Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To grasp in real time a situation of submergence of a road.SOLUTION: An information processor acquires first information concerning a water level in a predetermined area which has been collected by an artificial satellite. The information processor determines a predetermined area, where a vehicle is used to identify occurrence of submergence of a road, on the basis of the first information. The information processor then identifies occurrence of submergence of the road in the predetermined area on the basis of second information concerning occurrence of submergence of a road which has been collected by the vehicle traveling within the predetermined area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a waterlogging detection device. The waterlogging detection device acquires a detection result of detecting waterlogging on a road on which the vehicle travels based on a plurality of types of driving state data related to the driving of the vehicle. Further, the waterlogging detection device acquires weather information including at least one of rainfall information representing the actual rainfall amount in the area where the vehicle travels and rainfall prediction information representing the predicted rainfall amount. Then, the waterlogging detection device detects waterlogging on the road using the detection result and the weather information.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present disclosure is to grasp the waterlogging situation of a road in real time.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] An information processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present disclosure acquires first information regarding the water level in a predetermined area collected by an artificial satellite, determines a predetermined area for specifying the presence or absence of waterlogging on a road by a vehicle based on the first information, specifies the presence or absence of waterlogging on the road in the predetermined area based on second information related to the presence or absence of waterlogging on the road collected by a vehicle traveling in the predetermined area, and includes a control unit that executes the above.

[0006] The information processing method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method executed by a computer, acquiring first information regarding the water level in a predetermined area collected by a satellite, determining a predetermined area for specifying the presence or absence of road flooding by a vehicle based on the first information, specifying the presence or absence of road flooding in the predetermined area based on second information related to the presence or absence of road flooding collected by a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area, and including.

[0007] The program according to the third aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method, wherein the information processing method is acquiring first information regarding the water level in a predetermined area collected by a satellite, determining a predetermined area for specifying the presence or absence of road flooding by a vehicle based on the first information, specifying the presence or absence of road flooding in the predetermined area based on second information related to the presence or absence of road flooding collected by a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area, and including.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it becomes possible to grasp the road flooding situation in real time.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Assume a case where the waterlogging situation is observed using a satellite. In this case, the waterlogging situation is observed by the satellite collecting information on the water level. On the other hand, the satellite has a fixed revisit period. Therefore, the timing at which the satellite can collect information on the water level of a certain area again after collecting information on the water level of that area once is the timing when the satellite is present over that area. That is, the timing at which the satellite can collect information on the water level of a certain area again after collecting information on the water level of that area once is after the revisit period has elapsed. Then, it becomes difficult for the satellite to always collect information on the water level of the same area. Therefore, it becomes difficult to grasp the real-time waterlogging situation using a satellite.

[0011] Next, assume a case where the waterlogging situation is observed using a vehicle. In this case, the waterlogging situation of the road is observed by performing information processing on the information related to the presence or absence of waterlogging on the road collected by the vehicle. At this time, in a situation where the area for specifying the presence or absence of waterlogging on the road by the vehicle is not designated, information related to the presence or absence of waterlogging on the road collected by vehicles outside the area also becomes the target of information processing, and there is a risk of an increase in the calculation cost.

[0012] The information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure is an information processing apparatus for observing the waterlogging situation of roads. The control unit of the information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure acquires first information. The first information is information regarding the water level in a predetermined area collected by an artificial satellite. The control unit of the information processing apparatus determines a predetermined area for specifying the presence or absence of waterlogging by a vehicle based on the first information. Then, the control unit specifies the presence or absence of waterlogging within the predetermined area based on second information. Here, the second information is information related to the presence or absence of waterlogging on the road collected by a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area.

[0013] As described above, a predetermined area is determined by the information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure. Then, based on the second information collected by the vehicle within the predetermined area, the information processing apparatus specifies the presence or absence of waterlogging. As a result, after the artificial satellite collects the first information, the second information is collected by the vehicle until the first information can be collected again. And based on the second information, the presence or absence of waterlogging on the road within the predetermined area can be specified. Also, by specifying a predetermined area based on the first information, it is possible to reduce the computational cost for the information processing apparatus to perform information processing on the second information. As a result, it becomes possible to grasp the waterlogging situation of the road in real time.

[0014] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present disclosure only to these unless otherwise specified.

[0015] <Embodiment> The observation system 1 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of the observation system 1 according to this embodiment. The observation system 1 includes a satellite 100, an observation server 200, and a vehicle 300. In the observation system 1, the satellite 100, the observation server 200, and the vehicle 300 are interconnected by a network N1. As the network N1, for example, a WAN (Wide Area Network), which is a worldwide public communication network such as the Internet, or a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone network may be adopted.

