Information provision method and information provision device

Abstract

To provide an information provision method and an information provision device which allow a user who is on a train to surely receive support by an operator according to the necessity of the support.SOLUTION: An information provision device 100 mounted on a vehicle 1 acquires a response request input to a user terminal 101 and acquires vehicle information indicating a traveling state of the vehicle 1 via the user terminal 101 in the vehicle 1, estimates one or both of a degree of urgency indicating urgency of the response request and a degree of straying indicating a degree of straying of a driver of the vehicle 1 on the basis of the vehicle information, determines whether or not support of an operator for the user is needed on the basis of one or both of the degree of urgency and the degree of straying, turns a user terminal 101 and an operator terminal 302 into the mutually-communicable state when determining that support of the operator is needed, and outputs a response input to the operator terminal 302 to the user terminal 101.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information providing method and an information providing device. [Background technology]

[0002] In the information provision method described in Patent Document 1, when a user makes a telephone inquiry to a call center, emotional expressions are detected from the intonation, changes in volume and pauses in the user's voice, and the importance and priority of the inquiry are determined based on the user's emotional expressions and keywords contained in the utterance. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-082839 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when the importance of an inquiry from a user riding in a vehicle is determined based on emotional expressions, as in the information provision method described in Patent Document 1, and an operator provides support to the user according to the importance of the inquiry, if no emotional expressions are detected from the user's speech or facial expressions, the user may not receive the necessary support from the operator.

[0005] The problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide an information provision method and an information provision device that enable a user in a vehicle to reliably receive assistance from an operator in response to the need for assistance. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides a method for detecting a vehicle's driving status based on vehicle information, Yu The degree to which the user is lost degree Estimate, In confusionIf it is determined based on the result that the user needs assistance from an operator, the response input by the operator to the operator terminal is output to the user terminal, thereby solving the above problem. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, based on vehicle information indicating the vehicle's traveling status, The degree of confusion Since the estimation is performed, the effect is that the user in the vehicle can reliably receive assistance from the operator according to the need for assistance. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between a vehicle having an information providing device according to the present embodiment, a communication network, and an operator system. [Figure 2] 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle and the information providing device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the operator system shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an information providing method executed by the information providing device shown in FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 is equipped with an information providing device 100. The information providing device 100 of the vehicle 1 is capable of communicating with an operator system 3 via a communication network 2. The communication network 2 is a call line network that connects callers, and may be any communication network, such as a mobile phone network, a public network such as the Internet, or a private network. The operator system 3 is installed in an inquiry center or the like that supports users who are passengers of the vehicle 1. The operator system 3 may be any device, such as a mobile information terminal, an in-vehicle system, or a PC. The information providing device 100 may be provided in a server rather than being installed in the vehicle 1. In the following description, the user of the information providing device 100 is assumed to be the driver of the vehicle 1, but is not limited to this and the user may be any passenger in the vehicle 1.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 includes an information providing device 100, a user terminal 101, an abnormality detecting unit 102, an alarm output unit 103, a navigation system 104, and a driving operation system 105.

[0011] The user terminal 101 has an in-vehicle speaker 101a and an in-vehicle microphone 101b. The in-vehicle speaker 101a and the in-vehicle microphone 101b respectively constitute an output unit and an input unit of the user terminal 101. The output unit of the user terminal 101 is not limited to the in-vehicle speaker 101a and may be, for example, a display that outputs text information, image information, video, etc. The input unit of the user terminal 101 is not limited to the in-vehicle microphone 101b and may be, for example, a touch panel for inputting text information, etc. The user terminal 101 is not limited to an in-vehicle device and may be a smartphone, mobile phone, portable computer, etc. carried by the user.

[0012] The abnormality detection unit 102 is a sensor that detects an abnormality that occurs in the vehicle 1. The abnormality detection unit 102 is, for example, an O2 sensor, an air flow sensor, a coolant temperature sensor, a battery voltage sensor, an engine oil pressure sensor, an EV battery output limit warning device, or the like that can detect an abnormality in the engine of the vehicle 1. The abnormality detection unit 102 may also be a driver monitoring system (DMS) that can detect an abnormality (such as a deterioration in physical condition) in the driver (occupant).

