Information processing device

Abstract

To accurately detect traffic congestion being caused as a vehicle deviates from a right turn or left turn-only lane.SOLUTION: An information processing apparatus comprises a control unit configured to: acquire the upstream end of the range of a right turn or left turn-only lane in response to occurrence of traffic congestion; and output information on occurrence of the traffic congestion caused as a vehicle deviates from the lane in response to vehicle's change in course to leave the lane by a predetermined first rate or more, upstream of the upstream end of the range of the lane.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses that when the proportion of vehicles occupying the exclusive right-turn lane is equal to or greater than a first predetermined proportion and the proportion of vehicles occupying the driving lane other than the exclusive right-turn lane is equal to or less than a second predetermined proportion, it is determined that a traffic jam is caused by right turns.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present invention is to more accurately detect that a traffic jam has occurred due to a vehicle protruding from an exclusive lane for right or left turns.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is an information processing apparatus including a control unit configured to, in response to a traffic jam occurring, acquire an upstream end of a range of an exclusive lane for right or left turns, and output information regarding that a traffic jam has occurred due to a vehicle protruding from the exclusive lane, in response to a predetermined first proportion or more of vehicles changing their travel routes in a direction away from the exclusive lane on the upstream side of the upstream end of the range of the exclusive lane.

[0006] Another aspect of the present invention is an information processing method for causing a computer to execute the above information processing, a program for causing a computer to execute this information processing method, and a computer-readable storage medium that non-temporarily stores this program. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to more accurately detect when a traffic jam occurs due to a vehicle deviating from a dedicated lane for right or left turns. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows a schematic configuration of the system according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle and server that constitute the system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates the table structure of the driving information database. [Figure 4] This flowchart shows the process for determining whether or not a right-turn congestion is occurring in the server in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This flowchart shows the process for determining whether or not a right-turn congestion is occurring in the server in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] On roads with multiple lanes, some lanes may become congested. For example, even if a lane designated for right turns or a lane designated for left turns is congested, the straight-ahead lanes may not be congested. Furthermore, the countermeasures differ depending on which lane is congested and what the cause is, so it is necessary to consider which lane is the cause of the congestion. It is necessary to understand the causes of traffic congestion. For example, if vehicles concentrate in a right-turn-only lane, the lane may become overcrowded, causing vehicles to spill into the straight-ahead lane. In such cases, if there are multiple straight-ahead lanes, congestion may occur only in the right-hand straight-ahead lane.

[0010] One possible approach is to use a GPS device installed in the vehicle to determine its location and identify the lane where congestion is occurring. However, because GPS devices installed in vehicles have low accuracy in detecting location, it can be difficult to identify the lane the vehicle is traveling in. Another approach is to acquire image data from the vehicle to identify the congested lane. However, continuously acquiring image data captured by the vehicle would result in an enormous amount of data transmission, making it impractical.

[0011] To solve such problems, an information processing device in one aspect of the present disclosure includes a control unit configured to perform the following in response to the occurrence of congestion: to acquire the upstream end of the range of a dedicated right-turn or left-turn lane; and to output information that congestion is occurring due to vehicles that have deviated from the dedicated lane, in response to a predetermined first percentage or more of vehicles changing direction away from the dedicated lane upstream of the upstream end of the range of the dedicated lane.

[0012] For example, a section where congestion is occurring can be identified based on the location and speed information of each vehicle. For instance, if the average speed of vehicles traveling in the target section is equal to the speed corresponding to congestion, it can be determined that congestion is occurring. However, even if congestion can be identified, the lane in which the congestion is occurring cannot be identified. Therefore, the control unit obtains the upstream end of the range of a dedicated right-turn or left-turn lane. A dedicated lane is a lane for vehicles to travel in order to turn right or left. The range of a dedicated lane may be defined as the length of the dedicated lane. The upstream end of the range of a dedicated lane is the point where the dedicated lane begins. The upstream end of the range of a dedicated lane can be identified, for example, based on the behavior of the vehicles or based on map information. For example, when a vehicle enters a dedicated right-turn lane, the driver turns the steering wheel to the right. The steering angle when a vehicle enters a dedicated right-turn lane falls within a specific range. Therefore, the upstream end of a dedicated right-turn lane can be identified based on the steering angle. The upstream end may also be identified as a section with a certain width.

