Accident information collection system and program

Abstract

To efficiently collect information on an accident while reducing processing loads of an on-vehicle device, a network, and a server.SOLUTION: The in-vehicle device 100 includes an accident detection unit 111 that detects occurrence of an accident by a sensor, an occurrence time acquisition unit 112 that acquires occurrence time information of the accident, a position information acquisition unit 113 that acquires position information at the time of occurrence of the accident by receiving radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system, a captured data acquisition unit 114 that acquires captured data around the vehicle 10 by the imaging device 30 installed in the vehicle 10, a feature amount acquisition unit 115 that analyzes the captured data and acquires feature amount information of a surrounding object, and a communication unit 130 that transmits the occurrence time information of the accident, the position information of the accident, the feature amount of the surrounding object, and the captured data to the server 200. The server 200 includes a vehicle identification unit 211 that identifies the vehicle 10 that may have captured the accident that has occurred based on the information received from the in-vehicle device 100, and a server control unit 212 that requests the identified vehicle 10 to provide the imaging data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an accident information collection system and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART In recent years, technology has been put into practical use to collect video information captured by vehicles and video information captured by cameras installed along roads and to analyze the causes of vehicle accidents in detail.

[0003] For example, as this type of technology, a technology has been disclosed in which video information is acquired from cameras installed in traveling vehicles and along roads, and the occurrence of an accident is displayed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] WO2002-056275 publication Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, with the above-mentioned technology, since it is not known when a vehicle accident will occur, the server must constantly receive video footage of vehicles traveling and video information captured by cameras installed along the road via the network, which poses the problem of significantly increasing network traffic. Another problem is that the processing load on the in-vehicle device that transmits the vehicle's driving video to the server and on the server that performs the massive image analysis increases significantly.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an accident information collection system that efficiently collects information about accidents while reducing the processing load on in-vehicle devices, networks, and servers. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] Mode 1: One or more embodiments of the present invention are an accident information collection system including an on-board device mounted on a vehicle and a server, wherein the on-board device includes an accident detection unit that detects the occurrence of an accident using a sensor, an occurrence time acquisition unit that acquires information on the time of the accident, a position information acquisition unit that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires position information at the time of the accident detection, an imaging data acquisition unit that acquires imaging data around the vehicle using an imaging device installed in the vehicle, a feature acquisition unit that performs image analysis on the imaging data and acquires feature information of surrounding objects, and an information acquisition unit that acquires the information on the time of the accident, the position information at the time of the accident detection, and the position information of the surrounding objects. The present invention proposes an accident information collection system comprising: a communication unit that transmits feature information and the imaging data to the server; and a control unit that controls the processing of the in-vehicle device, wherein the server comprises a memory unit that stores the accident occurrence time information received from the in-vehicle device, the position information at the time the accident was detected, feature information of the surrounding objects, and the imaging data; and a server control unit that identifies vehicles that may have photographed the accident based on information including the accident occurrence time information received from the in-vehicle device, the position information at the time the accident was detected, and the feature information of the surrounding objects, and requests the identified vehicles to provide imaging data.

[0008] Mode 2: One or more embodiments of the present invention are a program for causing a computer to execute an accident information collection method for an accident information collection system including an in-vehicle device including an accident detection unit, an occurrence time acquisition unit, a location information acquisition unit, an imaging data acquisition unit, a feature acquisition unit, a communication unit, and a control unit, and a server including a storage unit and a server control unit, the program including a first step in which the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident using a sensor; a second step in which the occurrence time acquisition unit acquires information on the time of the accident; a third step in which the location information acquisition unit receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires location information at the time of the detection of the occurrence of the accident; a fourth step in which the imaging data acquisition unit acquires imaging data of the surroundings of the vehicle using an imaging device installed in the vehicle; and a fourth step in which the feature acquisition unit performs image analysis on the imaging data to acquire the location of surrounding objects. The present invention proposes a program for causing a computer to execute an accident information collection method, the method comprising: a fifth step of acquiring feature information; a sixth step of the communication unit transmitting to the server information on the time of the accident, location information at the time of the accident detection, feature information of the surrounding objects, and the image data; a seventh step of the control unit controlling the processing of the in-vehicle device; an eighth step of the memory unit storing the time of the accident, location information at the time of the accident detection, feature information of the surrounding objects, and the image data; and a ninth step of the server control unit identifying vehicles that may have photographed the accident based on information including the time of the accident, location information at the time of the accident detection, and feature information of the surrounding objects, and requesting the identified vehicles to provide image data.

