Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing System, Information Processing Method, and Program

Abstract

To provide an information processing device which is capable of easily determining whether a driving state of a mobile is an automatic driving state or a manual driving state with respect to collected probe information and performs appropriate information analysis in accordance with the driving state.SOLUTION: An information processing device comprises: behavior information acquisition means for acquiring behavior information including an acceleration speed in a lateral direction with respect to a direction of movement of a mobile; and determination means by which, on the basis of the acceleration speed acquired by the behavior information acquisition means, in a case where the acceleration speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that at least a part of a driving operation of steering of the mobile is automatically performed and in a case where the acceleration speed is higher than the predetermined threshold, it is determined that the driving operation of the mobile is manually performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program for providing information to a moving body.

Background Art

[0002] Analysis is performed using probe information indicating the driving history (such as driving position and driving speed) of a moving body such as a vehicle.

[0003] As an apparatus for analyzing using such probe information, for example, based on vehicle probe information, VICS (registered trademark) (Vehicle Information and Communication System) information, and the output from a vehicle sensor of a road administrator installed on the roadside, a driving support system is disclosed that includes a support apparatus for predicting whether an event that should be noted is likely to occur for a target vehicle and presenting information to an in-vehicle device of the target vehicle according to the prediction result.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the driving support system of Patent Document 1, in collecting probe information from a vehicle, the collection of probe information is performed without distinguishing whether the vehicle is in an automatic driving state or a manual driving state. Therefore, as an example of the problem, it was not possible to appropriately analyze the collected probe information.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus that can easily distinguish whether the driving state of a moving body is an automatic driving state or a manual driving state with respect to the collected probe information and perform appropriate information analysis according to the driving state.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 includes behavior information acquisition means for acquiring behavior information including acceleration in the left - right direction with respect to the moving direction of the moving body, and based on the acceleration acquired by the behavior information acquisition means, when the acceleration is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that at least a part of the driving operation of the steering of the moving body is automatically performed, and when the acceleration is greater than the predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the driving operation of the moving body is manually performed, and is characterized by having determination means.

[0008] The information processing system according to claim 9 includes a measurement terminal that measures acceleration in the left - right direction with respect to the moving direction of the moving body, behavior information acquisition means for acquiring the acceleration of the moving body acquired by the measurement terminal, and based on the acceleration, when the acceleration is equal to or less than a threshold value, it is determined that at least a part of the driving operation of the steering of the moving body is automatically performed, and when the acceleration is greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the driving operation of the moving body is manually performed, and an information processing apparatus having determination means, and is characterized by having the same.

[0009] The information processing method according to claim 10 includes a step of acquiring behavior information including acceleration in the left - right direction with respect to the moving direction of the moving body, and based on the acceleration of the behavior information, when the acceleration is equal to or less than a threshold value, it is determined that at least a part of the driving operation of the steering of the moving body is automatically performed, and when the acceleration is greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the driving operation of the moving body is manually performed, and is characterized by having the same.

[0010] The program according to claim 11 of the present application causes a computer to perform a step of acquiring behavior information including acceleration in the left - right direction with respect to the moving direction of a moving body, and based on the acceleration of the behavior information, determining that at least a part of the driving operation of steering the moving body is automatically performed when the acceleration is equal to or less than a threshold value, and determining that the driving operation of the moving body is manually performed when the acceleration is greater than a predetermined threshold value.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

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Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

Examples

[0012] Figure 1 shows the overall configuration of the information processing system according to Embodiment 1. As shown in Figure 1, the information processing system 100 is configured such that a measurement terminal 10 mounted on an automobile M as a moving body and a server 20 as an information processing device are connected via a network NW. Note that the moving body may be a moving body other than an automobile, such as an automobile, a motorcycle, an airplane, a ship, or a moving person.

[0013] Figure 2 shows the functional blocks of the measurement terminal 10 and the server 20 of the information processing system 100. As shown in Figure 2, in the information processing system 100, the measurement terminals 10 mounted on each of a plurality of automobiles M and the server 20 are communicably connected.

[0014] The measurement terminal 10 is mounted on the automobile M. The measurement terminal 10 may be a part of the navigation system of the automobile M.

[0015] The acceleration sensor 11 is an acceleration sensor such as a capacitance type or a piezoresistive type. The acceleration sensor 11 is, for example, a two-axis acceleration sensor, and detects the acceleration in the front-rear direction when the automobile M travels forward and the acceleration in the left-right direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction, that is, the left-right direction with respect to the moving direction of the automobile M.

[0016] The GPS (Global Positioning System) device 12 is a device configured to receive a signal (GPS signal) from GPS satellites and acquire the position information of the automobile M.

[0017] The communication unit 13 is an interface communicably connected to the server 20 and the measurement terminals 10 mounted on other automobiles M via the network NW.