[0013] The alarm output unit 103 is a warning light, a speaker, a display, or the like that issues an alarm when the abnormality detection unit 102 detects an abnormality in the vehicle 1.

[0014] The navigation system 104 displays map information, travel route information of the vehicle 1, and current position information of the vehicle 1. The navigation system 104 also stores travel history information of the vehicle 1.

[0015] The driving operation system 105 includes mechanisms that can be operated by the driver, such as a steering wheel mechanism, an accelerator mechanism, and a brake mechanism.

[0016] The information providing device 100 includes a control device 10. The information providing device 100 uses the control device 10 to output a response to an inquiry from a user riding in a vehicle 1. The control device 10 includes a response request acquisition unit 11, an answer certainty determination unit 12, a vehicle information acquisition unit 13, a vehicle situation estimation unit 14, an assistance necessity determination unit 15, an automatic response unit 16, a communication unit 17, and a response output unit 18. The response request acquisition unit 11, the answer certainty determination unit 12, the vehicle information acquisition unit 13, the vehicle situation estimation unit 14, the assistance necessity determination unit 15, the automatic response unit 16, the communication unit 17, and the response output unit 18 execute programs for realizing each function of the information providing device 100.

[0017] The response request acquisition unit 11 acquires a response request input to the in-vehicle microphone 101b. The response request includes information indicating the content of an inquiry from a user in the vehicle 1.

[0018] The answer certainty determination unit 12 determines whether the user's inquiry included in the response request can be answered by the automatic response function. Specifically, the answer certainty determination unit 12 determines whether the automatic response unit 16 can respond to the user's inquiry in accordance with a predetermined rule.

[0019] The vehicle information acquisition unit 13 acquires vehicle information indicating the driving conditions of the vehicle 1 from the abnormality detection unit 102, the alarm output unit 103, the navigation system 104, and the driving operation system 105. The vehicle information (driving conditions of the vehicle 1) includes at least one of information indicating the behavior of the vehicle 1, location information of the vehicle 1, driving history information of the vehicle 1, information indicating whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the vehicle 1, and driving operation information by the user.

[0020] When the answer certainty determination unit 12 determines that the user's inquiry included in the response request can be answered by the automatic response function, the vehicle situation estimation unit 14 estimates an urgency level indicating the urgency of the response request and a confusion level indicating the degree to which the driver (user) of the vehicle 1 is lost. The vehicle situation estimation unit 14 includes an urgency level estimation unit 14a that estimates the urgency level and a confusion level estimation unit 14b that estimates the confusion level. The urgency level estimation unit 14a and the confusion level estimation unit 14b of the vehicle situation estimation unit 14 estimate the urgency level and the confusion level based on information acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 13. Note that the vehicle situation estimation unit 14 may include only one of the urgency level estimation unit 14a and the confusion level estimation unit 14b. In other words, the vehicle situation estimation unit 14 is not limited to estimating both the urgency level and the confusion level, and may estimate only one of the urgency level and the confusion level.

[0021] When the abnormality detection unit 102 detects an abnormality in the vehicle 1, the urgency estimation unit 14a estimates the urgency to be higher than when no abnormality in the vehicle 1 is detected. The urgency estimation unit 14a may estimate the urgency based on the type and / or number of detected abnormalities. Furthermore, when the urgency estimation unit 14a determines that unnatural behavior of the vehicle 1 has been detected based on information from the warning output unit 103 and / or the navigation system 104, the urgency estimation unit 14a estimates the urgency to be higher than when no unnatural behavior is detected. Note that the urgency estimation unit 14a determines that unnatural behavior of the vehicle 1 has been detected, for example, when the turn signal of the vehicle 1 remains lit for a predetermined period of time or more, when the vehicle 1 has stopped on a highway, when the vehicle 1 has meandered, when the vehicle 1 has driven in the wrong direction, or when the warning output unit 103 of the vehicle 1 has issued a warning indicating an abnormality in the vehicle 1. Furthermore, the urgency estimation unit 14a may determine that unnatural behavior of the vehicle 1 has been detected, for example, when the vehicle 1 is stopped and a deterioration in the physical condition of an occupant of the vehicle 1 is detected. That is, when it is detected that the vehicle 1 is stopped and the driver monitoring system (DMS) detects a deterioration in the physical condition of an occupant such as the driver (for example, when there is no response to a warning or call from the system), the urgency estimation unit 14a determines that unnatural behavior of the vehicle 1 has been detected.