[0009] Mode 3: One or more embodiments of the present invention are an accident information collection system including an on-board device mounted on a vehicle and a server, wherein the on-board device includes a controller and a communication unit, the controller includes one or more processors and one or more memories communicably connected to the one or more processors, and when an accident is detected by a sensor, the one or more processors transmit, via the communication unit, to the server, information on the time of the accident occurrence, information on the location at the time of the accident occurrence, feature amount information of surrounding objects obtained by image analysis of image data around the vehicle, and the image data, and the server includes a server controller, The server controller is provided with one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively connected to the one or more processors, and the one or more memories include storage for storing information received from the in-vehicle device, such as time information of the accident, location information at the time the accident was detected, feature information of the surrounding objects, and the image data, and the one or more processors identify vehicles that may have photographed the accident based on information including the time information of the accident, location information at the time the accident was detected, and feature information of the surrounding objects, and request the identified vehicles to provide image data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to effectively collect information about accidents while reducing the processing load on the in-vehicle device, the network, and the server. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an accident information collection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle device of an accident information collection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3]1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server of an accident information collection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing flow of the accident information collection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an accident information collection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an in-vehicle device of an accident information collection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a server of an accident information collection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a processing flow of an accident information collection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0013] First Embodiment An accident information collection system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.

[0014] <Configuration of Accident Information Collection System 1> As shown in FIG. 1, the accident information collection system 1 according to this embodiment includes an in-vehicle device 100, a server 200, and a network 300. The on-vehicle devices 100 are installed in the vehicles 10_1 to 10_N, respectively. Hereinafter, the vehicles 10_1 to 10_N will be collectively referred to as "vehicles 10." The in-vehicle device 100 is connected to a server 200 via a network 300 so as to be able to communicate with each other. The network 300 may be, for example, the Internet. The detailed configurations of the in-vehicle device 100 and the server 200 will be described later.

[0015] <Configuration of In-Vehicle Device 100> As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle device 100 according to this embodiment includes a processor 110, a memory 120, and a communication unit . The detailed configuration of the processor 110 will be described later. The memory 120 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, which are not shown. The memory 120 stores, for example, a control program and various data received from the processor 110. In this embodiment, the memory 120 stores in advance, for example, the vehicle ID of the vehicle 10 on which the on-vehicle device 100 is mounted.

[0016] The communication unit 130 is, for example, a known wireless communication module, and communicates with the server 200 via the network 300 under the control of the processor 110 . In this embodiment, the communication unit 130 transmits, for example, the driving history information received from the processor 110 to the server 200. In this embodiment, the communication unit 130 transmits to the server 200 the information on the time of occurrence of the accident, the position information at the time of detecting the occurrence of the accident, the feature amount information of the surrounding objects, and the imaging data received from the processor 110. In this embodiment, when the communication unit 130 receives an instruction from the server 200 requesting the provision of imaging data, the communication unit 130 transmits the received instruction to the processor 110. In this embodiment, when the communication unit 130 receives imaging data to be provided to the server 200 from the processor 110 , the communication unit 130 transmits the received imaging data to the server 200 . The content of the information transmitted and received between the communication unit 130 and the server 200 will be described later.

[0017] <Configuration of the processor 110> As shown in FIG. 2, the processor 110 is configured to include an accident detection unit 111, an occurrence time acquisition unit 112, a location information acquisition unit 113, an imaging data acquisition unit 114, a feature acquisition unit 115, a driving history acquisition unit 116, a control unit 117, and an imaging data provision unit 118. The various parts of the processor 110, the memory 120, and the communication part 130 transmit and receive various types of information via the bus line BL.

[0018] The accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident using a sensor. In this embodiment, the accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident based on acceleration information received from an acceleration sensor 20 installed in the vehicle 10, for example. The acceleration sensor 20 is installed, for example, on a door, a bumper, a frame, or the like of the vehicle 10. For example, the accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident when the value of the acceleration information acquired from the acceleration sensor 20 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. In this embodiment, when the accident detection unit 111 detects the occurrence of an accident, it transmits information indicating that the accident has occurred to the control unit 117, which will be described later, via the bus line BL. The sensor used by the accident detection unit 111 to detect the occurrence of an accident may be, for example, an imaging device. The accident detection unit 111 may, for example, analyze image information captured by an imaging device that captures images of the periphery of the vehicle 10, to detect the occurrence of an accident.

[0019] The occurrence time acquisition unit 112 acquires information about the time when the accident occurred. In this embodiment, the occurrence time acquisition unit 112 acquires the current time based on radio waves received from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, for example. In this embodiment, the occurrence time acquisition unit 112 acquires the current time when it receives an instruction to request time information from the control unit 117, which will be described later. In this embodiment, the occurrence time acquisition unit 112 transmits the acquired current time information to the control unit 117 (described later) via the bus line BL, and stores it in the memory 120 .

[0020] The location information acquisition unit 113 receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires location information of the vehicle 10 at the time of detecting the occurrence of an accident. In this embodiment, the location information acquisition unit 113 acquires current location information of the vehicle 10 based on, for example, radio waves received from a GPS satellite. In this embodiment, the location information acquisition unit 113 acquires current location information when it receives information from the control unit 117 (described later) that an accident has been detected. In this embodiment, the location information acquisition unit 113 transmits the acquired current location information to a control unit 117 (described later) via the bus line BL, and stores the information in a memory 120 .

