Processing device and processing program

Abstract

To make it possible to determine whether the communication bandwidth when vehicles communicate meets bandwidth requirements without placing a significant load on each vehicle and without incurring significant introduction costs.SOLUTION: A processing device (1) includes: an acquisition unit (131) that acquires location information of a vehicle (2) from the vehicle communicating wirelessly via a base station (42); a determination unit (133) that determines an estimated value of the communication bandwidth allocated to each terminal device based on the location information, area information indicating the strength distribution of radio waves of the base station, and number information indicating the number of terminal devices wirelessly connected to the base station; and a decision unit (134) that determines whether or not the communication bandwidth when the vehicle communicates at a planned running location meets predetermined bandwidth requirements based on the estimated value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processing device and a processing program. [Background technology]

[0002] The information obtained by a vehicle (so-called connected car) traveling while communicating often includes information that is important for traveling, such as information indicating the future behavior of the vehicle and information notifying the approach of other vehicles or pedestrians. For this reason, communication between the base station and the vehicle needs to be stable. On the other hand, when communication is performed between the vehicle and the base station, the base station also communicates with other terminal devices. For this reason, depending on the number of terminal devices communicating simultaneously, the quality of communication between the vehicle and the base station may decrease. Therefore, a communication control device has been proposed that controls the allocation of communication bands according to the communication situation and ensures stable communication, as described in, for example, Patent Document 1 below.

[0003] This communication control device includes a request receiving unit that receives a request to start data communication from a requesting application, a communication conditions acquisition unit that acquires communication conditions from the requesting application, a communication feasibility determination unit that determines whether data communication according to the communication conditions can be performed based on at least one of the state of the communication line and the communication conditions of the preceding application, a route setting unit that sets a communication route from the requesting application to an external device based on the determination that communication is possible, and a response unit that returns the determination result of the communication feasibility determination unit to the requesting application, where the setting of the communication route includes the allocation of a source port number to the requesting application, and the response unit notifies the requesting application of the source port number when it is determined that data communication is possible. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-088980 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the communication control device according to the prior art is installed in each vehicle. In other words, in the prior art, each vehicle determines whether or not the necessary communication band can be secured. This places a heavy load on the computer resources of each vehicle. Also, installing a communication control device in each of a plurality of vehicles requires a large cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A processing device according to one aspect of the present invention is a processing device connected to a base station, and includes: an acquisition unit that acquires position information of a vehicle from the vehicle traveling on a road and communicating wirelessly via the base station; a determination unit that determines an estimated value of a communication band to be assigned to each terminal device based on the position information, area information indicating at least a strength distribution on the road of radio waves emitted by the base station, and number information indicating the number of terminal devices wirelessly connected to the base station; and a determination unit that determines, based on the estimated value, whether or not the communication band when the vehicle communicates at a planned traveling position, which is a position where the vehicle will be present a predetermined time after the time when the vehicle is present at the position indicated by the position information, satisfies a predetermined band requirement. Note that the determination unit may be configured to determine the estimated value using a trained model constructed by machine learning the relationship between the position information, the area information, and the number information.

[0007] Each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the communication control program and processing program that realize the communication control device and processing device on a computer by causing the computer to operate as each part (software element) of the above-mentioned communication control device and processing device, as well as the computer-readable recording medium on which they are recorded, also fall within the scope of the present invention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1]1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a transportation system including a processing device according to a first (second) embodiment of an aspect of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the processing device according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 10 is a diagram illustrating delay fluctuation in the transportation system according to the embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of calculation of a fluctuation value by the processing device. [Diagram 5] 10 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the processing device to determine an estimated value of a communication bandwidth. [Figure 6] 11 is a graph showing the relationship between the strength of radio waves used by the processing device to determine the estimated value and the estimated value. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of the processing device determining whether or not a bandwidth requirement is satisfied. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a processing device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a table generated by the processing device. [Figure 10] This figure shows the distribution of plots showing the relationship between estimated values ​​and correct values, where the left side is based on estimated values ​​output by the processing device of this embodiment, and the right side is based on estimated values ​​output by a conventional device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] First embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0010] <Transportation system> In this embodiment, the processing device 1 constitutes a part of a transportation system 100 as shown in Fig. 1. In addition to the processing device 1, the transportation system 100 includes at least one vehicle 2, an application server 3 (hereinafter, server 3), and a communication network 4.

[0011] [vehicle] The vehicle 2 is a so-called connected car. That is, when the vehicle 2 travels on a road, it wirelessly communicates with at least one of the processing device 1 and the server 3 via a base station 42 of the communication network 4. Specifically, the vehicle 2 performs an information transmission process. The information transmission process is a process of transmitting various information to at least one of the processing device 1 and the server 3. The vehicle 2 may be configured to perform an information reception process. The information reception process is a process of receiving various information from at least one of the processing device 1 and the server 3.

[0012] Moreover, the vehicle 2 according to this embodiment includes a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver. This receiver generates position information of the vehicle 2 based on a signal received from a satellite. The position information is information indicating the latitude and longitude of the location where the vehicle 2 itself is located, and the time when the vehicle 2 was located at that location. Moreover, the receiver according to this embodiment repeatedly generates the position information at a predetermined cycle. When the receiver generates the position information, the vehicle 2 wirelessly transmits the position information to the processing device 1 as the various information described above. The vehicle 2 according to this embodiment transmits the position information to the processing device 1 every time the receiver generates the position information (at a predetermined cycle).

