Vehicle management system, vehicle management method, and program

Abstract

To provide a vehicle management system, a vehicle management method, and a program, for improving the operational efficiency of an autonomous traveling vehicle for transportation.SOLUTION: A vehicle management system 1000 includes a matching section 350 that performs matching, by referring to a first database 321 in which a personally owned vehicle 100 and an operation schedule 3212 of the personally owned vehicle 100 are registered and a second database 322 in which an autonomous traveling vehicle 200 for transportation and an operation schedule 3222 of the autonomous traveling vehicle for transportation, the personally owned vehicle 100 and the autonomous traveling vehicle 200 for transportation when the personally owned vehicle 100 can tow the autonomous traveling vehicle 200 for transportation on at least a part of a traveling route of the autonomous traveling vehicle 200 for transportation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle management system, a vehicle management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that improves the convenience of rental services for autonomous vehicles that can also be used for logistics transportation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-108002 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In providing transportation services using autonomous vehicles, technology that improves the operational efficiency of autonomous vehicles is desired.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide a vehicle management system, a vehicle management method, and a program that improve the operational efficiency of autonomous transport vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle management system in this embodiment includes: a matching unit that refers to a first database in which personally owned vehicles and operation schedules of the personally owned vehicles are registered, and a second database in which autonomous transportation vehicles and operation schedules of the autonomous transportation vehicles are registered, and matches the personally owned vehicle with the autonomous transportation vehicle when the personally owned vehicle is capable of towing the autonomous transportation vehicle on at least a portion of the driving route of the autonomous transportation vehicle; Equipped with.

[0007] The vehicle management method according to the present embodiment includes: The computer a step of matching the privately owned vehicle with the autonomous transportation vehicle when the privately owned vehicle is capable of towing the autonomous transportation vehicle on at least a portion of the driving route of the autonomous transportation vehicle, by referring to a first database in which privately owned vehicles and operation schedules of the privately owned vehicles and a second database in which autonomous transportation vehicles and operation schedules of the autonomous transportation vehicle are registered; Includes.

[0008] The program in this embodiment is On the computer, By referring to a first database in which privately owned vehicles and their operating schedules are registered, and a second database in which autonomous transport vehicles and their operating schedules are registered, a process is executed to match the privately owned vehicle with the autonomous transport vehicle if the privately owned vehicle is capable of towing the autonomous transport vehicle on at least a portion of the autonomous transport vehicle's driving route. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide a vehicle management system, a vehicle management method, and a program that improve the operational efficiency of autonomous transportation vehicles. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle management system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart showing the flow of a vehicle management method according to a first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Embodiment 1 The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential as means for solving the problems.

[0012] Hereinafter, a vehicle management system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of a vehicle management system 1000 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle management system 1000 includes a privately owned vehicle 100, an autonomous delivery vehicle 200, and a server 300.

[0013] The functions of the server 300, which will be described later, may be provided in the privately owned vehicle 100 or the autonomous delivery vehicle 200. Therefore, a system that does not include the server 300 may also be included in the vehicle management system 1000 according to the first embodiment.

[0014] The personally owned vehicle 100 is a vehicle owned by an individual. The personally owned vehicle 100 is also called a POV (Personally Owned Vehicle). The personally owned vehicle 100 may be an autonomous vehicle, or may be a vehicle driven or assisted by a human. The personally owned vehicle 100 may be equipped with a car navigation device.

[0015] The privately owned vehicle 100 can travel by towing the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 described below. The privately owned vehicle 100 may be equipped with a coupling mechanism (not shown) for coupling with the autonomous transportation vehicle 200. The privately owned vehicle 100 may also tow the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 using a hook, rope, or the like.

