Information processing method

Abstract

To improve techniques used to personalize a vehicle seat.SOLUTION: The information processor 20 receives designation of one or more seating conditions desired by the user from the terminal 10 of the user. Next, when the information processing device 20 detects a person from the video of the periphery or the inside of the bus captured by the camera, the information processing device 20 identifies the position of the detected person. Next, the information processor 20 determines whether or not the identified position of the person matches the current position of the terminal 10. If there is a match, the information processing device 20 determines the seat of the user on the basis of one or more seating conditions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there are known technologies used to personalize vehicle seats. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention that determines the seating position of a passenger and changes the air conditioning settings if the passenger is in a predetermined position. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-002017 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology used to personalize vehicle seats has room for improvement.

[0005] In view of the above, an object of the present disclosure is to improve the technology used to personalize vehicle seats. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An information processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: An information processing method executed by an information processing device that controls a bus operation, comprising: receiving, from a user's terminal device, a designation of one or more seating conditions desired by the user; When a person is detected from an image of the periphery or interior of the bus captured by the camera, a position of the detected person is identified; checking whether the identified location of the person matches the current location of the terminal device; If there is a match, determining a seat for the user based on the one or more seating conditions; Includes: [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the technology used to personalize vehicle seats is improved. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

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

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

[0010] (Outline of the embodiment) An overview of a system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The system 1 includes a plurality of terminal devices 10 and an information processing device 20. The plurality of terminal devices 10 and the information processing device 20 are communicably connected to a network 30 including, for example, the Internet and a mobile communication network.

[0011] The terminal device 10 is, for example, a computer such as a PC (Personal Computer), a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc. In this embodiment, the terminal device 10 is used by, for example, a user who uses a bus, and is carried by the user.

[0012] The information processing device 20 is an in-vehicle device mounted on, for example, a bus, and is capable of communicating with a plurality of terminal devices 10 via a network 30.

[0013] First, an overview of this embodiment will be described, and details will be provided later. The information processing device 20 receives, from the user's terminal device 10, a specification of one or more seating conditions desired by the user. Next, when the information processing device 20 detects a person from an image of the periphery or interior of the bus captured by a camera, it identifies the position of the detected person. Next, the information processing device 20 determines whether the position of the identified person matches the current position of the terminal device 10. If they match, the information processing device 20 determines a seat for the user based on one or more seating conditions.

[0014] Conventional technologies used to personalize vehicle seats are intended for privately owned vehicles (POVs) and are not intended for vehicles such as buses, which have large interiors and carry an unspecified number of passengers and cannot be personalized on a seat-by-seat basis. In contrast, according to the present embodiment, when a user boards a bus, the user's seat is determined based on one or more seating conditions desired by the user. Therefore, for example, if the user desires a seat with a stronger air conditioning setting, the bus can predetermine a seat with a stronger air conditioning setting, thereby providing a seat that meets the user's preferences and personalizing the vehicle's seats. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the technology used to personalize vehicle seats is improved in that both seats on a bus can be personalized.

[0015] Next, each component of the system 1 will be described in detail.

[0016] (Terminal Device Configuration) 1, a terminal device 10 communicates with an information processing device 20 via a network 30. The terminal device 10 also includes, for example, a display that outputs information as images, or a speaker that outputs information as sounds, etc. The terminal device 10 also includes one or more input devices that detect input operations by a user, such as physical keys, capacitive keys, a mouse, a touch panel, a touch screen that is integrated with a display, or a microphone.

[0017] (Configuration of information processing device) 1, the information processing device 20 includes a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, a control unit 23, a sensor unit 24, and an image capturing unit 25. In this embodiment, some of the components of the information processing device 20 may be provided in a server or the like that is communicably connected to the on-board device of the bus and the multiple terminal devices 10 via a network 30, and the information processing device 20 may be configured by the on-board device of the bus and the server.

[0018] The communication unit 21 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 30. The communication interfaces correspond to, for example, a mobile communication standard, a wired LAN (Local Area Network) standard, or a wireless LAN standard, but are not limited to these and may correspond to any communication standard. In this embodiment, the information processing device 20 communicates with each terminal device 10 via the communication unit 21 and the network 30.

