Information processing device

Abstract

The present invention provides an information processing device that can easily protect the protected portion of information collected from a vehicle, in response to changing targets for protection. [Solution] The information processing device includes a first generation unit that generates vehicle data including serial data in which multiple non-image information having different attributes is arranged at predetermined positions; a processing unit that performs concealment processing on information of attributes to be protected in the vehicle data using a protection mask having serial data of the same length as the information of the protected attributes; and an output unit that outputs the vehicle data that has been concealed by the processing unit.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] A data collection device mounted on a vehicle collects information on the vehicle and its occupants and transmits it to a server as vehicle information. The occupants include the driver. The server receives and stores the vehicle information. The vehicle information collected by the server is used, for example, in the development of vehicle control technologies and the like.

[0003] Here, the vehicle information includes personal information about the occupants. For example, information related to the acceleration and deceleration operations of the vehicle may include personal information about the driver's driving.

[0004] Therefore, it has been proposed to perform privacy processing on vehicle information (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-180929). In privacy processing, for example, privacy data included in image data, such as data that can identify privacy such as the face of a pedestrian, vehicle number, place name, store name, etc., is masked.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] By the way, the collection of information may be regulated by laws and regulations. And the types of information protected by laws and regulations may change.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing apparatus that can easily protect the protected part of the information collected from a vehicle in response to a changeable protection target. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] (1) According to one embodiment, an information processing device is provided. This information processing device is characterized by having a first generation unit that generates vehicle data including serial data in which a plurality of non-image information having different attributes is arranged at predetermined positions; a processing unit that performs concealment processing on information of attributes to be protected in the vehicle data using a protective mask having serial data of the same length as the information of the protected attributes; an output unit that outputs the vehicle data that has been concealed by the processing unit; and an output unit that outputs the masked vehicle data.

[0009] (2) In the information processing device of (1), it is preferable that the processing unit performs concealment processing so that the information of the protected attribute is kept secret and the information of the unprotected attribute is not changed, using protected serial data which has the same length as the vehicle data and in which a protective mask is placed at a position corresponding to the information of the protected attribute.

[0010] (3) In the information processing device of (1) or (2), it is preferable that all bits in the protective mask are zero.

[0011] (4) In the information processing device of (2) or (3), it is preferable to further have a second generation unit that generates a protective mask and protective serial data based on the location in the vehicle data where the information of the attribute to be protected is located and the length of the information of the attribute to be protected.

[0012] (5) In any of the information processing devices described in (1) to (4), it is preferable that the information of the protected attribute is related to personal information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The information processing device described herein has the effect of easily protecting the protected portion of the information collected from a vehicle in response to changing objects of protection. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of the data acquisition system in which the data acquisition device of this embodiment is implemented. [Figure 2] This is a hardware configuration diagram of a vehicle in which data collection equipment is installed. [Figure 3] This is an example of a sequence diagram of the data acquisition process of the data acquisition system of this embodiment. [Figure 4] This is an example of an operation flowchart for information processing by a data collection device. [Figure 5] (A) is a diagram illustrating an example of vehicle information, and (B) is a diagram illustrating the masking process. [Figure 6] (A) is a diagram illustrating a modified data acquisition device, and (B) is a diagram illustrating another example of mask generation. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the data acquisition system 1 in which the data acquisition device 12 of this embodiment is implemented. Figure 2 is a hardware diagram of the vehicle in which the data acquisition device is implemented.

[0016] The data collection system 1 comprises at least one vehicle 10 and a server 30. The vehicle 10 is equipped with an automatic control device 11 and a data collection device 12. The data collection device 12 is an example of an information processing device. The vehicle 10 connects to the server 30 via the macrocell base station 41 and the communication network 42, for example, by accessing a wireless base station 41 (hereinafter also referred to as the macrocell base station 41) that provides a macrocell, which is connected to the communication network 42 to which the server 30 is connected via a gateway (not shown), etc.

[0017] Although only one vehicle 10 is shown in Figure 1, the data collection system 1 may have multiple vehicles 10. Similarly, multiple macrocell base stations 41 may be connected to the communication network 42.