[0016] The privately owned vehicle 100 may change the driving control of the privately owned vehicle 100 when the privately owned vehicle 100 is towing the autonomous delivery vehicle 200. For example, if the privately owned vehicle 100 is an autonomous vehicle, the privately owned vehicle 100 may change the driving control to increase the distance between the privately owned vehicle 100 and other vehicles. The privately owned vehicle 100 may also change the suspension settings to reduce impact on the luggage 10, which will be described later. The privately owned vehicle 100 may perform driving control to travel along a route that avoids roads with large bumps. This allows the privately owned vehicle 100 to more safely transport the luggage 10 stored in the autonomous delivery vehicle 200, which will be described later.

[0017] The autonomous delivery vehicle 200 is an autonomous delivery vehicle that delivers the package 10 and is a service vehicle that handles logistics. The autonomous delivery vehicle 200 is equipped with sensors (not shown) such as a camera for autonomous movement. The autonomous delivery vehicle 200 may acquire a delivery route for the package 10 from a server 300, which will be described later, and autonomously move along the acquired delivery route.

[0018] The autonomous transportation vehicle 200 may move autonomously using power supplied from a battery (not shown). For example, if the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 is a small vehicle, the battery life is short, and at least one of the travel time, travel distance, and travel speed is limited. Note that the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 is not limited to an electric vehicle, and may also be a gasoline-powered vehicle or a fuel cell vehicle.

[0019] The autonomous delivery vehicle 200 can be towed by the privately owned vehicle 100. The autonomous delivery vehicle 200 is equipped with a coupling mechanism (not shown) for coupling to the privately owned vehicle 100. The autonomous delivery vehicle 200 may control the coupling mechanism based on a matching result by the server 300, which will be described later. In such a case, when the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 receives a coupling request from the privately owned vehicle 100, it determines whether the privately owned vehicle 100 and the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 are matched. The autonomous delivery vehicle 200 may make an inquiry to the server 300, or may make the determination based on a matching result received in advance from the server 300.

[0020] The autonomous transportation vehicle 200 unlocks the coupling mechanism (not shown) if the determination result is true, and does not unlock the coupling mechanism (not shown) if the determination result is false. Whether or not there is a match can be determined based on, for example, the vehicle ID of the privately owned vehicle 100. The vehicle ID may be received from the privately owned vehicle 100, or may be obtained by image recognition of a part of the privately owned vehicle 100 (for example, the license plate).

[0021] The autonomous delivery vehicle 200 may also control the coupling mechanism based on the vehicle type of the privately owned vehicle 100. This allows the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 to couple with a privately owned vehicle 100 of a vehicle type suitable for towing the autonomous delivery vehicle 200. In such a case, the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 may determine the vehicle type of the privately owned vehicle 100 by performing image recognition of the privately owned vehicle 100 or by receiving vehicle type information from the privately owned vehicle 100.

[0022] In addition, when the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 has drive wheels and driven wheels, the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 may be towed by the privately owned vehicle 100 with the drive wheels lifted off the ground. For example, when performing an operation to couple with the privately owned vehicle 100, the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 may perform control to lift the drive wheels off the ground.

[0023] The server 300 includes a processor, a memory, and the like. Information about the privately owned vehicle 100 and information about the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 are registered in the server 300. The server 300 matches the privately owned vehicle 100 with the autonomous delivery vehicle 200, and outputs the matching results to a terminal owned by the owner of the privately owned vehicle 100. The terminal owned by the owner is, for example, a PC (Personal Computer) or a smartphone. The terminal owned by the owner may be provided in the privately owned vehicle 100.

[0024] Next, the server 300 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 2. The server 300 includes a communication unit 310, a storage unit 320, a first registration unit 330, a second registration unit 340, a matching unit 350, and an output unit 360. The storage unit 320 may be provided outside the server 300.

[0025] The communication unit 310 is a communication interface, and the server 300 is connected to a terminal 400 owned by an owner A of the privately owned vehicle 100. As described above, the terminal 400 may be mounted on the privately owned vehicle 100. The terminal 400 may be, for example, a car navigation device.

[0026] The storage unit 320 is a storage device such as a hard disk, a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 320 may also include a volatile storage device such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is a storage area for temporarily storing information.

