Information processing method, information processing device, and information processing program

Abstract

In the present invention, a server (2): acquires a passenger waiting location, a passenger destination location, and environmental information indicating the waiting location environment; calculates, on the basis of the environmental information pertaining to the waiting location, an environmental incompatibility value indicating an index of how uncomfortable the waiting location is for passengers; calculates a moving body transportation route for which the total of the passenger waiting time in the waiting location as weighted using the environmental incompatibility value, and the moving time for the passenger to ride the moving body and move from the waiting location to the destination location, is minimized; and outputs information indicating the transportation route.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to a technology for creating transportation routes for mobile vehicles that transport passengers. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, on-demand transportation has been attracting attention as an alternative to scheduled, fixed-route transportation such as buses that make stops at set times. In on-demand transportation, vehicles such as buses or taxis operate in response to the demands of users. For example, the transportation of multiple vehicles in on-demand transportation... The road The optimal transportation route is created based on the pick-up and drop-off locations reported by multiple users, as well as the current locations of multiple vehicles. Furthermore, the optimal route can be automatically generated by a computer.

[0003] Here, the transportation route refers to the order in which users visit their boarding and alighting locations. For example, in Non-Patent Document 1, the shortest transportation route is selected from among several transportation routes between the boarding and alighting locations.

[0004] Furthermore, the creation of transportation routes in on-demand transportation is known as the dial-a-ride problem. For example, in Non-Patent Document 2, a mathematical optimization process is performed to minimize the sum of each user's waiting time at their boarding location and their vehicle boarding time, i.e., the total time each user uses the transportation service, and the transportation route for each vehicle is created. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] EWDijkstra, "A Note on Two Problems in Connexion with Graphs", Numerische Mathematik, Volume 1, 1959, p. 269-271 [Non-Patent Document 2] LDBodin, TRSexton, "The multi-vehicle subscriber dial-a-ride problem," Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, February 1983. [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] However, the conventional technology described above did not reflect the environment at the waiting area where passengers were waiting in the creation of the transportation route, and further improvements were needed.

[0007] This disclosure was made to solve the above-mentioned problems and aims to provide a technology that can create transportation routes that take into account the environment at waiting areas where passengers wait. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] An information processing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure involves a computer acquiring environmental information indicating a passenger's waiting location, the passenger's destination, and the environment of the waiting location; calculating an environmental unsuitability value based on the environmental information of the waiting location, which indicates how unsuitable the environment of the waiting location is for the passenger; calculating a transportation route for the passenger's vehicle that shortens the waiting time at the waiting location as the environmental unsuitability value increases; and outputting information indicating the transportation route. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to this disclosure, it is possible to create transportation routes that take into account the environment at waiting areas where passengers are waiting. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows the overall configuration of the transportation route creation system in Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. [Figure 2]It is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server in Embodiment 1. [Figure 3] It is a diagram showing an example of passenger information stored in the passenger information storage unit in Embodiment 1. [Figure 4] It is a diagram showing an example of environmental information stored in the environmental information storage unit in Embodiment 1. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing an example of environmental non - conformity values stored in the environmental non - conformity value storage unit in Embodiment 1. [Figure 6] It is a diagram showing an example of the travel time cost table stored in the travel time cost table storage unit in Embodiment 1. [Figure 7] It is a flowchart for explaining the transport route creation process of the server in Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] It is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server in Embodiment 2. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing an example of environmental information for each predetermined time stored in the environmental information storage unit in Embodiment 2. [Figure 10] It is a diagram showing an example of environmental non - conformity values for each predetermined time stored in the environmental non - conformity value storage unit in Embodiment 2. [Figure 11] It is a diagram showing an example of the travel time cost table for each predetermined period stored in the travel time cost table storage unit in Embodiment 2. [Figure 12] It is a flowchart for explaining the transport route creation process of the server in Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] It is a block diagram showing the configuration of the server in Embodiment 3. [Figure 14] It is a diagram showing an example of recommended waiting place information stored in the recommended waiting place information storage unit in Embodiment 3. [Figure 15] It is a diagram showing an example of environmental information of the recommended waiting place stored in the environmental information storage unit in Embodiment 3. [Figure 16]This figure shows an example of an environmental incompatibility value for a recommended waiting location stored in the environmental incompatibility value storage unit in this embodiment 3. [Figure 17] This figure shows an example of an environmental non-conformity improvement value stored in the environmental non-conformity improvement value storage unit in this third embodiment. [Figure 18] This figure shows an example of a travel time cost table stored in the travel time cost table storage unit in this third embodiment. [Figure 19] This is a first flowchart illustrating the server transport route creation process in Embodiment 3 of this disclosure. [Figure 20] This is a second flowchart illustrating the server transport route creation process in Embodiment 3 of this disclosure. [Figure 21] This is a block diagram showing the server configuration in this embodiment 4. [Figure 22] This figure shows an example of environmental information for a recommended waiting location stored in the environmental information storage unit at predetermined intervals in this embodiment 4. [Figure 23] This figure shows an example of the environmental non-conformity value of the recommended waiting location stored in the environmental non-conformity value storage unit in this embodiment 4, at predetermined intervals. [Figure 24] This figure shows an example of a travel time cost table for a predetermined period stored in the travel time cost table storage unit in this embodiment 4. [Figure 25] This is a first flowchart illustrating the server transport route creation process in Embodiment 4 of this disclosure. [Figure 26] This is a second flowchart illustrating the server transport route creation process in Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] (Knowledge that forms the basis of this disclosure) In on-demand transportation, passengers wait at a designated boarding location until the on-demand vehicle arrives. However, waiting may not be easy depending on the environment of the boarding location. Examples of environments where waiting is difficult include: bad weather such as rain or snow; high temperatures; low temperatures; high humidity; air pollution from yellow dust, PM2.5, pollen, or photochemical smog; extremely crowded environments; noisy environments; unsafe environments; uneven terrain; and poor signal strength for communication devices. In such environments, waiting may be more unpleasant than usual.

[0012] Thus, depending on the environment of the waiting area, even if the overall usage time of transportation services by users increases, it is thought that prioritizing the reduction of users' waiting times can improve the quality of transportation services.

[0013] However, the conventional technology described above does not reflect the environment at the user's waiting location in the creation of the transportation route. Therefore, it is difficult to create a transportation route that takes the environment at the user's waiting location into account, which could lead to a decline in the quality of transportation services for users.

[0014] To solve the above problems, an information processing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a computer that acquires environmental information indicating the passenger's waiting location, the passenger's destination, and the environment of the waiting location; calculates an environmental unsuitability value based on the environmental information of the waiting location, which indicates how unsuitable the environment of the waiting location is for the passenger; calculates a transportation route for the passenger's vehicle that shortens the waiting time at the waiting location as the environmental unsuitability value increases; and outputs information indicating the transportation route.

[0015] This configuration allows for the creation of transportation routes that reduce passenger waiting times as the environment at waiting locations deteriorates and the environmental incompatibility value increases. As a result, it is possible to create transportation routes that take into account the environment at the waiting locations where passengers wait. Consequently, the discomfort experienced by passengers at waiting locations can be reduced, and the quality of transportation services can be improved.

[0016] Furthermore, in the above-described information processing method, the environmental information may include at least one of the following: temperature, humidity, weather, and concentration of particulate matter at the waiting location.

[0017] Temperature, humidity, weather, and particulate matter concentration at a waiting area are parameters that affect passenger comfort in that area. Therefore, an environmental incompatibility value, which indicates how uncomfortable the waiting area is for passengers, can be calculated based on at least one of the following: temperature, humidity, weather, and particulate matter concentration at the waiting area.

[0018] Furthermore, in the above-described information processing method, when calculating the transport route, the transport route may be calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the waiting location and the travel time when the passenger travels from the waiting location to the destination location on the mobile vehicle, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value.

[0019] In this configuration, when calculating the transport route for a moving object, the waiting time of passengers at waiting locations is weighted using an environmental unsuitability value, which indicates how unpleasant the environment at the waiting location is for passengers. Therefore, as the environment at the waiting location deteriorates and the environmental unsuitability value increases, it becomes possible to calculate a transport route that shortens the waiting time for passengers.

[0020] Furthermore, in the above-described information processing method, in acquiring the environmental information, the environmental information is acquired at predetermined intervals; in calculating the environmental non-conformity value, the environmental non-conformity value is calculated at predetermined intervals based on the environmental information at predetermined intervals; in calculating the transportation route, the average value of the environmental non-conformity value is calculated based on the environmental non-conformity value at predetermined intervals for the period from the time the passenger arrives at the waiting place to the time the mobile vehicle arrives at the waiting place; and the transportation route is calculated such that the waiting time for the passenger at the waiting place decreases as the average value of the environmental non-conformity value increases.

[0021] The environment of the waiting area may change over time. Therefore, by acquiring environmental information at predetermined intervals and calculating environmental unsuitability values ​​at predetermined intervals based on this information, it is possible to obtain environmental unsuitability values ​​that change at predetermined intervals. Then, by calculating the transport route using the average value of environmental unsuitability values ​​during the period from the time the passenger arrives at the waiting area to the time the vehicle arrives at the waiting area, it is possible to calculate the transport route while taking into account the environment of the waiting area that changes at predetermined intervals.

[0022] Furthermore, in the above-described information processing method, in calculating the transport route, the transport route may be calculated that minimizes the sum of the waiting time of the passengers at the waiting location and the travel time of the passengers traveling from the waiting location to the destination location on the mobile vehicle, weighted using the average value of the environmental non-conformity values.

[0023] With this configuration, the waiting time is weighted using the average value of environmental incompatibility during the period from the time the passenger arrives at the waiting location to the time the vehicle arrives at the waiting location. This allows the transportation route to be calculated while taking into account the environment of the waiting location, which changes at predetermined intervals.

[0024] Furthermore, in the above information processing method, information is obtained regarding at least one recommended waiting location located within a predetermined distance from the waiting location; environmental information of the at least one recommended waiting location is obtained; the environmental unsuitability value at the at least one recommended waiting location is calculated based on the environmental information of the at least one recommended waiting location; and based on the environmental unsuitability value at the waiting location, the environmental unsuitability value at the at least one recommended waiting location, and the travel time from the waiting location to the at least one recommended waiting location, the information is obtained from the waiting location to the at least one recommended waiting location. The system calculates at least one environmental incompatibility improvement value that is improved by moving to a location, identifies a recommended waiting location corresponding to the largest environmental incompatibility improvement value among the at least one environmental incompatibility improvement values ​​that is above a threshold, transmits information to encourage the passenger to move to the identified recommended waiting location, and in calculating the transport route, if a response is received indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the information, the system may calculate a transport route in which the waiting time for the passenger at the identified recommended waiting location decreases as the environmental incompatibility value at the identified recommended waiting location increases.

[0025] This configuration identifies a recommended waiting location where the environment of the current waiting location is improved, and this identified recommended waiting location is presented to the passenger. If a response is received indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location, a transport route is calculated that shortens the passenger's waiting time at the recommended waiting location as the environmental incompatibility value at the identified recommended waiting location increases. Therefore, passengers can be encouraged to move to a recommended waiting location that is more comfortable than the environment of the current waiting location, and by moving to the recommended waiting location, passengers can wait in a more comfortable environment.

[0026] Furthermore, in the above-described information processing method, if, in calculating the transport route, a response is received indicating that the passenger does not accept moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, the transport route may be calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the waiting location and the travel time for the passenger to travel from the waiting location to the destination location on the mobile vehicle, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value at the waiting location.

[0027] With this configuration, if a passenger does not accept being moved to the recommended waiting area, a transportation route that takes into account the environment of the current waiting area can be calculated.