[0013] The vehicle 2 may be an autonomous vehicle that autonomously drives on a set driving route. That is, the vehicle 2 may be equipped with a camera that captures the surroundings while driving and generates image data, and may be configured to wirelessly transmit the image data generated by the camera to the server 3 in the information transmission process. If the vehicle 2 is an autonomous vehicle and configured to perform the information reception process, the vehicle may be configured to perform emergency processing. The emergency processing is a process of stopping the vehicle 2 safely (for example, by pulling over to the shoulder of the road) when information indicating an emergency is received wirelessly from the server 3 as various information.

[0014] [Application Server] The server 3 communicates with the vehicle 2 via the processing device 1 and the communication network 4. The server 3 also performs processing according to the functions of the vehicle 2. Specifically, when the vehicle 2 is a connected car, the server 3 performs at least the information reception processing of the information reception processing and the information transmission processing. The information reception processing is a processing for receiving various information from the vehicle 2. The information transmission processing is a processing for transmitting various information to the vehicle 2. On the other hand, when the vehicle 2 is an autonomous vehicle, the server 3 receives image data transmitted by the vehicle 2 in the information reception processing. Also, when the vehicle 2 is an autonomous vehicle and the supervisor performs a predetermined emergency operation, the server 3 transmits information to the effect that it is an emergency to the vehicle 2 in the information transmission processing. The server 3 may communicate with the vehicle 2 without going through 1.

[0015] [Communication Network] The communication network 4 is responsible for communication at least between the vehicle 2 and the processing device 1 and server 3. The communication network 4 includes a communication control device 41 and a base station 42. That is, the vehicle 2 communicates with the processing device 1 and server 3 by a cellular system. The communication network 4 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of base stations 42. In addition, the communication network 4 according to this embodiment is managed by a telecommunications carrier. That is, the communication network 4 is not dedicated to communication between the vehicle 2, but also handles communication between a plurality of terminal devices M (mobile phones, tablet devices, etc.). For this reason, the communication network 4 may degrade the quality of communication between the vehicle 2 and the base station 42 depending on the number of terminal devices M that communicate simultaneously.

[0016] [Communication Control Device] The communication control device 41 acquires the position information of the vehicle 2 received by the base station 42 from the vehicle 2. The communication control device 41 records the time when the position information is acquired from the base station 42 as the acquisition time. The communication control device 41 also acquires number information from each base station 42. The number information is information indicating the number of terminal devices M wirelessly connected to the base station 42. The communication control device 41 also transmits the position information together with the acquisition time to the processing device 1 every time it acquires position information. The communication control device 41 also executes the increase control as necessary (for example, when it receives increase request information from the processing device 1 described later). Specifically, the communication control device 41 transmits instruction information instructing an increase in the allocation of the communication band to at least one base station 42 that wirelessly communicates with the target vehicle 2.

[0017] Furthermore, the communication control device 41 collects statistical data of each base station 42 and stores it in a database. The statistical data is at least any of the measurement parameters listed in "5.1 Performance measurement forgNB" defined in technical specification TS28.552 created by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). Note that the communication control device 41 may be configured to transmit the collected statistical data to the processing device 1 or another storage device (to store the data in the processing device 1 or another storage device) without storing the data.

[0018] [Processing device] The processing device 1 is connected to a base station 42 of a communication network 4. The processing device 1 according to this embodiment is connected to a plurality of base stations 42. The processing device 1 according to this embodiment is also connected to the base station 42 via a communication control device 41 of the communication network 4. For example, when the vehicle 2 executes various processes based on information obtained from the base station 42, it is difficult for the vehicle 2 to grasp information on base stations 42 other than the base station 42 to which the vehicle 2 is wirelessly connected. In contrast, the processing device 1 is connected to a plurality of base stations 42, and thus can grasp the communication status of the plurality of base stations 42 covering the road relatively easily.

[0019] {Processing device configuration} As shown in FIG. 2, the processing device 1 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13.

[0020] [Communications Department] The communication unit 11 communicates with the communication control device 41 and the server 3 of the communication network 4 in a wired or wireless manner. The communication unit 11 according to this embodiment is configured with a communication module.

[0021] [Storage section] The storage unit 12 stores a processing program 121. The storage unit 12 also stores road map information 122. The road map information 122 is information indicating the layout of roads in at least an area where the vehicle 2 may travel. The storage unit 12 also stores radio wave information 123. The radio wave information 123 is information indicating the position of the base station 42 and the strength distribution of radio waves emitted from the base station 42 at each geographical point. The radio wave information 123 stored in the storage unit 12 according to this embodiment is information indicating the position of each of the multiple base stations 42 and the strength distribution of radio waves emitted from each base station 42. The storage unit 12 according to this embodiment is composed of a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, etc.

[0022] The storage unit 12 may store area information instead of the road map information 122 and the radio wave information 123. The area information is information indicating the intensity distribution, at least on the road, of radio waves emitted by the base station 42, and is obtained based on the road map information and the radio wave information. As described above, the communication network 4 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of base stations 42. Therefore, the area information is information indicating the intensity distribution, at least on the road, of radio waves emitted by each of the plurality of base stations 42.

[0023] [Control Unit] The control unit 13 includes an acquisition unit 131, a calculation unit 132, a determination unit 133, a judgment unit 134, and a processing unit 135. The control unit 13 according to the present embodiment is configured with a processor (the processing device 1 is configured with a computer). Therefore, the functions of each of the control blocks 131 to 135 are realized by the control unit 13 executing the processing program 121 stored in the storage unit 12.