[0027] The storage unit 320 includes a first database 321 and a second database 322. In the first database 321, a vehicle ID 3211 of the privately owned vehicle 100 and an operation schedule 3212 of the privately owned vehicle 100 are registered. Note that the vehicle ID 3211 may be the owner ID of the owner A. In the first database 321, the vehicle ID 3211 and the operation schedule 3212 may be registered for each of a plurality of privately owned vehicles 100.

[0028] The operation schedule 3212 includes information related to the driving route of the privately owned vehicle 100. The operation schedule 3212 includes, for example, information indicating a departure point, a departure time, a destination point, and an estimated arrival time. The number of destination points may be multiple. Furthermore, the operation schedule 3212 may register the driving route itself instead of the departure point and the destination point. For example, the operation schedule 3212 may include the driving route and the estimated date and time at each point on the driving route. The operation schedule 3212 may be input by the owner A. Furthermore, the operation schedule 3212 may be a transportation route calculated by the terminal 400.

[0029] The first database 321 may further include a flag indicating whether or not the owner A wishes to tow the autonomous transportation vehicle 200. In such a case, the matching unit 350, which will be described later, may include the personally owned vehicle 100 of the owner A who wishes to tow the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 as a matching target. This allows the matching unit 350, which will be described later, to match the personally owned vehicle 100 with the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 depending on whether or not the owner A wishes to tow the vehicle.

[0030] The first database 321 may further include information indicating the vehicle type of the privately owned vehicle 100. In such a case, the matching unit 350, which will be described later, can match the privately owned vehicle 100 with the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 based on the priority set for the vehicle type of the privately owned vehicle 100. The priority may be a binary value of 1 or 0, or may be three or more values.

[0031] For example, the driving route used by owner A to commute to work or school, and information indicating the date, time, and day of the week on which the commute is made, are registered in the operation schedule 3212. However, the operation schedule 3212 is not limited to a regular schedule such as commuting to work or school. For example, the operation schedule 3212 may also register a driving schedule to owner A's travel destination.

[0032] The second database 322 has registered therein a vehicle ID 3221 of the transportation autonomous vehicle 200 and an operation schedule 3222 of the transportation autonomous vehicle 200. The second database 322 may have registered therein the vehicle ID 3221 and the operation schedule 3222 for each of a plurality of transportation autonomous vehicles 200.

[0033] The operation schedule 3222 includes information regarding the travel route of the autonomous delivery vehicle 200. The operation schedule 3222 may include information indicating, for example, the delivery origin (e.g., a warehouse or a house), departure time, delivery destination, and scheduled delivery time. The number of delivery destinations may be multiple. The operation schedule 3222 may also register the delivery route itself instead of the delivery destination, etc. The operation schedule 3222 may also register information regarding the package 10 to be delivered (e.g., package ID).

[0034] The first registration unit 330 registers the information received from the terminal 400 in the first database 321. The first registration unit 330 acquires the vehicle ID 3211 and the operation schedule 3212 from the terminal 400 and registers them in the first database 321. As described above, the operation schedule 3212 may be the departure point, destination, estimated arrival time, etc., or the travel route itself. The travel route may be acquired from a car navigation device.

[0035] The second registration unit 340 determines an operation schedule 3222 for the autonomous delivery vehicle 200, and registers the operation schedule 3222 in the second database 322 in association with the vehicle ID 3221. The second registration unit 340 receives a request, for example, from a terminal (not shown) owned by a user who wishes to ship or deliver a package 10, and determines the operation schedule 3222 based on the request. Note that the second registration unit 340 may also receive a delivery schedule for the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 from a management server (not shown) that manages the shipping of the package 10, and register the delivery schedule 3222 in the second database 322.

[0036] The matching unit 350 refers to the first database 321 and the second database 322, and matches the privately owned vehicle 100 with the privately owned vehicle 200 if the privately owned vehicle 100 is capable of towing the privately owned vehicle 200 on at least a portion of the driving route of the privately owned vehicle 200. The matching unit 350 may perform the matching by, for example, extracting from the first database 321 and the second database 322 privately owned vehicles 100 and privately owned vehicles 200 whose driving routes at least partially overlap during the same time period.