[0018] Vehicles 10 are traveling on road 50. The automatic control device 11 has an automatic driving mode in which the automatic control device 11 mainly drives the vehicle 10 (for example, driving modes of levels 3 to 5), and a manual driving mode in which a driver (not shown) mainly drives the vehicle 10 (for example, driving modes of levels 0 to 2). The vehicle 10 may be an autonomous vehicle.

[0019] In the manual driving mode, the automatic control device 11 controls the operation of the vehicle 10 based on the driver's operations. The driver sits in the driver's seat (not shown) in the vehicle cabin so as to be able to operate the steering wheel 32, the accelerator pedal 33, and the brake pedal 34.

[0020] The data collection device 12 installed in the vehicle 10 transmits the vehicle data acquired in the vehicle 10 to the server 30. The vehicle data includes, for example, passenger data regarding the driving of the vehicle 10 by the passengers, driving data representing the state of the vehicle 10, environmental data representing the environment around the vehicle, and the like.

[0021] The passenger data includes, for example, the frequency of the driver's distracted driving, the frequency of the driver's yawning, and the operation information of the steering wheel 32, the accelerator pedal 33, and the brake pedal 34. The driving data includes, for example, the speed and angular velocity of the vehicle 10. The environmental data includes, for example, information such as the position of the billboard around the vehicle 10, the size of the billboard, and the phone number shown on the billboard. Also, the environmental data may include information such as the position of other vehicles around the vehicle 10, the vehicle identification mark, size, color, and the like.

[0022] The passenger data may include the personal information of the driver. Also, the environmental data may include the personal information of the advertiser displaying the billboard.

[0023] Server 30 receives vehicle data from vehicle 10, which is used to improve vehicle control, generate or update high-precision maps. Vehicle data is used, for example, as training data for machine learning. High-precision maps are referenced by autonomous vehicles for autonomous driving. Vehicle data may include personal information that identifies occupants.

[0024] Figure 3 is an example of a sequence diagram of the data collection process of the data collection system 1. Referring to Figure 3, the general operation of the data collection system 1 will be explained below. Although only one vehicle 10 is shown in Figure 1, the server 30 can perform the same processing for multiple vehicles.

[0025] First, the server 30 transmits collection information representing the vehicle data to be collected to the vehicle 10 via the communication network 42 and the macrocell base station 41 (step S101). The collection information includes, for example, information representing the data to be collected, such as occupant data, driving data, and environmental data, as well as the area in which the vehicle data is collected.

[0026] Next, the data acquisition device 12 starts collecting vehicle information according to the collected information (step S102). The data acquisition device 12 collects, for example, steering signals representing the driver's operation of the steering wheel 32, accelerator signals representing the driver's operation of the accelerator pedal 33, and brake signals representing the driver's operation of the brake pedal 34 as occupant data. The steering signals, accelerator signals, and brake signals represent the driver's driving characteristics and therefore include the driver's personal information.

[0027] Furthermore, the data acquisition device 12 collects driving data, such as the vehicle's speed, angular velocity, and acceleration. In addition, the data acquisition device 12 collects environmental data, such as the location of signs around the vehicle 10, the size of the signs, and the telephone numbers displayed on the signs.

[0028] Next, the data acquisition device 12 generates vehicle data based on the collected vehicle information (step S103). As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle data has serial data in which each of a plurality of non-image pieces of information having different attributes is arranged in a predetermined position. For example, vehicle data D1 is generated which has attribute 1 data representing driving data, attribute 2 data representing occupant data, and attribute 3 data representing environmental data. Vehicle data D1 is serial data in which a plurality of bits 0 and bits 1 are arranged in series.

[0029] Next, the data acquisition device 12 performs a masking process on the information of attribute 2 to be protected in the vehicle data D1 using a mask M1 having serial data of the same length as the information of attribute 2 to be protected, thereby obtaining vehicle data D2 (step S104). Mask M1 is an example of a protective mask. Masking is an example of a concealment process. Mask M1 is serial data having the same length as the data of attribute 2 representing the occupant data. Through masking, while maintaining the structure of the vehicle data D1, multiple bits 0 and 1 representing the information of attribute 2 are changed, thereby protecting the confidentiality of the information of attribute 2.

