Recommendation Systems

Abstract

According to the present invention, a recommendation device comprises an arrival time prediction unit that predicts a boarding point arrival time at which a user will arrive at a boarding point for a bus to be boarded, an extraction unit that extracts a scheduled bus to be boarded that will arrive at the boarding point for the bus to be boarded at or after the boarding point arrival time, a crowdedness acquisition unit that acquires the crowdedness of riders on the scheduled bus to be boarded, a search unit that, when the crowdedness of the scheduled bus to be boarded is at or above a prescribed level, searches for a recommended bus that is a bus that operates in a boarding zone in which it is possible to board at any boarding point among the boarding points included in the stops of the bus to be boarded, will arrive at boarding points at or after possible arrival times by which it is possible for the user to arrive at the boarding points, and has a crowdedness that is below a prescribed level, and a recommendation unit that presents recommendation information about the recommended bus at a terminal.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recommendation system that recommends buses to a user. [Background technology]

[0002] There is known a system that provides information on buses operating in a section where a user will board, based on a preset operating schedule for buses operating in a specified operating section. There is also known a system that determines the need for passengers to transfer from a preceding bus to a following bus, based on the occupancy rate of two or more buses operating on the same route (for example, see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-265191 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] On the other hand, in buses operating on a certain route, passengers tend to concentrate on certain buses, causing variations in the degree of congestion among the buses and disrupting the bus schedule. In addition, some users who board the bus may wish to avoid crowded buses even if it means arriving at their destination a little later than normal.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to alleviate the variation in congestion and disruption to bus schedules caused by passengers concentrating on particular buses for buses operating on specified routes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, a recommendation system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a recommendation system that recommends a bus to a user, and is capable of referring to boarding bus information relating to the boarding section of the bus that the user is to board, and the boarding bus information includes information indicating the boarding bus stop and the alighting bus stop which are the start and end points of the boarding section, and the boarding bus stop which is the boarding stop of the bus that the user plans to board among one or more stops included in the boarding bus stop, and the recommendation system includes an arrival time prediction unit that predicts the boarding bus stop arrival time which is the time the user will arrive at the boarding bus stop, and a boarding bus arrival time prediction unit that predicts the boarding bus stop arrival time which is the time the user will arrive at the boarding bus stop, The system includes an extraction unit that extracts buses that the user plans to board that will arrive at the boarding bus stop after the specified time, a congestion degree acquisition unit that acquires the congestion degree of passengers on the buses the user plans to board extracted by the extraction unit, a search unit that, when the congestion degree of the bus the user plans to board is equal to or higher than a specified degree, searches for recommended buses that operate on a boarding section that can be boarded from any of the stops included in the boarding bus stop, arrive at each stop after the possible arrival time that is the time when the user can arrive at each stop, and have a congestion degree less than the specified degree, and a recommendation unit that presents recommended information about the recommended buses on the user's terminal.

[0007] According to the above embodiment, the congestion level of the bus that the user plans to board and that will arrive at the boarding bus stop after the boarding bus stop arrival time is acquired, and if the congestion level is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, a bus that operates on the same boarding section as the bus that the user plans to board and that arrives at each bus stop after the user's possible arrival time at each bus stop and has a congestion level less than the predetermined level is searched for as a recommended bus that is recommended to the user to board, and recommendation information regarding the recommended bus is presented on the user's terminal. Therefore, by the user boarding the recommended bus presented on the terminal instead of the bus that the user plans to board, passenger concentration on a specific bus is alleviated. Also, the user is able to travel by a bus that is less crowded. Effect of the Invention

[0008] With regard to buses operating within a specific service area, it is possible to reduce variations in congestion and disruptions to service schedules caused by passengers concentrating on a particular bus. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an apparatus configuration of a recommendation system according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a recommendation server according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a hardware block diagram of a recommendation device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of user information stored in a user information storage unit. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of bus stop information stored in a bus stop information storage unit, the diagram showing an example of information relating to a geofence of the bus stop. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of bus stops and boarding areas. [Figure 7] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a portion of bus information stored in a bus information storage unit; [Figure 8] 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a portion of bus information stored in a bus information storage unit; [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of bus stop information stored in a bus stop information storage unit, which is an example of information on movable bus stops. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a user's movement between stops. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a terminal on which recommended information is presented. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of a terminal on which buttons for inputting information about the bus the user has boarded are presented together with recommended information. [Figure 13] 1 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of a recommendation method in a recommendation system. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a recommendation program. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] An embodiment of a recommendation system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. When possible, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

[0011] 1 is a diagram showing the device configuration of a recommendation system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the recommendation system 1 may include a recommendation device 10 and a terminal T configured to be able to communicate with each other via a network N.