[0037] The matching unit 350 may perform matching after generating a travel route based on the departure point, destination, estimated arrival time, etc. using a known route search technology. As described above, the travel route may be registered in advance in the storage unit 320 as the operation schedule 3212 or the operation schedule 3222.

[0038] The output unit 360 outputs the matching result obtained by the matching unit 350 to the terminal 400. The output unit 360 may output the matching result to the privately owned vehicle 100 and the autonomous delivery vehicle 200. The matching result includes, for example, the vehicle ID 3211 and the vehicle ID 3221 of the matched privately owned vehicle 100 and the autonomous delivery vehicle 200, respectively, and a towing route along which the privately owned vehicle 100 tows the autonomous delivery vehicle 200. The towing route may be an overlapping portion of the travel route based on the operation schedule 3212 and the travel route based on the operation schedule 3222. The output unit 360 may determine the towing route taking into consideration the location where towing starts and the location where towing ends (for example, the shoulder of the road).

[0039] Next, the vehicle management method according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of the vehicle management method according to the first embodiment. First, the communication unit 310 of the server 300 receives information including a request to tow the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 from the terminal 400 of the owner A of the privately owned vehicle 100 (step S101). The received information includes the vehicle ID 3211 of the privately owned vehicle 100 and the operation schedule 3212. Then, the first registration unit 330 of the server 300 registers the received information in the first database 321 (step S102).

[0040] Next, the second registration unit 340 of the server 300 registers the operation schedule 3222 of the transportation autonomous vehicle 200 in the second database 322 in association with the vehicle ID 3221 (step S103). As described above, the server 300 may generate the operation schedule 3222 itself or obtain it from an external source.

[0041] Next, the matching unit 350 of the server 300 matches the privately owned vehicle 100 with the autonomous transportation vehicle 200 (step S104). If the matching is successful, the matching unit 350 of the server 300 determines a towing route along which the privately owned vehicle 100 tows the autonomous transportation vehicle 200.

[0042] Next, the output unit 360 of the server 300 outputs the vehicle ID 3221 of the matched autonomous transportation vehicle 200 and the towing route to the terminal 400 as the matching result (step S105). Then, the privately owned vehicle 100 travels to the starting point of the towing route. The owner of the privately owned vehicle 100 may check the display on the terminal 400 and drive the vehicle, or the privately owned vehicle 100 may travel autonomously. The autonomous transportation vehicle 200 also travels autonomously to the starting point of the towing route.

[0043] After the personally owned vehicle 100 and the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 arrive at the starting point of the towing route, the personally owned vehicle 100 transmits a coupling request to the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 (step S106). The coupling request may be transmitted in response to an input to the terminal 400, or may be transmitted automatically by the personally owned vehicle 100. The coupling request may include the vehicle ID 3211 of the personally owned vehicle 100.

[0044] Next, the transportation autonomous vehicle 200 determines whether the privately owned vehicle 100 that sent the connection request is a matched vehicle (step S107). The transportation autonomous vehicle 200 may also determine the vehicle model of the privately owned vehicle 100 that sent the connection request. If the determination result is true (Yes in step S107), the transportation autonomous vehicle 200 performs control to unlock the connection mechanism (step S108). On the other hand, if the determination result is false (No in step S107), the transportation autonomous vehicle 200 does not perform control to unlock the connection mechanism and ends the process.

[0045] When the privately owned vehicle 100 and the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 are coupled, the privately owned vehicle 100 changes its driving control to reduce the impact on the package 10 being transported by the autonomous delivery vehicle 200, and tows the autonomous delivery vehicle 200 to the end point of the towing route (step S109). At the end point of the towing route, the privately owned vehicle 100 releases the coupling with the autonomous delivery vehicle 200.