[0018] The control unit 14 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs arithmetic processing. The control unit 14 can control the operations of each part of the measurement terminal 10 including the acceleration sensor 11, the GPS device 12, and the communication unit 13.

[0019] The driving information calculation unit 15 is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 14. The driving information calculation unit 15 can calculate driving information including the speed, acceleration, accelerator opening, braking strength, coasting distance with the accelerator off, the distance between the vehicle M and the vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle M, and the position of the vehicle M from the signals of the acceleration sensor 11 and the GPS device 12. That is, the driving information calculation unit 15 can acquire probe information. The driving information is, for example, information regarding the behavior of the vehicle M per a predetermined period. In the case of acceleration, it is, for example, the acceleration of the vehicle M per 15 seconds. Note that the predetermined period can be arbitrarily determined.

[0020] The acceleration and speed of the vehicle M may be calculated and acquired based on, for example, the acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 11 or the GPS signal from the GPS device 12. Also, the speed of the vehicle M may be calculated and acquired based on, for example, receiving a vehicle speed pulse from the vehicle M and based on the vehicle speed pulse.

[0021] Also, the position of the vehicle M may be acquired based on, for example, the GPS signal from the GPS device 12. The position of the vehicle M may also be calculated based on the amount of movement from the reference position, the attitude information of the vehicle M from the gyro device, or the vehicle speed information obtained from the vehicle speed pulse of the vehicle M. Further, the driving information calculation unit 15 may be able to acquire map information. That is, the position of the vehicle M may be calculated and acquired by combining at least one of the GPS information from the GPS receiver, the attitude information of the vehicle M from the gyro device, and the vehicle speed information of the vehicle M with the map information.

[0022] Also, in the following description, the acceleration when the vehicle M accelerates in the traveling direction of the vehicle M is defined as positive acceleration, and the acceleration when decelerating is defined as negative acceleration. Note that the negative acceleration in the traveling direction is also referred to as deceleration. Also, regarding the lateral acceleration, the acceleration toward the left with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle M is defined as positive acceleration, and the acceleration toward the right with respect to the traveling direction is defined as negative acceleration for explanation.

[0023] The communication unit 21 of the server 20 is communicably connected via a network NW to the communication units 13 of the measurement terminals 10 mounted on each of the plurality of automobiles M. The communication unit 21 can receive, for example, behavior information or probe information including the acceleration, speed, and position of the automobile M from the communication unit 13.

[0024] The control unit 23 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs arithmetic processing and is implemented by a computer. The control unit 23 can control the operations of each part of the server 20 including the communication unit 21. Also, the control unit 23 can acquire various information from the outside via the communication unit 21 and perform processing such as analysis on the acquired information. The CPU reads out a program corresponding to the processing content from the storage unit 22 and executes the read program to realize various functions.

[0025] The behavior information acquisition means 23a is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The behavior information acquisition means 23a can acquire the behavior information of the automobile M from each of the measurement terminals 10 mounted on the automobile M.

[0026] The determination means 23b is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The determination means 23b determines whether the automobile M on which each measurement terminal 10 is mounted is in the autonomous driving mode based on the acceleration included in the behavior information received by the communication unit 21.

[0027] The determination means 23b determines, for example, that it is in the autonomous driving mode when the acceleration (deceleration) in the traveling direction of the automobile M is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. Also, for example, the determination means 23b determines that it is in the autonomous driving mode when the absolute value of the acceleration in the lateral direction of the automobile M is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value.

[0028] Specifically, when there is no automobile traveling ahead, the automobile M traveling in the autonomous driving mode maintains a constant speed on a straight road, with minimal acceleration and deceleration, little variation, and smoothness.

[0029] In addition, when the vehicle M traveling in the autonomous driving mode is following a vehicle traveling ahead, on a straight road, its speed varies in accordance with the vehicle traveling ahead, and the acceleration and deceleration are minimized with little variation and are smooth.

[0030] Also, when the vehicle M traveling in the autonomous driving mode is following a vehicle traveling ahead, the distance between the vehicle M and the vehicle traveling ahead is constant. That is, the vehicle M traveling in the autonomous driving mode travels while maintaining a constant distance between vehicles regardless of the weather or time zone (daytime or nighttime).

[0031] Incidentally, as the speed range of the vehicle M increases, the stopping distance of the vehicle M increases. For this reason, the vehicle-to-vehicle distance becomes longer as the speed range of the vehicle M increases. That is, the vehicle M traveling in the autonomous driving mode travels at a constant vehicle-to-vehicle distance corresponding to the traveling speed.

[0032] On the other hand, it is difficult for the vehicle M traveling in the manual driving mode to maintain a strict constant speed. Also, the vehicle M traveling in the manual driving mode shows accelerations indicating sudden deceleration. Furthermore, the distance between the vehicle M traveling in the manual driving mode and the vehicle traveling ahead varies during traveling and when stopped.

