Image information providing device, image information providing method, and program

Abstract

To provide an image information provision system capable of collecting images from an onboard instrument of a vehicle which travels a point or section devoid of a stationary camera, and generating a monitoring image which makes it possible to check an event occurring at the point or in the section.SOLUTION: An image information provision system includes a designation unit that designates a collection point or collection section of images on an object road, and an image acquisition unit that requests transmission of an onboard instrument image taken at the collection point or in the collection section to an onboard instrument of a vehicle, installed within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section, and stores the onboard instrument image received from the onboard instrument, which has received the request, in a storage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure provides: Image information providing device, image information providing method, and program Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] On expressways and other roads, fixed cameras are installed on the roadside to monitor for incidents that could disrupt smooth vehicle travel, such as fallen objects in the lane, accidents, and traffic jams. However, in places where fixed cameras are not installed, it is difficult to quickly detect the occurrence of such incidents. For this reason, maintenance vehicles must be dispatched to such places to monitor, which requires time and effort for road safety management.

[0003] Furthermore, as a technology for checking the running status of a vehicle, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a signage system that includes an information collection device mounted on a bus and having a camera for capturing surrounding images and an antenna for transmitting the images, and signage installed at bus stops for displaying the images received from the information collection device. The images captured by the information collection device are constantly transmitted to and displayed on the signage. This allows users to visually check the running status (operation status) of the bus via the signage at the bus stops. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-60871 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, video is constantly sent and received between the information collection device and the signage, which results in a very large communication load. Also, because the video is limited to the time when the bus is traveling, for example, if an incident such as an object falling onto the road occurs after the bus has passed, it may be difficult to know the occurrence of such an incident from the video captured by the bus.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in view of such problems, and provides a method for collecting images from an on-board device of a vehicle traveling at a point or section where there is no fixed camera. Image information providing device, image information providing method, and program to provide. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an image information providing device includes a setting unit that sets an image collection point or collection section on a target road, and an image acquisition unit that requests an onboard unit of a vehicle within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section to transmit onboard unit images taken at the collection point or collection section, and stores the onboard unit images received from the onboard unit that received the request in storage.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an on-board device mounted on a vehicle includes a camera that captures on-board device images around the vehicle, a positioning unit that generates positioning information including the position of the vehicle determined based on satellite signals, a condition acquisition unit that acquires collection conditions indicating a collection point or collection section of on-board device images to be transmitted to an image information providing device, a determination unit that determines whether the vehicle has reached the collection point or the collection section based on the positioning information, and an image transmission processing unit that transmits the on-board device images to the image information providing device when it is determined that the vehicle has reached the collection point or the collection section.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method for providing image information includes the steps of setting an image collection point or collection section on a target road, requesting an onboard device of a vehicle within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section to transmit onboard device images taken at the collection point or collection section, and storing the onboard device images received from the onboard device that received the request in storage.

[0010] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the program causes an image information providing device to execute the steps of setting an image collection point or collection section on a target road, requesting an onboard unit of a vehicle within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section to transmit onboard unit images taken at the collection point or collection section, and storing the onboard unit images received from the onboard unit that received the request in storage.

[0011] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the program causes an onboard device mounted on a vehicle to perform the following steps: capturing an onboard device image in front of the vehicle in the direction of travel using a camera; generating positioning information including the position of the vehicle determined based on satellite signals; acquiring collection conditions indicating a collection point or collection section of the onboard device image to be sent to an image information providing device; determining, based on the positioning information, whether the vehicle has reached the collection point or the collection section; and, if it is determined that the vehicle has reached the collection point or the collection section, sending the onboard device image to the image information providing device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The present disclosure Image information providing device, image information providing method, and program According to this method, images can be collected from on-board devices of vehicles traveling at points or sections where there are no fixed cameras. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image information providing system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2]1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image information providing device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an in-vehicle device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a state transition of the vehicle-mounted device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of the image information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a first diagram for explaining an example of a View mode according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a collection condition list according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a first diagram for explaining functions of the image information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a running vehicle list according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a second diagram for explaining functions of the image information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a second diagram for explaining an example of a View mode according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining functions of an image information providing system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the image information providing system according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining functions of an image information providing system according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image information providing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining functions of an image information providing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] First Embodiment An image information providing system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0015] (Overall composition) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an image information providing system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The image information providing system 1 according to this embodiment is a system for checking the condition of a target road through an image (video). The target road is, for example, a highway. As shown in FIG. 1, the image information providing system 1 includes an image information providing device 10, an in-vehicle device 20, and an upper server 30.

[0016] The image information providing device 10 is connected to the vehicle-mounted device 20 via wireless communication, and collects images (hereinafter also referred to as "vehicle-mounted device images") taken by the vehicle-mounted device 20 of points or sections of the target road that require monitoring. The image information providing device 10 also generates monitoring images (hereinafter also referred to as "monitoring images") based on the vehicle-mounted device images collected from the vehicle-mounted device 20, and provides the generated images to the upper server 30. The vehicle-mounted device images include still images and videos.

[0017] One vehicle-mounted device 20 is mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles A. In response to a request from the image information providing device 10, the vehicle-mounted device 20 transmits vehicle-mounted device images captured by a camera to the image information providing device 10. The vehicle-mounted device 20 is, for example, a drive recorder with a communication function. Alternatively, the vehicle-mounted device 20 may be an vehicle-mounted device capable of communicating with infrastructure communication equipment (such as a roadside communication device) such as an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection System) vehicle-mounted device, and may use an existing vehicle-mounted camera or a drive recorder without a communication function as the camera. In another embodiment, the vehicle-mounted device 20 may be a combination of a drive recorder with a Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication function and a mobile terminal (smartphone, tablet, etc.). The mobile terminal receives vehicle-mounted device images captured by the drive recorder via Wi-Fi communication using a pre-installed application and transmits the received vehicle-mounted device images to the image information providing device 10.

