Ride assistance device, in-vehicle terminal, ride assistance method and program

Abstract

[Problem] To make it possible for a passenger to easily distinguish a vehicle or the like to be boarded even if the passenger does not make a reservation in advance. [Solution] This boarding assistance device comprises a passenger recognition means for recognizing a passenger who is waiting to embark in an embarkation area at a joint transportation facility, a destination estimation means for estimating the destination of the passenger, a tallying means for tallying the number of passengers for each destination, and a display control means for causing a prescribed destination display device to display a destination in accordance with the number of passengers for each destination.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ride assistance device, an in-vehicle terminal, a ride assistance method, and a program recording medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Buses operating on different routes may pass through the same bus stop, and passengers must identify which bus to board by the destination and route symbols displayed on the destination display (direction sign) on the front or side of the bus. In recent years, there has also been an increase in the number of railway lines and other routes where different companies operate on the same route, and in these cases, passengers must also be careful not to board the wrong bus.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a boarding assistance device that allows users to easily identify the route bus they have reserved. According to this document, when the bus approaches a bus stop where a user who has made a reservation in advance is waiting, this boarding assistance device displays the name of the bus stop where the user will disembark on a destination display device at the front of the vehicle or on a destination display device on the side of the vehicle. The document also states that if multiple users waiting at a bus stop have each made different reservations, the boarding assistance device will display multiple disembarking bus stops on the destination display device (paragraph 0082). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-056081 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The boarding assistance device in Patent Document 1 has the problem that the bus stop where passengers should get off is not displayed unless the passenger makes a reservation in advance. Also, when there are many passengers, it may not be possible to display all of them on the display device of the destination display device.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a boarding assistance device, an in-vehicle terminal, a boarding assistance method, and a program recording medium that enable passengers to easily identify the vehicle they should board without making a reservation in advance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to a first aspect, a boarding assistance device is provided that includes passenger recognition means for recognizing passengers waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​a public transport means, destination estimation means for estimating the destinations of the passengers, counting means for counting the number of passengers for each of the destinations, and display control means for causing a predetermined destination display device to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each of the destinations.

[0008] According to a second aspect, an in-vehicle terminal is provided that has the function of receiving a destination display instruction from the above-mentioned ride assistance device and displaying it on a display device set on the front, rear or side of the vehicle.

[0009] According to a third aspect, a boarding assistance method is provided that recognizes passengers waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​a public transport vehicle, estimates the destinations of the passengers, tallys up the number of passengers for each destination, and causes a predetermined destination display device to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each destination.

[0010] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a program recording medium having recorded thereon a program that causes a computer to execute the following processes: a process of recognizing passengers waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​a public transport means; a process of estimating the destinations of the passengers; a process of tallying the number of passengers for each of the destinations; and a process of causing a predetermined destination display device to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each of the destinations. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, a boarding assistance device, an on-board terminal, a boarding assistance method, and a program recording medium are provided that enable passengers to easily identify the vehicle they should board without making a reservation in advance. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of estimation result information held by the ride assistance device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle in which a ride assistance device according to a first embodiment of the present invention performs display control. [Figure 7] 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ride assistance device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining the operation of the ride assistance device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining the operation of the ride assistance device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of estimation result information held by a ride assistance device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of a ride assistance device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the ride assistance device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a computer that can function as the riding assistance device of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] First, an overview of one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the reference numerals in this overview are used for convenience to identify each element as an example to facilitate understanding, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the illustrated form. Furthermore, connecting lines between blocks in the drawings and the like referred to in the following description include both bidirectional and unidirectional lines. Unidirectional arrows are used to schematically indicate the flow of main signals (data) and do not exclude bidirectionality. A program is executed via a computer device, which includes, for example, a processor, a storage device, an input device, a communication interface, and, if necessary, a display device. Furthermore, this computer device is configured to be able to communicate with internal or external devices (including computers) via the communication interface, whether wired or wireless. Furthermore, ports or interfaces are present at the input / output connection points of each block in the drawings, but are not shown.

[0014] In one embodiment, the present invention can be realized by a ride assistance device 10 including passenger recognition means 11, destination estimation means 12, tallying means 13, and display control means 14, as shown in FIG.

[0015] More specifically, the passenger recognition means 11 recognizes passengers waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​the public transport means.