[0033] The determination means 23b determines whether it is in the autonomous driving mode in consideration of these elements. Here, the autonomous driving mode is a driving mode of the vehicle. The driving mode includes a plurality of driving modes that differ depending on the degree of automation of operations related to the traveling of the vehicle M.

[0034] For example, the manual driving mode corresponds to the autonomous driving level 0. Assume that the autonomous driving mode is a mode corresponding to the autonomous driving levels 1 to 5. Here, assume that the autonomous driving level is the autonomous driving level defined by the Japanese government or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the United States.

[0035] In addition, the automatic driving mode shall include a mode that supports at least one of the operations of accelerator operation, brake operation, and steering operation (steering operation). The mode that supports the operation is, for example, a mode that intervenes in the driving operation when the driver's operation does not meet a predetermined condition, such as an emergency brake.

[0036] The determination means 23b determines whether at least one driving operation is automatically performed for each of the driving operations of steering, acceleration, and braking of the vehicle M. That is, the determination means 23b determines that it is in the automatic driving mode if at least one of the driving operations of steering, acceleration, and braking of the vehicle M is automatically controlled.

[0037] Note that the determination by the determination means 23b is not limited to this. For example, the determination means 23b may determine whether each of the driving operations of steering, acceleration, and braking of the vehicle M is automatically performed. That is, it may be determined that it is in the automatic driving mode when each of the driving operations of steering, acceleration, and braking of the vehicle M is automatically operated. Also, the automatic driving level does not necessarily have to be determined. For example, it may be determined whether it is in the automatic driving mode for each of the driving operations of accelerator operation, brake operation, and steering operation.

[0038] The storage unit 22 includes, for example, a hard disk, a flash memory, an SSD (Solid State Drive), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and can store information such as mobile body information received by the communication unit 21. Further, the storage unit 22 can store threshold information used when the determination means 23b determines the driving mode of the automobile M. Further, the storage unit 22 can store information that serves as a reference when the means of each functional block makes a determination. Further, the storage unit 22 can store map information and the like. Note that the storage unit 22 stores various programs such as a BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and software. Further, the storage unit 22 can store the results of determinations made by the means of each functional block of the control unit 23 such as the behavior information acquisition means 23a and the determination means 23b.

[0039] Figure 3 shows the determination process of the driving mode executed by the server 20. As shown in Figure 3, the behavior information acquisition means 23a acquires the behavior information of the automobile M from each measurement terminal 10 mounted on the automobile M (step S101).

[0040] The determination means 23b determines whether the driving operation of the automobile M is being performed automatically based on the behavior information acquired in step S101, that is, determines the driving mode of the automobile M.

[0041] Specifically, the determination means 23b determines whether the longitudinal acceleration of the behavior information is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (step S102). That is, when the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode, the acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle M is operated based on a predetermined certain standard. Therefore, the vehicle M in the automatic driving mode travels with stable acceleration or deceleration along a certain standard. The determination means 23b utilizes the nature of such an automatic driving mode to determine whether at least a part of the driving operation related to acceleration and at least a part of the driving operation related to braking are automatically performed, that is, to determine the steering mode of the vehicle M. The certain standard is, for example, the displacement of the longitudinal acceleration in a certain period (for example, 10 seconds). When the displacement is lower than the certain standard, the vehicle M is traveling with stable acceleration or deceleration, and the determination means 23b can determine that the vehicle M is traveling in the automatic driving mode. That is, in the case of the automatic driving mode, it is assumed that there are no sudden acceleration operations and braking operations, and the longitudinal acceleration is relatively constant.

[0042] In the determination of step S102, when the longitudinal acceleration is equal to or less than the threshold (step S102: Y), the determination means 23b determines that the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode (step S103).

[0043] In the determination of step S102, when the longitudinal acceleration exceeds the threshold (step S102: N), the determination means 23b determines whether the lateral acceleration of the behavior information is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (step S104). That is, when the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode, the steering of the vehicle M is operated based on a predetermined certain standard. Therefore, the vehicle M in the automatic driving mode travels with stable lateral acceleration along a certain standard. That is, in the case of the automatic driving mode, it is assumed that there are no sudden steering operations (steering operations) and the lateral acceleration is relatively constant.

[0044] The determination means 23b determines whether at least a part of the driving operation related to steering is automatically performed by utilizing the nature of such an automatic driving mode, that is, determines the driving mode of the vehicle M. The driving mode of the vehicle M is determined. The certain criterion is, for example, the displacement of the left - right acceleration in a certain period (for example, 10 seconds). When the displacement is lower than the certain criterion, the vehicle M is traveling with a stable left - right acceleration, and the determination means 23b can determine that the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode.

[0045] In the determination of step S104, when the left - right acceleration is equal to or less than the threshold value (step S104: Y), the determination means 23b determines that the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode (step S103).

[0046] In the determination of step S104, when the left - right acceleration exceeds the threshold value (step S104: N), the determination means 23b determines that the vehicle M is in the manual driving mode (step S105).