[0018] The host server 30 is a device used by, for example, a road operator (an operator that manages and operates expressways) to monitor a target road. For example, the host server 30, in response to an operation by an observer of the road operator, transmits a signal to the image information providing device 10 requesting a point or section of the target road to be monitored. The image information providing device 10 then provides the host server 30 with an in-vehicle image of the specified point or section as a monitoring image. The monitoring image provided by the image information providing device 10 is displayed on the display of the host server. The observer checks for any incidents, such as fallen objects, accidents, or traffic jams, on the target road while referring to the monitoring image displayed by the host server 30. Note that in another embodiment, the host server 30 may perform image recognition using AI to automatically detect incidents on the target road.

[0019] (Functional configuration of image information providing device) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the image information providing device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the image information providing device 10 includes a processor 11, a memory 12, a storage 13, and a communication interface 14.

[0020] The processor 11 is, for example, a CPU, and executes each process of the image information providing device 10. The function of the processor 11 will be described later.

[0021] The memory 12 has a memory area necessary for the operation of the processor 11 .

[0022] The storage 13 is a so-called auxiliary storage device, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD).

[0023] The communication interface 14 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information to and from external devices (the vehicle-mounted device 20 and the upper server 30).

[0024] Next, a description will be given of the functions of the processor 11. The processor 11 functions as a setting unit 110, an image acquisition unit 111, an image generation unit 112, and a driving information acquisition unit 113 by operating in accordance with a predetermined program.

[0025] The setting unit 110 sets the image collection points or collection sections on the target road.

[0026] The image acquisition unit 111 transmits a signal to the on-board device 20 of vehicle A within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section, requesting the transmission of on-board device images taken at the collection point or collection section. The image acquisition unit 111 stores the on-board device images received from the on-board device 20 that received the request in the storage 13.

[0027] The image generating unit 112 generates a monitoring image of the collection point or collection section based on the vehicle-mounted device image received from the requested vehicle-mounted device 20.

[0028] The travel information acquisition unit 113 acquires information indicating whether the vehicle A is traveling on the target road.

[0029] (Functional configuration of the on-board device) FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the vehicle-mounted device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle-mounted device 20 includes a processor 21, a memory 22, a storage 23, a communication interface 24, a positioning unit 25, and a camera 26.

[0030] The processor 21 is, for example, a CPU, and executes various processes of the vehicle-mounted device 20. The functions of the processor 21 will be described later.

[0031] The memory 22 has a memory area necessary for the operation of the processor 21 .

[0032] The storage 23 is a so-called auxiliary storage device, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD).

[0033] The communication interface 24 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information to and from an external device (image information providing device 10).

[0034] The positioning unit 25 generates positioning information including the position of vehicle A measured based on satellite signals received from GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) satellites. The positioning information may also include the speed of vehicle A. The positioning unit 25 continues to generate positioning information at regular intervals while the in-vehicle device 20 is running. The positioning unit 25 may perform map matching using the positioning information and map data pre-stored in the storage 23 to further identify the position on the map data of vehicle A corresponding to each piece of positioning information. Note that in another embodiment, the positioning information of the positioning unit 25 may be sequentially transmitted to the image information providing device 10, and the image information providing device 10 may perform map matching to identify the position on the map data corresponding to each piece of positioning information.

[0035] The camera 26 captures an in-vehicle image of the surroundings (forward, backward, etc. in the traveling direction) of the vehicle A. In this embodiment, the camera 26 is, for example, a camera of a drive recorder.

[0036] Next, a description will be given of the functions of the processor 21. The processor 21 functions as a condition acquisition unit 210, a determination unit 211, an image transmission processing unit 212, and a driving information transmission processing unit 213 by operating in accordance with a predetermined program.

[0037] The condition acquisition unit 210 acquires collection conditions that indicate collection points or collection sections of vehicle-mounted device images to be transmitted to the image information providing device 10 .

[0038] The determination unit 211 determines, based on the positioning information, whether the vehicle A is traveling on the target road. Also, the determination unit 211 determines, based on the positioning information, whether the vehicle A has reached the collection point or collection section.

[0039] When it is determined that the vehicle A has reached the collection point or collection section, the image transmission processing unit 212 transmits the vehicle-mounted image taken by the camera 26 to the image information providing device 10.

[0040] The driving information transmission processing unit 213 transmits to the image information providing device 10 information indicating that the vehicle A is driving on the target road.

[0041] (Regarding the state transition of the on-board unit) FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of state transition of the vehicle-mounted device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The vehicle-mounted device 20 has a plurality of states, as shown in FIG. 4. The vehicle-mounted device 20 according to this embodiment is first classified into two states: a "target road OFF state" and a "target road ON state." The target road OFF state is a state in which vehicle A is not traveling on the target road. When in the target road OFF state, the vehicle-mounted device 20 does not transmit vehicle-mounted device images. The target road ON state indicates a state in which vehicle A is traveling on the target road. When in the target road ON state, the vehicle-mounted device 20 receives a request from the image information providing device 10 and transmits vehicle-mounted device images.

[0042] When the state of the on-board device 20 is the "target road OFF state," the determination unit 211 of the on-board device 20 determines whether vehicle A has entered the target road based on the positioning information generated by the positioning unit 25. Information indicating the position and range of each target road is pre-recorded in the storage 23 of the on-board device 20, and when the position of vehicle A is included in the range of the target road, the determination unit 211 determines that vehicle A has entered the target road (step S01). In this case, the determination unit 211 switches the state of the on-board device 20 to the "target road ON state." Note that, when the on-board device 20 is an ETC on-board device, the determination unit 211 may communicate with a communication device (ETC antenna) provided at the entrance gate of the target road to detect that vehicle A has entered the target road. Furthermore, when the positioning unit 25 identifies the position of vehicle A on the map data by map matching, the determination unit 211 may detect that vehicle A has entered the target road from another road based on a time series of map matching results.