[0016] The destination estimation means 12 estimates the destination of the passenger. For example, the destination estimation means 12 estimates the destination of the passenger based on an image of the passenger captured by the camera 50.

[0017] The counting means 13 counts the number of passengers for each destination.

[0018] The display control means 14 causes a predetermined destination display device 30 to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each destination.

[0019] 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of one embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 2, two passengers E and F are waiting to board at a bus stop (boarding area of ​​a public transport facility). The boarding assistance device 10 recognizes each passenger and estimates their destination from the images captured by the camera 50.

[0020] For example, the ride assistance device 10 determines that passenger E is a businessman and is heading to factory D on the route departing from this bus stop. Similarly, the ride assistance device 10 determines that passenger F is a patient currently receiving treatment at a hospital because his hand is hanging, and determines that he is heading to hospital G on the route departing from this bus stop.

[0021] In this case, the ride assistance device 10 counts passenger 1 as being headed for Factory D and passenger 1 as being headed for Hospital G. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the ride assistance device 10 changes the display on the destination display device (electronic direction sign) on the side of the bus on which these passengers board. Specifically, the ride assistance device 10 instructs the device to change the normal route display of North Exit of Station A → Park B → South Exit of Station C to a route display of North Exit of Station A → Factory D → Hospital G → South Exit of Station C for these passengers. Also, there may be a large number of destinations to be displayed, and the normal display format may not allow all destinations to be displayed simultaneously on the destination display device. In this case, the ride assistance device 10 may change the display format, such as by scrolling the display or by reducing the size of the displayed characters.

[0022] When the bus arrives, the two passengers E and F check the destination display (electronic direction sign) on the side of the bus. At this time, the route displayed is A Station North Exit → D Factory → G Hospital → C Station South Exit, so the two passengers E and F can board the bus with confidence and head to their destination, even though it is their first time visiting the area.

[0023] [First embodiment] Next, a first embodiment of the present invention that uses image recognition technology to estimate a passenger's destination will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Fig. 4, the configuration includes one or more cameras 50, a ride assistance device 100 that can acquire images from the cameras, and a vehicle 300 equipped with a destination display device whose display is controlled by the ride assistance device 100.

[0024] The camera 50 is a camera installed so as to be able to photograph passengers waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​the public transport (a bus stop in the example of FIG. 4). The camera 50 may be a camera dedicated to the boarding assistance device 100, or may be a camera installed for crime prevention purposes or to improve customer service.

[0025] The ride assistance device 100 includes passenger recognition means 101, destination estimation means 102, aggregation means 103, display control means 104, model storage means 105, and estimation result storage means 106.

[0026] The model storage means 105 stores a classification model for estimating the destination of a passenger photographed by the camera 50. In simple terms, the model storage means 105 stores a classification model for identifying the destination from the gender, age group, clothing, belongings, etc. of a person photographed by the camera 50. Such a classification model can be created by various types of machine learning using training data that associates an image of a person actually photographed by the camera 50 with the person's actual destination (ground truth data).

[0027] When the passenger recognition means 101 recognizes a passenger waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​the public transport (a bus stop in the example of Figure 4), it sends an image of the passenger to the destination estimation means 102 and requests that the destination be estimated.

[0028] When the destination estimation means 102 receives an image of a passenger from the passenger recognition means 101, it estimates the destination of the passenger using a classification model for destination estimation stored in the model storage means 105. Furthermore, the destination estimation means 102 assigns a passenger ID to the passenger whose destination has been estimated, and stores the passenger ID in the estimation result storage means 106.

[0029] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of inference result information stored in the inference result storage means 106. In the example of Fig. 5, three passengers are recognized at the bus stop "A Station North Exit," and their respective inferred destinations are recorded.

[0030] The counting means 103 counts the number of passengers for each estimated destination by referring to the estimation result storage means 106. For example, the counting means 103 counts, from the estimation result information, that there are two passengers heading to Factory D from the bus stop "North Exit of Station A" and one passenger heading to Hospital G.

[0031] The display control means 104 creates content to be displayed on the destination display device of the public transport vehicle 300 based on the results tallied by the tallying means 103, and transmits the content to the vehicle 300. The content transmitted by the display control means 104 to the vehicle 300 may be the content itself to be displayed on the destination display device, or may be control information made up of characters and numbers including the totaled value tallied by the tallying means 103. When the ride assistance device 100 transmits control information made up of characters and numbers, the display content is created based on the control information received by the vehicle.

