Traveling route generation apparatus, method for controlling traveling route generation apparatus, and storage medium

Abstract

To generate a patrol route so as not to cross a crossing avoidance place desired to avoid crossing as much as possible when patrolling a plurality of visiting points.SOLUTION: The traveling route generation device includes a candidate route generation unit that generates a plurality of candidate routes that are candidates for the traveling route, a crossing avoidance place reception unit that receives an input of a crossing avoidance place where crossing is to be avoided when traveling around the plurality of visit points, and a traveling route generation unit that generates the traveling route by calculating, for each of the plurality of candidate routes, a first index value related to a route length of the candidate route and a second index value related to the number of times of crossing the crossing avoidance place, and selecting one candidate route from the plurality of candidate routes based on calculation results of the first index value and the second index value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a travel route generation device, a control method for a travel route generation device, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There are cases where a delivery company delivers packages to multiple destinations, or a vending machine service technician visits multiple vending machines in his / her area to perform maintenance.

[0003] In this case, it is desirable to visit each destination efficiently in as short a distance as possible, but as is well known, as the number of destinations increases, the number of combinations of visiting orders increases explosively, making it difficult to find the optimal route.

[0004] Therefore, techniques have been developed to support the generation of such routes (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-042217 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, such mechanically generated routes do not take into account the traffic conditions at the site, and are not necessarily optimal in practice.

[0007] For example, even if the travel distance is the shortest, there may be places along the way where the vehicle crosses major roads, railroad crossings, rivers, etc., and the route generated may result in the vehicle getting caught in traffic jams when actually traveling the route.

[0008] For this reason, there is a demand for technology that takes into account traffic conditions that only workers or managers familiar with the area would know, allows users to input areas where they would like to avoid crossing if possible, and can generate a route that avoids crossing such areas as much as possible.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of such problems, and provides a tour route generation device, a control method for the tour route generation device, and a program that can generate a tour route that avoids crossing avoidance points where crossing is desired to be avoided when touring multiple visit points. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] A circular route generation device according to one embodiment of the present invention is a circular route generation device that generates a circular route when visiting a plurality of visiting points, and includes: a candidate route generation unit that generates a plurality of candidate routes for the circular route; a crossing-avoidance point reception unit that receives input of crossing-avoidance points at which the user wishes to avoid crossing when visiting the plurality of visiting points; and a circular route generation unit that calculates, for each of the plurality of candidate routes, a first index value related to the route length of the candidate route and a second index value related to the number of times the crossing-avoidance point is crossed, and generates the circular route by selecting one candidate route from the plurality of candidate routes based on the calculation results of the first index value and the second index value.

[0011] In addition, the problems and solutions disclosed in this application will be made clear by the description in the section on the preferred embodiment of the invention and the drawings. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] It is possible to generate a travel route that avoids crossing points where crossing is desired to be avoided as much as possible when visiting a plurality of visiting points. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1]This is a diagram showing two different routes for visiting multiple visit points 310 (this diagram is a modified version of OpenStreetMap). [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of a travel route generation device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a storage device of the travel route generation device. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a visited point management table. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a crossing avoidance point management table. [Figure 6] This is a diagram showing the user interface for inputting crossing avoidance points (this diagram is a modified version of OpenStreetMap). [Figure 7] This is a diagram showing the user interface for inputting crossing avoidance points (this diagram is a modified version of OpenStreetMap). [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a crossing information management table. [Figure 9] This is a diagram showing how to cross a crossing avoidance area (this diagram is a modified version of OpenStreetMap). [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a travel route generation device. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the route generation device. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the route generation device. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of the route generation device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] At least the following matters will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. ==Avoid crossing areas== FIG. 1 shows two routes that a worker can take to visit multiple visiting points 310 (eight locations: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and H). In the example shown in FIG. 1, visiting point A (310) is the worker's base, and is both the starting point and the destination point. FIG. 1(A) shows an example in which the visiting points 310 are visited in the order of A → B → F → G → C → H → D → E → A. On the other hand, FIG. 1(B) shows an example in which the visiting points 310 are visited in the order of A → B → C → D → H → G → F → E → A.

[0015] Each of the visiting points 310 is located near a major road indicated by reference numeral 320, and the route shown in Figure 1(A) requires crossing major roads a total of six times, whereas the route shown in Figure 1(B) requires crossing major roads only twice.

[0016] Generally, roads that intersect with major roads at grade often have chronic congestion near the intersections, and it often takes a long time to cross the intersection. For this reason, even if the route shown in Figure 1(A) has a shorter total travel distance, workers who are familiar with the traffic conditions at the site may prefer the route shown in Figure 1(B) to Figure 1(A).

[0017] The travel route generation device 100 according to this embodiment can generate a travel route that avoids crossing avoidance points 320, such as main roads, where workers would prefer to avoid crossing if possible, when they visit multiple visit points 310.

[0018] This will be explained in detail below. ==Travel Route Generator== First, the travel route generation device 100 will be described.