[0043] When the state of the on-board device 20 is the "target road ON state," the determination unit 211 of the on-board device 20 determines whether vehicle A has exited the target road based on the positioning information generated by the positioning unit 25. When the position of vehicle A is out of the range of the target road, the determination unit 211 determines that vehicle A has exited the target road (step S02). In this case, the determination unit 211 switches the state of the on-board device 20 to the "target road OFF state." Note that, when the on-board device 20 is an ETC on-board device, the determination unit 211 may detect that vehicle A has exited the target road by communicating with a communication device (ETC antenna) provided at the exit gate of the target road. Furthermore, when the positioning unit 25 identifies the position of vehicle A on the map data by map matching, the determination unit 211 may detect that vehicle A has exited the target road to another road based on a time series of map matching results.

[0044] The "target road ON state" is further divided into three states: "collection condition waiting state," "collection point arrival waiting state," and "collection request processing state."

[0045] The "collection condition waiting state" is a state in which the vehicle-mounted device waits for collection conditions from the image information providing device 10, and does not transmit vehicle-mounted device images. When the condition acquisition unit 210 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 acquires collection conditions from the image information providing device 10 in this state (step S10), it switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to the "collection point arrival waiting state." Furthermore, when the condition acquisition unit 210 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 acquires multiple collection conditions from the image information providing device 10, the collection conditions may be sorted and stored in order of proximity of the collection point or collection section to the vehicle.

[0046] The "collection point arrival waiting state" is a state in which the vehicle-mounted device waits until the collection conditions acquired from the image information providing device 10 are met, i.e., until the vehicle-mounted device reaches the collection point or collection section, and does not transmit images. When the condition acquisition unit 210 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 acquires collection conditions from the image information providing device 10 in this state (step S11), the vehicle-mounted device 20 maintains the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 as the "collection point arrival waiting state." Furthermore, when vehicle A reaches the collection point or collection section (step S12), the determination unit 211 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to the "collection request processing state."

[0047] The "collection request processing state" is a state in which the image transmission processing unit 212 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 transmits vehicle-mounted device images to the image information providing device 10 based on the collection conditions. If vehicle A passes through a collection point or collection section in this state and no other collection conditions have been accumulated (step S13), the determination unit 211 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to a "collection condition waiting state." Furthermore, if vehicle A passes through a collection point or collection section and other collection conditions have been accumulated (step S14), the determination unit 211 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to a "collection point arrival waiting state."

[0048] (Example of processing in an image information system) FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of processing of the image information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The flow of the process for providing road monitoring images will be described below with reference to Fig. 5. Here, a case will be described in which a road operator's monitor specifies a location on the road that he or she wishes to monitor, and the image information providing device 10 provides a monitoring image of the specified location.

[0049] First, a road operator monitor operates the upper server 30 to specify the point or section of the target road where monitoring is desired (where images are desired to be collected) and the view mode indicating the type of monitoring image.

[0050] FIG. 6 is a first diagram for explaining an example of the View mode according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The view modes include "Still View," "Live View," and "Stream View," as shown in FIG.

[0051] "Still View" is a mode in which a still image taken by the vehicle-mounted device 20 at a collection point on a target road is displayed as a monitoring image. This mode is used when an observer wants to check the situation at a given point.

[0052] "Live View" is a mode that displays a short video captured by the vehicle-mounted device 20 in a specified collection section of the target road as a surveillance image. In places with poor visibility, such as curves, it may be difficult to see the situation beyond the curve using Still View, which fixes the viewpoint. In such cases, by using Live View to obtain video from the start point to the end point of the curve, it becomes possible to get a better understanding of the situation on such roads with poor visibility.

[0053] "Stream View" is a mode that displays, as monitoring video, video captured by the vehicle-mounted device 20 over a collection section that is longer than Live View. For example, it is useful when monitoring a relatively long section, such as from one entrance to the next. In addition, monitoring may be performed in Stream View mode in sections where high-speed, large-capacity communication such as 5G is possible, and in sections where high-speed, large-capacity communication is difficult, monitoring may be performed in Live View mode, which has a smaller file size than Stream View.

[0054] If the observer wishes to monitor only a specific period, the observer may further specify the period for collecting images. In response, the host server 30 generates request information including the information input by the observer and transmits it to the image information providing device 10 (step S100).

[0055] The setting unit 110 of the image information providing device 10 sets collection conditions for vehicle-mounted device images based on the request information received from the upper server 30, and records the collection conditions in the collection condition list D1 (FIG. 7) (step S101).

[0056] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a collection condition list according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, the collection condition list D1 records the target road and traveling direction, collection point or collection section, view mode, and collection period.

[0057] The target road and traveling direction are information (such as a road ID) that can identify the road from which the vehicle-mounted device images are collected and the traveling direction (such as an up lane or an down lane).

[0058] The collection point indicates a point on the target road. The collection point is information for requesting the vehicle-mounted device 20 to transmit an image (still image for Still View) captured when vehicle A reaches this point.

[0059] The collection section indicates the range from one point to another point on the target road (in the example of collection condition 2 in FIG. 7, the section "points X2 to X3" on the highway HW1). The collection section is information for requesting the vehicle-mounted device 20 to transmit images (video for Live View or Stream View) captured by vehicle A from the time it enters this section until it exits it. The collection section may also be specified as a range from one point to a point a certain amount of time away (in the example of collection condition 3 in FIG. 7, a point "three minutes away from point X4" on the highway HW2).

[0060] The collection period indicates the period during which vehicle-mounted device images are collected, and is information for requesting the vehicle-mounted device 20 to transmit images (still images or video) taken at the collection point or collection section if the vehicle-mounted device 20 reaches the collection point or collection section during this period. The collection period may also be expressed as the period from when the request information from the upper server 30 is received until a specified number of vehicle-mounted device images (e.g., 10 vehicles) are acquired. If no collection period is specified (the field is left blank), the collection of vehicle-mounted device images and the generation of monitoring images may continue until a notification to cancel the request is received from the upper server 30.

