program

Abstract

This technology provides solutions to problems that arise when it becomes impossible to travel according to a given outing plan. [Solution] A program relating to one aspect of this disclosure causes a computer to perform the following actions: acquire an outing plan; use a route search engine to search for a plan to move sequentially to each destination in the outing plan based on the current time; evaluate whether it is possible to stay at each destination in the outing plan; and, if there are destinations where it is not possible to stay at them, modify the outing plan. Modifying the outing plan includes searching for alternative destinations of the same category within a predetermined distance range from the destination where it is not possible to stay at them; presenting the user with a list of one or more alternative destinations found; accepting the user's selection of an alternative destination from the presented list; and replacing the destination where it is not possible to stay with the selected alternative destination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 proposes a system that receives an input of a travel plan including two or more planned destinations and the planned stay time at each planned destination, and generates a recommended travel plan passing through each planned destination included in the travel plan by referring to the stored information.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] One object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique for eliminating problems that occur when it becomes impossible to move as per a given travel plan.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The program relating to the first aspect of this disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method. The information processing method includes obtaining an outing plan that includes multiple destinations, using a route search engine to search for a plan to move sequentially to each destination in the obtained outing plan based on the current time, evaluating whether it is possible to stay at each destination in the outing plan, and modifying the outing plan if there are destinations where it is not possible to stay at them. Modifying the outing plan includes searching for alternative destinations of the same category as the destinations where it is not possible to stay at them, within a predetermined distance range from the destinations where it is not possible to stay at them, creating a list of the one or more alternative destinations found, presenting the created list to the user, accepting the user's selection of an alternative destination from the presented list, and modifying the outing plan by replacing the destinations where it is not possible to stay with the selected alternative destinations. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide a technology for resolving problems that arise when it becomes impossible to travel according to a given outing plan. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Figure 1 schematically illustrates an example of a scenario in which this disclosure applies. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of the processing procedure at the user terminal. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of the procedure for modifying an outing plan. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] [1. Application Examples] Figure 1 schematically shows an example of a scenario in which the present disclosure is applied. User terminal 1 according to this embodiment is an example of an information processing device of the present disclosure. User terminal 1 acquires an outing plan 51 that includes a plurality of destinations 510. User terminal 1 uses a route search engine 30 to search for a plan to move sequentially to each destination 510 of the acquired outing plan 51 based on the current time, and evaluates whether it is possible to stay at each destination 510 of the outing plan 51 in a normal manner. If there is a destination 510 in which it is not possible to stay in a normal manner, user terminal 1 modifies the outing plan 51. Modifying the outing plan 51 This includes searching for alternative destinations 530 of the same category as the unacceptable destination 510 within a predetermined distance from the unacceptable destination 510; creating a list 53 of the one or more alternative destinations 530 found if one or more alternative destinations 530 are found; presenting the created list 53 to user U; accepting a selection of an alternative destination 530 from the presented list 53 from user U; and modifying the outing plan 51 by replacing the unacceptable destination 510 with the selected alternative destination 530.

[0009] Furthermore, as another form of the user terminal 1 (information processing device) relating to the above embodiment, one aspect of this disclosure may be an information processing method that realizes all or part of the above components, a program, or a machine-readable storage medium that stores a program. The machine-readable storage medium may be a non-temporary medium that stores information such as programs by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical action. The non-temporary storage medium may include storage media (CDs, DVDs, semiconductor memory, etc.), auxiliary storage devices of a computer, external storage devices connected to a computer, etc.