[0024] (Acquisition Department) The acquisition unit 131 acquires the position information of the vehicle 2 from the vehicle 2. The acquisition unit 131 according to the present embodiment acquires the position information, which is received from the vehicle 2 by the base station 42 and acquired by the communication control device 41, by receiving it from the communication control device 41. The acquisition unit 131 according to the present embodiment repeatedly acquires the position information of the vehicle at a predetermined cycle. The predetermined cycle can be, for example, 1 second. If the transmission and reception of the position information is performed without delay, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, the cycle ΔT_GPS at which the vehicle 2 generates the position information is equal to the cycle ΔT_REC at which the communication control device 41 receives the position information. That is, all the arrows (solid lines) indicating the transmission of the position information in FIG. 3 are parallel to each other. Here, if a delay occurs in the transmission and reception of the position information, the time at which the communication control device 41 receives the position information becomes later than when there is no delay. That is, the arrow indicating the transmission of the position information in FIG. 3 is inclined in the direction of time passage (right) more than when there is no delay (the arrow is a dashed line). The predetermined cycle may be longer or shorter than 1 second.

[0025] Moreover, the acquisition unit 131 according to the present embodiment acquires the acquisition time of the location information from the communication control device 41 together with the location information. Moreover, the acquisition unit 131 according to the present embodiment acquires the number information from the communication control device 41. As described above, the communication network 4 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of base stations 42. Therefore, the number information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 according to the present embodiment is information indicating the number of terminal devices M wirelessly connected to each of the plurality of base stations 42. Note that the acquisition unit 131 may be configured to acquire road map information and radio wave information, or area information, for example, from another device. In this case, the storage unit 12 may not store the road map information and radio wave information, or area information.

[0026] (Calculation section) The calculation unit 132 calculates the fluctuation value. The fluctuation value is a value indicating the degree of delay fluctuation that occurs when the terminal device M performs wireless communication at the current location. The current location is the location where the vehicle 2 is currently located. Specifically, the calculation unit 132 calculates the fluctuation value in the flow shown in FIG. 4. First, the calculation unit 132 calculates an Err sample (step A1). The Err sample is the difference between the most recent acquisition period (ΔT_REC) of the position information and the most recent generation period (ΔT_GPS) of the latitude and longitude. The most recent acquisition period (ΔT_REC) of the position information is the difference between the acquisition time [N] of the position information most recently recorded by the communication control device 41 and the acquisition time [N-1] of the previously recorded position information. The most recent generation period (ΔT_GPS) of the latitude and longitude is the difference between the generation time [N] of the latitude and longitude included in the location information most recently acquired by the acquisition unit 131 and the generation time [N-1] of the latitude and longitude included in the previously acquired location information.

[0027] Next, the calculation unit 132 calculates a moving average value Err_avg of the Err samples based on the previously calculated Err samples and the latest Err sample (step A2). Next, the calculation unit 132 calculates the difference between the latest Err sample and the moving average value Err_avg as a fluctuation value (step A3). The calculation unit 132 repeats steps A1 to A3 every time the acquisition unit 131 acquires position information. By arranging the multiple fluctuation values ​​obtained in this way in time series, it is possible to know whether there is a delay fluctuation and the degree of the fluctuation.

[0028] The calculation unit 132 can also calculate the fluctuation value using, for example, a trained model constructed in advance. In this case, the trained model is constructed by machine learning the relationship between the latitude and longitude of each point on the road and the fluctuation value calculated in the past. The calculation unit 132 inputs the latitude and longitude of the current point into the trained model and adopts the output value as the fluctuation value. In addition, if the determination unit 134 described later does not consider the delay fluctuation when making a determination or the acquisition unit 131 does not repeatedly acquire the location information, the control unit 13 does not need to include the calculation unit 132.

[0029] (Decision Section) The determination unit 133 determines an estimated value of the communication band to be allocated to each terminal device M based on the area information and the number information. Specifically, the calculation unit 132 determines the estimated value in the flow shown in FIG. 5. The determination unit 133 first refers to the area information and acquires the radio wave strength at the planned driving position (step B1). The planned driving position is the position where the vehicle will be present a predetermined time after the time when the vehicle is present at the position indicated by the position information. The predetermined time can be, for example, 6 seconds. For example, when the vehicle 2 is driving at 60 km / h, the planned driving position is a position 100 m ahead of the current position. Next, the determination unit 133 also acquires the radio wave strength at the current position (step B2).

[0030] Next, the determination unit 133 calculates a first estimated value. The first estimated value is an estimated value of the communication band calculated based on the radio wave strength obtained by referring to the area information and the number information. First, the determination unit 133 refers to a graph showing the relationship between the radio wave strength and the estimated value, for example as shown in FIG. 6, and calculates a value corresponding to the radio wave strength acquired in step B1 as the first estimated value (step B3). A graph is prepared for each number of terminal devices M wirelessly connected to one base station 42. As described above, the determination unit 133 acquires the radio wave strength at the planned driving position and the radio wave strength at the current position. Therefore, the determination unit 133 according to this embodiment calculates the first estimated value at the planned driving position and the first estimated value at the current position.