[0016] (Satellite) The satellite 100 is a satellite that detects water levels. The satellite 100 is, for example, a synthetic aperture radar satellite (SAR satellite). The satellite 100 observes the elevation of the ground surface by irradiating the ground surface with radio waves. Specifically, the satellite 100 can observe the elevation of the land where the radio waves are irradiated based on the reflected waves of the radio waves irradiated on the land. Here, assume that the land where the radio waves are irradiated is flooded. In this case, the satellite 100 observes, as the elevation, the value obtained by adding the depth of the flooded water to the elevation of the land where the radio waves are irradiated. Also, the satellite 100 can observe the water level of a river, for example, based on the reflection of the radio waves irradiated on the river. The satellite 100 transmits, via the network N1, information regarding the observed elevation of the land and the water level of the river (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "observation information") to the observation server 200.

[0017] Here, the satellite 100 is a satellite with a determined regression period. Therefore, the timing at which the satellite 100 can observe the elevation and water level of a predetermined area is the timing when the satellite 100 is present over the predetermined area.

[0018] (Vehicle) Vehicle 300 is a vehicle existing within a predetermined area. Vehicle 300 transmits information regarding its driving state (hereinafter, may be referred to as "vehicle information") to observation server 200 via network N1. In the present embodiment, the vehicle information is information including the driving speed of vehicle 300, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, and the like.

[0019] (Observation Server) Observation server 200 is a server for observing the waterlogging situation. Observation server 200 receives observation information from artificial satellite 100 via network N1. Observation server 200 identifies a point where waterlogging is currently occurring (hereinafter, may be referred to as a "waterlogging point") in a predetermined area based on the observation information. Details of the method by which observation server 200 grasps the waterlogging situation in a predetermined area based on the observation information will be described later.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the waterlogging situation in a predetermined area. In FIG. 2, a part of the predetermined area is shown. Also, in FIG. 2, an area consisting of waterlogging points (hereinafter, may be referred to as a "waterlogging area") is indicated by the hatched part. In the example shown in FIG. 2, waterlogging is occurring due to the flooding of the river.

[0021] Observation server 200 can grasp the waterlogging situation in a predetermined area at the timing when artificial satellite 100 performed the observation by receiving the observation information regarding the predetermined area from artificial satellite 100. However, when artificial satellite 100 is not present over the predetermined area, artificial satellite 100 cannot transmit the observation information regarding the predetermined area to observation server 200. Therefore, it becomes difficult to grasp the real-time waterlogging situation based on the observation information received by observation server 200 from artificial satellite 100.

[0022]

[0022] Further, the observation server 200 receives vehicle information from the vehicle 300 via the network N1. The observation server 200 can identify the presence or absence of road flooding based on the vehicle information. Details of the method for the observation server 200 to identify the presence or absence of road flooding based on the vehicle information will be described later.

[0023] Here, assume a case where the observation server 200 acquires the vehicle information of all the vehicles 300 existing within a predetermined area and identifies the presence or absence of road flooding on the roads within the predetermined area. In this case, compared with the case of identifying the presence or absence of road flooding on the roads within a part of the area within the predetermined area, the computational cost for the observation server 200 to grasp the road flooding situation within the predetermined area increases.

[0024] Therefore, the observation server 200 determines, based on the observation information, an area (hereinafter, may be referred to as the "observation area") in which the presence or absence of road flooding is identified by vehicles within a predetermined area based on the flood point within the predetermined area. Details of the method for the observation server 200 to determine the observation area will be described later. Then, the observation server 200 identifies the presence or absence of road flooding within the observation area based on the vehicle information of the vehicles 300 traveling within the determined observation area.

[0025] The observation server 200 includes a computer having a processor 210, a main memory unit 220, an auxiliary storage unit 230, and a communication interface (communication I / F) 240. The processor 210 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The main memory unit 220 is, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). The auxiliary storage unit 230 is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory). Further, the auxiliary storage unit 230 is, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or a disk recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, or a Blu-ray disk. Also, the auxiliary storage unit 230 may be a removable medium (portable storage medium). Here, as the removable medium, for example, a USB memory or an SD card is exemplified. The communication I / F 240 is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface board or a wireless communication circuit for wireless communication.