[0030] In the example shown in Figure 1, the data acquisition device 12 generates a mask M2 consisting of serial data having the same length as the vehicle data D1. Mask M2 is an example of protected serial data. In mask M2, mask M1 is placed at the positions corresponding to the positions where the information of attribute 2 to be protected in the vehicle data D1 within mask M2 is placed. In mask M2, the bits other than those in the portion where mask M1 is placed are 1. Mask M1 may have all bits set to zero.

[0031] The data acquisition device 12 uses the mask M2 to perform masking so that information about protected attributes is concealed and information about unprotected attributes remains unchanged. Specifically, the data acquisition device 12 performs an AND operation between the vehicle data D1 and the mask M2 to obtain the vehicle data D2. This performs an AND operation between the information in the vehicle data D1 that has protected attribute 2 and the mask M1.

[0032] In vehicle data D2, the information for protected attribute 2 becomes zero after an AND operation. In vehicle data D2, the information for unprotected attributes 1 and 3 remains unchanged from vehicle data D1 due to the AND operation. Through masking, only the information for attribute 2 in vehicle data D2 is protected.

[0033] The above explanation shows that crew data is protected using mask M1. Similarly, driving data is protected using mask M3, where all bits are zero. Furthermore, environmental data is protected using mask M4, where all bits are zero.

[0034] Next, the data acquisition device 12 transmits the vehicle data D2 to the server 30 via the macrocell base station 41 and the communication network 42 (step S105).

[0035] Next, the server 30 stores the vehicle data D2 (step S106) and terminates the series of processes. In the vehicle data D2 stored by the server 30, the information portion of attribute 2 is all zero, so the occupant data portion is protected.

[0036] According to the data collection system 1 of this embodiment, as detailed above, the portion of the information collected from the vehicle 10 that needs to be protected can be easily protected in response to the ever-changing object of protection.

[0037] The data collection system 1 may include multiple vehicles 10, but since each vehicle only needs to have the same configuration and perform the same processing for information processing, the following description will focus on a single vehicle 10.

[0038] Next, the vehicle 10 on which the data acquisition device 12 is installed will be described below with reference to Figure 2.

[0039] Vehicle 10 includes a front camera 2a, a surveillance camera 2b, a communication device 3, a positioning information receiving device 4, a vehicle sensor 6, a user interface (UI) 7, a steering wheel 32, an accelerator pedal 33, a brake pedal 34, an automatic control device 11, a data acquisition device 12, etc. Vehicle 10 may further include a distance measuring sensor (not shown) for measuring the distance to objects around the vehicle 10, such as a LIDAR sensor.

[0040] The front camera 2a, the surveillance camera 2b, the communication device 3, the positioning information receiving device 4, the vehicle sensor 6, the user interface (UI) 7, the steering wheel 32, the accelerator pedal 33, the brake pedal 34, the automatic control device 11, and the data acquisition device 12 are all connected to each other via an in-vehicle network 13 that conforms to standards such as a controller area network.

[0041] The front camera 2a is mounted on the vehicle 10 so as to face forward. The front camera 2a acquires camera images representing the environment of a predetermined area in front of the vehicle 10, for example, at a predetermined period. The camera images are an example of information representing the environment around the vehicle. The camera images may represent roads included within the predetermined area in front of the vehicle 10, and road features around those roads.

[0042] The forward camera 2a has a two-dimensional detector composed of an array of photoelectric conversion elements sensitive to visible light, such as a CCD or C-MOS, and an imaging optical system that forms an image of the area to be acquired on the two-dimensional detector. Each time the forward camera 2a acquires a camera image, it outputs the camera image and the time the camera image was acquired to the automatic control device 11 and the data acquisition device 12 via the in-vehicle network 13.

[0043] The surveillance camera 2b is positioned inside the vehicle compartment 35 so as to be able to acquire surveillance images including the face of the driver operating the vehicle 10. The surveillance camera 2b is positioned, for example, on the dashboard. The surveillance camera 2b is an example of an image acquisition unit. The surveillance camera 2b acquires surveillance images representing the vicinity of the driver's seat at surveillance image acquisition times having a predetermined period. The surveillance images show the face of the driver seated in the driver's seat.

