Parking lot management system, parking lot management method and program

Abstract

A parking lot management system according to the present disclosure comprises: a first determination means that, on the basis of a prescribed condition, determines whether a person who has been detected from an image in which the parking lot is imaged is a parking lot user who entered the lot in a vehicle; a second determination means that, on the basis of the appearance of a person who has been determined to be a parking lot user, and the appearance of a person who has been detected from an image in which a store area is imaged, determines whether the parking lot user was detected in the store area; and an output means that, on the basis of the result of the determination regarding whether the parking lot user was detected in the store area, outputs information relating to the parking lot user.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a parking lot management system and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] Stores often have parking lots attached to them. Some of these parking lots are free for customers of the store, and some pay parking lots offer discounts to customers of the store.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a visitor detection system that detects visitors to a store and notifies information about group visits. The visitor detection system in Patent Document 1 detects group visits from facial images of the members of the group registered in a monitored database and facial images taken by an outside camera or an inside camera. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-030647 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Stores need to know whether parking lot users are also using the store.

[0006] The present disclosure aims to provide a parking lot management system and the like that makes it easy to understand whether parking lot users are using a store. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The parking lot management system of the present disclosure includes a first determination means for determining whether a person detected from an image of a parking lot is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle based on predetermined conditions, a second determination means for determining whether the parking lot user has been detected in a store area based on the appearance of the person determined to be the parking lot user and the appearance of a person detected from an image of a store area, and an output means for outputting information regarding the parking lot user based on the determination result of whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area.

[0008] The parking lot management method of the present disclosure determines, based on predetermined conditions, whether a person detected from an image taken of a parking lot is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle, determines whether the parking lot user has been detected in a store area based on the appearance of the person determined to be the parking lot user and the appearance of a person detected from an image taken of a store area, and outputs information about the parking lot user based on the determination result of whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area.

[0009] A program according to the present disclosure causes a computer to execute a process of determining, based on predetermined conditions, whether a person detected from an image of a parking lot is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle, determining whether the parking lot user has been detected in a store area based on the appearance of the person determined to be the parking lot user and the appearance of a person detected from an image of a store area, and outputting information about the parking lot user based on the determination result of whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area. The program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it becomes easy to know whether parking lot users are using a store. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1]1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a parking lot management system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the parking lot management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a parking lot management system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of camera installation. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] [First embodiment] The parking lot management system 100 according to one embodiment determines whether a parking lot user who has arrived by vehicle at a store with a parking lot attached has been detected in the store area, and outputs the determination result.

[0013] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a parking lot management system 100 according to the first embodiment. The parking lot management system 100 includes a first determination unit 11, a second determination unit 12, and an output unit 13.

[0014] The first determination unit 11 determines whether a person detected from an image of the parking lot is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle based on a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition is a condition for distinguishing whether a person is a parking lot user or not. A parking lot user is a person who arrives in a vehicle and parks it in the parking lot. A parking lot user generally gets out of the vehicle and heads to another location. The type of vehicle is not particularly limited. The vehicle is, for example, a car or a bicycle. A person who is not a parking lot user arrives at the parking lot or a store on foot, for example.

[0015] The first determination unit 11 determines whether or not a person detected from a part of time-series images such as a video of a parking lot is a parking lot user, for example.

[0016] The first determination unit 11 may determine that a person is a parking lot user if the person is detected in a parking lot as a predetermined condition. In other words, the first determination unit 11 determines that a person detected in a parking lot is a parking lot user.

[0017] The second determination unit 12 determines whether a parking lot user has been detected in the store area based on the appearance of the person determined to be a parking lot user and the appearance of the person detected from the image of the store area. In other words, the second determination unit 12 determines whether the parking lot user and the store user are the same person. The appearance is not particularly limited as long as it can be used to determine whether they are the same person. For example, the appearance includes characteristics such as face, body shape, hairstyle, clothing, gait, and belongings.

[0018] The store area is an area that serves as a criterion for determining whether a person is using a store. The store area includes the inside of the store, as well as, for example, the area near the store entrance or the aisle leading to the store. In this case, even if a person does not purchase a product, it can be said that the person is using the store. A person detected in the store area is also referred to as a store user. If the store area is set to the area in front of the register, a person who purchases a product can also be considered a store user.

