle (traveling vehicle). If new emergency vehicle information has been acquired from the vehicle dispatch control device 2, the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 determines that an emergency vehicle is approaching and proceeds to step S2 (step S1: Y). On the other hand, if new emergency vehicle information has not been acquired from the vehicle dispatch control device 2, the second controller 37 waits until emergency vehicle information is acquired (step S1: N).

[0070] In step S2, the second controller 37 (arrival time calculation unit 73) calculates an estimated time required for the emergency vehicle to arrive at the subject vehicle. In step S3, the second controller 37 (evacuation determination unit 74) determines whether the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, is able to evacuate (evacuate from the path of the emergency vehicle) on a traveling route (for example, traveling route R1) in the traveling plan. That is, the evacuation determination unit 74 determines whether it is necessary to detour the traveling route in order to evacuate from the path of the emergency vehicle. If there is no evacuation area on the traveling route that can be reached within the estimated time and evacuation is not possible, the evacuation determination unit 74 determines that it is necessary to detour the traveling route and proceeds to step S5 (step S3: N). On the other hand, if the evacuation area exists and evacuation is possible, the evacuation determination unit 74 determines that it is not necessary to detour the traveling route and proceeds to step S4 (step S3: Y).

[0071] In step S4, the second controller 37 (evacuation determination unit 74) causes the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, to evacuate to an evacuation area on the traveling route. Specifically, the evacuation determination unit 74 outputs position information of the evacuation area on the traveling route (for example, an evacuation area that can be reached in the shortest time) to the automatic driving control unit 71. As a result, the service vehicle 3A travels to the evacuation area and waits until the emergency vehicle has passed. In step S5, the second controller 37 (the detour route deriving unit 75) derives detour routes that are candidates for evacuation routes for evacuating from the path of the emergency vehicle. Specifically, the detour route deriving unit 75 derives, as candidates for evacuation routes, detour routes that allow the emergency vehicle 9 to overtake the service vehicle 3A that is a traveling vehicle, that is, one or more detour routes that satisfy the above search conditions.

[0072] In step S6, the second controller 37 (detouring status confirmation unit 76) determines whether the distance D1 between the emergency vehicle 9 and the host vehicle (service vehicle 3A), which is a traveling vehicle, is equal to or less than a certain value. If the distance D1 is not equal to or less than the certain value, the detouring status confirmation unit 76 determines that there is currently no risk of the emergency vehicle 9 catching up with the host vehicle, and moves the process to step S7 (step S6: N). On the other hand, if the distance D1 is equal to or less than the certain value, the detouring status confirmation unit 76 determines that there is a risk of the emergency vehicle 9 catching up with the host vehicle, and moves the process to step S10 (step S6: Y). In step S7, the second controller 37 (the detour status confirmation unit 76) calculates the delay time for each of the detour routes that are candidates for the evacuation route. Specifically, the detour status confirmation unit 76 calculates the delay time for each of the detour routes (the search results of the detour route derivation unit 75) that satisfy the above search conditions.

[0073] In step S8, the second controller 37 (the detour status confirmation unit 76) determines whether the user aboard the traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3A) accepts the delay time for each detour route that is a candidate for the evacuation route. Specifically, the detour status confirmation unit 76 performs a process of extracting an allowable detour route, the delay time of which is equal to or less than the above-mentioned user tolerance value, from among the detour routes that satisfy the above-mentioned search conditions. If one or more allowable detour routes are extracted, the detour status confirmation unit 76 determines that the user accepts the delay time and proceeds to step S9 (step S8: Y). On the other hand, if no allowable detour route is extracted, the detour status confirmation unit 76 determines that the user does not accept the delay time and proceeds to step S12 (step S8: N).

[0074] In step S9, the second controller 37 (detouring status confirmation unit 76) preferentially selects (determines) as the evacuation route a detouring route that starts evacuation (starts detouring) relatively late from among the allowable detouring routes. In step S10, the second controller 37 (detour status confirmation unit 76) selects (determines) a detour route that allows for immediate evacuation as the evacuation route based on the fact that the distance D1 between the emergency vehicle 9 and the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, is equal to or less than a certain value. Specifically, the detour status confirmation unit 76 determines, as the evacuation route, the detour route that has the closest detour start point among the detour routes that satisfy the above search conditions.

