Information processing device and method

Abstract

To provide a safe route in the event of a water disaster.SOLUTION: An information processing device includes a control unit which executes the steps of: acquiring first information on the weather and second information on a point whose sea level is lower than that of the vicinity for a first area including a range from the departure place to the destination; acquiring a first route that is a route from the departure place to the destination and that avoids a point that may be submerged in the event of a water disaster on the basis of the first information and second information about the first area; and outputting the first route. The control unit acquires the first route for each of one or more future time points from the departure time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to route suggestions. [Background technology]

[0002] A prediction device that acquires a planned driving route including information about the altitude at which an electric vehicle is scheduled to travel has been disclosed (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-129116 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] One aspect of the disclosure aims to provide an information processing device and method that can provide a safe route in the event of a flood disaster. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is Acquiring first information on weather and second information on points lower in elevation than surrounding areas for a first area including a range from a departure point to a destination; acquiring a first route from the departure point to the destination based on the first information and the second information about the first area, the first route avoiding points that may be flooded in the event of a flood disaster; outputting the first path; a control unit that executes The information processing device is provided with:

[0006] Another aspect of the present disclosure is The computer Acquiring first information on weather and second information on points lower in elevation than surrounding areas for a first area including a range from a departure point to a destination; acquiring a first route from the departure point to the destination based on the first information and the second information for the first area, the first route avoiding points that may be flooded in the event of a flood disaster; outputting the first path; This is a method for doing this. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a safe route can be provided in the event of a flood disaster. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a route suggestion system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a server and an in-vehicle device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a functional configuration of a server. [Figure 4] 10 is an example of a flowchart of a route search process by a server. [Figure 5] This is an example of a route display that takes flooding into consideration. [Figure 6] This is an example of a route display that takes flooding into consideration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] In recent years, there have been frequent occurrences of sudden downpours, which involve large amounts of rainfall in a short period of time. When a large amount of rain falls in a short period of time, roads that are lower in elevation than the surrounding area are at risk of flooding. Flooded roads are difficult for both vehicles and pedestrians to navigate. Therefore, when flooding disasters such as sudden downpours occur, it is desirable to provide routes that take flooding into consideration.

[0010] In view of the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present disclosure provides a route that takes into account roads that will be flooded in the event of a flood. More specifically, one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing device including a control unit. The control unit acquires first information related to weather in a first area that includes an area from a starting point to a destination and second information related to points that are lower in elevation than the surrounding area. Based on the first information and second information related to the first area, the control unit acquires and outputs a first route from the starting point to the destination that avoids points that may be flooded in the event of a flood disaster.

[0011] The information processing device is, for example, a server, an in-vehicle device, or a user terminal. The in-vehicle device is, for example, a car navigation device, a data communication device (DCM), etc. The user terminal is, for example, a smartphone, a PC (Personal Computer), a tablet terminal, etc. The user terminal may include an in-vehicle device. The control unit may be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). A processor such as a Digital Signal Processing Unit (DSP) or a Digital Signal Processor (DSP).

[0012] The area is the area used in the weather-related information. For example, if the weather-related information is measured on a city, ward, town, or village basis, the area coincides with the boundaries of the city, ward, town, or village. The area used in the weather-related information differs depending on the organization that measures the weather-related information and the granularity of the measurement. The range from the departure point to the destination may be, for example, a range that includes a line segment connecting the departure point and the destination, or a range that includes the shortest route from the departure point to the destination. For example, if the departure point and the destination are in the same area, the area that includes the departure point and the destination becomes the first area. For example, if the departure point and the destination are in different areas, the area that includes the departure point, the area that includes the destination, and the area between the departure point and the destination become the first area.