[0012] The recommendation device 10 is a device that recommends a bus to a user to board. The terminal T is a device operated by a user who may be a bus passenger. As described in detail later, the terminal T performs operations such as acquiring the location of the terminal, transmitting location information indicating the location to the recommendation device 10, receiving recommended information from the recommendation device 10, and presenting information regarding the recommended bus indicated in the recommended information. The device that constitutes the terminal T is not limited, and may be, for example, a mobile terminal such as a highly functional mobile phone (smartphone), a mobile phone, or a personal digital assistant (PDA). Note that, although two terminals T are shown as an example in FIG. 1, the number of terminals T is not limited to this example.

[0013] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the recommendation device 10. Functionally, the recommendation device 10 includes an approach detection unit 11, an arrival time prediction unit 12, an extraction unit 13, a congestion degree acquisition unit 14, a search unit 15, a recommendation unit 16, and an assignment unit 17. Each of these functional units 11 to 17 may be configured in one device (processor, computer, etc.) or may be distributed and configured in multiple devices. Furthermore, one or more of the functional units 11 to 17 may be configured in a terminal T.

[0014] Furthermore, the recommendation device 10 is configured to be able to access storage means such as a user information storage unit 20, a bus stop information storage unit 30, and a bus information storage unit 40. The user information storage unit 20, the bus stop information storage unit 30, and the bus information storage unit 40 may be configured within the recommendation device 10, or may be configured as a separate device outside the recommendation device 10 and accessible from the recommendation system, as shown in FIG.

[0015] The block diagram shown in FIG. 2 shows functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized by using one device that is physically or logically combined, or may be realized by using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated and directly or indirectly connected (for example, by using wires, wirelessly, etc.). The functional blocks may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

[0016] Functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocation, mapping, assignment, etc. For example, a functional block (component) that performs the function of transmission is called a transmitting unit or a transmitter. In either case, as described above, there is no particular limitation on the method of realization.

[0017] For example, the recommendation device 10 in one embodiment of the present invention may function as a computer. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the recommendation device 10 according to this embodiment. The recommendation device 10 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, and the like.

[0018] In the following description, the term "apparatus" may be replaced with a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the recommendation apparatus 10 may be configured to include one or more of the apparatuses shown in the drawings, or may be configured to exclude some of the apparatuses.

[0019] Each function in the recommendation device 10 is realized by loading specific software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, which causes the processor 1001 to perform calculations and control communications via the communication device 1004 and the reading and / or writing of data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0020] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer by running, for example, an operating system. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, a register, etc. For example, each of the functional units 11 to 17 shown in FIG. 2 may be realized by the processor 1001.

[0021] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads out a program (program code), software modules, and data from the storage 1003 and / or the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to the programs. As the programs, programs that cause a computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above-mentioned embodiments are used. For example, each of the functional units 11 to 17 of the recommendation device 10 may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and operated by the processor 1001. Although the above-mentioned various processes have been described as being executed by one processor 1001, they may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented in one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted from a network via an electric communication line.

[0022] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, a Read Only Memory (ROM), an Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), etc. The memory 1002 may be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store a program (program code), software module, etc. that can be executed to implement a recommendation method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray® disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, and the like. Storage 1003 may be referred to as an auxiliary storage device. The above-mentioned storage medium may be, for example, a database, a server, or other suitable medium including memory 1002 and / or storage 1003.

[0024] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmission / reception device) for communicating between computers via a wired and / or wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, or a communication module.

[0025] The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one device (e.g., a touch panel).

[0026] Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured as a single bus, or may be configured as different buses between the devices.

[0027] The recommendation device 10 may also be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented by at least one of these pieces of hardware.

[0028] 2 again, the functional units of the recommendation device 10 will be described. The approach detection unit 11 detects that the user's terminal T has approached a bus stop where the user plans to board the bus. For this detection, the approach detection unit 11 can refer to the user information storage unit 20 and the bus stop information storage unit 30.

[0029] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of user information stored in the user information storage unit 20. The user information may constitute boarding bus information, which is information related to the boarding section of the bus on which the user boards. The user information includes information such as the boarding bus stop, the boarding bus stop, the alighting bus stop, the alighting bus stop, and the approach detection time, in association with a user ID that identifies the user.

[0030] In this embodiment, the bus stop may include one or more bus stops. The boarding bus stop is the stop of the bus that the user plans to board among one or more stops included in the boarding bus stop. The disembarking bus stop is the stop where the user plans to disembark from the bus that the user plans to board among one or more stops included in the disembarking bus stop. The boarding bus stop and the disembarking bus stop are the start and end points, respectively, of the riding section where the user boards the bus that the user plans to board.

[0031] As illustrated in Figure 4, a user with user ID "U10" plans to board the bus he or she plans to board at boarding bus stop "T49," which is included in boarding bus stop "A01," and to disembark from the bus he or she plans to board at disembarking bus stops "T13, T14," which are included in disembarking bus stop "A09."

