Traffic management system

Abstract

To provide an operation management system that can give a driver a break at appropriate timing.SOLUTION: An operation management system of an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a sensor that acquires biometric information of drivers of a plurality of managing target vehicles; and a server that manages operation plans including destinations and arrival times of the plurality of target vehicles. The server includes a processing unit that executes adjustment processing of the operation plans. In the adjustment processing, the processing unit proposes a rest point extracted from among a plurality of rest facilities to a driver of a vehicle to be adjusted based on an operation plan of the vehicle to be adjusted, operation plans of the plurality of managing target vehicles other than the vehicle to be adjusted, the biometric information of the driver of the vehicle to be adjusted acquired by the sensor, and congestion information of the plurality of rest facilities on a driving route in the operation plan.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a traffic management system. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART A driving support device is known that judges the degree of fatigue and sleepiness of a car driver and encourages the driver to take a rest (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-13496 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The driving assistance device described above does not allow a driver to take a rest if there is no available parking space at the intended rest facility (e.g., a service area or a parking area). As a result, there is a risk that the driver will not be able to take a rest at an appropriate time.

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure aims to provide a traffic management system that can give drivers breaks at appropriate times. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure is an operation management system (1) including a sensor (11) disposed in each of a plurality of managed vehicles (M) and configured to acquire biometric information of the drivers of the plurality of managed vehicles (M), and a server (20) configured to manage an operation plan including at least a destination and arrival time for each of the plurality of managed vehicles (M).

[0007] The server (20) has a processing unit (23) configured to execute adjustment processing of operation plans of multiple managed vehicles (M). In the adjustment processing, the processing unit (23) is configured to suggest rest points extracted from multiple rest facilities to the driver of the vehicle to be adjusted, based on the operation plan of one vehicle to be adjusted among the multiple managed vehicles (M), the operation plans of multiple managed vehicles (M) other than the vehicle to be adjusted, biometric information of the driver of the vehicle to be adjusted acquired by the sensor (11), and congestion information of multiple rest facilities on the driving route in the operation plan.

[0008] With this configuration, available rest facilities are suggested to the driver as rest points by taking into consideration not only the driver's condition but also the operating conditions of other vehicles and congestion information at rest facilities, so that the driver can be given a rest at an appropriate time.

[0009] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the plurality of rest facilities may be rest facilities located on a highway. With this configuration, for example, the highway management company can provide highly accurate information on the congestion status of the rest facilities, thereby enabling the presentation of rest points with high reliability.

[0010] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the processing unit (23) may be configured to suggest rest points based on the driver's fatigue level and drowsiness level estimated from the biological information. With this configuration, it is possible to suggest appropriate rest timings according to the driver's state.

[0011] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the sensor 11 may include a camera 11A configured to capture an image of the driver's facial expression and a heart rate monitor 11B installed on the seat where the driver sits. This configuration can improve the accuracy of determining the driver's fatigue level and drowsiness level without interfering with the driver's driving operation.

[0012] Note that the symbols in the parentheses above are examples showing the correspondence with the specific configurations, etc. described in the embodiments described below, and the present disclosure is not limited to the specific configurations, etc. shown by the symbols in the parentheses above. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a traffic management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device in the traffic control system of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an example of an operation plan managed by the server in the operation management system of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a driving route in the operation plan of FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram schematically showing the processing executed by the processing unit of the server in the traffic management system of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments to which the present disclosure is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. [1. First embodiment] [1-1.Configuration] The operation management system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a system for optimizing the operation of a plurality of vehicles M to be managed.

[0015] There are no particular limitations on the vehicles M that are managed by the traffic management system 1, as long as they are driven by a driver. However, the traffic management system 1 can provide a particularly suitable operation plan for commercial vehicles (e.g., trucks, buses, taxis, etc.) that are legally required to take breaks at regular intervals.

[0016] The traffic management system 1 includes a terminal device 10 installed in each of a plurality of managed vehicles M, and a server 20. There is no limit to the number of managed vehicles M managed by the traffic management system 1. The managed vehicles M may include vehicles of different types and vehicles operated by different operators (i.e., vehicles owned by different owners).

[0017] <Terminal Device> 2, the terminal device 10 is mounted on a managed vehicle M. The terminal device 10 includes a sensor 11 and a communication device 12.