[0019] The second determination unit 12 acquires the appearance of the parking lot user and the appearance of the store user. For example, the second determination unit 12 determines whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area by comparing the appearance of the parking lot user with the appearance of the store user. For example, the second determination unit 12 determines that the parking lot user is a store user based on the degree of match between the appearance of the parking lot user and the appearance of the store user. The degree of match increases as the appearances become more similar. The second determination unit 12 determines that the parking lot user has been detected in the store area when the degree of match between the appearance of the parking lot user and the store user exceeds a threshold.

[0020] For example, the second determination unit 12 may determine whether a store user detected from an image of the store area taken a predetermined time after the image in which the parking lot user was detected is a parking lot user. In other words, the second determination unit 12 uses an image of the store taken a predetermined time after the image used to detect the parking lot user for appearance verification. This is because parking lot users generally use the store after parking their vehicles and being detected in the parking lot.

[0021] Alternatively, the second determination unit 12 may make a determination on a person detected from an image of the parking lot area taken a predetermined time after the image in which the store user was detected was taken. This is because the second determination unit 12 may determine whether the store user is a parking lot user when the store user gets into a vehicle to leave.

[0022] The output unit 13 outputs information about the parking lot user based on the determination result of whether or not the parking lot user has been detected in the store area. For example, the output unit 13 changes the timing at which the output unit 13 outputs the information about the parking lot user based on the determination result. Alternatively, the output unit 13 changes the information to be output based on the determination result. The information about the parking lot user output by the output unit 13 will be described in detail in the second embodiment.

[0023] When the second determination unit 12 determines that a parking lot user has not been detected in the store area, the output unit 13 may output information about the parking lot user. For example, when the second determination unit 12 determines that a person has not been detected in the store area even after a predetermined time has passed since the person was detected in the parking lot, the output unit 13 may output information about the parking lot user. Furthermore, the output unit 13 may output information about the parking lot user until the parking lot user is detected in the store area.

[0024] Furthermore, the output unit 13 may output information relating to the parking lot user when the second determination unit 12 determines that the parking lot user has been detected in the store area.

[0025] 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the parking lot management system 100 according to an embodiment. The parking lot management system 100 may start the operation shown in FIG. 2 in response to detection of a person from an image of a parking lot.

[0026] The first determination unit 11 determines whether a person detected from an image of the parking lot is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle based on predetermined conditions (step S1). If it is determined that the person is a parking lot user, the parking lot management system 100 executes the next step S2.

[0027] The second determination unit 12 determines whether a parking lot user has been detected in the store area based on the appearance of the person determined to be a parking lot user and the appearance of the person detected from the image taken of the store area (step S2).

[0028] Based on the determination result as to whether or not a parking lot user has been detected in the store area, the output unit 13 outputs information about the parking lot user (step S3).

[0029] According to the first embodiment, the first determination unit 11 determines whether a person detected from an image of the parking lot is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle based on predetermined conditions. The second determination unit 12 determines whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area based on the appearance of the person determined to be a parking lot user and the appearance of the person detected from an image of the store area. Based on the determination result of whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area, the output unit 13 outputs information about the parking lot user. Therefore, the parking lot management system 100 can output information to store clerks, etc., depending on whether the parking lot user is using the store. This makes it easy for store clerks to determine whether the parking lot user is using the store.

[0030] [Second embodiment] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a parking lot management system 200 according to the second embodiment. Similar to the parking lot management system 100 according to the first embodiment, the parking lot management system 200 includes a first determination unit 11, a second determination unit 12, and an output unit 13. Furthermore, the parking lot management system 200 includes parking lot cameras 20, store cameras 30, a database 40, and an alarm device 50. In the parking lot management system 200 according to the second embodiment, a case will be described in which the first determination unit 11 includes a first detection unit 110, and the second determination unit 12 includes a second detection unit 120. Descriptions of the configuration of the second embodiment that are the same as those of the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0031] Parking lot camera 20 photographs the parking lot. Parking lot camera 20 is, for example, a surveillance camera for the parking lot. Parking lot camera 20 may be installed at the entrance to the parking lot, at the parking lot payment machine, or on a pole installed in the parking lot. However, parking lot camera 20 may also be installed inside a store as long as it is capable of photographing the parking lot.