[0032] Specifically, the approach detection unit 11 detects the approach of the user to the boarding bus stop based on terminal location information indicating the location of the terminal T and boarding stop location information indicating the location of the boarding bus stop. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of boarding stop information stored in the bus stop information storage unit 30, and is an example of information related to the geofence of the boarding stop.

[0033] When a geofence is set for the bus stop, the approach detection unit 11 may detect the approach of the user to the bus stop by checking in the user's terminal T to the geofence of the bus stop. The geofence is any virtual geographical boundary or area set for the real world. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the bus stop "T49" included in the bus stop "A01" has a geofence consisting of a circle with a radius of 50 m centered on the latitude "lat_y1" and the longitude "lon_x1". Checking in indicates that the terminal T has entered the area of ​​the geofence. Specifically, when the distance between the position indicated in the position information of the terminal T received from the user's terminal T and the position indicated by the latitude "lat_y1" and the longitude "lon_x1" is within 50 m, the approach detection unit 11 determines that the terminal T has checked in to the geofence of the bus stop "T49", and detects that the user has approached the bus stop "T49" based on the determination.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a bus stop and a boarding area. FIG. 6 shows an example of a bus stop bt. The bus stop bt includes boarding areas bs1, bs2, and bs3. The boarding area bs1 has a geofence gf1. Although the geofence described with reference to FIG. 5 has a circular shape, the shape of the geofence is not limited to a circular shape and may be an area having any shape, and may have a rectangular shape as shown in FIG. 6. The boarding area bs2 has a geofence gf2. The boarding area bs3 has a geofence gf3. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the approach detection unit 11 detects that the user U has approached the boarding area bs1 when the terminal T of the user U checks in to the geofence gf11.

[0035] In addition, in a bus stop bt including multiple bus stops bs1, bs2, and bs3 as illustrated in Fig. 6, when a bus with bus stop bs1 as the boarding bus is a bus that the user plans to board, there may be buses that depart from each of bus stops bs1, bs2, and bs3 and operate on the same section as the boarding section for the bus that the user plans to board. The recommendation system 1 of this embodiment recommends to the user, among such buses operating on the same section as the user's boarding section, a bus that meets predetermined conditions related to the distance and time required for the user to travel between bus stops and the degree of congestion of each bus, as a recommended bus.

[0036] In this embodiment, the approach detection unit 11 detects the approach of the user's terminal T to the boarding bus stop based on the location information of terminal T and the location information of the boarding bus stop, but is not limited to such a method, and may detect the approach based on, for example, WiFi signals and Beacon signals transmitted and received between terminal T and the boarding bus stop.

[0037] The arrival time prediction unit 12 predicts a boarding point arrival time, which is the time when the user arrives at the boarding point. Specifically, the arrival time prediction unit 12 may predict the boarding point arrival time when the approach detection unit 11 detects the approach of the terminal T to the boarding point.

[0038] For example, the arrival time prediction unit 12 may predict the arrival time at the boarding point by adding a predetermined time set in advance based on the size of the geofence area to the current time. The arrival time prediction unit 12 may also predict the arrival time at the boarding point by dividing the distance between the position indicated in the terminal position information and the position indicated in the boarding point position information by the moving speed of the terminal T. The moving speed of the terminal T may be a predetermined value set in advance, or may be a value calculated based on the displacement of the terminal T's position information per unit time.

[0039] Furthermore, the arrival time prediction unit 12 may predict the bus stop arrival time when a predetermined instruction is input by the user to the terminal T. Furthermore, the arrival time prediction unit 12 may predict the bus stop arrival time repeatedly at a predetermined time interval after the approach detection unit 11 detects the approach of the terminal T to the boarding bus stop.

[0040] The extraction unit 13 extracts a planned bus that will arrive at the boarding bus stop after the user's arrival time at the stop. Specifically, the extraction unit 13 extracts information on the planned bus from the bus information storage unit 40.

[0041] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a portion of the bus information stored in the bus information storage unit 40. As shown in Fig. 7, the bus information includes the next bus stop, the next bus platform, the estimated arrival time, the congestion degree, and a list of bus platforms, bus stops, and the estimated arrival times for the bus that will stop after the next bus stop, in association with a bus ID that identifies the bus in operation.

[0042] The next boarding point and the next bus stop in the bus information are information on the boarding point and the bus stop where the bus will next stop.

[0043] The estimated arrival time is the time when the bus is scheduled to arrive at the next bus stop. The estimated arrival time may be calculated by dividing the distance between the position indicated in the latest position information of the bus and the position indicated in the position information of the next bus stop by the average speed of the bus, and may be stored as bus information. The estimated arrival time may also be acquired based on information indicating the bus operation schedule that is set in advance. The calculation and acquisition of the estimated arrival time may be performed by the recommendation system 1, or may be performed by a system of the bus operator, manager, etc.

