Information processing apparatus

Abstract

To provide an information processing device capable of promptly proposing a travelable road from an overhead view of a road state.SOLUTION: An information processing device comprises: an acquisition unit for acquiring a satellite image, which is obtained by imaging the ground with an artificial satellite, regarding a target area based on disaster information; a detection unit for detecting obstacles on a road relating to travel of a vehicle on the basis of the satellite image acquired by the acquisition unit; and an output unit for outputting a road, in which no obstacle is detected by the detection unit, as a travelable road.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an information transmission / reception system that performs route guidance for a moving object and switches to a route guidance method based on disaster information when a disaster occurs. This document proposes receiving the driving history of a road and determining passable roads.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Here, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to determine that a road is passable until after a vehicle has traveled through a disaster area. Therefore, there is room for improvement in quickly proposing passable roads.

[0005] In consideration of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that can quickly propose passable roads by looking at the road conditions from an overview.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The first aspect of the present invention The information processing apparatus according to The first aspect of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires a satellite image obtained by an artificial satellite photographing the ground for a target area based on disaster information, a detection unit that detects obstacles on a road related to vehicle passage based on the satellite image acquired by the acquisition unit, and an output unit that outputs, as passable roads, roads on which the obstacles have not been detected by the detection unit. The acquisition unit acquires a satellite image taken during the day and a satellite image taken at night for the target area, and the detection unit sets a priority according to the brightness of the road for the road in the target area based on the satellite image taken at night, and detects obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage in order from the road with the highest priority based on the satellite image taken during the day do.

[0007] The first aspect In the information processing apparatus according to and The first aspect , for the target area based on disaster information, a satellite image obtained by an artificial satellite photographing the ground is acquired. Then, based on the acquired satellite image, an obstacle on the road related to the passage of the vehicle is detected, and a road where no obstacle is detected is output as a passable road. Thereby, even at a timing when the running record of the target area cannot be obtained during a disaster, the road state can be viewed from above, and a passable road can be quickly proposed.

[0008] The second aspect The information processing apparatus according to to The second aspect is The first aspect In the configuration according to The first aspect , the acquisition unit acquires, for the target area, a satellite image taken before the occurrence of the disaster and a satellite image taken after the occurrence of the disaster, and the detection unit compares the satellite image taken before the occurrence of the disaster with the satellite image taken after the occurrence of the disaster to detect an obstacle on the road related to the passage of the vehicle.

[0009] The second aspect In the information processing apparatus according to to The second aspect , for the target area, a satellite image taken before the occurrence of the disaster and a satellite image taken after the occurrence of the disaster are acquired. Then, the satellite image taken before the occurrence of the disaster and the satellite image taken after the occurrence of the disaster are compared to detect an obstacle on the road related to the passage of the vehicle. Thereby, the change in the road state before and after the occurrence of the disaster can be accurately grasped, and a passable road can be proposed more accurately.

[0011] This aspectIn the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, for a target area, a satellite image taken during the day and a satellite image taken at night are acquired. Then, based on the satellite image taken at night, a priority corresponding to the brightness of the road is set for the road in the target area, and based on the satellite image taken during the day, obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage are detected in order from the road with the highest priority. Here, for a road with low brightness in the satellite image taken at night, it is considered that there is little road lighting, and it is assumed that there is a high risk of secondary disasters occurring without noticing obstacles on the road during night driving. Therefore, for example, by setting a high priority for a road with low brightness and preferentially detecting obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage, the risk of secondary disasters during a disaster can be effectively reduced.

Advantages of the Invention

[0014] As described above, in the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, the road conditions can be viewed from an overhead perspective, and passable roads can be quickly proposed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, the system S according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. The system S according to the present embodiment is a system that proposes passable roads by viewing the road conditions from an overhead perspective.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the system S includes a server 10, a vehicle 20, a disaster information center 30, and a satellite 40. In the system S, the server 10, the vehicle 20, and the disaster information center 30 are connected via a network N.

[0018] The server 10 is a server computer. The server 10 acquires an image (hereinafter also referred to as a “satellite image”) taken by the satellite 40 from the satellite 40. Note that the satellite image can be, for example, an image of a ground area of 0.5 km to 20 km square as the shooting target. The server 10 is an example of an “information processing device”.

[0019] The vehicle 20 has an in-vehicle device 50 connected to the server 10 via the network N. In FIG. 1, only one vehicle 20 is shown, but actually, a plurality of vehicles 20 are connected via the network N.

[0020] The disaster information center 30 is a public institution that distributes disaster information indicating the disaster occurrence area, the disaster occurrence situation, etc. at the time of a disaster via a wide-area communication network.