[0044] A surveillance camera 2b similar to the front camera 2a can be used. Each time the surveillance camera 2b acquires a surveillance image, it outputs the surveillance image and the time the image was acquired to the automatic control device 11 via the in-vehicle network 13. In the automatic control device 11, the surveillance image is used, for example, to monitor the driver's status.

[0045] The communication device 3 has an interface circuit for connecting the data acquisition device 12 to the macrocell base station 41. The communication device 3 is configured to communicate with the server 30 via the macrocell base station 41 and the communication network 42. The communication device 3 is an example of a device communication unit.

[0046] The positioning information receiving device 4 outputs positioning information representing the current location of the vehicle 10. For example, the positioning information receiving device 4 can be a GNSS receiver. Each time the positioning information receiving device 4 acquires GNSS information at a predetermined reception cycle, it outputs the positioning information and the time the GNSS information was acquired to the automatic control device 11 and the data collection device 12, etc. The positioning information includes, for example, the current location of the vehicle 10 expressed in world coordinates. The current location of the vehicle 10 includes, for example, latitude and longitude.

[0047] The vehicle sensor 6 detects the state of the vehicle 10 and outputs a sensor signal representing the state of the vehicle 10 to the automatic control device 11 and the data acquisition device 12 via the in-vehicle network 13. The vehicle sensor 6 detects, for example, the speed, angular velocity, and acceleration of the vehicle 10. The data acquisition device 12 can collect driving data based on the sensor signals.

[0048] The steering wheel 32 generates a steering signal corresponding to the steering angle by the driver and outputs it to the automatic control device 11 and the data acquisition device 12 via the in-vehicle network 13. The data acquisition device 12 can collect the steering signal as occupant data.

[0049] The accelerator pedal 33 generates an accelerator signal corresponding to the accelerator opening angle by the driver and outputs it to the automatic control device 11 and the data acquisition device 12 via the in-vehicle network 13. The data acquisition device 12 can collect the accelerator signal as occupant data.

[0050] The brake pedal 34 generates a brake signal corresponding to the amount of braking performed by the driver and outputs it to the automatic control device 11 and the data acquisition device 12 via the in-vehicle network 13. The data acquisition device 12 can collect the brake signal as occupant data.

[0051] UI7 is an example of a notification unit. UI7 is controlled by the automatic control unit 11 and the data acquisition device 12 to notify the driver of information related to the vehicle 10. UI7 has a display device 7a, such as a liquid crystal display or a touch panel, to display the information. UI7 may also have an acoustic output device (not shown) for notifying the driver of the information. UI7 also has an input device, such as a touch panel or operation buttons, to input operation information from the driver to the vehicle 10. UI7 outputs the input information to the automatic control unit 11 and the data acquisition device 12, etc., via the in-vehicle network 13.

[0052] The automatic control device 11 controls the operation of the vehicle 10. The automatic control device 11 detects objects around the vehicle 10 and their types (e.g., other vehicles) based on the detection results from the front camera 2a, etc. The automatic control device 11 may, for example, use a machine learning classifier to detect objects around the vehicle 10 and their types. The automatic control device 11 controls the operation of the vehicle 10 based on the detection results of objects around the vehicle 10 and the detection results from the vehicle sensor 6.

[0053] Furthermore, the automatic control device 11 detects information such as the location of signs around the vehicle 10, the size of signs, and the telephone numbers displayed on the signs, based on the detection results of the front camera 2a, etc. The automatic control device 11 may also use, for example, a machine learning classifier to detect environmental information such as the location of signs around the vehicle 10, the size of signs, and the telephone numbers displayed on the signs.

[0054] The automatic control device 11 outputs environmental information, including objects around the vehicle 10 and their types, to the data acquisition device 12, etc., via the in-vehicle network 13. The data acquisition device 12 can collect the environmental information as environmental data.

[0055] Furthermore, the automatic control device 11 detects the driver's gaze direction and the degree to which their mouth is open (hereinafter also referred to as the mouth opening degree) based on the monitoring image, and determines whether the driver has been distracted and whether they have yawned based on the detected gaze direction and mouth opening degree. The automatic control device 11 then detects the frequency of the driver's distracted gaze and the frequency of the driver's yawning to monitor the driver's condition. The automatic control device 11 also outputs the frequency of the driver's distracted gaze and the frequency of the driver's yawning to the data collection device 12 via the in-vehicle network 13.