[0019] 2 shows the hardware configuration of the travel route generation device 100. The travel route generation device 100 is an information processing device such as a computer that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a memory 120, a communication device 130, a storage device 140, an input device 150, an output device 160, and a recording medium reading device 170.

[0020] The storage device 140 stores various programs, such as the travel route generation device control program 700 executed by the CPU 110, and data.

[0021] The various functions of the traveling route generation device 100 are realized by reading the traveling route generation device control program 700 and various data stored in the storage device 140 into the memory 120 and executing or processing them by the CPU 110 .

[0022] Here, the storage device 140 is a non-transient non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk, a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 3, the storage device 140 stores a route generation device control program 700, a visited point management table 600, a map information management table 610, a crossing avoidance point management table 620, and a crossing information management table 630.

[0024] Returning to FIG. 2, the recording medium reader 170 reads the travel route generation device control program 700 and data recorded on a recording medium 800 such as a CD, DVD, or SD card, and stores them in the storage device 140 .

[0025] The communication device 130 exchanges various data and the circular route generation device control program 700 with another computer (not shown) via the network 500. For example, the above-mentioned circular route generation device control program 700 and data can be stored in another computer, and the circular route generation device 100 can download the circular route generation device control program 700 and data from this computer. Alternatively, the communication device 130 can communicate with a mobile terminal (not shown), such as a smartphone or laptop computer, carried by a worker who visits each of the visited locations 310, to exchange various information.

[0026] The network 500 is any of various information and communication networks such as the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), and a telephone network.

[0027] The input device 150 is a device such as various buttons, switches, a mouse, a keyboard, and a microphone that accepts commands and data input by the user, and functions as an input user interface.

[0028] The output device 160 is, for example, a display device such as a display, a speaker, or the like, and functions as an output user interface. <Visit point management table> 4 shows an example of the visited point management table 600 stored in the storage device 140. The visited point management table 600 is a table that stores visited point IDs for uniquely identifying each visited point 310 and information indicating the location of each visited point 310, in association with each other.

[0029] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the location of each visited point 310 is specified by latitude and longitude, but it may also be specified by address.

[0030] These visiting points 310 can be registered through a user interface (not shown) implemented using an information processing device connected via the input device 150, output device 160, API (Application Programming Interface) of the traveling route generation device 100, or communication device 130. For example, the traveling route generation device 100 displays a map 300 on this user interface, and then accepts input specifying a position on the map 300 using the input device 150 such as a mouse, and accepts the latitude, longitude, or address of this position as information indicating the location of the visiting point 310. The traveling route generation device 100 then assigns identification information to this visiting point 310 and registers it in the visiting point management table 600 together with information indicating the location.

[0031] The latitude, longitude, and address of a location on the map 300 specified through the user interface can be identified by referring to the map information management table 610 described below. <Map information management table> The map information management table 610 (not shown) stores various data (map information) for displaying a map 300 of an area including multiple visited points 310. The map information includes, for example, shapes, position information, altitude, names, and identification information (object IDs) of various objects 322 displayed on the map 300, such as buildings, roads, railways, stations, rivers, bridges, and tunnels. By referencing this map information, the travel route generation device 100 can display the map 300 on the user interface and identify the positions (latitude, longitude, address, etc.) of points 321 and objects 322 on the map 300 specified by the user. The position information of the objects 322 is managed, for example, as a collection of position information for one or more points 321 on the object 322.

[0032] Furthermore, the map information management table 610 may be provided in the storage device 140 of the route generation device 100, or in another information processing device communicably connected to the route generation device 100. <Crossing Avoidance Area Management Table> The crossing avoidance point management table 620 is a table that stores information for identifying crossing avoidance points 320 that a worker wants to avoid crossing when visiting a plurality of visit points 310. An example of the crossing avoidance point management table 620 is shown in FIG.

[0033] 5, the crossing-avoidance point management table 620 stores a crossing-avoidance point ID that uniquely identifies the crossing-avoidance point 320 in association with position information of the points 321 that make up the crossing-avoidance point 320. In this case, the crossing-avoidance point 320 indicated by the crossing-avoidance point ID "a" is defined by a broken line or curved line that connects three points 321 (a1, a2, a3) in the order in which they were input, for example.

[0034] 6 also shows how a crossing avoidance point 320 ("b") defined by a broken line connecting seven points 321 (b1 to b7) is displayed on the map 300. One or more such crossing avoidance points 320 can be registered in the crossing avoidance point management table 620.

[0035] The crossing avoidance point 320 can be registered through a user interface (not shown) realized using an information processing device connected via the input device 150, output device 160, API, or communication device 130 of the travel route generation device 100.

[0036] For example, the traveling route generation device 100 displays a map 300 as shown in FIG. 6 on the user interface, and then accepts input for sequentially specifying points 321 on the map 300 using an input device 150 such as a mouse, and specifies the position information (latitude, longitude) of each of these points 321. The traveling route generation device 100 then stores the position information of each of these points 321 in the point column of the crossing-avoidance point management table 620. The traveling route generation device 100 then determines a broken line or curved line formed by connecting these points 321 in the input order as a crossing-avoidance point 320, assigns identification information to the broken line or curved line, and registers the line or curved line in the visited point management table 600. Alternatively, the traveling route generation device 100 may determine a crossing-avoidance point 320 by connecting points 321 that are closer to each other, rather than connecting these points 321 in the input order.

