Judgment device, terminal, server, judgment method, and program

Abstract

The present invention provides a determination device, terminal, server, determination method, and program for appropriately determining whether a terminal is located indoors or not. [Solution] In a system comprising multiple vehicles, multiple terminals, and a server, the determination device of the server 60 includes: a first acquisition unit that acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between a terminal and one or more other terminals; a second acquisition unit that acquires second information indicating at least one of the determination result of whether or not the other terminal is indoors and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal, which have been acquired by the other terminals; and a determination unit that determines whether or not the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information. The determination method acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between a terminal and one or more other terminals, acquires second information indicating at least one of the determination result of whether or not the other terminal is indoors and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal, which have been acquired by the other terminals, and determines whether or not the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a determination device, a terminal, a server, a determination method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe techniques for determining whether a mobile terminal is indoors or outdoors. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents] Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2014-123847 Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020-071666

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] By the way, it is an issue to appropriately determine whether a terminal is indoors or not. The present application aims to improve safety in order to solve the above issue. And, by extension, it contributes to the development of a sustainable transportation system by further improving traffic safety.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] In a first aspect of the present invention, a determination device is provided. The determination device includes a first acquisition unit that acquires first information indicating a positional relationship between a terminal and one or more other terminals. The determination device includes a second acquisition unit that acquires second information indicating at least one of a determination result as to whether the other terminal is indoors or not and a positioning accuracy in the other terminal, which is acquired in the other terminal. The determination device includes a determination unit that determines whether the terminal is indoors or not based on the first information and the second information.

[0005] In the determination device described above, the first information may include information indicating a distance between the terminal and the other terminal.

[0006] In any of the above-described determination devices, the determination unit may, based on the first information, select another terminal whose distance from the terminal is shorter than a predetermined value, and based on the second information of the selected other terminal, determine whether or not the terminal is indoors.

[0007] Any of the above determination devices may include a third acquisition unit that acquires third information indicating the movement status of the other terminal. The determination unit may determine whether or not the terminal is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0008] In any of the above-described determination devices, the determination unit may calculate the importance of the second information based on the third information, and use the importance to determine whether or not the terminal is indoors.

[0009] In any of the above determination devices, the third information may indicate the amount of movement of the other terminal per unit time.

[0010] In any of the above determination devices, the other terminal may be a mobile terminal. The third information may indicate the number of steps counted by the other terminal.

[0011] In any of the above determination devices, the third acquisition unit may acquire the third information based on the amount of change in distance between the terminal and the other terminal acquired by short-range wireless communication.

[0012] In any of the determination devices described above, the second information may indicate the positioning accuracy of the other terminal. The positioning accuracy of the other terminal may indicate at least one of the following: the reception sensitivity of the satellite signal received by the other terminal from the positioning satellite, the number of positioning satellites used by the other terminal, and the elevation angle of the satellite signal.

[0013] In any of the above-described determination devices, the determination unit may calculate an index value for determining whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information, and determine whether the terminal is indoors by comparing the index value with a threshold value. The determination device may include a setting unit that sets the threshold value based on instructions from the user of the terminal.

[0014] In a second embodiment of the present invention, a terminal is provided. The terminal comprises any of the determination devices described above.

[0015] The above-mentioned terminal may include a communication control unit that controls the content of communication between the terminal and an external server based on the determination result of the determination unit.

[0016] Any of the above terminals may include a communication unit that transmits the terminal's location information to a server that distributes information indicating traffic risk at the location where the terminal is located. The terminal may also include a communication control unit that restricts the transmission of the location information to the server by the communication unit based on the determination result of the determination unit.

[0017] Any of the above terminals may include a communication unit that receives information indicating traffic risks at the location where the terminal is located from a server that distributes information indicating traffic risks. The terminal may also include a notification control unit that controls the sending of notifications based on the traffic risk information received by the communication unit. The notification control unit may restrict the sending of notifications if the determination unit determines that the terminal is indoors.

[0018] In a third embodiment of the present invention, a server is provided. The server comprises any of the determination devices described above.

[0019] The server described above may include a communication control unit that controls the content of communication between the server and the terminal based on the determination result of the determination unit.

[0020] Any of the above servers may include a communication control unit that performs control for transmitting information indicating the traffic risk at the location where the terminal is present. When it is determined by the determination unit that the terminal is indoors, the communication control unit may restrict the transmission of information indicating the traffic risk at the location where the terminal is present more than when it is determined by the determination unit that the terminal is not indoors.

[0021] In a fourth aspect of the present invention, a determination method is provided. The determination method includes the step of obtaining first information indicating the positional relationship between a terminal and one or more other terminals. The determination method includes the step of obtaining second information indicating at least one of a determination result as to whether the other terminal obtained at the other terminal is indoors and the positioning accuracy at the other terminal. The determination method includes the step of determining whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information.

[0022] In a fifth aspect of the present invention, a program is provided. When the program is executed by a computer, it causes the computer to function as any of the above determination devices. The program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.

[0023] The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the features of the present invention. Also, sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be inventions.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0024] [Figure 1] Schematically shows the usage scenario of the support system 10. [Figure 2] Shows the functional configuration of the terminal 82. [Figure 3] Shows the functional configuration of the server 60. [Figure 4] Shows a flowchart regarding a determination method for determining whether the terminal 82 is indoors. [Figure 5] It is a diagram for explaining a situation in which an indoor terminal 82 is likely to be determined not to be indoors. [Figure 6] The importance information used to determine the importance of the second piece of information used in the determination unit 340 is shown in table format. [Figure 7] This shows an example of the execution sequence of processes performed in terminal 82, vehicle information processing device 40 of vehicle 20, and server 60. [Figure 8] Another example of the execution sequence of processing performed in terminal 82, vehicle 20's in-vehicle information processing device 40, and server 60 is shown. [Figure 9] Another example of the execution sequence of processing performed in terminal 82, vehicle 20's in-vehicle information processing device 40, and server 60 is shown. [Figure 10] Examples of computer 2000 in which multiple embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part are shown. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0025] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but these embodiments are not intended to limit the invention as defined in the claims. Furthermore, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0026] Figure 1 schematically shows a usage scenario of the support system 10. The support system 10 comprises vehicles 20a and 20b, terminals 82a, 82b, 82c, 82d, 82e, 82f, 82g, and 82h, and a server 60.

[0027] Vehicle 20a is equipped with an in-vehicle information processing device 40a, and vehicle 20b is equipped with an in-vehicle information processing device 40b. Terminal 82a is a terminal owned by person 80a, terminal 82b is a terminal owned by person 80b, terminal 82c is a terminal owned by person 80c, terminal 82d is a terminal owned by person 80d, terminal 82e is a terminal owned by person 80e, terminal 82f is a terminal owned by person 80f, terminal 82g is a terminal owned by person 80g, and terminal 82h is a terminal owned by person 80h.

[0028] In this embodiment, vehicles 20a and 20b may be collectively referred to as "vehicle 20". Onboard information processing devices 40a and 40b may be collectively referred to as "onboard information processing device 40". Terminals 82a and 82b may be collectively referred to as "terminal 82", and terminals 82c, 82d, 82e, 82f, 82g, and 82h may be collectively referred to as "terminal 82". Persons 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d, 80e, 80f, 80g, and 80h may be collectively referred to as "person 80". Person 80 is, for example, a pedestrian.

