Information processing device

Abstract

We will improve the technology that provides content while the vehicle's battery is charging. [Solution] The information processing device 20 comprises a communication unit 21 capable of communicating with the vehicle, a control unit 22, and a storage unit 23. The control unit 22 stores multiple contents in the storage unit 23, and when the charging start conditions for the vehicle 10 are met, it obtains the predicted charging time of the vehicle based on the charging conditions of the vehicle 10, selects one or more contents from the multiple contents based on the charging time, and provides the selected one or more contents to the vehicle 10 via LAN.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a technique for providing content during charging of a vehicle battery has been known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for managing the state of a battery during charging of a vehicle and changing entertainment content to be provided according to the remaining charging time of the battery.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] There has been room for improvement in the technique of providing content during charging of a vehicle battery.

[0005] In view of such circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve the technique of providing content during charging of a vehicle battery.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an information processing device comprising a communication unit capable of communicating with a vehicle, a control unit, and a storage unit, wherein the control unit stores a plurality of contents in the storage unit, acquires battery information including the remaining battery charge, battery capacity, and battery temperature of the vehicle, and when the conditions for starting charging of the vehicle are met, inputs the battery information of the vehicle into a machine learning model trained with the battery information as a feature and the charging time as the ground truth label to determine a predicted charging time, selects one or more contents from the plurality of contents based on the charging time, and provides the selected one or more contents to the vehicle via LAN.

[0007] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is an information processing device comprising a communication unit capable of communicating with a vehicle, a control unit, and a storage unit, wherein the control unit stores a plurality of contents in the storage unit, and when the vehicle's charging start conditions are met, it obtains the vehicle's charging time predicted based on the vehicle's charging conditions, determines one or more contents from the plurality of contents based on the charging time, and provides the determined one or more contents to the vehicle via LAN. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the technology for providing content while a vehicle's battery is charging is improved. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This block diagram shows a schematic configuration of a system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart showing the operation of an information processing device according to one embodiment of this disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described below.

[0011] (Summary of the embodiment) As shown in Figure 1, an overview of System 1 according to the embodiment of this disclosure will be described. System 1 comprises a vehicle 10, an information processing device 20, and a charging device 30. The user can charge the vehicle 10 using the charging device. While the conditions for starting charging of the vehicle 10 are met, the user can receive content from the information processing device 20 via the network 40.

[0012] Vehicle 10 is, for example, an automobile, but is not limited to that and may be any vehicle. The automobile may be a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), or FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle), but is not limited to these. The number of vehicles 10 provided in System 1 may be determined arbitrarily.

[0013] The information processing device 20 is one or a group of computers that can communicate with each other and can communicate with the vehicle 10 via the network 40.

[0014] The charging equipment 30 is configured to charge the battery of the vehicle 10 when the vehicle 10 is an electric vehicle such as a BEV or PHEV. The charging equipment 30 may include a converter or inverter that controls the current or voltage supplied to the battery of the vehicle 10. The charging equipment 30 may include a processor or dedicated circuit that controls the charging of the battery and the entire charging equipment. The charging equipment 30 may include a power supply cable or power supply connector that connects to the vehicle 10. The charging equipment 30 may include a device configured to supply power to the vehicle 10 without contact. The charging equipment 30 may be connected to a power grid and charge the battery of the vehicle 10 with power supplied from the power grid. The charging equipment 30 may include a power source such as a battery or a generator and charge the battery of the vehicle 10 with power supplied from the power source.

[0015] First, an overview of this embodiment will be described, and details will be described later. The information processing device 20 includes a communication unit 21 capable of communicating with the vehicle 10, a control unit 22, and a storage unit 23. The control unit 22 stores multiple contents in the storage unit 23, and when the charging start conditions for the vehicle 10 are met, it obtains the predicted charging time for the vehicle 10 based on the charging conditions for the vehicle 10, selects one or more contents from the multiple contents based on the charging time, and provides the selected one or more contents to the vehicle 10 via the LAN.

[0016] Thus, according to this embodiment, for example, by utilizing a LAN established at a charging spot, when the conditions for starting charging of the vehicle 10 are met, it becomes possible to provide content in a high-speed, stable, and highly secure environment. For example, updates to the map data of the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and car navigation system installed in the vehicle 10 can be performed while power is being supplied. Furthermore, since the content to be provided to the user is determined based on the charging time, the user can spend the waiting time for charging meaningfully. Therefore, the technology for providing content while the vehicle 10's battery is charging is improved in that it can enhance the user experience.

[0017] Next, we will describe each component of System 1 in detail.

[0018] (Vehicle configuration 10) As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle 10 includes a communication unit 11, an output unit 12, an input unit 13, and a control unit 14.

[0019] The communication unit 11 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 40. These communication interfaces may, for example, support mobile communication standards such as 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation), but are not limited to these. In this embodiment, the vehicle 10 communicates with the information processing device 20 via the communication unit 11 and the network 40.