[0013] The first information includes, for example, weather forecast information, precipitation information, raincloud radar information, and rain warnings and advisories. The first information may be obtained, for example, from a server that provides weather information, or may be obtained by searching publicly available information on the web. The second information about points lower in elevation than the surrounding area may include, for example, hazard maps created by local governments, map contours and elevation information, information about roads that may be flooded identified from the analysis of images captured by in-vehicle cameras, information about roads that may be flooded investigated by investigators, and information from social networking services (SNS). The second information may include information about roads that have been flooded, extracted from information in big data such as road names, road names, and road names. The second information may be acquired in advance and stored in a storage unit, or may be acquired from a specified server. Examples of water disasters include sudden heavy rain, rainfall caused by linear rain bands, floods, river overflows, high tides, and tsunamis. Elevation may be used instead of sea level. In other words, the second information may be information about points that are lower in elevation than their surrounding areas.

[0014] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to propose a route that avoids points that may be flooded in the event of a flood disaster, taking into account flooding in the event of a flood disaster.

[0015] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit may acquire the first route for each of one or more future time points from the departure time. The future time points may be, for example, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 1 hour from the time point at which the route is searched. For example, in the case of prolonged rainfall, If the rain continues, the amount of rain accumulating in low-lying areas will increase over time, and the number of flooded roads may increase over time. Conversely, if the rain stops in a short time, for example, the accumulated rain may be drained, the flooded roads may be cleared, and the number of flooded roads may decrease. Therefore, for example, the flooded areas may be different between 5 minutes and 30 minutes from now, and the suggested route will also be different. According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to suggest a route based on the flooding conditions predicted at a future time.

[0016] The one or more future points in time from the departure time at which the first route is acquired may be determined based on the mode of transportation and the distance from the departure point to the destination. For example, if the mode of transportation is walking and the distance from the departure point to the destination is a 10-minute walk, the first route one hour after the departure time is unlikely to be used. Therefore, in this case, the future points in time from the departure time at which the first route is acquired may be 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and 15 minutes. For example, if the mode of transportation is walking and the distance from the departure point to the destination is a one-hour drive, the future points in time at which the first route is acquired may be 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and one hour. This makes it possible to suppress the acquisition of a first route that is unlikely to be used based on the mode of transportation and the distance from the departure point to the destination, thereby reducing the processing load of the information processing device.

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The configurations of the following embodiments are examples, and the present disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments.

[0018] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a route proposal system 100 according to the first embodiment. The route proposal system 100 according to the first embodiment is a system that proposes routes that take into account flooding in the event of a flood disaster. The route proposal system 100 includes a server 1 and a user terminal 2. The user terminal 2 includes an in-vehicle device, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a PC, etc. In the following description, it is assumed that the user terminal 2 is an in-vehicle device.

[0019] The server 1 and the in-vehicle device 2 mounted on the vehicle are each connected to a network N1 and are capable of communicating with each other through the network N1. The network N1 is, for example, a public line network such as the Internet.

[0020] Server 1 stores flood forecast information for points that are lower in elevation than the surrounding area. The flood forecast information includes, for example, hazard maps published by local governments, map contour lines and elevation information, information on roads that may be flooded that has been identified from the analysis of images captured by in-vehicle cameras, information on roads that may be flooded that has been investigated by investigators, and information on roads that have a history of flooding that has been extracted from information in big data such as social media.

[0021] The server 1 receives a route request from the in-vehicle device 2. Along with the route request, information such as the departure point, destination, and mode of transportation is also received from the in-vehicle device 2. Upon receiving the route request, the server 1 acquires weather information and flood forecast information for an area ranging from the departure point to the destination, and, based on this information, if there is a possibility of flooding, acquires a route that avoids roads that may be flooded and transmits this to the in-vehicle device 2. The server 1 also acquires routes that avoid roads that may be flooded for multiple future time points, such as 5 minutes from now and 10 minutes from now, depending on the mode of transportation and the distance from the departure point to the destination, and transmits these routes to the in-vehicle device 2.

[0022] According to the first embodiment, it is possible to suggest to the user a route that avoids roads that may be flooded during rainfall. Weather-related information is an example of "first information." Flood forecast information is an example of "second information."