[0029] Vehicle 20 is a vehicle that travels on road 90. Vehicle 20 is an example of a mobile object. Vehicle 20 is composed of various sensors, including a position sensor including a receiver that receives satellite signals from a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) satellite, a vehicle speed sensor, an imaging device, and a radar. The onboard information processing device 40 has the function of processing information acquired by the various sensors installed in vehicle 20. The onboard information processing device 40 has the function of communicating with onboard information processing devices 40 of other vehicles 20 and with the server 60. The onboard information processing device 40 provides the advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) functions installed in vehicle 20.

[0030] Terminal 82 is, for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone. Terminal 82 is an example of a mobile terminal. Terminal 82 has a positioning function. Terminal 82 receives satellite signals from positioning satellites (e.g., GNSS satellites) such as GNSS satellites, and measures its current position based on the received satellite signals. Terminal 82 periodically transmits position information indicating the measured current position of Terminal 82 to the server 60 as the position information of person 80.

[0031] Terminal 82 obtains the positioning accuracy calculated based on satellite signals from positioning satellites. Examples of the positioning accuracy at terminal 82 include the reception sensitivity of satellite signals by terminal 82, the number of satellites whose signals were received by terminal 82, and the elevation angle of the satellite signals.

[0032] Server 60 receives information transmitted from the in-vehicle information processing device 40 and terminal 82 via mobile communication. Server 60 may also receive information transmitted from the in-vehicle information processing device 40 and terminal 82 via mobile communication, the Internet, and other communication lines such as dedicated lines.

[0033] The server 60 provides traffic assistance to the vehicle 20 based on the location information of the vehicle 20 and the person 80 received from the in-vehicle information processing device 40 and the user terminal 82. For example, the server 60 determines, based on the location information of the vehicle 20 and the person 80, whether the person 80 and the vehicle 20 will approach each other within a predetermined time, and if it determines that the person 80 and the vehicle 20 will approach each other within a predetermined time, it provides traffic assistance to the vehicle 20 and / or the person 80. For example, the server 60 provides traffic assistance by transmitting warning information, which instructs the in-vehicle information processing device 40 and the user terminal 82 to output a warning, as information indicating traffic risk.

[0034] In this embodiment, terminal 82 determines whether or not it is inside the building. If terminal 82 determines that it is not inside the building, it transmits its location information. On the other hand, if terminal 82 determines that it is inside the building, it suppresses the transmission of its location information. For example, terminals 82f, 82g, and 82h, which are determined to be outside the building 92, transmit their location information, but terminals 82b, 82c, 82d, and 82e, which are determined to be inside the building 92, do not transmit their location information.

[0035] Figure 1 shows the case where person 80a enters building 92. Terminal 82a performs short-range wireless communication with other terminals 82 in its vicinity and receives information indicating the positioning accuracy of the other terminals 82.

[0036] As an example of short-range wireless communication, Bluetooth® standard wireless communication can be used. Terminal 82a obtains the distance between itself and other terminals 82 based on the wireless signals used for communication between itself and other terminals 82.

[0037] For example, terminal 82a obtains the distance between itself and other terminals 82 based on the signal strength of the radio signal used for short-range wireless communication and / or the time of flight of the radio signal. For example, terminal 82a may obtain the distance between itself and each of the other terminals 82 based on the RSSI of the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacons from each of the other terminals 82. Terminal 82a may obtain the distance between itself and each of the other terminals 82 based on the time of flight of the UWB (Ultra Wide Band) pulse signal.

[0038] Terminal 82a extracts positioning accuracy from other terminals 82 whose distance from terminal 82a (sometimes called relative distance) is shorter than a predetermined value. Based on the extracted positioning accuracy, terminal 82a determines whether or not it is indoors, based on the number of other terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is lower than the predetermined value and the number of other terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is equal to or greater than the predetermined value. For example, terminal 82 determines that terminal 82a is indoors if the number of other terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is lower than the predetermined value is greater than the number of other terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is equal to or greater than the predetermined value.

[0039] For example, terminal 82a is determined to be indoors because, among the other terminals 82b, 82c, 82d, 82e, 82f, and 82g, whose relative distance is shorter than a predetermined value, the positioning accuracy of terminals 82b, 82c, 82d, and 82e is less than a predetermined value, while the positioning accuracy of terminals 82f and 82g is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. As a result, terminal 82a refrains from transmitting location information to server 60. This prevents server 60 from unnecessarily providing traffic assistance to terminal 82a.

[0040] For example, terminal 82g determines that it is not indoors because, among the other terminals 82a, 82f, and 82h whose relative distance is shorter than a predetermined value, the positioning accuracy of terminal 82a is less than a predetermined value, while the positioning accuracy of terminals 82f and 82h is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Specifically, terminal 82g determines that it is outdoors. As a result, terminal 82g transmits its location information to server 60. Based on this, server 60 can provide traffic assistance.

[0041] One method for determining whether terminal 82 is indoors is to determine whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the strength of the received satellite signal from the positioning satellite. However, with this method, if terminal 82 is located near the entrance or exit of building 92, or near a window of building 92, and can receive a relatively strong satellite signal compared to when terminal 82 is located deep inside building 92, it may not be possible to accurately determine whether terminal 82 is indoors based solely on the strength of the received satellite signal. In contrast, according to this embodiment, terminal 82a located near the entrance or exit of building 92 is determined to be indoors if there are many other terminals 82 with low positioning accuracy around terminal 82a. This allows for a more accurate determination of whether terminal 82a is indoors compared to the method based on the strength of the received satellite signal.

[0042] According to this embodiment, it is possible to suppress the transmission of location information of terminal 82a, which is located inside building 92 and has little need for traffic assistance, to server 60. This reduces the power consumption of terminal 82a for transmitting location information. Furthermore, it reduces the amount of computation required for processing performed by server 60 for traffic assistance. On the other hand, terminal 82g, which is located outside building 92, transmits location information to server 60, so that server 60 can provide traffic assistance based on the location information of terminal 82g. This ensures traffic safety.

[0043] In this embodiment, the server 60, like the terminals 82, has a function to determine whether or not a terminal 82 is indoors. For example, the server 60 receives from each terminal 82 information indicating the relative distance between each terminal 82 and other terminals 82, and information indicating the positioning accuracy at each terminal 82. Based on the information received from each terminal 82, the server 60 determines whether or not each terminal 82 is indoors, using the method described in relation to terminals 82a and 82g, etc. The server 60 provides traffic assistance considering the determination result of whether or not a terminal 82 is indoors. Because the server 60 has a function to determine whether or not a terminal 82 is indoors, even if there are terminals 82 that do not have a function to determine whether or not they are indoors, the server 60 can provide traffic assistance considering the determination result of whether or not a terminal 82 is indoors.

[0044] Figure 2 shows the functional configuration of terminal 82. Terminal 82 comprises a processing unit 300, a satellite signal receiving unit 304, a communication unit 390, and a storage unit 380.

[0045] The communication unit 390 is responsible for communication with the server 60 based on the control of the processing unit 300. The processing unit 300 is implemented by a circuit including, for example, a processing unit including a processor. The processing unit 300 may be implemented by a microcomputer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and bus. The storage unit 380 is implemented by a non-volatile storage medium. The processing unit 300 performs processing using the information stored in the storage unit 380.

[0046] The processing unit 300 comprises a determination device 302, a notification control unit 360, and a communication control unit 370. The determination device 302 comprises a first acquisition unit 310, a second acquisition unit 320, a third acquisition unit 330, a determination unit 340, and a setting unit 350. A configuration in which the terminal 82 does not possess some of the functions of the functional configuration shown in Figure 2 may be adopted.