[0021] The imaging data acquisition unit 114 acquires imaging data of the surroundings of the vehicle 10 using the imaging device 30 installed in the vehicle 10 . In this embodiment, the imaging data acquisition unit 114 acquires an image of the surroundings of the vehicle 10 from an imaging device 30 installed in the vehicle 10 . The imaging device 30 is, for example, a camera, and at least one imaging device 30 is installed in a position where it can capture an image of the surroundings of the vehicle 10. In this embodiment, the imaging data acquisition unit 114 starts or stops acquisition of imaging data according to instructions from the control unit 117, which will be described later, for example. In this embodiment, the imaging data acquisition unit 114 stores the imaging data obtained by adding time information to the imaging data captured by the imaging device 30 in the memory 120 via the bus line BL.

[0022] The feature amount acquiring unit 115 performs image analysis on the imaging data acquired by the imaging data acquiring unit 114 to acquire feature amount information of surrounding objects. The above-mentioned surrounding objects include at least one of a vehicle and a person. In this embodiment, the feature amount acquiring unit 115 extracts vehicles and people as surrounding objects from the captured image data, and acquires feature amount information of the extracted surrounding objects. Examples of the vehicle feature information include the type of vehicle (for example, bicycle, motorcycle, car, etc.), the color, size, shape, and license plate number of the vehicle. Examples of the feature amount information of a person include face, height, and color of clothing. In this embodiment, when the feature acquisition unit 115 receives an instruction to request feature information from the control unit 117 described later, it starts image analysis of the imaging data acquired by the imaging data acquisition unit 114.

[0023] More specifically, in this embodiment, when the feature acquisition unit 115 receives accident occurrence time information from the control unit 117 described later, it performs image analysis of the image data captured at the time of the accident and acquires feature information of surrounding objects. In this embodiment, the feature acquisition unit 115 stores the acquired feature information in the memory 120 via the bus line BL. In this embodiment, when the feature acquisition unit 115 receives accident occurrence time information from the control unit 117 described later, it performs image analysis of the image data captured within 30 seconds before and after the accident occurrence time, and acquires the feature values ​​of the vehicles and people captured in the image data at the time of the accident. In addition, if the image data after the time of the accident is not stored in the memory 120 due to an accident, the feature acquisition unit 115 may analyze the image data for 30 seconds before the accident occurs, for example, to acquire the feature values ​​of the vehicles and people captured in the image data at the time of the accident. In this embodiment, the feature amount acquiring unit 115 stores the acquired feature amount information and the image-analyzed captured data in the memory 120 via the bus line BL.

[0024] The driving history acquisition unit 116 acquires the driving history of the vehicle 10 . In this embodiment, the driving history acquisition unit 116 acquires driving history information that links, for example, the vehicle ID of the vehicle 10, the position information of the vehicle 10, and feature amount information of surrounding objects. In this embodiment, when the driving history acquisition unit 116 receives an instruction from the control unit 117 described later to request driving history information, the driving history acquisition unit 116 transmits driving history information that links, for example, the vehicle ID stored in the memory 120, the location information of the vehicle 10 acquired based on radio waves received from a GPS satellite, and the feature information acquired by the feature acquisition unit 115 to the control unit 117 described later, and stores the information in the memory 120. In this embodiment, the driving history acquisition unit 116 acquires driving history information at predetermined time intervals (for example, acquires driving history information every 15 seconds), transmits the acquired driving history information to the control unit 117 described later, and stores it in the memory 120.

[0025] The control unit 117 controls the overall processing of the in-vehicle device 100 . In this embodiment, the control unit 117 controls the overall processing of the in-vehicle device 100 in accordance with a control program stored in the memory 120 . In this embodiment, for example, the control unit 117 checks the ignition state of the vehicle 10, and when it confirms that the ignition state has changed from off to on, it sends an instruction to the imaging data acquisition unit 114 via the bus line BL to start acquiring imaging data, and also sends an instruction to the feature acquisition unit 115 to request feature information. In this embodiment, for example, the control unit 117 checks the ignition state of the vehicle 10, and when it confirms that the ignition state has changed from off to on, it sends an instruction to the driving history acquisition unit 116 via the bus line BL to request driving history information. In this embodiment, the control unit 117 transmits the driving history information acquired by the driving history acquisition unit 116 to the communication unit 130 via the bus line BL. In this embodiment, for example, when the control unit 117 receives information from the accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred, it sends an instruction to the occurrence time acquisition unit 112 via the bus line BL to request time information. In this embodiment, for example, when the control unit 117 receives information from the accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred, it transmits information that an accident has been detected to the location information acquisition unit 113 via the bus line BL, and causes the location information acquisition unit 113 to acquire the location information at the time the accident was detected. In this embodiment, for example, when the control unit 117 receives accident occurrence time information from the occurrence time acquisition unit 112, it transmits the accident occurrence time information received from the occurrence time acquisition unit 112 to the feature acquisition unit 115 via the bus line BL, and causes the feature acquisition unit 115 to acquire feature information of surrounding objects captured at the time of the accident. In this embodiment, for example, when the control unit 117 receives information from the accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred, the control unit 117 transmits information on the time when the accident occurred, location information at the time when the accident was detected, feature information of surrounding objects at the time when the accident occurred, and image data taken before and after the time when the accident occurred to the communication unit 130 via the bus line BL.