[0023] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server 1 and the in-vehicle device 2. The server 1 includes, as its hardware configuration, a CPU 101, a memory 102, an auxiliary storage device 103, and a communication unit 104. The auxiliary storage device 103 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD). ), and SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. The programs include, for example, an OS (Operating System) and a plurality of other programs. The memory 102 includes, for example, semiconductor memory such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The memory 102 and the auxiliary storage device 103 are each an example of a computer-readable recording medium.

[0024] The CPU 101 executes various processes by loading the OS and various other programs stored in the auxiliary storage device 103 into the memory 102 and executing them. The number of CPUs 101 is not limited to one, and may be multiple. The CPU 101 is an example of a "control unit."

[0025] The communication unit 104 is a module that is connected to a network cable such as a LAN (Local Area Network) card and an optical module and includes a signal processing circuit. The communication unit 104 is not limited to a circuit that can be connected to a wired network, and may be a wireless signal processing circuit that can process wireless signals of a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi.

[0026] Next, Fig. 2 shows components related to the processing of the route proposal system 100 extracted from the configuration of the vehicle 20, but the configuration of the vehicle 20 is not limited to that shown in Fig. 2. The vehicle 20 includes an on-board device 2, a camera 21, an on-board device 2, and a location information acquisition unit 23. These components are connected by an on-board network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) network and an on-board Ethernet, for example.

[0027] The camera 21 is, for example, a camera used in a drive recorder mounted on the vehicle 20. The camera 21 is installed so that the periphery of the vehicle 20 is within its imaging range. The number of cameras 21 is not limited to one, and multiple cameras may be provided. The touch panel display 22 accepts user operations and outputs the results of processing according to the user operations. The location information acquisition unit 23 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. The location information acquisition unit 2 The location information acquiring unit 23 acquires the location information of the vehicle 20 at a predetermined interval. The interval at which the location information acquiring unit 23 acquires the location information is set to, for example, between 0.1 seconds and 1 second.

[0028] In the first embodiment, the in-vehicle device 2 accepts an input of a route request operation via the touch panel display 22 and transmits the route request to the server 1. Along with the input of the route request operation, the departure point, destination, etc. are also input. If the departure point is not input, the current location indicated by the location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit 23 becomes the departure point. Along with the route request, the in-vehicle device 2 transmits, for example, the departure point, destination, and "vehicle" as the means of transportation. In addition, information related to time, such as the departure time or arrival time, may also be transmitted to the server 1 together with the route request.

[0029] The in-vehicle device 2 is, for example, a car navigation system or a data communication device (DCM). In Fig. 2, the in-vehicle device 2 will be described assuming that it is a car navigation system. The in-vehicle device 2 includes, as its hardware configuration, a CPU 201, a memory 202, an auxiliary storage device 203, a communication unit 204, and an interface 205. The CPU 201, the memory 202, and the auxiliary storage device 203 are similar to the CPU 101, the memory 102, and the auxiliary storage device 103, respectively.

[0030] The communication unit 204 supports, for example, mobile communication systems such as 5G, 6G, and 4G, Wi-Fi, Alternatively, the server 1 may communicate with an external device based on a wireless communication method such as DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications). The interface 205 is an interface for connecting to an in-vehicle network. Note that the hardware configurations of the server 1 and the vehicle 20 are not limited to those shown in FIG. 2.

[0031] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 1. The server 1 includes, as its functional components, a control unit 11, a route search unit 12, a map information DB 13, and a flood prediction information DB 14. The functions of these functional components are each achieved by executing a predetermined program.

[0032] The map information DB 13 and the flood prediction information DB 14 are created in a storage area of ​​the auxiliary storage device 103. The map information DB 13 holds map information. The flood prediction information DB 14 holds flood prediction information. The flood prediction information includes, for example, location information of points that are lower in elevation than the surrounding area, and information about the elevation of the points and the difference in elevation from the surrounding area. In addition to the above information, the flood prediction information may also include, for example, information about the presence or absence of flooding and the amount of precipitation at the time of flooding, as flood history information. The amount of precipitation is the amount of precipitation per unit time. The unit time is, for example, one hour, 12 hours, or one day. Hereinafter, in the first embodiment, when precipitation is mentioned, it refers to the amount of precipitation per hour.