[0018] The sensor 11 is configured to acquire biometric information of the driver of the managed vehicle M in which the sensor 11 is installed. The sensor 11 has a camera 11A and a heart rate monitor 11B. The camera 11A is configured to capture an image of the driver's facial expression while driving.

[0019] The heart rate monitor 11B is configured to acquire the heart rate of the driver while driving. The heart rate monitor 11B is installed on the seat DS where the driver sits. The heart rate monitor 11B is a non-contact measuring device that does not come into direct contact with the driver's body.

[0020] In addition to the camera 11A and the heart rate monitor 11B, the sensor 11 may also include a thermometer for measuring the driver's body temperature, a contact sensor for estimating the driver's posture, etc. The contact sensor is, for example, configured by a pressure sensor and / or an acceleration sensor arranged on the seat DS.

[0021] The communication device 12 transmits the biometric information (i.e., the driver's facial expression and heart rate) acquired by the sensor 11 and the current location of the managed vehicle M in which the communication device 12 is installed to the server 20. The current location of the managed vehicle M is acquired by, for example, a global positioning system (GPS) attached to the managed vehicle M.

[0022] Furthermore, the communication device 12 receives management information including rest points from the server 20. The communication device 12 wirelessly communicates with the server 20 via a network 100 such as the Internet.

[0023] <server> The server 20 shown in FIG. 1 is configured to manage an operation plan including at least a destination and an arrival time for each of a plurality of vehicles M to be managed.

[0024] The server 20 is a computer (i.e., an information processing device) including, for example, a processor, a storage medium such as RAM or ROM, an input / output unit, and a network communication unit. The server 20 has a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a processing unit 23. The server 20 may be configured as a single computer, or may be configured as multiple computers distributed across multiple bases.

[0025] (Communications Department) The communication unit 21 is configured to transmit and receive data between the terminal devices 10 of the plurality of vehicles M to be managed and a database D in which road information is recorded.

[0026] Specifically, the communication unit 21 receives the biometric information acquired by the sensor 11 and the current location of the managed vehicle M from each terminal device 10 via the network 100. In addition, the communication unit 21 transmits the management information generated by the processing unit 23 to each terminal device 10 via the network 100.

[0027] Furthermore, the communication unit 21 receives road information stored in a database D external to the server 20 via the network 100. The database D is a cloud database accessible via the network 100.

[0028] The road information received by the communication unit 21 includes at least the congestion status of the road and the congestion status of rest facilities along the road. A "rest facility" is a facility where a driver can park a vehicle and take a rest. The "congestion status of a rest facility" includes at least the number of available spaces in the parking lot (i.e., the number of cars that can be parked).

[0029] The database D may be, for example, a database provided by the Road Traffic Information and Communication System (VICS (registered trademark)), a database operated by a road administrator, a database owned by a big data administrator such as a platform provider, etc. The communication unit 21 may collect road information from multiple databases D.

[0030] (Storage part) The storage unit 22 stores registration information and operation plans of multiple managed vehicles M. As shown in the table in Fig. 3, the operation plan includes, for example, a vehicle ID (i.e., an identification number), a departure point, a destination, an arrival time, a current position, and rest points.

[0031] The departure point, destination, and arrival time in the operation plan are input, for example, by the operator of each managed vehicle M. In the example of Fig. 3, an operation plan is registered for the managed vehicle M with a "vehicle ID" of "1" to travel from a departure point at "latitude x1, longitude y1" to a destination at "latitude a1, longitude b1" by 6:00 p.m. on April 15th. Note that although each point is represented by latitude and longitude in Fig. 3, each point may also be represented by a place name, facility name, etc.

[0032] Furthermore, the storage unit 22 sequentially updates the current position included in the operation plan in accordance with the current position information of each managed vehicle M received by the communication unit 21. Furthermore, the storage unit 22 also stores the rest points of each managed vehicle M set by the processing unit 23. When the processing unit 23 changes the rest points of the managed vehicle M, the rest points included in the operation plan stored in the storage unit 22 are also updated.

[0033] (Processing section) The processing unit 23 is configured to execute an adjustment process of the operation plans of the multiple vehicles M to be managed.

[0034] In the adjustment process, the processing unit 23 suggests rest points extracted from multiple rest facilities to the driver of the vehicle to be adjusted based on the operation plan of one of the multiple managed vehicles M, the operation plans of multiple managed vehicles M other than the vehicle to be adjusted, the biometric information of the driver of the vehicle to be adjusted acquired by the sensor 11, and congestion information of multiple rest facilities on the driving route in the operation plan.