[0047] The satellite signal receiving unit 304 receives satellite signals transmitted from positioning satellites such as GNSS satellites and outputs the position of the terminal 82 based on the received signals. The satellite signal receiving unit 304 further outputs information indicating the positioning accuracy based on the satellite signals.

[0048] Positioning accuracy includes at least one of the following: satellite signal reception sensitivity, number of satellites used for positioning, and satellite signal elevation angle. Reception sensitivity may be received signal strength. Reception sensitivity may be, for example, information indicating the signal strength of the satellite signal received by terminal 82. Reception sensitivity may be signal-to-noise ratio, carrier noise power density ratio, etc. The number of satellites used for positioning may be the number of satellites that can be used for positioning or the number of satellites used for positioning. The satellite signal elevation angle may be the average value of the received satellite signal elevation angles, or the average value of the elevation angles of satellite signals with elevation angles greater than a predetermined value. Positioning accuracy may be an accuracy value. Positioning accuracy may be various DOP values, etc. The satellite signal receiving unit 304 may output various other types of information indicating positioning accuracy.

[0049] The first acquisition unit 310 acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82. For example, the first information may include information indicating the distance between terminal 82 and the other terminals 82.

[0050] The second acquisition unit 320 acquires second information indicating at least one of the determination result obtained by the other terminal 82, which is whether or not the other terminal 82 is indoors, and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82. The positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82 may be at least one of the following: the reception sensitivity of the satellite signal received by the other terminal 82 from the positioning satellite, the number of positioning satellites used by the other terminal 82, and the elevation angle of the satellite signal. The information indicating the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82 may be information indicating whether or not the positioning accuracy determined by the other terminal 82 is higher than a predetermined value.

[0051] The determination unit 340 determines whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the first and second information. For example, based on the first information, the determination unit 340 selects another terminal 82 whose distance from terminal 82 is shorter than a predetermined value, and then determines whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the second information of the selected other terminal 82. In this way, by determining whether terminal 82 is indoors by considering the positional relationship of other surrounding terminals 82 and the positioning accuracy and / or indoor / indoor

[0052] The third acquisition unit 330 acquires third information indicating the movement status of the other terminal 82. The third information may indicate the amount of movement per unit time of the other terminal 82. If the other terminal 82 is a mobile terminal, the third information may indicate the number of steps counted by the other terminal 82. The third information may indicate the number of steps counted by a step counter installed in the other terminal 82. For example, the third information may indicate the number of steps counted based on the acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor installed in the other terminal 82. The third acquisition unit may acquire the third information based on the change in distance between terminal 82 and the other terminal 82, which is acquired by short-range wireless communication.

[0053] The determination unit 340 may determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information. The determination unit 340 may calculate the importance of the second information based on the third information, and use the calculated importance to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors. The determination unit 340 may calculate the importance of the second information based on the second information and the third information, and use the calculated importance to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors.

[0054] The determination unit 340 may calculate an index value for determining whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the first and second information, and determine whether terminal 82 is indoors by comparing the index value with a threshold. The setting unit 350 may set a threshold based on instructions from the user of terminal 82.

[0055] The communication control unit 370 controls the content of communication between the terminal 82 and the external server based on the determination result of the determination unit 340. For example, the communication unit 390 transmits the location information of terminal 82 to the server 60, which distributes information indicating traffic risk at the location where terminal 82 is located, and the communication control unit 370 restricts the transmission of location information to the server by the communication unit 390 based on the determination result of the determination unit 340.

[0056] The communication unit 390 receives information indicating traffic risks at the location of terminal 82 from the server 60, which distributes information indicating traffic risks. The notification control unit 360 controls the notification based on the traffic risk information received by the communication unit 390. The notification control unit 360 restricts notifications if the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is indoors. This makes it possible to suppress the notification of traffic risk information when terminal 82 is determined to be indoors.

[0057] The communication unit 390 may transmit to the server 60 information indicating the positional relationship between terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82, the determination result of whether terminal 82 is indoors or not, and information indicating at least one of the positioning accuracy of terminal 82. The communication unit 390 may further transmit to the server 60 information indicating the movement status of terminal 82. This enables the server 60 to appropriately determine whether terminal 82 is indoors or not. The communication unit 390 may also transmit the determination result of the determination unit 340 to the server 60, which distributes information indicating traffic risk at the location where terminal 82 is located.

[0058] Figure 3 shows the functional configuration of server 60. Server 60 comprises a processing unit 200, a communication unit 290, and a storage unit 280.

[0059] The communication unit 290 is responsible for communication between the in-vehicle information processing unit 40, the terminal 82, and the server 60, based on the control of the processing unit 200. The processing unit 200 is implemented by a circuit including, for example, a processing unit including a processor. The processing unit 200 may be implemented by a microcomputer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and bus. The storage unit 280 is implemented by a non-volatile storage medium. The processing unit 200 performs processing using the information stored in the storage unit 280.

[0060] The communication unit 290 receives location information transmitted from terminal 82. The communication unit 290 receives information transmitted from terminal 82 indicating the positional relationship between terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82. The communication unit 290 receives information indicating at least one of the determination result of whether terminal 82 is indoors or not, and the positioning accuracy of terminal 82. The communication unit 390 receives information transmitted from terminal 82 indicating the movement status of terminal 82.

[0061] The processing unit 200 comprises a determination device 202, a support control unit 260, and a communication control unit 270. The determination device 202 comprises a first acquisition unit 210, a second acquisition unit 220, a third acquisition unit 230, a determination unit 240, and a setting unit 250. A configuration in which the server 60 does not possess some of the functions of the functional configuration shown in Figure 3 may be adopted.

[0062] The first acquisition unit 210 acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82. For example, the first information may include information indicating the distance between terminal 82 and the other terminals 82.

[0063] The second acquisition unit 220 acquires second information indicating at least one of the determination result obtained by terminal 82, which is whether terminal 82 is indoors or not, and the positioning accuracy of terminal 82. The positioning accuracy of terminal 82 may be at least one of the following: the reception sensitivity of the satellite signal received by terminal 82 from the positioning satellite, the number of positioning satellites used by terminal 82, and the elevation angle of the satellite signal.

[0064] The determination unit 240 determines whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information and the second information. For example, based on the first information, the determination unit 240 selects another terminal 82 whose distance from terminal 82 is shorter than a predetermined value, and then determines whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the second information of the selected other terminal 82.

[0065] The third acquisition unit 230 acquires third information indicating the movement status of terminal 82. The third information may indicate the amount of movement per unit time of other terminals 82. If terminal 82 is a mobile terminal, the third information may indicate the number of steps counted by terminal 82. The third information may indicate the number of steps counted by a step counter installed in terminal 82. For example, the third information may indicate the number of steps counted based on the acceleration detected by an acceleration sensor installed in terminal 82. The third acquisition unit may acquire third information calculated based on the change in distance between terminal 82 and other terminals 82, which is acquired by terminal 82 via short-range wireless communication.

[0066] The determination unit 240 may determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information. The determination unit 240 may calculate the importance of the second information based on the second information and the third information, and use the importance to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors.

[0067] The determination unit 240 may calculate an index value for determining whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the first and second information, and determine whether terminal 82 is indoors by comparing the index value with a threshold. The setting unit 250 may set a threshold based on instructions from the user of terminal 82.