[0033] For example, the control unit 11 may periodically analyze big data such as hazard maps issued by local governments, map contours and sea level information, images taken by onboard cameras of multiple vehicles, information on roads that may be flooded and surveyed by investigators, and social media, to obtain flood prediction information that includes the above information. Alternatively, the flood prediction information may be big data itself such as hazard maps issued by local governments, map contours and sea level information, images taken by onboard cameras of multiple vehicles, information on roads that may be flooded and surveyed by investigators, and social media.

[0034] Furthermore, the control unit 11 may retain, based on the flood prediction information, for example, the relationship between each point's elevation above sea level, its elevation difference from the surrounding area, the amount of precipitation, and the type of warning or advisory, and whether or not flooding will occur, in the form of a table, function, or trained machine learning model, and predict the occurrence of flooding for each point. For example, when using a trained machine learning model, the control unit 11 trains historical information about flooding as learning data. The control unit 11 inputs the elevation above sea level, its elevation difference from the surrounding area, and the predicted amount of precipitation for each point into the trained machine learning model, and obtains the probability of flooding at that point as an output. If the probability of flooding at that point obtained as the output of the trained machine learning model is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the control unit 11 identifies that point as a point where flooding is predicted.

[0035] Next, the control unit 11 receives a route request from the in-vehicle device 2. Along with the route request from the in-vehicle device 2, information such as the departure point, destination, and mode of transportation is also received. The information received along with the route request is not limited to these, and for example, information such as intermediate points, departure time, or arrival time specified by the user may also be received. Note that if the departure time, arrival time, or the like is not specified, the control unit 11 uses the current time as the departure time.

[0036] When the control unit 11 receives a route request from the in-vehicle device 2, it acquires weather-related information and flood forecast information for one or more target areas that include the range from the departure point to the destination. The area is an area used to measure weather-related information. If the departure point and the destination are included in different areas, the target areas are the area that includes the departure point, the area that includes the destination, and the area between the departure point and the destination. The target area is an example of a "first area."

[0037] The control unit 11 may obtain information about the weather for the target area, for example, from an external server that provides information about the weather, or by searching the Internet. The information about the weather includes, for example, weather forecasts, predicted precipitation, raincloud radar, and other information for each time period from the current time for a predetermined period. If a departure time or arrival time is specified with the route request, information about the weather from the departure time up to a predetermined period, or from the arrival time up to a predetermined period before, may be obtained. The period for the information about the weather is, for example, a period set between one hour and one day. The control unit 11 also obtains flood forecast information for the target area from the map information DB 13. The flood forecast information for the target area is flood forecast information that includes points within the target area that are lower in elevation than the surrounding area.

[0038] When flooding is predicted based on meteorological information and flood forecast information for the target area, the control unit 11 identifies points where flooding is predicted and acquires a route from the departure point to the destination that avoids the points where flooding is predicted. Hereinafter, a route that avoids points where flooding is predicted is referred to as a flood avoidance route. The control unit 11 identifies points where flooding is predicted using, for example, a table, function, or trained machine learning model that shows the relationship between each point's altitude, elevation difference from surrounding areas, precipitation amount, and warnings and advisories, and whether or not flooding will occur.

[0039] A flood avoidance route may be acquired, for example, as follows: First, the control unit 11 requests and acquires a route from the departure point to the destination from the route search unit 12. The control unit 11 notifies the route search unit 12 of the means of transportation in addition to the departure point and destination. Furthermore, if the user specifies a stopover point, the control unit 11 also notifies the route search unit 12 of information about the stopover point. The route search unit 12 searches for, for example, the shortest route depending on the means of transportation. The means of transportation include, for example, a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, and walking.

[0040] The control unit 11 determines whether or not a point where flooding is predicted is included on the route acquired from the route search unit 12. If a point where flooding is predicted is included on the route acquired from the route search unit 12, the control unit 11 partially modifies the route to bypass the point in question and acquires a flood avoidance route.