[0044] The degree of congestion is information indicating the degree of passenger numbers on the bus, and may be, for example, the ratio of the number of passengers to the passenger capacity or the number of passengers. The source of the degree of congestion included in the bus information is not limited, and may be, for example, acquired from a system of an operator or the like. The degree of congestion may also be calculated based on the number of mobile terminals whose location information changes along with the change in the location information of the bus.

[0045] The information on the bus stops and bus stops in the list of bus stops, bus stops, and estimated arrival times for the bus that will stop after the next bus stop may be information acquired from a system of a bus operator, etc. Also, the estimated arrival time for arriving at the bus stop after the next bus stop in the list can be calculated or acquired in the same manner as the estimated arrival time for the next bus stop described above.

[0046] The extraction unit 13 refers to the bus information as exemplified in Fig. 7 and extracts a planned bus that arrives at the boarding bus stop after the user's arrival time at the bus stop. For example, if a user "U10" boards a bus at the bus stop "T49" at the bus stop "A01" and gets off at the bus stops "T13, T14" at the bus stop "A09", and the bus stop arrival time at which the user "U10" arrives at the bus stop "T49" predicted by the arrival time prediction unit 12 is "08 / 01 12:33.0", the extraction unit 13 extracts, as a planned bus, a bus "V01" that arrives at the bus stop "T49" at the bus stop "A01" at a time "08 / 01 12:38.001" after the bus stop arrival time "08 / 01 12:33.0" and has an operating section up to the bus stop "T13" at the bus stop "A09".

[0047] In addition, the extraction unit 13 may extract, as a planned boarding bus, a bus that arrives at the boarding bus stop within a given time after the boarding stop arrival time. For example, when it is set to extract, as a planned boarding bus, a bus that arrives at the boarding bus stop within 6 minutes after the boarding stop arrival time, the extraction unit 13 extracts, as a planned boarding bus, a bus that arrives at the boarding bus stop by the time "08 / 01 12:39.0", which is 6 minutes after the boarding stop arrival time "08 / 01 12:33.0". Since the bus "V01" is scheduled to arrive at the time "08 / 01 12:38.001", the extraction unit 13 extracts the bus "V01" as a planned boarding bus.

[0048] In this way, by setting an upper limit on the time that the user waits for the bus that the user plans to board when boarding the bus, it becomes possible to extract an appropriate bus that the user plans to board.

[0049] The congestion degree acquisition unit 14 acquires the congestion degree of passengers of the planned bus extracted by the extraction unit 13. Specifically, for example, when the congestion degree of each bus is stored as bus information in a storage means such as the bus information storage unit 40, the congestion degree acquisition unit 14 acquires the congestion degree of the planned bus by referring to the bus information. In the example shown in Fig. 7, the congestion degree acquisition unit 14 acquires a congestion degree of "3" for the bus "V01".

[0050] Note that the acquisition of the congestion degree is not limited to the above example, and the congestion degree acquisition unit 14 may acquire the congestion degree, for example, by querying the operator's system using an identifier such as the bus ID of the bus that the user plans to board as a key.

[0051] The search unit 15 searches for a recommended bus to be recommended to the user when the congestion level of the bus to be boarded is equal to or higher than a predetermined level. The recommended bus is a bus that operates in the user's boarding section and can be boarded from any of the boarding stops included in the boarding bus stop, is predicted to arrive at each boarding stop after the possible arrival time that is the time when the user can arrive at each boarding stop, and has a congestion level less than a predetermined level. Note that the threshold value for the congestion level of the bus to be boarded can be set arbitrarily by, for example, the bus operator and the user.

[0052] The search unit 15 searches for a recommended bus, for example, by referring to the bus information stored in the bus information storage unit 40. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a portion of the bus information stored in the bus information storage unit 40. Similar to the bus information shown in Fig. 7, the bus information shown in Fig. 8 includes, in association with a bus ID that identifies a bus in operation, the next bus stop, the next boarding point, the next bus stop, the estimated arrival time, the congestion degree, and a list of bus stops, bus stops, and estimated arrival times that the bus will stop at after the next bus stop.

[0053] For example, if a search for recommended buses is performed when the congestion level of the bus the user plans to board is "3" or higher, the congestion level of the bus "V01" the user plans to board as illustrated in Figure 7 is 3, so the search unit 15 performs a search for recommended buses.

[0054] The search unit 15 sets as one of the search conditions that a bus can be boarded from any stop included in the boarding bus stop "A01" and operates on the boarding section from the bus stop "A01" to the bus stop "A09." In other words, the search unit 15 searches for a bus that stops at the bus stop "A01" and that includes the bus stop "A09" as a bus stop that stops after the next bus stop.

[0055] In addition, in order to set as a search condition that the bus will arrive at each stop after the possible arrival time, which is the time when the user can arrive at each stop, the search unit 15 predicts the possible arrival time for each stop.