[0032] The store camera 30 photographs the store area. The store camera 30 is, for example, a surveillance camera installed inside the store or a camera installed near the entrance / exit of the store.

[0033] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of camera installation. In FIG. 4, parking lot camera 20 is installed on the roof outside the store. In FIG. 4, store camera 30 is installed outdoors and captures the entrance and exit. However, store camera 30 may also be installed indoors. There may be one parking lot camera 20 and one store camera 30, or multiple cameras may be installed.

[0034] The database 40 stores the appearance of the person detected by the first detection unit 110. For example, the database 40 stores the appearance of the person who is determined to be a parking lot user among the people detected by the first detection unit 110. Furthermore, the database 40 may store the appearance of the person detected by the second detection unit 120.

[0035] The first detection unit 110 detects a person from an image of the parking lot. For example, the first detection unit 110 acquires an image from the parking lot camera 20. The first detection unit 110 then detects the person by performing image recognition on the acquired image. The first detection unit 110 further extracts the appearance of the detected person. The first detection unit 110 may extract the appearance of a person determined by the first determination unit 11 to be a parking lot user.

[0036] First determination unit 11 determines whether a person detected from an image of the parking lot is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle based on a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition used by first determination unit 11 to determine whether a person is a parking lot user may be a condition related to the position where each person was first detected in the parking lot.

[0037] For example, the first detection unit 110 determines whether the detected person is the same person as the person detected earlier. Furthermore, the first detection unit 110 determines the area where the vehicle is parked. If the position where the person is first detected in the parking lot is the area where the vehicle is parked, the person is presumed to have exited the parked vehicle, and the first determination unit 11 determines that the person is a parking lot user. Furthermore, for example, if the position where the person is first detected in the parking lot is near the entrance to the parking lot, the first determination unit 11 determines that the person is not a parking lot user.

[0038] The first detection unit 110 may further detect a vehicle from the acquired image. When a vehicle is detected from an image of a parking lot, the first determination unit 11 may determine that the person is a parking lot user if the position where the person was first detected is within a predetermined range from the position of the detected vehicle, as a predetermined condition. In this case, for example, the first determination unit 11 determines that the person is not a parking lot user if no vehicle is detected within a predetermined range from the position where the person was first detected.

[0039] Furthermore, the first determination unit 11 may determine that a person detected in an image of the parking lot within a predetermined range of the vehicle within a predetermined time from the time the image in which the vehicle was first detected was taken is a parking lot user. This allows the first determination unit 11 to determine that a person who gets out of the vehicle within a predetermined time after parking the vehicle is a parking lot user. Furthermore, the first determination unit 11 can prevent, for example, the first determination unit 11 from erroneously determining that a person unrelated to the vehicle, who is detected near the vehicle that has been parked for several hours, is a parking lot user.

[0040] Furthermore, the predetermined condition used by the first determination unit 11 for determination may be a condition related to the walking direction of a person. A person walking through a parking lot to a store may walk in a different direction from a person parking a vehicle and walking to a store. Therefore, the first determination unit 11 may determine whether a detected person is a parking lot user based on the walking direction of the person in the parking lot. The first determination unit 11 may determine the walking direction from the body direction detected from an image. Furthermore, the first determination unit 11 may determine the walking direction of a person by determining the moving direction of the person from two or more images.

[0041] The first determination unit 11 stores the appearance of the person extracted by the first detection unit 110 in the database 40. For example, the first determination unit 11 instructs the database 40 to store the appearance of the person determined to be a parking lot user.

[0042] The first determination unit 11 may store the time when the image in which the person is detected was captured in addition to the person's appearance. The first determination unit 11 may be configured to erase the stored information after a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0043] The first detection unit 110 may detect a person outside the vehicle. For example, the first detection unit 110 may detect a person whose entire body is visible in the image as a person outside the vehicle. The first detection unit 110 may exclude people inside the vehicle from targets for extracting appearances.

