Information processing apparatus

Abstract

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique capable of proposing a route in which high-speed communication can be used to a user as a route when the user moves to a destination.SOLUTION: A control unit of an information processing device acquires a current location and a destination of a user, and acquires area information indicating a communication area of a first communication system out of the first communication system and a second communication system adopted by a user terminal. The control unit searches for a route from the current location to the destination so as to give priority to a passage in the communication area indicated by the acquired area information, and outputs the searched route. A communication speed of the first communication system is higher than that of the second communication system.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Patent document 1 proposes a wireless communication control device that includes a passing time estimation unit that uses AP information acquired by an AP information acquisition unit and estimation information acquired by an estimation information acquisition unit to estimate the passing time required for the vehicle to pass through the communication range of a base station to which the wireless communication device can connect on a predicted driving route, and a connection destination determination unit that determines, as the connection destination for the wireless communication device, a base station for which the passing time estimated by the passing time estimation unit is equal to or greater than a threshold value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-064211 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] One object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that can suggest to a user a route that allows high-speed communication to be used as a route when the user travels to a destination. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The information processing device of the present disclosure includes a control unit. The control unit is configured to acquire a user's current location and destination, and acquire area information indicating a communication area of ​​a first communication method out of a first communication method and a second communication method adopted by the user terminal. The control unit searches for a route from the current location to the destination, giving priority to passages within the communication area indicated by the acquired area information, and outputs the searched route. The communication speed of the first communication method is faster than that of the second communication method. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suggest to a user a route that allows high-speed communication as a route when the user travels to a destination. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a situation to which the present disclosure is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration and functional configuration of each of the server, the vehicle, and the information server. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 shows an example of a procedure for information processing by the server. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] [1 Application example] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of a scenario to which the present disclosure is applied. The information processing system 1 is a system for processing information relating to the movement of a user 25. A server 10 acquires information relating to a route search for a vehicle 20, which is an example of a mobile object used by the user 25, from the vehicle 20. The server 10 outputs a route according to the acquired information to the vehicle 20. The route may include passages in a first communication area and a second communication area associated with base stations for communication using a communication method available to the user 25. The mobile object may be an aircraft or a ship.

[0009] In the information processing system 1, a server 10, a vehicle 20, and an information server 30 are connected to a network N The network N may be, for example, a Wide Area Network (WAN), which is a global public communication network such as the Internet, or a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone. It may be adopted.

[0010] [2 Configuration Examples] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating the hardware configuration and functional configuration of each of the server 10, the vehicle 20, and the information server 30. As shown in FIG.

[0011] (vehicle) The vehicle 20 is exemplified by a vehicle driven by a driver who is an example of a user 25, and an autonomous vehicle. The vehicle 20 may include an engine vehicle and an electric vehicle (including a hybrid vehicle, etc.). The user 25 may be a passenger of the driver. The vehicle 20 includes an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) 21, a user terminal 22, and a communication unit 23. In the vehicle 20, a predetermined vehicle The predetermined in-vehicle communication standard may be, for example, a Controller Area Network (CAN) or a Local Interconnect Network (LIN).

[0012] The user terminal 22 is mounted on the vehicle 20, and is exemplified by a car navigation system. The user terminal 22 includes an input / output device. The input / output device receives an input from the user 25 of a request for searching for a route for the vehicle 20 (hereinafter referred to as a search request). The search request includes the current location and destination of the user 25. The search request may include at least one of the current time and the estimated time of arrival at the destination. The search request may include an additional request for the route search (hereinafter referred to as an additional request). An example of the additional request is a request to prioritize the use of communication (hereinafter referred to as high-speed communication) using a high-speed communication method (hereinafter also referred to as a first communication method) when the user 25 is traveling. An example of the first communication method is 5th Generation (5G). A communication method slower than the first communication method is referred to as a second communication method. An example of the second communication method is communication using 4th Generation (4G), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and pseudo-5G. An example of the additional requirement is a requirement that prioritizes a short travel time for the vehicle 20 (hereinafter referred to as a time priority). The additional requirement may also be a requirement that prioritizes a small amount of fuel (or electricity) consumed during the movement of the vehicle 20 (hereinafter also referred to as a fuel economy priority (or electricity cost priority)). The additional requirement may also be a requirement regarding whether or not to use a toll road during the movement of the vehicle 20.

