Information processing device

Abstract

To enhance the enjoyment of users traveling by vehicle. [Solution] The information processing device includes a communication unit that communicates with a vehicle, and a control unit that sends information about the music to the second vehicle when the second vehicle is positioned at the same location as when the music was output from the first vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Various technologies have been proposed to output various music in the vehicle interior by the vehicle's audio system to stimulate the interests of the driving user. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for outputting music in the vehicle interior based on music data stored in a mobile terminal by the user.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] When outputting music in the vehicle interior when the user is moving in the vehicle, although the user's musical preferences are diverse, there is room to further enhance the user's interest.

[0005] <{0000028}>In view of the above, an information processing apparatus and the like that can further enhance the interest of a user moving in a vehicle will be disclosed below.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The information processing apparatus in the present disclosure includes a communication unit that communicates with a vehicle, and a control unit that sends information on the music to a second vehicle when the second vehicle is located at a position where the music is output in a first vehicle.

Effects of the Invention

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation procedure for a server device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

[0010] Figure 1 shows an example configuration of one embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes one or more server devices 10, a plurality of in-vehicle devices 13 connected to the server devices 10 via a network 11 for information communication, and one or more terminal devices 14. The server device 10 is, for example, one or a plurality of server computers that can communicate with each other, and is appropriately installed in one or more data centers, on the cloud, or a combination thereof. The server device 10 corresponds to the "information processing device" in this embodiment. The in-vehicle devices 13 are, for example, navigation systems, multimedia systems, etc., that have communication functions and information processing functions, and are mounted in a vehicle 12 (hereinafter, when referring to individual vehicles, they will be numbered as vehicle 12-n (n=1, 2, ...)). The in-vehicle devices 13 are connected to the network 11 by mobile communication and communicate with the server device 10 to provide information such as navigation, output music, etc. The vehicle 12 is a passenger car, commercial vehicle, etc., and is a vehicle in which some or all of the driving is done manually by the driver. The terminal device 14 is a personal computer, smartphone, or the like, having communication and information processing functions, and is used by the user or sales representative of the vehicle 12. The network 11 is, for example, the internet, but may be an ad-hoc network, LAN, MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), or other network, or any combination thereof.

[0011] In this embodiment, the information processing system 1 provides information from the server device 10 to the vehicle 12 to further enhance the interest of the user traveling in the vehicle 12. Specifically, the server device 10 includes a communication unit 101 that communicates with the vehicle 12, that is, the in-vehicle device 13 mounted on the vehicle 12, and a control unit 103 that sends music information to the vehicle 12-2 when the vehicle 12-2 is located at the same position as when music was output in the vehicle 12-1. Based on the music information output according to the location that other users are passing through, for example, urban areas, suburbs, mountainous areas, overseas routes, etc., the server device 10 provides location-appropriate music information to users passing through the same location. As a result, users can receive suggestions for music that match the environment and conditions of the location they are passing through while traveling, and output the suggested music as appropriate. Therefore, it is possible to further enhance the interest of the user traveling in the vehicle 12.

[0012] Next, the communication unit 101, storage unit 102, and control unit 103 of the server device 10 will be described. If the server device 10 is composed of multiple server computers, the communication unit 101, storage unit 102, and control unit 103 may be appropriately distributed and arranged across multiple server computers.

[0013] The communication unit 101 includes one or more communication interfaces. The communication interface is, for example, a LAN interface. The communication unit 101 receives information used for the operation of the server device 10 and transmits information obtained through the operation of the server device 10. The server device 10 is connected to the network 11 by the communication unit 101 and communicates information with the in-vehicle device 13 and the terminal device 14 via the network 11.

[0014] The storage unit 102 includes, for example, one or more semiconductor memories, one or more magnetic memories, one or more optical memories, or a combination of at least two of these, which function as main memory, auxiliary memory, or cache memory. The semiconductor memory is, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory). The RAM is, for example, SRAM (Static RAM) or DRAM (Dynamic RAM). The ROM is, for example, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM). The storage unit 102 stores control and processing programs necessary for the operation of the server device 10, various information required by the server device 10 to execute the control and processing programs, and information obtained through the operation of the server device 10.