[0044] The first determination unit 11 may determine whether or not a person outside the vehicle is a parking lot user. For example, the first determination unit 11 may determine whether or not a person outside the vehicle is a parking lot user based on the position where the person outside the vehicle is first detected in the parking lot. The first determination unit 11 then stores, for example, the appearance of the person outside the vehicle in the database 40. It is expected that the appearance of the person outside the vehicle will be easier to match with the appearance of a person detected in the store area than the appearance of the person while in the vehicle.

[0045] A person outside the vehicle is, for example, a person walking or standing outside the vehicle. A person outside the vehicle may include a person walking while pushing a bicycle. In other words, the first detection unit 110 may exclude a person riding a bicycle from targets for extracting the appearance of the person.

[0046] The first determination unit 11 may determine that the vehicle is parked. For example, when the first detection unit 110 detects the vehicle in a predetermined parking space, the first determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle is parked. Alternatively, the first determination unit 11 may determine that the vehicle is parked when the vehicle is detected at the same position in two or more images taken at different times.

[0047] The first determination unit 11 may determine, as a predetermined condition, that a person is a parking lot user when the position where the person is first detected is within a predetermined range from the position of the vehicle determined to be parked. The first determination unit 11 may determine, as a predetermined condition, that a person is detected within a predetermined range of a vehicle within a predetermined time after the vehicle is parked.

[0048] The predetermined conditions described above can be set as appropriate so that the first determination unit 11 can determine whether or not a person is a parking lot user even when the camera's performance is low. Alternatively, when the camera's performance is high, the first determination unit 11 may determine that a person is a parking lot user based on the predetermined condition that a person's movement of getting out of or getting into a vehicle is detected. As the movement of getting out and the movement of getting into a vehicle, the first detection unit 110 detects, for example, the movement of a person opening and closing a car door, or the movement of getting out of or getting into a car from one or more images captured of the parking lot.

[0049] The second detection unit 120 detects people from images captured of the store area. For example, the second detection unit 120 acquires images from the store camera 30. Then, the second detection unit 120 detects people by performing image recognition on the acquired images.

[0050] The second determination unit 12, for example, refers to the database 40 and compares the appearance of the store user with the appearance of the parking lot user.

[0051] The second determination unit 12 may determine whether a parking user who is no longer detected in the parking lot is detected in the store area. For example, the first detection unit 110 determines whether the detected person is the same person as the person detected earlier. The first detection unit 110 then recognizes that the detected person is no longer detected. Furthermore, if the first detection unit 110 can determine the location of the exit, the first detection unit 110 may track the parking user and detect that the parking user has left the parking lot through an exit. A parking user who has left the exit generally becomes undetectable from the parking lot. The first determination unit 11 transmits to the second determination unit 12 that it has recognized that the parking user is no longer detected in the parking lot. When the second determination unit 12 determines whether a parking user who is no longer detected in the parking lot is detected, the second determination unit 12 does not perform appearance comparison of people in the parking lot, thereby reducing the processing load of the comparison.

[0052] Furthermore, the second determination unit 12 may lower the standard for determining whether a parking lot user has been detected in the store area for a predetermined time after the parking lot user has stopped being detected. Here, the predetermined time is set appropriately depending on the time required to travel from the parking lot to the store area. Since there is a difference in brightness between a photo taken outdoors and a photo taken indoors, it may be difficult to determine whether they are the same person. A store user detected in the store area within a predetermined time after the parking lot user has stopped being detected in the parking lot is likely to be the same person as the parking lot user. By lowering the standard for determining whether the parking lot user is the same person within a predetermined time after the parking lot user has stopped being detected in the parking lot, it is possible to more reliably determine whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area.

[0053] The second determination unit 12 may determine whether a parking lot user who parks a vehicle they have boarded has been detected in the store area. The second determination unit 12 may also exclude a parking lot user whose vehicle has become undetectable from the targets for determining whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area. If a vehicle is not parked, the parking lot user is likely to have gotten into the vehicle and left the parking lot. Because a person who has left the parking lot will not be detected in the store area, the second determination unit 12 can reduce the processing load of the determination by performing a determination on a parking lot user who has parked a vehicle.