[0019] The storage unit 22 includes one or more memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 22 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 22 stores any information used in the operation of the information processing device 20. For example, the storage unit 22 may store a system program, an application program, embedded software, etc. In this embodiment, the storage unit 22 stores one or more seating conditions desired by each user received from each terminal device 10 in association with information that can uniquely identify each terminal device 10, such as a terminal ID.

[0020] The control unit 23 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor may be, for example, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited to these. The programmable circuit may be, for example, but is not limited to, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The dedicated circuit may be, for example, but is not limited to, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 23 controls the overall operation of the information processing device 20.

[0021] The sensor unit 24 includes one or more devices that acquire location information of the terminal device 10. Specifically, the sensor unit 24 is, for example, one or more beacons installed on a bus, but is not limited to this and may be any sensor such as a GPS (Global Positioning System). Furthermore, the sensor unit 24 may be installed near where the bus stops, for example, around a bus stop.

[0022] The photographing unit 25 includes one or more cameras installed on the bus that can photograph the periphery or interior of the bus. The photographing unit 25 may be installed, for example, at the bus entrance. Alternatively, the photographing unit 25 may be installed near where the bus stops, such as around a bus stop. The cameras installed on the bus may also include a thermographic camera.

[0023] (Operation flow of information processing device) The operation of the information processing device 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0024] S100: The control unit 23 of the information processing device 20 receives, from the terminal device 10 of the user, a designation of one or more seating conditions desired by the user.

[0025] Details will be explained. For example, before boarding a bus, a user inputs the designation of one or more desired seating conditions using a form displayed on the screen of the user's terminal device 10 and presses the OK button. When the OK button is pressed, the terminal device 10 transmits the designation of one or more seating conditions to the information processing device 20. The control unit 23 receives the designation of one or more seating conditions via the network 30, associates it with the terminal ID of the terminal device 10, and stores it in the storage unit 22. Note that the input of the designation of one or more desired seating conditions by the user is not limited to the above, and any method can be adopted.

[0026] The "one or more seating conditions" may include, for example, air conditioning settings, but are not limited to, any seating conditions, such as the bus stop where the user gets on and off, whether or not a priority seat is used, seat location such as a window seat or an aisle seat, lighting, sunlight, whether or not the user wishes to smoke, etc. The one or more seating conditions may also include any information used when determining a seat or notifying the user of the seat location, such as the user's height, weight, and age, whether or not the user has a visual impairment, whether or not the user has a hearing impairment, whether or not the user requests boarding and disembarking assistance, whether or not the user receives vibration notifications, etc. A priority may also be set for each of the seating conditions included in the one or more seating conditions.

[0027] Conditions related to "air conditioning settings" may be expressed in any manner that can indicate the strength of the air conditioning, such as "strong," "medium," or "weak," or 3, 2, or 1, or may be expressed numerically, such as 20°C, 20°C to 23°C, etc. Conditions related to air conditioning settings may also include information regarding the humidity desired by the user.

[0028] S101: The control unit 23 detects people from the video of the periphery or inside of the bus captured by the camera.

[0029] A method for detecting people from the video captured by the camera may use an object detection model such as YOLO, but is not limited to this and any method for detecting people can be used.

[0030] S102: If a person is detected in S101, the control unit 23 identifies the position of the person from the video.

[0031] To identify the position of a person from video, an object detection model such as YOLO may be used, as in S101, but the present invention is not limited to this and any method may be employed.

[0032] S103: The control unit 23 determines whether the position of the person identified in S102 and the current position of the terminal device 10 match.

[0033] Specifically, when the control unit 23 identifies the position of the person in S102, it uses the sensor unit 24, for example, one or more beacons, to identify the position of the terminal device 10. When the position of the terminal device 10 has been identified, the control unit 23 compares the position of the person with the position of the terminal device 10, and if they match, proceeds to S104.