[0056] The automatic control device 11 has an automatic driving mode in which the vehicle 10 is driven automatically, and a manual driving mode in which the operation of the vehicle 10 is controlled based on the driver's input. In the automatic driving mode, the automatic control device 11 is primarily responsible for driving the vehicle 10. In the automatic driving mode, the automatic control device 11 generates automatic control signals to control the operation of the vehicle 10, such as steering, driving, and braking, based on the vehicle 10's current position, map information, and detection results from sensors (not shown) such as cameras mounted on the vehicle 10, and outputs these automatic control signals to actuators that drive the steering wheels, drive units, or brakes via the in-vehicle network 13.

[0057] In manual driving mode, the automatic control device 11 controls the operation of the vehicle 10, such as steering, driving, and braking, based on the driver's input. In manual driving mode, the driver is primarily responsible for driving the vehicle 10. In manual driving mode, the automatic control device 11 generates manual control signals that control the operation of the vehicle 10, such as steering, driving, and braking, based on the driver's input to the steering wheel 32, accelerator pedal 33, or brake pedal 34, and outputs these manual control signals to the actuators that drive the steering wheels, the drive unit, or the brakes via the in-vehicle network 13. The data acquisition device 12 can collect manual control signals in manual driving mode and automatic control signals in automatic driving mode as driving data.

[0058] The data acquisition device 12 performs data acquisition, generation, masking, and control processing. To this end, the data acquisition device 12 has a communication interface (IF) 21, a memory 22, and a processor 23. The communication interface 21, the memory 22, and the processor 23 are connected via a signal line 24. The communication interface 21 has an interface circuit for connecting the data acquisition device 12 to the in-vehicle network 13.

[0059] Memory 22 is an example of a storage unit and includes, for example, volatile semiconductor memory and non-volatile semiconductor memory. Memory 22 may further include other storage devices such as a hard disk drive. Memory 22 stores computer programs and various data of applications used in information processing performed by the processor 23. Memory 22 also stores vehicle data.

[0060] Vehicle data includes occupant data, driving data, and environmental data, depending on the collected information. Protected attribute information within the vehicle data is masked before being provided externally.

[0061] All or part of the functions of the data acquisition device 12 are functional modules implemented by, for example, a computer program running on the processor 23. The processor 23 includes a data acquisition unit 231, a generation unit 232, a mask processing unit 233, and a control unit 234. The generation unit 232 is an example of a first generation unit and a second generation unit. The control unit 234 is an example of an output unit. The functional modules of the processor 23 may also be dedicated arithmetic circuits provided on the processor 23. The processor 23 has one or more CPUs (CENTRAL PROCESSING UNITs) and their peripheral circuits. The processor 23 may further have other arithmetic circuits such as a logic unit, a numerical unit, or a graphics processing unit. The data acquisition device 12 is, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU).

[0062] Based on positioning information, the collection unit 231 determines that the vehicle 10 is located in an area where vehicle information is to be collected, and then begins collecting vehicle information. The collection unit 231 collects vehicle information, including occupant data, driving data, and environmental data, according to the collected information, and stores it in the memory 22.

[0063] Figure 5(A) illustrates an example of vehicle information. In vehicle information, for example, multiple non-image pieces of information with different attributes are arranged as structures. Vehicle data has structure 1 having attribute 1 representing driving data, structure 2 having attribute 2 representing occupant data, and structure 3 having attribute 3 representing environmental data. In each structure, the data is represented in hexadecimal. 0x is a prefix indicating that it is a hexadecimal number. For example, if the vehicle information has 200 8-byte variables, the size of the vehicle data will be 8 bytes × 200 = 1600 bytes. Details of the operation of the data acquisition device 12 will be described later.

[0064] In the example shown in Figure 2, the collection unit 231, the generation unit 232, the mask processing unit 233, and the control unit 234 are located in a single device. However, the generation unit 232, the mask processing unit 233, and the control unit 234 may be located in a separate device from the collection unit 231.

[0065] Figure 4 is an example of an operation flowchart for the information processing of the data acquisition device 12. The information processing of the data acquisition device 12 will be described below with reference to Figure 4. The data acquisition device 12 performs the information processing shown in Figure 4 at information processing times that have a predetermined cycle.