[0037] Alternatively, the traveling route generation device 100 displays a map 300 as shown in Fig. 7, and then accepts input from an input device 150 such as a mouse to select an object 322 (a main road in the example shown in Fig. 7) displayed on the map 300, and by referring to the map information, identifies the position information (latitude, longitude) set in the map information to represent the position of the object 322 (each object 322 is associated with, for example, array data having multiple pieces of position information as elements).The traveling route generation device 100 then determines a broken line or curve connecting multiple points 321 identified by the pieces of position information associated with the object 322 as a crossing-avoidance point 320, assigns identification information to it, and stores each piece of position information in a point column of the crossing-avoidance point management table 620.

[0038] Alternatively, the route generation device 100 may register the crossing avoidance points 320 using a map service provided by an information processing device (not shown) that is communicably connected.

[0039] In this case, the travel route generation device 100 accepts input specifying a plurality of points 321 and objects 322 on a map 300 such as those shown in Figures 6 and 7 as crossing-avoidance points 320, obtains the position information of these points 321 and objects 322 from this information processing device, assigns identification information to them in the same manner as above, and registers them in the crossing-avoidance point management table 620.

[0040] Furthermore, the crossing-avoidance point management table 620 may be configured not to store the position information of the points 321 that constitute the crossing-avoidance point 320.

[0041] In this case, the traveling route generation device 100 receives an input specifying an object 322 displayed on the map 300 as the crossing-avoidance point 320, acquires an ID (object ID) assigned to the object 322 by referencing the map information, and registers the object ID in the crossing-avoidance point management table 610 in association with the crossing-avoidance point ID. When the traveling route generation device 100 needs position information of the crossing-avoidance point 320, it acquires the position information from the object ID by referencing the map information. Of course, the map information may be stored in the traveling route generation device 100, or may be stored in another information processing device connected so as to be able to communicate with the traveling route generation device 100. <Cross-sectional information management table> The crossing information management table 630 is a table that stores crossing information indicating whether or not a route between two visit points 310 crosses a crossing avoidance point 320 for each combination of two visit points 310 selected from the plurality of visit points 310 registered in the visit point management table 600. An example of the crossing information management table 630 is shown in FIG.

[0042] In the example shown in Fig. 8, it is shown that the route between point A and point B and the route between point C and point D each cross the crossing avoidance point 320. Also, Fig. 9 shows that the route between point A and point B crosses the crossing avoidance point 320.

[0043] Whether or not a route between two visit points 310 crosses a crossing avoidance point 320 can be determined using geometric techniques by regarding the map 300 as a two-dimensional coordinate plane with latitude and longitude as coordinate axes.

[0044] For example, if the crossing avoidance point 320 is identified by the location information of multiple points 321, it can be determined whether a straight line connecting two visited points 310 intersects with a line segment connecting any two adjacent points 321 at the crossing avoidance point 320.

[0045] Furthermore, when the crossing avoidance point 320 is specified by an object ID, like a car navigation system, the travel path of the shortest route between two visit points 321 is searched for along the roads on the map 300, thereby obtaining the object IDs of each intersection, crossing road, etc. that exists on the travel path. The traveling route generation device 100 then determines whether the route between two visit points 310 crosses the crossing avoidance point 320 based on whether the object ID of the crossing avoidance point 320 is included in these object IDs.

[0046] By creating such a crossing information management table 630 in advance, the travel route generation device 100 can improve the efficiency of the process of finding a candidate route from among a large number of candidate routes that avoids crossing avoidance points 320 as much as possible. <Functional configuration of the tour route generation device> Next, the functional configuration of the travel route generation device 100 will be described with reference to the functional configuration diagram shown in FIG.

[0047] As described above, the travel route generation device 100 realizes various functions as the travel route generation device 100 by reading the travel route generation device control program 700 and various data stored in the storage device 140 into the memory 120 and executing or processing them by the CPU 110.

[0048] Specifically, the travel route generation device 100 has the functions of a candidate route generation unit 101 , a crossing avoidance point reception unit 102 , a travel route generation unit 103 , and a crossing information storage unit 104 .

[0049] The candidate route generation unit 101 generates a plurality of candidate routes that serve as candidates for a tour route. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the candidate route generation unit 101 generates a candidate route that includes all of the visit points 310 registered in the visit point management table 600 as visit targets in the route, but it may also be configured such that only a portion of the visit points 310 registered in the visit point management table 600 are to be visited.

[0050] First, the candidate route generation unit 101 generates candidate routes (first candidates) for the tour route by arranging the visit points 310 to be visited in a predetermined order (for example, in a random order). Note that the candidate route is generated so that base points such as point A in Fig. 1 become the departure point and arrival point.