[0031] Next, the determination unit 133 calculates a second estimated value (step B4). The second estimated value is an estimated value of the communication band calculated based on the fluctuation value. The determination unit 133 can also calculate the second estimated value by using, for example, a learned model constructed in advance. In this case, the learned model is constructed by machine learning the relationship between various data (e.g., RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) value, number of vehicles information, DRB (Data Radio Bearer) value, CQI (Channel Quality Indicator) value, delay width, latency, etc.) generated by the communication control device 41 or the base station 42 in the past and the communication band measured in the past. Then, the determination unit 133 inputs various data into this learned model and adopts the output value as the second estimated value. The determination unit 133 according to this embodiment calculates the second estimated value at the planned driving position and the second estimated value at the current position. Note that the determination unit 133 may be configured to use a fixed value determined in advance as the second estimated value.

[0032] Next, the determination unit 133 judges whether the first estimated value is smaller than the second estimated value (step B5). If it is judged that the first estimated value is smaller than the second estimated value, or if the second estimated value has not been calculated (step B5: YES), the determination unit 133 determines the first estimated value as the estimated value (step B6). On the other hand, if it is judged that the first estimated value is larger than the second estimated value (step B5: NO), the determination unit 133 determines the second estimated value as the estimated value (step B7). The determination unit 133 according to this embodiment determines the estimated value at the planned travel position and the estimated value at the current position.

[0033] In this way, since the determination unit 133 adopts the smaller of the first estimated value and the second estimated value as the estimated value, it is possible to increase the accuracy of the determination that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied. Note that the determination unit 133 may be configured to perform step B2 before step B1, or may be configured to perform step B2 in parallel with step B1. Also, the determination unit 133 may be configured to perform step B4 before step B3, or may be configured to perform step B4 in parallel with step B3.

[0034] (Judgment Department) The determination unit 134 determines whether or not the communication band used when the vehicle 2 communicates at the planned travel position satisfies a predetermined band requirement, based on the estimated value at the planned travel position determined by the determination unit 133. As described above, the control unit 13 according to this embodiment includes the calculation unit 132 that calculates the fluctuation value. Therefore, the determination unit 134 according to this embodiment determines whether or not the band requirement is satisfied at the planned travel position, based on the estimated value and the fluctuation value.

[0035] Specifically, the judgment unit 134 judges whether the bandwidth requirement is satisfied in the flow shown in FIG. 7. First, the judgment unit 134 judges whether the estimated value determined (updated) by the determination unit 133 is greater than a predetermined desired value (step C1). The desired value is a value that the user can freely determine depending on the desired degree of communication reliability. By increasing or decreasing this desired value, the judgment criterion for whether the bandwidth requirement is satisfied can be adjusted. If it is determined that the estimated value is greater than the desired value (step C1: YES), the judgment unit 134 judges whether the latest fluctuation value calculated by the calculation unit 132 is equal to or less than a predetermined value (step C2). The predetermined value is a value that the user can freely determine depending on the degree of delay fluctuation that can be tolerated. If it is determined that the fluctuation value is equal to or less than the predetermined value (step C2: YES), the judgment unit 134 judges that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied, and returns to step C1 again. On the other hand, if it is determined that the fluctuation value is greater than the predetermined value (step C2: NO), the determination unit 134 determines that there is a possibility that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied.

[0036] In this way, by taking delay fluctuation into consideration in step C2, it is possible to determine that the bandwidth requirement can be satisfied even if there is a moment when the estimated value becomes smaller than the desired value due to delay fluctuation, and to prevent communication between the base station 42 and the vehicle from becoming temporarily difficult. That is, it is possible to increase the accuracy of determining that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied. Note that, when it is determined in step C1 that the estimated value is larger than the desired value (step C1: YES), the determination unit 134 may be configured to determine that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied without executing step C2, and to return to step C1 again.

[0037] In step C1, if the estimated value is smaller than the desired value (step C1: NO), the judgment unit 134 judges whether the determination unit 133 has determined the second estimated value as the estimated value (step C3). If it is determined that the second estimated value has been determined as the estimated value (step C3: YES), the judgment unit 134 judges that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied. On the other hand, in step C3, if the determination unit 133 has determined that the second estimated value has not been determined as the estimated value (step C3: NO), the judgment unit 134 judges whether the latest fluctuation value is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value (step C4). If it is determined that the latest fluctuation value is larger than the predetermined value (step C4: NO), the judgment unit 134 judges that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied. If it is determined that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied as a result of the judgment in step C3 or step C4, the processing unit 135 performs a safety assurance process (step D1) and then returns to step C1 again. Details of this safety assurance process will be described later.

[0038] In this way, in step C4, by determining that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied when the second estimated value calculated based on the delay fluctuation is used as the estimated value, the accuracy of the determination that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied can be increased. Also, in step C4, by determining that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied when the fluctuation value is greater than a predetermined value, the accuracy of the determination that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied can be increased. Note that, in step C1, when it is determined that the estimated value is smaller than the desired value (step C1: NO), the determination unit 134 may be configured to determine that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied without performing steps C3 and C4.

[0039] In step C4, when it is determined that the latest fluctuation value is equal to or less than the predetermined value (step C4: YES), the determination unit 134 determines whether the strength of the radio wave reaching the terminal device M is greater than the predetermined strength (step C5). Here, when it is determined that the strength of the radio wave reaching the terminal device M is greater than the predetermined strength, the determination unit 134 determines that the band requirement is satisfied, and returns to step C1 again. On the other hand, when it is determined that the strength of the radio wave reaching the terminal device M is less than the predetermined strength (step C5: NO), it determines that there is a possibility that the band requirement is not satisfied. When it is determined that there is a possibility that the band requirement is not satisfied as a result of the determination in step C5 or step C2, the processing unit 135 performs a safety assurance process (step D1), and returns to step C1 again.