[0047] As described above, according to the information processing system of the present embodiment, based on the longitudinal acceleration and the lateral acceleration of the vehicle M, it is determined whether the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode. Therefore, it is possible to easily distinguish whether the driving state of the moving body is in the automatic driving state or the manual driving state for the collected probe information, and it becomes possible to perform appropriate information analysis according to the driving state.

[0048] In addition, in the present embodiment, when either the longitudinal acceleration or the lateral acceleration is equal to or less than the threshold value, it is determined that the vehicle is in the automatic driving mode. However, the determination process of the driving mode is not limited to this. For example, when either the longitudinal acceleration or the lateral acceleration is equal to or less than the threshold value, it may be determined that the vehicle is in the automatic driving mode.

[0049] Figure 4 shows another automatic driving mode determination process executed by the server 20. Since step S201 is the same process as step S101 shown in Figure 3, the description thereof is omitted. As shown in Figure 4, the determination means 23b determines whether the longitudinal and lateral accelerations of the behavior information are equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value (step S202). In the determination of step S202, when the longitudinal and lateral accelerations are equal to or less than the threshold value (step S202: Y), the determination means 23b determines whether the left and right accelerations of the behavior information are equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value (step S203).

[0050] In the determination of step S203, when the left and right accelerations are equal to or less than the threshold value (step S203Y), the determination means 23b determines that the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode (step S204).

[0051] In the determination of step S202, when the longitudinal and lateral accelerations exceed the threshold value (step S202: N), the determination means 23b determines that the vehicle M is in the manual driving mode (step S205).

[0052] In the determination of step S203, when the left and right accelerations exceed the threshold value (step S203: N), the determination means 23b determines that the vehicle M is in the manual driving mode (step S205).

[0053] In this way, by the determination means 23b determining whether it is in the automatic driving mode, a more accurate determination can be made.

Embodiment

[0054] The information processing system 100 according to Embodiment 2 will be described. The information processing system 100 according to Embodiment 2 is different from the information processing system 100 according to Embodiment 1 in that the measurement terminal 10 includes a camera and the server 20 includes an inter-vehicle distance acquisition means. Other points are the same as the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to Embodiment 1.

[0055] FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the measurement terminal 10 includes a camera 17 that images an automobile traveling in front of the automobile M.

[0056] The server 20 includes an inter-vehicle distance acquisition means 23c as a moving body distance acquisition means. The inter-vehicle distance acquisition means 23c is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The inter-vehicle distance acquisition means 23c calculates the inter-vehicle distance between the automobile M and the automobile traveling in front from the imaging information acquired from the measurement terminal 10.

[0057] FIG. 6 shows the determination process of the driving mode executed by the server 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the inter-vehicle distance acquisition means 23c acquires imaging data from the measurement terminal 10, calculates the distance from the automobile M to the automobile traveling in front from the acquired imaging data, and acquires the inter-vehicle distance (step S301). Note that the inter-vehicle distance acquisition means 23c acquires a plurality of inter-vehicle distances acquired during a predetermined period (for example, 5 minutes). Specifically, the inter-vehicle distance acquisition means 23c acquires a plurality of inter-vehicle distances according to the traveling speed of the automobile M. For example, when the automobile M travels at a constant speed of 40 km / h for 5 minutes, the inter-vehicle distance is acquired every predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds). Further, for example, when the automobile M travels for 5 minutes while the speed fluctuates between 40 km / h and 60 km / h, the inter-vehicle distance corresponding to the speed of the automobile M is acquired every predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds).

[0058] The determination means 23b determines whether the driving operation of the automobile M is automatically performed, that is, determines the driving mode of the automobile M, based on the plurality of inter-vehicle distances acquired in step S301.

[0059] Specifically, the determination means 23b determines whether all of the plurality of inter-vehicle distances are within a predetermined range (step S302). For example, when the automobile M travels at a constant speed of 40 km / h for 5 minutes, the determination means 23b determines whether each inter-vehicle distance acquired at each predetermined time is within a predetermined range of 30 to 40 m. Note that the predetermined time and the predetermined range of the inter-vehicle distance may be arbitrarily changed and implemented.

[0060] That is, when the motor vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode, the acceleration operation and the braking operation of the motor vehicle M are performed based on a predetermined certain standard. The determination means 23b determines the driving mode of the motor vehicle M by utilizing the nature of such an automatic driving mode.

[0061] In the determination of step S302, when any of the plurality of inter-vehicle distances is within a predetermined range (step S302: Y), the determination means 23b determines that the motor vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode (step S303).

[0062] In the determination of step S302, when at least one of the plurality of inter-vehicle distances is outside the predetermined range (step S302: N), the determination means 23b determines that the motor vehicle M is in the manual driving mode (step S304).