[0051] The candidate route generation unit 101 then generates a second candidate by switching the order of two visiting points 310 selected (for example, randomly selected) from the visiting points 310 included in the first candidate. Note that in this case as well, base points are excluded from the switching.

[0052] Thereafter, the candidate route generation unit 101 generates a third candidate by rearranging the order of two visiting points 310 selected (for example, randomly selected) from the visiting points 310 included in the second candidate (in this case, base points are also excluded from the rearranging). The candidate route generating unit 101 generates a plurality of candidate routes by repeating this process a predetermined number of times. In this manner, it becomes possible to generate a variety of candidate routes.

[0053] Next, the crossing avoided point receiving unit 102 receives input of crossing avoided points 320 at which the user wishes to avoid crossing when visiting the plurality of visiting points 310 .

[0054] As described above, the crossing avoidance point 320 can be registered through a user interface (not shown) realized using an information processing device connected via the input device 150, output device 160, API, or communication device 130 of the travel route generation device 100.

[0055] 6 on the user interface, the crossing avoidance point receiving unit 102 receives input for sequentially specifying points 321 on the map 300 using an input device 150 such as a mouse, and defines the broken line or curve connecting these points 321 in the input order as the crossing avoidance point 320. This type of configuration makes it possible to easily input the crossing avoidance point 320 in an easy-to-understand manner.

[0056] Alternatively, the crossing-avoidance point receiving unit 102 may not connect these points 321 in the order they were input, but may connect points 321 that are closer to each other so that they are adjacent to each other, and use the resulting broken line or curve as the crossing-avoidance point 320. With this configuration, when changing the shape of the crossing-avoidance point 320 later, it is not necessary to go back to the point 321 to be changed and cancel the input operation, which makes it possible to further simplify the input operation.

[0057] 7, the crossing to avoid point receiving unit 102 may receive an input to select an object 322 displayed on the map 300 as the crossing to avoid point 320 using the input device 150, such as a mouse. In this case, the crossing to avoid point receiving unit 102 refers to the map information and receives a broken line or curve connecting multiple points 321 specified by multiple pieces of position information set in the object 322 as the crossing to avoid point 320, and registers the broken line or curve in the crossing to avoid point management table 620. Alternatively, the crossing to avoid point receiving unit 102 refers to the map information and obtains the ID of the object, and registers the ID in the crossing to avoid point management table 620. This embodiment allows the user to input the crossing to avoid point 320 by selecting the object 322, thereby further facilitating operation.

[0058] Alternatively, the crossing-avoidance point receiving unit 102 may acquire position information of a plurality of points 321 on the map 300 from a communicably connected information processing device (not shown) that stores map information for displaying a map 300 of an area including a plurality of visited points 310, and receive a broken line or curve connecting the points 321 as the crossing-avoidance point 320. In this manner, even if the traveling route generation device 100 does not have the map information management table 610, it is possible to input the crossing-avoidance point 320 by utilizing an external map service.

[0059] Alternatively, the crossing-avoidance point receiving unit 102 may receive the object 322 as the crossing-avoidance point 320 by acquiring identification information (object ID) of the object 322 designated as the crossing-avoidance point 320 from a communicably connected information processing device (not shown) that stores map information for displaying a map 300 of an area including a plurality of visited points 310. This configuration allows the user to input the crossing-avoidance point 320 by selecting the object 322, further simplifying the operation. In this case, the traveling route generation device 100 can transmit the object ID and the position information of each visited point 310 to the information processing device, thereby causing the information processing device to determine whether each candidate route crosses the crossing-avoidance point 320.

[0060] Next, the circular route generation unit 103 calculates, for each of the multiple candidate routes, a first index value relating to the route length of the candidate route and a second index value relating to the number of times the crossing avoidance point 320 is crossed, and generates a circular route by selecting one candidate route from the multiple candidate routes based on the calculation results of the first index value and the second index value.

[0061] When selecting a traveling route, the traveling route generation unit 103 uses a route search algorithm such as a hill climbing method, a simulated annealing method, a genetic algorithm, a tabu search, etc. In this embodiment, the hill climbing method or the simulated annealing method is used.

[0062] Specifically, the circular route generation unit 103 calculates the cost of each candidate route using a cost function expressed by the following (Equation 1), and uses the above-mentioned route search algorithm to determine the candidate route with the smallest cost as the circular route.

[0063] Cost function = a × first index value + b × second index value ... (Equation 1) Here, the traveling route generating unit 103 calculates the first index value using the following (Equation 2).

[0064] First index value = Σ distance between two adjacent visit points on the route ... (Equation 2) The first index value indicates the route length (total travel distance) of the candidate route. The distance between two visit points 310 can be calculated from the location information of each visit point 310. Alternatively, map information may be used to calculate the distance along the road between each visit point 310. The larger the first index value, the greater the cost.

[0065] The first index value may be the time required for the worker to visit each of the visited points 310 and return.