[0061] Furthermore, when the determination unit 211 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 detects that vehicle A has entered the target road (step S102), it sets the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to the "target road ON state" and the "collection condition waiting state." Furthermore, the driving information transmission processing unit 213 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 notifies the image information providing device 10 that the vehicle-mounted device 20 has entered the "collection condition waiting state," i.e., that it is now possible to accept a transmission request for vehicle-mounted device images (step S103). At this time, the driving information transmission processing unit 213 also notifies information including identification information (road ID) that can identify the target road into which vehicle A has entered, identification information (vehicle-mounted device ID) that can identify the vehicle-mounted device 20, the point where vehicle A entered the target road (expressway entrance ID), and the direction of travel (uphill lane, downhill lane, etc.).

[0062] FIG. 8 is a first diagram for explaining the function of the image information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 8 shows an example (an example of collection condition 1 in FIG. 7) in which the image information providing device 10 acquires an in-vehicle image (still image) for Still View from the in-vehicle device 20 of the vehicle A1 that has arrived at a collection point (point X1). As shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that the vehicle A1 enters the target road, the expressway HW1 (upbound lane), from entrance 01. At this time, the in-vehicle device 20 of the vehicle A1 notifies the image information providing device 10 that it has entered a state of waiting for a collection condition, together with information indicating the entered road, the entrance, the traveling direction, the date and time of entry, etc. (step S103).

[0063] Then, the travel information acquisition unit 113 of the image information providing device 10 adds information about the vehicle A3 (the in-vehicle device 20) that has notified that it is in the "collection condition waiting state" to the travel vehicle list D2 (FIG. 9) (step S104).

[0064] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a running vehicle list according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, the traveling vehicle list D2 records, for each target road, the identification information (on-board device ID) of a vehicle that has entered the target road, the location where the vehicle entered the target road (entrance ID of the expressway), the direction of travel (uphill lane, downhill lane, etc.), and the date and time of entry. In the example of FIG. 8, vehicle A1 enters expressway HW1 from entrance 01. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, based on a notification from the on-board device 20 of vehicle A1, the traveling information acquisition unit 113 adds the on-board device ID of vehicle A1 ("A1"), the entry point onto expressway HW1 ("entrance 02"), the entry direction ("uphill lane"), and the entry date and time to the traveling vehicle list D2 corresponding to expressway HW1 (step S104).

[0065] Next, the image acquisition unit 111 of the image information providing device 10 selects vehicles (target vehicles) that meet each collection condition based on the collection condition list D1 and the traveling vehicle list D2 (step S105). Here, the image acquisition unit 111 selects, as target vehicles, vehicles that are within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section indicated in the collection conditions. Specifically, the image acquisition unit 111 determines that a vehicle that has entered from the nearest entrance upstream of the collection point or collection section is a vehicle that meets the collection condition.

[0066] An example of selecting a target vehicle for collection condition 1 in Fig. 7 will be described. Collection condition 1 in Fig. 7 is to collect on-board device images taken at "point X1" located downstream (forward in the direction of travel) of entrance 01 on highway HW1 (upbound lane). At this time, the image acquisition unit 111 refers to the traveling vehicle list D2 (Fig. 9) and selects vehicle A1 that entered highway HW1 from entrance 01 that is closest upstream of point X1 as a target vehicle for collection condition 1 (step S105).

[0067] Furthermore, if there are other vehicles that meet collection condition 1, the image acquisition unit 111 may select multiple target vehicles. Furthermore, the image acquisition unit 111 may exclude vehicles whose entry date and time are more than a predetermined time (for example, one hour) in the past. This predetermined time may be changed depending on the distance from the entrance to the collection point.

[0068] Next, the image acquisition unit 111 transmits a signal to the in-vehicle device 20 of the vehicle A1 selected as the target vehicle, requesting the in-vehicle device 20 to transmit the in-vehicle device images specified in the collection condition 1 (step S106).

[0069] Then, in the vehicle A1, the condition acquisition unit 210 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 stores the collection condition 1 acquired from the image information providing device 10 in the storage 23 (step S107), and switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to a "collection point arrival waiting state."

[0070] When the vehicle A1 is in the "collection point arrival waiting state," the determination unit 211 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 sequentially determines, based on the positioning information of the positioning unit 25, whether the vehicle A1 has reached the collection point (point X1) indicated in collection condition 1. When the determination unit 211 detects that the vehicle A1 has reached the collection point (step S108), it switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to the "collection request processing state." When the vehicle-mounted device 20 is in the "collection request processing state," the image transmission processing unit 212 transmits an in-vehicle device image (still image) captured based on collection condition 1 to the image information providing device 10 (step S109). Furthermore, when the determination unit 211 detects that the vehicle A1 has passed the collection point (step S110), it switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to the "collection point arrival waiting state" or the "collection condition waiting state," depending on whether other collection conditions are stored.

[0071] FIG. 10 is a second diagram for explaining the function of the image information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 10 shows an example (an example of collection condition 2 in FIG. 7) in which the image information providing device 10 acquires in-vehicle images (videos) for Live View from the in-vehicle device 20 of vehicle A2 traveling in a collection section (points X2 to X3). As shown in FIG. 10, it is assumed that vehicle A2 enters the target road, expressway HW1 (upbound lane), from entrance 02. At this time, the in-vehicle device 20 of vehicle A2 notifies the image information providing device 10 that it has entered a collection condition waiting state, along with information indicating the entered road, the entrance, and the traveling direction (step S103).

[0072] An example of selecting a target vehicle for collection condition 2 in Fig. 7 will be described. Collection condition 2 in Fig. 7 is to collect on-board device images taken in a "collection section from points X2 to X3" located downstream (forward in the direction of travel) of entrance 02 on highway HW1 (upbound lane). At this time, the image acquisition unit 111 refers to the traveling vehicle list D2 (Fig. 9) and selects vehicle A2, which entered highway HW1 from entrance 02 that is closest upstream of the start point (point X2) of the collection section, as a target vehicle for collection condition 2 (step S105).

[0073] Next, the image acquisition unit 111 transmits a signal to the in-vehicle device 20 of the vehicle A2 selected as the target vehicle, requesting the in-vehicle device 20 to transmit the in-vehicle device images specified in the collection condition 2 (step S106).