[0035] The operation plan is acquired from the storage unit 22. The driver's biological information is acquired from the communication unit 21. The congestion information of the rest facilities is included in the road information of the database D received by the communication unit 21.

[0036] A "vehicle to be adjusted" is a vehicle that is the target of adjustment processing by the processing unit 23. That is, the processing unit 23 extracts one vehicle to be adjusted from the multiple managed vehicles M and performs adjustment processing on this vehicle to be adjusted. Thereafter, the processing unit 23 repeatedly extracts another managed vehicle M for which adjustment processing has not been completed as a vehicle to be adjusted and performs adjustment processing on it. By repeating this adjustment processing, the processing unit 23 adjusts the operation plans of the multiple managed vehicles M that require adjustment processing.

[0037] When the adjustment process for the managed vehicle M that requires the adjustment process is completed, the processing unit 23 again executes the adjustment process for the plurality of managed vehicles M in sequence at regular intervals.

[0038] In the adjustment process, the processing unit 23 detects rest facilities on the travel route of the vehicle to be adjusted (i.e., located between the departure point S and the destination G) based on the operation plan of the vehicle to be adjusted, as shown in Fig. 4. In the example of Fig. 4, there are three rest facilities R1, R2, and R3 in order of proximity to the current position A. The travel route may be included in the operation plan in advance, or may be set by the processing unit 23 through a route search based on the departure point and the destination.

[0039] The processing unit 23 determines the parking reliability (i.e., the likelihood of parking) at each rest facility from the congestion information of the three rest facilities R1, R2, and R3 and the rest point information of the other managed vehicles M. The rest point information is information indicating whether any of the rest facilities R1, R2, and R3 is set as a rest point for the other managed vehicles M.

[0040] Furthermore, the processing unit 23 determines a preferable timing for a rest stop based on the driver's biometric information and the departure time or the time of the previous rest stop. That is, if it is estimated that the driver is highly fatigued based on the biometric information, the processing unit 23 increases the utilization priority of a rest facility closer to the current position A. The processing unit 23 may also use the road congestion status (i.e., traffic congestion information) in determining the utilization priority.

[0041] Finally, the processing unit 23 proposes a rest facility that is deemed most suitable for the driver as a rest point based on the parking reliability and usage priority of each rest facility. Note that the processing unit 23 may propose multiple rest points by prioritizing them.

[0042] For example, if the driver's fatigue is relatively low and the parking reliability at rest facility R2 is higher than the parking reliability at rest facility R1, processing unit 23 may suggest rest facility R2 as a rest point. In this case, rest facility R1 may be suggested as a second candidate rest point.

[0043] On the other hand, when the driver is relatively fatigued, even if the parking certainty at rest facility R2 is higher than the parking certainty at rest facility R1, processing unit 23 suggests rest facility R1, which is closer to current position A, as the first candidate rest point.

[0044] As the rest facilities along the driving route, rest facilities (i.e., service areas or parking areas) provided on expressways are suitable. On expressways, for example, the expressway management company can provide highly accurate information on the congestion status of rest facilities, making it possible to present rest points with high reliability.

[0045] In determining rest points, the processing unit 23 may directly use the driver's biological information sent from the sensor 11, or may estimate the driver's fatigue level and drowsiness level from the biological information and use these parameters to suggest rest points. In other words, the processing unit 23 may be configured to suggest rest points based on the driver's fatigue level and drowsiness level estimated from the biological information.

[0046] This makes it possible to present appropriate rest timings according to the driver's condition. The driver's fatigue and drowsiness levels are determined using a determination formula that describes the relationship between the driver's facial expression and heart rate and the degree of fatigue and drowsiness. The driver's facial expression used for the determination includes the size, shape, position, etc. of the driver's features, such as the eyes and mouth.

[0047] Instead of the determination formula, an AI constructed by a statistical method such as machine learning may be used. The fatigue level and the sleepiness level may be estimated by the terminal device 10 and then transmitted to the server 20.

[0048] The processing unit 23 may suggest rest times to the driver in addition to rest points. The processing unit 23 adjusts the length of the rest time based on the driver's fatigue level and sleepiness level. That is, the greater the fatigue level, the longer the rest time that the processing unit 23 suggests.