[0034] The position of the person identified in S102 and the position of the terminal device 10 identified in S103 may be expressed using coordinates, but are not limited to this and may be expressed in any format that specifically shows the positions of the person and the terminal device 10 and allows for comparison.

[0035] The control unit 23 may receive the position of the terminal device 10 from the terminal device 10. Specifically, when the control unit 23 identifies the position of the person in S102, it requests the terminal device 10 to transmit position information of the terminal device 10. When the terminal device 10 receives the request, it acquires its own position using, for example, GPS, and transmits the position to the information processing device 20.

[0036] S104: The control unit 23 determines a seat for the user based on one or more seating conditions.

[0037] Specifically, when identifying the location of the terminal device 10 in S103, the control unit 23 acquires the terminal ID of the terminal device 10. Next, the control unit 23 acquires one or more seating conditions associated with the terminal ID from the storage unit 22. At this time, for example, it is assumed that the acquired one or more seating conditions include a first condition regarding air conditioning settings, and the first condition specifies a temperature range of 18°C ​​to 23°C. It is also assumed that the air conditioning settings of the bus the user boards are set to 20°C for seats in the back and 25°C for other seats. In this case, the control unit 23 determines a seat in the back as the user's seat. Furthermore, for example, if the acquired one or more seating conditions further include a second condition regarding seat position, and the second condition specifies a window seat, the control unit 23 determines a seat in the back by the window as the user's seat. In this way, the control unit 23 determines a seat as the user's seat so as to satisfy all of the one or more seating conditions. If all of the one or more seating conditions cannot be satisfied, the control unit 23 may refer to the priority of each of the one or more seating conditions and give priority to the condition with the highest priority to determine the seat for the user.

[0038] The control unit 23 may determine the seat of the user further based on the bus operation information. Specifically, if one or more seat conditions include a condition related to sunlight and the condition is to avoid sunlight, the control unit 23 may use information related to sunlight on the bus route included in the bus operation information and determine a seat on the side that is not exposed to sunlight as the seat of the user.

[0039] S105: The control unit 23 notifies the user of the seat determined in S104.

[0040] Specifically, the control unit 23 transmits information about the user's seat to the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 displays the user's seat information received from the information processing device 20 on the display of the terminal device 10. The user may be notified, for example, by displaying signage inside the bus or illuminating a seat lamp. For example, if one or more seating conditions include a condition regarding the presence or absence of a visual impairment and the condition indicates that the user is visually impaired, the control unit 23 may notify the user by making an announcement inside the bus. For example, if one or more seating conditions include a condition regarding the presence or absence of a vibration notification and the condition indicates that a vibration notification is enabled, the control unit 23 may notify the user by increasing the vibration of the terminal device 10 as the user gets closer to the determined seat.

[0041] Although the present disclosure has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each component or step can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and multiple components or steps can be combined or divided into one.

[0042] For example, in the above-described embodiment, an embodiment is also possible in which the configuration and operation of the information processing device 20 are distributed among multiple computers that can communicate with each other. Also, for example, an embodiment is also possible in which some or all of the components of the information processing device 20 are provided in the terminal device 10. For example, the terminal device 10 may be provided with some or all of the components of the information processing device 20. Also, for example, the information processing device 20 according to the above-described embodiment may be used to provide MaaS (Mobility as a Service), a service that utilizes mobility.

[0043] Furthermore, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 23 may change the air conditioning setting depending on the number of passengers on the bus. In this case, if the one or more seating conditions include a first condition related to the air conditioning setting, the control unit 23 may determine the seat of the user based on the changed air conditioning setting and the one or more seating conditions.

[0044] Specifically, the control unit 23 acquires the number of passengers on the bus using the sensor unit 24 and / or the photographing unit 25 installed in the bus. At this time, for example, it is assumed that there are no occupants in the seats at the back, the air conditioning setting of the bus is the general air conditioning, and the user has specified 18°C ​​to 23°C as the first condition. In this case, the control unit 23 may individually set the air conditioning setting of only the seats at the back to 20°C and determine the seats at the back as the user's seats.