[0013] The input / output device of the user terminal 22 outputs, for example, a route acquired by an external information acquisition unit 213 (described later) from the server 10. The route includes an air route if the mobile object is an aircraft, and a water route if the mobile object is a ship.

[0014] The communication unit 23 connects the vehicle 20 to the network N. The communication unit 23 communicates with the server 10 and the information server 30 using a predetermined wireless communication standard.

[0015] The ECU 21 is a computer for controlling various devices mounted on the vehicle 20. The ECU 21 includes a processor 210 and a storage unit 215.

[0016] The processor 210 of the ECU 21 is, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU) or a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). The information acquisition unit 211 includes an external information acquisition unit 211, an external output unit 212, an external information acquisition unit 213, and an internal output unit 214.

[0017] The processor 210 operates as a user information acquisition unit 211, and acquires, for example, a search request from the user terminal 22. The search request may include an additional request. The user information acquisition unit 211 may store the acquired information in the storage unit 215.

[0018] The processor 210 operates as an external output unit 212, and outputs (transmits) the acquired search request to the server 10 via the network N.

[0019] The processor 210 operates as an external information acquisition unit 213, and acquires (receives) from the server 10 via the network N, for example, the travel route of the user 25 that the server 10 has searched for in response to a search request (and an addition request).

[0020] The processor 210 operates as an internal output unit 214 and outputs the acquired route to the user terminal 22, for example.

[0021] The storage unit 215 includes a main storage unit and an auxiliary storage unit. The main storage unit is, for example, a random access memory (RAM). The auxiliary storage unit is, for example, a read only memory (ROM), a hard disk drive (HDD), or a flash memory. The auxiliary storage unit is, for example, a removable The removable medium may include a medium (portable recording medium), such as a USB memory, an SD card, or a disc recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disc, or a Blu-ray disc.

[0022] The auxiliary storage unit stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various information tables, etc. The processor 210 loads the programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit into the main storage unit and executes them, thereby realizing the information processing of this embodiment. Some or all of the functions of the vehicle 20 may be realized by hardware circuits such as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The server 10 does not need to be realized by a single physical configuration, and may be made up of multiple computers that work together.

[0023] The auxiliary storage unit can store information acquired by the user information acquisition unit 211 and the like.

[0024] (information server) The information server 30 is managed by a company that provides communication services, and provides, for example, information on communication areas related to communication methods that the user terminal 22 can use.

[0025] Examples of communication methods include a first communication method and a second communication method. The communication speed of the first communication method is assumed to be 20 gigabytes per second. The area where communication is possible using the first communication method (hereinafter referred to as the first communication area) is assumed to be within a range of several meters to 100 meters from the base station of the first communication method. The communication speed of the second communication method is assumed to be 1 gigabyte per second. The area where communication is possible using the second communication method (hereinafter referred to as the second communication area) is assumed to be within a range of several hundred meters to several kilometers from the base station of the second communication method.

[0026] The information server 30 includes a processor 31, a storage unit 32, and a communication unit 33. The information server 30 manages information on one or more first communication areas (hereinafter referred to as first communication area information) and information on one or more second communication areas (hereinafter referred to as second communication area information). The information server 30 may be one or more.

[0027] The processor 31 is, for example, a CPU or a DSP. The processor 31 includes an acquisition unit 311 and an output unit 312 as functional units.

[0028] The processor 31 operates as an acquisition unit 311, and can acquire (receive) from the server 10 via the network N an acquisition request requesting acquisition of a communication area.

[0029] The processor 31 operates as an output unit 312 and stores the information in the storage unit 32 in response to an acquisition request. The output unit 312 outputs (transmits) the area information (first communication area information and second communication area information) to the server 10 via the network N. The output unit 312 may output the area information to the server 10 at a predetermined cycle.

[0030] The storage unit 32 includes a main storage unit and an auxiliary storage unit. The main storage unit and the auxiliary storage unit of the storage unit 32 have the same functions as the main storage unit and the auxiliary storage unit of the storage unit 215. The auxiliary storage unit of the storage unit 12 includes, for example, a first communication area database (DB) 32A that stores first communication area information, and a second communication area DB 32B that stores second communication area information.

[0031] Each of the first communication area information and the second communication area information includes, for example, area identification information for identifying the area, type information indicating the type of the communication area (first communication area or second communication area), and information indicating the range of the communication area.

[0032] The communication unit 33 connects the server 10 to the network N. The communication unit 33 has the same functions as the communication unit 23.