[0022] When the hesitation level estimation unit 14b determines that an unnatural driving operation by the user has been detected based on information from the navigation system 104 and / or the driving operation system 105, it estimates the hesitation level higher than when an unnatural driving operation is not detected. The hesitation level estimation unit 14b determines that an unnatural driving operation by the user has been detected, for example, when the same driving operation is performed a predetermined number of times or more, when an abrupt driving operation is performed a predetermined number of times or more, or when the vehicle 1 passes a predetermined point two or more times. "The same driving operation is performed a predetermined number of times or more" refers to, for example, the vehicle 1 repeatedly stopping and starting a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time period, the vehicle 1 repeatedly accelerating and decelerating a predetermined number of times or more, or the vehicle 1 repeatedly changing lanes a predetermined number of times or more. Furthermore, "abrupt driving operations" refer to, for example, sudden braking, abrupt steering, sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, etc. Furthermore, "abrupt driving operations" may include the user immediately turning off a blinker that was previously turned on. "Sudden driving operations are performed a predetermined number of times or more" means that one or more of these sudden driving operations are performed a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined period of time.

[0023] The vehicle state estimation unit 14 may estimate the degree of urgency and / or the degree of confusion based on the facial expression and behavior of the user detected by an in-vehicle camera (not shown). Furthermore, the vehicle situation estimation unit 14 may be a trained model trained using a training data set including various data obtained from on-board sensors and a degree of urgency and / or a degree of confusion. Examples of "various data obtained from on-board sensors" include driver (user) recognition information (such as the driver's gender, age, behavior, and line of sight) obtained from a driver monitoring system (DMS), the vehicle's surroundings (such as latitude and longitude, vehicle distance, and pedestrian detection information) obtained from an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), vehicle behavior (such as vehicle speed, steering angle, blinker, accelerator position), and the status of conversations in the vehicle. Data detected by the on-board sensors is input to the trained model, the vehicle situation estimation unit 14, which outputs a degree of urgency and / or a degree of confusion.

[0024] The support necessity determination unit 15 determines whether the user needs operator support based on either or both of the urgency and the confusion level estimated by the vehicle state estimation unit 14. Specifically, the support necessity determination unit 15 determines whether the urgency level is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold, and if it determines that the urgency level is equal to or greater than the first threshold, determines that the user needs operator support. Note that the support necessity determination unit 15 determines whether the urgency level is equal to or greater than the first threshold when an unnatural behavior of the vehicle 1 is detected or an abnormality is detected in the vehicle 1. Also, the support necessity determination unit 15 determines whether the confusion level is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold, and if it determines that the confusion level is equal to or greater than the second threshold, determines that the user needs operator support. Note that the support necessity determination unit 15 determines that the confusion level is equal to or greater than the second threshold when an unnatural driving operation by the user is detected. The first and second thresholds may be variable depending on the driving environment, such as road conditions and weather, on which the vehicle 1 is traveling. The first and second thresholds may also be adjusted according to the user's driving history. That is, by linking the user's driving habits (customs) with the content of past inquiries and adjusting the first and / or second thresholds to levels appropriate for the user, the accuracy of determining whether operator assistance is required can be improved. For example, the control device 10 recognizes the driver using facial recognition or the like, and if the driver has a history of getting lost multiple times in the past (e.g., passing a predetermined point multiple times) and requiring operator assistance at those times, the control device 10 lowers the second threshold for this user below a reference value. Furthermore, the assistance necessity determination unit 15 may determine that the user requires operator assistance if it determines that the sum of the urgency evaluation value and the confusion evaluation value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0025] The automatic response unit 16 responds to user inquiries using an automatic response function. The automatic response unit 16 may output a predetermined response to a predetermined inquiry according to predetermined rules, or may generate a response using a trained model that has been machine-learned in advance. When the support necessity determination unit 15 determines that the user does not need operator support, the automatic response unit 16 outputs a response using the automatic response function to the user terminal 101 via the response output unit 18.