[0056] Fig. 9 is an example of the bus stop information stored in the bus stop information storage unit 30, and is a diagram showing an example of information on bus stops to which the user can move. According to the bus stop information shown in Fig. 9, it is possible to move from bus stop "T49" to bus stops "T50" and "T51" included in bus stop "A01", and it is shown that the distance from bus stop "T49" to bus stop "T50" is 100m, and the distance from bus stop "T49" to bus stop "T51" is 50m. Note that the distance between bus stops in the bus stop information may be the travel distance along the travel route, or may be the straight-line distance between the bus stops.

[0057] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the positional relationship between the boarding stations to show an example of the movement of a user between the boarding stations. Fig. 10 shows, as an example, the time when a user U checks in at boarding station "T49".

[0058] The search unit 15 calculates the required time to reach the boarding point "T50", for example, by dividing the distance ds11 between the user U's terminal T and the boarding point "T49" plus the distance ds12 from the boarding point "T49" to the boarding point "T50" by the movement speed of the user U and the terminal T, and calculates the possible arrival time at the boarding point "T50" by adding the calculated required time to the current time (for example, the time when the user U checks in to the geofence gf11 of the boarding point "T49").

[0059] Similarly, the search unit 15 calculates the required time to reach the boarding point "T51" by, for example, dividing the distance obtained by adding the distance ds11 between the user U's terminal T and the boarding point "T49" to the distance ds13 from the boarding point "T49" to the boarding point "T51" by the movement speed of the user U and the terminal T, and calculates the possible arrival time at the boarding point "T51" by adding the calculated required time to the current time (for example, the time when the user U checks in to the geofence gf11 of the boarding point "T49").

[0060] For example, if the possible arrival time for stop "T50" is "08 / 01 12:36.0", the search unit 15 sets as a search condition a bus that arrives at stop "T50" after the possible arrival time "08 / 01 12:36.0". Also, if the possible arrival time for stop "T51" is "08 / 01 12:35.0", the search unit 15 sets as a search condition a bus that arrives at stop "T51" after the possible arrival time "08 / 01 12:35.0".

[0061] The search unit 15 may search for buses that arrive at each stop within a given time after the possible arrival time. The given time in the search conditions can be arbitrarily set by the bus operator, the operator of the recommendation system, the user, etc. For example, when the search condition is that a bus arrives at each stop within 6 minutes after the possible arrival time, the search unit 15 sets the search condition to a bus that arrives at stop "T50" after the possible arrival time "08 / 01 12:36.0" and before the time "08 / 01 12:42.0". In addition, the search unit 15 sets the search condition to a bus that arrives at stop "T51" after the possible arrival time "08 / 01 12:35.0" and before the time "08 / 01 12:41.0". By searching for recommended buses based on such conditions, if a user chooses to board a recommended bus, an upper limit is set on the amount of time the user will wait for the recommended bus to arrive, making it possible to recommend buses that take user convenience into consideration.

[0062] Furthermore, the search unit 15 sets a condition for searching for a recommended bus that the congestion level is less than a predetermined level. For example, if a condition is set that the congestion level represented by an integer is less than 3, the search unit 15 sets a search condition that the congestion level is 2 or less to search for a recommended bus.

[0063] Based on the above search conditions, the search unit 15 refers to the bus information exemplified in FIG. 8 and extracts as a recommended bus the bus "V02" that stops at bus stop "A01" at stop "T50", includes bus stop "A09" and stop "T14" as bus stops and stops thereafter, has an expected arrival time of "08 / 01 12:39.001" after the user's possible arrival time "08 / 01 12:36.0" at stop "T50", and has a congestion level of "1".

[0064] Furthermore, based on similar search conditions, the search unit 15 extracts as a recommended bus the bus "V03" that stops at bus stop "T51" at bus stop "A01", includes bus stop "A09" and bus stop "T14" as bus stops and stops thereafter, has an expected arrival time of "08 / 01 12:40.001" after the user's possible arrival time "08 / 01 12:35.0" at bus stop "T51", and has a congestion level of "2".

[0065] The search unit 15 may search for the recommended bus as an additional search condition that the recommended bus is available from a stop included in the boarding bus stop, the distance or travel time from the boarding bus stop being within a given distance or time. In this way, an upper limit is set for the distance or time required for the user to travel to the stop to board the recommended bus, thereby reducing the effort and burden on the user to board the recommended bus.

[0066] 2 again, the recommendation unit 16 causes the terminal T to present recommended information regarding the recommended bus. Specifically, the recommendation unit 16 transmits, for example, information on the stop of the recommended bus and the time when the recommended bus will arrive at the stop to the user's terminal T as recommended information. The terminal T causes the received recommended information to be displayed, for example, on the display of the terminal T.