[0032] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle 300 whose display is controlled by the ride assistance device 100 of this embodiment. Referring to Fig. 6, the vehicle 300 is equipped with a destination display device 301 on the front of the vehicle, a destination display device 302 on the rear of the vehicle, a destination display device 303 on the side of the vehicle, and an on-board terminal 304. The destination display devices 301 to 303 are configured by display devices capable of displaying various characters and figures, also known as electronic direction signs.

[0033] The in-vehicle terminal 304 displays destinations on the destination display devices 301 to 303 based on the display instruction information for the destination display received from the ride assistance device 100. Note that various methods can be used as a form of communication between the in-vehicle terminal 304 and the ride assistance device 100, such as a form using a mobile communication network or a form using a roadside device or the like installed around the road.

[0034] Next, a detailed description will be given of a riding assistance method used in the riding assistance device 100 of this embodiment with reference to the drawings. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the riding assistance device 100 of the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Fig. 7, first, the riding assistance device 100 acquires an image from the camera 50 installed so as to be able to capture an image of passengers waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​the public transport (step S001).

[0035] Next, the ride assistance device 100 identifies the passenger in the image and estimates the destination of the passenger (step S002). For example, the ride assistance device 100 estimates the destination of the passenger by setting a bounding box around the portion of the image in which the passenger is captured and inputting the bounding box into a classification model.

[0036] Next, the ride assistance device 100 tally up destinations for each boarding area of ​​the public transport (step S003). Next, based on the tallying results, the ride assistance device 100 creates display content (display pattern of electronic direction signs) so that the display time is longer for destinations with more destinations (step S004).

[0037] Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a display pattern of electronic destination signs displayed on destination display devices 301 to 303 when it is counted that there are two passengers heading to D Factory and one passenger heading to G Hospital from the bus stop "A Station North Exit". In the example of Fig. 8, since there are three passengers, three display screens are created, two of which are assigned to "D Factory via C Station South Exit" and the remaining one is assigned to "G Hospital via C Station South Exit".

[0038] Next, the ride assistance device 100 transmits the created display pattern of the electronic direction sign to the vehicle 300 (step S005).

[0039] On-board terminal 304 of vehicle 300 that has received the display pattern of the electronic direction sign causes destination display devices 301 to 303 to perform display in accordance with the display pattern of the received electronic direction sign.

[0040] Passengers identified by passenger IDs #0001 to #0003 who see the electronic direction sign that changes as described above check their destination on the display contents of destination display devices 301 to 303 before boarding vehicle 300. At that time, passengers identified by passenger IDs #0001 to #0003 can be sure that they will be traveling via their own destination, so they can board the vehicle with peace of mind.

[0041] In the above example, the ride assistance device 100 displays route points so that the display time increases according to the number of passengers at each destination. However, the display mode on the destination display devices 301-303 is not limited to this. For example, route points can be displayed so that the display area or font size increases according to the number of passengers at each destination. For example, the example in FIG. 9 shows an example of an electronic direction sign in which the text for "Via D Factory" is larger for a route with two passengers and the text for "Via G Hospital" is smaller. By using such a display pattern, compared to the display pattern in FIG. 8, it is possible to prevent passengers from missing the display "Via G Hospital, C Station South Exit" when going to G Hospital, for example.

[0042] In the above example, the ride assistance device 100 is described as identifying passengers from images captured by the camera 50 and estimating their destinations. However, the method for identifying passengers and estimating their destinations is not limited to this. A passenger may have a mobile device (including a smartphone in which each function is implemented by an application program) with a map display function or a route search function. Some of these map display functions and route search functions automatically acquire the user's current location. In this case, the ride assistance device 100 can acquire location information of the mobile device by communicating with the mobile device or a server that provides services to the mobile device. The ride assistance device 100 may then use the acquired location information to recognize passengers waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​the public transport vehicle.

[0043] Furthermore, the ride assistance device 100 can communicate with the mobile terminals and servers that provide services to these mobile terminals to acquire destinations entered into the map display function and the route search function, as well as output results of these functions.The ride assistance device 100 can then estimate the passenger's destination using the acquired information.The ride assistance device 100 can also provide the acquired information on destinations, etc. to the destination estimation means 102, which can use the information as auxiliary information to narrow down the destinations to be estimated.