[0026] When the support necessity determination unit 15 determines that the user needs support from an operator, the communication unit 17 connects to the operator system 3 via the communication network 2 so as to be able to communicate with the operator system 3. This enables the user terminal 101 and the operator terminal 302 of the operator system 3 to exchange information with each other. That is, when the support necessity determination unit 15 determines that the user needs support from an operator, the communication unit 17 puts the user terminal 101 and the operator terminal 302 in a state of communication with each other. The communication unit 17 inputs information received from the operator system 3 (the response input to the operator terminal 302) to the response output unit 18. Furthermore, even when the answer certainty determination unit 12 determines that the automatic response unit 16 cannot respond to the user's inquiry, the communication unit 17 puts the user terminal 101 and the operator terminal 302 in a state of communication with each other and inputs the response input to the operator terminal 302 to the response output unit 18. Furthermore, the information providing device 100 outputs vehicle information of the vehicle 1 to the operator terminal 302 of the operator system 3 via the communication unit 17.

[0027] The response output unit 18 outputs the response generated by the automatic response unit 16 or the response of the operator acquired via the communication unit 17 to the in-vehicle speaker 101a of the user terminal 101. That is, when the user terminal 101 and the operator terminal 302 are in a state of communication with each other, the response output unit 18 outputs the response input to the operator terminal 302 to the user terminal 101.

[0028] Next, the configuration of the operator system 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The operator system 3 has an operator-side communication unit 301, an operator terminal 302, and a vehicle information display unit 303. Inquiry information received from the communication unit 17 of the information providing device 100 is output to the output unit 302a of the operator terminal 302. A response from the operator is input to the input unit 302b of the operator terminal 302. The output unit 302a of the operator terminal 302 is a speaker that outputs audio information, but is not limited to this and may be a display that outputs text information or image information. The input unit 302b of the operator terminal 302 is a microphone that inputs audio information, but is not limited to this and may be a display that outputs text information or image information. The vehicle information display unit 303 displays the vehicle information of the vehicle 1 acquired from the information providing device 100 via the operator-side communication unit 301. For example, the vehicle information display unit 303 displays the current position of the vehicle 1, the vehicle speed, the direction in which the vehicle 1 is traveling, detection information from on-board sensors, output information from the alarm output unit 103, the degree of urgency and / or the degree of confusion estimated by the vehicle situation estimation unit 14, the contents of a user inquiry, etc. The vehicle information display unit 303 is a display that outputs text information and image information, but may also be equipped with a speaker that outputs audio information. Furthermore, the output unit 302a of the operator terminal 302 and the vehicle information display unit 303 may be an integrated device.

[0029] Next, the procedure of the information providing method executed by the information providing device 100 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in step S1, the information providing device 100 determines whether or not a response request has been made by the user, that is, whether or not a response request has been received by the response request acquisition unit 11. If the information providing device 100 determines that a response request has not been made by the user, the determination process of step S1 is repeated.

[0030] On the other hand, if the information providing device 100 determines that there is a response request from the user, then in step S2 the answer certainty determination unit 12 determines whether or not a response to the input inquiry is possible using the automatic response function. If the answer certainty determination unit 12 determines that a response using the automatic response function is not possible, then in step S6 the communication unit 17 connects the user terminal 101 and the operator terminal 302 so that they can communicate with each other (establishes a communication state).

[0031] On the other hand, if the answer certainty determination unit 12 determines that a response using the automatic response function is possible, the urgency estimation unit 14a estimates the urgency in step S3. Next, in step S4, the confusion level estimation unit 14b estimates the confusion level. The information providing device 100 may execute the process of step S3 after the process of step S4. Also, the information providing device 100 may omit either the process of steps S3 or S4.

[0032] Next, in step S5, the support necessity determination unit 15 determines whether or not the user needs support from an operator based on either or both of the urgency estimated in step S3 and the confusion estimated in step S4.

[0033] If the support necessity determination unit 15 determines that the user needs support from an operator, in step S6, the information providing device 100 stops the response by the automatic response unit 16, and the communication unit 17 connects the user terminal 101 and the operator terminal 302 so that they can communicate with each other (putting them in a communication state). Then, in step S7, the response output unit 18 outputs the operator's response input to the operator terminal 302 to the in-vehicle speaker 101a.