[0041] As another method of acquiring a flood avoidance route, the control unit 11 may instruct the route search unit 12 to create a route that avoids information about points where flooding is predicted, and cause the route search unit 12 to search for a flood avoidance route.

[0042] Furthermore, the control unit 11 acquires flood avoidance routes for multiple future points in time in addition to the departure time, depending on the distance between the departure point and the destination and the means of transportation, because the predicted flood locations change over time.

[0043] The future time points at which a flood avoidance route is acquired may be determined, for example, at predetermined time intervals depending on the means of transportation. For example, if the means of transportation is walking, a flood avoidance route may be acquired at five-minute intervals from the departure time. For example, if the means of transportation is a vehicle, a flood avoidance route may be acquired at ten-minute intervals from the departure time. Note that control unit 11 may limit the future time points at which a flood avoidance route is acquired to those included within the travel time from the departure point to the destination.

[0044] The travel time from the departure point to the destination may be estimated by the control unit 11 from the distance between the departure point and the destination and the means of transportation, or may be acquired from the route search unit 12 together with the route from the departure point to the destination. When the control unit 11 estimates the travel time from the departure point to the destination, the distance between the departure point and the destination may be the straight-line distance on a map. Also, depending on the means of transportation, The travel time can be estimated using the assumed travel speed depending on the situation. For example, for walking, a value between 50 meters per minute and 100 meters per minute may be assumed. For example, for a vehicle, a speed between 20 kilometers per hour and 60 kilometers per hour may be assumed.

[0045] In addition to the above, the future time point at which the flood avoidance route is acquired may be determined based on, for example, the estimated travel time from the departure point to the destination. For example, the time points at which the flood avoidance route is acquired may be preset according to the length of travel time. For example, if the travel time is less than 10 minutes, the time points 5 and 10 minutes after the departure time may be set. For example, if the travel time is 10 minutes or more but less than 30 minutes, the time points 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 minutes after the departure time may be set. For example, if the travel time is 30 minutes or more but less than one hour, the time points 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, and one hour after the departure time may be set. For example, if the travel time is one hour or more, the time points 10, 20, 30, and one hour after the departure time may be set, and thereafter, every 30 minutes. The setting of the time points at which the flood avoidance route is acquired according to travel time is not limited to the above example.

[0046] The control unit 11 may obtain a plurality of flood avoidance routes for each future time point. The control unit 11 transmits to the in-vehicle device 2 the flood avoidance routes for the departure time point and for each future time point from the departure time point.

[0047] In accordance with instructions from the control unit 11, the route search unit 12 refers to the map information DB 13 and searches for a route from the departure point to the destination based on the mode of transportation. The route search method of the route search unit 12 is not limited to a specific method, and any well-known method may be used. The route search unit 12 searches for a route based on criteria such as shortening travel time or minimizing travel distance. If there are designated intermediate points between the departure point and the destination, the route search unit 12 acquires a route that passes through the intermediate points. For example, since there are roads that are physically or legally impassable to vehicles, the route search unit 12 searches for a route taking these points into consideration as well as the mode of transportation. Furthermore, when the control unit 11 instructs the route search unit 12 to acquire multiple routes, the route search unit 12 may acquire a predetermined number of routes, for example, in descending order of travel time, and output them to the control unit 11. Note that the functional configuration of the server 1 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 3.

[0048] Fig. 4 is an example of a flowchart of a route search process of the server 1. The process shown in Fig. 4 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle. The process of Fig. 4 is executed mainly by the CPU 101 of the server 1, but for convenience, the following description will be given focusing on the functional components.

[0049] In OP101, the control unit 11 determines whether or not a route request has been received from the in-vehicle device 2. If a route request has been received from the in-vehicle device 2 (OP101: YES), the process proceeds to OP102. If a route request has not been received from the in-vehicle device 2 (OP101: NO), the process shown in FIG. 4 ends.

[0050] In OP102, the control unit 11 instructs the route search unit 12 to acquire a route from the departure point to the destination from the route search unit 12. In OP103, the control unit 11 acquires weather information for a target area including the range from the departure point to the destination. If information on locations where flooding has already occurred is publicly available along with the weather information, the control unit 11 may also acquire information on locations where flooding has already occurred.