[0013] Here, if the dedicated lane becomes too full for all vehicles and some vehicles spill out into the straight-ahead lane, vehicles traveling in the straight-ahead lane may change direction to avoid the vehicles that have spilled out of the dedicated lane. In other words, they may take evasive action to avoid getting caught in a traffic jam. In this case, vehicles change lanes to move away from the dedicated lane. When vehicles spill out of the dedicated lane, evasive action is taken upstream of the upstream end of the dedicated lane's range. Therefore, if a predetermined first percentage or more of vehicles change lanes to move away from the dedicated lane upstream of the upstream end of the dedicated lane's range, it can be determined that a traffic jam caused by vehicles spilling out of the dedicated lane has occurred. The predetermined first percentage is the lower limit of the percentage of vehicles that take evasive action when a traffic jam occurs due to vehicles spilling out of the dedicated lane. In this case, the control unit outputs information indicating that a traffic jam has occurred due to vehicles spilling out of the dedicated lane. This allows it to be determined that a traffic jam has occurred due to vehicles waiting to turn right or left. Therefore, it is possible to understand the cause of traffic congestion without having to go to the site in person.

[0014] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The configurations of the following embodiments are illustrative, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations of these embodiments. Furthermore, the following embodiments can be combined as much as possible.

[0015] <First Embodiment> Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic of System 1 according to an embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 1, System 1 includes a plurality of vehicles 10 and a server 30. The vehicles 10 and the server 30 are interconnected by a network N1. Network N1 is, for example, a global public communication network such as the Internet, and may also be a Wide Area Network (WAN) or other communication network. Network N1 may also include a telephone communication network such as a mobile phone network, or a wireless communication network such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark).

[0016] The example shown in FIG. 1 shows a state where a plurality of vehicles 10 are lined up in the right-turn only lane 53 on a road having a first straight lane 51, a second straight lane 52, and a right-turn only lane 53, protruding into the second straight lane 52 and causing congestion. Here, the vehicle 10 at the head of the congestion is the first vehicle 10A, the vehicle 10 that has started to change its route from the second straight lane 52 to the right-turn only lane 53 is the second vehicle 10B, the vehicle 10 at the end of the congestion is the third vehicle 10C, and the vehicle 10 approaching from behind (i.e., the upstream side) to the third vehicle 10C and traveling in the second straight lane 52 is the fourth vehicle 10D. When not specifying a vehicle, it is simply referred to as vehicle 10.

[0017] Each vehicle 10 transmits information regarding speed (hereinafter also referred to as speed information), information regarding position (hereinafter also referred to as position information), and information regarding steering angle (hereinafter also referred to as steering angle information) to the server 30 at predetermined intervals, together with the vehicle ID and time information. The vehicle ID is an identifier unique to the vehicle 10. Here, the speed information, position information, steering angle information, time information, and vehicle ID transmitted from the vehicle 10 to the server 30 are collectively referred to as driving information. Based on the driving information, the server 30 determines whether or not a congestion (hereinafter referred to as right-turn congestion) caused by the vehicle 10 protruding from the right-turn only lane 53 into the second straight lane 52 has occurred.

[0018] Next, based on FIG. 2, the hardware and software configurations of the vehicle 10 and the server 30 will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of each configuration of the vehicle 10 and the server 30 constituting the system 1 according to the present embodiment. The server 30 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication module 33, and an input / output device 34.

[0019] The server 30 can be configured as a computer having a processor (such as a CPU or GPU), a main memory device (such as a RAM or ROM), and an auxiliary storage device (such as an EPROM, a hard disk drive, or a removable medium). The auxiliary storage device stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, etc. By executing the programs stored therein, various functions (software modules) that meet a predetermined purpose, as described later, can be realized. However, some or all of the modules may be realized as hardware modules by hardware circuits such as ASICs or FPGAs.

[0020] The control unit 31 is an arithmetic unit that realizes various functions of the server 30 by executing a predetermined program. The control unit 31 can be realized by a hardware processor such as a CPU, for example. Also, the control unit 31 may be configured to include a RAM, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a cache memory, etc. Details of the control unit 31 will be described later.

[0021] The storage unit 32 is a means for storing information and is composed of storage media such as a RAM, a magnetic disk, or a flash memory. The storage unit 32 stores programs executed by the control unit 31, data used by the programs, etc. Also, a database (travel information DB321 and map information DB322) is constructed in the storage unit 32, and travel information and map information collected from each vehicle 10 are stored in the database.

[0022] Figure 3 illustrates the table structure of the driving information DB321. The driving information table has fields for vehicle ID, vehicle speed, position, steering angle, and time. The vehicle ID field contains identification information to identify vehicle 10. The vehicle speed field contains information about the speed of vehicle 10. This information includes information about the detection value of the vehicle speed sensor 16. The position field contains information about the position of vehicle 10. This information includes information about the detection value of the position information sensor 15. The steering angle field contains information about the steering angle of vehicle 10. This information includes information about the detection value of the steering angle sensor 14. The time field contains information about the time when the vehicle speed, position, and steering angle were acquired for vehicle 10. Alternatively, the time field may contain the time when the driving information was received from vehicle 10.