[0045] Furthermore, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 23 may detect that the user has sat in the determined seat, and after the user has sat down, may acquire a thermographic image of the user. Then, the control unit 23 may change the air conditioning settings around the user based on the thermographic image.

[0046] Specifically, the control unit 23 uses the sensor unit 24 and / or the photographing unit 25 installed in the bus to monitor the behavior of the user whose seat was determined in S104, thereby detecting that the user has sat in the determined seat. Upon detecting that the user has sat in the seat, the control unit 23 uses the photographing unit 25 to acquire a thermographic image of the user at regular intervals or in real time. Then, for example, if it is determined from the thermographic image that the user is too cold, the control unit 23 may increase the temperature of the air conditioning around the user by several degrees. Furthermore, the fact that the user has been determined to be too cold and the air conditioning temperature has been increased may be stored in the storage unit 22 as past riding information for the user.

[0047] "User's past riding information" may include, for example, a change in the air conditioning settings around the user as described above, or sitting in a seat other than the seat notified to the user, but may also include any information about the user's past riding on a bus, without being limited to these.

[0048] Furthermore, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 23 may determine the seat of the user based on the user's past riding information and one or more seat conditions.

[0049] Specifically, for example, it is assumed that the user's past riding information includes a case where the user sat in a front seat despite previously requesting a seat in the back, and the one or more seating conditions include a first condition regarding air conditioning settings, and the first condition specifies a temperature range of 18°C ​​to 23°C. In this case, the control unit 23 may determine a front seat in which the air conditioning is set to 20°C as the user's seat. Furthermore, if the user's past riding information does not match one or more seating conditions, the control unit 23 may prioritize one of the conditions when determining a seat. Specifically, for example, it is assumed that the user's past riding information includes a case where the user sat in a seat at 23°C and was determined to be too cold, and the one or more seating conditions include a first condition regarding air conditioning settings, and the first condition specifies a temperature range of 18°C ​​to 23°C. In this case, the control unit 23 may determine a seat in which the temperature is above 23°C as the user's seat.

[0050] Furthermore, for example, it is assumed that one or more seat conditions include a condition regarding whether or not boarding / alighting assistance is requested, and the condition is that boarding / alighting assistance is requested. In this case, in the above-described embodiment, when the user gets on the bus, the control unit 23 may assist the user in getting on by, for example, controlling the bus ramp, the height of the bus entrance, and / or the door opening / closing speed.

[0051] Also, for example, an embodiment is possible in which a general-purpose computer functions as the information processing device 20 according to the above-described embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing content for realizing each function of the information processing device 20 according to the above-described embodiment is stored in the memory of the general-purpose computer, and the program is read and executed by a processor. Therefore, the present disclosure can also be realized as a program executable by a processor, or a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing the program. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1 System, 10 Terminal device, 20 Information processing device, 21 Communication unit, 22 Memory unit, 23 Control unit, 24 Sensor unit, 25 Photography unit, 30 Network

Claims

1. An information processing method executed by an information processing device that controls an operation of a bus, comprising: receiving, from a user's terminal device, a designation of one or more seating conditions desired by the user; When a person is detected from an image of the periphery or inside of the bus captured by a camera, a position of the person is identified from the image; determining whether the identified location of the person matches the current location of the terminal device; If a match is found, determining a seat for the user based on the one or more seating conditions; An information processing method, including:

2. 10. The method of claim 1, notifying the user of the seat location; The information processing method further comprises:

3. 10. The method of claim 1, The information processing method, wherein the information processing device determines a seat for the user based on the user's past riding information and the one or more seat conditions.

4. 10. The method of claim 1, the one or more seat conditions include a first condition related to an air conditioning setting; changing the air conditioning settings according to the number of passengers on the bus; Further comprising: The information processing method, wherein the information processing device determines a seat for the user based on the changed air conditioning setting and the one or more seating conditions.

5. 10. The method of claim 1, Detecting that the user has sat in the determined seat; acquiring a thermographic image of the user after the user is seated; changing an air conditioning setting around the user based on the thermographic image of the user; The information processing method further comprises:

6. A method for providing MaaS (Mobility as a Service) using the information processing device according to claim 1.

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