[0028] Furthermore, in the above-described information processing method, when calculating the transportation route, if a response is received indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, the transportation route may be calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the recommended waiting location and the travel time when the passenger travels from the recommended waiting location to the destination location on the mobile vehicle, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value at the identified recommended waiting location.

[0029] According to this configuration, when response information indicating acceptance of moving to a recommended waiting location is received, a transport route is calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the recommended waiting location and the travel time for the passenger to travel from the recommended waiting location to the destination location, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value at the identified recommended waiting location. Therefore, passengers can be encouraged to move to a recommended waiting location that is more comfortable than the environment of their current waiting location, and by moving to the recommended waiting location, passengers can wait in a more comfortable environment.

[0030] Furthermore, in the above information processing method, when acquiring the environmental information of the waiting location, the environmental information of the waiting location is acquired at predetermined intervals; when acquiring the environmental information of the at least one recommended waiting location, the environmental information of the at least one recommended waiting location is acquired at predetermined intervals; when calculating the environmental unsuitability value at the waiting location, the environmental unsuitability value at predetermined intervals at the waiting location is calculated based on the environmental information of the waiting location at predetermined intervals; when calculating the environmental unsuitability value at the at least one recommended waiting location, the environmental unsuitability value at the at least one recommended waiting location is calculated based on the environmental information of the at least one recommended waiting location at predetermined intervals; and when calculating the at least one environmental unsuitability improvement value, the environmental unsuitability value at the current time among the environmental unsuitability values ​​at predetermined intervals at the waiting location and the at least one Based on the at least one environmental incompatibility value at the passenger's scheduled arrival time among the at least one environmental incompatibility value at predetermined time intervals at the recommended waiting location, and the travel time from the waiting location to the at least one recommended waiting location, at least one environmental incompatibility improvement value that is improved by moving from the waiting location to the at least one recommended waiting location may be calculated. In calculating the transport route, if response information indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location is received in response to the presented information, the average value of the environmental incompatibility value at the specified recommended waiting location for the period from the time the passenger arrives at the recommended waiting location to the time the transport vehicle arrives at the recommended waiting location may be calculated based on the environmental incompatibility value at predetermined time intervals at the specified recommended waiting location, and the transport route may be calculated in which the waiting time of the passenger at the recommended waiting location is shortened as the average value of the environmental incompatibility value at the specified recommended waiting location increases.

[0031] The environment of the waiting area and the recommended waiting area may change over time. Therefore, environmental information for the current waiting area and at least one recommended waiting area is acquired at predetermined intervals, and based on the environmental information at predetermined intervals, the environmental unsuitability value for the current waiting area and at least one recommended waiting area is calculated at predetermined intervals. Then, a recommended waiting area where the environment of the current waiting area is improved is identified, and the identified recommended waiting area is presented to the passenger. When response information indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting area is received, the transport route is calculated using the average value of the environmental unsuitability value during the period from the time the passenger arrives at the recommended waiting area to the time the vehicle arrives at the recommended waiting area, thereby allowing the transport route to be calculated while taking into account the environment of the recommended waiting area that changes at predetermined intervals.

[0032] Furthermore, in the above-described information processing method, when calculating the transport route, if a response is received indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, the transport route may be calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the recommended waiting location and the travel time when the passenger travels from the recommended waiting location to the destination location on the mobile vehicle, weighted using the average value of the environmental incompatibility values ​​at the identified recommended waiting location.

[0033] With this configuration, when response information indicating acceptance of travel to a recommended waiting location is received, the waiting time is weighted using the average value of environmental incompatibility values ​​during the period from the time the passenger arrives at the recommended waiting location to the time the vehicle arrives at the recommended waiting location. This allows the transportation route to be calculated while taking into account the environment at the recommended waiting location, which changes at predetermined intervals.

[0034] Furthermore, this disclosure can be implemented not only as an information processing method that performs the characteristic processing described above, but also as an information processing device having a characteristic configuration corresponding to the characteristic method performed by the information processing method. It can also be implemented as a computer program that causes a computer to execute the characteristic processing included in such an information processing method. Therefore, the same effects as the above-described information processing method can be achieved in the following other embodiments.

[0035] An information processing device according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes: an acquisition unit that acquires environmental information indicating a passenger's waiting place, the passenger's destination, and the environment of the waiting place; an environmental unsuitability value calculation unit that calculates an environmental unsuitability value indicating how unsuitable the environment of the waiting place is for the passenger, based on the environmental information of the waiting place; a transport route calculation unit that calculates a transport route for a mobile vehicle carrying the passenger such that the waiting time for the passenger at the waiting place decreases as the environmental unsuitability value increases; and an output unit that outputs information indicating the transport route.

[0036] An information processing program according to another aspect of this disclosure causes a computer to perform the following processes: acquire environmental information indicating the passenger's waiting location, the passenger's destination, and the environment of the waiting location; calculate an environmental unsuitability value based on the environmental information of the waiting location, which indicates how unsuitable the environment of the waiting location is for the passenger; calculate a transportation route for the passenger's vehicle that shortens the waiting time at the waiting location as the environmental unsuitability value increases; and output information indicating the transportation route.

[0037] The embodiments described below are all specific examples of this disclosure. The numerical values, shapes, components, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are examples only and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, those not described in the independent claim representing the highest-level concept will be described as optional components. In addition, the contents of each embodiment can be combined.

[0038] (Embodiment 1) Figure 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the transportation route creation system in Embodiment 1 of this disclosure.

[0039] The transportation route creation system shown in Figure 1 includes a passenger terminal 1, a server 2, and a vehicle terminal 3.

[0040] Passenger terminal 1 is, for example, a smartphone, tablet computer, or personal computer, and is carried by passengers riding in the on-demand vehicle. The on-demand vehicle is, for example, an on-demand bus, a shared taxi, or a private car driven by a private individual and dispatched through a ride-hailing platform. Passengers board the on-demand vehicle at a waiting location and alight at their destination. Passenger terminals 1 are connected to each other via server 2 and network 4, enabling communication between them. Network 4 is, for example, the internet.

[0041] Passenger terminal 1 receives input from passengers requesting the dispatch of a demand-responsive vehicle and transmits dispatch request information to server 2. Passenger terminal 1 also receives input from passengers regarding the waiting location, destination, and arrival time at the waiting location. The waiting location is where the passenger boards the demand-responsive vehicle. The waiting location may be a predetermined location such as a bus stop. Alternatively, the waiting location may be a location arbitrarily designated by the passenger.

[0042] There are two patterns for passenger dispatching: one where passengers book a ride before arriving at the waiting area, and another where passengers request a ride after arriving at the waiting area.

[0043] Passenger terminal 1 may accept the passenger's selection of one waiting location and one destination location from a predetermined list of stops. Passenger terminal 1 may also display a map and accept the passenger's input of any waiting location and any destination location on the displayed map. Passenger terminal 1 may also accept the passenger's input of the address of any waiting location and any destination location. If the passenger reserves a ride in advance, the waiting location is the waiting location where the passenger plans to board. If the passenger requests a ride after arriving at the waiting location, the waiting location is the passenger's current location.

[0044] Furthermore, if a passenger reserves a ride in advance, the arrival time will be the time the passenger is scheduled to board. If a passenger requests a ride after arriving at the waiting area, the arrival time will be the current time.

[0045] Passenger terminal 1 transmits dispatch request information to server 2, including passenger identification information, waiting location, destination location, and arrival time at the waiting location. The passenger identification information may be a user ID for identifying the passenger or a terminal ID for identifying passenger terminal 1.

[0046] Furthermore, if passenger terminal 1 is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver and the passenger requests a ride after arriving at the waiting location, passenger terminal 1 will send ride request information to server 2, using the current location obtained by the GPS receiver as the waiting location and the current time as the arrival time.

[0047] Server 2 creates a transport route for at least one on-demand vehicle to transport at least one passenger from a waiting area to a destination. Server 2 is connected to passenger terminal 1 and vehicle terminal 3 via network 4 so that they can communicate with each other. Server 2 transmits information indicating the created transport route to vehicle terminal 3.

[0048] Vehicle terminal 3 is a terminal installed in the on-demand vehicle and receives information indicating the transport route transmitted by server 2. Vehicle terminal 3 displays the received transport route. In this way, vehicle terminal 3 presents the transport route to the driver of the on-demand vehicle. The driver moves the on-demand vehicle according to the transport route displayed on vehicle terminal 3.

[0049] Vehicle terminal 3 may be a smartphone or tablet computer or other device carried by the driver of the on-demand vehicle. Furthermore, if the on-demand vehicle is an autonomous vehicle, server 2 may transmit information indicating the created transport route to the on-demand vehicle. In this case, the on-demand vehicle may move according to the received transport route.

[0050] The transportation route creation system may also include multiple passenger terminals 1, each held by multiple passengers, and multiple vehicle terminals 3, each installed in multiple on-demand vehicles.

[0051] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of server 2 in this embodiment 1.

[0052] Server 2 comprises a processor 21, memory 22, and a communication unit 23.

[0053] The processor 21 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The processor 21 enables the passenger information acquisition unit 211, the environmental information acquisition unit 212, the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213, the travel time calculation unit 214, the transport route calculation unit 215, and the output unit 216.

[0054] Memory 22 is a storage device capable of storing various types of information, such as RAM (Random Access Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), or flash memory. Memory 22 enables the implementation of a passenger information storage unit 221, an environmental information storage unit 222, an environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223, a travel time cost table storage unit 224, and a best transport route storage unit 225.

[0055] The passenger information acquisition unit 211 acquires the passenger's waiting location, destination, and arrival time at the waiting location from the passenger terminal 1 via the communication unit 23. The communication unit 23 receives dispatch request information transmitted by the passenger terminal 1. The dispatch request information includes information identifying the passenger, the passenger's waiting location, destination, and arrival time at the waiting location. The passenger information acquisition unit 211 stores the waiting location, destination, and arrival time at the waiting location included in the dispatch request information received by the communication unit 23 in the passenger information storage unit 221, associating them with the passenger.

[0056] The passenger information storage unit 221 stores the waiting location, destination location, and arrival time at the waiting location in association with the passenger.

[0057] Figure 3 shows an example of passenger information stored in the passenger information storage unit 221 in this embodiment 1.

[0058] As shown in Figure 3, the passenger information storage unit 221 stores the waiting location, destination location, and arrival time at the waiting location for each passenger. For example, passenger U1's waiting location is location P1, passenger U1's destination location is location P3, and passenger U1's arrival time at the waiting location is 10:00. For example, passenger U2's waiting location is location P2, and passenger U 2 The destination is location P4, and passenger U 2 The estimated arrival time at the waiting area is 10:20.

[0059] When creating a transport route, the passenger information acquisition unit 211 acquires the passenger's waiting location, destination location, and arrival time at the waiting location from the passenger information storage unit 221.

[0060] The environmental information acquisition unit 212 acquires environmental information indicating the environment of the waiting location from an external server via the communication unit 23. The environmental information acquisition unit 212 transmits the location information of the waiting location acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211 to the external server via the communication unit 23. When the external server receives the location information of the waiting location transmitted by server 2, it transmits environmental information indicating the environment of the waiting location to server 2. The communication unit 23 receives the environmental information transmitted by the external server. For example, the environmental information includes the temperature, weather, and concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) at the waiting location. The environmental information may also include at least one of the temperature, humidity, weather, and concentration of particulate matter at the waiting location. The environmental information acquisition unit 212 stores the environmental information received by the communication unit 23 in the environmental information storage unit 222, associating it with the waiting location.

[0061] The environmental information storage unit 222 stores environmental information in association with standby locations.