[0010] (Plans for going out) The configuration of the outing plan 51 is not particularly limited and may be determined as appropriate depending on the embodiment, provided that it includes multiple destinations 510. In one example, the outing plan 51 may include a departure point, departure time, each destination 510, the duration of stay at each destination 510, and the route. The departure point may be specified by the user U, or it may be given by any method, such as the current location. The user terminal 1 may be equipped with a positioning sensor (such as a GPS sensor), and the current location may be obtained by the positioning sensor. The departure time from the departure point may be specified by the user U, or it may be given by any method, such as the current time. The user terminal 1 may be equipped with a timer, and the current time may be obtained from the timer. Destinations 510 may be waypoints or final destinations. Multiple destinations 510 may consist of one or more waypoints and a final destination. Each destination 510 may be specified by the user U, or it may be selected by the user U from among candidate locations proposed by any computer processing. Known methods may be used to propose candidate locations. The duration of stay may be specified by user U, or it may be specified by statistical values ​​(mean, mode, etc.) of the duration of stay at destination 510 (facility, etc.). The route may be obtained by any route search engine (route search engine 30, etc.). The outing plan 51 may further include the predicted travel time for each section of the route (between the departure point and the first intermediate point, between intermediate points, between the final intermediate point and the final destination, etc.) and the predicted arrival time at each destination. The predicted travel time is the predicted result of travel time, and the predicted arrival time is the predicted result of arrival time. Travel time and arrival time may be predicted by any method. Known methods may be used to predict travel time and arrival time. The predicted travel time and arrival time may be calculated taking into account traffic conditions such as congestion information. The method for generating this outing plan 51 is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the embodiment. The outing plan 51 may be generated by a known method. The route search engine 30 may be used to generate the outing plan 51. The route search engine 30 may use a publicly known route search engine capable of predicting travel time. The route search engine 30 may be deployed on a search server 3 (external server), and the user terminal 1 may use the route search engine 30 by accessing the search server 3 via the network.After the departure time has passed, user terminal 1 may perform navigation according to the outing plan 51 as appropriate.

[0011] (Whether or not it is possible to stay there normally) Whether or not it is possible to stay at each destination 510 normally may be evaluated based on any indicator. For example, if destination 510 is a transit point and the transit point is a place with business hours, user terminal 1 may evaluate that it is possible to stay at the target destination 510 normally if it is possible to arrive within business hours and stay for a sufficient amount of time. Sufficient time may be set according to the length of stay at destination 510, such as being able to stay for n% of the total stay time (where n is any value including 100). On the other hand, if user terminal 1 is unable to arrive within business hours or is unable to stay for a sufficient amount of time Depending on whether it is impossible to do so, the user terminal 1 may evaluate whether it is possible to stay at the target destination 510 normally.If the transit point is a place without business hours, the determination of business hours may be omitted.Also, if the destination 510 is the final destination, the user terminal 1 may evaluate whether it is possible to stay at the destination 510 normally depending on whether it is possible to arrive by the allowable arrival time.If the final destination is a place with business hours, the user terminal 1 may evaluate whether it is possible to stay at the target destination 510 normally depending on whether it is possible to arrive by the allowable arrival time and whether it is possible to stay for a sufficient amount of time.The user terminal 1 may evaluate whether it is impossible to stay at the target destination 510 normally depending on whether it is impossible to arrive by the allowable arrival time or whether it is impossible to stay for a sufficient amount of time.The allowable arrival time may be specified by the user U, or it may be automatically determined by any calculation, such as a time calculated by subtracting a sufficient amount of time from the closing time of the final destination.

[0012] (Searching based on the current time) The current time used as the basis for the route search engine 30 may be the time at which the route search engine 30 performs its search. If the user has not yet started (departed) traveling according to the outing plan 51, searching based on the current time may mean using the information obtained up to the current time (traffic information, congestion information, etc.) to search for a route that starts from the departure time and moves sequentially to each destination 510. Traffic information may include, for example, information such as road closures and construction. If traffic conditions (for example, road closures, slow zones, etc.) change after the outing plan 51 has been generated, it is possible that destinations 510 that cannot be normally stayed at may be generated in the outing plan 51, even before departure. Therefore, even before departure, the user terminal 1 may perform the above information processing related to the evaluation and modification of the outing plan 51. On the other hand, if the user has already started traveling according to the outing plan 51, the departure point and departure time may be the current location and current time, and each destination 510 in the outing plan 51 may be a destination 510 from the original outing plan 51 that has not yet been reached. Searching based on the current time may involve using the information obtained up to the current time to find a route that starts moving from the current time and current location and sequentially moves to each destination 510. If the route search engine 30 is used to generate the outing plan 51, this search during evaluation may be a re-search.