[0067] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen of a terminal T on which recommended information is presented. As exemplified in FIG. 11, the recommendation unit 16 displays the recommended information on a display screen D1 of the terminal T. The display screen D1 displays recommended information d11 and d12. The recommended information d11 is information about a planned bus, and includes information on the arrival time, congestion level, and boarding point of the planned bus. The recommended information d12 is information about a recommended bus, and includes information on the arrival time, congestion level, and boarding point of the bus "V02" searched as a recommended bus. In addition, the recommended information d12 includes information on the arrival time, congestion level, and boarding point of the bus "V03" searched as a recommended bus. By referring to the recommended information displayed on the display screen D1 of the terminal T, the user can consider boarding the recommended bus instead of the planned bus.

[0068] 2 again, the granting unit 17 determines to grant an incentive to the user when the user boards a recommended bus. The form of the incentive is not limited, but for example, the granting unit 17 may determine to grant points to the user or to refund the fare to the user.

[0069] Specifically, the granting unit 17 may transmit incentive information indicating that an incentive will be granted to a user to the user's terminal T. In addition, the granting unit 17 may store the incentive information in association with the user in a predetermined database that manages incentive information.

[0070] The assigning unit 17 can determine that the user has boarded the recommended bus by various methods, and the methods are not limited. For example, the assigning unit 17 may determine that the user has boarded the recommended bus when the distance between the recommended bus position information indicating the location of the recommended bus and the terminal position information indicating the location of the terminal T is within a given distance for a predetermined time or more after the recommended bus arrives at the boarding bus stop. The assigning unit 17 may acquire the recommended bus position information from, for example, the system of a bus operator and a communication terminal mounted on the bus. The assigning unit 17 may also acquire the terminal position information from the user's terminal T.

[0071] Furthermore, the assignment unit 17 may determine that the user has boarded a recommended bus when information that the user has boarded a recommended bus is input to the terminal T. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal T on which a button for inputting information that the user has boarded a recommended bus is presented together with the recommended information. The display screen D2 exemplified in Fig. 12 displays the recommended information d21 and buttons bt21 and bt22.

[0072] The recommendation information d21 includes information on the scheduled arrival time of the bus to be boarded and the recommended bus, the destination bus stop, the boarding point, and the congestion level.

[0073] The button bt21 is an object for allowing the user to perform an input operation when the user boards a recommended bus. When the user performs an input operation on the button bt21, information indicating that the input operation has been performed is transmitted from the terminal T, and the attachment unit 17 can determine that the user has boarded a recommended bus.

[0074] The button bt22 is an object for allowing the user to perform an input operation when the user boards the bus that the user plans to board. When the user performs an input operation on the button bt22, information indicating that the input operation has been performed is transmitted from the terminal T, and the attachment unit 17 can determine that the user has boarded the bus that the user plans to board.

[0075] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the process of the recommendation method in the recommendation device 10. As shown in FIG.

[0076] In step S1, the approach detection unit 11 judges whether or not it has detected that the user's terminal T has approached the boarding bus stop, which is the stop of the bus the user plans to board. If it has detected that the user's terminal T has approached the boarding bus stop, the process proceeds to step S2. On the other hand, if it has not detected that the user's terminal T has approached the boarding bus stop, the detection process of step S1 is repeated.

[0077] In step S2, the extraction unit 13 extracts buses that are to arrive at the boarding bus stop after a boarding bus arrival time, which is the time when the user arrives at the boarding bus stop. The boarding bus arrival time is predicted by the arrival time prediction unit 12.

[0078] In step S3, the congestion level acquisition unit 14 acquires the congestion level of the bus that the user plans to board extracted in step S2, and determines whether the congestion level is equal to or higher than a predetermined level. If it is determined that the congestion level of the bus that the user plans to board is equal to or higher than the predetermined level, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if it is not determined that the congestion level of the bus that the user plans to board is equal to or higher than the predetermined level, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0079] In step S4, the search unit 15 searches for a recommended bus that satisfies a predetermined condition for recommending to the user. A recommended bus is a bus that operates in the user's boarding section, can be boarded from any of the boarding stops included in the boarding bus stop, is predicted to arrive at each boarding stop after the possible arrival time that is the time when the user can arrive at each boarding stop, and has a congestion degree less than a predetermined level.

[0080] In step S5, the search unit 15 judges whether a recommended bus that meets the predetermined conditions has been found. If it is judged that a recommended bus has been found, the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if it is judged that a recommended bus has not been found, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0081] In step S6, the recommendation unit 16 transmits recommendation information regarding the recommended bus to the terminal T, and causes the terminal T to display the recommendation information. The recommendation information includes information on the stop of the recommended bus and the time when the recommended bus will arrive at the stop.

[0082] On the other hand, in step S7, the recommendation unit 16 transmits to the terminal T information on the bus to be boarded.

[0083] The recommendation process shown in the flowchart in Figure 13 is executed when it is detected that the user's terminal T has approached the boarding bus stop, but it may also be executed repeatedly, for example at predetermined time intervals, while the user's terminal T is staying within a predetermined distance from the boarding bus stop, i.e., while the user continues to be approaching the boarding bus stop.