[0075] In step S11, the second controller 37 (the detour status confirmation unit 76) causes the traveling vehicle (service vehicle 3A), which is the host vehicle, to travel along the determined evacuation route. Specifically, the detour status confirmation unit 76 outputs the determined evacuation route to the automatic driving control unit 71, and causes the host vehicle to travel along the evacuation route through the driving control of the automatic driving control unit 71. At this time, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may transmit detour information including the evacuation route to a terminal device (electronic device 4, terminal device 34), and notify a user aboard the traveling vehicle of the evacuation from the path of the emergency vehicle 9.

[0076] In step S12, the second controller 37 (the detour status confirmation unit 76) waits for a certain period of time to proceed with the process, based on the fact that a detour route (an acceptable detour route) that allows the user of the service vehicle 3A to tolerate a delay time has not been extracted (does not currently exist). After waiting for the certain period of time, the detour status confirmation unit 76 proceeds to step S5 and requests the detour route derivation unit 75 to search again for a detour route that satisfies the above search conditions. The process of step S12, i.e., the process of searching again for a detour route after waiting for a certain period of time (step S5), is periodically repeated until an acceptable detour route is extracted (step S8: Y) or the distance D1 between the emergency vehicle 9 and the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, becomes equal to or less than a certain value (step S6: Y). This provides an opportunity to extract a new acceptable detour route due to changes over time in traffic conditions, etc.

[0077] In this way, the second controller 37 of the information processing device 300 is equipped with the second controller 37 that executes the following processes: a process of acquiring information indicating the approach of an emergency vehicle 9 to a service vehicle 3A (traveling vehicle) traveling on a travel route R1 indicated by the travel plan (step S1); a process of deriving one or more detour routes that detour around part of the travel route R1 and return to the travel route; a process of searching for one or more routes among the detour routes that allow the traveling vehicle to return to the travel route R1 after the emergency vehicle 9 has passed, as candidates for escape routes along which the traveling vehicle can escape from the path of the emergency vehicle 9 (step S5); a process of calculating the delay time that will occur if the traveling vehicle travels on the detour route that is a candidate escape route (step S7); a process of extracting, from the detour routes that are candidate escape routes, one or more routes whose delay time is less than the upper limit of the delay time that is acceptable to the user, as allowable detour routes (step S8); and a process of determining, from the allowable detour routes, a route that starts detouring relatively late as the escape route, with priority (step S9). As a result, the information processing device 300 can determine, as the evacuation route, a route that allows the traveling vehicle to return to the travel route R1 after the emergency vehicle 9 has passed, among allowable detour routes with a delay time that is acceptable to the user, and that starts the detour late and can suppress an increase in the travel distance due to the detour. As a result, the information processing device 300 can reliably give way to the emergency vehicle and maintain the convenience of the vehicle dispatch service.

[0078] (Variation) (1) In the vehicle dispatch system 1, the information processing device 300 (sensor 30) of the service vehicle 3 may detect the approach of an emergency vehicle. In this case, the sensor 30 may include a sound sensor that detects sounds around the service vehicle 3. The sound sensor may include, for example, a microphone, and may be capable of detecting the volume and direction of a specific sound (e.g., an emergency vehicle siren) emitted around the service vehicle 3. The sound sensor periodically outputs ambient environmental sound information including the detected specific sound to the second controller 37. The emergency vehicle detection unit 72 of the second controller 37 compares the output ambient environmental sound information with information about the siren sound of an emergency vehicle registered in advance in a predetermined storage area of ​​the information processing device 300 (for example, by comparing sound waveforms), and determines whether the ambient environmental sound information includes the siren sound of an emergency vehicle.

[0079] When the ambient sound information includes a siren sound of an emergency vehicle, the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 determines whether or not an emergency vehicle is approaching the vehicle (service vehicle 3) based on the state of the siren sound. For example, the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 calculates the position of the emergency vehicle (the distance between the emergency vehicle and the vehicle) and the speed of the emergency vehicle based on changes in the volume of the siren sound included in the ambient sound information that is periodically output, and determines whether or not an emergency vehicle is approaching based on the calculation result. When the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 determines that an emergency vehicle is approaching the vehicle (service vehicle 3), it generates emergency vehicle detection information (the position information, driving route, etc. of the emergency vehicle) based on the calculation result. The emergency vehicle detection unit 72 outputs the generated emergency vehicle detection information to the arrival time calculation unit 73. As a result, the arrival time calculation unit 73 can calculate the estimated time and the evacuation determination unit 74 can search for and determine an evacuation area based on the emergency vehicle detection information detected and generated by the information processing device 300.