[0026] In the observation server 200, the auxiliary storage unit 230 stores an operating system (OS), various programs, and various information tables, etc. Also, in the observation server 200, the processor 210 can realize various functions as described later by loading the program stored in the auxiliary storage unit 230 into the main memory unit 220 and executing it. However, some or all of the functions in the observation server 200 may be realized by a hardware circuit such as an ASIC or an FPGA. Note that the observation server 200 does not necessarily have to be realized by a single physical configuration and may be configured by a plurality of computers that cooperate with each other.

[0027] (Functional configuration) Next, the functional configuration of the observation server 200 that constitutes the observation system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of the functional configuration of the observation server 200.

[0028] The observation server 200 is configured to include a control unit 201, a communication unit 202, and a geographic information database 203 (geographic information DB 203). The control unit 201 has a function of performing arithmetic processing for controlling the observation server 200. The control unit 201 can be realized by a processor 210 in the observation server 200. The communication unit 202 has a function of connecting the observation server 200 to the network N1. The communication unit 202 can be realized by a communication I / F 240 in the observation server 200. The control unit 201 has a function of performing arithmetic processing for controlling the observation server 200. The control unit 201 can be realized by a processor 210 in the observation server 200. The communication unit 202 has a function of connecting the observation server 200 to the network N1. The communication unit 202 can be realized by a communication I / F 240 in the observation server 200.

[0029] The geographic information DB 203 has a function of holding geographic information. The geographic information is information regarding the geography of a region (hereinafter, may be referred to as a "wide area region") including a predetermined region. The geographic information DB 203 can be realized by an auxiliary storage unit 230 in the observation server 200.

[0030] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the table configuration of the geographic information held in the geographic information DB 203. As shown in FIG. 4, a position field, an attribute field, an altitude field, a danger water level field, and a danger level field are input. In the position field, information for specifying each position in the wide area region included in the geographic information is input. For example, latitude and longitude are input into the position field. In the attribute field, the attribute of each position input into the position field is input. Specifically, when there is land (including roads or buildings, etc.) at the position input into the position field, "land" is input into the attribute field. Also, when there is a river at the position input into the position field, "river" is input into the attribute field.

[0031] In the altitude field, data on the altitude of the land at the position input into the position field corresponding to the altitude field is input. Here, when "land" is input into the attribute field corresponding to the altitude field, data is input into the altitude field. When "river" is input into the attribute field corresponding to the altitude field, no data is input into the altitude field.

[0032] In the danger water level field, the water level of the river where flooding may occur is input at the position input in the position field corresponding to the danger water level field. The water level at which flooding may occur is predetermined from the height of the levee provided on the river, etc. Here, when "river" is input in the attribute field corresponding to the danger water level field, data is input into the danger water level field. When "land" is input in the attribute field corresponding to the danger water level field, no data is input into the danger water level field.

[0033] In the danger degree field, the danger degree of waterlogging of the land at the position input in the position field corresponding to the danger degree field is input by being divided into a plurality of levels. Here, when "land" is input in the attribute field corresponding to the danger degree field, data is input into the danger degree field. When "river" is input in the attribute field corresponding to the danger degree field, no data is input into the danger degree field.

[0034] The control unit 201 receives observation information from the artificial satellite 100 through the communication unit 202. The control unit 201 specifies the waterlogging location in a predetermined area based on the geographical information held in the geographical information DB 203 and the observation information received from the artificial satellite 100. Specifically, the control unit 201 compares the elevation of each position in the geographical information with the elevation of each position in the observation information. At this time, when waterlogging occurs at a certain position, the depth of the waterlogging is added to the elevation of that position in the observation information. Therefore, when waterlogging occurs at a certain position, the elevation of that position in the observation information is higher than the elevation of that position in the geographical information. Thus, the control unit 201 determines that waterlogging has occurred at a certain position when the elevation in the observation information is higher than the elevation in the geographical information by a predetermined value or more at that position. In this way, the control unit 201 specifies the waterlogging location in a predetermined area and specifies the waterlogging area.

[0035] The control unit 201 determines the observation area based on the flooded area (flooding point). Specifically, the control unit 201 determines the observation area within a predetermined area so as to include points with an altitude lower than that of the flooded area based on the geographical information stored in the geographical information DB 203. Specifically, the control unit 201 acquires points with an altitude lower than that of the flooded area within a predetermined area based on the geographical information. Then, the control unit 201 determines the observation area so as to include points with an altitude lower than that of the flooded area. In this way, by determining the observation area so as to include points with an altitude lower than that of the flooded area, the observation area can be determined so as to include areas where flooding is likely to occur newly. At this time, the observation area may be divided into two non-overlapping areas.