[0068] The communication control unit 270 controls the transmission of information indicating traffic risks at the location where terminal 82 is located. When the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is indoors, the communication control unit 270 restricts the transmission of information indicating traffic risks at the location where terminal 82 is located more than when the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is not indoors. Specifically, when the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is indoors, the communication control unit 270 does not transmit information indicating traffic risks at the location where terminal 82 is located, but when the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is not indoors, it transmits information indicating traffic risks at the location where terminal 82 is located. In this way, the communication control unit 270 controls the content of communication between the server and terminal 82 based on the determination result of the determination unit 340.

[0069] The support control unit 260 performs control related to providing support to traffic participants. The support control unit 260 distributes information regarding traffic risks to the terminal 82 and the in-vehicle information processing device 40. For example, based on the location information of the vehicle 20 and the terminal 82, the support control unit 260 predicts the future positions of the vehicle 20 and the terminal 82 and predicts whether the vehicle 20 and the terminal 82 will approach each other within a predetermined distance within a predetermined time. If it is predicted that the vehicle 20 and the terminal 82 will approach each other within a predetermined distance within a predetermined time, the support control unit 260 transmits alarm information to the terminal 82 and the vehicle 20 instructing them to output an alarm.

[0070] Figure 4 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for determining whether terminal 82 is indoors or not. Figure 4 describes a method by which terminal 82 itself determines whether it is indoors or not. The process in this flowchart is executed periodically by terminal 82.

[0071] In S400, the first acquisition unit 310 acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between terminal 82 and one or more other terminals 82. For example, the first information is information indicating the distance between terminal 82 and the other terminals 82. The first acquisition unit 310 may calculate the distance between terminal 82 and each of the other terminals 82 based on the received strength of BLE beacons transmitted from each of the other terminals 82. The first acquisition unit 310 may calculate the distance between terminal 82 and each of the other terminals 82 based on the time of flight of pulse signals of UWB communication transmitted from each of the other terminals 82.

[0072] In S402, the second acquisition unit 320 acquires second information indicating at least one of the determination result obtained by the other terminal 82, which is whether or not the other terminal 82 is indoors, and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82. In this embodiment, the second acquisition unit 320 acquires second information indicating the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82.

[0073] In S404, the third acquisition unit 330 acquires third information indicating the movement status of the other terminal 82. In this embodiment, the third acquisition unit 330 acquires information indicating the number of steps per unit time counted by the other terminal 82 as third information. The number of steps per unit time is an example of the amount of movement of the terminal 82 per unit time.

[0074] In S406, the determination unit 340 extracts second and third information of other terminals 82 that are within a predetermined distance. For example, based on the first information, the determination unit 340 selects other terminals 82 whose distance from terminal 82 is shorter than a predetermined value, and extracts second and third information of the selected terminals 82.

[0075] In S408, the determination unit 340 calculates an index value for the number of terminals whose positioning accuracy is lower than a predetermined value (referred to here as "L") and an index value for the number of terminals whose positioning accuracy is higher than or equal to a predetermined value (referred to here as "H"). Subsequently, in S410, the determination unit 340 compares L and H calculated in S408 and determines whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the comparison result (S412, S414, etc.). In this way, based on the first information, the determination unit 340 selects other terminals 82 whose distance from terminal 82 is shorter than a predetermined value, and determines whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the second information of the selected other terminals 82.

[0076] The index values ​​L and H are explained as follows: Index value L may be the number of terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is lower than a predetermined value, and index value H may be the number of terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Index value L may be a weighted sum of the number of terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is lower than a predetermined value, and index value H may be a weighted sum of the number of terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Index value L may be a weighted sum obtained by weighting the number of terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is lower than a predetermined value according to the importance of each terminal 82's second information, and index value H may be a weighted sum obtained by weighting the number of terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is equal to or greater than a predetermined value according to the importance of each terminal 82's second information.

[0077] The determination unit 340 may determine importance based on the movement status of other terminals 82. The determination unit 340 may determine importance based on the movement status and positioning accuracy of other terminals 82. An example of determining importance based on the movement status and positioning accuracy of other terminals 82 will be explained in relation to Figure 6. The determination unit 340 may determine importance based on the distance between terminal 82 and other terminals 82. The determination unit 340 may determine a higher importance the shorter the distance between terminal 82 and other terminals 82. The determination unit 340 may determine importance based on any combination of the first information, the second information, and the third information.

[0078] In S410, the determination unit 340 compares L and H calculated in S408. For example, the determination unit 340 uses Δ1 and Δ2 as thresholds for determining whether the terminal 82 is indoors. The determination unit 340 determines whether L > H + Δ1 (that is, L - H > Δ1) and whether L < H + Δ2 (that is, L - H < Δ2). However, the value of Δ1 is greater than or equal to the value of Δ2. Δ1 may be a positive value, and Δ2 may be a negative value. Δ1 and Δ2 may be 0.

[0079] If it is determined in S410 that L > H + Δ1, in S412, the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82 is not indoors. If it is determined in S410 that L < H + Δ2, in S412, the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82 is not indoors. That is, the determination unit 340 determines that the terminal 82 is outdoors. The smaller Δ1 is, the easier it is to determine that the terminal 82 is indoors. The larger Δ2 is, the easier it is to determine that the terminal 82 is not indoors.

[0080] L - H is an example of an index value for determining whether the terminal 82 is indoors. As described in relation to S410, the determination unit 340 calculates an index value (for example, L - H) for determining whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information, and may determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors by comparing the index value with the threshold values (Δ1 and / or Δ2).

[0081] Δ1 and Δ2 may be thresholds set by the setting unit 350 based on user instructions. In this case, the setting unit 350 may set Δ1 and Δ2 based on instructions from person 80. For example, the setting unit 350 may ask person 80 whether or not to make it easier to determine that terminal 82 is indoors, and if person 80 instructs to make it easier to determine that terminal 82 is indoors, the setting unit 350 may set Δ1 to a value that is a predetermined value smaller than the reference value (e.g., 0). The setting unit 350 may ask person 80 whether or not to make it easier to determine that terminal 82 is outdoors, and if person 80 instructs to make it easier to determine that terminal 82 is outdoors, the setting unit 350 may set Δ2 to a value that is a predetermined value larger than the reference value (e.g., 0).

[0082] If it is determined in S410 that H+Δ2≦L≦H+Δ1, then in S416 the determination unit 340 determines whether the terminal 82 is indoors or outdoors based on the user setting. The setting unit 350 may present the person 80 with options for user setting when it is not possible to determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors or outdoors based on L and H, which include (i) determining based on satellite signals, (ii) determining that the terminal 82 is indoors, or (iii) determining that the terminal 82 is outdoors, and may determine the user setting based on the option selected by the person 80.

[0083] If person 80 has selected to (i) make a determination based on location and map information measured based on satellite signals, in S416, the determination unit 340 may (a) determine whether terminal 82 is indoors based on the current location of terminal 82 detected by satellite signal receiving unit 304 and the location information of buildings included in the map information stored in storage unit 280, and (b) determine that terminal 82 is indoors if the received intensity of the satellite signal received by satellite signal receiving unit 304 is lower than a predetermined value, and determine that terminal 82 is not indoors if the received intensity of the satellite signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0084] If person 80 has selected to (ii) determine that terminal 82 is indoors, the determination unit 340 may determine in S416 that terminal 82 is indoors. If person 80 has selected to (iii) determine that terminal 82 is outdoors, the determination unit 340 may determine in S416 that terminal 82 is not indoors.