[0021] The satellite 40 orbits on the satellite orbit of the earth at a predetermined period and shoots the ground. The number of times the satellite 40 orbits the earth in one day and the altitude of the orbit of the satellite 40 are arbitrary. In FIG. 1, only one satellite 40 is shown, but it is desirable that the satellite 40 is composed of a plurality of satellites capable of shooting the same ground point.

[0022] The hardware configuration of the server 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 10.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 2, the server 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a storage unit 14, an input unit 15, a display unit 16, and a communication unit 17. Each component is connected to be communicable with each other via a bus 18.

[0024] The CPU 11 is a central processing unit that executes various programs and controls each part. That is, the CPU 11 reads a program from the ROM 12 or the storage unit 14 and executes the program using the RAM 13 as a working area. The CPU 11 performs control of each of the above configurations and various arithmetic processes according to the program recorded in the ROM 12 or the storage unit 14.

[0025] The ROM 12 stores various programs and various data. The RAM 13 temporarily stores a program or data as a working area.

[0026] The storage unit 14 is composed of a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid State Drive), or a flash memory, and stores various programs and various data. A program 14A for causing the CPU 11 to execute output processing described later is stored in the storage unit 14.

[0027] The input unit 15 includes a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, and a camera, and is used to perform various inputs.

[0028] The display unit 16 is, for example, a liquid crystal display and displays various information. The display unit 16 may adopt a touch panel method and function as the input unit 15.

[0029] The communication unit 17 is an interface for communicating with other devices. For the communication, for example, a standard for wired communication such as Ethernet (registered trademark) or FDDI, or a standard for wireless communication such as 4G, 5G, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or Wi-Fi (registered trademark) is used. The communication unit 17 is connected to the network N.

[0030] Next, the functional configuration of the server 10 will be described. FIG. 3 is a first block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 10.

[0031] The acquisition unit 11A acquires disaster information transmitted from the disaster information center 30 when a disaster occurs. This disaster information includes the disaster occurrence area, the disaster occurrence situation, and the like.

[0032] The acquisition unit 11A acquires user information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50 of the vehicle 20. The user information is, for example, information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50 to the server 10 when a request from a user to obtain road information passable by the in-vehicle device 50 is received at the time of a disaster occurrence. The user information includes information regarding the vehicle 20 used by the user, and the information regarding the vehicle 20 includes the position information of the vehicle 20 and the vehicle type information of the vehicle 20. Note that the user information may be stored in the server 10 in advance.

[0033] The acquisition unit 11A acquires satellite images taken by the artificial satellite 40 of the ground. Specifically, it acquires satellite images taken of the target area based on the disaster information.

[0034] The satellite images acquired by the acquisition unit 11A include satellite images taken before the disaster and satellite images taken after the disaster for the target area based on the disaster information. This is to facilitate the identification of points where the road conditions have changed by comparing satellite images taken of the same area before and after the disaster occurrence.

[0035] In addition, the satellite images acquired by the acquisition unit 11A include satellite images taken at night for the target area based on the disaster information. This is to specify, from the satellite images, the luminance indicating the brightness of the road at night for the roads within the target area. It can be understood that roads with a low luminance indicating the brightness of the road are roads with low traffic volume and little road lighting at night. Therefore, it is assumed that roads with a low luminance indicating the brightness of the road have a high risk of secondary disasters occurring because users do not notice obstacles on the road during night driving.

[0036] The acquisition unit 11A acquires map data of a target area based on disaster information. This map data is referred to for extracting road areas included in satellite images. Although the road areas included in satellite images can also be extracted by image analysis based only on satellite images, referring to map data is suitable in that the road areas can be accurately extracted even at locations where part of the road line is hidden by street trees or the like and cannot be photographed. Note that the map data may be stored in the server 10 in advance.

[0037] The acquisition unit 11A acquires driving records associated with the size of the vehicle for roads in the target area based on disaster information. These driving records are obtained, for example, by associating the position information of the vehicle 20 transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50 with the vehicle type information of the vehicle 20. Note that the driving records may be stored in the server 10 in advance.

[0038] Note that the target area based on disaster information is, for example, an area recognized as a disaster occurrence area at the disaster information center 30. This target area may include an area where the occurrence of a disaster is predicted according to the type of disaster.

[0039] The detection unit 11B detects obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage based on the satellite image acquired by the acquisition unit 11A. As an example, the detection unit 11B refers to the map data of the target area based on disaster information and extracts the road area from the satellite image that photographed the target area. The detection unit 11B uses a known image recognition technique to detect obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage in the area extracted as the road area from the satellite image. Note that obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage include, for example, cases where there are obstacles such as fallen objects on the road or when the road is flooded.