[0054] At this time, the first determination unit 11 determines the vehicle into which the parking lot user has boarded. The first determination unit 11 also determines that the same vehicle is parked based on the appearance of the vehicle. For example, the first determination unit 11 determines that a vehicle detected within a predetermined range from the position where a person was detected in the parking lot is the vehicle into which the parking lot user has boarded. The first determination unit 11 may also determine that a vehicle detected within a predetermined time from the time the parking lot user was detected is the vehicle into which the parking lot user has boarded. In other words, when two or more vehicles are parked near the detected person, the first determination unit 11 distinguishes between the originally parked vehicle and the newly parked vehicle.

[0055] The second determination unit 12 may exclude parking lot users who have been detected in the parking lot for a predetermined time or more from the targets for determining whether they have been detected in the store area. The predetermined time or more is appropriately set to a length of time that allows for determination that the parking lot user will not be using the store. For example, if a parking lot user is not detected in the store area after three hours have passed since being detected in the parking lot, it is assumed that the person has no intention of using the store. Furthermore, parking lot users who are not detected in the store area for a long period of time may be illegally leaving their vehicle there. By excluding the person from the targets for determination, the second determination unit 12 can reduce the processing load of the determination.

[0056] The second determination unit 12 may determine whether a parking lot user has been detected in the store area, regardless of whether the vehicle the person arrived in is a car or a bicycle. The second determination unit 12 may also determine whether either a person who arrived by car or a person who arrived by bicycle has been detected in the store area. For example, if the parking lot is exclusively for cars, the second determination unit 12 determines whether a person who arrived by car has been detected in the store area. For example, if the first determination unit 11 can distinguish between a person who arrived by car and a person who arrived by bicycle, the first determination unit 11 may determine that a person who arrived by bicycle is not a parking lot user. In this way, the second determination unit 12 determines whether a person who arrived by car has been detected in the store area.

[0057] The output unit 13 outputs information about the parking lot user based on the determination result of whether or not the parking lot user has been detected in the store area. The output unit 13 outputs the information about the parking lot user to the notification device 50, for example.

[0058] The notification device 50 notifies the store clerk or the parking lot user of the information about the parking lot user in response to receiving the information about the parking lot user from the output unit 13. The notification device 50 is, for example, a display, a speaker, a lamp, etc. The notification device 50 may be a terminal operated by the store clerk. The notification device 50 may also be installed in the parking lot.

[0059] The output unit 13 causing the notification device 50 to notify the store staff or the parking lot user is included in the output unit 13 outputting information about the parking lot user to the store staff or the parking lot user.

[0060] As an example, the information about the parking lot user is information indicating that there is a parking lot user who has not been detected in the store area. When the second determination unit 12 determines that a parking lot user has not been detected in the store area, the output unit 13 outputs to the alarm device 50 that there is a parking lot user who has not been detected in the store area. The alarm device 50 notifies that there is a parking lot user who has not been detected in the store area by displaying information on a display, sounding an audio message, sounding an alarm, or turning on a lamp.

[0061] Parking in a free parking lot attached to a store even though one has no business visiting the store is considered unauthorized use of the parking lot. The output unit 13 outputs information indicating the presence of a parking lot user who has not been detected in the store area, thereby alerting the user that there may be someone unauthorizedly using the parking lot.

[0062] As another example, the information about the parking lot user is information that identifies the parking lot user. The information that identifies the parking lot user is information that informs the store staff or the parking lot user of the characteristics of the parking lot user who has not been detected in the store area. In this case, the information that identifies the parking lot user includes, for example, the parking lot user's appearance, facial image, parking space identification information, vehicle type, and vehicle registration number on the license plate. The output unit 13 acquires the information that identifies the parking lot user from the first determination unit 11 or the second determination unit 12. The first detection unit 110 may recognize the parking space identification information, vehicle type, or vehicle registration number from the image. By the output unit 13 outputting the information that identifies the parking lot user to the store staff, the store staff can identify people who may be using the parking lot fraudulently.