[0049] The rest points proposed by the processing unit 23 are transmitted as management information to each managed vehicle M by the communication unit 21. In the managed vehicle M, the driver is notified of the rest points by voice or video from an output device such as a speaker or a display provided in the terminal device 10, or from a communication terminal such as a car navigation system or a smartphone installed in the vehicle.

[0050] The server 20 may be configured to transmit operation plans for multiple managed vehicles M, including rest points, to a manager of a rest facility. This allows the manager to predict demand for parking spaces. Therefore, the manager can, for example, appropriately adjust the ratio between spaces for sleeping in cars and spaces for resting.

[0051] <Server processing> An example of the adjustment process executed by the processing unit 23 will be described below with reference to the flow chart of FIG.

[0052] In this process, the processing unit 23 first acquires the operation plans of multiple managed vehicles M including the vehicle to be adjusted, the biometric information of the driver of the vehicle to be adjusted, and congestion information of multiple rest facilities on the driving route in the operation plan (step S100).

[0053] Next, the processing unit 23 determines the parking reliability and utilization priority of each of the plurality of rest facilities based on the acquired information (step S110). After that, the processing unit 23 outputs rest points to be suggested to the driver based on the parking reliability and utilization priority to the communication unit 21 and the storage unit 22 (step S120). The output rest points are presented to the driver by the terminal device 10.

[0054] [1-2.Effects] According to the embodiment described above in detail, the following effects can be obtained. (1a) In addition to the driver's condition, the system takes into account the operating status of other vehicles and congestion information at rest areas, and suggests available rest areas to the driver as rest points. This allows the driver to rest at an appropriate time.

[0055] Furthermore, traffic jams and waiting for parking spaces can be avoided, allowing vehicles to operate according to schedules, which in turn allows vehicle operators to save on fuel costs.

[0056] (1b) The sensor 11 includes the camera 11A and the heart rate monitor 11B, which allows the accuracy of determining the degree of fatigue and drowsiness of the driver to be improved without interfering with the driver's driving operation.

[0057] 2. Other Embodiments Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can take on various forms.

[0058] (2a) In the traffic management system of the above embodiment, the server does not necessarily need to acquire road information (i.e., congestion information at rest areas) from a cloud database. For example, the server itself may own and manage the database.

[0059] (2b) The function of one component in the above embodiments may be distributed among multiple components, or the functions of multiple components may be integrated into one component. Also, part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be omitted. Furthermore, at least part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be added to or substituted for the configuration of another of the above embodiments. All aspects included in the technical idea identified by the wording of the claims are embodiments of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1... Traffic management system, 10... Terminal device, 11... Sensor, 11A... Camera, 11B...heart rate monitor, 12...communication device, 20...server, 21...communication unit, 22...storage unit, 23...processing unit, 100...network.

Claims

1. A traffic management system configured to select rest points to be suggested to each driver of a plurality of managed vehicles, a sensor disposed in each of the plurality of managed vehicles and configured to acquire biometric information of the driver of each of the plurality of managed vehicles; a server configured to manage an operation plan including at least a destination and an arrival time for each of the plurality of managed vehicles; Equipped with the server has a processing unit configured to execute an adjustment process of the operation plans of the plurality of managed vehicles, In the adjustment process, the processing unit The operation plan of one vehicle to be adjusted among the plurality of managed vehicles; The biological information of the driver of the adjustment target vehicle acquired by the sensor; congestion information of a plurality of rest facilities on the travel route in the operation plan of the adjustment target vehicle; A process of acquiring information about the operation plan and the proposed rest points for at least one proposed vehicle, among the plurality of managed vehicles, for which the rest points have already been proposed to the driver; A process of calculating parking reliability at each of the plurality of rest facilities based on information about the operation plan and the rest points and the congestion information about the plurality of rest facilities for the at least one proposed vehicle; a process of selecting at least one of the plurality of rest facilities as the rest point to be proposed to the driver of the adjustment target vehicle based on the parking certainty at each of the plurality of rest facilities and the biometric information of the driver of the adjustment target vehicle; configured to perform Operation management system.

2. The traffic management system according to claim 1, In the operation management system, the plurality of rest facilities are rest facilities provided on an expressway.

3. The traffic management system according to claim 1 or 2, The processing unit is configured to suggest the rest points based on the driver's level of fatigue and drowsiness estimated from the biological information.

4. The traffic management system according to claim 3, The sensor a camera configured to capture the driver's facial expression; a heart rate monitor installed in a seat where the driver sits; An operation management system that has the following features:

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