[0080] In addition, in the information processing device 300, the second controller 37 may determine the approach of an emergency vehicle using both the above calculation result using the surrounding environmental sound information in the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 and the emergency vehicle information transmitted from the dispatch control device 2. The information processing device 300 may also acquire emergency vehicle information through vehicle-to-vehicle communication (communication with the emergency vehicle 9) or road-to-vehicle communication by the communication device 33.

[0081] (2) The emergency vehicle detection unit 72 may also determine whether it is necessary to evacuate when an emergency vehicle approaches, depending on the conditions of the road along the travel route of the vehicle (service vehicle 3). For example, the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 may determine not to evacuate even when an emergency vehicle is approaching, based on the surrounding environment information and the map DB 32, if the road along the travel route has many lanes, if there are no oncoming vehicles, etc. This makes it possible to prevent changes to the travel plan by searching for an evacuation area or evacuating even when it is not necessary.

[0082] (3) Furthermore, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may check the driving status of the emergency vehicle 9 before the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, returns to the driving route R1 from the evacuation route. If it is determined based on the driving status that the traveling vehicle will return to the driving route R1 before the emergency vehicle 9 passes, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may stop the traveling vehicle in an area on the evacuation route where the traveling vehicle can stop. This allows the traveling vehicle to wait on the evacuation route for the emergency vehicle 9 to pass if the emergency vehicle 9's travel is delayed longer than expected due to a change in road conditions. This makes it possible to reliably give way to the emergency vehicle 9 in accordance with changes in road conditions. For example, while the service vehicle 3A is traveling on the evacuation route, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may obtain the latest emergency vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle dispatch control device 2 via the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 and confirm the driving status of the emergency vehicle 9. The driving status may be determined, for example, from the position information of the emergency vehicle 9, the speed (average speed, etc.) of the emergency vehicle 9, the driving route of the emergency vehicle 9, and the like, included in the emergency vehicle information. The detour status confirmation unit 76 may recalculate the time at which the emergency vehicle 9 will pass through the return point on the evacuation route (detour route) before the service vehicle 3A returns to the driving route R1, and if the passing time is later than the return time of the service vehicle 3A, may cause the service vehicle 3A to wait (stop) on the evacuation route.

[0083] When stopping the service vehicle 3A on the evacuation route, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may search for boarding and alighting points and non-boarding and alighting areas as candidate areas (waiting areas) on the evacuation route where the service vehicle 3A can be stopped and wait for the emergency vehicle 9 to pass. The detour status confirmation unit 76 may, for example, request the evacuation determination unit 74 to search for candidate waiting areas (boarding and alighting points and non-boarding and alighting areas) on the evacuation route. The evacuation determination unit 74 may search for candidate waiting areas on the evacuation route in the same way as for boarding and alighting points and non-boarding and alighting areas as candidate evacuation areas, and output the search results to the detour status confirmation unit 76. The detour status confirmation unit 76 may determine a waiting area in which to stop the service vehicle 3A based on the search results. When the candidate areas include boarding and alighting points, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may preferentially determine the boarding and alighting points as the waiting area. The detour status confirmation unit 76 may determine the candidate closest to the current position of the service vehicle 3A from among the candidates indicated by the search result as the waiting area.

[0084] (4) Furthermore, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may check the driving status of the emergency vehicle 9 before the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, returns to the driving route R1 from the evacuation route, and when it determines based on the driving status that the traveling vehicle will return to the driving route R1 before the emergency vehicle 9 passes, it may search for a new detour route, extract a new allowable detour route from the detour route, and determine a new evacuation route different from the evacuation route currently being traveled. This allows the service vehicle 3A to continue traveling while waiting for the emergency vehicle 9 to pass, even if the emergency vehicle 9 is slower than expected due to a change in road conditions. Therefore, even if there is no area available for stopping on the original evacuation route, the service vehicle 3A can give way to the emergency vehicle 9. When the detour status confirmation unit 76 determines that the traveling vehicle will return to the traveling route R1 before the emergency vehicle 9 passes, the detour route derivation unit 75 may request the detour route derivation unit 75 to newly derive a detour route that satisfies the above search conditions. The detour route may be a route that branches off from the evacuation route on which the traveling vehicle is traveling and returns to the traveling route R1 after the emergency vehicle 9 has passed.