[0074] Then, in vehicle A2, the condition acquisition unit 210 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 stores the collection condition 2 acquired from the image information providing device 10 in the storage 23 (step S107), and switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to a "collection point arrival waiting state."

[0075] When the vehicle-mounted device 20 is in the "collection point arrival waiting state," the determination unit 211 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 sequentially determines whether the vehicle A2 has reached the start point (point X2) of the collection section indicated in collection condition 2, based on the positioning information of the positioning unit 25. When the determination unit 211 detects that the vehicle A2 has reached the start point of the collection section (step S108), it switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to the "collection request processing state." When the vehicle-mounted device 20 is in the "collection request processing state," the image transmission processing unit 212 sequentially transmits vehicle-mounted device images (videos) captured based on collection condition 2 to the image information providing device 10 (step S109). Furthermore, when the determination unit 211 detects that the vehicle A1 has passed the collection point (step S110), it switches the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to the "collection point arrival waiting state" or the "collection condition waiting state," depending on whether other collection conditions are stored. When the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 is no longer the "collection request processing state", the image transmission processing unit 212 stops transmitting the vehicle-mounted device images (step S111).

[0076] Next, the image generation unit 112 of the image information providing device 10 generates a monitoring image based on the image acquired from the vehicle-mounted device 20 and transmits it to the host server 30 (step S112). At this time, the image generation unit 112 may generate a monitoring image that has been subjected to image processing to hide private information (such as the license plate of the vehicle or the faces of people inside the vehicle). Then, the host server 30 displays the monitoring image received from the image information providing device 10 (step S113). The monitor refers to the monitoring image to check the condition of the target road.

[0077] Furthermore, when the determination unit 211 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 detects that the vehicle A2 has exited the target road (step S114), it sets the state of the vehicle-mounted device 20 to the "target road OFF state." Furthermore, the traveling information transmission processing unit 213 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 notifies the image information providing device 10 that the "collection condition waiting state" of the vehicle-mounted device 20 has been released (step S115).

[0078] Then, the traveling information acquisition unit 113 of the image information providing device 10 deletes the information of the vehicle A2 that has been notified that the "collection condition waiting state" has been released from the traveling vehicle list D2 (FIG. 9) (step S116).

[0079] 5, the image generating unit 112 of the image information providing device 10 may generate a monitoring image by combining vehicle-mounted device images collected from a plurality of vehicle-mounted devices 20. In the example of FIG.

[0080] FIG. 11 is a second diagram for explaining an example of the View mode according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. 11 shows an example in which the image generation unit 112 generates a monitoring image for Live View mode. As shown in FIG. 11, assume that vehicles A1, A2, and A3 pass through a collection section in this order at time t1, time t2, and time t3. The image generation unit 112 generates a monitoring image (video) by arranging in chronological order the on-board device images (video) captured by vehicle A1 in the collection section up to time t1, the on-board device images captured by vehicle A2 in the collection section up to time t2, and the on-board device images captured by vehicle A3 in the collection section up to time t3, and combining them into a single video. In this way, the image generation unit 112 can generate pseudo-video of a certain collection section that looks like it was captured continuously by a fixed camera.

[0081] Also, for example, suppose that the distance between vehicle A1 and vehicle A2 is large and there is a gap between when vehicle A1 passes through the collection section and when vehicle A2 enters the collection section (a blank time occurs). In this case, the image generator 112 may generate a still image of the last frame of the image of vehicle A1 for this blank time, and then, when the image of vehicle A2 is acquired, combine the image of vehicle A2 with this still image.

[0082] (Action and effect) As described above, the image information providing device 10 of this embodiment requests the on-board device 20 of vehicle A, which is within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section indicated in the collection conditions, to transmit on-board device images taken at the collection point or collection section, and generates a monitoring image of the collection point or collection section based on the on-board device images received from the on-board device 20 that received the request.

[0083] In this way, the image information providing device 10 can generate monitoring images from images taken by the in-vehicle device 20 of vehicle A even at points or sections of a target road such as an expressway where fixed cameras are not installed. Also, the image information providing device 10 collects in-vehicle images from the in-vehicle device 20 only at set collection points or collection sections of the target road. This reduces the communication load between the image information providing device 10 and the in-vehicle device 20.

[0084] Furthermore, the image information providing device 10 sets a point or section designated by an observer via the host server 30 as a collection point or collection section.

[0085] In this way, the image information providing device 10 is not limited to a fixed point or section of the target road, but can provide monitoring images of various locations designated by the monitor.

[0086] Furthermore, the image information providing device 10 sets, as a collection section, a section from the collection start point to the collection end point on the target road, or a section from the collection start point to a point where vehicle A has traveled for a predetermined time.

[0087] In this way, the image information providing device 10 can flexibly set the length of the section that can be monitored with the monitoring image.

[0088] The image information providing device 10 also generates a video as a monitoring image by connecting the vehicle-mounted device images received from the plurality of vehicle-mounted devices 20 in time series.

[0089] In this way, the image information providing device 10 can generate pseudo images that look like they were taken continuously by a fixed camera for the set collection section.

[0090] In addition, when the vehicle-mounted device 20 in this embodiment reaches the collection point or collection section indicated in the collection conditions obtained from the image information providing device 10, it transmits the vehicle-mounted device image taken by the camera 26 to the image information providing device 10.

[0091] By doing this, the vehicle-mounted device 20 only needs to transmit vehicle-mounted device images to the image information providing device 10 at specified points or sections, thereby reducing the communication load between the vehicle-mounted device 20 and the image information providing device 10.

[0092] <Second embodiment> Next, an image information providing system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. Components common to the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0093] FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining functions of the image information providing system according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 12, the driving information transmission processing unit 213 of the vehicle-mounted device 20 according to this embodiment transmits probe information including positioning information of vehicle A (such as the position and speed of vehicle A) to the image information providing device 10 at regular intervals.

[0094] The travel information acquisition unit 113 of the image information providing device 10 according to this embodiment acquires probe information including the position of the vehicle A from the vehicle-mounted device 20.