[0034] On the other hand, if the support necessity determination unit 15 determines that the user does not need support from an operator, then in step S8, the response output unit 18 outputs the response generated by the automatic response unit 16 to the in-vehicle speaker 101a. Also in step S8, the user may perform a predetermined operation to stop the response of the automatic response unit 16, connect the user terminal 101 and the operator terminal 302 so that they can communicate with each other, and switch the response output by the response output unit 18 to a response by an operator. That is, the user can switch the response by the automatic response function to a response by an operator as appropriate.

[0035] As described above, the control device 10 of the information providing device 100 according to this embodiment estimates either or both of the urgency level indicating the urgency of a response request and the degree of confusion indicating the degree to which the driver of the vehicle 1 is lost, based on vehicle information indicating the driving status of the vehicle 1. The control device 10 of the information providing device 100 then determines whether the user needs operator assistance based on either or both of the urgency level and the degree of confusion. If it determines that operator assistance is necessary, the control device 10 places the user terminal 101 and the operator terminal 302 in communication with each other. This allows the information providing device 100 to determine whether a situation requiring operator assistance has occurred based on the vehicle information. Therefore, a user in the vehicle 1 can reliably receive assistance from an operator according to the need for assistance in the event of an emergency or when the user is lost. Furthermore, particularly when the user is a driver, the user's emotional expressions may not be detected by an in-vehicle camera or the like because the user is concentrating on driving. However, the information providing device 100 can determine the need for operator assistance based on the vehicle information even while the user is driving the vehicle 1.

[0036] Furthermore, when the control device 10 of the information providing device 100 determines that operator assistance is not required, it outputs a response by the automatic response function of the automatic response unit 16 to the user terminal 101. As a result, when the information providing device 100 determines that a situation in which the user requires operator assistance has not occurred, it can use the automatic response function of the automatic response unit 16 to output the information that the user wants to obtain in a short period of time.

[0037] Furthermore, the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit 13 of the information providing device 100 includes at least one of information indicating the behavior of the vehicle 1, vehicle position information, vehicle driving history information, information indicating whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the vehicle, and driving operation information by the user. This allows the information providing device 100 to determine whether or not the user needs assistance from an operator based on the specific driving situation of the vehicle 1.

[0038] Furthermore, the control device 10 of the information providing device 100 determines whether the urgency is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold, and if it determines that the urgency is equal to or greater than the first threshold, determines that the user needs assistance from an operator. Thus, the information providing device 100 can clearly determine whether the user needs assistance from an operator by comparing the urgency with the predetermined threshold.

[0039] Furthermore, the control device 10 of the information providing device 100 determines whether the degree of confusion is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold, and if it determines that the degree of confusion is equal to or greater than the second threshold, determines that the user needs assistance from an operator. Thus, the information providing device 100 can clearly determine whether the user needs assistance from an operator by comparing the degree of confusion with the predetermined threshold.

[0040] Furthermore, the control device 10 of the information providing device 100 determines that the urgency is equal to or greater than the first threshold value when an unnatural behavior of the vehicle 1 is detected or an abnormality is detected in the vehicle 1. This allows the information providing device 100 to determine whether or not the user needs assistance from an operator based on the detection information of the behavior or abnormality of the vehicle 1.

[0041] Furthermore, the control device 10 of the information providing device 100 determines that unnatural behavior of the vehicle 1 has been detected when the blinker of the vehicle 1 remains lit for a predetermined time or more, when the vehicle 1 has stopped on a highway, when the vehicle 1 has meandered, when the vehicle 1 has driven in the wrong direction, when the alarm output unit 103 of the vehicle 1 has issued an alarm indicating an abnormality in the vehicle 1, or when the vehicle 1 has stopped and a deterioration in the physical condition of an occupant of the vehicle 1 has been detected. As a result, when a predetermined behavior of the vehicle 1 is detected, the information providing device 100 determines that unnatural behavior of the vehicle 1 has been detected, and can determine that an emergency situation has occurred that requires operator assistance for the user.