[0062] Figure 4 shows an example of environmental information stored in the environmental information storage unit 222 in this embodiment 1.

[0063] As shown in Figure 4, the environmental information storage unit 222 stores temperature, weather, and PM2.5 concentration in association with the standby location. For example, the temperature at standby location P1 is 1.2°C, the weather at location P1 is rainy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location P1 is 2.4 μg / m³. 3 For example, the temperature at location P2, which is a waiting area, is 1.2°C, the weather at location P2 is cloudy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location P2 is 3.2 μg / m³. 3 That is the case.

[0064] In this embodiment 1, the environmental information includes the temperature, weather, and concentration of particulate matter at the waiting area, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. The environmental information may also include other information relating to the natural environment, such as the humidity, pollen concentration, and photochemical smog concentration at the waiting area. Furthermore, the environmental information may also include other information relating to the man-made environment, such as the degree of human congestion at the waiting area, the noise level at the waiting area, the security situation at the waiting area, the condition of the footing at the waiting area, and the radio wave conditions of communication equipment at the waiting area. In addition, the environmental information may also include other information relating to facilities, such as the presence or absence of a roof at the waiting area and the presence or absence of chairs at the waiting area.

[0065] Furthermore, the environmental information acquisition unit 212 may acquire environmental information from sensors installed at the standby location instead of from an external server. The sensors installed at the standby location may measure the temperature, humidity, weather, concentration of fine particulate matter, and concentration of photochemical smog at the standby location. The degree of human congestion at the standby location may be calculated from the number of people detected from images taken around the standby location. The noise level at the standby location may be measured by a sound level meter installed at the standby location. The security situation at the standby location may be acquired from an external server that provides security information. The poor condition of the footing at the standby location may be determined by detecting the amount of moisture in the ground at the standby location using sensors installed at the standby location, and determining whether the footing is poor or not based on the detected amount of moisture. The radio wave conditions of communication equipment at the standby location may be measured by sensors installed at the standby location.

[0066] The environmental unsuitability value calculation unit 213 calculates an environmental unsuitability value, which indicates how unpleasant the environment of the waiting area is for passengers, based on the environmental information of the waiting area. The environmental unsuitability value calculation unit 213 calculates the environmental unsuitability value α of the waiting area using the following formula (1).

[0067] α=a*|T-T0|+b*W+c*PM···(1)

[0068] In equation (1) above, T represents the temperature of the waiting area, T0 represents the reference temperature (e.g., 25°C), and W represents the numerical weather of the waiting area. If the weather is sunny or cloudy, 0 is substituted for W; if the weather is rainy, 1 is substituted for W; and if the weather is snowy, 2 is substituted for W. PM represents the PM2.5 concentration at the waiting area. a, b, and c are weighting coefficients for each parameter. a, b, and c are all greater than or equal to 0. The environmental incompatibility value α increases as the environment becomes more unpleasant.

[0069] Furthermore, the environmental incompatibility value calculation unit 213 may use environmental information other than temperature, weather, and PM2.5 concentration as parameters for the environmental incompatibility value α. For example, humidity at the waiting area, photochemical smog concentration at the waiting area, degree of human congestion at the waiting area, or noise level at the waiting area may be used as parameters for the environmental incompatibility value α. Also, for the parameter regarding the public safety situation at the waiting area, 0 may be substituted if the public safety is good, and 1 may be substituted if the public safety is poor. For the parameter regarding the poor footing at the waiting area, 0 may be substituted if the moisture content of the ground at the waiting area is below the threshold, and 1 may be substituted if the moisture content of the ground at the waiting area is above the threshold. For the parameter regarding the radio wave conditions of communication equipment at the waiting area, 0 may be substituted if the radio wave reception level at the waiting area is greater than the threshold, and 1 may be substituted if the radio wave reception level at the waiting area is below the threshold. For the parameter regarding the presence or absence of a roof at the waiting area, 0 may be substituted if there is a roof at the waiting area, and 1 may be substituted if there is no roof at the waiting area. For the parameter indicating the presence or absence of chairs in the waiting area, 0 may be assigned if there are chairs in the waiting area, and 1 may be assigned if there are no chairs in the waiting area.

[0070] The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213 stores the calculated environmental non-conformity value in the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223, associating it with the standby location.

[0071] The environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223 stores the environmental non-conformity value calculated by the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213 in association with the standby location.

[0072] Figure 5 shows an example of an environmental non-conformity value stored in the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223 in this embodiment 1.

[0073] As shown in Figure 5, the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223 stores the environmental non-conformity value in association with the standby location. For example, the environmental non-conformity value for standby location P1 is 1.4, and the environmental non-conformity value for standby location P2 is 1.2.

[0074] The travel time calculation unit 214 calculates the travel time for all possible combinations of the waiting location, destination location, and current location of the on-demand vehicle, with one of them as the starting point and the other as the ending point. Specifically, the travel time calculation unit 214 calculates the travel time from the waiting location to the destination location, the travel time from the waiting location to the current location of the on-demand vehicle, the travel time from the destination location to the waiting location, the travel time from the current location of the on-demand vehicle to the waiting location, and the travel time from the current location of the on-demand vehicle to the destination location. If there are multiple waiting locations and destination locations for multiple passengers, the travel time calculation unit 214 also calculates the travel time between multiple waiting locations and between multiple destination locations.

[0075] Furthermore, the method for calculating the travel time between each location by the travel time calculation unit 214 is based on prior art, so we will omit its explanation.

[0076] Vehicle terminal 3 is equipped with a GPS receiver and periodically transmits its current location to server 2 as the current location of the on-demand vehicle. Server 2 receives the current location of the on-demand vehicle transmitted by vehicle terminal 3 and stores the current location of the on-demand vehicle in memory 22. Therefore, server 2 knows the current location of the on-demand vehicle. The on-demand vehicle may also periodically transmit its own current location to server 2. Furthermore, if the departure point of the on-demand vehicle is predetermined, server 2 may store the departure point of the on-demand vehicle as the current location of the on-demand vehicle in advance.

[0077] The travel time calculation unit 214 creates a travel time cost table in tabular form that shows the travel time for all combinations of the calculated waiting location, destination location, and current location of the demand vehicle, and stores the created travel time cost table in the travel time cost table storage unit 224.

[0078] The travel time cost table storage unit 224 stores a travel time cost table in tabular form that shows the travel time for all combinations of waiting locations, destination locations, and the current location of the demand vehicle, as created by the travel time calculation unit 214.

[0079] Figure 6 shows an example of a travel time cost table stored in the travel time cost table storage unit 224 in this embodiment 1.

[0080] In Figure 6, location P1 is the waiting area for passenger U1, location P2 is the waiting area for passenger U2, location P3 is the destination for passenger U1, and location P4 is the destination for passenger U2. In the travel time cost table, the vertical axis items represent the starting locations, and the horizontal axis items represent the ending locations. Each element value in the travel time cost table represents the travel time between locations.

[0081] As shown in Figure 6, when there are multiple waiting locations, multiple destination locations, and multiple current locations of on-demand vehicles, the travel time calculation unit 214 calculates the travel time for all combinations of the multiple waiting locations, multiple destination locations, and multiple current locations of the on-demand vehicles.

[0082] For example, the travel time from location P1 to location P2 is 1.5 minutes, the travel time from location P1 to location P3 is 2.4 minutes, the travel time from location P1 to location P4 is 1.3 minutes, the travel time from location P1 to the current location of demand vehicle D1 is 0.5 minutes, and the travel time from location P1 to the current location of demand vehicle D2 is 1.7 minutes.

[0083] Note that the travel time from location P1 to location P2 is not necessarily the same as the travel time from location P2 to location P1. This is because the road conditions differ between the routes from location P1 to location P2 and the routes from location P2 to location P1. For example, if the route from location P1 to location P2 is more congested than the route from location P2 to location P1, the travel time from location P1 to location P2 will be longer than the travel time from location P2 to location P1. Also, due to one-way streets, the route from location P1 to location P2 and the route from location P2 to location P1 may not use the same road.

[0084] The transport route calculation unit 215 calculates the transport route of a demand vehicle carrying passengers that will result in shorter waiting times at waiting locations as the environmental non-conformity value increases.

[0085] More specifically, the transport route calculation unit 215 calculates the transport route for the on-demand vehicle that minimizes the sum of the passenger waiting time at the waiting location and the travel time when passengers travel from the waiting location to the destination location on the vehicle, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value. In other words, the transport route calculation unit 215 calculates the transport route that minimizes the solution to the objective function f expressed by equation (2) below.

[0086]

number

[0087] In equation (2) above, C represents the set of passengers c, and α c This represents the environmental incompatibility value at the waiting area for passenger c, wait c This represents the waiting time for passenger c at the waiting location, and move c This represents passenger C's time spent on the vehicle (travel time).

[0088] First, the transport route calculation unit 215 performs cross-exchange proximity search and 2-opt * A transport route is created using at least one of the following: nearest neighbor search and insertion-in-route nearest neighbor search.* Regarding the neighborhood search and the neighborhood search for in-route insertion, they are disclosed in the document "Application of Local Search Methods to the Delivery Routing Problem with Time Window Constraints" (written by Tomoyasu Masuda et al., Research Institute of Mathematical Sciences, 1999, Vol. 1114, 194-205). Next, the transport route calculation unit 215 calculates the cost value of the created transport route. The cost value is the solution of the objective function f represented by the above formula (2). At this time, based on the travel time cost table stored in the travel time cost storage unit 224, the transport route calculation unit 215 calculates wait c and move c Also, the transport route calculation unit 215 reads out the environmental non-compliance value α c at the waiting location of the passenger c from the environmental non-compliance value storage unit 223. The transport route calculation unit 215 compares the cost value of the currently created transport route with the cost value of the best transport route stored in the best transport route storage unit 225. If the cost value of the currently created transport route is smaller than the cost value of the best transport route stored in the best transport route storage unit 225, the transport route calculation unit 215 replaces the best transport route stored in the best transport route storage unit 225 with the currently created transport route. Then, the transport route calculation unit 215 repeats the above process until it is unable to create a new transport route.

[0089] The best transport route storage unit 225 stores the best transport route and the cost value of the best transport route.

[0090] The output unit 216 outputs information indicating the transport route calculated by the transport route calculation unit 215. When it is determined by the transport route calculation unit 215 that a new transport route cannot be created, the output unit 216 outputs the best transport route stored in the best transport route storage unit 225. The output unit 216 transmits the information indicating the transport route to the vehicle terminal 3 via the communication unit 23.

[0091] Subsequently, the transport route creation process of the server 2 in Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure will be described.

[0092] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating the transportation route creation process of Server 2 in Embodiment 1 of this disclosure.

[0093] The transportation route creation process is executed at predetermined time intervals. The predetermined time interval is, for example, one hour. If a passenger reserves a ride in advance, the transportation route for that reserved passenger will be created between the start time of the transportation route creation process and the predetermined time interval. Furthermore, if a passenger requests a ride after arriving at the waiting location, the transportation route for that passenger will be created between the start time of the transportation route creation process and the predetermined time interval before that.

[0094] First, in step S1, the passenger information acquisition unit 211 acquires the passenger's waiting location, destination location, and arrival time at the waiting location from the passenger information storage unit 221. If the passenger information storage unit 221 contains waiting locations, destination locations, and arrival times at the waiting location for multiple passengers, the passenger information acquisition unit 211 acquires the waiting locations, destination locations, and arrival times at the waiting location for multiple passengers from the passenger information storage unit 221. The passenger information acquisition unit 211 does not acquire the waiting locations, destination locations, and arrival times at the waiting location for passengers for whom a transportation route has already been created, but acquires the waiting locations, destination locations, and arrival times at the waiting location for passengers for whom a transportation route has not yet been created.