[0040] Here, the detection unit 11B sets the priority of obstacle detection for the roads in the target area based on the satellite images taken at night, and detects the obstacles on the roads in order from the roads with the highest priority. Specifically, for the roads in the target area, the brightness indicating the brightness of the roads at night is specified, and it is set so that the lower the brightness of the road, the higher the priority. As a result, the priority of roads with less road illumination and a high risk of secondary disasters occurring during night driving is set high.

[0041] In addition, in the present embodiment, from the viewpoint of obtaining the rapidity of information provision, satellite images taken at night before the disaster are used. However, immediately after the disaster occurs, satellite images taken at night before the disaster may be used, and then, satellite images taken at night after the disaster occurs may be used. In this case, the risk of secondary disasters according to the changes in the situation after the disaster can be predicted more accurately.

[0042] The detection unit 11B compares the satellite image taken before the disaster and the satellite image taken after the disaster for the target area based on the disaster information, and detects the obstacles on the road related to the passage of the vehicle. Specifically, the detection unit 11B extracts the change in the feature points obtained by comparing the image before the disaster and the image after the disaster for the road area extracted from the satellite image. As a result, for example, a location where the road line is continuous in the satellite image before the disaster but becomes discontinuous in the satellite image after the disaster is specified as the location where the obstacle is detected. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the misrecognition that a location where the same road line becomes discontinuous due to a building or a street tree from before the disaster is misrecognized as the location where the obstacle is detected on the road. In addition, since image analysis can be performed centering on the image of the location where the change in the feature points is detected, the rapidity of image analysis is ensured.

[0043] The output unit 11C outputs the roads where no failure is detected by the detection unit 11B as passable roads. Also, when a plurality of roads within the target area are output as passable roads, the output unit 11C preferentially presents the roads with high driving performance based on the driving performance after the occurrence of a disaster corresponding to the size of the vehicle 20 used by the user. In one example, when a request from a user who requests passable road information with an in-vehicle device 50 is received during a disaster, the vehicle type information of the vehicle 20 is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50 to the server 10. The output unit 11C specifies the size of the vehicle 20 used by the user based on the vehicle type information, and refers to the driving performance of each road based on the driving performance of the vehicle corresponding to the size of the vehicle used by the user. Note that the driving performance corresponding to the size of the vehicle 20 used by the user is the driving performance of a vehicle of the same size as the vehicle used by the user and the driving performance of a vehicle of a size larger than the vehicle used by the user.

[0044] The output unit 11C preferentially outputs the roads with high driving performance. As a result, it becomes easier for the user who has confirmed the output information to select a road with driving performance corresponding to the size of their own vehicle. The output unit 11C transmits the information output via the network N to the in-vehicle device 50 of the user.

[0045] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of the output process in which the server 10 outputs road information tails passable for the user. As an example, when a request from a user who requests passable road information with an in-vehicle device 50 is received, the request from the user is received by the server 10 via the in-vehicle device 50, and the output process is executed. The output process is performed by the CPU 11 reading the program 14A from the storage unit 14 and expanding it in the RAM 13 for execution.

[0046] In step S100 shown in FIG. 4, the CPU 11 acquires various data by the function of the acquisition unit 11A. Specifically, the CPU 11 acquires disaster information transmitted from the disaster information center 30, user information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50, satellite images taken by the artificial satellite 40 of the ground, map data, and various data including the driving performance of roads. Then, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of step S101.

[0047] In step S101, the CPU 11 identifies the luminance indicating the brightness of the road at night for the target area based on the acquired disaster information. Specifically, the CPU 11 identifies the luminance indicating the brightness of the road for the road in the target area based on the disaster information based on the satellite image taken at night. Then, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of step S102.

[0048] In step S102, the CPU 11 sets a priority corresponding to the luminance indicating the brightness of the road for the road in the target area. Specifically, the lower the luminance indicating the brightness of the road, the higher the priority is set. Then, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of step S103.

[0049] In step S103, the CPU 11 detects obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage in order from the roads with high priority set according to the luminance for the roads in the target area. Here, the CPU 11 compares the satellite image taken before the disaster and the satellite image taken after the disaster for the target area to detect obstacles on the road. Then, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of step S104.

[0050] In step S104, the CPU 11 recognizes the roads where no obstacles on the road are detected as passable roads and determines whether there are multiple passable roads. When there are multiple passable roads, the determination in step S104 is affirmed, and the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of step S105. On the other hand, when there is one or less passable road, the determination in step S104 is negated, and the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of step S106.

[0051] In step S105, the CPU 11 sets priorities for a plurality of passable roads according to the driving performance after the disaster. Specifically, for the plurality of roads determined to be passable, the CPU 11 obtains the driving performance after the disaster corresponding to the size of the vehicle used by the user, and sets the priority for proposing to the user according to the obtained driving performance. If there is no driving performance, the priorities of the plurality of roads are set to be the same. Then, the CPU 11 proceeds to the process of step S106.