[0066] In this case, the required time can be calculated by adding up, for each candidate route, the travel time between adjacent visit points 310, which is calculated using the distance between the adjacent visit points 310 and the worker's travel speed, and the work time at each visit point 310. The worker's travel speed and work time may be set to predetermined values ​​determined from past experience, for example.

[0067] Next, the traveling route generating unit 103 calculates a second index value using the following (Equation 3).

[0068] Second index value = Number of pairs of two visit points that are adjacent on the route and cross the crossing avoidance point ... (Equation 3) In the example shown in Figure 1(A), the second index value is 6 for the pair of visiting points B and F, the pair of visiting points G and C, the pair of visiting points C and H, the pair of visiting points H and D, the pair of visiting points D and E, and the pair of visiting points E and A.

[0069] Whether or not a route between two visit points 310 crosses the crossing-avoidance point 320 can be determined, for example, by checking whether or not a line connecting the two visit points 310 crosses any of the lines connecting two adjacent points 321 that define the crossing-avoidance point 320. More specifically, by regarding the map 300 as a two-dimensional coordinate plane with latitude and longitude as coordinate axes, it is possible to determine whether or not the line connecting the two visit points 310 intersects with any of the lines connecting two adjacent points 321 that define the crossing-avoidance point 320.

[0070] Alternatively, if the crossing avoidance point 320 is specified by an object ID, the travel route generation unit 103, like a car navigation system, searches for the shortest travel path between two visit points 321 along roads on the map 300, thereby acquiring the object IDs of intersections, crossing roads, and the like that exist on the travel path.The travel route generation unit 103 then determines whether the route between two visit points 310 crosses the crossing avoidance point 320 based on whether the object ID of the crossing avoidance point 320 is included among these object IDs.

[0071] Furthermore, as described above, by creating the crossing information management table 630 in advance, the travel route generation unit 103 can instantly determine whether a pair of two adjacent visit points 310 on each candidate route crosses the crossing avoidance point 320 by referring to the crossing information management table 630. This allows travel routes to be generated in a shorter time.

[0072] In (Equation 1), a and b are coefficients that take positive values ​​and provide weights to the first index value and the second index value, respectively.

[0073] For example, it is also possible to determine the value of a so that "a x first index value" is converted into travel time, and to determine the value of b so that "b x second index value" is converted into the delay time that occurs each time a crossing avoidance point 320 is crossed. In this case, the value of the cost function in (Equation 1) can be considered to represent the time required to travel around the candidate route. Therefore, a travel route that can visit each visit point 310 in the shortest time is generated.

[0074] Alternatively, the values ​​of a and b may be determined so that the value of the cost function in (Equation 1) is the amount of fuel consumed or carbon dioxide emissions when traveling by car to each of the destination points 310. In this case, a route that uses the least amount of fuel or emits the least amount of carbon dioxide is generated.

[0075] Alternatively, the values ​​of a and b may be changed depending on the weather of the day, which makes it possible to deal with cases where the impact of crossing the crossing avoidance point 320 once varies depending on the weather, such as when traffic congestion is more likely to occur on rainy days than on sunny days, and the time required to cross a main road once is longer than on sunny days.

[0076] In this way, the travel route generation device 100 according to this embodiment generates a travel route using not only a first index value relating to the route length (travel distance) of the travel route, but also a second index value indicating the degree of impact of crossing the crossing avoidance point 320.

[0077] In this manner, it is possible to generate a route that minimizes the number of crossings at crossing avoidance points 320 when visiting multiple destinations 310, while also minimizing travel distance, travel time, CO2 emissions, and other values.

[0078] The crossing information storage unit 104 stores, for each combination of two visiting points 310 selected from the plurality of visiting points 310, crossing information indicating whether the route between the two visiting points 310 crosses a crossing avoidance point 320.

[0079] In this embodiment, the crossing information storage unit 104 is embodied as a crossing information management table 630 shown in FIG. ==Processing flow== Next, the flow of processing by the travel route generation device 100 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

[0080] 11, the traveling route generation device 100 receives input of visiting points 310 (S1000). As described above, the traveling route generation device 100 receives input of these visiting points 310 via a user interface and registers them in the visiting point management table 600.

[0081] Next, the traveling route generation device 100 accepts input of the crossing-avoidance points 320 (S1010). As described above, for the input of the crossing-avoidance points 320, the traveling route generation device 100 accepts input of the position information of each point 321 for specifying the crossing-avoidance points 320, the position information of the object 322, or the identification information of the object 322 through the user interface, and registers the information in the crossing-avoidance point management table 620.

[0082] Next, the traveling route generation device 100 generates traverse information (S1020). The traverse information is information that indicates, for each combination of two visiting points 310 selected from the plurality of visiting points 310 registered in the visiting point management table 600, whether or not the route between the two visiting points 310 crosses a crossing avoidance point 320. The traveling route generation device 100 registers the generated traverse information in the traverse information management table 630.