[0033] (server) The server 10 is a server for providing a route in response to a search request from a user 25. The server 10 includes a processor 11, a storage unit 12, and a communication unit 13. In this embodiment, the server 10 is an example of an "information processing device."

[0034] The memory unit 12 includes a main memory unit and an auxiliary memory unit. The main memory unit and the auxiliary memory unit of the memory unit 12 have the same functions as the main memory unit and the auxiliary memory unit of the memory unit 215. The auxiliary memory unit of the memory unit 12 can store a map information DB 12A. The map information DB 12A stores map information including road information for vehicle travel.

[0035] The communication unit 13 connects the server 10 to the network N. The communication unit 13 has the same functions as the communication unit 23.

[0036] The processor 11 is, for example, a CPU or a DSP. The processor 11 includes, as functional units, a search request acquisition unit 111, an area information acquisition unit 112, a determination unit 113, a search unit 114, and an output unit 115. In this embodiment, the processor 11 is an example of a "control unit."

[0037] The processor 11 operates as a search request acquisition unit 111, and acquires (receives), for example, a route search request from the vehicle 20 via the network N. The search request acquisition unit 111 may acquire an additional request together with the search request. The search request acquisition unit 111 may store the acquired search request and additional request in the memory unit 215.

[0038] The processor 11 operates as an area information acquisition unit 112, and, for example, triggered by acquisition of a search request, transmits an acquisition request for the first communication area information and the second communication area information to the information server 30 via the network N. The area information acquisition unit 112 receives, via the network N, the first communication area information and the second communication area information transmitted from the information server 30 in response to the acquisition request. The area information acquisition unit 112 may store the acquired first communication area information and second communication area information in the storage unit 12.

[0039] The processor 11 may include a traffic information acquisition unit that acquires (receives) traffic information from a traffic information server that manages traffic information. The traffic information includes, for example, information on congestion, passability, construction, and weather on the route of the mobile object (user 25). The traffic information acquisition unit may perform, for example, a search. The acquisition of the request is used as a trigger to transmit a traffic information acquisition request to the traffic information server via the network N. The traffic information acquisition unit receives the traffic information transmitted from the traffic information server in response to the acquisition request via the network N. The traffic information acquisition unit may store the acquired traffic information in the storage unit 215.

[0040] Processor 11 operates as determination unit 113 and determines whether a search request stored in storage unit 12 includes a request to prioritize a passage in the first communication area. For example, determination unit 113 determines whether the acquired search request includes an additional request, and whether the additional request includes a request to prioritize the use of high-speed communication. If both determination results are positive, determination unit 113 determines that the search request includes a request to prioritize a passage in the first communication area. If the search request does not include an additional request, or if the additional request included in the search request does not include a request to prioritize the use of high-speed communication, determination unit 113 determines that the search request does not include a request to prioritize a passage in the first communication area.

[0041] The processor 11 operates as a search unit 114 and searches for a route for traveling from the current location of the user 25 to the destination, depending on the determination result of the determination unit 113. If the determination result of the determination unit 113 is negative, the search unit 114 searches for a route without prioritizing passages in the first communication area. In this case, the search unit 114 searches for a route depending on the search information, map information, area information, and traffic information stored in the map information DB 12A stored in the storage unit 215. Note that if the search information includes additional requirements such as time priority, fuel efficiency priority, and whether or not to use toll roads, the search unit 114 may search for a route taking these additional requirements into consideration. The search unit 114 may search for a route that includes passages that pass through at least one of the first communication area and the second communication area.

[0042] If the determination result of the determination unit 113 is positive, the search unit 114 searches for a route that prioritizes passages through the first communication area using a predetermined method, in addition to the search information, map information, area information, and traffic information. If the additional request includes a request other than high-speed communication, the search unit 114 may search for a route by setting high-speed communication as a first priority and further setting requests other than high-speed communication (at least one of prioritizing time, fuel efficiency or power consumption, and not using toll roads) as a second priority. Note that when searching for a route, not all of the passages that the user 25 uses to travel from the current location to the destination in the vehicle 20 necessarily pass through the first communication area. In this case, the search unit 114 may include passages that pass through the second communication area instead of the first communication area in the searched route. The route searched in this manner may include one or more passages that pass through the first communication area and one or more passages that pass through the second communication area. This allows the user 25 traveling by vehicle 20 to continue using communications while traveling from the current location to the destination, and allows the user 25 to preferentially use high-speed communications.