[0085] As explained in relation to Figure 4, the determination unit 340 determines whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information. In other configurations, the determination unit 340 may determine whether the terminal 82 is indoors based on the first information and the second information, without considering the third information. In this configuration, the processing in S404 can be omitted. In this case, the determination unit 340 may extract the second information of other terminals 82 within a predetermined distance in 406, and calculate L and H in S408 based on the extracted second information.

[0086] Figure 4 illustrates the case where the second information indicates positioning accuracy, but the second information may be information obtained by another terminal 82 indicating whether or not that other terminal 82 is indoors. Specifically, the second information may be information indicating the determination result by the determination unit 340 of the other terminal 82. In this case, in S408, the determination unit 340 may set L as the index value of the number of other terminals 82 determined not to be indoors, and H as the index value of the number of other terminals 82 determined to be indoors. Thus, the second information may be information obtained by another terminal 82 indicating whether or not that other terminal 82 is indoors and / or indicating the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82.

[0087] Figure 4 illustrates an example in which, in S406, the determination unit 340 extracts second and third information of other terminals 82 that are within a predetermined distance from terminal 82, and in S408, calculates index values ​​L and H based on the second and third information extracted in S406. As another example, in S406, the determination unit 340 may also extract second and third information of terminal 82 that is the target of determination as to whether or not it is indoors. Furthermore, in S408, the determination unit 340 may determine that the importance of terminal 82's own second information is higher than that of other terminals 82. In S408, the determination unit 340 may determine that the importance of terminal 82's own second information is higher than that of other terminals 82 if the number of other terminals 82 that are within a predetermined distance from terminal 82 is less than a predetermined number. This allows the determination of whether terminal 82 is indoors or not to reflect information about the positioning accuracy of terminal 82 itself in the determination result, by calculating index values ​​L and H considering the second and third information of terminal 82 itself, which is the target of the determination of whether terminal 82 is indoors or not. This can sometimes improve the accuracy of the determination result.

[0088] Figure 5 illustrates a situation in which terminal 82 located indoors is likely to be misidentified as not being indoors. Reference numeral 500 indicates the location of terminal 82, which is the target of the determination of whether or not it is located indoors.

[0089] Codes 501 and 502 indicate the location of other terminals 82 located inside building 92. It is assumed that, for the other terminals 82 corresponding to codes 501 and 502, the positioning accuracy based on satellite signals is lower than a predetermined value, and it is determined that terminal 82 is located inside building 92. Codes 511, 512, 513, and 514 indicate the location of other terminals 82 located outside building 92. It is assumed that, for the other terminals 82 corresponding to codes 511, 512, 513, and 514, the positioning accuracy based on satellite signals is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and it is determined that terminal 82 is not located inside building 92.

[0090] In the situation shown in Figure 5, the number of other terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is lower than a predetermined value is 2, and the number of other terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is 4. If the determination unit 340 adopts a determination method in which it determines that a terminal 82 is not indoors (is outdoors) when the number of other terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is greater than the number of other terminals 82 whose positioning accuracy is less than a predetermined value, then the terminal 82 corresponding to code 500 will be determined not to be indoors.

[0091] In this case, terminal 82, which corresponds to code 500, transmits location information to server 60, and server 60 performs traffic support processing, taking into account the location information of terminal 82 located within building 92. In this case, terminal 82 may consume more power to transmit location information, and server 60 may experience an increase in the amount of computation required for traffic support processing.

[0092] Figure 6 shows, in table format, the importance information used to determine the importance of the second piece of information used in the determination unit 340. The importance information is information that associates the amount of movement with the positioning accuracy / indoor determination result and its importance.

[0093] "Movement amount" indicates the magnitude of the movement of the other terminal 82. In Figure 6, a "small" movement amount indicates that the movement amount of terminal 82 per unit time is small, and a "large" movement amount indicates that the movement amount of terminal 82 per unit time is large. "Movement amount" may be determined based on the number of steps per unit time acquired by the other terminal 82. For example, the determination unit 340 may set the movement amount to "small" if the number of steps per unit time acquired by the other terminal 82 indicated by the third information is less than a predetermined value, and the movement amount to "large" if the number of steps per unit time acquired by the other terminal 82 indicated by the third information is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. In addition to the number of steps, "Movement amount" may be a value calculated based on the location history transmitted from the other terminal 82, or a value calculated based on the amount of change in distance between terminal 82 and the other terminal 82 detected by short-range wireless communication (e.g., BLE, UWB).

[0094] The "Positioning Accuracy / Indoor Determination Result" indicates the level of positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82, and the determination result of whether the other terminal 82 is indoors or not. In Figure 6, "High" positioning accuracy indicates that the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82 is above a predetermined value, and "Low" positioning accuracy indicates that the positioning accuracy of the other terminal 82 is below a predetermined value. "Indoor Determination Result" indicates that the other terminal 82 has been determined to be indoors, and "Outdoor Determination Result" indicates that the other terminal 82 has been determined to be not indoors.

[0095] "Importance" indicates the importance of the positioning accuracy / indoor determination result in the determination performed by the determination unit 340. Importance is a weighting coefficient used when calculating the index value L and index value H. As shown in Figure 6, the importance of other terminals 82 with small movement amounts is 3, while the importance of the positioning accuracy / indoor determination result of other terminals 82 with large movement amounts is 1. Thus, the smaller the movement amount, the higher the importance value set.

[0096] In general, the positioning accuracy and / or indoor determination result at terminal 82 can be considered more reliable as a result of positioning accuracy and / or indoor determination at terminal 82's current location, as the amount of movement of terminal 82 is smaller. Therefore, by increasing the importance of the amount of movement of terminal 82, the reliability of the index values ​​L and H calculated by the determination unit 340 can be improved.

[0097] For example, in the situation shown in Figure 5, terminals 82 corresponding to reference numeral 501 and reference numeral 502 are terminals held by person 80 inside building 92, and terminals 82 corresponding to reference numerals 511 to 514 are terminals held by person 80 who is walking. Generally, people outside a building tend to move faster than people inside a building, so the amount of movement of terminal 82 is larger. As a result, if the importance of positioning accuracy and / or indoor determination result for terminals 82 corresponding to reference numeral 501 and reference numeral 502 is 3, and the importance of positioning accuracy and / or indoor determination result for terminals 82 corresponding to reference numerals 511 to 514 is 1, then the index value L is calculated to be 6 and the index value H is calculated to be 4. As a result, for terminal 82 corresponding to reference numeral 500, the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is indoors.

[0098] As explained in relation to Figures 4 to 6, the determination unit 340 can improve the reliability of the determination result by determining whether terminal 82 is indoors or not, taking into account the movement of other terminals 82. In the example in Figure 6, the importance of the second information is calculated based on the second and third information, but the importance of the second information may be calculated based on the third information.

[0099] Figure 7 shows an example of the execution sequence of processing performed in terminal 82, the in-vehicle information processing device 40 of the vehicle 20, and the server 60. In particular, Figure 7 shows the execution sequence when terminal 82a itself determines whether or not it is indoors based on positioning accuracy information from terminals 82b and 82c, and also determines whether or not to transmit location information. In the execution sequence of Figure 7, it is assumed that terminals 82b and 82c have determined to be outdoors.

[0100] In the S700, the in-vehicle information processing unit 40 transmits the location information of the vehicle 20 to the server 60. The transmission of location information from the in-vehicle information processing unit 40 to the server 60 is performed periodically.