[0015] The control unit 103 includes one or more processors, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination thereof. The processors are, for example, general-purpose processors such as CPUs (Central Processing Units) or dedicated processors such as GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) specialized for specific processing. The dedicated circuits are, for example, FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits). The control unit 103 controls each part of the server device 10 and performs information processing related to the operation of the server device 10.

[0016] In this embodiment, the storage unit 102 stores music history information 104. The music history information 104 includes, for each of one or more vehicles 12, the identification information of the vehicle 12, the identification information of the user of the vehicle 12, the user's attribute information, and the history of music output in the vehicle 12, associated with each vehicle 12. The identification information of the vehicle 12, the user's identification information, and the user's attribute information are sent, for example, from a terminal device 14 operated by a salesperson when the vehicle 12 is purchased to the server device 10. The user's attribute information includes information such as the user's age, gender, occupation, family structure, hobbies, and preferred music genres. The music history includes information about music output in the vehicle 12 and information about the date, time, and location where the music was output. The music history is acquired by the server device 10 in conjunction with the vehicle 12. The music information includes music data for outputting music, information about the creator of the music, information for purchasing music, etc. The information about the creator of the music may further include music data for outputting other music by that creator. Information for purchasing music may include links to the websites of businesses that sell music.

[0017] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the server device 10. Each step in Figures 2(A) and (B) is executed by the control unit 103 of the server device 10.

[0018] The procedure example in Figure 2(A) is an example of the procedure for storing music history information 104 in the server device 10, and is an example of the procedure executed by the control unit 103 of the server device 10. The control unit 103 of the server device 10 executes the procedure in Figure 2(A) at an arbitrary interval, for example, every 1 to several seconds, after the vehicle 12 has started moving and communication between the on-board device 13 and the server device 10 has been established. Furthermore, the procedure in Figure 2(A) is executed for each vehicle 12 when the server device 10 is communicating with multiple vehicles 12.

[0019] The control unit 103 of the server device 10 acquires location information of the moving vehicles 12 from the on-board devices 13 of each vehicle 12 (S201). The location information of the moving vehicles 12 is acquired by the on-board devices 13 using GPS (Global Positioning System) at arbitrary intervals of, for example, 1 to several seconds, and sent to the server device 10. Next, the control unit 103 determines whether or not music is being output in the vehicle 12 (S202). For example, when the server device 10 receives a request for a song desired by the user from the on-board device 13 operated by the user, it acquires the requested song data from a music distribution server or the like and sends it to the on-board device 13. Therefore, if the control unit 103 receives a request from the on-board device 13 within an arbitrary reference time, for example, within 1 to several seconds, it determines that music will be output in the vehicle 12, and otherwise it determines that music will not be output in the vehicle 12. Alternatively, if music is to be output based on music data pre-stored in the in-vehicle device 13, the server device 10 queries the in-vehicle device 13 for the presence or absence of music output, and the vehicle 12 determines whether or not music output is to be performed based on the response from the in-vehicle device 13. If music output is performed (Yes in S202), the control unit 103 acquires music information (S203), and if music output is not performed (No in S202), the control unit 103 completes one cycle of the procedure in Figure 2(A). In S203, when the control unit 103 receives a music request from the in-vehicle device 13, it acquires music information when sending music data to the in-vehicle device 13. Also, if music is to be output based on music data pre-stored in the in-vehicle device 13, the control unit 103 acquires music information from the in-vehicle device 13. Next, the control unit 103 stores music history information 104 (S204). The control unit 103 stores the music history, including the location information, music information, and the date and time when the music information was acquired, as music history information 104, associated with the previously acquired vehicle identification information, user identification information, and attribute information of the vehicle 12. If the vehicle 13 moves and its position changes while music information is being acquired, the control unit 103 can use the location information at the time the music request was received from the vehicle-mounted device 13, or at the time the reception of music information from the vehicle-mounted device 13 began. The control unit 103 then completes the procedure shown in Figure 2(A).

[0020] The procedure example in FIG. 2(B) is a procedure example when the server device 10 sends music information corresponding to the position of the vehicle 12 to the vehicle 12. The control unit 103 of the server device 10 executes the procedure of FIG. 2(B) after the vehicle 12 starts running and the communication between the in-vehicle device 13 and the server device 10 is established. Further, the procedure of FIG. 2(B) is executed for each vehicle 12 when the server device 10 communicates with a plurality of vehicles 12. Note that the procedure of FIG. 2(B) and the procedure of FIG. 2(A) described above may be executed alternately, for example, while the vehicle 12 is moving, or may be executed simultaneously in parallel in a time-sharing manner.