[0013] (alternative destination) The alternative destination 530 is located within a predetermined distance from the normally unacceptable destination 510 and is of the same genre as the normally unacceptable destination 510. The predetermined distance may be arbitrarily defined. The alternative destination 530 may be a place that can be reached within business hours and where a sufficient amount of time can be spent. The alternative destination 530 may be searched for on a map using any method. A known method may be used to search for the alternative destination 530. The search for the alternative destination 530 may be performed on the user terminal 1 or on an external computer such as the search server 3. When the search process for the alternative destination 530 is performed on an external computer, the search for the alternative destination 530 may consist of requesting the external computer to search for the alternative destination 530 and obtaining the search results for the alternative destination 530 from the external computer. The genre may be set appropriately according to the attributes of the destination, for example, restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets, stations, parks, rest facilities, amusement facilities, tourist facilities, etc. Restaurants may include various types of establishments such as fast food restaurants and cafes. The genre categories are not limited to these examples and may be set as appropriate depending on the embodiment.

[0014] Each alternative destination 530 may be evaluated using any metric, and in List 53, each alternative destination 530 may be sorted in order of evaluation. The metrics may include, for example, distance, popularity, and length of stay. For example, the shorter the travel distance via an alternative destination 530, the higher the evaluation of that alternative destination 530; and the longer the travel distance, the lower the evaluation of that alternative destination 530. For example, the higher the popularity (recommendation level, user rating, etc.) of an alternative destination 530, the higher the evaluation of that alternative destination 530; and the lower the popularity, the lower the evaluation of that alternative destination 530. Also, for example, if the length of stay at an alternative destination 530 is limited... In some cases, the alternative destination 530 may be highly rated, and if it is possible to arrive within business hours but the stay is not permitted, the alternative destination 530 may be less rated.

[0015] [2 Example Configurations] As shown in Figure 1, in one example, the user terminal 1 according to this embodiment may be a computer in which a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication interface 13, an input device 14, and an output device 15 are electrically connected. The control unit 11 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), R The storage unit 12 includes AM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc., and is configured to perform arbitrary information processing. The storage unit 12 may be composed of, for example, a hard disk drive, a solid-state drive, a semiconductor memory, etc. In this embodiment, the storage unit 12 stores various information such as a program 81 and planning information 50 indicating an outing plan 51. The program 81 is a program that causes the user terminal 1 to perform the above information processing related to the evaluation and modification of the outing plan 51. The program 81 includes a series of instructions for the information processing. The program 81 is an example of a program in this disclosure. At least one of the program 81 and the planning information 50 may be stored in the storage medium 91 instead of or together with the storage unit 12. The user terminal 1 may access the storage medium 91 in any way and may obtain at least one of the program 81 and the planning information 50 from the storage medium 91. The storage medium 91 is configured to store various information (programs, etc.) by electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical, or chemical means so that a machine such as a computer can read the information. The type of storage medium 91 is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the embodiment. The storage medium 91 may be a storage medium (CD, DVD, semiconductor memory, etc.), an external storage device, or a storage device of an external computer. The storage medium 91 is an example of a non-temporary storage medium.

[0016] The communication interface 13 is configured to perform wired or wireless data communication via a network. The communication interface 13 may be constituted by, for example, a wired LAN (Local Area Network) module, a wireless LAN module, etc. In the present embodiment, the user terminal 1 may execute data communication via a network with another computer (for example, the search server 3, etc.) using the communication interface 13. The input device 14 is configured to receive input of information by, for example, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch pad, an operator, etc. The output device 15 is configured to output information by, for example, a display, a speaker, etc. The user U can operate the user terminal 1 by using the input device 14 and the output device 15. The input device 14 and the output device 15 may be at least partially integrally constituted by, for example, a touch panel display, etc.