[0051] In OP104, the control unit 11 acquires flood prediction information for the target area from the flood prediction information DB 14. In OP105, the control unit 11 determines one or more future points in time at which to acquire a flood avoidance route, based on the means of transportation and the distance from the departure point to the destination.

[0052] The processes from OP106 to OP108 are executed for each of the departure time and the time determined in OP105. In OP106, the control unit 11 determines whether a predetermined condition for predicting the occurrence of flooding in the target area is satisfied, based on information about the weather in the time period that includes the target time period. The predetermined condition may be, for example, that the cumulative amount of precipitation from a predetermined time before the target time period is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, that the predicted amount of precipitation per unit time in the time period that includes the target time period is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, that a warning or advisory regarding a flood disaster has been issued, etc. If at least one of these conditions is satisfied, a positive determination is made in OP106.

[0053] If the predetermined condition is satisfied (OP106: YES), the process proceeds to OP107. If the predetermined condition is not satisfied (OP106: NO), the possibility of flooding is low, so the control unit 11 determines not to acquire a flood avoidance route and stores the route acquired in OP102 as the route to be presented to the user. In this case, the process proceeds to the next time point, or if the processes for all time points have been completed, the process proceeds to OP109. For example, if it is not raining, the cumulative value of the predicted precipitation from a predetermined time before the target time point is close to 0, so the possibility of flooding is low, and a negative determination is made in OP106.

[0054] In OP107, the control unit 11 identifies points in the target area that are predicted to be flooded at the target time based on information about the weather in the target area and flood forecast information. Hereinafter, points that are predicted to be flooded are referred to as "flood forecast points." The method for identifying flood forecast points is as described above.

[0055] In OP108, the control unit 11 determines whether or not there are any points predicted to be flooded or points that are already flooded on the route acquired in OP 102. If there are any points predicted to be flooded or points that are already flooded on the route (YES in OP108), the process proceeds to OP109. If there are no points predicted to be flooded or points that are already flooded on the route (NO in OP108), the process proceeds to the next time point, or if processing for all time points has been completed, the process proceeds to OP110.

[0056] In OP109, the control unit 11 acquires a flood avoidance route by partially changing the route so as to bypass the predicted flooding point on the route. After that, the process proceeds to the next time point, or if the process for all time points has been completed, the process proceeds to OP110.

[0057] In OP110, the control unit 11 transmits information about the route to the in-vehicle device 2. For example, the route or flooding avoidance route at each time point, location information of the expected flooding point, and information about the weather at each time point may be transmitted. After that, the process shown in Fig. 4 ends. Note that the route search process of the server 1 is not limited to the process shown in Fig. 4.

[0058] 5 and 6 are examples of route display that takes flooding into consideration. FIG. 5 is an example of a route proposed at the time of departure (current time). FIG. 6 is an example of a route proposed five minutes after the time of departure. The solid line indicates a route from the departure point to the destination when flooding is not considered. The dashed line indicates a portion of a flood avoidance route that bypasses points predicted to be flooded. In the route five minutes later shown in FIG. 6, the number of points predicted to be flooded has increased due to rainfall, and a flood avoidance route different from the route shown in FIG. 5 is shown. Note that the display manner of a route that takes flooding into consideration is not limited to the examples shown in FIG. 5 and 6. For example, the route at each time point may be displayed on a single screen.

[0059] <Effects of the First Embodiment> According to the first embodiment, it is possible to present to the user a route that takes into consideration flooding in the event of a flood disaster. This allows the user to travel along a safe route even in the event of a flood disaster. In addition, in the first embodiment, routes that take flooding into consideration for future times from the departure time are also presented to the user in addition to routes at the departure time. This allows the user to, for example, change the departure time in order to use a safer route.

[0060] <Other variations> The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure can be modified and implemented as appropriate within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the disclosure.