[0063] In addition, in the present embodiment, the inter-vehicle distance acquisition means 23c acquires the inter-vehicle distance based on the imaging data captured by the camera 17 of the measurement terminal 10. However, the acquisition of the inter-vehicle distance is not limited to being performed based on the imaging data captured by the camera 17, and any data that can acquire the distance to the motor vehicle traveling ahead may be used. Examples of such data include measurement data of a millimeter-wave radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and the like.

[0064] As described above, according to the information processing system of the present embodiment, it is determined whether the motor vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode based on the inter-vehicle distance from the motor vehicle traveling ahead of the motor vehicle M. Therefore, it is possible to easily distinguish whether the driving state of the moving object is in the automatic driving state or the manual driving state with respect to the collected probe information, and it is possible to perform appropriate information analysis according to the driving state.

Embodiment

[0065] The information processing system 100 according to Example 3 will be described. The information processing system 100 according to Example 3 differs from the information processing system 100 according to Example 1 in that the server 20 is provided with a road shape acquisition means 23d. Other points are the same as the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to Example 1.

[0066] FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to Example 3. As shown in FIG. 7, the server 20 is provided with a road shape acquisition means 23d. The road shape acquisition means 23d is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The road shape acquisition means 23d acquires the shape of the road on which the automobile M travels from the map information acquired from the measurement terminal 10.

[0067] For example, the behavior information calculation unit 15 of the measurement terminal 10 can acquire map information. The map information is transmitted to the server 20 together with the behavior information. The road shape acquisition means 23d acquires the shape of the road corresponding to the behavior information based on the transmitted map information.

[0068] FIG. 8 shows the determination process of the driving mode executed by the server 20. As shown in FIG. 8, the behavior information acquisition means 23a acquires the behavior information of the automobile M from each measurement terminal 10 mounted on the automobile M. Further, the road shape acquisition means 23d acquires map data from the measurement terminal 10 and acquires the road shape on which the automobile travels (step S401).

[0069] The determination means 23b determines whether the driving operation of the automobile M is automatically performed, that is, determines the driving mode of the automobile M, based on the behavior information and the road shape acquired in step S401.

[0070] Specifically, the determination means 23b determines whether the longitudinal acceleration of the behavior information in the form of a specific road among the acquired road forms is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (step S402). Here, the specific road form refers to the entrance and exit of a tunnel and inside the tunnel, a so-called sag point where the road changes from a downhill slope to an uphill slope, a toll gate on an expressway such as an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System), a curve, an intersection, and the like.

[0071] That is, when the motor vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode, the driving operation of the motor vehicle M is performed based on a predetermined certain standard. For example, at the entrance and exit of a tunnel, in the manual driving mode, the speed of the motor vehicle M may change due to the change in visibility. In contrast, in the automatic driving mode, it is considered that the speed of the motor vehicle M is kept constant even at the entrance and exit of the tunnel. Also, when passing through a toll gate on an expressway such as an ETC, in the manual driving mode, the motor vehicle M can be rapidly accelerated. In contrast, in the automatic driving mode, it is considered that the motor vehicle M is accelerated at a constant acceleration even when passing through a toll gate on an expressway such as an ETC. The determination means 23b determines the driving mode of the motor vehicle M by utilizing such properties of the automatic driving mode.

[0072] In the determination of step S402, when the longitudinal acceleration in the form of a specific road is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (step S402: Y), the determination means 23b determines that the motor vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode (step S403).

[0073] In the determination of step S402, when the longitudinal acceleration in the form of a specific road exceeds a predetermined threshold (step S402: N), the determination means 23b determines whether the lateral acceleration of the behavior information in the form of a specific road among the acquired road forms is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (step S404).

[0074] That is, when the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode, the steering operation of the vehicle M is performed based on a predetermined certain standard. For example, in the steering operation on a curve, in the manual driving mode, the steering operation depends on the driver's skills and senses, so unevenness may occur. In contrast, in the automatic driving mode, even in the steering operation on a curve, since the steering of the vehicle M travels based on a certain standard, it is considered that unevenness is less likely to occur. The determination means 23b determines the steering mode of the vehicle M by utilizing such a property of the automatic driving mode.

[0075] In the determination of step S404, when the left and right accelerations are equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value (step S404: Y), the determination means 23b determines that the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode (step S403).

[0076] In the determination of step S404, when the left and right accelerations exceed a predetermined threshold value (step S404: N), the determination means 23b determines that the vehicle M is in the manual driving mode (step S405).

[0077] Note that the acquisition of the road shape by the road shape acquisition means 23d is not limited to map information. For example, imaging data captured by a camera or the road shape may be acquired by LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).

[0078] As described above, according to the information processing system of the present embodiment, based on the behavior information of the vehicle M when traveling on the shape of a specific road, it is determined whether the vehicle M is in the automatic driving mode. Therefore, it is possible to easily distinguish whether the driving state of the moving body is in the automatic driving state or the manual driving state for the collected probe information, and it is possible to perform appropriate information analysis according to the driving state.