[0084] Next, a recommendation program for causing a computer to function as the recommendation device 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0085] 14 is a diagram showing the configuration of the recommendation program. The recommendation program P1 is configured to include a main module m10 that controls the recommendation process in the recommendation device 10, an approach detection module m11, an arrival time prediction module m12, an extraction module m13, a congestion degree acquisition module m14, a search module m15, a recommendation module m16, and an assignment module m17. The modules m11 to m17 realize the functions of the approach detection unit 11, the arrival time prediction unit 12, the extraction unit 13, the congestion degree acquisition unit 14, the search unit 15, the recommendation unit 16, and the assignment unit 17.

[0086] The recommendation program P1 may be transmitted via a transmission medium such as a communication line, or may be stored in a recording medium M1 as shown in FIG.

[0087] According to the recommendation device 10, recommendation method, and recommendation program P1 of the present embodiment described above, the congestion degree of the bus that the user plans to board and that arrives at the boarding bus stop after the boarding bus stop arrival time is acquired, and if the congestion degree is equal to or greater than a predetermined degree, a bus that operates on the same boarding section as the bus that the user plans to board, arrives at each bus stop after the user's possible arrival time for each bus stop, and has a congestion degree less than a predetermined degree is searched for as a recommended bus that is recommended to the user to board, and recommendation information regarding the recommended bus is presented on the user's terminal. Therefore, by the user boarding the recommended bus presented on the terminal instead of the bus that the user plans to board, the concentration of passengers on a specific bus is alleviated. In addition, the user is able to travel by a bus with a lower congestion degree.

[0088] In addition, a recommendation system in another embodiment may further include an approach detection unit that detects the approach of a user's terminal to a bus stop for boarding based on terminal location information indicating the location of the terminal and bus stop location information indicating the location of the bus stop for boarding, and the arrival time prediction unit may predict the arrival time at the bus stop when the approach of the terminal to the bus stop for boarding is detected.

[0089] According to the above embodiment, when the approach of the user's terminal to the boarding bus stop is detected based on the terminal location information and the bus stop location information, the user's arrival time at the bus stop is predicted, and based on the predicted arrival time at the bus stop, recommended buses are searched for and recommended information is presented to the terminal. Therefore, it is possible to recommend information on recommended buses to the user at an appropriate time.

[0090] In addition, in a recommendation system according to another embodiment, the arrival time prediction unit may predict the arrival time at the boarding point when a predetermined instruction is input to the terminal by a user.

[0091] According to the above embodiment, the arrival time at the bus stop is predicted in response to a specific instruction input to the terminal, and recommended buses are searched for and recommended information is presented to the terminal based on the predicted arrival time at the bus stop. Therefore, the user can receive a recommendation of a recommended bus at any time.

[0092] In addition, in a recommendation system according to another embodiment, the search unit may search for buses that will arrive at each bus stop within a given time after the possible arrival time.

[0093] According to the above embodiment, when a user selects to board a recommended bus, an upper limit is set for the time the user waits for the arrival of the recommended bus, thereby making it possible to recommend a bus that takes into consideration the convenience of the user.

[0094] In addition, in a recommendation system according to another embodiment, the extraction unit may extract, as the planned boarding bus, a bus that arrives at the boarding bus stop within a given time after the stop arrival time.

[0095] According to the above aspect, an upper limit is set for the time that the user waits for the bus that the user plans to board when the user boards the bus, so that an appropriate bus that the user plans to board can be extracted.

[0096] In addition, the recommendation system according to another embodiment may further include an incentive granting unit that determines whether to grant an incentive to a user when the user boards a recommended bus.

[0097] According to the above embodiment, when a user selects to board a recommended bus instead of a bus that the user plans to board, an incentive is given to the user, which encourages the user to use the recommended bus. Therefore, passenger concentration on the bus that the user plans to board is alleviated.

[0098] In addition, in another embodiment of the recommendation system, the assignment unit may determine that the user has boarded the recommended bus when the distance between recommended bus location information indicating the location of the recommended bus and terminal location information indicating the location of the terminal is within a given distance for a predetermined period of time or more after the recommended bus arrives at the boarding bus stop, or when information indicating that the user has boarded the recommended bus is input into the terminal.

[0099] According to the above aspect, the recommendation system can recognize that the user has definitely boarded the recommended bus.

[0100] In addition, in another embodiment of the recommendation system, the search unit may search for recommended buses that can be boarded from bus stops included in the boarding bus stop, which are within a given distance or travel time from the boarding bus stop.

[0101] According to the above aspect, an upper limit is set for the distance or time required for the user to travel to the bus stop to board the recommended bus, thereby reducing the effort and burden on the user to board the recommended bus.

[0102] Although the present embodiment has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present embodiment is not limited to the embodiment described in this specification. The present embodiment can be implemented as a modified or altered form without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention defined by the description of the claims. Therefore, the description in this specification is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present embodiment.