[0036] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the observation area is determined within a predetermined area. However, the observation server 200 does not necessarily have to determine the observation area within a predetermined area. That is, the observation server 200 may determine the observation area outside the predetermined area. In this case, the observation server 200 acquires the altitude of each point in the wide area based on the geographical information held in the geographical information DB 203. Here, the wide area includes areas other than the predetermined area. Therefore, the observation server 200 can also acquire the altitude of each point in the area outside the predetermined area. Then, the observation server 200 sets the observation area outside the predetermined area by identifying a point outside the predetermined area with an altitude lower than that of the flooded area.

[0037] The control unit 201 repeatedly receives, from the vehicle 300 via the communication unit 202, position information including the current position of the vehicle 300. Thereby, the control unit 201 can grasp the current position of the vehicle 300. Therefore, the control unit 201 identifies the vehicle 300 traveling within the observation area (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "target vehicle 300") based on the position information. Then, the control unit 201 transmits request information to the target vehicle 300 via the communication unit 202. Here, the request information is information for requesting the target vehicle 300 to transmit vehicle information. When the target vehicle 300 receives the request information from the observation server 200 via the network N1, it transmits the vehicle information to the observation server 200.

[0038] Based on the vehicle information collected by the target vehicle 300 traveling within the observation area, the control unit 201 identifies the presence or absence of road flooding within the observation area. Here, when the road is flooded, even if the accelerator pedal of the vehicle 300 is depressed, the acceleration of the vehicle 300 is inhibited by the water on the road. That is, when the road is flooded, even if the accelerator pedal of the vehicle 300 is depressed, the speed of the vehicle 300 does not increase compared to the case where the road is not flooded. Therefore, the control unit 201 determines whether the road is flooded by comparing the speed of the vehicle 300 predicted from the depression amount of the accelerator pedal of the vehicle 300 in the vehicle information of the vehicle 300 with the actual speed of the vehicle 300. In this way, the control unit 201 identifies the presence or absence of road flooding within the observation area based on the vehicle information.

[0039] Note that the control unit 201 does not necessarily have to identify the presence or absence of ponding on the road within the observation area based on the traveling speed of the vehicle 300 and the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, as long as it is information related to the traveling state of the vehicle 300 whose value changes in relation to the presence or absence of ponding on the road. The control unit 201 may identify the presence or absence of ponding on the road within the observation area based on, for example, the effectiveness of the brakes of the vehicle 300. Further, the control unit 201 may identify the presence or absence of ponding on the road within the observation area based on the traveling speed of the vehicle 300 and the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, and information related to the traveling state of the vehicle 300 other than those.

[0040] (Flow of information processing) Next, the flow of information processing in the observation system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of information processing in the observation system 1. Each process executed by the artificial satellite 100, the observation server 200, and the vehicle 300 is executed by the control unit of the artificial satellite 100, the control unit 201, and the control unit of the vehicle 300, respectively.

[0041] In the observation system 1, the artificial satellite 100 acquires observation information based on the reflected wave of the radio wave irradiated on the ground surface (S11). The artificial satellite 100 transmits the observation information to the observation server 200 (S12).

[0042] The observation server 200 identifies the ponding area (ponding point) based on the observation information received from the artificial satellite 100 (S13). Next, the observation server 200 determines the observation area based on the ponding area (S14). Next, the observation server 200 identifies the target vehicle 300 traveling within the observation area from among a plurality of vehicles 300 traveling within a predetermined area (S15). Next, the observation server 200 transmits request information to the target vehicle 300 (S16).

[0043] When the target vehicle 300 receives the request information, it transmits vehicle information to the observation server 200 (S17). Then, the observation server 200 identifies the presence or absence of ponding on the road within the observation area based on the received vehicle information (S18).

[0044] Here, the request information includes information indicating the observation area (for example, information including the latitude and longitude of each point at the boundary of the observation area). Thereby, the vehicle 300 can grasp the observation area. Then, when the vehicle 300 receives the request information, the vehicle 300 repeatedly transmits the vehicle information until the vehicle 300 is located outside the observation area. That is, the vehicle 300 transmits the vehicle information at each point where the vehicle 300 has moved to the observation server 200. Thereby, the observation server 200 can specify the presence or absence of ponding on the road at each point within the observation area.