[0079] Furthermore, the information processing systems according to the above-described Examples 1 to 3 may be implemented by combining the configurations of the server 20. For example, the determination means 23b may determine the automatic driving mode by combining each of the behavior information of the automobile M, the inter-vehicle distance from the automobile traveling ahead of the automobile M, and the behavior information of the automobile M in the form of a specific road.

Example

[0080] The information processing system 100 according to Example 4 will be described. The information processing system 100 according to Example 4 estimates the position where an event that should be noted has occurred in the automobile M traveling in the automatic driving mode by using the determination of the operation mode described in Examples 1 to 3.

[0081] Furthermore, the information processing system 100 according to Example 4 is different in configuration from the information processing system 100 according to Example 1 in that the server 20 includes behavior information collection means and position estimation means. Other points are the same as the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to Example 1.

[0082] FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to Example 4. As shown in FIG. 9, the behavior information collection means 23e is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The behavior information collection means 23e can collect behavior information from the measurement terminals 10 mounted on a plurality of automobiles M.

[0083] The behavior information extraction means 23f is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The behavior information extraction means 23f can extract the automatic driving behavior information of the automobile M in the automatic driving mode in which at least a part of the driving operation of the automobile M is automatically performed from the collected behavior information.

[0084] The position estimation means 23g is one of the functional blocks of the control unit 23. The position estimation means 23g estimates the position where the event has occurred when an event that should be noted has occurred in the automobile M.

[0085] Matters to be noted include, for example, situations where any driving operation such as sudden steering, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration occurs. Also, the position where a matter to be noted occurs is, for example, the position where a factor that may require any driving operation such as sudden steering, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration is encountered, the position where any driving operation such as sudden steering, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration occurs, and the like.

[0086] The position estimation means 23g estimates, for example, that a matter to be noted has occurred when the acceleration (deceleration) in the traveling direction of the vehicle M falls below a predetermined threshold value (for example, -0.4G). Then, the position where the threshold value is exceeded is estimated as the position where the matter to be noted has occurred. Note that the threshold value for estimating that a matter to be noted has occurred may be set higher than the threshold value for determining the automatic driving mode.

[0087] Also, for example, the position estimation means 23g estimates that a matter to be noted has occurred when the absolute value of the acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle M exceeds a predetermined threshold value (for example, 0.4G). Then, the position where the threshold value is exceeded is specified as the position where the matter to be noted has occurred. Note that the threshold value for estimating that a matter to be noted has occurred may be set higher than the threshold value for determining the automatic driving mode.

[0088] The position estimation means 23g estimates the position where the matter to be noted has occurred based on the information on the position where the matter to be noted has occurred estimated by the position estimation means 23g and the position information of the vehicle M included in the behavior information received by the communication unit 21. For example, the position estimation means 23g specifies the position of the vehicle M at the position where the matter to be noted has occurred as the position where the matter to be noted has occurred.

[0089] FIG. 10 shows the determination process of the operation mode executed by the server 20. As shown in FIG. 10, the behavior information collection means 23c collects the behavior information of each vehicle M from each measurement terminal 10 mounted on a plurality of vehicles M (step S501).

[0090] The driving behavior information extraction means 23f obtains, from the collected driving behavior information, the automatic driving behavior information of the vehicle in the automatic driving mode in which at least a part of the driving operation of the vehicle M is automatically performed (step S502).

[0091] For the process of obtaining the automatic driving behavior information in step S502, as described in the above-described first to third embodiments, the automatic driving mode may be determined based on the driving behavior information, the inter-vehicle distance, and the map information to obtain the automatic driving behavior information. Further, when the driving behavior generation means 15 of the measurement terminal 10 generates the driving behavior information, the steering mode information may be obtained from the vehicle M, and an identifier indicating that it is the automatic driving behavior information may be attached to generate the driving behavior information. Furthermore, a camera that images the interior of the vehicle may recognize the movement and state of the driver to determine whether it is the automatic driving mode. For example, the driver of the vehicle M traveling in the automatic driving mode has his hands in a position farther from the steering wheel than in the manual driving mode. The driver of the vehicle M traveling in the automatic driving mode may face or have a line of sight other than the traveling direction more than in the manual driving mode.

[0092] The position estimation means 23g estimates the position where an event that affects the driving operation of the vehicle M has occurred based on the automatic driving behavior information and the position information of the vehicle M.

[0093] Specifically, the position estimation means 23g determines whether the longitudinal acceleration of the driving behavior information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S503). That is, the position estimation means 23g determines whether an event that should be noted has occurred by determining whether a longitudinal acceleration corresponding to a sudden deceleration or sudden acceleration has occurred.