[0020] The output unit 12 includes one or more output devices that output information. The output device is, for example, a display or a speaker, etc., but is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the output unit 12 may include an interface for connecting an external output device.

[0021] The input unit 13 includes one or more input devices that detect user input. The input device is, for example, a physical key, a capacitive key, a pointing device such as a mouse, a touch screen provided integrally with the display of the output unit 12, or a microphone that receives voice input, etc., but is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the input unit 13 may include an input interface that detects user input via an external input device.

[0022] The control unit 14 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor is, for example, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited thereto. The programmable circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), but is not limited thereto. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), but is not limited thereto. The control unit 14 controls the operation of the entire vehicle 10.

[0023] (Configuration of the information processing device 20) As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing device 20 includes a communication unit 21, a control unit 22, and a storage unit 23.

[0024] The communication unit 21 includes one or more communication interfaces connected to the network 40. These communication interfaces may, for example, support mobile communication standards such as 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation), but are not limited to these. In this embodiment, the information processing device 20 communicates with the vehicle 10 via the communication unit 21 and the network 40.

[0025] The control unit 22 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited to these. The programmable circuit is an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), but is not limited to this. The dedicated circuit is an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), but is not limited to this. The control unit 22 controls the operation of the entire information processing device 20.

[0026] The storage unit 23 includes one or more memories. The memories are, for example, semiconductor memories, magnetic memories, or optical memories, but are not limited to these. Each memory included in the storage unit 23 may function as, for example, a main memory, an auxiliary memory, or a cache memory. The storage unit 23 stores any information used in the operation of the information processing device 20. For example, the storage unit 23 may store system programs, application programs, and embedded software. The storage unit 23 also stores multiple contents to be provided to the vehicle 10.

[0027] (Operation flow of the information processing device 20) As shown in Figure 2, the operation of the information processing device 20 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0028] S100: The control unit 22 of the information processing device 20 stores multiple contents in the storage unit 23.

[0029] The content may include any electronic content such as videos, music, games, ebooks, podcasts, navigation map data, OTA (Over The Air) data, advertising data, or interactive content. The information processing device 20 may receive content, for example, via the communication unit 21 and the network 40, or it may acquire content by any method.

[0030] S101: The control unit 22 acquires information on whether or not the conditions for starting charging of the vehicle 10 have been met.

[0031] The charging start condition may be determined by the vehicle or charging equipment detecting that the charging cable has been connected to the vehicle using a sensor that physically or electrically detects that the charging cable has been connected to the vehicle. Alternatively, the vehicle or charging equipment may detect that the vehicle has entered a charging area using a sensor that electromagnetically detects that the vehicle has entered a charging area. The control unit 22 may receive information on whether the charging start condition has been met from the vehicle 10 or the charging equipment 30 connected to the network 40 via the network 40. Furthermore, the charging start condition may be determined by any method, not limited to these. If the charging start condition for the vehicle 10 is met, S102 is executed.

[0032] S102: The control unit 22 acquires battery information including the remaining battery charge, battery capacity, and battery temperature of the vehicle 10.

[0033] Battery information includes, but is not limited to, battery level, battery capacity, and battery temperature. It may also include any other information. The control unit 22 may acquire battery information from the vehicle 10 or the charging equipment 30 connected to the network 40 via the communication unit 21 and the network 40.

[0034] S103: The control unit 22 acquires information on the charging mode selected by the user from among multiple charging modes.

[0035] The charging mode may include, for example, a normal charging mode and a fast charging mode, but is not limited to these and may include any other mode. The normal charging mode and the fast charging mode may have different settings, such as the charging current and the user's payment.

[0036] S104: The control unit 22 obtains the predicted charging time for the vehicle 10 based on the charging conditions of the vehicle 10.

[0037] The charging conditions include, for example, information such as the amount of charge, charging current, and full charge, but are not limited to these and may include any other information. The charging current may be the current value corresponding to the charging mode detailed in S103.

[0038] The information processing device 20 may store a machine learning model in the memory unit 23. In this case, the battery information of the vehicle 10 may be input to a machine learning model trained with the battery information detailed in S102 as a feature and the charging time as the ground truth label, and the predicted charging time may be determined. This makes it possible to determine the charging time with greater accuracy.

[0039] S105: The control unit 22 selects one or more contents from among the multiple contents stored in the memory unit 23 based on the charging time.

[0040] For content with a fixed playback time, such as videos or music, the content may be selected so that the playback time is shorter than the charging time. For content without time constraints, such as games, the content may be selected if the charging time is longer than a predetermined time. Furthermore, for data such as navigation map data or OTA data, the content may be selected so that the data download time is shorter than the charging time. This allows, for example, connected cars with expired communication contracts to perform software updates at charging stations.