[0026] In this embodiment, when the imaging data providing unit 118 receives an instruction requesting the provision of imaging data and information about the accident (time of occurrence, location of occurrence, etc.) from the server 200 via the communication unit 130, the imaging data providing unit 118 provides imaging data related to the accident to the server 200. In this embodiment, the imaging data providing unit 118 obtains from the memory 120 imaging data captured within 30 seconds before and after the time of the accident received from the server 200, and transmits the imaging data to the communication unit 130 via the bus line BL.

[0027] <Configuration of Server 200> As shown in FIG. 3, the server 200 according to this embodiment includes a processor 210, a memory 220, and a communication unit 230. The detailed configuration of the processor 210 will be described later.

[0028] The memory 220 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like, which are not shown. The memory 220 stores, for example, a control program, data received from the in-vehicle device 100, and various data received from the processor 210. In this embodiment, the memory 220 includes a storage unit 221 . In this embodiment, the storage unit 221 stores information on the time of occurrence of the accident, information on the position at the time of detecting the occurrence of the accident, feature amount information of surrounding objects, and image data received from the in-vehicle device 100.

[0029] The communication unit 230 is, for example, a known communication module, and communicates with the in-vehicle device 100 installed in the vehicle 10 via the network 300 under the control of the processor 210 . In this embodiment, for example, when the communication unit 230 receives driving history information from the in-vehicle device 100 connected to the network 300, the communication unit 230 stores the driving history information with the received time information added in the memory 220 via the bus line BL. In this embodiment, when the communication unit 230 receives information (hereinafter referred to as accident information) including, for example, information on the time of occurrence of an accident, location information at the time of detection of the accident, feature information of surrounding objects, and imaging data from the in-vehicle device 100 connected to the network 300, the communication unit 230 transmits information to the server control unit 212 described later that the accident information has been received, and stores the accident information in the memory unit 221. In this embodiment, for example, when the communication unit 230 receives from the processor 210 a vehicle ID identified by the processor 210 described below, information about an accident (time and location of the accident), and an instruction to request the provision of imaging data, the communication unit 230 transmits the instruction to request the provision of imaging data and the information about the accident (time and location of the accident, etc.) to the in-vehicle device 100 installed in the identified vehicle ID.

[0030] <Configuration of the processor 210> As shown in FIG. 3, the processor 210 includes a vehicle identification unit 211 and a server control unit 212. The various parts of the processor 210, the memory 220, and the communication part 230 transmit and receive various types of information via the bus line BL.

[0031] The vehicle identification unit 211 identifies the vehicle 10 that may have captured an image of the accident that occurred, based on the accident information received from the in-vehicle device 100. In this embodiment, when the vehicle identification unit 211 receives an instruction to identify a vehicle from the server control unit 212 described later, it refers to the driving history information stored in the memory 220 and extracts vehicles 10 that were driving or stopped near the location where the accident occurred at the time the accident occurred. The vehicle identification unit 211 checks the driving history information received from the in-vehicle device 100 of each vehicle 10, and extracts vehicles 10 that were driving or stopped within, for example, 200 meters of the location where the accident occurred, for 30 seconds before and after the time of the accident. The vehicle identification unit 211 identifies a vehicle 10 that may have captured the video of the accident, for example, based on feature information of surrounding objects (vehicles, people) included in the driving history information received from the extracted vehicle 10 and feature information of surrounding objects (vehicles, people) included in the accident information received from the vehicle 10 in which the accident occurred. In other words, the vehicle identification unit 211 identifies the vehicle 10 that may have filmed the accident by determining whether or not a vehicle or person with the same feature information is shown in the video captured by the extracted vehicle 10 and the video captured by the vehicle in which the accident occurred. In this embodiment, the vehicle identification unit 211 transmits the vehicle ID of the identified vehicle 10 to the server control unit 212, which will be described later, via the bus line BL.

[0032] In this embodiment, the server control unit 212 controls the overall processing of the server 200 in accordance with a control program stored in the memory 220 . In this embodiment, for example, when the server control unit 212 receives information from the communication unit 230 indicating that accident information has been received, it sends an instruction to the vehicle identification unit 211 via the bus line BL to identify the vehicle. In this embodiment, for example, when the server control unit 212 receives the vehicle ID of the identified vehicle 10 from the vehicle identification unit 211, it performs control to request the in-vehicle device 100 installed in the identified vehicle 10 to provide imaging data. In this embodiment, for example, when the server control unit 212 receives the vehicle ID of the identified vehicle 10 from the vehicle identification unit 211, it transmits an instruction to request the provision of imaging data, the vehicle ID, and information about the accident (time and location of the accident) to the communication unit 230 via the bus line BL.

[0033] <Processing flow of accident information collection system 1> The processing flow of the accident information collection system 1 when an accident occurs will be described with reference to FIG.

[0034] The control unit 117 determines whether or not an accident has been detected (step S110). If the control unit 117 has not received information from the accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred ("NO" in step S110), the control unit 117 returns the process to the standby state. When control unit 117 receives information from accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred ("YES" in step S110), control unit 117 moves the process to step S120.

[0035] The control unit 117 causes the occurrence time acquisition unit 112 to acquire information on the time when the accident occurred (step S120), and moves the process to step S130.

[0036] The control unit 117 causes the location information acquisition unit 113 to acquire location information at the time of detecting the occurrence of an accident (step S130), and moves the process to step S140.