[0094] In the determination of step S503, when the longitudinal acceleration is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S503: Y), the position estimation means 23g estimates that an event that should be noted has occurred in the vehicle M (step S504). The position estimation means 23g estimates the position where the threshold has been exceeded as the position where the event that should be noted has occurred (step S505), and records the position (step S506).

[0095] In the determination of step S503, when the longitudinal acceleration does not exceed the threshold value (step S503: N), the position estimation means 23g determines whether the lateral acceleration of the behavior information is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value (step S507). That is, the position estimation means 23g determines whether an event that should be noted has occurred by determining whether a lateral acceleration corresponding to a sharp steering has occurred.

[0096] In the determination of step S507, when the lateral acceleration is equal to or greater than the threshold value (step S507: Y), the position estimation means 23g estimates that an event that should be noted has occurred in the automobile M (step S504). The position estimation means 23g estimates the position where the threshold value has been exceeded as the position where the event that should be noted has occurred (step S505), and records the position (step S506).

[0097] In the determination of step S507, when the lateral acceleration is less than the threshold value (step S507: N), the position estimation means 23g estimates that no event that should be noted has occurred in the automobile M, that is, the event has not occurred (step S508).

[0098] In addition, in step S502, it is also possible to separately acquire the automatic driving behavior information of the automobile M in which at least a part of the driving operation related to acceleration is automatically performed, the automatic driving behavior information of the automobile M in which at least a part of the driving operation related to braking is automatically performed, and the automatic driving behavior information of the automobile M in which at least a part of the driving operation related to steering is automatically performed. By performing the processing of this embodiment in this way, it becomes possible to grasp the position where an event that should be noted has occurred for each type of driving operation that is automatically performed.

[0099] As described above, according to the information processing system of this embodiment, based on the automatic driving behavior information of the automobile M, the position where an event that should be noted has occurred in the automobile M is estimated. Therefore, it becomes possible to perform appropriate information analysis using the behavior information in the automatic driving state.

[0100] For example, by excluding the behavior information transmitted from a motor vehicle in the "manual driving mode" from the acquired behavior information, it is possible to generate information regarding the position where a highly accurate event to be noted due to factors in the surrounding environment of the motor vehicle that is independent of an individual's driving skills has occurred.

Embodiment

[0101] The information processing system 100 according to Embodiment 5 will be described. The information processing system 100 according to Embodiment 5 is different from the information processing system 100 according to Embodiment 4 in that the measurement terminal 10 includes a camera. That is, the position estimation means 23g estimates the position by adding the driving state of the motor vehicles located around the motor vehicle M. Other points are the same as the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to Embodiment 4.

[0102] FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the information processing system 100 according to Embodiment 5. As shown in FIG. 11, the measurement terminal 10 includes a camera 17 that captures an image around the motor vehicle M.

[0103] FIG. 12 shows the determination process of the operation mode executed by the server 20. Note that steps S601 to S602 are the same as steps S501 to 502, so the description thereof is omitted.

[0104] As shown in FIG. 12, the position estimation means 23g determines whether the longitudinal and lateral accelerations of the behavior information are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S603).

[0105] In the determination of step S603, when the longitudinal and lateral accelerations are equal to or greater than the threshold value (step S603: Y), it is determined whether the driving state of surrounding moving objects has affected the behavior of the vehicle M (step 604). That is, the position estimation means 23g excludes, from the estimated position, the position estimated due to the influence of the driving state of the vehicles located around the vehicle M in the estimation of the position. For example, when another vehicle located around the vehicle M makes a sudden lane change or a so-called cut-in, there is a possibility that a driving operation such as sudden braking is performed on the vehicle M. Therefore, even if an event that should be noted occurs, the position estimation means 23g can analyze the specific events that should be noted during the automatic driving mode by excluding such events caused by artificial operations.

[0106] If the position estimation means 23g determines in the determination of step S604 that the driving state of the surrounding vehicles does not affect the behavior of the vehicle M (step S604: N), it is estimated that an event that should be noted has occurred for the vehicle M (step S605). The position estimation means 23g estimates the position exceeding the threshold value as the position where the event that should be noted has occurred (step S606), and records the position (step S607).

[0107] If the position estimation means 23g determines in the determination of step S604 that the driving state of other surrounding vehicles has affected the behavior of the vehicle M (step S604: Y), it excludes the position exceeding the threshold value from the position where the event that should be noted has occurred (step S608).

[0108] In the determination of step S603, when the longitudinal and lateral accelerations are less than the threshold value (step S603: N), it is determined whether the driving state of other surrounding moving objects has affected the behavior of the vehicle M (step 604). The subsequent processing of steps S606 to S608 is omitted because the description is repetitive. Also, the processing of steps S609 to S610 is omitted because it is the same as the processing of steps S507 to S508 described in FIG. 10.

