method

Abstract

To improve the technology for providing transport service using a vehicle.SOLUTION: A method to be executed by an information processing apparatus 20 includes: acquiring first information on a demand of a transport service, for each of multiple areas, from a terminal device 10 of a company that provides the transport service using vehicles 30 in the areas; determining one or more vehicles 30 to be rented to the company, based on the first information; acquiring second information indicating state of the one or more vehicles 30 rented to the company; and determining a production plan or procurement plan of the vehicles 30 based on multiple pieces of second information acquired for each of the areas.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are known techniques for providing transportation services using vehicles such as automobiles. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a vehicle operation system that reconstructs an operation plan for a plurality of electric vehicles equipped with secondary batteries and capable of automatic operation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-013379 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The technology for providing vehicle-based transportation services has room for improvement.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve the technology for providing transportation services using vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method comprises: A method executed by an information processing device, comprising: For each of the multiple areas, acquiring first information on demand for a transportation service from a terminal device of a business providing a transportation service using a vehicle within an area; determining one or more vehicles to rent to the business operator based on the first information; Obtaining second information indicating a status of the one or more vehicles rented to the business; and The method includes determining a vehicle production plan or procurement plan based on the multiple second information obtained for each of the multiple areas. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, techniques for providing vehicle-based transportation services are improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an operation of the information processing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

[0010] (Overview of the embodiment) With reference to FIG. 1, an overview of a system 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. The system 1 includes a plurality of terminal devices 10, an information processing device 20, and a plurality of vehicles 30. In this embodiment, for each of a plurality of geographically different areas, there is a business operator that provides a transportation service using the vehicles 30 within the area. The transportation service may include a passenger transportation service and a cargo transportation service. The passenger transportation service is, for example, a car sharing service, a taxi dispatch service, a bus transportation service, etc., but is not limited to these. The cargo transportation service is, for example, a truck transportation service, etc., but is not limited to these.

[0011] The terminal device 10 is any electronic device used by an operator. The terminal device 10 performs operation management of a vehicle 30 for providing a transportation service. For example, a general-purpose electronic device such as a PC (Personal Computer), a server, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal, or a dedicated electronic device, can be adopted as the terminal device 10. In this embodiment, it is assumed that each operator uses one terminal device 10. Therefore, the number of areas, the number of operators, and the number of terminal devices 10 are equal. In the example shown in FIG. 1, two areas, areas A and B, two operators providing transportation services in the two areas, and two terminal devices 10 used by the two operators, respectively, are illustrated.

[0012] The information processing device 20 is any electronic device used by the manager of each vehicle 30. For example, a general-purpose electronic device such as a PC, a server, a smartphone, or a tablet terminal, or a dedicated electronic device can be adopted as the information processing device 20. The information processing device 20 can communicate with each terminal device 10 and each vehicle 30 via a network such as the Internet. For example, the information processing device 20 can intermittently receive vehicle information from each vehicle 30 via the network. The vehicle information may include any information indicating the state of the vehicle 30, such as the presence or absence of a breakdown and the degree of deterioration of the vehicle 30. In this embodiment, the manager is a manufacturer of the vehicle 30, or a rental business operator that procures and holds the vehicle 30 produced by the manufacturer, but is not limited to these.

[0013] The vehicle 30 is, for example, a passenger vehicle such as a bus or a taxi, or a freight vehicle such as a truck, but is not limited thereto and may be any vehicle that can be used to provide a transportation service. The vehicle 30 may be capable of being driven directly or remotely by a driver. The vehicle 30 may be capable of automated driving, such as levels 1 to 5 defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). In this embodiment, the vehicle 30 is rented from the administrator to each business operator. The rented vehicle 30 is used by the business operator to provide the transportation service.

[0014] First, an overview of this embodiment will be described, and details will be described later. The information processing device 20 acquires, for each of a plurality of areas, first information on the demand for the transportation service from the terminal device 10 of the business providing the transportation service using the vehicle 30 within the area. The information processing device 20 determines, for each of the plurality of areas, one or more vehicles 30 to be rented to the business based on the first information. The information processing device 20 acquires, for each of the plurality of areas, second information indicating the status of the one or more vehicles 30 rented to the business. Then, the information processing device 20 determines a production plan or a procurement plan for the vehicle 30 based on the plurality of second information acquired for each of the plurality of areas.

[0015] Thus, according to this embodiment, the manager can rent out the vehicles 30 to businesses that provide transportation services in each area based on the demand for transportation services in each area. If the manager is a manufacturer of the vehicles 30, a future production plan for the vehicles 30 is determined based on the status of the rented vehicles 30. Alternatively, if the manager is a rental business of the vehicles 30, a future procurement plan for the vehicles 30 is determined based on the status of the rented vehicles 30.