[0037] The control unit 117 causes the feature amount acquisition unit 115 to acquire feature amount information of surrounding objects captured at the time of the accident (step S140), and then causes the process to proceed to step S150.

[0038] The control unit 117 transmits the accident information acquired in steps S120, S130, and S140 to the server 200 via the communication unit 130 (step S150).

[0039] The server control unit 212 of the server 200 causes the vehicle identification unit 211 to identify the vehicle 10 that may have captured the video of the accident (step S210), and then causes the process to proceed to step S220.

[0040] The server control unit 212 transmits, via the communication unit 230, an instruction to request the provision of imaging data and information about the accident (time of the accident, location of the accident, etc.) to the in-vehicle device 100 installed in the vehicle 10 identified in step S210 (step S220), and terminates the processing.

[0041] <Actions and Effects> As described above, the accident information collection system 1 according to this embodiment includes the in-vehicle device 100 and the server 200. The in-vehicle device 100 is configured to include an accident detection unit 111 that detects an accident using an accident occurrence sensor, an occurrence time acquisition unit 112 that acquires information on the time of the accident, a position information acquisition unit 113 that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires position information at the time the accident is detected, an imaging data acquisition unit 114 that acquires imaging data around the vehicle 10 using an imaging device 30 installed in the vehicle 10, a feature acquisition unit 115 that performs image analysis of the imaging data and acquires feature information of surrounding objects, a driving history acquisition unit 116 that acquires driving history information of the vehicle 10, a communication unit 130 that transmits information on the time of the accident, the position information at the time the accident was detected, the feature information of surrounding objects, and the imaging data to the server 200, a control unit 117 that controls the processing of the in-vehicle device 100, and an imaging data provision unit 118 that provides the imaging data. The server 200 is configured to include a memory unit 221 that stores the accident occurrence time information received from the in-vehicle device 100, location information at the time the accident was detected, feature information of surrounding objects, and image data, a vehicle identification unit 211 that identifies a vehicle 10 that may have photographed the accident based on information including the accident occurrence time information received from the in-vehicle device 100, location information at the time the accident was detected, and feature information of surrounding objects, and a server control unit 212 that requests the identified vehicle 10 to provide image data. That is, when the in-vehicle device 100 detects an accident, it transmits to the server 200 the time information of the accident occurrence, the location information of the accident occurrence, feature information of surrounding objects (vehicles, people) captured in the image data captured at the time of the accident, and the image data at the time of the accident occurrence. The server 200 identifies the vehicle 10 that may have photographed the accident based on the accident information received from the in-vehicle device 100 installed in the vehicle 10 where the accident occurred, and requests the identified vehicle 10 to provide the imaging data. In other words, instead of acquiring imaging data from all vehicles 10 connected to the server 200 and collecting information about the accident, the server 200 identifies vehicles 10 that may have filmed the accident and collects imaging data from the identified vehicles 10. As a result, the server 200 does not need to collect imaging data from all vehicles 10, thereby reducing the processing load on the in-vehicle device 100, the server 200, and the network 300, and enabling efficient collection of information regarding accidents.

[0042] The in-vehicle device 100 according to this embodiment transmits the driving history information to the server 200 when no accident has been detected. In other words, if imaging data is constantly transmitted from the vehicle 10 while it is moving to the server 200, the processing load on the in-vehicle device 100, the server 200, and the network 300 will become extremely heavy. Therefore, when no accident has occurred, the in-vehicle device 100 transmits only the driving history information to the server 200 at predetermined time intervals. The driving history information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 100 to the server 200 is, for example, text data, and therefore contains a much smaller amount of information than the image data. This significantly reduces the amount of communication per unit time between the in-vehicle device 100 and the server 200, thereby significantly reducing the processing load on the in-vehicle device 100, the server 200, and the network 300.

[0043] The feature amount acquiring unit 115 of the in-vehicle device 100 according to this embodiment acquires feature amounts of at least one of a vehicle and a person. That is, the vehicle identification unit 211 of the server 200 identifies the other vehicle 10 that captured an image of the common vehicle or person based on the feature information of the vehicle and person acquired in the vehicle 10 where the accident occurred and the feature information of the vehicle and person acquired in the other vehicle 10. The vehicle feature information includes the type of vehicle (e.g., bicycle, motorcycle, car, etc.), color, size, shape, license plate number, etc., so the server 200 can identify vehicles 10 that have captured images of the same vehicle with high accuracy. The feature amount information of a person includes the face, height, color of clothing, etc., so the server 200 can identify with high accuracy the vehicles 10 that have captured images of the same person. This allows the vehicle identification unit 211 of the server 200 to identify with high accuracy the vehicle 10 that is highly likely to have captured the video of the accident.

[0044] <Second embodiment> An accident information collection system 1A according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that components with the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment have the same functions, and therefore detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0045] <Configuration of Accident Information Collection System 1A> As shown in FIG. 5, the accident information collection system 1A according to this embodiment includes an in-vehicle device 100A, a server 200A, and a network 300. The on-vehicle device 100A is installed in each of the vehicles 10_1 to 10_N. The in-vehicle device 100A is connected to a server 200A via a network 300 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0046] <Configuration of In-Vehicle Device 100A> As shown in FIG. 6, the in-vehicle device 100A according to this embodiment includes a processor 110A, a memory 120, and a communication unit .