[0040] The judgment unit 134 in this embodiment judges, before or after the above processing (judging whether the bandwidth requirements are satisfied at the planned driving location), or in parallel with the processing, whether the communication bandwidth used by the vehicle 2 to communicate at the current location satisfies the specified bandwidth requirements, based on the estimated value at the current location determined by the determination unit 133.

[0041] In wireless communication, even if the delay fluctuation is small, communication may become difficult when the radio wave strength is low. Therefore, by executing step C5, the accuracy of the determination that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied can be increased. In addition, the delay occurring in communication is not constant, but often fluctuates (the delay width increases and decreases). Therefore, by executing steps C2, C3, and C4 and taking the delay fluctuation into consideration, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the bandwidth requirement is determined to be satisfied even when there is a moment when it becomes difficult to satisfy the bandwidth requirement due to the delay fluctuation, and communication between the base station 42 and the vehicle becomes temporarily difficult. That is, it is possible to increase the accuracy of the determination that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied. In addition, the communication control device 41 is connected to multiple base stations 42, and the processing device 1 collects various information from each of the multiple base stations 42. Therefore, the determination unit 134 can determine whether the bandwidth requirement is satisfied over a wide range spanning multiple cells.

[0042] (Processing section) The processing unit 135 executes a safety ensuring process (step D1) when the determination unit 134 determines that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied or that there is a possibility that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied. The safety ensuring process is a process for ensuring the safety of the vehicle 2. The processing unit 135 according to the present embodiment executes at least one of a bandwidth increasing process, a route changing process, a first notification process, and a second notification process as the safety ensuring process.

[0043] The bandwidth increase process is a process in which the base station 42 increases the allocation of the communication bandwidth to the vehicle 2. Specifically, the processing unit 135 controls the communication unit 11 to transmit, to the communication control device 41, increase request information requesting an increase in the allocation of the communication bandwidth. The communication control device 41, which has received the increase request information, transmits, to the target base station 42, instruction information instructing an increase in the allocation of the communication bandwidth. The base station 42, which has received the instruction information, increases the allocation of the communication bandwidth to the vehicle 2 in accordance with the instruction information. This allows the vehicle 2 to continue to maintain stable communication.

[0044] The route change process is a process for vehicle 2 to change the driving route to one that satisfies the bandwidth requirements. Specifically, processing unit 135 controls communication unit 11 to transmit change request information requesting a change of driving route to server 3. Server 3, which receives the change request information, transmits instruction information instructing the target vehicle 2 to change the driving route. Vehicle 2, which receives the instruction information, changes the driving route in accordance with the instruction information. Note that processing unit 135 may be configured to transmit instruction information instructing the target vehicle 2 to change the driving route directly (without going through server 3) in the route change process. This allows vehicle 2 to continue to maintain stable communication.

[0045] The first notification process is a process for notifying the vehicle 2 that the bandwidth requirements are not met. Specifically, the communication unit 11 is controlled to transmit bandwidth shortage information to the communication control device 41. The bandwidth shortage information is information that the bandwidth requirements are not met. The communication control device 41 that receives the bandwidth shortage information transmits the bandwidth shortage information to the target vehicle 2 via the base station 42. The vehicle 2 that receives the bandwidth shortage information may, for example, notify a person riding in the vehicle 2 that communication will be difficult in the future, or may stop the vehicle. This allows a person riding in the vehicle 2 to take measures such as stopping the vehicle 2 or changing the driving route, or to prevent the vehicle 2 from traveling in a state where communication is unstable.

[0046] The second notification process is a process for notifying the terminal device M carried or worn by a passenger in the vehicle 2 that the bandwidth requirements are not met. Specifically, the communication unit 11 is controlled to transmit bandwidth shortage information to the communication control device 41. The communication control device 41, which has received the bandwidth shortage information, transmits the bandwidth shortage information to the target terminal device M via the base station 42. The terminal device M that has received the bandwidth shortage information notifies the person carrying or wearing the terminal device M, for example, that communication will become difficult in the future. This allows the passenger in the vehicle 2 to take measures such as stopping the vehicle 2 or changing the driving route.

[0047] {Effects of Processing Device} The processing device 1 according to the present embodiment described above judges whether the bandwidth requirements are met at the planned driving position based on information that is easy to grasp on the communication network side, namely the communication bandwidth allocated to the terminal device M (the likelihood of communication delays occurring in the terminal device M). Therefore, the processing device 1 does not place a heavy load on the computer resources of the vehicle 2. As a result, the computer resources of the vehicle 2 can be dedicated to collecting information necessary for driving. In addition, the processing device 1 can make judgments about multiple vehicles 2 collectively in one device, so that the introduction cost can be reduced compared to the case where a device for judgment is installed in each vehicle.

[0048] Second embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. For convenience of explanation, the same reference numerals will be used to designate members having the same functions as those described in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

[0049] <Transportation system> As shown in FIG. 1, a transportation system 100A according to this embodiment includes a processing device 1A in addition to the vehicles 2, server 3, and communication network 4 similar to those of the transportation system 100 according to the first embodiment.

[0050] {Processing device configuration} As shown in FIG. 8, the processing device 1A includes a storage unit 12A and a control unit 13A in addition to the communication unit 11 similar to the processing device 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0051] [Storage section] The storage unit 12A according to this embodiment differs from the storage unit 12 according to the first embodiment in terms of stored contents. Specifically, the storage unit 12A according to this embodiment stores a processing program 121A, road map information 122A, and a trained model 124 in addition to the radio wave information 123 similar to that of the storage unit 12 according to the first embodiment.