[0066] First, the generation unit 232 generates vehicle data based on the vehicle information (step S201). Based on the vehicle information, the generation unit 232 generates serial data as vehicle data, in which each of a plurality of non-image pieces of information having different attributes is placed in a predetermined position.

[0067] In the example shown in Figure 5(B), the vehicle data D1 consists of structures 1 through 3 arranged in order. Each of structures 1 through 3 contains 8 bytes of data arranged in order. In the example shown in Figure 5(B), the vehicle data D1 is displayed in hexadecimal, but in reality, the vehicle data D1 is represented by multiple bits 0 and bit 1.

[0068] Next, the generation unit 232 generates a mask M1 with serial data of the same length as the information of the protected attribute 2 (structure 2) in the vehicle data D1 (step S202). The mask M1 is serial data of the same length as the data of structure 2 representing the occupant data.

[0069] In the example shown in Figure 5(B), the generation unit 232 generates a mask M2 having serial data of the same length as the vehicle data D1. In mask M2, mask M1 is placed at positions corresponding to the positions where information having attribute 2 to be protected in the vehicle data D1 within mask M2 is placed. In mask M2, the bits other than those in the portion where mask M1 is placed are 1. In the example shown in Figure 5(B), the bits for 8 bytes are represented by hexadecimal FF. It is preferable that all bits of mask M1 are zero. However, the bits 0 and 1 of mask M1 may be arranged randomly.

[0070] In mask M2, mask M3, where all bits are 1, mask M1, where all bits are zero, and mask M4, where all bits are 1, are arranged in this order. Mask M3 has serial data of the same length as the information of attribute 1 (structure 1) which is not protected in vehicle data D1, and mask M4 has serial data of the same length as the information of attribute 3 (structure 3) which is not protected in vehicle data D1.

[0071] Next, the mask processing unit 233 performs mask processing on the vehicle data D1 using the mask M2 (step S203). Mask processing is an example of concealment processing. The data acquisition device 12 uses the mask M2 to perform mask processing so that information about the protected attribute is concealed and information about the unprotected attribute is not changed. Mask M2 is an example of protected serial data. Specifically, the mask processing is performed so that the start bit and end bit of mask M1 correspond to the start bit and end bit of the information about the protected attribute 2. Specifically, the mask processing unit 233 performs an AND operation between the vehicle data D1 and mask M2 to obtain the vehicle data D2.

[0072] As a result of the AND operation, in vehicle data D2, all bits of the information for protected attribute 2 become zero. This makes the information with attribute 2 in vehicle data D1 undecipherable. From the viewpoint of protecting information, it is preferable to use an irreversible mask for the masking process.

[0073] Furthermore, in vehicle data D2, the information for attributes 1 and 3, which are not protected, remains unchanged from vehicle data D1 due to the AND operation. Through masking, only the information for attribute 2 in vehicle data D2 is protected. Note that masking may also be performed using logical operations other than the AND operation.

[0074] In the masking process described above, information with attribute 2 can be protected by performing a single random access to the vehicle data D1 stored in memory 22 and an AND operation, thereby significantly reducing the amount of processing required for the masking process.

[0075] For example, in the vehicle information shown in Figure 5(A), if the information of attribute 2 is protected at the variable level, it is necessary to randomly access the 200 variables stored in memory 22 200 times. Therefore, the data acquisition device 12 of this embodiment can significantly reduce the amount of processing required for mask processing.

[0076] Next, the control unit 234 transmits the vehicle data D2 to the server 30 using the communication device 3 (step S204), and terminates the series of processes.

[0077] The above explanation assumed that the protected data was the occupant data represented by attribute 2. The protected data may change due to changes in regulations. For example, if driving data is to be protected, a mask M3 with serial data of the same length as attribute 1 can be used for the information of attribute 1 to be protected in vehicle data D1. In this case, a mask M3 in which all bits are zero may be used.

[0078] Similarly, if environmental data is to be protected, a mask M4 with serial data of the same length as attribute 3 can be used for the information of attribute 3 to be protected in vehicle data D1. In this case, a mask M4 in which all bits are zero may be used.