[0095] Furthermore, the image acquisition unit 111 of the image information providing device 10 selects target vehicles based on the probe information in a step of selecting target vehicles that meet the collection conditions (step S105 in FIG. 5). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the image acquisition unit 111 identifies vehicles located within a predetermined distance (e.g., 10 km) upstream from the collection point or collection section and selects them as target vehicles (step S105). In the example of FIG. 12, the image acquisition unit 111 first extracts vehicles A1, A2, and A3 that are traveling on the target road from the traveling vehicle list D2 (FIG. 9). From the probe information of these vehicles, it is known that vehicle A1 has already passed the collection point (point X1) and that vehicle A2 is located farther than the predetermined distance upstream from the collection point. Furthermore, it is known from the probe information that vehicle A2 is located within a predetermined distance upstream from the collection point. In this case, the image acquisition unit 111 selects only the vehicle A2 as the target vehicle, and transmits a signal to the vehicle-mounted devices 20 of these vehicles requesting transmission of vehicle-mounted device images (step S106).

[0096] In this way, the image information providing device 10 can appropriately exclude from the target vehicles, based on the position of each vehicle indicated in the probe information, vehicles that take a long time to reach the collection point or collection section, or vehicles that have already passed the collection point or collection section, thereby enabling the image information providing device 10 to more reliably acquire in-vehicle images of the collection point or collection section.

[0097] The travel information acquisition unit 113 of the image information providing device 10 may perform map matching using the probe information received from the in-vehicle device 20 of vehicle A and map data pre-stored in the storage 13, and identify the position of vehicle A on the map data corresponding to each piece of probe information. In this case, when the travel information acquisition unit 113 detects, based on the time series of the map matching results, that vehicle A has entered the target road from another road, it transmits a signal notifying the in-vehicle device 20 of vehicle A of the entry into the target road. Furthermore, when the travel information acquisition unit 113 detects, based on the time series of the map matching results, that vehicle A has exited from the target road to another road, it transmits a signal notifying the in-vehicle device 20 of vehicle A of the exit from the target road. When the determination unit 211 of the in-vehicle device 20 receives the notification of entry into the target road from the image information providing device 10, it determines that vehicle A has entered the target road in step S01 of FIG. 4 and step S102 of FIG. 5. Furthermore, when the determination unit 211 receives a notification of exiting the target road from the image information providing device 10, it determines in step S02 in FIG. 4 and step S114 in FIG. 5 that the vehicle A has exited the target road.

[0098] <Third embodiment> Next, an image information providing system according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. In the third embodiment, a function for automatically setting collection conditions is added to the image information providing device 10 according to the second embodiment.

[0099] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of processing of the image information providing system according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. The setting unit 110 of the image information providing device 10 according to this embodiment further executes a process (FIG. 13) of automatically setting and adding collection conditions (collection sections) in addition to step S101 of FIG. 5. Here, the setting unit 110 executes the series of processes shown in FIG. 13 for each of a plurality of sections obtained by dividing the target road at intervals of a fixed distance or the like.

[0100] Based on the vehicle speeds contained in the probe information collected from the multiple vehicle-mounted devices 20, the average speed for the section of the target road is calculated every fixed time (for example, every 5 minutes) (step S200).

[0101] Next, the setting unit 110 determines whether the calculated average speed is below a predetermined threshold (step S201). If the average speed is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S201; NO), the setting unit 110 determines that traffic flow in this section is smooth and monitoring is not necessary, and ends the process. On the other hand, if the average speed is less than a threshold (e.g., 60 km / h) (step S201: YES), the setting unit 110 determines that traffic flow in this section is stagnant and monitoring is necessary. In this case, the setting unit 110 adds a collection condition that sets this section as a collection section to the collection condition list D1 (FIG. 7) (step S202). The threshold is preset for each target road. When adding a new collection condition, the view mode is set to a predetermined mode (e.g., live view mode). The monitor may arbitrarily change the threshold and view mode for each target road via the host server 30.

[0102] FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining functions of the image information providing system according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, suppose that highway HW1, which is a target road, is divided into three sections: Section 1, Section 2, and Section 3. In this case, the setting unit 110 executes the series of processes shown in FIG. 13 for each of Sections 1 to 3. In the example of FIG. 14, at a certain time t10, the average speeds in Sections 1 and 3 are equal to or greater than the threshold, but the average speed in Section 2 is less than the threshold. In this case, the setting unit 110 sets a new collection condition that sets Section 2 of highway HW1 as the collection section, and adds it to the collection condition list D1 (FIG. 7) (step S202).

[0103] In this way, the image information providing device 10 can automatically set sections where traffic flow is stagnant (signs of congestion are present) as collection sections and generate monitoring images. Also, by transmitting the automatically generated monitoring images to the upper server 30 and having monitoring personnel check them, it becomes possible to quickly discover events that may be causing traffic congestion (falling objects, accidents, bad weather, etc.).

[0104] <Fourth embodiment> Next, an image information providing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIGS. Components common to the first to third embodiments are given the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0105] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an image information providing system according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining functions of the image information providing system according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the image information providing system 1 according to this embodiment further includes a communication device 40.

[0106] The communication device 40 is installed at a predetermined position upstream from the collection point or collection section of the target road. The communication device 40 transmits and receives various information via wireless communication with the in-vehicle device 20 of the vehicle A located within the communication area R1.

[0107] The image acquisition unit 111 of the image information providing device 10 according to this embodiment executes step S105A shown in Fig. 14 instead of step S105 in Fig. 5. Specifically, the image acquisition unit 111 instructs the communication device 40 installed upstream of the desired collection point or collection section to transmit a signal indicating collection conditions and a request for transmission of an on-board device image to the on-board device 20 of a vehicle passing through the communication area R1 (step S105A). Note that information indicating the installation location of the communication device 40 is pre-stored in the storage 13 of the image information providing device 10, and the image acquisition unit 111 selects a communication device 40 close to the collection point or collection section based on this information and issues an instruction.