[0043] The processor 11 operates as the output unit 115 and outputs (transmits) the generated route to the vehicle 20 via the network N. As described above, even when the search request includes a request to prioritize high-speed communication, the searched route may include a passage in the second communication area. In this case, the output unit 115 may generate a notification that the searched route includes a passage in the second communication area instead of the first communication area, and output the generated notification to the vehicle 20 together with the searched route.

[0044] [3 Example of operation] 3 shows an example of information processing by the processor 11 of the server 10 according to this embodiment. The following processing procedure is an example of a control method executed by a computer.

[0045] The search request acquisition unit 111 of the processor 11 acquires a search request for a route including at least the current location and destination of the user 25 from the vehicle 20 (S101). The area information acquisition unit 112 may acquire the first communication area information and the second communication area information related to the communication of the user terminal 22 from the information server 30 (S102).

[0046] The determination unit 113 determines whether the additional request included in the search request includes a request to prioritize the passage of the first communication area (S103). If the determination unit 113 determines that the additional request includes a request to prioritize the passage of the first communication area (YES in S103), the process proceeds to S105. If not (NO in S103), the process proceeds to S104.

[0047] In S104, the search unit 114 searches for a route including one or more passages according to the current location and destination of the user 25. At this time, the search unit 114 may use map information, a search request, and traffic information stored in the storage unit 215 for the search process.

[0048] In S105, the search unit 114 searches for a route including one or more passages, prioritizing passages where high-speed communication is possible (passages in the first communication area) in addition to the information used in the search process of S104. The output unit 115 outputs the route searched for in S104 or S105 to the vehicle 20 (S106), and the processor 11 ends the process.

[0049] [Features] Conventionally, it is known to determine base stations to which a wireless communication device can connect along a vehicle's travel route. A wireless communication device, such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, uses AP information and estimation information to estimate the travel time required for the vehicle to pass through the communication range of a base station to which the wireless communication device can connect along a predicted travel route, and determines a base station for which the travel time estimated by a travel time estimation unit is equal to or greater than a threshold as a connection destination for the wireless communication device. However, the present inventors have discovered the following problem with this device. For example, a base station for which the travel time estimated by the travel time estimation unit is equal to or greater than a threshold may be determined as a connection destination for the wireless communication device, potentially resulting in the wireless communication device being connected to a wireless base station with a slow communication speed. Therefore, it may be necessary to suggest to a user a route that can utilize a high-speed communication method when traveling to a destination.

[0050] In this embodiment, if the additional request includes a request to prioritize passages in the first communication area, the server 10 may search for a route by prioritizing passages that allow high-speed communication (passages in the first communication area). The searched route is output to the user terminal 22 of the mobile object, and the mobile object may move along the output route. Therefore, according to this embodiment, a route that can use a high-speed communication method can be proposed to the user 25 as a route for the user 25 to move to a destination. While the mobile object moves through the first communication area according to the proposed route, edge computing, an example of distributed computing, can be realized by high-speed wireless communication.

[0051] [4 Variations] In the present embodiment, as an example, the processor 11 of the server 10 executes the information processing from S101 to S106. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The user terminal 22 may have the same functional units as the processor 11 and the same storage unit as the storage unit 12, and execute the same information processing as the processor 11. Furthermore, the user terminal 22 may be a mobile terminal (such as a smartphone) carried by the user 25, instead of a terminal mounted on a mobile object. The mobile terminal may have the same functional units as the processor 11 and the ECU 21, and the same storage unit as the storage unit 12, and may execute information processing that integrates the processing by the server 10 and the vehicle 20.

[0052] (Other embodiments) Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, the above description is merely an example of the present disclosure in every respect. Various improvements or modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. It goes without saying that this is possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1··Information Processing System, N··Network 10 servers, 20 vehicles, 25 users, 30 information servers 21··ECU, 11, 210, 31··Processor, 12, 215, 32··Memory unit, 22··User terminal, 13, 23, 33··Communication unit

Claims

[Claim 1] An information processing device including a control unit, The control unit Obtaining the user's current location and destination; acquiring area information indicating a communication area of ​​the first communication method out of a first communication method and a second communication method adopted in the user terminal; Searching for a route from the current location to the destination so as to prioritize a path within the communication area indicated by the acquired area information; and outputting the searched route; configured to run a communication speed of the first communication method is higher than that of the second communication method; Information processing device.

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