[0042] Furthermore, when an unnatural driving operation by the user is detected, the control device 10 of the information providing device 100 determines that the degree of indecision is equal to or greater than the second threshold value. This allows the information providing device 100 to determine whether or not the user needs assistance from an operator based on the driving operation of the driver (user).

[0043] Furthermore, the control device 10 of the information providing device 100 determines that an unnatural driving operation by the user has been detected when the same driving operation is repeated a predetermined number of times or more, when a sudden driving operation is performed a predetermined number of times or more, or when the vehicle 1 passes a predetermined point two or more times. This allows the information providing device 100 to determine, based on the specific driving operation pattern, that the driver (user) has gotten lost and that a situation has arisen in which the user needs assistance from an operator.

[0044] Furthermore, the control device 10 of the information providing device 100 outputs the vehicle information to the operator terminal 302. This allows the operator to check the current vehicle information of the vehicle 1 and respond appropriately to inquiries from the user. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 100...Information providing device 1...Vehicle 10...Control device 11...Response request acquisition unit 13...Vehicle information acquisition unit 14...Vehicle status estimation unit 15…Support Necessity Determination Department 17…Communications Department 18...Response output section 101...User terminal 302...Operator terminal

Claims

1. An information providing method for outputting a response to an inquiry from a user riding in a vehicle using a control device, comprising: The control device acquires a response request input to a user terminal within the vehicle via the user terminal; Acquire vehicle information indicating a driving status of the vehicle; estimating a degree of confusion indicating the degree to which the driver of the vehicle is lost based on the vehicle information; determining whether the degree of indecision is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold value; When it is determined that the degree of confusion is equal to or greater than the second threshold, it is determined that assistance from an operator is required for the user; If it is determined that the operator's assistance is necessary, the user terminal and a predetermined operator terminal are brought into a state of communication with each other; An information providing method in which a response input to the operator terminal is output to the user terminal.

2. 2. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the control device, when determining that the assistance of the operator is not required, outputs a response by an automatic response function to the user terminal.

3. 3. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle information includes at least one of information indicating the behavior of the vehicle, location information of the vehicle, driving history information of the vehicle, information indicating whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the vehicle, and driving operation information by the user.

4. The control device estimating an urgency level indicating the urgency of the response request based on the vehicle information; determining whether the urgency is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold; 4. The information providing method according to claim 1, further comprising determining that the user needs assistance from the operator when the urgency is determined to be equal to or greater than the first threshold.

5. The information providing method according to claim 4 , wherein the control device determines that the urgency is equal to or greater than the first threshold value when an unnatural behavior of the vehicle is detected or when an abnormality is detected in the vehicle.

6. 6. The information provision method according to claim 5, wherein the control device determines that unnatural behavior of the vehicle has been detected when: a turn signal of the vehicle remains lit for a predetermined period of time or more; the vehicle is stopped on a highway; the vehicle is snaking; the vehicle is driving in the wrong direction; an alarm output unit of the vehicle issues a warning indicating an abnormality in the vehicle; or the vehicle is stopped and a deterioration in the physical condition of an occupant of the vehicle is detected.

7. The information providing method according to claim 1 , wherein the control device determines that the degree of indecision is equal to or greater than the second threshold value when an unnatural driving operation by the user is detected.

8. 8. The information provision method according to claim 7, wherein the control device determines that an unnatural driving operation by the user has been detected when the same driving operation is repeated a predetermined number of times or more, when a sudden driving operation is performed a predetermined number of times or more, or when the vehicle passes a predetermined point two or more times.

9. The information providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the control device outputs the vehicle information to the operator terminal.

10. An information providing device that outputs a response to an inquiry from a user riding in a vehicle, a response request acquisition unit that acquires a response request input to a user terminal via the user terminal inside the vehicle; a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information indicating a driving status of the vehicle; a vehicle situation estimation unit that estimates a degree of confusion indicating a degree to which the driver of the vehicle is lost based on the vehicle information; a support necessity determination unit that determines whether the degree of confusion is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold, and determines that the user needs support from an operator when it is determined that the degree of confusion is equal to or greater than the second threshold; a communication unit that places the user terminal and a predetermined operator terminal in a state of communication with each other when it is determined that the operator's assistance is necessary; a response output unit that outputs a response input to the operator terminal to the user terminal.

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