[0047] <Configuration of Processor 110A> As shown in FIG. 6, the processor 110A is configured to include an accident detection unit 111, an occurrence time acquisition unit 112, a location information acquisition unit 113, an imaging data acquisition unit 114, a feature acquisition unit 115A, a driving history acquisition unit 116A, a control unit 117, and an imaging data provision unit 118. The various components of the processor 110A, the memory 120, and the communication unit 130 transmit and receive various types of information via the bus line BL.

[0048] The feature amount acquiring section 115A performs image analysis on the imaging data acquired by the imaging data acquiring section 114 to acquire feature amounts of surrounding objects and feature amounts of the nature of the accident. In this embodiment, the feature acquisition unit 115A performs image analysis of the imaging data acquired by the imaging data acquisition unit 114, and when it detects the scene of an accident, it acquires feature information related to the nature of the accident that has occurred. In this embodiment, when the feature acquisition unit 115A receives accident occurrence time information from the control unit 117, it performs image analysis of the image data captured within 30 seconds before and after the accident occurrence time, and acquires feature information of the vehicles and people captured in the image data at the time of the accident. In this embodiment, when the feature acquisition unit 115A receives accident occurrence time information from the control unit 117, it performs image analysis of the image data captured within 30 seconds before and after the accident occurrence time, and acquires feature information regarding the nature of the accident. Examples of feature information regarding the nature of the accident include information regarding the object that the vehicle 10 came into contact with (such as the color and type of the vehicle, collision with a person, collision with a wall, collision with a utility pole, etc.), and information regarding the accident situation (such as damaged areas of the accident vehicle, the parking of the accident vehicle, characteristic structures near the accident site, etc.). In this embodiment, the feature amount acquiring unit 115A stores the acquired feature amount information of surrounding objects and feature amount information related to the nature of the accident in the memory 120 via the bus line BL.

[0049] The driving history acquisition unit 116A acquires driving history information of the vehicle 10. In this embodiment, the driving history acquisition unit 116A acquires driving history information that links, for example, the vehicle ID of the vehicle 10, the location information of the vehicle 10, feature information of surrounding objects, and feature information related to the nature of the accident. In this embodiment, when the driving history acquisition unit 116A receives an instruction from the control unit 117 to request driving history information, it transmits to the control unit 117 driving history information that links together, for example, the vehicle ID stored in the memory 120, the location information of the vehicle 10 acquired based on radio waves received from a GPS satellite, the feature information of surrounding objects acquired by the feature acquisition unit 115A, and the feature information related to the nature of the accident, and stores the information in the memory 120. In this embodiment, the driving history acquisition unit 116A acquires driving history information, for example, every 15 seconds, and transmits the acquired driving history information to the control unit 117, which will be described later, and stores the information in the memory 120.

[0050] <Configuration of Server 200A> As shown in FIG. 7, the server 200A according to this embodiment includes a processor 210A, a memory 220, and a communication unit 230.

[0051] <Configuration of Processor 210A> As shown in FIG. 7, the processor 210A includes a vehicle identification unit 211A and a server control unit 212. The various components of the processor 210A, the memory 220, and the communication unit 230 transmit and receive various types of information via the bus line BL.

[0052] The vehicle identification unit 211A identifies the vehicle 10 that may have photographed the accident based on the accident occurrence time information, location information at the time of accident detection, feature information of surrounding objects, and feature information regarding the nature of the accident received from the in-vehicle device 100A. In this embodiment, when the vehicle identification unit 211A receives an instruction from the server control unit 212 to identify a vehicle, it refers to, for example, the driving history information of the vehicle 10 stored in the memory 220, and extracts the vehicle 10 that was driving or stopped near the location where the accident occurred at the time of the accident. The vehicle identification unit 211A extracts vehicles 10 that were traveling or stopped within, for example, 200 meters from the location where the accident occurred, for example, 30 seconds before and after the time of the accident. The vehicle identification unit 211A identifies a vehicle 10 that may have captured the video of the accident, for example, based on feature information of surrounding objects (vehicles, people) and feature information regarding the nature of the accident received from the extracted vehicle 10, and feature information of surrounding objects and feature information regarding the nature of the accident received from the vehicle 10 in which the accident occurred. In other words, the vehicle identification unit 211A identifies the vehicle 10 that may have filmed the accident by determining whether the video captured by the extracted vehicle 10 and the video captured by the vehicle in which the accident occurred contain any vehicle, person, or accident scene with the same feature information. In this embodiment, the vehicle identification unit 211A transmits the vehicle ID of the identified vehicle 10 to the server control unit 212 via the bus line BL.

[0053] <Processing flow of accident information collection system 1A> The processing flow of the accident information collection system 1A when an accident occurs will be described with reference to FIG.