[0046] According to the vehicle management system of the first embodiment, it is possible to match a privately owned vehicle with an autonomous transportation vehicle and to have the privately owned vehicle tow the autonomous transportation vehicle. Therefore, according to the vehicle management system of the first embodiment, it is possible to increase the transportation speed of the autonomous transportation vehicle and reduce power and fuel consumption, thereby improving the operational efficiency of the autonomous transportation vehicle.

[0047] Although the above-described embodiment has been described as a hardware configuration, the present disclosure is not limited to this. Any processing in the present disclosure can also be realized by causing a CPU to execute a computer program.

[0048] In the above examples, the program includes instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable medium or tangible storage medium includes random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray® disc or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may also be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals.

[0049] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1000 Vehicle Management System 100 Personally Owned Vehicles 200 Autonomous Transport Vehicles 300 servers 310 Communications Department 320 Storage section 321 Database 1 3211 Vehicle ID 3212 Operation Schedule 322 Second Database 3221 Vehicle ID 3222 Operation Schedule 330 First Registration Division 340 Second Registration Division 350 Matching Department 360 Output Unit 400 terminals 10 Luggage A owner

Claims

1. a matching unit that refers to a first database in which privately owned vehicles and operation schedules of the privately owned vehicles are registered, and a second database in which autonomous transportation vehicles and operation schedules of the autonomous transportation vehicles are registered, and matches the autonomous transportation vehicle with the privately owned vehicle when the privately owned vehicle is capable of towing the autonomous transportation vehicle on at least a portion of the driving route of the autonomous transportation vehicle; A vehicle management system comprising: The privately owned vehicle is an autonomous vehicle, When the privately owned vehicle is towing the autonomous transport vehicle, the vehicle is controlled to travel on roads that avoid roads with large bumps. Vehicle management system.

2. The vehicle management system includes: an output unit that, when the autonomous transportation vehicle and the privately owned vehicle are matched, outputs a towing route along which the privately owned vehicle will tow the autonomous transportation vehicle to a terminal owned by the owner of the privately owned vehicle; The vehicle management system according to claim 1 , comprising:

3. The first database has registered therein a plurality of privately owned vehicles and operation schedules of each privately owned vehicle; The vehicle management system includes: a communication unit that receives information from a terminal owned by the owner of each privately owned vehicle indicating a desire to tow the autonomous transportation vehicle; Equipped with The matching unit Include personal vehicles of owners who wish to tow the autonomous transport vehicle as targets for matching; 3. The vehicle management system according to claim 1.

4. The first database further registers the vehicle type of the privately owned vehicle, The matching unit matching the personally owned vehicle with the autonomous transportation vehicle further based on a priority set for the vehicle type; The vehicle management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The autonomous transportation vehicle includes: When a connection request is received from the privately owned vehicle, control is executed to permit connection with the privately owned vehicle based on a matching result by the matching unit. The vehicle management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The computer a step of matching the privately owned vehicle with the autonomous transportation vehicle when the privately owned vehicle is capable of towing the autonomous transportation vehicle on at least a portion of the travel route of the autonomous transportation vehicle by referring to a first database in which privately owned vehicles and operation schedules of the privately owned vehicles and a second database in which autonomous transportation vehicles and operation schedules of the autonomous transportation vehicle are registered; A vehicle management method comprising: The privately owned vehicle is an autonomous vehicle, When the privately owned vehicle is towing the autonomous transport vehicle, the vehicle is controlled to travel on roads that avoid roads with large bumps. Vehicle management methods.

7. On the computer, referencing a first database in which privately owned vehicles and operation schedules of the privately owned vehicles are registered, and a second database in which autonomous transportation vehicles and operation schedules of the autonomous transportation vehicles are registered, and when the privately owned vehicle is capable of towing the autonomous transportation vehicle on at least a portion of the travel route of the autonomous transportation vehicle, executing a process of matching the privately owned vehicle with the autonomous transportation vehicle; A program, The privately owned vehicle is an autonomous vehicle, When the privately owned vehicle is towing the autonomous transport vehicle, the vehicle is controlled to travel on roads that avoid roads with large bumps. program.

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