[0085] The detour status confirmation unit 76 may extract one or more allowable detour routes with a delay time equal to or less than the user's tolerance based on the new search result by the detour route derivation unit 75, and may determine a new evacuation route from the allowable detour routes that is different from the evacuation route currently being traveled. As in the case of determining the initial evacuation route (while traveling), a route with a relatively slow start of detour may be preferentially determined as the different evacuation route, or a route with the latest start of detour may be determined as the different evacuation route.

[0086] (5) Furthermore, when multiple emergency vehicles are approaching the service vehicle 3A, which is a traveling vehicle, the detour route derivation unit 75 may search for a detour route based on the closest emergency vehicle. For example, when the emergency vehicle detection unit 72 acquires information on multiple emergency vehicles, the detour route derivation unit 75 may search for a detour route based on the emergency vehicle (nearby emergency vehicle) whose current location is closest to the current location of the service vehicle 3A. In other words, the detour route derivation unit 75 may search for a route that allows the nearby emergency vehicle to start detouring from the travel route R1 before it catches up with the service vehicle 3A and returns to the travel route R1 after the nearby emergency vehicle has passed. In this case, the arrival time calculation unit 73 may calculate an estimated time until the nearby emergency vehicle catches up with the service vehicle 3A. This allows the nearby emergency vehicle to yield to each emergency vehicle even when multiple emergency vehicles are approaching the traveling vehicle.

[0087] In this example, the detour status confirmation unit 76 extracts one or more allowable detour routes based on the search results (detour routes for evacuating from nearby emergency vehicles) of the detour route derivation unit 75, and determines the evacuation route from among the allowable detour routes as described above. The detour status confirmation unit 76 may also acquire the latest emergency vehicle information for each of the multiple emergency vehicles while traveling on the evacuation route (before returning to travel route R1) and confirm the traveling status of each emergency vehicle. For example, if the nearby emergency vehicle has already passed the return point, but the following emergency vehicle has not yet passed the return point, the detour status confirmation unit 76 may stop in an area on the evacuation route where it can stop and wait until the following emergency vehicle has passed the return point. This ensures that the right of way is given to all of the multiple emergency vehicles.

[0088] (6) In the vehicle dispatch system 1, the detour route derivation and the evacuation route determination may be performed in the vehicle dispatch control device 2. That is, the processing of the detour route derivation unit 75 and the detour status confirmation unit 76 may be performed in the first controller 25 (the vehicle dispatch unit 62, the driving plan setting unit 63) of the vehicle dispatch control device 2. For example, if the information processing device 300 determines in the evacuation determination unit 74 that there is no evacuation area, it may transmit the current position of the service vehicle 3A via the communication device 33 and request the dispatch control device 2 (e.g., the dispatch unit 62) to derive a detour route and determine an evacuation route.

[0089] For example, the dispatch unit 62 may output emergency vehicle information, the current position of the service vehicle 3A (traveling vehicle), map information from the map DB 21, and the travel route R1 in the travel plan to the travel plan setting unit 63, and request the derivation of a detour route. Similarly to the detour status checking unit 76, the dispatch unit 62 may extract allowable detour routes from the derived detour routes, and further prioritize a route with a relatively late start time for detour as the evacuation route. The dispatch unit 62 may also transmit the determined evacuation route to the information processing device 300 of the service vehicle 3A. This allows the dispatch control device 2 to smoothly extract a detour route and determine an evacuation route based on a request from the service vehicle 3A.

[0090] (Effects of the embodiment) (1) The information processing device 300 is an information processing device mounted on a service vehicle 3 provided for a vehicle dispatch service that operates a vehicle based on a driving plan in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, and performs the following processes: a process of acquiring information indicating an approach of an emergency vehicle 9 to a traveling vehicle that is the service vehicle 3 traveling on a driving route R1 indicated by the driving plan; a process of deriving one or more detour routes that detour around a part of the driving route R1 and return to the driving route R1; and a process of selecting an emergency vehicle 9 among the detour routes as a candidate for an evacuation route along which the traveling vehicle travels to evade the path of the emergency vehicle 9. The system is equipped with a second controller 37 that executes the following processes: a process of searching for one or more routes by which the traveling vehicle can return to the traveling route R1 after the urgent vehicle 9 has passed; a process of calculating a delay time that will occur if the traveling vehicle travels along a detour route that is a candidate for the evacuation route; a process of extracting, as an allowable detour route, one or more routes from among the detour routes that are candidates for the evacuation route, whose delay time is equal to or less than the upper limit of the delay time that is acceptable to the user; and a process of determining, from among the allowable detour routes, a route that starts detouring relatively late as the evacuation route, with priority. As a result, the information processing device 300 can move the service vehicle 3 along the evacuation route to avoid the path of the emergency vehicle 9. Furthermore, by determining as the evacuation route a route that starts later and has a relatively short travel distance among detour routes (allowable detour routes) whose delay time is within the user's tolerance range, it is possible to suppress an increase in travel distance due to the detour and maintain the convenience of the vehicle dispatch service.