[0108] Then, the communication device 40 periodically distributes the collection conditions and the transmission request toward the communication area R1. In the example of Fig. 14, when the vehicle A2 enters the communication area R1 of the communication device 40, the condition acquisition unit 210 of the in-vehicle device 20 receives the signal indicating the collection conditions and the transmission request distributed from the communication device 40. In other words, the image acquisition unit 111 of the image information providing device 10 can automatically transmit the collection conditions and the transmission request of the in-vehicle device image to the in-vehicle device 20 of the vehicle A2 traveling within the communication area R1 via the communication device 40 (step S106).

[0109] In this way, the image information providing device 10 can omit the process of selecting the target vehicle, thereby reducing the processing load.

[0110] In addition, if a collection point or collection section is set on a road or section where a communication device 40 is not installed, the image acquisition unit 111 of the image information providing device 10 may select a target vehicle and send an image transmission request using the method of the first or second embodiment.

[0111] As described above, several embodiments according to the present disclosure have been described, but all of these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims, as well as in the scope and spirit of the invention.

[0112] For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, an example has been described in which the image information providing device 10 generates and provides real-time monitoring images based on in-vehicle images collected from the in-vehicle device 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. The image information providing device 10 may acquire from the in-vehicle device 20 in-vehicle images taken when the vehicle passed through a collection point or collection section in the past, and generate and provide images from a certain time period in the past. For example, when an event such as a fallen object or an accident occurs on a target road, the image information providing device 10 may collect in-vehicle images at the time when the event is thought to have occurred, and generate and provide images for verification.

[0113] Furthermore, in the first or second embodiment described above, an example has been described in which the image information providing device 10 selects a target vehicle and transmits driving conditions and an image transmission request to the target vehicle, but the present invention is not limited to this. In another embodiment, the on-board device 20 of each vehicle may transmit probe information including the vehicle's position to the image information providing device 10 at regular intervals while traveling on a target road, and may also inquire about the presence or absence of an image transmission request. In this case, if the position of the inquiring vehicle is located within a predetermined distance upstream from the collection point or collection section, the image information providing device 10 transmits the collection conditions and an image transmission request to the vehicle.

[0114] 1 shows an example in which only one image information providing device 10 is provided, but this is not limiting. In other embodiments, a plurality of image information providing devices 10 may be provided. For example, one image information providing device 10 may be provided for each area divided into units such as regions (administrative districts, areas divided at regular distances), roads (Expressway A, Expressway B, ...), and each image information providing device 10 may generate monitoring images for target roads within its assigned area. Furthermore, the image information providing device 10 may be a computer system including a terminal device provided on the roadside in each area to collect in-vehicle device images from the in-vehicle devices 20, and a central device to generate monitoring images based on the in-vehicle device images collected by the terminal device.

[0115] <Additional Notes> The image information providing device, the vehicle-mounted device, the image information providing method, and the program described in the above-described embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0116] (1) According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, an image information providing device (10) includes a setting unit (110) that sets a collection point or collection section of an image on a target road, and an image acquisition unit (111) that requests an onboard unit (20) of a vehicle within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section to transmit an onboard unit image taken at the collection point or collection section, and stores the onboard unit image received from the onboard unit (20) that receives the request in a storage.

[0117] In this way, the image information providing device can collect images taken by the vehicle's onboard unit even at points or sections of the target road where fixed cameras are not installed. Furthermore, the image information providing device collects onboard unit images from the onboard unit only at the set collection points or collection sections of the target road. This reduces the communication load between the image information providing device and the onboard unit.

[0118] (2) According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the image information providing device (10) according to the first aspect further includes a driving information acquisition unit (113) that acquires probe information including vehicle location information from the vehicle-mounted device (20), and the image acquisition unit (111) identifies vehicles located within a predetermined distance upstream from the collection point or collection section based on the probe information, and requests the vehicle-mounted device (20) of the identified vehicle to transmit an image of the vehicle-mounted device.

[0119] In this way, the image information providing device can appropriately exclude from the target vehicles, based on the position of each vehicle indicated in the probe information, vehicles that will take a long time to reach the collection point or collection section, or vehicles that have already passed the collection point or collection section, thereby enabling the image information providing device to more reliably acquire on-board device images of the collection point or collection section.

[0120] (3) According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, in the image information providing device (10) according to the first aspect, the image acquisition unit (111) is installed upstream of the collection point or collection section of the target road and requests the onboard device (20) of a vehicle located within the communication range of the communication device (40) that wirelessly communicates with the onboard device (20) to transmit an onboard device image.

[0121] In this way, the image information providing device can omit the process of selecting a target vehicle, thereby reducing the processing load.

[0122] (4) According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, in the image information providing device (10) relating to any one of the first to third aspects, the setting unit (110) sets a point or section designated by a monitor of the target road as a collection point or collection section.

[0123] In this way, the image information providing device is not limited to a fixed point or section of the target road, but can provide monitoring images of various locations designated by the monitor.

[0124] (5) According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, in the image information providing device (10) relating to the second aspect, the setting unit (110) calculates the average speed for each section of the target road based on the probe information, and sets the section where the average speed is less than a predetermined threshold as the collection section.

[0125] In this way, the image information providing device can automatically set sections where traffic flow is stagnant as collection sections and generate monitoring images. Also, by having a monitor check the automatically generated monitoring images, it becomes possible to quickly discover events that may be causing traffic stagnant (falling objects, accidents, bad weather, etc.).

[0126] (6) According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, in the image information providing device (10) relating to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the setting unit (110) sets the section from the collection start point to the collection end point on the target road, or the section from the collection start point to the point where the vehicle has traveled for a predetermined time, as the collection section.

[0127] In this way, the image information providing device can flexibly set the length of the section that can be monitored with the monitoring image.

[0128] (7) According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, the image information providing device (10) according to any one of the first to sixth aspects further includes an image generating unit (112) that generates a monitoring image of the collection point or collection section based on an on-board device image received from a requested on-board device (20).

[0129] In this way, the image information providing device can generate a monitoring image capable of monitoring any location on the target road from the image captured by the vehicle-mounted device of the vehicle.