[0045] As described above, the observation system 1 determines the observation area based on the observation information. And in the observation system 1, based on the vehicle information collected by the target vehicle 300, the presence or absence of ponding is specified. Thereby, the observation server 200 can specify the presence or absence of ponding on the road within the observation area based on the vehicle information of the target vehicle 300 after the artificial satellite 100 has collected the observation information until the observation information can be collected again. Also, by specifying the observation area based on the observation information, it is possible to reduce the computational cost for the observation server 200 to process the vehicle information. As a result, it becomes possible to grasp the situation of ponding on the road in real time.

[0046] (Modification example) In the present embodiment, the artificial satellite 100 is a synthetic aperture radar satellite. However, the artificial satellite 100 does not necessarily have to be a synthetic aperture radar satellite. Any known artificial satellite that can collect information regarding the water level on the ground can be adopted as the artificial satellite 100. The artificial satellite 100 may be, for example, a satellite having a camera for imaging the ground surface. In this case, the observation server 200 grasps the situation of ponding in a predetermined area by performing, for example, image recognition processing based on the image captured by the artificial satellite 100. Even in this way, it becomes possible to grasp the situation of ponding on the road in real time.

[0047] Also, in the present embodiment, the observation server 200 identifies the flooded points in a predetermined area and the flooded area based on the observation information. On the other hand, the observation server 200 may identify an area where flooding is predicted (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "predicted area") instead of the flooded area. Specifically, the observation server 200 obtains the danger water levels at each position of the river from the geographical information stored in the geographical information DB 203. When there is a position where the water level of the river is at the danger water level, the observation server 200 identifies the land within a predetermined range from that position as the predicted area. Then, the observation server 200 determines the observation area based on the predicted area instead of the flooded area. In this way, even when flooding has not actually occurred at the time when the artificial satellite 100 collects the observation information, the target vehicle 300 will transmit vehicle information to the observation server 200 in the observation area. Then, when flooding actually occurs in the observation area, the target vehicle 300 transmits vehicle information indicating that flooding has occurred to the observation server 200. Thereby, the observation server 200 can grasp that flooding has occurred in the observation area when flooding actually occurs. Even in this way, it is possible to grasp the flooding situation of the road in real time. Also, in the present embodiment, the observation server 200 determines the observation area based on the elevation information in the geographical information stored in the geographical information DB 203. However, the observation server 200 does not necessarily have to determine the observation area based on the elevation information in the geographical information stored in the geographical information DB 203. The observation server 200 may determine the observation area based on, for example, the degree of danger at each position in the geographical information stored in the geographical information DB 203. Specifically, when there is a point with a degree of danger equal to or higher than a predetermined level around the flooded area, the observation server 200 determines the area including that point as the observation area. Even in this way, it is possible to determine the observation area so as to include an area where new flooding is likely to occur.

[0048]

[0049] ​ Further, in the present embodiment, the observation server 200 identifies the presence or absence of ponding on the road based on vehicle information. However, the observation server 200 does not necessarily have to identify the presence or absence of ponding on the road based on vehicle information. The observation server 200 may be, for example, information including an image around the target vehicle 300 captured by the target vehicle 300 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "image information"). In this case, the observation server 200 performs image recognition processing based on the image included in the image information to determine whether or not ponding has occurred on the road on which the target vehicle 300 is traveling. In this way, the observation server 200 identifies the presence or absence of ponding on the road based on the image information. Even in this way, it is possible to grasp the situation of ponding on the road in real time.

[0050] Also, in the present embodiment, the observation server 200 receives vehicle information from the target vehicle 300 by transmitting request information to the target vehicle 300. However, the observation server 200 does not necessarily have to transmit request information to the target vehicle 300 in order to receive vehicle information from the target vehicle 300. For example, the observation server 200 may repeatedly receive vehicle information from all the vehicles 300 in a predetermined area. In this case, after identifying the target vehicle 300, the observation server 200 may extract the vehicle information received from the target vehicle 300 from the vehicle information received from all the vehicles 300 in the predetermined area and identify the presence or absence of ponding on the road. Even in this way, the calculation cost can be reduced compared to the case where the observation server 200 identifies the presence or absence of ponding on the road based on the vehicle information received from all the vehicles 300 in a predetermined area.