[0083] Then, the traveling route generation device 100 generates multiple candidate routes for visiting each of the visited points 310 and selects a traveling route from among these (S1030). The traveling route is generated using a hill-climbing method or a simulated annealing method, the details of which will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13.

[0084] First, with reference to FIG. 12, the flow of the process for generating a circular route by the hill-climbing method (hereinafter referred to as route search process S1200) will be described.

[0085] The traveling route generation device 100 generates an initial value of the current route (S1211). In this embodiment, the traveling route generation device 100 generates the initial value of the current route by arranging the visit points 310 in a predetermined order (for example, in a random order). The traveling route generation device 100 also records this current route as current route information and sets it as a tentative solution of the traveling route.

[0086] Next, the traveling route generation device 100 calculates a first index value and a second index value for the current route (S1212), and obtains the cost of the current route from these calculation results (S1213).

[0087] Then, traveling route generation device 100 generates a next route based on the current route (S1214). At this time, traveling route generation device 100 generates the next route by switching the order of two visiting points 310 selected (for example, randomly selected) from among the visiting points 310 included in the current route, as described above. In addition, traveling route generation device 100 records this next route as next route information.

[0088] Next, the traveling route generation device 100 calculates the first index value and the second index value for the next route (S1215), and obtains the cost of the next route from these calculation results (S1216).

[0089] The traveling route generation device 100 then determines whether the cost of the next route is smaller than the cost of the current route (S1217). If the cost of the next route is smaller than the cost of the current route (S1217: YES), the traveling route generation device 100 resets the next route as a tentative solution (S1218). Then, the process proceeds to S1219. On the other hand, if the cost of the next route is not smaller than the cost of the current route (S1217: NO), the process proceeds to S1219.

[0090] In S1219, traveling route generation device 100 determines whether the cost of the tentative solution is equal to or less than a preset threshold. If the cost of the tentative solution is equal to or less than the preset threshold (S1219: YES), traveling route generation device 100 executes S1220. If the cost of the tentative solution is not equal to or less than the preset threshold (S1219: NO), traveling route generation device 100 sets the next route as the current route, transcribes the next route information into the current route information, and then returns to S1214 to continue processing.

[0091] In S1220, the traveling route generation device 100 stores the tentative solution as a route search result. The traveling route generation device 100 outputs the route search result to the output device 160 as appropriate.

[0092] In this manner, it is possible to generate a travel route that avoids crossing avoidance points 320 where crossing is desired to be avoided as much as possible when visiting a plurality of visit points 310.

[0093] 13 is a flowchart illustrating the process (hereinafter referred to as route search process S1300) performed by traveling route generation device 100 when searching for a traveling route by the simulated annealing method. Hereinafter, the route search process S1300 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0094] First, the travel route generation device 100 sets an initial value of the temperature T (S1311).

[0095] Next, the traveling route generation device 100 generates an initial value of the current route (S1312). In this embodiment, the traveling route generation device 100 generates the initial value of the current route by arranging the visit points 310 in a predetermined order (for example, in a random order). The traveling route generation device 100 also records this current route as current route information and sets it as a tentative solution of the traveling route.

[0096] The traveling route generation device 100 calculates a first index value and a second index value for the current route (S1313), and finds the cost of the current route based on the results of these calculations (S1314).

[0097] Then, traveling route generation device 100 generates a next route based on the current route (S1315). At this time, traveling route generation device 100 generates the next route by switching the order of two visiting points 310 selected (for example, randomly selected) from among the visiting points 310 included in the current route, as described above. In addition, traveling route generation device 100 records this next route as next route information.

[0098] Next, the traveling route generation device 100 calculates the first index value and the second index value for the next route (S1316), and finds the cost of the next route based on these calculation results (S1317).

[0099] The traveling route generation device 100 then determines whether to accept the next route (S1318). In this determination, the traveling route generation device 100 generally accepts the next route if the cost of the next route is smaller than the cost of the current route. However, even if the cost of the next route is not smaller than the cost of the current route (i.e., even if the next route is a worsening of the current route), the traveling route generation device 100 accepts the next route with a probability that depends on the temperature T. Note that, for example, the Metropolis criterion is used as the probability. This makes it less likely to fall into a local optimum solution. If the traveling route generation device 100 determines to accept the next route (S1318: Accept), it resets the next route as a tentative solution (S1319) and proceeds to S1320. On the other hand, if it determines not to accept the next route (S1318: Not Accept), the traveling route generation device 100 proceeds to S1320.

[0100] In S1320, the traveling route generation device 100 determines whether or not to lower the temperature T. For example, the traveling route generation device 100 determines to lower the temperature T when the loop processing of S1315 to S1320 has been repeated a preset number of times or more. Note that by increasing the number of repetitions, it is possible to improve the possibility of obtaining a true optimal solution for the traveling route. Conversely, by decreasing the number of repetitions, it is possible to shorten the time required for the processing of generating the traveling route.