[0063] If a parking user who has become undetectable in the parking lot is detected again in the parking lot without being detected in the store area, the output unit 13 may output information about the re-detected parking user. For example, the first detection unit 110 transmits to the second determination unit 12 a notification that the parking user has been detected again after becoming undetectable in the parking lot. The second determination unit 12 determines whether the parking user who has been detected again in the parking lot has been detected in the store area. Based on the determination result by the second determination unit 12 that the parking user has not been detected in the store area, the output unit 13 outputs information about the re-detected parking user to the alarm device.

[0064] The notification device 50 notifies the store staff that there is a parking lot user who has not been detected in the store area or information that identifies that parking lot user, based on the information about the parking lot user who has been detected again that is received from the output unit 13. By notifying the store staff with the notification device 50, the store staff can warn the returning parking lot user not to use the parking lot fraudulently.

[0065] In addition, based on information about the parking lot user who has been detected again received from the output unit 13, the alarm device 50 may warn the parking lot user not to use the parking lot illegally by displaying it or by voice, etc.

[0066] In order to prevent fraudulent use, parking lots attached to stores may be used as coin parking lots. As described above, by having the notification device 50 notify parking lot users who have not been detected in the store area, fraudulent use can be prevented without changing the parking lot to a coin parking lot.

[0067] In another example, the information about the parking lot user is that a person detected in the store area is a parking lot user. For example, when the second determination unit 12 determines that a parking lot user has been detected in the store area, the output unit 13 outputs to the alarm device 50 that the person detected in the store area is a parking lot user.

[0068] Furthermore, the output unit 13 may output information identifying a parking lot user detected in the store area to the alarm device 50 as information about the parking lot user. The information identifying the parking lot user includes, for example, the parking lot user's appearance, facial image, and location within the store. The location within the store may be a table identifier that identifies an individual table where a customer is seated in a restaurant. The output unit 13 obtains information identifying the parking lot user from the first determination unit 11 or the second determination unit 12.

[0069] The notification device 50 notifies a store clerk of the information about the parking lot user received from the output unit 13. For example, if the parking lot requires a fee, the information about the parking lot user is notified to the store clerk, allowing the clerk to provide the parking lot user with a discount coupon for the parking fee. Also, in a restaurant, the information about the parking lot user is notified to the clerk, allowing the clerk to warn the driver not to serve alcohol. Also, in a pharmacy, the information about the parking lot user is notified to the pharmacist, allowing the pharmacist to explain to the driver about the provision of medicine that requires caution when driving a vehicle.

[0070] In the second embodiment, the case has been described in which the first determination unit 11 and the second determination unit 12 respectively include the first detection unit 110 and the second detection unit 120. However, the first detection unit 110 and the second detection unit 120 may be provided outside the first determination unit 11 and the second determination unit 12 respectively. For example, the first detection unit 110 and the second detection unit 120 may be realized by a device separate from the devices that realize the first determination unit 11, the second determination unit 12, and the output unit 13.

[0071] The above is the description of each embodiment. Each embodiment may be modified. Modifications will be described below.

[0072] (Variation) The output unit 13 may output information about the parking lot user for marketing analysis. In this case, the information about the parking lot user includes, for example, the product purchased by the parking lot user, the attributes of the person, the attributes of the vehicle they arrived in, the time of their visit to the store, the length of time they stayed at the store, or the length of time they used the parking lot.

[0073] The output unit 13 acquires information about the parking lot user from, for example, the first determination unit 11 or the second determination unit 12. The first detection unit 110 may estimate the person's attributes from their appearance, such as their face or body shape. The person's attributes include, for example, their age or gender. The first detection unit 110 also recognizes the vehicle's attributes and the parking lot usage time. The vehicle attributes include the vehicle's model, color, brand name, and name. The vehicle model indicates, for example, whether the vehicle is a passenger car, light car, truck, motorcycle, or bus. The parking lot usage time is, for example, the time from when the vehicle is detected to when it is no longer detected.

[0074] The information output by the output unit 13 is analyzed and processed by an arbitrary information processing device and displayed to the store manager.

[0075] Marketing analysis may be performed by an information processing device installed in each store together with the parking lot management system 100. Since people are detected from images and analysis is performed at each store, there is no need to provide the images to a cloud or other such location for analysis. This allows consideration of the privacy of the people photographed. Based on the analyzed information, store managers can consider purchase quantities, promotional measures such as coupons, or parking lot design.