[0101] In S702, terminal 82b transmits information indicating the positioning accuracy and movement amount at terminal 82b to terminal 82a. In S704, terminal 82c transmits information indicating the positioning accuracy and movement amount at terminal 82c to terminal 82a. The transmission of information indicating the positioning accuracy and movement amount from terminals 82b and 82c may be performed periodically. The transmission of information indicating the positioning accuracy and movement amount from terminals 82b and 82c may be performed by broadcast. The transmission of information indicating the positioning accuracy and movement amount from terminals 82b and 82c may be performed in response to a request from terminal 82a. The transmission of information indicating the positioning accuracy and movement amount from terminals 82b and 82c may be performed by unicast. At terminal 82a, the second acquisition unit 320 acquires the positioning accuracy transmitted from terminals 82b and 82c, and the third acquisition unit 330 acquires the information indicating the movement amount transmitted from terminals 82b and 82c.

[0102] In S706, the first acquisition unit 310 acquires the relative distance between terminal 82a and terminals 82b and 82c, respectively. The first acquisition unit 310 may calculate the relative distance based on beacon signals from terminals 82b and 82c, or it may calculate the relative distance based on radio signals for data communication, including radio signals transmitted in S702 and S704.

[0103] In S710, the satellite signal receiving unit 304 of terminal 82a performs positioning based on satellite signals received from GNSS satellites and outputs the current location of terminal 82a.

[0104] In S711, terminal 82a determines whether or not it is indoors. Specifically, the setting unit 350 of terminal 82a determines whether or not terminal 82a is indoors based on the relative distance acquired by the first acquisition unit 310, the positioning accuracy information acquired by the second acquisition unit 320, and the amount of movement acquired by the third acquisition unit 330. Specifically, the determination of whether or not terminal 82a is indoors is made using the method described in relation to Figures 4 to 6, etc.

[0105] In S712, the communication control unit 370 of terminal 82a determines whether or not to transmit location information. If the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is not indoors, the communication control unit 370 decides to transmit location information. On the other hand, if the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82a is indoors, the communication control unit 370 decides not to transmit location information. In this way, the communication control unit 370 controls the content of communication between terminal 82 and the external server based on the determination result of the determination unit 340. Specifically, the communication control unit 370 restricts the transmission of location information to the server 60 by the communication unit 390 based on the determination result of the determination unit 340. This execution sequence describes the case where the communication control unit 370 decides to transmit location information.

[0106] In S713, the communication control unit 370 of terminal 82a transmits location information indicating the current location of terminal 82a, as measured by the satellite signal receiving unit 304, to the server 60. The processing from S710 to S713 is performed periodically on terminal 82a. Similarly, the communication control units 370 of terminals 82b and 82c periodically transmit location information indicating the current locations of terminals 82b and 82c, as measured by their respective satellite signal receiving units 304, to the server 60. In the execution sequence of Figure 7, to avoid complicating the explanation, the transmission of location information from terminals 82a, 82b, and 82c to the server 60 is shown together in S713. The execution sequence of Figure 7 does not mean that the timing of the transmission of location information from each terminal 82 to the server 60 is the same.

[0107] In S714, the support control unit 260 of the server 60 determines whether or not to provide traffic assistance to the vehicle 20 and terminal 82 based on the location information of terminal 82 obtained from terminal 82 and the location information of vehicle 20 obtained from in-vehicle information processing device 40.

[0108] For example, the support control unit 260 predicts the future location of terminal 82 based on the location information history of terminal 82, and predicts the future location of vehicle 20 based on the location information history of vehicle 20. Based on the predicted future locations of terminal 82 and vehicle 20, the support control unit 260 decides to provide traffic assistance if it is predicted that the future location of vehicle 20 will approach the future location of terminal 82 within a predetermined time. In the execution sequence in Figure 7, it is assumed that it has decided to provide traffic assistance to terminal 82a.

[0109] If it is determined that traffic assistance should be provided to terminal 82a, in S716, the assistance control unit 260 controls the communication unit 290 through the communication control unit 270 to transmit assistance information to the in-vehicle information processing device 40 instructing it to output an alarm. Furthermore, in S718, the assistance control unit 260 controls the communication unit 290 through the communication control unit 270 to transmit assistance information to terminal 82a, which has been determined to be the target of traffic assistance, instructing it to output an alarm. In this way, the communication control unit 270 performs control to transmit information indicating the traffic risk at the location where terminal 82 is located, based on the control of the assistance control unit 260.

[0110] When the in-vehicle information processing device 40 receives support information from the server 60, in S722, it notifies the occupants of the vehicle 20 using the HMI (Human Machine Interface) function of the in-vehicle information processing device 40 in accordance with the support information. For example, the in-vehicle information processing device 40 notifies the occupants to be careful of pedestrians suddenly appearing on the road 90. The in-vehicle information processing device 40 may notify the occupants of the vehicle 20 to be careful of pedestrians suddenly appearing on the road 90 by voice and by display on a display device provided in the vehicle 20.

[0111] When terminal 82a receives support information from server 60, S720 uses the HMI function of terminal 82a to notify person 80 that a vehicle 20 is approaching person 80. Terminal 82a may also notify person 80 of the approaching vehicle by voice and / or vibration.

[0112] According to the execution sequence in Figure 7, if terminal 82 is determined to be indoors, the transmission of location information can be suppressed. This reduces the power consumption of terminal 82. In addition, since the server 60 can be prevented from processing the location information of terminal 82 while it is indoors, the amount of computation required for the server 60 to perform can be reduced. Furthermore, if terminal 82 is determined to be indoors, the output of alarm information can be suppressed. This prevents alarms from being output from terminal 82 while it is indoors. This reduces the inconvenience caused by unnecessary alarms being output from terminal 82.

[0113] Figure 8 shows another example of the execution sequence of processing performed in terminal 82, the in-vehicle information processing device 40 of the vehicle 20, and the server 60. In particular, Figure 8 shows the execution sequence when terminal 82a itself determines whether or not it is indoors based on positioning accuracy information from terminals 82b and 82c, and then decides whether or not to output an alarm based on the determination result. In the execution sequence of Figure 8, it is assumed that terminals 82b and 82c have determined to be outdoors.

[0114] In Figures 7 and 8, processes S700, S702, S704, S706, S710, S711, S713, S714, S716, S718, and S722 are shown, and processes with the same reference numerals represent the same process; therefore, explanations of these processes are omitted.

[0115] In S718, the support control unit 260 controls the transmission of support information to terminal 82a instructing it to output an alarm. Upon receiving the support information from server 60, terminal 82a determines in S719 whether or not to output an alarm. Specifically, the notification control unit 360 of terminal 82a determines to output an alarm if the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82a is indoors. The notification control unit 360 determines not to output an alarm if the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82a is not indoors. In this way, in terminal 82a, the communication unit 390 receives information indicating traffic risk at the location where terminal 82 is located from server 60, which distributes information indicating traffic risk, and the notification control unit 360 controls the notification based on the traffic risk information received by the communication unit 390. Specifically, the notification control unit 360 restricts notifications if the determination unit 340 determines that terminal 82 is indoors. This execution sequence describes the case where the notification control unit 360 of terminal 82a decides to output an alarm.

[0116] If the notification control unit 360 decides to output an alarm in S719, then in S720, the HMI function of the terminal 82 notifies the person 80 that a vehicle 20 is approaching the person 80. The process in S720 in Figure 8 is the same as the process in S720 in Figure 7, so the explanation of that process is omitted.

[0117] According to the execution sequence in Figure 8, if terminal 82 is determined to be indoors, the output of alarm information can be suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the output of alarms from terminal 82 that is indoors. This reduces the inconvenience caused by unnecessary alarms being output from terminal 82.