[0021] S211 to S215 are executed once in the procedure of FIG. 2(B). The control unit 103 of the server device 10 acquires the identification information of the vehicle 12 or the identification information of the user of the vehicle 12 from the in-vehicle device 13 (S211). Various identification information is stored in the in-vehicle device 13 in advance, and for example, various identification information is sent from the in-vehicle device 13 to the server device 10 at the start of running. Next, the control unit 103 reads and acquires from the music history information 104 the identification information of the vehicle 12 or the identification information of the user acquired from the in-vehicle device 13, or the information of the user attribute that matches the identification information of the vehicle 12 (S212). The control unit 103 can determine that the attribute information matches when they match in an arbitrary ratio, for example, 50% or more of the number of items included in the attribute information. Next, the control unit 103 searches the music history information 104 for the history of music associated with other users having the same user attribute as the acquired user attribute (S213). When a search result is obtained (Yes in S214), the control unit 103 proceeds to S215. When no search result is obtained (No in S214), the procedure of FIG. 2(B) ends.

[0022] S215 to S218 are repeatedly executed, for example, at an arbitrary cycle, such as a cycle of 1 to several seconds, until the travel of the vehicle 12 ends. The control unit 103 acquires the position information of the moving vehicle 12 from the in-vehicle device 13 (S215). When the position information of the vehicle 12 is acquired, the control unit 103 determines whether the acquired position information matches the position information at the time of music output included in the acquired music history (S216). The control unit 103 can determine that the positions match if they are within an arbitrary distance range, for example, within several tens of meters. When the position information matches (Yes in S216), the control unit 103 sends proposal information including the music information of the music output by another vehicle 12 to the in-vehicle device 13 at the position of the position information included in the searched music history (S217). When they do not match (No in S216), the process proceeds to S218. Then, the control unit 103 repeatedly executes S215 to S217 until it receives a notification indicating the end of the travel of the vehicle 12 (No in S218). When it receives a notification indicating the end of the travel of the vehicle 12, it ends the procedure of FIG. 2(B).

[0023] When the in-vehicle device 13 receives the proposal information from the server device 10, it outputs a music based on the music information received from the server device 10, or outputs a display or voice proposing the music to prompt the user to output the music. By the user instructing music output in response to the proposal, the in-vehicle device 13 can propose a music according to the attributes of the user and the position of the vehicle 12. Also, the user may output other music by the same creator included in the music information. Alternatively, the proposal information may include information for purchasing the music and may be sent to the terminal device 14 used by the user. The user can operate the terminal device 14 to purchase the music data. Thus, according to the present embodiment, it becomes possible to further enhance the user's interest.

[0024] In the procedure shown in Figure 2(B), steps S212 to S214 may be omitted, and the search for song history based on location information is also included in this embodiment. Furthermore, the server device 10 may acquire time of day (early morning, daytime, nighttime, etc.), road traffic information (presence or absence of congestion), etc., in addition to location information, in addition to the song history, and in the procedure shown in Figure 2(B), it may search for songs when the location, time of day, road traffic information, or both match. This makes it possible to suggest songs that are more suitable for the environment and conditions while driving.

[0025] As described above, embodiments have been explained based on various drawings and examples, but it should be noted that those skilled in the art will find it easy to 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 means, each step, etc., can be rearranged in a logically consistent manner, and multiple means, steps, etc., can be combined into one or divided. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0026] 10: Server equipment, 11: Network, 12: Vehicle, 13: In-vehicle equipment 14: Terminal device, 101: Communication unit, 102: Storage unit, 103: Control unit, 104: Song History Information

Claims

1. A communication unit that communicates with the vehicle, A control unit that sends information about the music to the second vehicle when the second vehicle is positioned at the same location as when the music was output from the first vehicle, An information processing device having

2. In claim 1, The control unit transmits information about the music on the condition that the users of the first and second vehicles have common attributes. Information processing device.

3. In claim 1, The control unit transmits information about the song on the condition that the current time is included in the time period when the song was output in the first vehicle. Information processing device.

4. In claim 1, The information of the aforementioned song includes one or more of the following: information for outputting the song, information for outputting other songs by the creator of the song, and information for purchasing the song. Information processing device.

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