[0052] The road map information 122A is information showing the layout of roads in at least an area where the vehicle 2 may travel, for each of a plurality of sections constituting the road. The road map information 122A also shows the base station 42 most likely to be a handover destination for each section. The base station 42 most likely to be a handover destination in each section can be determined based on, for example, a record showing which base station 42 was actually connected to in each section when the vehicle 2 traveled through each section in the past. The storage unit 12A may store area information instead of the road map information 122A and the radio wave information 123.

[0053] The trained model 124 is constructed by machine learning the relationship between past location information, past area information (RSRP, RSPQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), SINR (Signal-to-Noise-Ratio), etc.), past number information, past statistical data on the base station 42, and the communication band allocated in the past. The past location information and the past area information may be acquired from the communication control device 41 or may be acquired from the vehicle. On the other hand, the past number information, past statistical data on the base station 42, and the communication band allocated in the past are acquired from the communication control device 41. The trained model 124 according to this embodiment is constructed by machine learning the relationship between the above various information and the vehicle speed information. The vehicle speed information is information indicating the speed of the vehicle 2. In addition, the trained model 124 according to this embodiment does not directly learn the value of the communication band, but learns the throughput and latency corresponding to the value of the communication band. This trained model 124 is configured to output estimated values ​​of throughput and latency when the location information, area information, the speed of the vehicle 2, information on the number of vehicles, and statistical data are input. It is also possible to calculate an estimated value of the communication bandwidth from the estimated values ​​of throughput and latency.

[0054] [Control Unit] The control unit 13A according to this embodiment includes an acquisition unit 131A and a decision unit 133A in addition to a judgment unit 134 and a processing unit 135 similar to those of the control unit 13 according to the first embodiment. The control unit 13A according to this embodiment is configured with a processor like the control unit 13 according to the first embodiment (the processing device 1A is configured with a computer). Therefore, the functions of the respective control blocks 131A, 133A, 134, and 135 are realized by the control unit 13A executing a processing program 121A stored in the storage unit 12A.

[0055] (Acquisition Department) The content of the location information acquired by the acquisition unit 131A according to this embodiment is different from that acquired by the acquisition unit 131 according to the first embodiment. The location information acquired by the acquisition unit 131A according to this embodiment is information indicating in which section the vehicle 2 is located among a plurality of sections obtained by dividing the road on which the vehicle 2 travels.

[0056] (Decision Section) The determination unit 133A refers to the road map information 122A stored in the storage unit 12, and identifies a base station 42 that is to be a handover destination in the section indicated by the location information. Then, the determination unit 133A acquires statistical data of the identified base station 42 from the communication control device 41.

[0057] Moreover, the determination unit 133A determines values ​​obtained by inputting location information, area information (RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc.), vehicle speed information, vehicle number information, and statistical data of the identified base station 42 to the trained model 124 as estimated values ​​in the section. The determination unit 133A according to the present embodiment generates a table showing downlink throughput, uplink throughput, and latency for each time period and each day of the week, as shown in FIG. 9, for example. The determination unit 133A according to the present embodiment inputs RSRP in 10 dB increments (7 steps) within a range of -120 to -60 dB, RSRQ in 2 dB increments (11 steps) within a range of -20 to 0 dB, and vehicle speed information in 10 km / h increments (11 steps) within a range of 0 to 100 km / h. Therefore, the determination unit 133A according to the present embodiment can generate 847 (7 x 11 x 11) types of tables for one base station 42. Then, the determination unit 133A determines the downlink throughput, the uplink throughput, and the latency corresponding to the current time and the current day of the week as estimated values ​​from the generated tables. Note that, although the determination unit 133A according to the present embodiment generates different tables for each of the RSRP, the RSRQ, and the vehicle speed information, different tables may be generated for each of the RSRP, the RSRQ, the vehicle speed information, and the presence or absence of handover.

[0058] Furthermore, while the vehicle 2 is present on a certain section, the determination unit 133A refers to the road map information 122A to identify a base station 42 that will be the handover destination in at least one planned driving section. The planned driving section is another section on a road that includes the section indicated by the location information and is in the traveling direction of the vehicle 2. In other words, the planned driving section is a section through which the vehicle 2 will travel after the time when the vehicle 2 is present on the certain section. The determination unit 133A then determines a value obtained by inputting statistical data of the identified base station 42 into the trained model 124 as an estimated value for the planned driving section.

[0059] Furthermore, after determining an estimated value for one planned travel section, the determination unit 133A determines an estimated value for the planned travel section and a second planned travel section adjacent to the end of the planned travel section in the traveling direction of the vehicle 2. Similarly, the determination unit 133A determines an estimated value (n=3··) for the nth planned travel section adjacent to the end of the n-1th planned travel section in the traveling direction of the vehicle 2. The nth planned travel section is the section at the end point of the travel route. As a result, each estimated value for a plurality of consecutive planned travel sections through which the vehicle 2 will travel is obtained, the vehicle 2 can accurately recognize the progress of communication from here on.

[0060] {Effects of Processing Device} The processing device 1A according to the present embodiment described above does not place a large load on the computer resources of the vehicle 2, as with the processing device 1 according to the first embodiment. As a result, the computer resources of the vehicle 2 can be dedicated to collecting information necessary for driving. Furthermore, the processing device 1A can perform judgments for multiple vehicles 2 collectively in one device, so that the introduction cost can be reduced compared to the case where a device for judgment is installed in each vehicle 2.