[0091] (2) The second controller 37 may determine whether there is an evacuation area on the travel route R1 where the traveling vehicle can stop to escape from the path of the emergency vehicle 9, and may derive the above-mentioned detour route if such an evacuation area does not exist. This allows the service vehicle 3 to reliably move out of the path of the emergency vehicle 9 even if there is no evacuation area on the travel route R1. (3) The second controller 37 may search for a detour route that is a candidate for the evacuation route, based on the position information and speed of each of the traveling vehicle and the emergency vehicle 9. This makes it possible to search for a candidate evacuation route (detour route) that will enable the service vehicle 3 to reliably move out of the path of the emergency vehicle 9. (4) The second controller 37 may calculate the evacuation travel distance and evacuation travel time required for the emergency vehicle 9 to evacuate from the path of the detour route based on the position information and speed of each of the traveling vehicles and the emergency vehicle 9, and may search for detour routes that are candidates for the evacuation route based on the evacuation travel distance and the evacuation travel time. This makes it possible to search for a candidate evacuation route (detour route) that will enable the service vehicle 3 to more reliably move out of the path of the emergency vehicle 9. (5) The second controller 37 may calculate the return time at which the traveling vehicle will return to the traveling route R1 based on the travel distance and travel time of the detour route, and when searching for a detour route that is a candidate for the evacuation route, may determine based on the return time whether the traveling vehicle can return to the traveling route R1 after the emergency vehicle 9 has passed. This makes it possible to search for a candidate evacuation route (detour route) that will enable the service vehicle 3 to be more reliably removed from the path of the emergency vehicle 9.

[0092] (6) The second controller 37 may determine, as the evacuation route, a route that starts detouring relatively late among the allowable detouring routes, within a range that prevents the emergency vehicle 9 from catching up with the traveling vehicle, with priority. This makes it possible to reliably move the service vehicle 3 out of the path of the emergency vehicle 9 before the emergency vehicle 9 catches up, and also makes it possible to prevent an increase in the travel distance due to a detour. (7) The second controller 37 may determine the route that starts detouring latest among the allowable detouring routes as the evacuation route. This makes it possible to reliably prevent an increase in travel distance due to detours. (8) When the distance D1 between the emergency vehicle 9 and the traveling vehicle is less than a certain value, the second controller 37 may prioritize a route among the detour routes that starts detouring relatively early as the evacuation route, regardless of whether it is an allowable detour route or not. This allows the driver to drive safely, giving priority to moving out of the path of the emergency vehicle 9, while maintaining the convenience of the service as much as possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0093] 1. Vehicle dispatch system 2. Vehicle dispatch control device 20. Communication Equipment 21 Map Database 22 User Information Database 23 Reservation Information Database 24 Vehicle dispatch information database 25 First Controller 25a processor 25b Storage device 3, 3A, 3B service vehicles 300 Information processing device 30 sensors 31 Positioning device 32 Map Database 33 Communication equipment 34 Terminal Equipment 35 Display device 36 In-vehicle equipment 37 Second Controller 37a processor 37b Storage device 38 Actuator 4 Electronic equipment 40 Positioning device 41 Communication equipment 42 Human Machine Interface (HMI) 43 Third Controller 43a processor 43b Storage device 9 Emergency Vehicles 60 Reservation setting section 61 Location information acquisition unit 62 Dispatch Department 63 Driving plan setting unit 64 Emergency Vehicle Information Transmission Department 70 Location information transmission unit 71 Automatic driving control unit 72 Emergency vehicle detection unit 73 Arrival time calculation part 74 Evacuation judgment section 75 Detour route derivation unit 76 Detour Status Confirmation Department