[0041] Furthermore, as will be detailed in S107, the storage unit 23 may also store history information of one or more contents provided to the vehicle 10. In this case, one or more contents to be provided to the vehicle 10 may be determined based on the first condition that they are one or more contents included in or related to the history information. This allows, for example, the vehicle to continue providing content from where it left off if charging is completed before content provision is finished. It also allows for the determination of content related to content provided to the user.

[0042] Furthermore, one or more pieces of content to be provided to the vehicle 10 may be determined based on a second condition that the charging mode selected by the user is a predetermined charging mode. For example, the predetermined condition may be a fast charging mode. In such a case, high-value content may be provided to users who select the normal charging mode for a fee. On the other hand, high-value content may be provided free of charge to users who select the fast charging mode. This can encourage users to select the fast charging mode, which has a shorter charging time, and increase the number of users of the charging facility 30.

[0043] S106: The control unit 22 provides one or more determined contents to the vehicle 10 via the LAN.

[0044] By providing content via a LAN established at charging spots, users can receive content in a high-speed, stable, and highly secure environment without paying communication fees.

[0045] S107: The control unit 22 further stores history information of one or more contents provided to the vehicle 10 in the storage unit 23.

[0046] The historical information includes, but is not limited to, the date the content was provided to vehicle 10, the title of the content, the time it took to play the content, the time the content was played, the data size of the content, the data size of the content sent, the genre of the content, and related content information.

[0047] While this disclosure has been described based on the drawings and embodiments, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on this disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functions, etc., included in each component or step can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple components or steps can be combined into one or divided into two.

[0048] For example, in the embodiment described above, it is also possible to distribute the configuration and operation of the information processing device 20 to multiple computers that can communicate with each other. For example, it is also possible to install some or all of the components of the information processing device 20 in the vehicle 10 or the charging equipment 30.

[0049] In the embodiment described above, the vehicle 10 may further include an imaging unit and a storage unit. The vehicle 10 may store moving images captured by the imaging unit in the storage unit. The vehicle 10 may also store information such as driving area information and driving distance in the storage unit. In this case, in S105, the control unit 22 may determine one or more driving history information from among the multiple driving history information stored by the vehicle 10 based on the charging time. In S106, the control unit 22 may receive the determined one or more driving history information from the vehicle 10 via LAN. Driving history information refers to, for example, information such as the driving distance of the vehicle 10, driving area, and moving images recorded by the drive recorder, but is not limited to this and may include any information. This makes it possible to collect information necessary to achieve autonomous driving technology and the like. Also, since the user uses LAN, there is no need to pay communication fees.

[0050] Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the control unit 22 may determine one or more contents in S105 and provide the vehicle 10 with a list of one or more contents. In this case, the vehicle 10 may display the list of one or more contents on the output unit 12 for the user to select. The information processing device 20 may also provide the vehicle 10 with content selected by the user. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1 System, 10 Vehicle, 11 Communication Unit, 12 Output Unit, 13 Input Unit, 14 Control Unit, 20 Information Processing Unit, 21 Communication Unit, 22 Control Unit, 23 Storage Unit, 30 Charging Equipment, 40 Network

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising a communication unit capable of communicating with a vehicle, a control unit, and a storage unit, The control unit, Multiple contents are stored in the storage unit, The vehicle acquires battery information including the remaining battery charge, battery capacity, and battery temperature. When the conditions for starting charging of the vehicle are met, the battery information of the vehicle is input into a machine learning model trained with the battery information as a feature and the charging time as the ground truth label, and the predicted charging time is determined. From the aforementioned multiple contents, one or more contents are selected based on the predicted charging time. An information processing device that provides the vehicle with the one or more determined contents via a LAN.

2. An information processing device comprising a communication unit capable of communicating with a vehicle, a control unit, and a storage unit, The control unit, Multiple contents are stored in the storage unit, When the conditions for starting the charging of the vehicle are met, the charging time of the vehicle predicted based on the vehicle's charging conditions is obtained. From the aforementioned multiple contents, one or more contents are selected based on the charging time. An information processing device that provides the vehicle with the one or more determined contents via a LAN.

3. An information processing apparatus according to claim 2, The control unit, The history information of one or more contents provided to the vehicle is further stored in the storage unit. An information processing device that determines one or more pieces of content to be provided to the vehicle based on a first condition that they are included in or related to the historical information.

4. An information processing apparatus according to claim 2, The control unit, The system retrieves information about the charging mode selected by the user from among multiple charging modes. An information processing device that determines one or more contents to be provided to the vehicle based on a second condition that the selected charging mode is a predetermined charging mode.

5. An information processing apparatus according to claim 2, The control unit, From among the multiple driving history information stored in the vehicle, one or more driving history information is selected based on the charging time. An information processing device that receives one or more determined driving history information from the vehicle via the LAN.

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