[0061] Moreover, the processing device 1A according to the present embodiment is adapted to estimate the estimated value using the trained model 124. The trained model 124 uses statistical data on the base station 42 for learning. Therefore, according to the processing device 1A according to the present embodiment, the accuracy of the estimated value is higher than that output by the conventional device. For example, the relationship between the multiple estimated values ​​output by the conventional device and the correct answer value corresponding to each estimated value is plotted on a plane as shown on the right side of FIG. 10. The straight line L in the figure is a set of plots in which the estimated value and the correct answer value are equal, and the closer the plot is to this straight line L, the higher the accuracy of the estimated value. As can be seen from this, the plots showing the relationship between the estimated value and the correct answer value output by the conventional device are randomly distributed. In contrast, the relationship between the multiple estimated values ​​output by the processing device 1A according to the present embodiment and the correct answer value corresponding to each estimated value is plotted on a plane as shown on the left side of FIG. 10, in which the plots are concentrated toward the straight line L compared to the conventional one. That is, it is indicated that the estimated value output by the processing device 1A according to the present embodiment is more accurate than the estimated value output by the conventional device.

[0062] {Modifications of Processing Device} The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. In addition, embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. For example, the processing devices 1 and 1A may be integrated with a communication control device 41 of the communication network 4. At least a part of the control block of the processing devices 1 and 1A may be included in the communication control device 41. Conversely, at least a part of the control block of the communication control device 41 may be included in the processing devices 1 and 1A.

[0063] In addition, some or all of the functions of each of the control blocks can be realized by a logic circuit. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit that functions as each of the control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, the functions of each of the control blocks can be realized by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0064] In addition, the effects of each aspect of the present invention described above will contribute to the achievement of, for example, Goal 3 "Ensure good health and well-being for all" and Goal 11 "Sustainable cities and communities" of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocated by the United Nations.

[0065] 〔summary〕 The processing device according to aspect 1 of the present invention is a processing device connected to a base station and includes: an acquisition unit that acquires location information of a vehicle from the vehicle traveling on a road and communicating wirelessly via the base station; a determination unit that determines an estimate of a communication band to be assigned to each terminal device based on the location information, area information indicating at least the intensity distribution on the road of the radio waves emitted by the base station, and number information indicating the number of terminal devices wirelessly connected to the base station; and a judgment unit that determines, based on the estimate, whether the communication band used when the vehicle communicates at a planned driving position, which is a position where the vehicle will be located a predetermined time after the time when the vehicle is located at the position indicated by the location information, satisfies predetermined band requirements.

[0066] The processing device according to aspect 2 of the present invention may be configured in the above aspect 1, further comprising a calculation unit that calculates a fluctuation value indicating the degree of delay fluctuation that occurs when the terminal device performs wireless communication at its current location, and the judgment unit judges whether or not the bandwidth requirement is satisfied at the planned driving location based on the estimated value and the fluctuation value.

[0067] The processing device according to aspect 3 of the present invention may be configured such that in aspect 1 or 2 above, the judgment unit judges that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied when the estimated value is greater than a predetermined desired value, and judges that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied when the estimated value is smaller than the desired value.

[0068] The processing device according to aspect 4 of the present invention may be configured in the above aspect 3, further comprising a calculation unit that calculates a fluctuation value indicating the degree of delay fluctuation occurring when the terminal device performs wireless communication at its current location, and the judgment unit judges that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied when the estimated value is greater than the desired value and the fluctuation value is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

[0069] A processing device according to aspect 5 of the present invention may be configured such that, in the above-mentioned aspect 4, the determination unit determines the first estimate as the estimate when a first estimate of the communication band calculated based on the area information and the number of devices information is smaller than a second estimate of the communication band calculated based on the fluctuation value, or when the second estimate has not been calculated, and determines the second estimate as the estimate when the first estimate is larger than the second estimate.

[0070] A processing device according to aspect 6 of the present invention may be configured such that, in aspect 5 above, the judgment unit judges that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied when the estimated value is smaller than the desired value and the determination unit determines the second estimated value as the estimated value.

[0071] A processing device according to a seventh aspect of the present invention may be configured in such a way that, in the above-mentioned first aspect, the location information is information indicating which of a plurality of sections divided into which a road on which the vehicle travels is located, and the determination unit refers to road map information indicating for each section the base station having the highest probability of being a handover destination, identifies a base station to be a handover destination in the section indicated by the location information, and determines, as the estimated value for the section, a value obtained by inputting the location information, the number of vehicles information, and the statistical data into a learned model constructed by machine learning the relationship between past location information, past area information, past number of vehicles information, and past statistical data regarding base stations.

[0072] A processing device according to aspect 8 of the present invention may be configured in the above-mentioned aspect 7 such that, while the vehicle is present on the section, the determination unit refers to the road map information to identify a base station to be a handover destination in the planned driving section, which is at least one section in the direction of travel of the vehicle that is another section on the road including the section indicated by the location information, and determines the value obtained by inputting statistical data of the identified base station into the learned model as the estimated value for the planned driving section.

[0073] The processing device according to aspect 9 of the present invention may be configured to further include a processing unit that executes safety assurance processing to ensure the safety of the vehicle when the judgment unit determines that the bandwidth requirements are not satisfied or there is a possibility that the bandwidth requirements are not satisfied in any of aspects 1 to 8 above.