[0061] In the first embodiment, the server 1 performs route search taking into account flooding, but the user terminal may independently perform the same processing as the server 1. In this case, the user terminal stores a program for performing the processing shown in FIG. 4 in an auxiliary storage device.

[0062] The processes and means described in this disclosure can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0063] Furthermore, a process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by a single device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is realized can be flexibly changed.

[0064] The present disclosure can also be realized by providing a computer program implementing the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer, and having one or more processors in the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer via a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the computer's system bus or via a network. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, for example, any type of disk, such as a magnetic disk (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk drive (HDD), etc.), an optical disk (e.g., a CD-ROM, a DVD disk, a Blu-ray disk), a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, an optical card, or any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 1. Server 2...In-vehicle device 11 Control unit 12. Route search section 13··Map Information Database 14. Flood Forecast Information DB 20 Vehicles 100 Route suggestion system 101 CPU 102 Memory 103...Auxiliary storage device 104··Communications Department

Claims

1. An information processing device, Acquiring, from a user terminal of a user, a route request together with at least a starting point of the user, a destination of the user, and a type of transportation means used by the user; generating a base route from the departure point to the destination based on map information stored in a storage unit of the information processing device; acquiring first information about weather, including at least a predicted amount of precipitation, for a first area including a range from the departure point to the destination, from an external server that provides information about weather; acquiring, from the storage unit, second information relating to a point within the first area that is lower in elevation than surrounding areas; Calculating a travel time from the departure point to the destination by the transportation means for the base route based on the map information and the type of transportation means; determining a predetermined time interval according to the type of the means of transportation; determining one or more future points in time from the departure time that are included in the travel time and spaced apart by the predetermined time interval; determining whether a predicted precipitation amount per unit time in a predetermined time period including the departure time and the one or more future time points is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, for each of the departure time and the one or more future time points, based on the first information about the first area; When the predicted precipitation per unit time is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, based on the first information and the second information about the first area, identify a flood prediction point that is lower in elevation than surrounding areas in the first area and is predicted to be flooded at the departure time and at each of the one or more future points in time; determining whether the predicted flooding point is included on the base route at the departure time and at each of the one or more future time points based on the map information; If the predicted flooding point is included on the base route, based on the map information, replace a part of the base route that includes the predicted flooding point with a route that bypasses the predicted flooding point at each of the departure time and the one or more future time points, thereby generating a first route that is a route from the departure point to the destination and avoids the predicted flooding point; outputting the first route to the user terminal at each of the departure time and the one or more future time points; a control unit that executes An information processing device comprising:

2. The computer Acquiring, from a user terminal of a user, a route request together with at least a starting point of the user, a destination of the user, and a type of transportation means used by the user; generating a base route from the departure point to the destination based on map information stored in a storage unit of the computer; acquiring first information about weather, including at least a predicted amount of precipitation, for a first area including a range from the departure point to the destination, from an external server that provides information about weather; acquiring, from the storage unit, second information relating to a point within the first area that is lower in elevation than surrounding areas; Calculating a travel time from the departure point to the destination by the transportation means for the base route based on the map information and the type of transportation means; determining a predetermined time interval according to the type of the means of transportation; determining one or more future points in time from the departure time that are included in the travel time and spaced apart by the predetermined time interval; determining whether a predicted precipitation amount per unit time in a predetermined time period including the departure time and the one or more future time points is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, for each of the departure time and the one or more future time points, based on the first information about the first area; When the predicted precipitation per unit time is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, based on the first information and the second information about the first area, identify a flood prediction point that is lower in elevation than surrounding areas in the first area and is predicted to be flooded at the departure time and at each of the one or more future points in time; determining whether the predicted flooding point is included on the base route at the departure time and at each of the one or more future time points based on the map information; If the predicted flooding point is included on the base route, based on the map information, replace a part of the base route that includes the predicted flooding point with a route that bypasses the predicted flooding point at each of the departure time and the one or more future time points, thereby generating a first route that is a route from the departure point to the destination and avoids the predicted flooding point; outputting the first route to the user terminal at each of the departure time and the one or more future time points; How to do it.

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