[0095] Next, in step S2, the environmental information acquisition unit 212 acquires environmental information from an external server that indicates the environment of the waiting area, which was acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211.

[0096] Next, in step S3, the environmental unsuitability value calculation unit 213 calculates an environmental unsuitability value, which indicates how unpleasant the waiting area is for passengers, based on the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 212.

[0097] Next, in step S4, the travel time calculation unit 214 calculates the travel time for all combinations of the waiting location, destination location, and current location of the on-demand vehicle acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211, and creates a travel time cost table that shows the calculated travel time for all combinations in tabular format.

[0098] Next, in step S5, the transport route calculation unit 215 creates the initial transport route as the latest transport route. The transport route calculation unit 215 randomly creates the initial transport route before optimization so as to satisfy predetermined constraints. The predetermined constraints are that the same passenger's waiting location and destination location must be assigned to the same on-demand vehicle, and the on-demand vehicle must arrive at the waiting location before the destination location. The transport route calculation unit 215 does not set the best transport route in the best transport route storage unit 225, and sets the cost value of the best transport route to infinity.

[0099] Next, in step S6, the transport route calculation unit 215 calculates the cost value of the newly created transport route. The transport route calculation unit 215 calculates the cost value of the newly created transport route using equation (2) above. That is, the transport route calculation unit 215 uses the travel time cost table to calculate the waiting time at the waiting location of the newly created transport route, and also calculates the travel time from the waiting location to the destination location of the newly created transport route. Then, the transport route calculation unit 215 calculates the cost value as the sum of the waiting time weighted using the environmental non-conformity value and the travel time from the waiting location to the destination location. Initially, the transport route calculation unit 215 calculates the cost value of the newly created initial transport route.

[0100] Next, in step S7, the transport route calculation unit 215 determines whether the cost value of the newly created transport route is less than the cost value of the best transport route stored in the best transport route storage unit 225. Initially, the cost value of the best transport route is set to infinity, so the transport route calculation unit 215 determines that the cost value of the newest transport route is less than the cost value of the best transport route.

[0101] If it is determined that the cost value of the latest transportation route is not less than the cost value of the best transportation route (NO in step S7), the process proceeds to step S9.

[0102] On the other hand, if it is determined that the cost value of the latest transportation route is smaller than the cost value of the best transportation route (YES in step S7), in step S8, the transportation route calculation unit 215 replaces the best transportation route stored in the best transportation route storage unit 225 with the latest transportation route.

[0103] Next, in step S9, the transport route calculation unit 215 determines whether or not it is possible to create the latest transport route.

[0104] If it is determined that the latest transportation route can be created (YES in step S9), then in step S10, the transportation route calculation unit 215 creates the latest transportation route.

[0105] On the other hand, if it is determined that the latest transport route cannot be created (NO in step S9), then in step S11 , out The power unit 216 outputs information indicating the best transport route stored in the best transport route storage unit 225.

[0106] In this way, when calculating the transportation route for on-demand vehicles, the waiting time of passengers at waiting locations is weighted using an environmental unsuitability value, which indicates how unpleasant the environment at the waiting location is for passengers. Therefore, as the environment at the waiting location deteriorates and the environmental unsuitability value increases, a transportation route that shortens passenger waiting times is calculated, making it possible to create a transportation route that takes into account the environment at the waiting locations where passengers wait. As a result, the discomfort of passengers at waiting locations can be reduced, and the quality of transportation services can be improved.

[0107] In this embodiment 1, the current location of a demand vehicle traveling according to an already created transportation route is not used in creating a new transportation route, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. The transportation route calculation unit 215 may use the current location of a demand vehicle traveling according to an already created transportation route in creating a new transportation route. As a result, if new dispatch request information is received while the demand vehicle is traveling, the transportation route calculation unit 215 can modify the transportation route of the moving demand vehicle based on the new waiting location, destination location, and arrival time at the waiting location.

[0108] (Embodiment 2) In Embodiment 1, temporal changes in the environment of the waiting area are not considered. In contrast, in Embodiment 2, changes in the environment of the waiting area at predetermined time intervals are considered, and the environmental incompatibility value is calculated at predetermined time intervals.

[0109] For example, since temperature, weather, and PM2.5 concentration change over time, the environmental incompatibility value also changes over time. In this second embodiment, the environmental incompatibility value is calculated for each predetermined time period according to the changes in the environment of the waiting location at each predetermined time period. This makes it possible to create a transportation route that picks up passengers within 20 minutes, for example, if it is currently sunny at the waiting location but rain is predicted to fall in 20 minutes.

[0110] Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of server 2A in this embodiment 2.

[0111] Server 2A includes a processor 21A, memory 22A, and a communication unit 23. In this second embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for components that are the same as in the first embodiment, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0112] The processor 21A enables the implementation of a passenger information acquisition unit 211, an environmental information acquisition unit 212A, an environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213A, a travel time calculation unit 214A, a transport route calculation unit 215A, and an output unit 216.

[0113] Memory 22A enables the realization of a passenger information storage unit 221, an environmental information storage unit 222A, an environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223A, a travel time cost table storage unit 224A, and a best transport route storage unit 225.

[0114] The environmental information acquisition unit 212A acquires environmental information at predetermined intervals. The predetermined interval is, for example, 10 minutes. The environmental information acquisition unit 212A acquires environmental information at predetermined intervals from the time of arrival at the waiting location.

[0115] The environmental information acquisition unit 212A acquires environmental information indicating the environment of the waiting location at predetermined intervals from an external server via the communication unit 23. The environmental information acquisition unit 212A transmits the location information of the waiting location acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211 to the external server via the communication unit 23. When the external server receives the location information of the waiting location transmitted by server 2A, it transmits environmental information indicating the environment of the waiting location at predetermined intervals to server 2A. The communication unit 23 receives the environmental information at predetermined intervals transmitted by the external server. For example, the environmental information includes the temperature, weather, and concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) at the waiting location. The environmental information may also include at least one of the temperature, humidity, weather, and concentration of particulate matter at the waiting location. The environmental information acquisition unit 212A stores the environmental information at predetermined intervals received by the communication unit 23 in the environmental information storage unit 222A, associating it with the waiting location.

[0116] The environmental information storage unit 222A stores environmental information at predetermined intervals, associating it with the standby location.

[0117] Figure 9 shows an example of environmental information stored in the environmental information storage unit 222A at predetermined intervals in this second embodiment.

[0118] As shown in Figure 9, the environmental information storage unit 222A stores temperature, weather, and PM2.5 concentration every 10 minutes, associated with the standby location. In Figure 9, environmental information every 10 minutes from 9:00 to 9:30 is associated with the standby location. For example, at 9:30, the temperature at standby location P1 is 1.2°C, the weather at location P1 is rainy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location P1 is 2.4 μg / m³. 3 Furthermore, for example, at 9:30 AM, the temperature at location P2, the waiting area, is 1.2°C, the weather at location P2 is cloudy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location P2 is 3.2 μg / m³. 3 That is the case.

[0119] In this second embodiment, the environmental information is not limited to the temperature, weather, and concentration of particulate matter at the waiting area, but may also be other information such as the humidity and photochemical smog concentration at the waiting area, as in the first embodiment.

[0120] Furthermore, if the environmental information acquisition unit 212A acquires environmental information from sensors installed in a standby location rather than from an external server, it may estimate future environmental information from the acquired environmental information. For example, the environmental information acquisition unit 212A may input the environmental information acquired from the sensors into an estimation model that has been machine-learned using environmental information acquired from sensors in the past, and acquire future environmental information at predetermined time intervals output from the estimation model.

[0121] The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213A calculates the environmental non-conformity value for predetermined time intervals based on the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 212 at predetermined time intervals.

[0122] The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213A calculates the environmental non-conformity value α at predetermined intervals in the standby location using the above formula (1). The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213A stores the calculated environmental non-conformity value at predetermined intervals in the standby location in the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223A, associating it with the standby location.

[0123] The environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223A stores the environmental non-conformity value calculated by the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213A at predetermined intervals, associating it with the standby location.

[0124] Figure 10 shows an example of environmental non-conformity values ​​stored in the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223A at predetermined intervals in this second embodiment.

[0125] As shown in Figure 10, the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223A stores environmental non-conformity values ​​every 10 minutes, associating them with the standby locations. In Figure 10, the environmental non-conformity values ​​every 10 minutes from 9:00 to 9:30 are associated with the standby locations. For example, at 9:30, the environmental non-conformity value for standby location P1 is 1.4, and the environmental non-conformity value for standby location P2 is 1.2.

[0126] The travel time calculation unit 214A calculates the travel time for all combinations of the waiting location, destination location, and current location of the demand vehicle, with one of them as the starting point and the other as the ending point, at predetermined intervals. For example, road conditions change over time due to construction and traffic congestion. Therefore, the travel time calculation unit 214A calculates the travel time for all combinations at predetermined intervals. every The travel time is calculated. The specified period is, for example, 10 minutes.

[0127] The travel time calculation unit 214A creates a travel time cost table for each predetermined period, which is a table showing the travel time for all combinations of waiting locations, destination locations, and the current location of the demand vehicle calculated for each predetermined period. The travel time cost table created for each predetermined period is stored in the travel time cost table storage unit 224A.

[0128] The travel time cost table storage unit 224A stores a travel time cost table for a predetermined period, which is a table showing the travel time for each predetermined period for all combinations of waiting locations, destination locations, and the current location of the demand vehicle, created by the travel time calculation unit 214A.

[0129] Figure 11 shows an example of a travel time cost table for a predetermined period stored in the travel time cost table storage unit 224A in this second embodiment.

[0130] In Figure 11, location P1 is the waiting area for passenger U1, location P2 is the waiting area for passenger U2, location P3 is the destination for passenger U1, and location P4 is the destination for passenger U2. In the travel time cost table, the vertical axis items represent the starting locations, and the horizontal axis items represent the ending locations. Each element value in the travel time cost table represents the travel time between locations. In Figure 11, travel time cost tables have been created for every 10 minutes, specifically for the period from 9:00 to 9:10, from 9:10 to 9:20, from 9:20 to 9:30, and from 9:30 to 9:40.

[0131] The transport route calculation unit 215A calculates the average value of environmental unsuitability for the period from the time a passenger arrives at the waiting location to the time a demand vehicle arrives at the waiting location, based on the environmental unsuitability value at predetermined time intervals. The transport route calculation unit 215A then calculates a transport route that shortens the waiting time for passengers at the waiting location as the average value of environmental unsuitability increases. At this time, the transport route calculation unit 215A weights the waiting time using the average value of environmental unsuitability.

[0132] More specifically, the transport route calculation unit 215A calculates the transport route for the on-demand vehicle that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the waiting location and the travel time for the passenger to travel from the waiting location to the destination location by boarding the on-demand vehicle, weighted using the average value of environmental non-conformity values ​​during the period from the time the passenger arrives at the waiting location to the time the on-demand vehicle arrives at the waiting location. In other words, the transport route calculation unit 215A calculates the transport route that minimizes the solution to the objective function f expressed by the following equation (3).

[0133]

number

[0134] In equation (3) above, C represents the set of passengers c, and α c (t0, t1) represents the average value of environmental non-conformity during the period from the time t0 when passenger c arrives at the waiting location to the time t1 when the demand vehicle arrives at the waiting location. c This represents the waiting time for passenger c, and move c This represents passenger C's time spent on the vehicle (travel time).