[0109] As described above, according to the information processing system of this embodiment, when the driving state of other surrounding automobiles affects the behavior of the automobile M, the position estimation means 23g excludes that position and estimates the position where an event requiring attention has occurred. Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate information analysis using the behavior information in the automatic driving state while excluding the position where an event requiring attention has occurred due to human factors.

[0110] In addition, in Embodiments 4 and 5, the behavior information collection means 23e may request a plurality of automobiles M to transmit probe information. Specifically, the behavior information collection means 23e may request the automobile M traveling in the automatic driving mode to continuously transmit behavior information to the server 20 during a predetermined time of traveling in the automatic driving mode. By doing so, it becomes possible to collect the automatic driving behavior information.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0111] 100 Information processing system 10 Measurement terminal 20 Server 23a Behavior information acquisition means 23b Judgment means 23c Inter-vehicle distance acquisition means 23d Road shape acquisition means 23e Behavior information collection means 23f Behavior information extraction means 23g Position estimation means

Claims

1. Behavior information acquisition means for acquiring behavior information including the acceleration of a moving body; Based on the acceleration acquired by the behavior information acquisition means, when the acceleration is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that at least a part of the driving operation of the moving body is automatically performed, and when the acceleration is greater than the predetermined threshold, it is determined that the driving operation of the moving body is manually performed; determination means; Behavior information extraction means for extracting the automatic driving behavior information of an automobile in an automatic driving mode in which at least a part of the driving operation is automatically performed based on the determination result of the determination means from the behavior information acquired from the behavior information acquisition means; and has, The behavior information extraction means is characterized in that the automatic driving behavior information is extracted separately for each type of automatic driving in which the driving operation is automatically performed. An information processing apparatus.

2. The behavior information is information including the acceleration of the moving body per a predetermined period. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The behavior information includes the acceleration of the moving body in the front-rear direction of the moving body, The determination means is characterized in that it determines whether at least a part of the driving operation related to the acceleration of the moving body is automatically performed based on the acceleration of the moving body in the front-rear direction of the moving body. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The behavior information includes the acceleration of the moving body in the front-rear direction of the moving body, The determination means is characterized in that it determines whether at least a part of the driving operation related to the braking of the moving body is automatically performed based on the acceleration of the moving body in the front-rear direction of the moving body. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3.

5. It has inter-vehicle distance acquisition means for acquiring the inter-vehicle distance with a moving body traveling in front of the moving body, The determination means is characterized in that it determines whether the driving operation of the moving body is automatically performed based on the inter-vehicle distance and the acceleration. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. It has road form acquisition means for acquiring road form information, The determination means is characterized in that it determines whether the driving operation of the moving body is automatically performed based on the form of the road. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The road form information is acquired based on map information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the form information of the road is acquired based on image information around the moving body.

9. A measurement terminal that performs measurements including the acceleration of a moving body, behavior information acquisition means for acquiring the acceleration of the moving body acquired by the measurement terminal, and based on the acceleration, when the acceleration is equal to or less than a threshold value, it is determined that at least a part of the driving operation of the moving body is automatically performed, and when the acceleration is greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the driving operation of the moving body is manually performed; determination means; and behavior information extraction means for extracting the automatic driving behavior information of the vehicle in the automatic driving mode in which at least a part of the driving operation is automatically performed based on the determination result of the determination means from the behavior information acquired from the behavior information acquisition means. An information processing apparatus having the above, The information processing system is characterized in that the behavior information extraction means extracts the automatic driving behavior information separately for each type of automatic driving in which the driving operation is automatically performed.

10. A behavior information acquisition step of acquiring behavior information including the acceleration of a moving body, a determination step of determining, based on the acceleration of the behavior information, that at least a part of the driving operation of the moving body is automatically performed when the acceleration is equal to or less than a threshold value, and that the driving operation of the moving body is manually performed when the acceleration is greater than a predetermined threshold value; and a behavior information extraction step of extracting the automatic driving behavior information of the vehicle in the automatic driving mode in which at least a part of the driving operation is automatically performed based on the determination result of the determination step from the behavior information acquired in the behavior information acquisition step. Having, The information processing method is characterized in that the behavior information extraction step extracts the automatic driving behavior information separately for each type of automatic driving in which the driving operation is automatically performed.

11. On a computer, a behavior information acquisition step of acquiring behavior information including the acceleration of a moving body, A determination step of determining that at least a part of the driving operation of the moving body is automatically performed when the acceleration is less than or equal to a threshold value based on the acceleration of the behavior information, and determining that the driving operation of the moving body is manually performed when the acceleration is greater than a predetermined threshold value; and a behavior information extraction step of extracting automatic driving behavior information of an automobile in an automatic driving mode in which at least a part of the driving operation is automatically performed based on the determination result of the determination step from the behavior information acquired in the behavior information acquisition step. A program for causing the above to be executed, The program according to claim 1, wherein the behavior information extraction step extracts the automatic driving behavior information separately for each type of automatic driving in which the driving operation is automatically performed.

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