[0017] Regarding the specific hardware configuration of the user terminal 1, depending on the embodiment, omission, replacement, and addition of components are possible as appropriate. For example, the control unit 11 may include a plurality of hardware processors. The type of the hardware processor does not have to be limited to a CPU and may be appropriately selected according to the embodiment. The user terminal 1 may be, in addition to a computer designed specifically for the provided service, a general-purpose PC (Personal Computer), a tablet PC, a mobile terminal (including a smartphone), etc. When the user terminal 1 is used inside a vehicle, the user terminal 1 may be an in-vehicle device (in-vehicle terminal).

[0018] [3 Operation Example] Figure 2 shows an example of the processing procedure of the user terminal 1 according to the present embodiment. The control unit 11 of the user terminal 1 executes the instructions included in the program 81 by the CPU. As a result, the user terminal 1 operates as a computer capable of executing the information processing shown in Figure 2 below. The following processing procedure is an example of an information processing method executed by a computer. However, the following processing procedure is only an example, and each step may be changed as much as possible. Also, regarding the following processing procedure, depending on the embodiment, steps can be omitted, replaced, and added as appropriate.

[0019] In step S11, the control unit 11 acquires an outing plan 51 including a plurality of destinations 510. In step S12, the control unit 11 evaluates whether it is possible to stay normally at each destination 510 of the acquired outing plan 51 by searching with the route search engine 30 a plan to sequentially move to each destination 510 of the outing plan 51 based on the current time. In step S13, the control unit 11 determines whether there is a destination 510 that cannot stay normally based on the evaluation result of step S12. If there is no destination 510 that cannot stay normally, the control unit 11 omits the processing of the next step S14 and ends the processing procedure according to this operation example. On the other hand, if there is a destination 510 that cannot stay normally, the control unit 11 proceeds to the processing of step S14. In step S14, the control unit 11 modifies the outing plan 51.

[0020] Figure 3 shows an example of the processing procedure for modifying the outing plan 51 (step S14) according to this embodiment. In step S141, the control unit 11 searches for alternative destinations 530 of the same category as the destination 510 that cannot be stayed at normally, within a predetermined distance range from the destination 510 that cannot be stayed at normally. In step S142, the control unit 11 determines the branch destination of the processing according to the search results of step S141. If one or more alternative destinations 530 are found, the control unit 11 proceeds to the next step S143. If no alternative destinations 530 are found, the control unit 11 omits the processing in steps S143 to S146 and terminates the processing procedure related to this example of operation. In this case, the control unit 11 may notify the user U via the output device 15 that there is a destination 510 that cannot be stayed at normally and that there are no alternative destinations 530. The control unit 11 may also suggest to the user U that the destination 510 that cannot be stayed at normally be removed from the outing plan 51 (cancel the trip to the destination 510 that cannot be stayed at normally).

[0021] In step S143, the control unit 11 creates a list 53 of one or more found alternative destinations 530. In step S144, the control unit 11 presents the created list 53 to the user U. In one example, the control unit 11 may present the list 53 via the output device 15. In step S145, the control unit 11 accepts the user U's selection of an alternative destination 530 from the presented list 53. In one example, the control unit 11 may accept the selection of an alternative destination 530 via the input device 14. In step S146, the control unit 11 modifies the outing plan 51 by replacing the destination 510 that cannot be stayed at normally with the selected alternative destination 530. Returning to Figure 2, once the modification of the outing plan 51 is complete, the control unit 11 terminates the processing procedure related to this example.

[0022] If there are multiple destinations 510 that are unable to be stayed in under normal circumstances, the control unit 11 may execute the series of processes in step S14 (steps S141 to S146) for each destination 510. Replacing the original destination 510 with a new destination (selected alternative destination 530) may cause another destination 510 to become unable to be stayed in under normal circumstances. Therefore, after replacing with the selected alternative destination 530, the control unit 11 may execute the processes again from step S11. In this way, if another destination 510 becomes unable to be stayed in under normal circumstances, the control unit 11 may execute the process in step S14 for that destination 510. The control unit 11 may repeatedly execute the series of processes in steps S11 to S14 at any time. The control unit 11 may execute the series of processes in steps S11 to S14 periodically, for example, every few minutes. The control unit 11 may also execute the series of processes in steps S11 to S14 when an event occurs, for example, such as receiving traffic congestion information.