[0103] Each aspect / embodiment described herein may be applied to systems utilizing LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G, 5G, FRA (Future Radio Access), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or other suitable systems and / or next generation systems enhanced thereon.

[0104] The steps, sequences, flow charts, etc. of each aspect / embodiment described herein may be reordered unless inconsistent, For example, the methods described herein present elements of various steps in an example order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

[0105] The input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed in a management table. The input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. The output information may be deleted. The input information may be transmitted to another device.

[0106] The determination may be based on a value represented by a single bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

[0107] Each aspect / embodiment described in this specification may be used alone, in combination, or switched according to execution. In addition, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is the case") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., not notifying the specific information).

[0108] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

[0109] Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

[0110] Additionally, software, instructions, etc. may be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies, such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), and / or wireless technologies, such as infrared, radio, and microwave, these wired and / or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

[0111] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0112] In addition, terms explained in this disclosure and / or terms necessary for understanding this specification may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings.

[0113] As used herein, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

[0114] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc. described in this specification may be expressed as absolute values, may be expressed as relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or may be expressed as other corresponding information.

[0115] As used in this disclosure, the terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, inquiry (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. In addition, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc., to be a "judgment" or "decision." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering some action to be a "judgment" or "decision." In addition, "judgment" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

[0116] As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

[0117] When designations such as "first," "second," and the like are used herein, any reference to an element is not intended to generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and a second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed therein or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

[0118] To the extent that the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used herein in the specification or claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Further, the term "or" as used herein is not intended to be an exclusive or.

[0119] In this specification, a plurality of devices is also included unless the context or technical basis clearly indicates that only one device is present.

[0120] Throughout this disclosure, the plural is intended to be included unless the context clearly indicates the singular. [Explanation of symbols]

[0121] 1... recommendation system, 10... recommendation device, 11... approach detection unit, 12... arrival time prediction unit, 13... extraction unit, 14... congestion level acquisition unit, 15... search unit, 16... recommendation unit, 17... assignment unit, 20... user information storage unit, 30... bus stop information storage unit, 40... bus information storage unit, M1... recording medium, m10... main module, m11... approach detection module, m12... arrival time prediction module, m13... extraction module, m14... congestion level acquisition module, m15... search module, m16... recommendation module, m17... assignment module, P1... recommendation program, T... terminal.

Claims

1. A recommendation system that recommends buses to a user, The user can refer to boarding bus information regarding the boarding section of the bus that he / she boards, The boarding bus information includes information indicating a boarding bus stop and an alighting bus stop which are the start point and end point of the boarding section, and a boarding bus stop which is a boarding stop of a bus that the user plans to board among one or more boarding stops included in the boarding bus stop, The recommendation system includes: an arrival time prediction unit that predicts a bus stop arrival time, which is a time when the user arrives at the bus stop; An extraction unit that extracts the boarding planned bus that arrives at the boarding bus stop on or after the boarding stop arrival time; a congestion degree acquisition unit that acquires a congestion degree of passengers of the bus that the passengers plan to board, the congestion degree being extracted by the extraction unit; a search unit that searches for, when the congestion level of the intended bus is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, a bus that operates on the boarding section that can be boarded from any of the boarding points included in the boarding bus stop, arrives at each boarding point after an arrival possible time that is a time when the user can arrive at each boarding point, and has the congestion level less than the predetermined level, as a recommended bus; a recommendation unit that displays recommendation information related to the recommended bus on a terminal of the user; A recommendation system comprising:

2. An approach detection unit that detects the approach of the user's terminal to the boarding bus stop based on terminal location information indicating the location of the terminal and boarding bus stop location information indicating the location of the boarding bus stop, the arrival time prediction unit predicts an arrival time at the boarding bus stop when the approach of the terminal to the boarding bus stop is detected; The recommendation system according to claim 1 .

3. the arrival time prediction unit predicts the boarding arrival time when a predetermined instruction is input to the terminal by the user; The recommendation system according to claim 1 .

4. The search unit searches for buses that will arrive at each bus stop within a given time after the possible arrival time. The recommendation system according to claim 1 .

5. The extraction unit extracts, as the boarding planned bus, a bus that arrives at the boarding bus stop within a given time after the boarding stop arrival time. The recommendation system according to claim 1 .

6. and an incentive granting unit that determines whether to grant an incentive to the user when the user boards the recommended bus. The recommendation system according to claim 1 .

7. the assigning unit determines that the user has boarded the recommended bus when a distance between recommended bus location information indicating the location of the recommended bus and terminal location information indicating the location of the terminal is within a given distance for a predetermined time or more after the arrival of the recommended bus at the boarding bus stop, or when information indicating that the user has boarded the recommended bus is input to the terminal. The recommendation system according to claim 6 .

8. The search unit searches for, as the recommended bus, a bus that can be boarded from a bus stop included in the boarding bus stop, the bus stop being within a given distance or travel time from the boarding bus stop. The recommendation system according to claim 1 .

Images