[0135] The transport route calculation unit 215A obtains the environmental non-conformity value for the period between time t0 and time t1 from the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223A. For example, if time t0 is 9:00 and time t1 is 9:17, the transport route calculation unit 215A obtains the environmental non-conformity value at 9:00 and the environmental non-conformity value at 9:10 from the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223A. The transport route calculation unit 215A calculates the average value of the two obtained environmental non-conformity values. In the transport route calculation method in Embodiment 2, the average value α of the environmental non-conformity value at the passenger c waiting location is used. c The method for calculating the transportation route is the same as in Embodiment 1, except that (t0, t1) is used. Furthermore, a method for creating a transportation route using multiple travel time cost tables is disclosed, for example, in the paper "Time Dependent Vehicle Routing Problems: Formulas, Properties and Heuristic Algorithms" (by Chryssi Malandraki et al., Transportation Science, August 1992, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 185-200).

[0136] Next, the transportation route creation process of server 2A in Embodiment 2 of this disclosure will be described.

[0137] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating the transportation route creation process of server 2A in Embodiment 2 of this disclosure.

[0138] The process in step S21 is the same as the process in step S1 shown in Figure 7, so its explanation will be omitted.

[0139] Next, in step S22, the environmental information acquisition unit 212A acquires environmental information for the waiting area at predetermined intervals, which has been acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211, from an external server.

[0140] Next, in step S23, the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213A calculates the environmental non-conformity value at the waiting area at predetermined intervals based on the environmental information acquired at predetermined intervals by the environmental information acquisition unit 212A.

[0141] Next, in step S24, the travel time calculation unit 214A calculates the travel time for all combinations of the waiting location, destination location, and current location of the demand vehicle acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211 for each predetermined period, and creates a travel time cost table for each predetermined period in tabular format, which shows the calculated travel time for each combination for each predetermined period.

[0142] The process in step S25 is the same as the process in step S5 shown in Figure 7, so its explanation will be omitted.

[0143] Next, in step S26, the transport route calculation unit 215A calculates the cost value of the latest transport route created. The transport route calculation unit 215A calculates the cost value of the latest transport route using equation (3) above. That is, the transport route calculation unit 215A uses a travel time cost table for predetermined periods to calculate the waiting time at the waiting location of the latest transport route, and also calculates the travel time from the waiting location to the destination location of the latest transport route. The transport route calculation unit 215A then calculates the cost value as the sum of the waiting time, which is weighted using the average value of environmental non-conformity values ​​during the period from the time the passenger arrives at the waiting location to the time the vehicle arrives at the waiting location, and the travel time from the waiting location to the destination location. Initially, the transport route calculation unit 215 calculates the cost value of the initial transport route created.

[0144] The processes in steps S27 to S31 are the same as those in steps S7 to S11 shown in Figure 7, so their explanation will be omitted.

[0145] Thus, the environment of the waiting area can change over time. Therefore, by acquiring environmental information at predetermined intervals and calculating environmental unsuitability values ​​at predetermined intervals based on this information, it is possible to obtain environmental unsuitability values ​​that change at predetermined intervals. Then, by weighting the waiting time using the average value of environmental unsuitability values ​​during the period from the time the passenger arrives at the waiting area to the time the on-demand vehicle arrives at the waiting area, it is possible to calculate the transportation route while taking into account the environment of the waiting area that changes at predetermined intervals.

[0146] (Embodiment 3) In Embodiment 1, the waiting area is specified by the passenger. In contrast, in Embodiment 3, if a recommended waiting area exists nearby where the environmental incompatibility value at the waiting area specified by the passenger is improved, the passenger is prompted to move from the current waiting area to the recommended waiting area.

[0147] Figure 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of server 2B in this third embodiment.

[0148] Server 2B includes a processor 21B, memory 22B, and communication unit 23B. In this embodiment 3, the same reference numerals are used for components that are the same as in embodiment 1, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0149] The processor 21B enables the following functions: passenger information acquisition unit 211, environmental information acquisition unit 212B, environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213B, travel time calculation unit 214B, transport route calculation unit 215B, output unit 216, recommended waiting place information acquisition unit 217, environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218, recommended waiting place identification unit 219, and recommended waiting place presentation unit 220.

[0150] Memory 22A enables the implementation of a passenger information storage unit 221, an environmental information storage unit 222B, an environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223B, a travel time cost table storage unit 224B, a best transport route storage unit 225, a recommended waiting place information storage unit 226, and an environmental non-conformity improvement value storage unit 227.

[0151] The recommended standby location information storage unit 226 pre-stores recommended standby location information indicating the location of at least one recommended standby location. A recommended standby location is, for example, a place with a roof or a place inside a building where the temperature is kept constant. Recommended standby locations are predetermined as places where the environment can be improved.

[0152] Figure 14 shows an example of recommended waiting location information stored in the recommended waiting location information storage unit 226 in this embodiment 3.

[0153] As shown in Figure 14, the recommended waiting location information storage unit 226 stores recommended waiting location information for at least one recommended waiting location. For example, the recommended waiting location information storage unit 226 stores recommended waiting location information for three recommended waiting locations: location R1, location R2, and location R3.

[0154] The recommended waiting location information acquisition unit 217 acquires recommended waiting location information from the recommended waiting location information storage unit 226 regarding at least one recommended waiting location that is within a predetermined distance from the passenger's waiting location.

[0155] The environmental information acquisition unit 212B acquires environmental information of waiting locations acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211, as well as environmental information of at least one recommended waiting location acquired by the recommended waiting location information acquisition unit 217.

[0156] Furthermore, environmental information for the waiting area is acquired in the same manner as in Embodiment 1.

[0157] The environmental information acquisition unit 212B acquires environmental information indicating the environment of at least one recommended waiting location from an external server via the communication unit 23B. The environmental information acquisition unit 212B transmits the location information of at least one recommended waiting location acquired by the recommended waiting location information acquisition unit 217 to the external server via the communication unit 23B. When the external server receives the location information of at least one recommended waiting location transmitted by server 2B, it transmits environmental information indicating the environment of at least one recommended waiting location to server 2B. The communication unit 23B receives the environmental information transmitted by the external server. For example, the environmental information includes the temperature, weather, and concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) at the waiting location. The environmental information may also include at least one of the temperature, humidity, weather, and concentration of particulate matter at the waiting location. The environmental information acquisition unit 212B stores the environmental information received by the communication unit 23B in the environmental information storage unit 222B, associating it with at least one recommended waiting location.

[0158] The environmental information storage unit 222B stores environmental information associated with standby locations, as well as environmental information associated with recommended standby locations.

[0159] Figure 15 shows an example of environmental information for a recommended waiting location stored in the environmental information storage unit 222B in this third embodiment. Note that the environmental information for a waiting location stored in the environmental information storage unit 222B is the same as the environmental information shown in Figure 4.

[0160] As shown in Figure 15, the environmental information storage unit 222B stores temperature, weather, and PM2.5 concentration in association with the recommended waiting location. For example, the temperature at location R1, a recommended waiting location, is 8.2°C, the weather at location R1 is rainy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location R1 is 2.1 μg / m³. 3 For example, the temperature at location R2, a recommended waiting location, is 11.5°C, the weather at location R2 is cloudy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location R2 is 3.4 μg / m³. 3 For example, the temperature at location R3, a recommended waiting location, is 10.9°C, the weather at location R3 is cloudy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location R3 is 2.1 μg / m³. 3 That is the case.

[0161] In this third embodiment, the environmental information is not limited to the temperature, weather, and concentration of particulate matter at the waiting area, but may also be other information such as the humidity and photochemical smog concentration at the waiting area, as in the first embodiment.

[0162] Furthermore, if the environmental information acquisition unit 212B acquires environmental information from sensors installed at recommended waiting locations rather than from an external server, it may estimate future environmental information from the acquired environmental information. For example, the environmental information acquisition unit 212B may input the environmental information acquired from sensors into an estimation model that has been machine-learned using environmental information acquired from sensors in the past, and acquire future environmental information at predetermined intervals output from the estimation model.

[0163] The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213B calculates the environmental non-conformity value at the standby location based on the environmental information of the standby location, and also calculates the environmental non-conformity value at at least one recommended standby location based on the environmental information of at least one recommended standby location. The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213B calculates the environmental non-conformity value α at the standby location and the recommended standby location using the above formula (1).

[0164] The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213B stores the calculated environmental non-conformity value in the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223B in association with the waiting location, and also stores the calculated environmental non-conformity value in the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223B in association with the recommended waiting location.

[0165] The environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223B stores the environmental non-conformity value calculated by the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213B in association with the waiting location, and also stores the environmental non-conformity value calculated by the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213B in association with the recommended waiting location.

[0166] Figure 16 shows an example of the environmental incompatibility value of a recommended waiting location stored in the environmental incompatibility value storage unit 223B in this third embodiment. Note that the environmental incompatibility value of a waiting location stored in the environmental incompatibility value storage unit 223B is the same as the environmental incompatibility value shown in Figure 5.

[0167] As shown in Figure 16, the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223B stores the environmental non-conformity value in association with the recommended waiting location. For example, the environmental non-conformity value at location R1, which is a recommended waiting location, is 0.8, the environmental non-conformity value at location R2, which is a recommended waiting location, is 0.4, and the environmental non-conformity value at location R3, which is a recommended waiting location, is 0.9.

[0168] The environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218 calculates at least one environmental non-conformity improvement value that is improved by moving from the waiting location to each of the at least one recommended waiting locations, based on the environmental non-conformity value at the waiting location, the environmental non-conformity value at at least one recommended waiting location, and the travel time from the waiting location to at least one recommended waiting location.

[0169] The environmental non-compliance improvement value calculation unit 218 calculates at least one environmental non-compliance improvement value using the following formula (4).

[0170] Δ(c,r)=U c -U r -M···(4)

[0171] In equation (4) above, Δ(c,r) represents the improvement in environmental incompatibility that is achieved by the passenger moving from the current waiting location c to the recommended waiting location r, U c This represents the environmental incompatibility value at the current waiting location c, U r represents the environmental incompatibility value at the recommended waiting location r, and M is the travel time from the current waiting location c to the recommended waiting location r * (U c +U r This represents ) / 2.

[0172] The environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218 stores at least one calculated environmental non-conformity improvement value in the environmental non-conformity improvement value storage unit 227.

[0173] The environmental non-conformity improvement value storage unit 227 stores at least one environmental non-conformity improvement value calculated by the environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218.

[0174] Figure 17 shows an example of an environmental non-conformity improvement value stored in the environmental non-conformity improvement value storage unit 227 in this embodiment 3.

[0175] As shown in Figure 17, the environmental incompatibility improvement value storage unit 227 stores environmental incompatibility improvement values ​​corresponding to the current standby location and at least one recommended standby location. For example, the environmental incompatibility improvement value corresponding to the current standby location P1 and the recommended standby location R1 is 1.4, the environmental incompatibility improvement value corresponding to the current standby location P1 and the recommended standby location R2 is 1.5, and the environmental incompatibility improvement value corresponding to the current standby location P1 and the recommended standby location R3 is 1.3. Also, for example, the environmental incompatibility improvement value corresponding to the current standby location P2 and the recommended standby location R1 is 1.2, the environmental incompatibility improvement value corresponding to the current standby location P2 and the recommended standby location R2 is 4.2, and the environmental incompatibility improvement value corresponding to the current standby location P2 and the recommended standby location R3 is 3.2.

[0176] The recommended waiting location identification unit 219 identifies a recommended waiting location corresponding to the largest environmental incompatibility improvement value among at least one environmental incompatibility improvement value that is above the threshold. In Figure 17, if the current waiting location is location P1 and the threshold is, for example, 1.0, the recommended waiting location identification unit 219 identifies location R2 as the recommended waiting location corresponding to the largest environmental incompatibility improvement value of 1.5 among the three environmental incompatibility improvement values ​​that is above the threshold.