[0023] [Features] Traditionally, there are navigation systems that generate an outing plan by setting multiple destinations (intermediate points, final destination) and moving sequentially to each destination, and then perform navigation according to the generated outing plan. With this navigation system, the effort of setting a new destination (next destination) each time a destination is reached is eliminated. However, the generated external Travel may not always proceed as planned. If travel does not proceed as planned, problems may arise such as not being able to stay at the destination long enough or missing the destination's operating hours.

[0024] In contrast, in this embodiment, in step S12, the given outing plan 51 is evaluated based on the current departure time to confirm whether it is possible to stay at each destination 510 normally. If there is a destination 510 where it is not possible to stay normally, the outing plan 51 can be modified by prompting a change to an alternative destination 530 through the processing in step S14 (steps S141 to S146). Therefore, according to this embodiment, when it becomes impossible to travel according to the given outing plan 51, the problem can be resolved by modifying the outing plan 51.

[0025] [4. Variant] While embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above, the above description is merely illustrative in all respects. The processes and means described in this disclosure can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical inconsistencies arise. Various improvements or modifications may be made to the above embodiments as appropriate.

[0026] For example, the plan information 50 may be stored in the memory of an external server such as server 2. User terminal 1 may obtain the outing plan 51 by referring to the plan information 50 held on the external server. Also, for example, the route search engine 30 may be held on user terminal 1 or server 2. In this case, the search for the plan in step S12 may be performed on user terminal 1 or server 2. The search server 3 may be omitted. Also, for example, the information processing device of this disclosure is not limited to user terminal 1. In another example, server 2 may be an example of the information processing device of this disclosure, and the processing in Figures 2 and 3 may be performed on server 2 (control unit 21). In this case, server 2 may autonomously execute the processing from step S11, or may execute the processing from step S11 in response to a request from user terminal 1. In step S144, server 2 may present list 53 to user U via user terminal 1. In step S145, server 2 may accept the selection of an alternative destination 530 via user terminal 1. After step S14, server 2 may send the revised outing plan 51 to user terminal 1. User terminal 1 may perform navigation for user U according to the revised outing plan 51. As shown in Figure 1, in one example, server 2 may be a computer in which a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a communication interface 23 are electrically connected. The control unit 21 to communication interface 23 of server 2 may be configured similarly to the control unit 11 to communication interface 13 of user terminal 1. The storage unit 22 may store various information such as program 82 and plan information 50. Program 82 may be configured similarly to program 81. Regarding the specific hardware configuration of server 2, components can be omitted, replaced, and added as appropriate depending on the embodiment. For example, the control unit 21 may include multiple hardware processors. The type of hardware processor is not limited to a CPU and may be selected as appropriate depending on the embodiment. Server 2 may be a computer specially designed for this purpose, as well as a general-purpose PC, a general-purpose server device, etc. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0027] 1...User terminal, 2...Server, 30...Route search engine 51…Outing plan, 510…Destination, 53…List, 530…Alternative destination

Claims

[Claim 1] A program that causes a computer to execute an information processing method, The aforementioned information processing method is To obtain an outing plan that includes multiple destinations, The system searches for a plan to sequentially move to each destination of the acquired outing plan using a route search engine based on the current time, and evaluates whether it is possible to stay at each destination of the outing plan in a normal manner, and If there are destinations where it is not possible to stay for an extended period, please revise your travel plans. Includes, Modifying the aforementioned outing plan is Searching for an alternative destination of the same type as the aforementioned destination where it is not possible to stay normally, within a predetermined distance from the aforementioned destination where it is not possible to stay normally. If one or more alternative destinations are found, create a list of the one or more alternative destinations found. To present the created list to the user, The user is allowed to select an alternative destination from the presented list, and The outing plan is modified by replacing the destination where a normal stay is not possible with the selected alternative destination. including, program.

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