[0118] Figure 9 shows another example of the execution sequence of processing performed in terminal 82, the in-vehicle information processing device 40 of vehicle 20, and server 60. In particular, Figure 9 shows the execution sequence when server 60 determines whether terminal 82 is indoors or not.

[0119] Regarding the processes S700, S710, S716, S718, S720, and S722 in Figures 9 and 7, processes with the same reference numerals represent the same process, so their explanations are omitted.

[0120] In S902, terminal 82a obtains its own movement amount. For example, terminal 82a obtains information indicating the number of steps per unit time, counted by the step counter installed in terminal 82a, as the movement amount.

[0121] In S913, the communication control unit 370 of terminal 82a transmits to the server 60 the position information indicating the current position of terminal 82 as measured by the satellite signal receiving unit 304 in S710, the positioning accuracy output from the satellite signal receiving unit 304 in S710, the amount of movement of terminal 82a acquired by terminal 82a in S902, and the relative distance between terminal 82 and other terminals 82 acquired in S706. The processing in S902, S706, S710, and S913 is performed periodically in terminal 82a. Similarly, the communication control units 370 of terminals 82b and 82c transmit to the server 60 the position information indicating the current position of each terminal 82, the positioning accuracy of each terminal 82, the amount of movement of each terminal 82, and the relative distance between each terminal 82 and other terminals 82. In the execution sequence shown in Figure 9, the transmission of location information from terminals 82a, 82b, and 82c to the server 60 is shown together in S913 to prevent the explanation from becoming too complex. The execution sequence in Figure 9 does not mean that the timing of transmission of location information, positioning accuracy, movement amount, and relative distance from each terminal 82 to the server 60 is the same.

[0122] In S911, the server 60 determines whether each terminal 82 is indoors. Specifically, the server 60 determines whether each terminal 82 is indoors by a process similar to the process described in relation to Figure 4. More specifically, in the server 60, the first acquisition unit 210 acquires the relative distance transmitted from each terminal 82, the second acquisition unit 220 acquires the positioning accuracy transmitted from each terminal 82, and the third acquisition unit 230 acquires the amount of movement transmitted from each terminal 82. For each terminal 82, the determination unit 240 extracts the positioning accuracy and amount of movement of other terminals 82 that are within a predetermined distance based on the relative distance, positioning accuracy, and amount of movement, and calculates index values ​​L and H based on the extracted positioning accuracy and amount of movement. The determination unit 240 determines whether each terminal 82 is indoors by comparing the calculated index values ​​L and H.

[0123] In S914, the support control unit 260 of the server 60 determines whether or not to provide traffic assistance to the vehicle 20 and terminal 82 based on the location information of terminal 82 obtained from terminal 82 and the location information of the vehicle 20 obtained from the in-vehicle information processing device 40. At this time, the support control unit 260 excludes terminal 82 that the determination unit 240 has determined to be indoors, and determines whether or not to provide traffic assistance to the vehicle 20 and terminal 82 for terminal 82 that the determination unit 240 has determined not to be indoors. Except for this point, the processing of the support control unit 260 in S914 is the same as the processing described in relation to S714 in Figure 7.

[0124] As explained in relation to Figure 9, the support control unit 260 excludes terminals 82 that the determination unit 240 has determined to be indoors and decides whether or not to provide traffic assistance. Based on the control of the support control unit 260, the communication control unit 270 transmits support information to terminals 82 that are the target of the support information transmission. As a result, when the determination unit 240 determines that terminal 82 is indoors, the communication control unit 270 can restrict the transmission of information indicating traffic risk at the location where terminal 82 is located more than when the determination unit 240 determines that terminal 82 is not indoors. In this way, the communication control unit 270 controls the content of communication between the server and terminal 82 based on the determination result of the determination unit 240.

[0125] According to the execution sequence in Figure 9, it is possible to suppress the support decision of S914 for terminal 82 located indoors, thereby reducing the amount of computation required for processing performed by server 60. In addition, since it is possible to suppress the output of alarm information from terminal 82 determined to be located indoors, the inconvenience caused by unnecessary alarms being output from terminal 82 can be reduced.

[0126] As explained above, the support system 10 can determine whether terminal 82 is indoors by considering the relative positions of other surrounding terminals 82 and the positioning accuracy and / or determination results of whether other surrounding terminals 82 are indoors or not. Therefore, even when it is not easy to determine whether terminal 82 is indoors or not, such as when terminal 82 is near an entrance or exit of a building 92, the support system 10 can determine whether terminal 82 is indoors or not with higher accuracy.

[0127] Figure 10 shows an example of a computer 2000 in which multiple embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in whole or in part. A program installed on the computer 2000 can cause the computer 2000 to function as a device or part of such device, such as a terminal 82 and a server 60 according to the embodiment, to perform operations associated with such device or part of such device, and / or to perform a process or a stage of such process according to the embodiment. Such a program may be executed by the CPU 2012 to cause the computer 2000 to perform specific operations associated with some or all of the processing procedures and blocks of the block diagram described herein.

[0128] The computer 2000 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 2012 and RAM 2014, which are interconnected by a host controller 2010. The computer 2000 also includes a ROM 2026, flash memory 2024, communication interface 2022, and input / output chip 2040. The ROM 2026, flash memory 2024, communication interface 2022, and input / output chip 2040 are connected to the host controller 2010 via an input / output controller 2020.

[0129] CPU2012 operates according to the programs stored in ROM2026 and RAM2014, thereby controlling each unit.

[0130] The communication interface 2022 communicates with other electronic devices over a network. The flash memory 2024 stores programs and data used by the CPU 2012 in the computer 2000. The ROM 2026 stores boot programs and / or programs that depend on the computer 2000's hardware, such as programs executed by the computer 2000 when activated. The input / output chip 2040 may also connect various input / output units such as keyboards, mice, and monitors to the input / output controller 2020 via input / output ports such as serial ports, parallel ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, monitor ports, USB ports, and HDMI® ports.

[0131] The program is provided via a computer-readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or memory card, or via a network. RAM2014, ROM2026, or flash memory 2024 are examples of computer-readable storage media. The program is installed in flash memory 2024, RAM2014, or ROM2026 and executed by CPU2012. The information processing described within these programs is read by computer 2000, resulting in coordination between the program and the various types of hardware resources described above. The apparatus or method may be configured to realize the operation or processing of information in accordance with the use of computer 2000.

[0132] For example, when communication is performed between computer 2000 and an external device, CPU 2012 may execute a communication program loaded into RAM 2014 and, based on the processing described in the communication program, instruct the communication interface 2022 to perform communication processing. Under the control of CPU 2012, the communication interface 2022 reads the transmission data stored in the transmit buffer processing area provided in the recording medium such as RAM 2014 and flash memory 2024, sends the read transmission data to the network, and writes the received data received from the network to the receive buffer processing area provided on the recording medium.

[0133] Furthermore, CPU2012 may read all or necessary parts of a file or database stored on a recording medium such as flash memory 2024 into RAM2014, and perform various types of processing on the data in RAM2014. CPU2012 then writes the processed data back to the recording medium.

[0134] Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on the recording medium and subjected to information processing. The CPU2012 may perform various types of processing on the data read from RAM2014, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgments, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information retrieval / replacement, etc., as described herein and specified by the program's instruction sequence, and write the results back to RAM2014. The CPU2012 may also retrieve information in files, databases, etc., within the recording medium. For example, if multiple entries are stored in the recording medium, each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute, the CPU2012 may search among the multiple entries for an entry that matches the condition where the attribute value of the first attribute is specified, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in that entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies the predetermined condition.