[0177] The recommended waiting location display unit 220 transmits information to the passenger terminal 1 via the communication unit 23B to prompt the passenger to move to the recommended waiting location identified by the recommended waiting location identification unit 219. Upon receiving the information, the passenger terminal 1 displays the identified recommended waiting location and accepts the passenger's choice as to whether or not to accept moving from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location. The passenger terminal 1 then transmits response information to the server 2B indicating whether or not to accept moving from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location. The communication unit 23B receives the response information transmitted by the passenger terminal 1 and outputs the received response information to the travel time calculation unit 214B.

[0178] When the travel time calculation unit 214B receives response information indicating acceptance of travel to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it replaces the passenger's current waiting location stored in the passenger information storage unit 221 with the specified recommended waiting location. For example, if passenger U1 allows travel from the current waiting location P1 to the recommended waiting location R2, then the waiting location P1 in the passenger information shown in Figure 3 will be replaced with the recommended waiting location R2. 2 It will be replaced with.

[0179] The travel time calculation unit 214B calculates the travel time for all possible combinations of the recommended waiting location, destination location, and current location of the on-demand vehicle, with one of them as the starting point and the other as the ending point. The travel time calculation unit 214B creates a travel time cost table in tabular form, which represents the calculated travel time for all combinations of the recommended waiting location, destination location, and current location of the on-demand vehicle, and stores the created travel time cost table in the travel time cost table storage unit 224B.

[0180] The travel time cost table storage unit 224B stores a travel time cost table in tabular form that shows the travel time for all combinations of recommended waiting locations, destination locations, and the current location of the demand vehicle, as created by the travel time calculation unit 214B.

[0181] Figure 18 shows an example of a travel time cost table stored in the travel time cost table storage unit 224B in this embodiment 3.

[0182] In Figure 18, location R2 is the recommended waiting location for passenger U1, location P2 is the waiting location for passenger U2, location P3 is the destination location for passenger U1, and location P4 is the destination location for passenger U2. Location P1, which is the current waiting location for passenger U1, has been changed to location R2, which is the recommended waiting location. In the travel time cost table, the vertical axis items represent the starting location, and the horizontal axis items represent the ending location. Each element value in the travel time cost table represents the travel time between locations.

[0183] When the transport route calculation unit 215B receives response information indicating acceptance of moving to a recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it calculates a transport route that shortens the passenger waiting time at the specified recommended waiting location as the environmental incompatibility value at the specified recommended waiting location increases.

[0184] More specifically, when the transport route calculation unit 215B receives response information indicating acceptance of moving to a recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it calculates a transport route that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the recommended waiting location and the travel time for the passenger to travel from the recommended waiting location to the destination location by on-demand vehicle, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value at the identified recommended waiting location.

[0185] The transportation route calculation unit 215B creates a transportation route that satisfies the constraint that the time when the demand vehicle picks up passengers moving from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location is after the passengers' arrival time at the recommended waiting location.

[0186] Furthermore, if the travel time calculation unit 214B receives response information indicating acceptance of travel to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it may replace the arrival time of the passenger's current waiting location stored in the passenger information storage unit 221 with the arrival time of the specified recommended waiting location. For example, if passenger U1 allows travel from the current waiting location P1 to the recommended waiting location R2, then the waiting location P1 in the passenger information shown in Figure 3 will be replaced with the arrival time of the recommended waiting location R2. 2In addition to being replaced, the arrival time at the waiting location may also be replaced with the arrival time from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location. In this way, the waiting location arrival time is replaced with the arrival time at the recommended waiting location, and a travel time cost table is created using the replaced waiting location arrival time, thereby satisfying the above constraints.

[0187] Furthermore, if the transport route calculation unit 215B receives response information indicating that it does not accept moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it calculates a transport route that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the waiting location and the travel time for the passenger to travel from the waiting location to the destination location by boarding a demand vehicle, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value at the waiting location.

[0188] The transportation route calculation method in Embodiment 3 is the same as the transportation route calculation method in Embodiment 1, except for the constraint that the time when the demand vehicle picks up passengers is after the time when the passengers arrive at the recommended waiting location.

[0189] Next, the transportation route creation process of server 2B in Embodiment 3 of this disclosure will be described.

[0190] Figure 19 is a first flowchart illustrating the transportation route creation process for server 2B in Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure, and Figure 20 is a second flowchart illustrating the transportation route creation process for server 2B in Embodiment 3 of the present disclosure.

[0191] The processes in steps S41 to S43 are the same as those in steps S1 to S3 shown in Figure 7, so their explanation will be omitted.

[0192] Next, in step S44, the recommended waiting location information acquisition unit 217 acquires from the recommended waiting location information storage unit 226 at least one recommended waiting location that is within a predetermined distance from the passenger's waiting location.

[0193] Next, in step S45, the environmental information acquisition unit 212B acquires environmental information from an external server that indicates the environment of at least one recommended waiting location, which has been acquired by the recommended waiting location information acquisition unit 217.

[0194] Next, in step S46, the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213B calculates the environmental non-conformity value for at least one recommended waiting location based on the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 212B.

[0195] The environmental information acquisition unit 212B acquires the environmental information of the current standby location and the environmental information of at least one recommended standby location in separate steps. However, this disclosure is not limited to this, and the environmental information of the current standby location and the environmental information of at least one recommended standby location may be acquired in a single step. Similarly, the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213B may calculate the environmental non-conformity value at the current standby location and the environmental non-conformity value at at least one recommended standby location in a single step.

[0196] Next, in step S47, the environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218 calculates at least one environmental non-conformity improvement value that will be improved by moving from the current waiting location to each of the at least one recommended waiting locations, based on the environmental non-conformity value at the current waiting location, the environmental non-conformity value at at least one recommended waiting location, and the travel time from the current waiting location to at least one recommended waiting location. The environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218 calculates at least one environmental non-conformity improvement value using the above formula (4). The environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218 also stores the calculated at least one environmental non-conformity improvement value in the environmental non-conformity improvement value storage unit 227.

[0197] Next, in step S48, the recommended waiting location identification unit 219 identifies a recommended waiting location corresponding to the maximum environmental incompatibility improvement value among at least one environmental incompatibility improvement value that is equal to or greater than the threshold. The recommended waiting location identification unit 219 extracts the maximum environmental incompatibility improvement value from among at least one environmental incompatibility improvement value, and if the extracted maximum environmental incompatibility improvement value is equal to or greater than the threshold, it identifies the recommended waiting location corresponding to that maximum environmental incompatibility improvement value as a recommended waiting location to be presented to the passenger. If the maximum environmental incompatibility improvement value is less than the threshold, the recommended waiting location identification unit 219 does not identify a recommended waiting location to be presented to the passenger.

[0198] Next, in step S49, the recommended waiting location presentation unit 220 determines whether or not a recommended waiting location has been identified by the recommended waiting location identification unit 219. If it is determined that no recommended waiting location has been identified (NO in step S49), the process proceeds to step S54.

[0199] On the other hand, if it is determined that a recommended waiting area has been identified (YES in step S49), in step S50, the recommended waiting area presentation unit 220 creates presentation information to encourage passengers to move to the recommended waiting area identified by the recommended waiting area identification unit 219.

[0200] Next, in step S51, the recommended waiting location display unit 220 transmits the created display information to the passenger terminal 1 via the communication unit 23B. The passenger terminal 1 receives the passenger's selection as to whether or not to accept moving from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location, and sends response information to the server 2B indicating whether or not to accept moving from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location.

[0201] Next, in step S52, the travel time calculation unit 214B determines whether the move from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location has been accepted, based on the response information received by the communication unit 23B. If it is determined that the move from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location has not been accepted (NO in step S52), the process proceeds to step S54. If a response information indicating that the move to the recommended waiting location is not accepted is received in response to the presented information, it is determined that the move from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location has not been accepted. Also, if no response information is received within a predetermined time after the presented information is transmitted, it is determined that the move from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location has not been accepted.

[0202] On the other hand, if it is determined that the passenger has accepted the move from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location (YES in step S52), in step S53, the travel time calculation unit 214B replaces the passenger's current waiting location stored in the passenger information storage unit 221 with the identified recommended waiting location. If a response is received indicating acceptance of the move to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it is determined that the move from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location has been accepted.

[0203] Next, in step S54, the travel time calculation unit 214B replaces the passenger's current arrival time at the waiting location, which is stored in the passenger information storage unit 221, with the arrival time at the specified recommended waiting location. If the passenger requests a ride after arriving at the waiting location, the travel time calculation unit 214B calculates the travel time from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location and adds the calculated travel time to the current time to calculate the arrival time at the recommended waiting location. If the passenger reserves a ride in advance, the travel time calculation unit 214B calculates the travel time from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location and adds the calculated travel time to the arrival time at the current waiting location to calculate the arrival time at the recommended waiting location.

[0204] If multiple passengers request a ride, steps S41 to S54 will be performed for each of the passengers.

[0205] Next, in step S55, the travel time calculation unit 214B calculates the travel time for all combinations of the waiting location acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211 or the recommended waiting location identified by the recommended waiting location identification unit 219, the destination location, and the current location of the demand vehicle, and creates a travel time cost table that shows the calculated travel times for all combinations in tabular format.

[0206] The processes in steps S56 to S62 are the same as those in steps S5 to S11 shown in Figure 7, so their explanation will be omitted.

[0207] In this way, a recommended waiting location with an improved environment compared to the current waiting location is identified, and this identified recommended waiting location is presented to the passenger. When a response is received indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location, a transport route is calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the identified recommended waiting location (weighted using the environmental incompatibility value at that location) and the travel time from the recommended waiting location to the destination location by the passenger on the on-demand vehicle. Therefore, passengers can be encouraged to move to a recommended waiting location that is more comfortable than the current waiting location, and by moving to the recommended waiting location, passengers can wait in a more comfortable environment.

[0208] (Embodiment 4) In Embodiment 3, temporal changes in the environment of the waiting area and the recommended waiting area are not considered. In contrast, in Embodiment 4, changes in the environment of the waiting area and the recommended waiting area at predetermined intervals are considered, and environmental non-conformity values ​​for the waiting area and the recommended waiting area at predetermined intervals are calculated.

[0209] As described in Embodiment 2, for example, temperature, weather, and PM2.5 concentration change over time, and therefore the environmental unsuitability value also changes over time. It takes time for passengers to move from their current waiting location to their recommended waiting location. For this reason, the environmental unsuitability value may change moment by moment even while moving from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location.

[0210] For example, if it is going to rain in 10 minutes at the current waiting location, passenger satisfaction is likely to be higher if the passenger moves to a moderately comfortable recommended waiting location that is relatively close, rather than to a very comfortable recommended waiting location that is relatively far away.

[0211] Therefore, in Embodiment 4, the recommended waiting location is determined by considering the environment of the current waiting location and the environment of the recommended waiting location after relocation.

[0212] Figure 21 is a block diagram showing the configuration of server 2C in this embodiment 4.

[0213] Server 2C comprises a processor 21C, memory 22C, and communication unit 23C. In this embodiment 4, the same reference numerals are used for components that are the same as those in embodiments 1 to 3, and their descriptions are omitted.

[0214] The processor 21C enables the implementation of a passenger information acquisition unit 211, an environmental information acquisition unit 212C, an environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213C, a travel time calculation unit 214C, a transport route calculation unit 215C, an output unit 216, a recommended waiting place information acquisition unit 217, an environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218C, a recommended waiting place identification unit 219, and a recommended waiting place presentation unit 220.