[0044] [Second embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which a ride assistance device 100a estimates a destination using information on an IC card carried by a passenger in addition to camera images. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a ride assistance device 100a according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The first difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is that an IC card reader 60 is installed in addition to a camera 50 in the boarding area of ​​the public transport vehicle. The second difference from the first embodiment is the operation of the passenger recognition means 111 and the destination estimation means 112. The third difference from the first embodiment is that the estimation result storage means 116 is capable of storing IC card information. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the following description will focus on these differences.

[0045] The IC card reader 60 is equipped with a short-range wireless communication means capable of reading IC cards serving as tickets. Such IC card readers 60 may be dedicated devices or devices known as smart bus stop terminals. When a passenger brings an IC card close to the IC card reader 60, the IC card reader 60 reads the information on the card and sends it to the boarding assistance device 100a. The IC card reader 60 may also be equipped with a function for searching transfer routes to the passenger's destination and a function for calculating the fare. In this case, since the IC card reader 60 can obtain the passenger's possible destinations, the IC card reader 60 may transmit information on the passenger's destination inquired about in addition to the information on the IC card to the boarding assistance device 100a.

[0046] The passenger recognition means 111 of the ride support device 100 a transmits the information obtained from the IC card reader 60 to the destination estimation means 112 .

[0047] The destination estimation means 112 estimates the destination using IC card information in addition to the camera image. More specifically, the destination estimation means 112 selects a destination with a higher likelihood from among destinations estimated using the classification model using the IC card information. For example, if the recognized passenger has a commuter pass, the destination estimation means 112 selects a destination from within the commuter pass usage zone. Furthermore, if information on the destination inquired by the passenger has been obtained, the destination estimation means 112 may select a destination by comparing the destination estimated using the classification model with the destination.

[0048] 11 is a diagram showing an example of estimation result information stored in the estimation result storage means 116 of this embodiment. In the example of FIG. 11, an "IC card information" field is added to the estimation result information of FIG.

[0049] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ride support device 100a of the second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the operation of the ride support device 100 of the first embodiment shown in Fig. 7 is that a process is added in which the IC card reader 60 reads information from an IC card touched by a passenger and transmits the information to the ride support device 100a (step S101).

[0050] Thereafter, the ride assistance device 100a uses the image and the IC card information in combination to identify the passenger and estimate the passenger's destination (step S102).

[0051] Next, the travel assistance device 100a tallies destinations for each boarding area of ​​the public transport (step S103). At this time, the travel assistance device 100a performs the tallying, excluding passengers who are using commuter passes (passengers #0001 and #0002 in FIG. 11).

[0052] Thereafter, the boarding assistance device 100a creates display content (display pattern of electronic direction signs) based on the counting results so that the display time is longer in descending order of the number of destinations (step S004). For example, when the estimation result information shown in Fig. 11 is obtained, the counting is performed excluding passengers who are using commuter passes (passengers #0001 and #0002 in Fig. 11), so that the count shows that there is only one passenger heading to G Hospital from the bus stop "A Station North Exit."

[0053] Figure 1 3 1 is a diagram showing an example of a display pattern of the electronic destination sign displayed on the destination display devices 301 to 303 when the number of passengers heading from the bus stop "A Station North Exit" to G Hospital is counted as one. 3 In this example, since there is one passenger, a display screen is created that displays "C Station South Exit via G Hospital."

[0054] According to this embodiment, which operates as described above, passengers who frequently board the public transport system from the boarding area are excluded from the total count and the contents to be displayed on the destination display device are created based on the recognition results of the passenger recognition means 111. This makes it possible to create display contents targeted at passengers who are truly unfamiliar with the area.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the IC card reader 60 is described as reading an IC card that serves as a ticket, but the IC card reader 60 may also read information equivalent to that on an IC card from a mobile terminal such as a smartphone with an IC card function.

[0056] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the IC card reader 60 is used, but various devices capable of acquiring information that can estimate the boarding frequency and destination of a passenger from various portable terminals carried by the passenger may also be used. For example, a base station device or the like that receives a passenger's ID from a smartphone or smartwatch carried by the passenger and retains the ID for a certain period of time may provide the passenger's ID to the boarding assistance device 100a, thereby enabling the boarding assistance device 100a to ascertain the passenger's boarding frequency.