[0074] A processing device according to aspect 10 of the present invention may be configured such that, in the above-mentioned aspect 9, the processing unit executes, as the safety ensuring processing, at least one of the following processes in the base station: a bandwidth increase processing for increasing the allocation of communication bandwidth to the vehicle; a route change processing for changing the driving route of the vehicle to one that satisfies the bandwidth requirements; a first notification processing for notifying the vehicle that the bandwidth requirements are not met; and a second notification processing for notifying a terminal device carried or worn by a person riding in the vehicle that the bandwidth requirements are not met.

[0075] A processing device according to aspect 11 of the present invention may be configured in any one of aspects 1 to 10 above to be connected to a plurality of the base stations, and the determination unit may determine an estimate of the communication band to be allocated to each terminal device based on area information indicating the intensity distribution at least on the road of the radio waves emitted by each of the plurality of base stations, and number information indicating the number of terminal devices wirelessly connected to each of the plurality of base stations.

[0076] A processing program according to aspect 12 of the present invention is a processing program for causing a computer to function as the processing device in any of aspects 1 to 11 above, and may be configured to cause a computer to function as the acquisition unit, the determination unit, and the judgment unit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 100 Transportation Systems 1 Processing equipment 11 Communications Department 12 Storage section 121 Processing Program 122 Road Map Information 123 Radio Information 13 Control section 131 Acquisition Department 132 Calculation section 133 Decision Section 134 Judgment Department 135 Processing section 2 Vehicles 3 Application Server 4. Communication Network 41 Communication control device 42 Base station

Claims

1. A processing device connected to a base station, an acquisition unit that acquires location information of a vehicle from the vehicle traveling on a road and communicating wirelessly via the base station; a determination unit that determines an estimated value of a communication band to be assigned to each terminal device based on the location information, area information indicating an intensity distribution at least on the road of radio waves emitted by the base station, and number information indicating a number of terminal devices wirelessly connected to the base station; a determination unit that determines, based on the estimated value, whether or not a communication band for communication by the vehicle at a planned travel position, which is a position where the vehicle will be present a predetermined time after a time when the vehicle is present at a position indicated by the position information, satisfies a predetermined band requirement; and Equipped with A processing device comprising:

2. a calculation unit that calculates a fluctuation value indicating a degree of fluctuation in delay occurring when the terminal device performs wireless communication at a current location, The determination unit determines whether the bandwidth requirement is satisfied at the planned traveling position based on the estimated value and the fluctuation value.

2. The processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The determination unit is determining that the bandwidth requirement is met if the estimated value is greater than a predetermined desired value; determining that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied if the estimated value is smaller than the desired value; 2. The processing device according to claim 1 .

4. a calculation unit that calculates a fluctuation value indicating a degree of fluctuation in delay occurring when the terminal device performs wireless communication at a current location, the determination unit determines that the bandwidth requirement is satisfied when the estimated value is greater than the desired value and the fluctuation value is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value.

4. The processing device according to claim 3.

5. The determination unit is When a first estimated value of a communication band calculated based on the area information and the number of devices information is smaller than a second estimated value of a communication band calculated based on the fluctuation value, or when the second estimated value has not been calculated, the first estimated value is determined as the estimated value; if the first estimate is greater than the second estimate, determining the second estimate as the estimate; 5. The processing device according to claim 4.

6. the determination unit determines that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied when the estimated value is smaller than the desired value and the determination unit determines the second estimated value as the estimated value.

6. The processing device according to claim 5.

7. the location information is information indicating in which section the vehicle is present among a plurality of sections obtained by dividing a road on which the vehicle is traveling, The determination unit is Identifying a base station to be a handover destination in the section indicated by the location information by referring to road map information indicating, for each section, a base station having the highest probability of being a handover destination; A learned model is constructed by machine learning the relationship between past location information, past area information, past number of devices information, past statistical data regarding base stations, and past allocated communication bands, and the location information, the area information, the number of devices information, and the statistical data are inputted to the learned model, and the value obtained is determined as the estimated value in the section.

2. The processing device according to claim 1 .

8. The determination unit, while the vehicle is present on the section, With reference to the road map information, identify a base station to be a handover destination in a planned travel section, which is at least one section that is another section on the road including the section indicated by the location information and exists in a traveling direction of the vehicle; determining a value obtained by inputting statistical data of the identified base station into the trained model as the estimated value for the planned travel section; 8. The processing device according to claim 7 .

9. a processing unit that executes a safety assurance process to ensure safety of the vehicle when the determination unit determines that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied or there is a possibility that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied, The processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The processing unit, as the safety ensuring process, A band increasing process for increasing an allocation of a communication band to the vehicle in the base station; A route change process for changing the driving route of the vehicle to one that satisfies a bandwidth requirement; a first notification process for notifying the vehicle that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied; and a second notification process for notifying a terminal device carried or worn by a person riding in the vehicle that the bandwidth requirement is not satisfied. Execute at least one of the following processes:

10. The processing device according to claim 9.

11. connected to a plurality of said base stations, the determination unit determines an estimated value of a communication band to be assigned to each terminal device based on area information indicating at least an intensity distribution on the road of radio waves emitted by each of the plurality of base stations and number information indicating a number of terminal devices wirelessly connected to each of the plurality of base stations; 2. The processing device according to claim 1 .

12. A processing program for causing a computer to function as the processing device according to claim 1, the processing program causing a computer to function as said acquisition unit, said decision unit and said judgment unit.

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