[0079] As detailed above, the data acquisition device of this embodiment can easily protect the portion of the information collected from the vehicle 10 that is to be protected, in response to a change in the object of protection.

[0080] Next, a modified version of the data acquisition device of the above embodiment will be described below with reference to Figure 6(A). Figure 6(A) is a diagram illustrating a modified version of the data acquisition device.

[0081] The data collection device 12 may send multiple collected vehicle data sets to the server 30 in a batch. For example, the data collection device 12 may send n vehicle data sets sequentially from time t=0 to time t=n. The data collection device 12 may mask each of the n vehicle data sets using a mask before sending the n vehicle data sets sequentially.

[0082] In the present invention, the information processing apparatus of the embodiments described above can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to those embodiments, but extends to the invention described in the claims and its equivalents.

[0083] For example, in the embodiment described above, the data acquisition device generated the mask used for mask processing, but the mask may be received from the server. When the type of personal information to be protected by law is determined, the mask may be distributed from the server to the data acquisition device. In this case, it is preferable that the structure of the serial data in which multiple pieces of non-image information having different attributes are arranged in predetermined positions in the vehicle information is shared between the server and the data acquisition device.

[0084] As shown in Figure 6(B), the information transmitted from the server to the data acquisition device may include information representing the location within the vehicle data where the protected attribute information is located and the length of the protected attribute information. The generation unit of the data acquisition device may generate masks M1 and M2 based on this information. This reduces the amount of information transmitted from the server to the data acquisition device.

[0085] Alternatively, the server may send a request to the data acquisition device via a terminal, and in response, the server may send the mask to the data acquisition device.

[0086] Furthermore, the data collection device may generate a mask in response to the driver notifying it of a request to generate a mask using the UI.

[0087] Furthermore, as described above, the vehicle data may be masked by performing an AND operation on two or more generated masks.

[0088] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the vehicle data had serial data where each of the multiple pieces of non-image information having different attributes was placed at a predetermined position. However, the vehicle data may also have serial data where one or more pieces of image information having different attributes were placed at a predetermined position.

[0089] Furthermore, the attributes of the vehicle data in the embodiments described above are merely examples, and the attributes of the vehicle data are not limited to these. For example, in the embodiments described above, the environmental data included sign information such as the location of signs around the vehicle 10, the size of the signs, and the telephone number displayed on the signs, as well as other vehicle information such as the location of other vehicles around the vehicle 10, vehicle identification marks, size, and color. However, the attributes of the sign information and other vehicle information may be different.

[0090] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, masking was performed using protective serial data having the same length as the vehicle data and a protective mask placed at a position corresponding to the information of the attribute to be protected. However, if masking is performed using a protective mask on the information of the attribute to be protected in the vehicle data, masking may be performed without using protective serial data.

[0091] Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, the information to be protected was related to personal information, but the information to be protected does not have to be related to personal information. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0092] 1. Data Acquisition System 2a Front camera 2b Surveillance camera 3. Communication device 4. Positioning information receiving device 6. Vehicle Sensors 7. User Interface 7a Display device 10 vehicles 11 Automatic control system 12 Data Acquisition Device 21 Communication Interface 22 memory 23 processors 231 Collection Department 232 Generation part 233 Mask Processing Unit 234 Control Unit 24 signal lines 13. In-vehicle network 30 servers 41 Macrocell base stations 42 Communication Networks

Claims

1. A first generation unit generates vehicle data including serial data in which information of multiple non-images having different attributes is arranged at predetermined positions, A processing unit performs concealment processing on the information of the attribute to be protected in the aforementioned vehicle data using a protection mask having serial data of the same length as the information of the protected attribute, An output unit that outputs the vehicle data that has been processed to conceal the processing by the processing unit, An information processing device characterized by having the following:

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit performs the concealment process so that the information is concealed with respect to the information of the protected attribute and the information is not changed with respect to the information of the unprotected attribute, using the protective serial data having the same length as the vehicle data and wherein the protective mask is positioned at a position corresponding to the information of the protected attribute.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein all bits in the protective mask are zero.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a second generation unit that generates the protective mask and the protective serial data based on the location in the vehicle data where the information of the protected attribute is located and the length of the information of the protected attribute.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information of the protected attribute is related to personal information.

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