[0101] If the traveling path generation device 100 determines that the temperature T should be lowered (S1320: YES), it lowers the temperature T (S1321) and proceeds to S1322. For example, in the case of exponential annealing, the traveling path generation device 100 sets Tt+1=γ·Tt (where γ is a coefficient that determines the cooling rate). On the other hand, if the traveling path generation device 100 determines that the temperature T should not be lowered (S1320: NO), it sets the next path as the current path, transcribes the next path information into the current path information, and then returns to S1315 to continue processing.

[0102] In S1322, the traveling route generation device 100 determines whether the cost of the tentative solution is equal to or less than a preset threshold. If the cost of the tentative solution is equal to or less than the preset threshold (S1322: YES), the traveling route generation device 100 executes S1323. If the cost of the tentative solution is not equal to or less than the preset threshold (S1322: NO), the traveling route generation device 100 sets the next route as the current route, transcribes the next route information into the current route information, and then returns to S1315 to continue processing.

[0103] In S1323, the traveling route generation device 100 stores the tentative solution as a route search result. The traveling route generation device 100 outputs the route search result to the output device 160 as appropriate.

[0104] In this manner, a travel route can be generated that avoids crossing avoidance points 320 where crossing should be avoided as much as possible when visiting a plurality of visit points 310.

[0105] The above has described in detail the travel route generation device 100, the control method and program for the travel route generation device 100 according to this embodiment. According to this embodiment, it is possible to generate a travel route that avoids crossing avoidance points 320 where crossing is desired to be avoided when traveling to multiple visit points 310.

[0106] More specifically, as shown in (Equation 1), by generating a tour route using not only a first index value related to the route length (travel distance) of the tour route but also a second index value indicating the degree of impact of crossing the crossing avoidance point 320, it becomes possible to generate a tour route that minimizes the number of times crossing the crossing avoidance point 320 when touring multiple visit points 310, while also minimizing travel distance, travel time, CO2 emissions, etc.

[0107] Furthermore, by adjusting the values ​​of the coefficients a and b in (Equation 1), the weighting of the first index value and the second index value can be easily adjusted, making it possible to generate an optimal patrol route that corresponds to the work style of the worker patrolling each visiting point 310 and the local traffic conditions, etc.

[0108] Furthermore, workers and managers using the route generation device 100 can freely input crossing avoidance points 320 through the user interface. This makes it possible to precisely reflect the traffic conditions that vary from region to region in the route, making it possible to easily generate a more optimal route.

[0109] In this way, in this embodiment, a worker or manager who visits multiple visit points 310 can define the crossing avoidance points 320 themselves and generate a tour route that reflects those crossing avoidance points 320.

[0110] Furthermore, when AI (Artificial Intelligence) that automatically generates patrol routes is introduced, the route that workers take is entirely left to the AI, which tends to make the generated patrol route less convincing. In particular, if the results do not take into account events that veteran workers have experienced and avoided, such as traffic jams, this can lead to distrust of the AI. In contrast, in this embodiment, workers themselves can customize crossing avoidance points 320 on the map 300 via the user interface to address traffic jams, which have a particularly large impact. Therefore, because the patrol route can be controlled based on the setting information (crossing avoidance points 320) that the workers themselves input, the generated patrol route can be more convincing.

[0111] Furthermore, even if the system does not have statistical data on traffic congestion information, it can easily generate routes that avoid traffic congestion using geometric techniques based on the operator's experience.

[0112] The geometric concept of setting crossing avoidance points 320 and the concept of tour order are not immediately linked, but the idea of ​​indirectly influencing the tour route by adding the number of times the crossing avoidance points 320 are crossed to the time element is novel and beneficial.

[0113] The above-described embodiment is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and equivalents thereof are also included in the present invention.

[0114] For example, the route generation device 100 may register the crossing avoidance points 320 using an external map data provision service provided by an information processing device (not shown) that is communicatively connected, but in this case, the device may be configured without the map information management table 610.

[0115] In the above embodiment, a determination is made in advance as to whether or not all combinations of two visiting points 310 cross the crossing-avoidance point 320 and the determination is recorded in the crossing information management table 630. However, it is also possible to record the result in the crossing information management table 630 each time a determination is made as to whether or not a pair of two adjacent visiting points 310 on each candidate route crosses the crossing-avoidance point 320.

[0116] In this case, for a pair of visit points 310 that are already recorded in the traverse information management table 630, the traveling route generation device 100 can determine whether or not to cross the traverse-avoidance point 320 simply by referring to the result of that determination, while for a pair of visit points 310 that are not recorded in the traverse information management table 630, it is sufficient to determine whether or not to cross the traverse-avoidance point 320 at that time. This eliminates the need to perform processing to determine whether or not to cross the traverse-avoidance point 320 for a pair of two visit points 310 that are not adjacent on a candidate route, thereby improving the processing efficiency of the traveling route generation device 100.