[0054] The control unit 117 determines whether or not an accident has been detected (step S110). If the control unit 117 has not received information from the accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred ("NO" in step S110), the control unit 117 returns the process to the standby state. When control unit 117 receives information from accident detection unit 111 that an accident has occurred ("YES" in step S110), control unit 117 moves the process to step S120.

[0055] The control unit 117 causes the occurrence time acquisition unit 112 to acquire information on the time when the accident occurred (step S120), and moves the process to step S130.

[0056] The control unit 117 causes the location information acquisition unit 113 to acquire location information at the time of detecting the occurrence of an accident (step S130), and moves the process to step S140.

[0057] The control unit 117 causes the feature amount acquiring unit 115A to perform image analysis on the image data captured at the time of the accident occurrence, and acquire feature amount information of surrounding objects (step S140), and then causes the process to proceed to step S310.

[0058] The control unit 117 causes the feature amount acquiring unit 115A to perform image analysis on the image data captured at the time of the accident, and acquire feature amount information on the nature of the accident (step S310), and then causes the process to proceed to step S150.

[0059] The control unit 117 transmits the accident information to the server 200A via the communication unit 130 (step S150), and the process proceeds to step S210.

[0060] The server control unit 212 of the server 200A causes the vehicle identification unit 211A to identify the vehicle 10 that may have captured the video of the accident (step S210), and moves the process to step S220.

[0061] The server control unit 212 transmits, via the communication unit 230, an instruction to request the provision of imaging data and information about the accident (time of the accident, location of the accident, etc.) to the in-vehicle device 100A installed in the vehicle 10 identified in step S210 (step S220), and terminates the processing.

[0062] <Actions and Effects> As described above, the feature amount information acquired by the feature amount acquiring unit 115A of the in-vehicle device 100A according to this embodiment includes feature amount information relating to the nature of the accident. That is, the vehicle identification unit 211A of the server 200A identifies the vehicle 10 that may have photographed the accident, based on feature amount information of surrounding objects (vehicles, people) and feature amount information related to the nature of the accident. The vehicle feature information includes the type of vehicle (e.g., bicycle, motorcycle, car, etc.), color, size, shape, license plate number, etc., so the server 200A can identify the vehicle 10 that has captured an image of the same vehicle with high accuracy. The feature amount information of a person includes the face, height, color of clothing, etc., so the server 200A can identify with high accuracy the vehicles 10 that have captured images of the same person. The feature information regarding the nature of the accident includes information regarding the object that the vehicle 10 came into contact with (such as the color and type of the vehicle, collision with a person, collision with a wall, collision with a utility pole, etc.), information regarding the accident situation (such as damaged areas of the accident vehicle, the fact that the accident vehicle is stopped, characteristic structures near the accident site, etc.), etc., so the server 200A can identify with high accuracy the vehicles 10 that captured images of the same accident. This allows the server 200A to identify with higher accuracy the vehicle 10 that captured the image of the accident scene.

[0063] <Variation 1> The in-vehicle device 100 of the above-described accident information collection system 1 may transmit the feature information of the surrounding objects to the server 200 at predetermined time intervals while the vehicle 10 is traveling, for example, when the vehicle included in the captured video changes. For example, when the vehicle 10 is traveling on a congested expressway, there is little change in the vehicles traveling around the vehicle 10, so when a new vehicle is captured in the captured image data, the in-vehicle device 100 acquires feature information of the newly captured vehicle and transmits it to the server 200. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of communication per unit time between the in-vehicle device 100 and the server 200.

[0064] <Variation 2> The on-board device 100 of the above-described accident information collection system 1 may be configured not to acquire feature information of vehicles traveling in the downhill direction, for example, when the vehicle 10 is traveling in the uphill direction while traveling on a motorway such as an expressway. This reduces the processing load of the image analysis on the in-vehicle device 100, and further reduces the amount of communication per unit time between the in-vehicle device 100 and the server 200.

[0065] <Variation 3> The in-vehicle device 100 of the above-described accident information collection system 1 may perform image analysis of the captured image data, and when an accident site is detected, may further transmit to the server 200 information that the accident site has been detected, location information of the accident site, and the time when the vehicle passed the accident site. In other words, the vehicle identification unit 211 of the server 200 identifies the vehicle 10 that may have photographed the accident based on the accident information received from the vehicle 10 in which the accident occurred (information on the time of the accident, information on the location at the time the accident was detected) and the accident information obtained from vehicles that passed the accident site. This allows the server 200 to further restrict the vehicles that have photographed the accident scene more reliably.

[0066] The processing of the feature acquisition unit 115 and the control unit 117 of the above-mentioned in-vehicle device 100 can be recorded on a recording medium readable by a computer system, and the program recorded on this recording medium can be read into memory and executed, thereby realizing the in-vehicle device 100 of the present invention. The computer system here includes the OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.

[0067] If the above computer system uses a WWW (World Wide Web) system, it also includes the homepage providing environment (or display environment). The above program may be transmitted from a computer system in which the program is stored in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by transmission waves in the transmission medium. The transmission medium for transmitting the above-mentioned program refers to a medium having a function for transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line.