[0016] For this reason, for example, when the vehicle 30 being lent out deteriorates, the manager has the advantage that a plan for newly producing or procuring the vehicle 30 is automatically determined, thereby enabling the manager to produce or procure a new vehicle 30 in advance to replace the vehicle 30 being lent out. Conversely, for example, when the vehicle 30 being lent out does not deteriorate, the manager has the advantage that a plan for suppressing the new production or procurement of the vehicle 30 is automatically determined, thereby reducing the possibility of producing or procuring an unnecessary vehicle 30. On the other hand, the business operator has the advantage that he or she can provide a transportation service using the vehicle 30 lent out by the manager without owning the vehicle 30, and does not need to manage the condition of the vehicle 30 being lent out. Therefore, the technology for providing a transportation service using a vehicle is improved in that the above-mentioned advantages can be obtained for the manager and the business operator.

[0017] (Configuration of information processing device) Next, a detailed description will be given of the configuration of the information processing device 20. As shown in FIG.

[0018] The communication unit 21 includes one or more communication interfaces that connect to a network. The communication interface corresponds to, for example, a mobile communication standard, a mobile communication standard such as 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation), a wired LAN (Local Area Network) standard, or a wireless LAN standard, but is not limited thereto and may correspond to any communication standard. In this embodiment, the information processing device 20 communicates with each terminal device 10 and each vehicle 30 via the communication unit 21 and the network.

[0019] The storage unit 22 includes one or more memories. The memories are, for example, but not limited to, semiconductor memories, magnetic memories, or optical memories. Each memory included in the storage unit 22 may function as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 22 stores any information used in the operation of the information processing device 20. For example, the storage unit 22 may store a system program, an application program, a database, and the like. The information stored in the storage unit 22 may be updatable with information acquired from a network via the communication unit 21, for example.

[0020] The control unit 23 includes one or more processors, one or more programmable circuits, one or more dedicated circuits, or a combination of these. The processor is, for example, but is not limited to, a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process. The programmable circuit is, for example, but is not limited to, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array). The dedicated circuit is, for example, but is not limited to, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The control unit 23 controls the operation of the entire information processing device 20.

[0021] (Operation flow of information processing device) The operation of the information processing device 20 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0022] Step S100: The control unit 23 of the information processing device 20 acquires, for each of a plurality of areas, first information on demand for the transportation service from the terminal device 10 of a business providing the transportation service using the vehicle 30 within the area.

[0023] Specifically, the control unit 23 receives the first information from each terminal device 10 via the communication unit 21. The first information includes any information related to the demand for the transportation service in the corresponding area. For example, the first information may include, but is not limited to, information indicating the vehicle type (e.g., passenger car, taxi, microbus, large bus, truck, etc.) of the vehicle 30 required to provide the transportation service in the corresponding area, the number of vehicles, or the operation plan of the transportation service (e.g., operation route, operation frequency, timetable, etc.). The first information may be input to the terminal device 10 by an operator, for example, or may be automatically determined by the terminal device 10 based on the operation status of the transportation service.

[0024] Step S101: The control unit 23 determines, for each of the multiple areas, one or more vehicles 30 to be rented out to the business operator, based on the first information acquired in step S100.

[0025] Specifically, the control unit 23 determines, for each area, one or more vehicles 30 to be rented to the business operator based on the first information acquired from the terminal device 10 of the business operator. Any method can be adopted for determining the vehicles 30 to be rented to the business operator. For example, the control unit 23 may determine to rent to the business operator the vehicle type and number of vehicles 30 indicated in the first information. Alternatively, the control unit 23 may determine the vehicle type and number of vehicles 30 required to provide the transportation service based on the operation plan indicated in the first information, and determine to rent to the business operator the determined vehicle type and number of vehicles 30. The manager rents each determined vehicle 30 to the business operator. The business operator provides the transportation service using each rented vehicle 30.

[0026] Step S102: The control unit 23 acquires second information indicating the status of one or more vehicles 30 rented out to the business operator for each of the multiple areas.

[0027] Specifically, the control unit 23 acquires, for each area, the vehicle information received from each vehicle 30 via the communication unit 21 as the second information. As described above, the vehicle information includes information indicating the state of the vehicle 30, such as the presence or absence of a breakdown of the vehicle 30 and the degree of deterioration of the vehicle 30.

[0028] Step S103: The control unit 23 determines a production plan or a procurement plan for the vehicle 30 based on the plurality of pieces of second information acquired for the plurality of areas in step S102.