Claims

1. An information processing device mounted on a vehicle used in a vehicle dispatch service that operates a vehicle based on a driving plan in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, A process of acquiring information indicating an approach of an emergency vehicle to a traveling vehicle that is the vehicle traveling on the traveling route indicated by the traveling plan; A process of deriving one or more detour routes that detour around a part of the travel route and return to the travel route; a process of searching for one or more routes among the detour routes that allow the traveling vehicle to return to the travel route after the emergency vehicle has passed, as candidates for an evacuation route along which the traveling vehicle will travel to evacuate from the path of the emergency vehicle; A process of calculating a delay time that occurs when the traveling vehicle travels along the detour route that is a candidate for the evacuation route; extracting, as an allowable detour route, one or more routes from the detour routes that are candidates for the evacuation route, the routes having a delay time that is equal to or less than an upper limit of a delay time that is allowable for a user; a process of determining, as the evacuation route, a route that starts detouring relatively late among the allowable detouring routes; An information processing device comprising a controller that executes the above.

2. The controller determining whether or not an evacuation area exists on the travel route where the traveling vehicle can stop in order to evacuate from the path of the emergency vehicle; deriving the detour route when the evacuation area does not exist; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The controller searching for the detour route as a candidate for the evacuation route based on the position information and speed of each of the traveling vehicle and the emergency vehicle; The information processing device according to claim 1 .

4. The controller calculating an evacuation travel distance and an evacuation travel time required for the emergency vehicle to evacuate from the route of the detour route based on the position information and speed of each of the traveling vehicle and the emergency vehicle; searching for the detour route as a candidate for the evacuation route based on the evacuation travel distance and the evacuation travel time; The information processing device according to claim 3 .

5. The controller calculating a return time at which the traveling vehicle will return to the traveling route based on the traveling distance and traveling time of the detour route; When searching for the detour route that is a candidate for the evacuation route, it is determined whether or not the traveling vehicle can return to the traveling route after the emergency vehicle has passed, based on the return time. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

6. The controller Among the allowable detour routes, a route that starts detouring relatively late within a range that prevents the emergency vehicle from catching up with the traveling vehicle is determined as the evacuation route with priority. The information processing device according to claim 5 .

7. The controller determining the route that starts detouring latest among the allowable detouring routes as the evacuation route; The information processing device according to claim 6 .

8. The controller When the distance between the emergency vehicle and the traveling vehicle is equal to or less than a certain value, a route that starts detouring relatively early among the detouring routes is given priority and determined as the evacuation route regardless of whether it is the allowable detouring route or not. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

9. The controller confirming a traveling condition of the emergency vehicle before the traveling vehicle returns from the evacuation route to the traveling route; When it is determined based on the traveling conditions that the traveling vehicle will return to the traveling route before the emergency vehicle passes, the traveling vehicle is stopped in a stoppable area on the evacuation route. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

10. The controller confirming a traveling condition of the emergency vehicle before the traveling vehicle returns from the evacuation route to the traveling route; When it is determined based on the traveling conditions that the traveling vehicle will return to the traveling route before the emergency vehicle passes, a new detour route is searched for, the allowable detour route is newly extracted from the detour route, and a new evacuation route different from the evacuation route currently being traveled is determined. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

11. The controller When a plurality of emergency vehicles are approaching the traveling vehicle, the detour route is searched for based on the emergency vehicle that is closest in distance. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

12. An information processing method by an information processing device mounted on a vehicle provided for a vehicle dispatch service in which a vehicle is operated based on a driving plan in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, A process of acquiring information indicating an approach of an emergency vehicle to a traveling vehicle that is the vehicle traveling on the traveling route indicated by the traveling plan; A process of deriving one or more detour routes that detour around a part of the travel route and return to the travel route; a process of searching for one or more routes among the detour routes that allow the traveling vehicle to return to the travel route after the emergency vehicle has passed, as candidates for an evacuation route along which the traveling vehicle will travel to evacuate from the path of the emergency vehicle; A process of calculating a delay time that occurs when the traveling vehicle travels along the detour route that is a candidate for the evacuation route; extracting, as an allowable detour route, one or more routes from the detour routes that are candidates for the evacuation route, the routes having a delay time that is equal to or less than an upper limit of a delay time that is allowable for a user; a process of determining, as the evacuation route, a route that starts detouring relatively late among the allowable detouring routes; An information processing method that causes a controller to execute the above.

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