[0130] (8) According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, in the image information providing device (10) relating to the seventh aspect, the image generating unit (112) generates a surveillance image by connecting in chronological order vehicle-mounted device images of the collection section received from a plurality of vehicle-mounted devices (20).

[0131] In this way, the image information providing device can generate pseudo images for the set collection section that look like they were taken continuously by a fixed camera.

[0132] (9) According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, an on-board device (20) mounted on a vehicle includes a camera (26) that captures on-board device images around the vehicle, a positioning unit (25) that generates positioning information including the position of the vehicle determined based on satellite signals, a condition acquisition unit (210) that acquires collection conditions indicating a collection point or collection section of on-board device images to be transmitted to an image information providing device (10), a determination unit (211) that determines whether the vehicle has reached the collection point or collection section based on the positioning information, and an image transmission processing unit (212) that transmits on-board device images captured by the camera (26) to the image information providing device (10) when it is determined that the vehicle has reached the collection point or collection section.

[0133] In this way, the vehicle-mounted device only needs to transmit vehicle-mounted device images to the image information providing device at designated points or sections, thereby reducing the communication load between the vehicle-mounted device and the image information providing device.

[0134] (10) According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, a method for providing image information includes the steps of setting a collection point or collection section for images on a target road, and requesting an onboard unit (20) of a vehicle within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section to transmit onboard unit images taken at the collection point or collection section, and storing the onboard unit images received from the onboard unit (20) that receives the request in storage.

[0135] (11) According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, the program causes an image information providing device (10) to execute the steps of setting a collection point or collection section for images on a target road, and requesting an onboard unit (20) of a vehicle within a predetermined range from the collection point or collection section to transmit onboard unit images taken at the collection point or collection section, and storing the onboard unit images received from the onboard unit (20) that receives the request in storage.

[0136] (12) According to an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, the program causes an onboard device (20) mounted on a vehicle to execute the steps of taking an onboard device image of the area around the vehicle with a camera (26), generating positioning information including the position of the vehicle determined based on satellite signals, acquiring collection conditions indicating a collection point or collection section of the onboard device image to be transmitted to the image information providing device (10), determining based on the positioning information whether the vehicle has reached the collection point or collection section, and transmitting the onboard device image taken by the camera (26) to the image information providing device (10) when it is determined that the vehicle has reached the collection point or collection section. [Explanation of symbols]

[0137] 1. Image information provision system 10 Image information providing device 11 processors 110 Setting section 111 Image acquisition unit 112 Image generation unit 113 Driving information acquisition unit 12 Memory 13. Storage 14 Communication Interface 20 Onboard equipment 21 processors 210 Condition Acquisition Unit 211 Judgment section 212 Image transmission processing unit 213 Driving information transmission processing unit 22 Memory 23. Storage 24 Communication Interface 25 Positioning unit 26 Camera 30 Upper Server 40 Communication equipment

Claims

1. a setting unit for setting a collection point or collection section of images on a target road; an image acquisition unit that requests an on-board device of a vehicle within a predetermined range from the collection point or the collection section to transmit an on-board device image taken at the collection point or the collection section, and stores the on-board device image received from the on-board device that has received the request in a storage; an image generating unit that generates a video as a monitoring image by connecting in time series the vehicle-mounted device images of the collection section received from the plurality of vehicle-mounted devices that have received the request; Equipped with the image generation unit generates, as the monitoring image, an image in which the last frame of a first vehicle-mounted device image among the plurality of vehicle-mounted device images connected in time series is frozen and displayed until the shooting start time of a second vehicle-mounted device image connected next to the first vehicle-mounted device image; Image information providing device.

2. a travel information acquisition unit that acquires probe information including position information of the vehicle from the on-board device; the image acquisition unit identifies a vehicle located within a predetermined distance upstream from the collection point or the collection section based on the probe information, and requests the on-board device of the identified vehicle to transmit the on-board device image.

2. The image information providing device according to claim 1.

3. the image acquisition unit is installed upstream of the collection point or the collection section of the target road, and requests an on-board device of a vehicle located within a communication range of a communication device that wirelessly communicates with the on-board device to transmit the on-board device image; 2. The image information providing device according to claim 1.

4. The setting unit sets a point or a section designated by a monitor of the target road as the collection point or the collection section. The image information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. the setting unit calculates an average speed for each section of the target road based on the probe information, and sets a section where the average speed is less than a predetermined threshold as the collection section; 3. The image information providing device according to claim 2.

6. the setting unit sets, as the collection section, a section from a collection start point to a collection end point on the target road, or a section from the collection start point to a point where the vehicle has traveled for a predetermined time. The image information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A step in which an image information providing device sets an image collection point or collection section on a target road; a step in which the image information providing device requests an on-board device of a vehicle within a predetermined range from the collection point or the collection section to transmit an on-board device image taken at the collection point or the collection section, and stores the on-board device image received from the on-board device that has received the request in a storage; generating, by the image information providing device, a video in which the in-vehicle device images of the collection section received from the plurality of in-vehicle devices that received the request are connected in time series as a monitoring image; and The step of generating the monitoring image generates, as the monitoring image, an image in which the last frame of a first vehicle-mounted device image among the plurality of vehicle-mounted device images connected in time series is frozen and displayed until the shooting start time of a second vehicle-mounted device image connected next to the first vehicle-mounted device image. Image information provision method.

8. The image information providing device includes: A step of setting a collection point or collection section of images on a target road; requesting an on-board device of a vehicle within a predetermined range from the collection point or the collection section to transmit an on-board device image taken at the collection point or the collection section, and storing the on-board device image received from the on-board device that received the request in a storage; generating a video as a monitoring image by connecting in time series the vehicle-mounted device images of the collection section received from the plurality of vehicle-mounted devices that received the request; A program for executing The step of generating the monitoring image generates, as the monitoring image, an image in which the last frame of a first vehicle-mounted device image among the plurality of vehicle-mounted device images connected in time series is frozen and displayed until the shooting start time of a second vehicle-mounted device image connected next to the first vehicle-mounted device image. program.

Images