[0057] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and further modifications, substitutions, and adjustments can be made without departing from the basic technical concept of the present invention. For example, the network configurations, element configurations, and data representation formats shown in the drawings are examples intended to aid in understanding the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations shown in these drawings.

[0058] For example, in the above-described embodiments, the present invention has been described with reference to an example of a public transport facility, such as a public bus, but it can also be applied to other means of transport such as a tram, train, or ferry. For example, it is possible to estimate the destinations of passengers waiting to board in the boarding area, and display the destinations on a destination display device based on the results of the calculation.

[0059] In addition, in the above-described embodiments, the destination display device is described as being installed on the body of a bus, but the destination display device does not necessarily have to be installed on the body of the bus. For example, the present invention can be applied to destination displays on passenger guidance displays installed in the boarding area.

[0060] (About hardware configuration) In each embodiment of the present disclosure, each component of each device represents a functional block. Some or all of the components of each device are realized by an arbitrary combination of an information processing device 900 and a program, for example, as shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device 900 that realizes each component of each device. As an example, the information processing device 900 includes the following configuration. ·CPU(Central Processing Unit)901 ROM (Read Only Memory) 902 ·RAM(Random Access Memory)903 Program 904 loaded into RAM 903 A storage device 905 for storing a program 904 A drive device 907 for reading and writing the program recording medium 906 A communication interface 908 for connecting to a communication network 909 Input / output interface 910 for inputting and outputting data Bus 911 connecting each component

[0061] Each component of each device in each embodiment is realized by the CPU 901 acquiring and executing a program 904 that realizes the function. That is, the CPU 901 in FIG. 14 executes a destination calculation program and a display control program, and performs an update process for each calculation parameter stored in the RAM 903, the storage device 905, or the like. The program 904 that realizes the function of each component of each device is stored in advance in a program recording medium such as the storage device 905 or the ROM 902, and is read out by the CPU 901 as needed. The program 904 may be supplied to the CPU 901 via the communication network 909, or may be stored in advance in the program recording medium 906, and the drive device 907 may read out the program and supply it to the CPU 901.

[0062] Furthermore, this program 904 can display the processing results, including intermediate states, at each stage as necessary on a display device, or can communicate with the outside via a communication interface. Furthermore, this program 904 can be recorded on a computer-readable (non-transitive) program recording medium.

[0063] There are various variations in the method of realizing each device. For example, each device may be realized by any combination of a separate information processing device 900 and a program for each component. Furthermore, multiple components included in each device may be realized by any combination of a single information processing device 900 and a program. That is, the communication terminals and network control devices shown in the first to third embodiments, and processors installed in these devices, can be realized by computer programs that cause the above-mentioned processes to be executed using the hardware.

[0064] In addition, some or all of the components of each device may be realized by other general-purpose or dedicated circuits, processors, etc., or a combination of these. These may be configured by a single chip, or by multiple chips connected via a bus.

[0065] Some or all of the components of each device may be realized by a combination of the above-mentioned circuits and programs.

[0066] When some or all of the components of each device are realized by multiple information processing devices, circuits, etc., the multiple information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be centrally or decentralized. For example, the information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be realized as a client-server system, a cloud computing system, or the like, in a form in which each device is connected via a communication network.

[0067] It should be noted that the above-described embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to only the above-described embodiments. In other words, those skilled in the art can modify or substitute the above-described embodiments to construct various modified forms without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0068] A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0069] [Appendix 1] passenger recognition means for recognizing passengers waiting to board in a boarding area of ​​the public transport; a destination estimation means for estimating the destination of the passenger; a counting means for counting the number of passengers for each destination; a display control means for causing a predetermined destination display device to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each destination; A riding assistance device comprising: [Appendix 2] The destination estimation means of the above-described ride assistance device can be configured to estimate the destination of the passenger based on an image of the passenger photographed by a camera. [Appendix 3] The display control means of the riding assistance device described above The destination display may be configured so that the display time or display area of ​​the destination increases in descending order of the number of passengers. [Appendix 4] The above-mentioned boarding assistance device can be configured to use, as the destination display device, an electronic direction sign equipped on a vehicle of the public transport facility. [Appendix 5] The destination estimation means of the above-described ride assistance device can be configured to estimate the destination of the passenger based on information acquired from a terminal carried by the passenger. [Appendix 6] The counting means of the above-mentioned boarding assistance device can be configured to count the number of passengers for each destination based on the recognition results of the passenger recognition means, excluding passengers who frequently board the public transportation system from the boarding area. [Appendix 7] An in-vehicle terminal having a function of receiving a destination display instruction from the boarding assistance device and displaying it on a display device set on the front, rear or side of the vehicle. [Appendix 8] Recognize passengers waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​public transport, Estimate the passenger's destination; Count the number of passengers for each destination, causing a predetermined destination display device to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each destination; Ride assistance methods. [Appendix 9] Recognizing passengers waiting to board in a boarding area of ​​a public transport facility; A process of estimating the destination of the passenger; A process of counting the number of passengers for each destination; a process of causing a predetermined destination display device to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each destination; A program recording medium that records a program that causes a computer to execute the above.