[0029] Specifically, the control unit 23 determines, for each area, based on the second information, whether to produce or procure a new vehicle 30 to replace the vehicle 30 currently on loan. For example, when the second information indicates that the vehicle 30 has a breakdown, or when the second information indicates that the degree of deterioration of the vehicle 30 is equal to or higher than a predetermined standard, the control unit 23 may determine to produce or procure a new vehicle 30 to replace the vehicle 30 currently on loan. The manager produces or procures the new vehicle 30 in accordance with the determined production plan or procurement plan, and replaces the vehicle 30 currently on loan to the business operator. The business operator continues to provide the transportation service using the replaced vehicle 30.

[0030] As described above, the information processing device 20 according to the present embodiment acquires, for each of a plurality of areas, first information on demand for the transportation service from the terminal device 10 of the business operator that provides the transportation service using the vehicle 30 within the area. The information processing device 20 determines, for each of the plurality of areas, one or more vehicles 30 to be rented to the business operator based on the first information. The information processing device 20 acquires, for each of the plurality of areas, second information indicating the status of the one or more vehicles 30 rented to the business operator. Then, the information processing device 20 determines a production plan or procurement plan for the vehicle 30 based on the plurality of second information acquired for each of the plurality of areas.

[0031] According to this configuration, the manager lends the vehicles 30 to businesses that provide transportation services in each area based on the demand for transportation services in each area. If the manager is a manufacturer of the vehicles 30, a future production plan for the vehicles 30 is determined based on the status of the vehicles 30 currently on loan. Alternatively, if the manager is a rental business operator of the vehicles 30, a future procurement plan for the vehicles 30 is determined based on the status of the vehicles 30 currently on loan.

[0032] For this reason, for example, when the vehicle 30 being lent out deteriorates, the manager has the advantage that a plan for newly producing or procuring the vehicle 30 is automatically determined, thereby enabling the manager to produce or procure a new vehicle 30 in advance to replace the vehicle 30 being lent out. Conversely, for example, when the vehicle 30 being lent out does not deteriorate, the manager has the advantage that a plan for suppressing the new production or procurement of the vehicle 30 is automatically determined, thereby reducing the possibility of producing or procuring an unnecessary vehicle 30. On the other hand, the business operator has the advantage that he or she can provide a transportation service using the vehicle 30 lent out by the manager without owning the vehicle 30, and does not need to manage the condition of the vehicle 30 being lent out. Therefore, the technology for providing a transportation service using a vehicle is improved in that the above-mentioned advantages can be obtained for the manager and the business operator.

[0033] Although the present disclosure has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each component or step can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and multiple components or steps can be combined or divided into one.

[0034] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration and operation of the information processing device 20 may be distributed among a plurality of computers capable of communicating with each other.

[0035] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the control unit 23 of the information processing device 20 may determine, in addition to the production plan or procurement plan for the new vehicle 30, a maintenance plan for the rented vehicle 30 to be exchanged for the new vehicle 30. The manager may perform maintenance on the vehicle 30 collected in exchange for the new vehicle 30 in accordance with the determined maintenance plan. Alternatively, the control unit 23 may transmit the determined maintenance plan to, for example, a computer used by a maintenance company of the collected vehicle 30 via the communication unit 21. The maintenance company may perform maintenance on the collected vehicle 30 in accordance with the maintenance plan received from the information processing device 10, and then return the vehicle 30 to the manager.

[0036] Also, for example, an embodiment is possible in which a general-purpose computer functions as the information processing device 20 according to the above-described embodiment. Specifically, a program describing the processing contents for realizing each function of the information processing device 20 according to the above-described embodiment is stored in the memory of the general-purpose computer, and the program is read and executed by a processor. Therefore, the invention according to this embodiment can also be realized as a program executable by a processor, or a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores the program. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1 System 10 Terminal Equipment 20 Information processing device 21 Communications Department 22 Memory section 23 Control Unit 30 Vehicles

Claims

[Claim 1] A method executed by an information processing device, comprising: For each of the multiple areas, Acquiring, from a terminal device of a business operator that provides a transportation service using vehicles within an area, first information including information regarding a vehicle type, a number of vehicles, or an operation plan of the transportation service required to provide the transportation service within the corresponding area, as a demand for the transportation service; determining one or more vehicles to rent to the business operator based on the first information; Obtaining second information indicating a status of the one or more vehicles rented to the business; and determining a vehicle production plan or procurement plan based on the plurality of second information respectively acquired for the plurality of areas; A method comprising:

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