[0051] <Other Embodiments> The above-described embodiments are merely examples, and the present disclosure can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof. Further, the processes and means described in the present disclosure can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0052] In addition, the processes described as being performed by one device may be executed in a distributed manner by a plurality of devices. Alternatively, the processes described as being performed by different devices may be executed by one device. In a computer system, it is possible to flexibly change how each function is implemented depending on the hardware

[0053] This disclosure can also be realized by supplying a computer program that implements the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer and causing one or more processors included in the computer to read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer by a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the system bus of the computer, or may be provided to the computer via a network. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium includes, for example, any type of disk such as a magnetic disk (e.g., a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a hard disk drive (HDD)), an optical disk (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, or a Blu-ray disk), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, or any other type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0054] 1 ·· Observation system 100 ·· Artificial satellite 200 ·· Observation server 201 ·· Control unit 202 ·· Communication unit 203 ·· Geographic information DB 300 ·· Vehicle

Claims

An information processing apparatus comprising a memory unit and a control unit, wherein: the memory unit stores geographical information including the danger water levels at respective positions of a river; the control unit: obtains first information including information on the water level of a river in a predetermined area collected by an artificial satellite; obtains the danger water level included in the stored geographical information from the memory unit; based on the obtained first information and the danger water level, identifies, in the predetermined area, positions where the water level of the river included in the first information has reached the danger water level as positions where flooding is predicted; determines, as a predetermined area for a vehicle to identify the presence or absence of road flooding, an area within a predetermined range from the identified positions where flooding is predicted; identifies the presence or absence of road flooding in the predetermined area based on second information related to the presence or absence of road flooding collected by a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area; executes; the control unit: identifies a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area based on the current position of the vehicle; transmits third information for instructing the transmission of the second information to the identified vehicle; further executes; an information processing apparatus.

2. The first information further includes information on the water level of flooded land, and the control unit: identifies, based on the first information, points where flooding is occurring in the predetermined area; determines a predetermined area further based on the points where flooding is occurring; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The control unit: determines the predetermined area further based on information on the elevation of an area including the predetermined area; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The control unit: determines the predetermined area further based on information on the risk of flooding in an area including the predetermined area; The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The second information is information on the driving state of a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area, The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The second information is an image of the surroundings of the vehicle taken by a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area, The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. An information processing method executed by a computer, comprising: ​ Storing geographical information including the danger water levels at each position of a river Obtaining first information including information on the water levels of a river in a predetermined area collected by a satellite Obtaining the danger water levels included in the stored geographical information Based on the obtained first information and the danger water levels, identifying positions in the predetermined area where the water level of the river included in the first information has reached the danger water level as positions where flooding is predicted Determining an area within a predetermined range from the identified positions where flooding is predicted as a predetermined area where a vehicle identifies the presence or absence of road flooding Identifying the presence or absence of road flooding in the predetermined area based on second information related to the presence or absence of road flooding collected by a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area including Identifying a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area based on the current position of the vehicle Transmitting third information for instructing the transmission of the second information to the identified vehicle further including An information processing method

8. The first information further includes information on the water levels of flooded land In the information processing method Based on the first information, identifying points where flooding has occurred in the predetermined area Based on the points where flooding has occurred, determining a predetermined area The information processing method according to claim 7

9. Based on information on the elevation of an area including the predetermined area, further determining the predetermined area The information processing method according to claim 7 or 8

10. Based on information on the flood risk in an area including the predetermined area, further determining the predetermined area The information processing method according to claim 7 or 8

11. The second information is information on the driving state of a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area The information processing method according to any one of claims 7 to 10

12. The second information is an image around the vehicle taken by a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area The information processing method according to any one of claims 7 to 10

13. A program for causing a computer to execute an information processing method, The information processing method is Storing geographical information including the danger water levels at each position of a river Obtaining first information including information on the water level of a river in a predetermined area collected by a satellite; Obtaining the danger water level included in the stored geographical information; Based on the obtained first information and the danger water level, specifying, in the predetermined area, the position where the water level of the river included in the first information has reached the danger water level as the position where flooding is predicted; Determining, as a predetermined area for a vehicle to specify the presence or absence of road waterlogging, an area within a predetermined range from the specified position where flooding is predicted; Based on second information related to the presence or absence of road waterlogging collected by a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area, specifying the presence or absence of road waterlogging within the predetermined area; including; Specifying a vehicle traveling within the predetermined area based on the current position of the vehicle; Transmitting third information for instructing the transmission of the second information to the specified vehicle; further including; Program.

14. The first information further includes information on the water level of the waterlogged land; In the information processing method, Based on the first information, specifying a point where waterlogging has occurred in the predetermined area; Based on the point where waterlogging has occurred, further determining a predetermined area; The program according to claim 13.

Images