[0052] In step S106, the CPU 11 outputs passable road information. In this case, if the process of step S105 is obtained, for the plurality of passable roads, the roads with higher driving performance are preferentially output. Note that the output mode may be a mode of listing a plurality of roads in order of priority, or a mode of outputting the single road with the highest priority. The CPU 11 transmits the output information to the in-vehicle device 50 and ends the output process.

[0053] (Function and effect) As described above, in the server 10 according to the present embodiment, for the target area based on the disaster information, the server 10 obtains the satellite image taken by the artificial satellite 40 of the ground. Then, based on the obtained satellite image, obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage are detected, and the roads where no obstacles are detected are output as passable roads. Thereby, even at a timing when the driving performance of the target area cannot be obtained during a disaster, the road conditions can be viewed from an aerial perspective, and passable roads can be quickly proposed.

[0054] The server 10 obtains the satellite image taken before the disaster and the satellite image taken after the disaster for the target area. Then, the satellite image taken before the disaster and the satellite image taken after the disaster are compared to detect obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage. Thereby, the change in the road conditions before and after the disaster can be accurately grasped, and passable roads can be proposed more accurately.

[0055] Server 10 acquires satellite images taken during the day and satellite images taken at night for the target area. Then, based on the satellite image taken at night, it sets a priority according to the brightness of the road for the roads in the target area, and based on the satellite image taken during the day, it detects obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage in order from the roads with high priority. Here, for roads with low brightness in the satellite image taken at night, it is considered that there is little road lighting, and it is assumed that there is a high risk of secondary disasters occurring without noticing the obstacles on the road during night driving. Therefore, in this embodiment, by setting a high priority for roads with low brightness and preferentially detecting obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage, the risk of secondary disasters during disasters can be effectively reduced.

[0056] Server 10 outputs passable roads according to the user's request. Here, Server 10 acquires the driving performance associated with the size of the vehicle for the roads in the target area. And as a result of detecting obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage, when multiple roads are output as passable roads, Server 10 preferentially presents the roads with high driving performance based on the driving performance after the occurrence of disasters corresponding to the size of the vehicle 20 used by the user. Therefore, it becomes easier for the user to select a road with driving performance corresponding to their own vehicle. As a result, for example, users who use a transport truck are suppressed from being unexpectedly stopped due to changes in road conditions caused by disasters, and it becomes easier to ensure logistics during disasters.

[0057] [Supplementary Explanation] In the above embodiment, the request of the user who requests passable road information is transmitted to Server 10 by the in-vehicle device 50, but it is not limited to this, and it may also be updated and transmitted to Server 10 from a user terminal such as a personal computer or a smartphone. Also, in this case, the passable road information output by Server 10 may be transmitted to the user terminal.

[0058] Note that in the above embodiment, the provision process in which the CPU 11 reads and executes software (program) may be executed by various processors other than the CPU. Examples of the processor in this case include a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacturing, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and a dedicated electric circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) having a circuit configuration dedicated to executing specific processing. Further, the provision process may be executed by one of these various processors, or may be executed by a combination of two or more processors of the same type or different types (for example, a plurality of FPGAs, a combination of a CPU and an FPGA, etc.). More specifically, the hardware structure of these various processors is an electric circuit combining circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0059] Also, in the above embodiment, the mode in which the provision program 14A is pre-stored (installed) in the storage unit 14 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The provision program 14A may be provided in a form recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk Read Only Memory), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. Further, the program 14A may be in a form downloaded from an external device via the network N.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0060] 10 Server (Information Processing Device) 11A Acquisition Unit 11B Detection Unit 11C Output Unit 20 Vehicle 40 Artificial Satellite

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires satellite images of the ground taken by a satellite for a target area based on disaster information; A detection unit that detects obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage based on the satellite images acquired by the acquisition unit; An output unit that outputs, as passable roads, the roads on which the obstacles have not been detected by the detection unit; characterized by comprising: The acquisition unit acquires, for the target area, satellite images taken during the day and satellite images taken at night; The detection unit sets a priority according to the brightness of the road for the roads in the target area based on the satellite images taken at night, and detects obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage in order from the roads with high priority based on the satellite images taken during the day. An information processing apparatus.

2. The acquisition unit acquires, for the target area, satellite images taken before the occurrence of a disaster and satellite images taken after the occurrence of the disaster; The detection unit compares the satellite images taken before the occurrence of the disaster and the satellite images taken after the occurrence of the disaster to detect obstacles on the road related to vehicle passage. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

Images