[0070] The embodiments of Supplementary Notes 8 and 9 can be expanded to the embodiments of Supplementary Notes 2 to 6, similarly to Supplementary Note 1.

[0071] The disclosures of the above-cited patent documents are incorporated herein by reference and may be used as the basis or part of the present invention, as necessary. Modifications and adjustments of the embodiments and examples are possible within the scope of the entire disclosure of the present invention (including the claims), and further based on its basic technical concept. Furthermore, various combinations and selections (including partial deletions) of the various disclosed elements (including each element of each claim, each element of each embodiment or example, each element of each drawing, etc.) are possible within the scope of the disclosure of the present invention. In other words, the present invention naturally embraces various modifications and alterations that would be possible by a person skilled in the art in accordance with the entire disclosure and technical concept, including the claims. In particular, with regard to the numerical ranges set forth herein, any numerical value or subrange within that range should be construed as specifically set forth, even if not otherwise specified. Furthermore, the disclosures of the above-cited documents, when used in part or in whole in combination with the disclosures herein as part of the disclosure of the present invention, in accordance with the spirit of the present invention, are also deemed to be included in the disclosures of this application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0072] 10, 100, 100a Ride assist device 11, 101, 111 Passenger recognition means 12, 102, 112 Destination estimation means 13, 103 Aggregation methods 14, 104 Display control means 50 cameras 105 Model storage means 106, 116 Estimation result storage means 300 vehicles 301~303 Destination display device 304 In-vehicle terminal 900 Information Processing Equipment 901 CPU(Central Processing Unit) 902 ROM (Read Only Memory) 903 RAM (Random Access Memory) 904 Program 905 Storage device 906 Program recording media 907 Drive unit 908 Communication Interface 909 Communication Network 910 Input / Output Interface 911 Bus

Claims

1. passenger recognition means for recognizing passengers waiting to board in a boarding area of ​​the public transport; a destination estimation means for estimating the destination of the passenger based on an image of the passenger photographed by a camera; a counting means for counting the number of passengers for each destination; a display control means for causing a predetermined destination display device to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each destination; A riding assistance device comprising:

2. The display control means 2. The boarding assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the destination display is configured so that the display time or display area of ​​the destination increases in descending order of the number of passengers.

3. 3. The boarding assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the destination display device is an electronic direction sign mounted on a vehicle of the public transport facility.

4. 4. The boarding assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the destination estimation means estimates the destination of the passenger based on information acquired from a terminal carried by the passenger in addition to the image of the passenger.

5. 5. The boarding assistance device according to claim 4, wherein the counting means counts the number of passengers for each destination, excluding passengers who frequently board the public transport means from the boarding area, based on the recognition result of the passenger recognition means.

6. 6. An in-vehicle terminal having a function of receiving a destination display instruction from the boarding assistance device according to claim 1 and displaying the destination display instruction on a display device provided on the front, rear or side of the vehicle.

7. The computer Recognize passengers waiting to board in the boarding area of ​​public transport, Estimating the destination of the passenger based on the image of the passenger captured by the camera; Count the number of passengers for each destination, causing a predetermined destination display device to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each destination; Ride assistance methods.

8. Recognizing passengers waiting to board in a boarding area of ​​a public transport facility; A process of estimating the destination of the passenger based on an image of the passenger captured by a camera; A process of counting the number of passengers for each destination; a process of causing a predetermined destination display device to display destinations according to the number of passengers for each destination; A program that causes a computer to execute the following.

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