[0076] Marketing analysis may also be performed by an information processing system at a headquarters that manages multiple stores. In this case, the parking lot management system 100 transmits information to the information processing system at the headquarters. The parking lot management system 100 masks the information to prevent the identification of individuals before transmitting it to the headquarters system. For example, the parking lot management system 100 transmits the attributes of parking lot users. The information analyzed by the headquarters system is used, for example, to consider store opening plans.

[0077] [Hardware configuration] In each of the above-described embodiments, each component of the parking lot management systems 100 and 200 represents a functional block. Some or all of the components of the parking lot management systems 100 and 200 may be realized by any combination of the computer 500 and a program.

[0078] Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer 500. Referring to Fig. 5, the computer 500 includes, for example, a processor 501, a read only memory (ROM) 502, a random access memory (RAM) 503, a program 504, a storage device 505, a drive device 507, a communication interface 508, an input device 509, an input / output interface 511, and a bus 512.

[0079] The processor 501 controls the entire computer 500. The processor 501 may be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The number of processors 501 is not particularly limited, and there may be one or more processors 501.

[0080] The program 504 includes instructions for realizing each function of the parking lot management systems 100, 200. The program 504 is stored in advance in the ROM 502, RAM 503, or storage device 505. The processor 501 executes the instructions included in the program 504 to realize each function of the parking lot management systems 100, 200. The RAM 503 may also store data to be processed in each function of the parking lot management systems 100, 200.

[0081] The drive device 507 reads and writes data from and to the recording medium 506. The communication interface 508 provides an interface with a communication network. The input device 509 is, for example, a mouse or keyboard, and accepts information input from a store manager or the like. The output device 510 is, for example, a display, and outputs (displays) information to a store clerk or the store manager. The input / output interface 511 provides an interface with peripheral devices. The bus 512 connects these hardware components. The program 504 may be supplied to the processor 501 via a communication network, or may be stored in advance on the recording medium 506, read by the drive device 507, and supplied to the processor 501.

[0082] It should be noted that the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 5 is an example, and other components may be added, or some components may not be included.

[0083] There are various variations in the method of realizing the parking lot management systems 100 and 200. For example, the parking lot management systems 100 and 200 may be realized by any combination of different computers and programs for each component. Furthermore, multiple components included in the parking lot management systems 100 and 200 may be realized by any combination of a single computer and program.

[0084] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the configurations in the respective embodiments can be combined with each other without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0085] Some or all of the above embodiments may be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes. [Appendix 1] a first determination means for determining whether a person detected from an image of the parking lot is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle based on predetermined conditions; a second determination means for determining whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area based on the appearance of the person determined to be the parking lot user and the appearance of a person detected from an image of the store area; an output means for outputting information about the parking lot user based on a determination result of whether or not the parking lot user is detected in the store area; A parking lot management system comprising: [Appendix 2] The information about the parking lot user is information indicating that there is a parking lot user who has not been detected in the store area. 1. A parking management system as described in Appendix 1. [Appendix 3] The information about the parking lot user is information that identifies the parking lot user who is not detected in the store area. 1. A parking management system as described in Appendix 2. [Appendix 4] The output means outputs, to a store clerk, information indicating that the person detected in the store area is a parking lot user, as information regarding the parking lot user. 4. A parking lot management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. [Appendix 5] The second determination means determines whether the parking lot user who is no longer detected in the parking lot is detected in the store area. 5. A parking lot management system according to any one of appendices 1 to 4. [Appendix 6] The first determination means determines that the person is a parking lot user when a vehicle is detected within a predetermined range from the position where the person was detected in the parking lot. 6. A parking lot management system according to any one of appendices 1 to 5. [Appendix 7] The first determination means determines that the person is a parking lot user when the vehicle is detected from an image of the parking lot taken within a predetermined time from when the person was detected in the parking lot. 6. A parking management system as set forth in Appendix 6. [Appendix 8] The first determination means further determines that the vehicle into which the parking lot user has arrived is parked, The second determination means determines whether the parking lot user is detected in the store area when the vehicle is parked. 8. A parking lot management system according to any one of appendices 1 to 7. [Appendix 9] The first determination means determines whether the person outside the vehicle is a parking lot user. 9. A parking lot management system according to any one of appendices 1 to 8. [Appendix 10] The first determination means determines whether the person outside the vehicle is a parking lot user based on the position where the person is first detected in the parking lot. 9. A parking management system as set forth in Appendix 9. [Appendix 11] The first determination means determines whether the person is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle based on the walking direction of the person in the parking lot. 11. A parking lot management system according to any one of appendices 1 to 10. [Appendix 12] A person detected from an image of the parking lot is determined based on predetermined conditions to be a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle; determining whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area based on the appearance of the person determined to be the parking lot user and the appearance of a person detected from an image of the store area; Based on the determination result of whether the parking lot user is detected in the store area, information about the parking lot user is output. Parking lot management methods. [Appendix 13] A person detected from an image of the parking lot is determined based on predetermined conditions to be a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle; determining whether the parking lot user has been detected in the store area based on the appearance of the person determined to be the parking lot user and the appearance of a person detected from an image of the store area; Based on the determination result of whether the parking lot user is detected in the store area, information about the parking lot user is output. A recording medium that non-temporarily records a program that causes a computer to execute a process. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 100 Parking Management System 11 1st judgment section 110 First detection unit 12 Second Judgment Section 120 Second detection unit 13 Output section 20 Parking lot cameras 30 Store Camera 40 databases 50 Alarm device