[0135] The programs or software modules described above may be stored on or near computer-readable storage media on computer 2000. Recording media such as hard disks or RAM provided within a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as computer-readable storage media. Programs stored on computer-readable storage media may be provided to computer 2000 via the network.

[0136] A program installed on computer 2000 that causes computer 2000 to function as terminal 82 may interact with CPU 2012, etc., to cause computer 2000 to function as various parts of terminal 82 (for example, judgment device 302, etc.). The information processing described in these programs is read by computer 2000 and functions as various parts of terminal 82, which are concrete means of cooperation between software and the various hardware resources described above. Then, by realizing the calculation or processing of information according to the purpose of use of computer 2000 in this embodiment, a terminal 82 specific to the purpose of use is constructed.

[0137] A program installed on computer 2000, which causes computer 2000 to function as server 60, may interact with CPU 2012, etc., to cause computer 2000 to function as various parts of server 60 (for example, judgment device 202, etc.). The information processing described in these programs is read by computer 2000 and functions as various parts of server 60, which are concrete means of cooperation between software and the various hardware resources described above. Then, by realizing the calculation or processing of information according to the purpose of use of computer 2000 in this embodiment, a server 60 specific to the purpose of use is constructed.

[0138] Various embodiments have been described with reference to block diagrams, etc. In a block diagram, each block may represent (1) a stage in a process in which an operation is performed, or (2) a part of a device that has the role of performing an operation. A particular stage and part may be implemented by a dedicated circuit, a programmable circuit supplied with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium, and / or a processor supplied with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The dedicated circuit may include digital and / or analog hardware circuits, and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and / or discrete circuits. The programmable circuit may include reconfigurable hardware circuits, including logic AND, logic OR, logic XOR, logic NAND, logic NOR, and other logic operations, flip-flops, registers, memory elements such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), etc.

[0139] A computer-readable storage medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by a suitable device, and as a result, a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein constitutes at least part of a product containing instructions that can be executed to provide a means for performing an operation specified in a processing procedure or block diagram. Examples of computer-readable storage media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, etc. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), static random access memory (SRAM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital multipurpose disc (DVD), Blu-ray (RTM) disc, memory stick, integrated circuit card, etc.

[0140] Computer-readable instructions may include assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Smalltalk®, Java®, C++, and traditional procedural programming languages ​​such as the C programming language or similar languages.

[0141] Computer-readable instructions may be provided locally or via a wide area network (WAN), such as a local area network (LAN) or the internet, to a processor or programmable circuit of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, and may be executed to provide a means for performing the described processing procedure or the operation specified in the block diagram. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, and the like.

[0142] Although the present invention has been described above using embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. It will be clear from the claims that such modified or improved forms may also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0143] It should be noted that the execution order of operations, procedures, steps, and stages in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not explicitly stated as "before," "prior to," etc., and can be implemented in any order unless the output of a previous process is used in a later process. Even if the operation flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is described using phrases such as "first," "next," etc. for convenience, it does not mean that it is essential to perform the operations in that order. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0144] 10. Support Systems 20 vehicles 40 In-vehicle information processing system 60 servers 82 terminals 92 buildings 80 people 90 road 200 Processing Units 202 Judgment device 210 First acquisition part 220 Second Acquisition Department 230 Third Acquisition Department 240 Judgment section 250 Setting section 260 Support Control Unit 270 Communication Control Unit 280 Storage section 290 Communications Department 300 Processing Unit 302 Judgment device 304 Satellite signal receiving unit 310 First acquisition part 320 Second Acquisition Department 330 Third Acquisition Department 340 Judgment section 350 Setting section 360 Notification Control Unit 370 Communication Control Unit 380 Storage section 390 Communications Department 2000 Computer 2010 Host Controller 2012 CPU 2014 RAM 2020 Input / Output Controller 2022 Communication Interface 2024 Flash Memory 2026 ROM 2040 Input / Output Chip

Claims

1. A first acquisition unit that acquires first information indicating the positional relationship between a terminal and one or more other terminals, A second acquisition unit acquires second information indicating at least one of the determination result of whether the other terminal is indoors or not, and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal, obtained by the other terminal. A determination unit that determines whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information. A determination device equipped with the following features.

2. The first information includes information indicating the distance between the terminal and the other terminal. The determination device according to claim 1.

3. Based on the first information, the determination unit selects another terminal whose distance from the terminal is shorter than a predetermined value, and determines whether the terminal is indoors based on the second information of the selected other terminal. The determination device according to claim 2.

4. Third acquisition unit acquires third information indicating the movement status of the other terminals. Furthermore, The determination unit determines whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information, the second information, and the third information. A determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The determination unit calculates the importance of the second information based on the third information, and uses the importance to determine whether the terminal is indoors or not. The determination device according to claim 4.

6. The third piece of information indicates the amount of movement of the other terminal per unit time. The determination device according to claim 4.

7. The aforementioned other terminal is a mobile terminal. The third piece of information indicates the number of steps counted by the other terminal. The determination device according to claim 4.

8. The third acquisition unit acquires the third information based on the amount of change in distance between the terminal and the other terminal, which is acquired by short-range wireless communication. The determination device according to claim 4.

9. The second information indicates the positioning accuracy at the other terminal. The positioning accuracy of the other terminal refers to at least one of the following: the reception sensitivity of the satellite signal received by the other terminal from the positioning satellite, the number of positioning satellites used by the other terminal, and the elevation angle of the satellite signal. A determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

10. The determination unit calculates an index value for determining whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information, and determines whether the terminal is indoors by comparing the index value with a threshold value. The determination device is The setting unit sets the threshold based on instructions from the user of the terminal. A determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

11. Determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 A terminal equipped with the following features.

12. Based on the determination result of the determination unit, the communication control unit controls the content of communication between the terminal and the external server. The terminal according to claim 11, further comprising:

13. A communication unit that transmits the location information of the terminal to a server that distributes information indicating traffic risks at the location where the terminal is located, Based on the determination result of the determination unit, a communication control unit restricts the transmission of the location information to the server by the communication unit. The terminal according to claim 11, further comprising:

14. A communication unit that receives information indicating traffic risks at the location where the terminal is located from a server that distributes information indicating traffic risks, A notification control unit that performs control to issue a notification based on the traffic risk information received by the communication unit. Equipped with, The notification control unit restricts the notification when the determination unit determines that the terminal is indoors. The terminal according to claim 11.

15. Determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 A server equipped with the following features.

16. Based on the determination result of the determination unit, the communication control unit controls the content of communication between the server and the terminal. The server according to claim 15, further comprising:

17. A communication control unit that performs control to transmit information indicating traffic risk at the location where the terminal is located. Furthermore, The communication control unit restricts the transmission of information indicating traffic risks at the location where the terminal is located to a greater extent than when the determination unit determines that the terminal is located indoors, if the determination unit determines that the terminal is not located indoors. The server according to claim 15.

18. A step of acquiring first information indicating the positional relationship between a terminal and one or more other terminals, A step of acquiring second information indicating at least one of the determination result of whether the other terminal is indoors or not, and the positioning accuracy of the other terminal, obtained by the other terminal. A step of determining whether the terminal is indoors based on the first information and the second information. A determination method comprising the following:

19. A program, when executed by a computer, that causes the computer to function as a determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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