[0215] Memory 22C enables the implementation of a passenger information storage unit 221, an environmental information storage unit 222C, an environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223C, a travel time cost table storage unit 224C, a best transport route storage unit 225, a recommended waiting place information storage unit 226, and an environmental non-conformity improvement value storage unit 227.

[0216] The environmental information acquisition unit 212C acquires environmental information for waiting locations at predetermined intervals, which is acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211, and also acquires environmental information for at least one recommended waiting location at predetermined intervals, which is acquired by the recommended waiting location information acquisition unit 217. The predetermined interval is, for example, 10 minutes. The environmental information acquisition unit 212C acquires environmental information for waiting locations and at least one recommended waiting location at predetermined intervals from the arrival time at the waiting location.

[0217] Furthermore, environmental information of the waiting area at predetermined intervals is acquired in the same manner as in Embodiment 2.

[0218] The environmental information acquisition unit 212C acquires environmental information from an external server via the communication unit 23C, indicating the environment of at least one recommended waiting location at predetermined intervals. The environmental information acquisition unit 212C transmits the location information of at least one recommended waiting location acquired by the recommended waiting location information acquisition unit 217 to the external server via the communication unit 23C. When the external server receives the location information of at least one recommended waiting location transmitted by server 2C, it transmits environmental information indicating the environment of at least one recommended waiting location at predetermined intervals to server 2C. The communication unit 23C receives the environmental information transmitted by the external server at predetermined intervals. For example, the environmental information includes the temperature, weather, and concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) at the waiting location. The environmental information may also include at least one of the temperature, humidity, weather, and concentration of particulate matter at the waiting location. The environmental information acquisition unit 212C stores environmental information received by the communication unit 23C at predetermined intervals in the environmental information storage unit 222C, associating it with at least one recommended waiting location.

[0219] The environmental information storage unit 222C stores environmental information at predetermined intervals in association with the standby location, and also stores environmental information at predetermined intervals in association with the recommended standby location.

[0220] Figure 22 shows an example of environmental information for a recommended waiting location stored in the environmental information storage unit 222C at predetermined intervals in this embodiment 4.

[0221] As shown in Figure 22, the environmental information storage unit 222C stores temperature, weather, and PM2.5 concentration every 10 minutes, associating them with the recommended waiting location. In Figure 22, environmental information every 10 minutes from 9:00 to 9:30 is associated with the recommended waiting location. For example, at 9:30, the temperature at location R1, a recommended waiting location, is 8.2°C, the weather at location R1 is rainy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location R1 is 2.1 μg / m³. 3Furthermore, for example, at 9:30 AM, the temperature at location R2, the recommended waiting location, is 11.5°C, the weather at location R2 is cloudy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location R2 is 3.4 μg / m³. 3 Furthermore, for example, at 9:30 AM, the temperature at location R3, the recommended waiting location, is 10.9°C, the weather at location R3 is cloudy, and the PM2.5 concentration at location R3 is 2.1 μg / m³. 3 That is the case.

[0222] In this embodiment 4, the environmental information is not limited to the temperature, weather, and concentration of particulate matter at the waiting area, but may also be other information such as the humidity and photochemical smog concentration at the waiting area, as in embodiment 1.

[0223] Furthermore, if the environmental information acquisition unit 212C acquires environmental information from sensors installed at recommended waiting locations rather than from an external server, it may estimate future environmental information from the acquired environmental information. For example, the environmental information acquisition unit 212C may input the environmental information acquired from sensors into an estimation model that has been machine-trained using environmental information acquired from sensors in the past, and acquire future environmental information at predetermined intervals output from the estimation model.

[0224] The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213C calculates the environmental non-conformity value at a predetermined time interval in a standby location based on the environmental information of the standby location at predetermined time intervals, and also calculates the environmental non-conformity value at at least one recommended standby location at predetermined time intervals based on the environmental information of at least one recommended standby location at predetermined time intervals.

[0225] The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213C calculates the environmental non-conformity value α at predetermined intervals in the standby location and the recommended standby location using the above formula (1). The environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213C stores the calculated environmental non-conformity value at predetermined intervals for the standby location in the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223C, associating it with the standby location, and also stores the calculated environmental non-conformity value at predetermined intervals for the recommended standby location in the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223C, associating it with the recommended standby location.

[0226] The environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223C stores the environmental non-conformity value calculated by the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213C at predetermined intervals, associating it with the waiting location, and also stores the environmental non-conformity value calculated by the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213C at predetermined intervals, associating it with the recommended waiting location.

[0227] Figure 23 shows an example of the environmental incompatibility values ​​for recommended waiting locations stored in the environmental incompatibility value storage unit 223C at predetermined intervals in this embodiment 4. Note that the environmental incompatibility values ​​for waiting locations stored in the environmental incompatibility value storage unit 223C at predetermined intervals are the same as the environmental incompatibility values ​​for predetermined intervals shown in Figure 10.

[0228] As shown in Figure 23, the environmental non-conformity value storage unit 223C stores environmental non-conformity values ​​every 10 minutes, associating them with recommended waiting locations. In Figure 23, environmental non-conformity values ​​every 10 minutes from 9:00 to 9:30 are associated with recommended waiting locations. For example, at 9:30, the environmental non-conformity value at location R1, a recommended waiting location, is 0.8, the environmental non-conformity value at location R2, a recommended waiting location, is 0.4, and the environmental non-conformity value at location R3, a recommended waiting location, is 0.9.

[0229] The environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218C calculates at least one environmental non-conformity improvement value that is improved by moving from the waiting location to each of the at least one recommended waiting locations, based on the current environmental non-conformity value among the environmental non-conformity values ​​at predetermined time intervals at the waiting location, at least one environmental non-conformity value at the scheduled arrival time of the passenger among the at least one environmental non-conformity value at predetermined time intervals at at least one recommended waiting location, and the travel time from the waiting location to at least one recommended waiting location.

[0230] The environmental non-compliance improvement value calculation unit 218C calculates at least one environmental non-compliance improvement value using the following formula (5).

[0231] Δ(c,r)=U c -U r -M···(5)

[0232] In equation (5) above, Δ(c,r) represents the environmental incompatibility improvement value that is achieved by the passenger moving from the current waiting location c to the recommended waiting location r, U c This represents the environmental incompatibility value at the current time for the current waiting location c, U r represents the environmental incompatibility value at the predicted arrival time of the recommended waiting location r, and M is the travel time from the current waiting location c to the recommended waiting location r * (U c +U r This represents ) / 2. The predicted arrival time at the recommended waiting location r is calculated by adding the travel time from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location r to the current time.

[0233] The environmental non-conformity improvement value calculation unit 218C stores at least one calculated environmental non-conformity improvement value in the environmental non-conformity improvement value storage unit 227. The environmental non-conformity improvement value stored in the environmental non-conformity improvement value storage unit 227 represents the extent to which the environmental non-conformity value will improve by moving from the current standby location to the recommended standby location.

[0234] When the travel time calculation unit 214C receives response information indicating acceptance of travel to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it replaces the passenger's current waiting location stored in the passenger information storage unit 221 with the identified recommended waiting location.

[0235] The travel time calculation unit 214C calculates the travel time for all combinations of recommended waiting locations, destination locations, and the current location of the demand vehicle, with one of them as the starting point and the other as the ending point, at predetermined intervals. every The travel time is calculated. The specified period is, for example, 10 minutes.

[0236] The travel time calculation unit 214C creates a travel time cost table in tabular form for each predetermined period, which represents the travel time for all combinations of recommended waiting locations, destination locations, and the current location of the demand vehicle calculated for each predetermined period. The travel time cost table created for each predetermined period is then stored in the travel time cost table storage unit 224C.

[0237] The travel time cost table storage unit 224C stores a travel time cost table for a predetermined period, which is a table representing the travel time for all combinations of recommended waiting locations, destination locations, and the current location of the demand vehicle, created by the travel time calculation unit 214C.

[0238] Figure 24 shows an example of a travel time cost table for a predetermined period stored in the travel time cost table storage unit 224C in this embodiment 4.

[0239] In Figure 24, location R2 is the recommended waiting location for passenger U1, location P2 is the waiting location for passenger U2, location P3 is the destination location for passenger U1, and location P4 is the destination location for passenger U2. Location P1, which is the current waiting location for passenger U1, has been changed to location R2, which is the recommended waiting location. In the travel time cost table, the vertical axis items represent the starting location, and the horizontal axis items represent the ending location. Each element value in the travel time cost table represents the travel time between locations. In Figure 24, travel time cost tables have been created for every 10 minutes, specifically for the period from 9:00 to 9:10, from 9:10 to 9:20, from 9:20 to 9:30, and from 9:30 to 9:40.

[0240] When the transport route calculation unit 215C receives response information indicating acceptance of travel to a recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it calculates the average value of environmental unsuitability at the specified recommended waiting location for the period from the time the passenger arrives at the recommended waiting location until the time the demand vehicle arrives at the recommended waiting location, based on the environmental unsuitability value at the specified recommended waiting location at predetermined time intervals. The transport route calculation unit 215C then calculates a transport route in which the waiting time for passengers at the recommended waiting location decreases as the average value of environmental unsuitability at the specified recommended waiting location increases. At this time, the transport route calculation unit 215C weights the waiting time using the average value of environmental unsuitability.

[0241] More specifically, when the transport route calculation unit 215C receives response information indicating acceptance of travel to a recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it calculates a transport route that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the recommended waiting location and the travel time the passenger takes the demand vehicle from the recommended waiting location to the destination location, weighted using the average value of environmental non-conformity values ​​during the period from the time the passenger arrives at the recommended waiting location to the time the demand vehicle arrives at the recommended waiting location.

[0242] The transportation route calculation unit 215C creates a transportation route that satisfies the constraint that the time at which the demand vehicle picks up passengers moving from the current waiting location to the recommended waiting location is after the passengers' arrival time at the recommended waiting location.

[0243] Furthermore, if the travel time calculation unit 214C receives response information indicating acceptance of travel to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it may replace the passenger's current arrival time at the waiting location stored in the passenger information storage unit 221 with the arrival time at the specified recommended waiting location. By replacing the waiting location arrival time with the arrival time at the recommended waiting location and creating a travel time cost table using the replaced waiting location arrival time, the above constraints can be satisfied.

[0244] Furthermore, if the transport route calculation unit 215C receives response information indicating that the passenger does not accept moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, it calculates a transport route that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the waiting location and the travel time the passenger takes to move from the waiting location to the destination location by boarding the demand vehicle. This is weighted using the average value of environmental non-conformity values ​​during the period from the time the passenger arrives at the waiting location to the time the demand vehicle arrives at the waiting location.

[0245] The transportation route calculation method in Embodiment 4 is the same as the transportation route calculation method in Embodiment 2, except for the constraint that the time when the demand vehicle picks up passengers is after the time when the passengers arrive at the recommended waiting location.

[0246] Next, the transportation route creation process of server 2C in Embodiment 4 of this disclosure will be described.

[0247] Figure 25 is a first flowchart illustrating the transportation route creation process of server 2C in Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure, and Figure 26 is a second flowchart illustrating the transportation route creation process of server 2C in Embodiment 4 of the present disclosure.

[0248] The processes in steps S71 to S73 are the same as those in steps S21 to S23 shown in Figure 12, so their explanation will be omitted.

[0249] Next, in step S74, the recommended waiting location information acquisition unit 217 acquires from the recommended waiting location information storage unit 226 at least one recommended waiting location that is within a predetermined distance from the passenger's waiting location.