[0117] Alternatively, the traveling route generation device 100 may be configured without the traverse information management table 630 and the traverse information storage unit 104. In this case, the traveling route generation device 100 may determine whether or not the traverse avoidance point 320 is crossed for every pair of two adjacent visit points 310 on each candidate route. [Explanation of symbols]

[0118] 100 Tour route generation device 101 Candidate route generation unit 102 Crossing Avoidance Area Reception Desk 103 Tour route generation unit 104 Crossing information storage unit 110 CPU 120 memory 130 Communication equipment 140 Storage device 150 Input Device 160 Output Device 170 Recording medium reader 300 Map 310 Visited Points 320 Avoid crossing areas 321 points 322 objects 500 Network 600 Visited Location Management Table 610 Map information management table 620 Crossing Avoidance Area Management Table 630 Crossing Information Management Table 700 Tour route generation device control program 800 Recording Media

Claims

1. A route generation device that generates a route for visiting a plurality of visiting points, a candidate route generation unit that generates a plurality of candidate routes that are candidates for the tour route; a crossing avoidance point receiving unit that receives an input of a crossing avoidance point that the user wishes to avoid crossing when traveling around the plurality of visit points; a circular route generation unit that calculates, for each of the plurality of candidate routes, a first index value related to the route length of the candidate route and a second index value related to the number of times the candidate route crosses the crossing avoidance point, and selects one candidate route from the plurality of candidate routes based on the calculation results of the first index value and the second index value, thereby generating the circular route; A tour route generation device comprising:

2. The travel route generation device according to claim 1, a map information management table that stores map information for displaying a map of an area including the plurality of visiting points; Equipped with The crossing avoidance point reception unit by accepting an input specifying a plurality of points on the map displayed using the map information, a broken line or a curve connecting the plurality of points is accepted as the crossing avoidance point; Tour route generation device.

3. The travel route generation device according to claim 2, The crossing avoidance point reception unit sequentially accepting inputs specifying a plurality of points on the map, and accepting a broken line or curved line connecting the plurality of points in the input order as the crossing avoidance location; Tour route generation device.

4. The travel route generation device according to claim 1, a map information management table that stores map information for displaying a map of an area including the plurality of visiting points; Equipped with The crossing avoidance point reception unit an input specifying an object on the map displayed using the map information is accepted, and a broken line or curve connecting a plurality of points specified by a plurality of pieces of position information indicating the positions of the object set in the map information is accepted as the crossing avoidance point; Tour route generation device.

5. The travel route generation device according to claim 1, The crossing avoidance point reception unit and receiving, as the avoid-crossing location, a broken line or a curved line connecting the plurality of points by acquiring position information of the plurality of points on the map from an information processing device that is communicably connected and that stores map information for displaying a map of an area including the plurality of points to be visited. Tour route generation device.

6. The travel route generation device according to claim 1, a map information management table that stores map information for displaying a map of an area including the plurality of visiting points; Equipped with The crossing avoidance point reception unit accepting an input specifying an object on the map displayed using the map information, and accepting the object as the crossing avoidance point; Tour route generation device.

7. The travel route generation device according to claim 1, The crossing avoidance point reception unit acquiring identification information of an object on the map from a communicably connected information processing device that stores map information for displaying a map of an area including the plurality of visiting points, and accepting the object as the crossing avoidance point; Tour route generation device.

8. 8. The travel route generation device according to claim 4, 6 or 7, The object on the map designated as the crossing avoidance point includes at least one of a road, a railroad, and a river. Tour route generation device.

9. The travel route generation device according to claim 1, The tour route generation unit For each of the candidate routes, the number of pairs of two visiting points on the candidate route where a route between two adjacent visiting points crosses the crossing-avoidance point is calculated as the number of times the crossing-avoidance point is crossed. Tour route generation device.

10. The travel route generation device according to claim 9, a crossing information storage unit configured to store, for each combination of two visiting points selected from the plurality of visiting points, crossing information indicating whether a route between the two visiting points crosses the crossing avoidance point; Equipped with The tour route generation unit determining whether a route between two adjacent visit points on the candidate route crosses the crossing avoidance point by referring to the crossing information; Tour route generation device.

11. A control method for a travel route generation device that generates a travel route for visiting a plurality of visiting points, comprising: The traveling route generation device generating a plurality of candidate routes for the tour route; Accepting input of crossing avoidance points at which the user wishes to avoid crossing when visiting the plurality of visit points; For each of the plurality of candidate routes, a first index value relating to the route length of the candidate route and a second index value relating to the number of times the candidate route crosses the crossing avoidance point are calculated, and one candidate route is selected from the plurality of candidate routes based on the calculation results of the first index value and the second index value, thereby generating the circular route. A method for controlling a tour route generation device.

12. A program for causing a computer to generate a route for visiting a plurality of visiting points, The computer, generating a plurality of candidate routes for the tour route; A step of receiving an input of crossing avoidance points at which the user wishes to avoid crossing when visiting the plurality of visit points; a step of calculating, for each of the plurality of candidate routes, a first index value relating to the route length of the candidate route and a second index value relating to the number of times the candidate route crosses the crossing avoidance point, and selecting one candidate route from the plurality of candidate routes based on the calculation results of the first index value and the second index value, thereby generating the circular route; A program to execute.

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