Claims

1. a first determination means for determining whether a person detected from an image of the parking lot is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle based on predetermined conditions; a second determination means for determining that the parking lot user has been detected in the store area when the degree of coincidence between the appearance of the person determined to be the parking lot user and the appearance of a person detected in an image taken of the store area exceeds a threshold, and for lowering the threshold of the degree of coincidence for a predetermined time after the parking lot user is no longer detected in the parking lot, and for making a determination; an output means for outputting information about the parking lot user based on a determination result of whether or not the parking lot user is detected in the store area; A parking lot management system comprising:

2. The information about the parking lot user is information indicating that there is a parking lot user who has not been detected in the store area. The parking lot management system according to claim 1 .

3. The information about the parking lot user is information that identifies the parking lot user who is not detected in the store area. The parking lot management system according to claim 2.

4. The output means outputs, to a store clerk, information indicating that the person detected in the store area is a parking lot user, as information regarding the parking lot user. The parking lot management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The second determination means determines whether the parking lot user who is no longer detected in the parking lot is detected in the store area. The parking lot management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. The first determination means determines that the person is a parking lot user when a vehicle is detected within a predetermined range from the position where the person was detected in the parking lot. The parking lot management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. The first determination means further determines whether the vehicle into which the parking lot user has arrived is parked, The second determination means determines whether the parking lot user is detected in the store area when the vehicle is parked. The parking lot management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. The first determination means determines whether the person is a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle based on the walking direction of the person in the parking lot. The parking lot management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

9. A person detected from an image of the parking lot is determined based on predetermined conditions to be a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle; Based on the degree of match between the appearance of the person determined to be the parking lot user and the appearance of a person detected from an image taken of the store area, if the degree of match exceeds a threshold, the parking lot user is determined to have been detected in the store area, and the threshold for the degree of match is lowered for a predetermined time after the parking lot user is no longer detected in the parking lot, and the determination is made accordingly; Based on the determination result of whether the parking lot user is detected in the store area, information about the parking lot user is output. Parking lot management methods.

10. A person detected from an image of the parking lot is determined based on predetermined conditions to be a parking lot user who arrived by vehicle; Based on the degree of match between the appearance of the person determined to be the parking lot user and the appearance of a person detected from an image taken of the store area, if the degree of match exceeds a threshold, the parking lot user is determined to have been detected in the store area, and the threshold for the degree of match is lowered for a predetermined time after the parking lot user is no longer detected in the parking lot, and the determination is made accordingly; Based on the determination result of whether the parking lot user is detected in the store area, information about the parking lot user is output. A program that causes a computer to perform a process.

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