[0250] Next, in step S75, the environmental information acquisition unit 212C acquires environmental information for at least one recommended waiting location, acquired by the recommended waiting location information acquisition unit 217, from an external server at predetermined intervals.

[0251] Next, in step S76, the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213C calculates the environmental non-conformity value for each predetermined time interval at at least one recommended waiting location, based on the environmental information acquired by the environmental information acquisition unit 212C at each predetermined time interval.

[0252] The environmental information acquisition unit 212C acquires environmental information for the current standby location at predetermined intervals and environmental information for at least one recommended standby location at predetermined intervals in separate steps. However, this disclosure is not limited to this, and the environmental information for the current standby location at predetermined intervals and environmental information for at least one recommended standby location at predetermined intervals may be acquired in a single step. Similarly, the environmental non-conformity value calculation unit 213 C The system may calculate the environmental non-conformity value at predetermined intervals in the current standby location and the environmental non-conformity value at predetermined intervals in at least one recommended standby location in a single step.

[0253] Next, in step S77, the environment non - compliance improvement value calculation unit 218C calculates at least one environment non - compliance improvement value that is improved by moving from the current waiting location to each of at least one recommended waiting location, based on the environment non - compliance value at the current time among the environment non - compliance values for each predetermined time at the current waiting location, at least one environment non - compliance value at the scheduled arrival time of the passenger among the environment non - compliance values for each predetermined time at at least one recommended waiting location, and the travel time from the current waiting location to at least one recommended waiting location. The environment non - compliance improvement value calculation unit 218C calculates at least one environment non - compliance improvement value using the above formula (5). Further, the environment non - compliance improvement value calculation unit 218C stores the calculated at least one environment non - compliance improvement value in the environment non - compliance improvement value storage unit 227.

[0254] The processes of steps S78 to S84 are the same as the processes of steps S48 to S54 shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, so the description is omitted.

[0255] Note that when multiple passengers have requested vehicle dispatching, the processes of steps S71 to S84 are performed for each of the multiple passengers.

[0256] Next, in step S85, the travel time calculation unit 214C calculates the travel time for all combinations of the waiting location acquired by the passenger information acquisition unit 211 or the recommended waiting location specified by the recommended waiting location specifying unit 219, the destination location, and the current position of the demand vehicle for each predetermined period, and creates a travel time cost table for each predetermined period that represents the travel time for all calculated combinations in tabular form.

[0257] The processes of steps S86 to S92 are the same as the processes of steps S25 to S31 shown in FIG. 12, so the description is omitted.

[0258] Thus, the environments of the waiting location and the recommended waiting locations may change over time. Therefore, the environmental information of the current waiting location and at least one recommended waiting location for each predetermined time is acquired respectively, and based on the environmental information for each predetermined time, the environmental non-conformance values of the current waiting location and at least one recommended waiting location for each predetermined time are calculated respectively. Then, a recommended waiting location where the environment of the current waiting location is improved is identified, and the identified recommended waiting location is presented to the passenger. And when response information indicating acceptance of the movement to the recommended waiting location is received, the waiting time is weighted using the average value of the environmental non-conformance values in the period from the time when the passenger arrives at the recommended waiting location to the time when the demand vehicle arrives at the recommended waiting location, so that the transportation route can be calculated considering the changing environment of the recommended waiting location for each predetermined time.

[0259] In addition, in each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. Also, the program may be executed by another independent computer system by recording and transferring the program to a recording medium or by transferring the program via a network.

[0260] Part or all of the functions of the device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure are typically realized as a large-scale integration (LSI), which is an integrated circuit. These may be individually integrated into one chip or may be integrated into one chip so as to include part or all of them. Also, the integration into an integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and it may be realized by a dedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the LSI is manufactured, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connection and setting of circuit cells inside the LSI may be used.

[0261] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the apparatus according to the embodiments of this disclosure may be realized by a processor such as a CPU executing a program.

[0262] Furthermore, all figures used above are illustrative examples provided to illustrate this disclosure, and this disclosure is not limited to these illustrative figures.

[0263] Furthermore, the order in which the steps shown in the flowchart above are performed is illustrative for the purpose of specifically illustrating this disclosure, and other orders are acceptable as long as similar effects are achieved. Also, some of the steps above may be performed simultaneously (in parallel) with other steps. [Industrial applicability]

[0264] The technology disclosed herein is useful as a technology for creating transportation routes for mobile vehicles that transport passengers, because it can create transportation routes that take into account the environment at waiting areas where passengers wait.

Claims

1. Computers The system acquires environmental information indicating the passenger's waiting location, the passenger's destination, and the environment of the waiting location. Based on the environmental information of the waiting area, an environmental incompatibility value is calculated, which indicates how unpleasant the waiting area is for the passengers. As the aforementioned environmental incompatibility value increases, the transportation route of the mobile vehicle carrying the passenger is calculated such that the waiting time for the passenger at the waiting location decreases. The system outputs information indicating the aforementioned transport route. In calculating the aforementioned transport route, the transport route is calculated based on the waiting time of the passengers at the waiting location, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value, and the travel time of the passengers traveling from the waiting location to the destination location on the transport vehicle. Information processing methods.

2. The aforementioned environmental information includes at least one of the following: temperature, humidity, weather, and concentration of fine particulate matter at the waiting location. The information processing method according to claim 1.

3. In calculating the aforementioned transport route, the transport route is calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger waiting time at the waiting location, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value, and the travel time when the passenger travels from the waiting location to the destination location on the transport vehicle. The information processing method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A computer, The system acquires environmental information indicating the passenger's waiting location, the passenger's destination, and the environment of the waiting location. Based on the environmental information of the waiting area, an environmental incompatibility value is calculated, which indicates how unpleasant the waiting area is for the passengers. As the aforementioned environmental incompatibility value increases, the transportation route of the mobile vehicle carrying the passenger is calculated such that the waiting time for the passenger at the waiting location decreases. The system outputs information indicating the aforementioned transport route. In acquiring the aforementioned environmental information, the aforementioned environmental information is acquired at predetermined intervals. In calculating the aforementioned environmental non-conformity value, the aforementioned environmental non-conformity value is calculated for each predetermined time period based on the aforementioned environmental information for each predetermined time period. In calculating the aforementioned transportation route, based on the aforementioned environmental unsuitability value for each predetermined time interval, the average value of the environmental unsuitability value for the period from the time the passenger arrives at the waiting place to the time the moving vehicle arrives at the waiting place is calculated, and as the average value of the environmental unsuitability value increases, the transportation route is calculated that shortens the waiting time for the passenger at the waiting place. Information processing methods.

5. In calculating the aforementioned transport route, the transport route is calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the waiting location and the travel time when the passenger travels from the waiting location to the destination location on the transport vehicle, weighted using the average value of the environmental non-conformity values. The information processing method according to claim 4.

6. Furthermore, information is obtained regarding at least one recommended waiting location located within a predetermined distance from the aforementioned waiting location. Furthermore, environmental information of at least one of the recommended waiting locations is obtained, Furthermore, based on the environmental information of the at least one recommended waiting location, the environmental non-conformity value at the at least one recommended waiting location is calculated. Furthermore, based on the environmental non-conformity value at the waiting location, the environmental non-conformity value at the at least one recommended waiting location, and the travel time from the waiting location to the at least one recommended waiting location, at least one environmental non-conformity improvement value that is improved by moving from the waiting location to the at least one recommended waiting location is calculated. Furthermore, a recommended waiting location is identified that corresponds to the maximum environmental non-conformity improvement value among the at least one environmental non-conformity improvement value that is above a threshold, Furthermore, information is transmitted to the passenger to encourage them to move to the identified recommended waiting area. In calculating the aforementioned transport route, if a response is received indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, the system calculates a transport route that shortens the waiting time for the passenger at the recommended waiting location as the environmental incompatibility value at the identified recommended waiting location increases. The information processing method according to claim 1 or 2.

7. In calculating the transport route, if a response is received indicating that the passenger does not accept the suggestion to move to the recommended waiting location, the transport route is calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the waiting location and the travel time for the passenger to travel from the waiting location to the destination location on the transport vehicle, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value at the waiting location. The information processing method according to claim 6.

8. In calculating the transportation route, if a response is received indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, the transportation route is calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the recommended waiting location and the travel time for the passenger to travel from the recommended waiting location to the destination location on the mobile vehicle, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value at the identified recommended waiting location. The information processing method according to claim 6 or 7.

9. In acquiring the environmental information of the waiting location, the environmental information of the waiting location is acquired at predetermined intervals. In acquiring the environmental information of the at least one recommended waiting location, the environmental information of the at least one recommended waiting location is acquired at predetermined intervals. In calculating the environmental non-conformity value at the waiting location, the environmental non-conformity value at the waiting location is calculated based on the environmental information at the waiting location at the predetermined time intervals, In calculating the environmental non-conformity value at the at least one recommended waiting location, at least one environmental non-conformity value at the at least one recommended waiting location is calculated based on the environmental information at the at least one recommended waiting location at the predetermined time intervals, In calculating the at least one environmental incompatibility improvement value, the at least one environmental incompatibility improvement value that is improved by moving from the waiting location to the at least one recommended waiting location is calculated based on the current time environmental incompatibility value among the predetermined time intervals of environmental incompatibility values ​​at the waiting location, the at least one environmental incompatibility value at the scheduled arrival time of the passenger among the predetermined time intervals of environmental incompatibility values ​​at the at least one recommended waiting location, and the travel time from the waiting location to the at least one recommended waiting location. In calculating the transportation route, if a response is received indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, the average value of the environmental unsuitability value at the specified recommended waiting location for each predetermined time interval is calculated based on the environmental unsuitability value at the specified recommended waiting location, and the transportation route is calculated such that the waiting time for the passenger at the recommended waiting location decreases as the average value of the environmental unsuitability value at the specified recommended waiting location increases. The information processing method according to claim 6.

10. In calculating the transportation route, if a response is received indicating acceptance of moving to the recommended waiting location in response to the presented information, the transportation route is calculated that minimizes the sum of the passenger's waiting time at the recommended waiting location and the travel time for the passenger to travel from the recommended waiting location to the destination location on the mobile vehicle, weighted using the average value of the environmental incompatibility values ​​at the identified recommended waiting location. The information processing method according to claim 9.

11. An acquisition unit that acquires environmental information indicating the passenger's waiting location, the passenger's destination, and the environment of the waiting location, An environmental unsuitability value calculation unit calculates an environmental unsuitability value that indicates how unpleasant the waiting area is for the passengers, based on the environmental information of the waiting area. A transport route calculation unit calculates a transport route for a mobile vehicle carrying passengers, such that the waiting time for the passengers at the waiting location decreases as the environmental incompatibility value increases. An output unit that outputs information indicating the aforementioned transport route, Equipped with, The transport route calculation unit calculates the transport route based on the passenger's waiting time at the waiting location, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value, and the travel time the passenger takes to travel from the waiting location to the destination location on the mobile vehicle. Information processing device.

12. On the computer, The system acquires environmental information indicating the passenger's waiting location, the passenger's destination, and the environment of the waiting location. Based on the environmental information of the waiting area, an environmental incompatibility value is calculated, which indicates how unpleasant the waiting area is for the passengers. As the aforementioned environmental incompatibility value increases, the transportation route of the mobile vehicle carrying the passenger is calculated such that the waiting time for the passenger at the waiting location decreases. Outputs information indicating the aforementioned transport route. Execute the process, In calculating the aforementioned transport route, the transport route is calculated based on the waiting time of the passengers at the waiting location, weighted using the environmental incompatibility value, and the travel time of the passengers traveling from the waiting location to the destination location on the transport vehicle. Information processing program.

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