[0068] The above program may be for realizing part of the above-mentioned functions. The above program may be a so-called differential file (differential program) that can realize the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0069] The above describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. However, all accident information collection systems that can be implemented by a person skilled in the art by appropriately modifying the design based on the accident information collection system described above as an embodiment of the present invention also fall within the scope of the present invention as long as they include the gist of the present invention. Within the scope of the concept of the present invention, a person skilled in the art may conceive of various modifications and alterations, and it is understood that these modifications and alterations also fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, any embodiment in which a person skilled in the art has appropriately added or deleted components or modified the design, or added or omitted steps or modified conditions, is included within the scope of the present invention as long as it contains the essence of the present invention.

[0070] Furthermore, other effects and advantages brought about by the aspects described in this embodiment that are clear from the description in this specification or that can be appropriately thought of by a person skilled in the art are naturally understood to be brought about by the present invention. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be combined as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1. Accident information collection system 10;Vehicle 20. Acceleration sensor 30. Imaging device 100;In-vehicle equipment 110;processor 111; Accident detection section 112; Occurrence time acquisition section 113;Location information acquisition unit 114: Image data acquisition unit 115; Feature acquisition unit 116;Driving history acquisition section 117;Control section 118; Imaging Data Provision Department 120;Memory 130;Communications Department 200;Server 210;processor 211;Vehicle Identification Department 212; Server control unit 220;Memory 230;Communications Department 300;Network

Claims

1. An accident information collection system including an on-board device mounted on a vehicle and a server, The in-vehicle device an accident detection unit that detects the occurrence of an accident by a sensor; an occurrence time acquisition unit that acquires information about the time at which the accident occurred; a location information acquisition unit that receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system and acquires location information at the time of detecting the occurrence of the accident; an imaging data acquisition unit that acquires imaging data of the surroundings of the vehicle using an imaging device installed in the vehicle; a feature acquisition unit that performs image analysis on the captured image data to acquire feature information of surrounding objects; a communication unit that transmits the accident occurrence time information, the position information at the time of detecting the accident occurrence, feature amount information of the surrounding objects, and the image capture data to the server; a control unit that controls processing of the in-vehicle device; Equipped with The server a storage unit configured to store the accident occurrence time information received from the in-vehicle device, the position information at the time of detecting the accident occurrence, feature amount information of the surrounding objects, and the image data; a server control unit that identifies a vehicle that may have captured an image of the accident based on information including information on the time of the accident, location information at the time of the accident detection, and feature amount information of the surrounding objects received from the in-vehicle device, and requests the identified vehicle to provide image data; An accident information collection system comprising:

2. 2. The accident information collection system according to claim 1, wherein the surrounding objects include at least one of a vehicle and a person.

3. 3. The accident information collection system according to claim 2, wherein the feature information acquired by the feature acquisition unit includes feature information relating to the nature of the accident.

4. A program for causing a computer to execute an accident information collection method for an accident information collection system including an in-vehicle device including an accident detection unit, an occurrence time acquisition unit, a location information acquisition unit, an imaging data acquisition unit, a feature acquisition unit, a communication unit, and a control unit, and a server including a storage unit and a server control unit, a first step in which the accident detection unit detects the occurrence of an accident using a sensor; a second step in which the occurrence time acquisition unit acquires information on the occurrence time of the accident; a third step in which the location information acquisition unit receives radio waves emitted from a satellite positioning system to acquire location information at the time of detecting the occurrence of the accident; a fourth step in which the imaging data acquisition unit acquires imaging data of the surroundings of the vehicle using an imaging device installed in the vehicle; a fifth step in which the feature acquisition unit performs image analysis on the captured image data to acquire feature information of surrounding objects; a sixth step in which the communication unit transmits, to the server, information on the time of occurrence of the accident, information on the location at the time of detection of the occurrence of the accident, information on feature amounts of the surrounding objects, and the image data; a seventh step in which the control unit controls processing of the in-vehicle device; an eighth step in which the storage unit stores information on the time of occurrence of the accident, information on the location at the time of detection of the occurrence of the accident, information on feature amounts of the surrounding objects, and the image data; a ninth step in which the server control unit identifies the vehicle that may have photographed the accident based on information including information on the time of occurrence of the accident, location information at the time of detection of the accident, and feature amount information of the surrounding objects, and requests the identified vehicle to provide image data; A program for causing a computer to execute an accident information collection method, comprising:

5. An accident information collection system including an on-board device mounted on a vehicle and a server, the in-vehicle device includes a controller and a communication unit; the controller comprises one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively coupled to the one or more processors; the one or more processors: When an accident is detected by a sensor, information on the time of the accident, information on the location at the time of the accident detection, feature amount information of surrounding objects obtained by image analysis of image data around the vehicle, and the image data are transmitted to the server via the communication unit; the server comprises a server controller; the server controller comprising one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively coupled to the one or more processors; the one or more memories a storage configured to store information on the time of occurrence of the accident, information on the location at the time of detection of the occurrence of the accident, information on feature amounts of the surrounding objects, and the captured image data, which are received from the in-vehicle device; the one or more processors: An accident information collection system characterized by identifying the vehicle that may have photographed the accident that occurred based on information including information on the time the accident occurred, location information at the time the accident was detected, and feature information of the surrounding objects, and requesting the identified vehicle to provide image data.

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