[0023] Furthermore, the map information DB322 stores map information such as link data related to roads (links), node data related to node points, intersection data related to each intersection, search data for route searching, section data related to sections, and lane data related to the number of lanes. As another example, the map information DB322 may also store information regarding the range of right-turn-only lanes and information regarding the upstream end of the range of right-turn-only lanes.

[0024] The communication module 33 is a communication interface for connecting the server 30 to the network N1. The communication module 33 may be configured to include, for example, a network interface board, a wireless communication interface for wireless communication, etc. The server 30 can communicate data with each vehicle 10 via the communication module 33.

[0025] The input / output device 34 is a means of receiving input operations performed by the operator and presenting information to the operator. Specifically, the input / output device 34 includes devices for input such as a mouse and keyboard, and devices for output such as a display and speakers. The input / output device 34 may be integrally configured with, for example, a touch panel display.

[0026] The specific hardware configuration of server 30 can be modified as appropriate, with components being omitted, replaced, and added depending on the embodiment.

[0027] Next, the vehicle 10 will be described. The vehicle 10 is composed of a control unit 11, a memory unit 12, a communication module 13, a steering angle sensor 14, a position information sensor 15, and a vehicle speed sensor 16. The control unit 11 is a calculation unit that realizes various functions of the vehicle 10 by executing a predetermined program. The control unit 11 can be realized by a hardware processor such as a CPU. The control unit 11 may also be composed of RAM, ROM (Read Only Memory), cache memory, etc.

[0028] The memory unit 12 is a means for storing information and is composed of storage media such as RAM, magnetic disks, and flash memory. The memory unit 12 stores programs executed by the control unit 11, data used by those programs, and so on. The memory unit 12 also stores detection values ​​from various sensors.

[0029] The communication module 13 is a communication means for connecting the vehicle 10 to the network N1. In this embodiment, the vehicle 10 can communicate with other devices (e.g., server 30) via the network N1 using mobile communication services such as 3G, LTE, 5G, and 6G.

[0030] The steering angle sensor 14 is a sensor that detects the steering angle obtained by steering operation. The steering angle sensor 14 detects, for example, the angle of the steering wheel. The implementation method detects the steering wheel angle as the steering angle, but a value that directly or indirectly represents the steering angle of the tires may also be used.

[0031] The location information sensor 15 acquires location information (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the vehicle 10 at predetermined intervals. The location information sensor 15 is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver. This includes the wireless communication unit, etc. The vehicle speed sensor 16 is a sensor that detects the speed of the vehicle 10.

[0032] The control unit 11 of the vehicle 10 transmits the detection values ​​of the steering angle sensor 14, the position information sensor 15, and the vehicle speed sensor 16, along with the vehicle ID and time information, to the server 30 at predetermined intervals. In other words, the control unit 11 of the vehicle 10 transmits driving information to the server 30 at predetermined intervals.

[0033] Next, the control unit 31 of the server 30 will be described in detail. The control unit 31 of the server 30 identifies the location where congestion is occurring based on the driving information acquired from each vehicle 10. The control unit 31 calculates the average speed of the vehicles 10 for each target section and determines that congestion is occurring if the average speed is less than or equal to the first vehicle speed (for example, 20 km / h). At this time, it does not specify which lane the congestion is occurring in.

[0034] Next, the control unit 31 of the server 30 identifies the upstream end of the range of the right-turn-only lane 53 shown in Figure 1, based on the driving information acquired from each vehicle 10. Here, the upstream end of the range of the right-turn-only lane 53 is identified in order to determine whether the event described later is occurring upstream of the end of the traffic jam. This upstream end is the point where the right-turn-only lane 53 begins. The upstream end of the range of the right-turn-only lane 53 is identified based on the steering operation performed by the driver in the vehicle 10. When a vehicle 10 making a right turn enters the right-turn-only lane 53 from the second straight lane 52, it exhibits a behavior of changing course to the right. Therefore, it can be determined that the point where the steering wheel is frequently turned to the right is the point where the right-turn-only lane 53 begins. For example, the control unit 31 determines that the section in which the proportion of vehicles 10 in the first range (e.g., 5 to 20 degrees) of the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 14 is equal to or greater than a predetermined second proportion is the starting section (first section) of the right-turn-only lane 53. The steering angle is defined as a positive value when the steering wheel is turned to the right and a negative value when it is turned to the left. The first range of the steering angle (for example, 5 to 20 degrees) is the steering angle when vehicle 10 enters the right-turn-only lane 53. The upstream end of the right-turn-only lane 53 range may be identified as a section with a certain width. For example, the target section may be divided into multiple sections, and in each divided section, if the proportion of vehicles 10 in the first range of the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 14 is equal to or greater than a predetermined second proportion, that section may be identified as the upstream end of the right-turn-only lane 53 range. As another example, the control unit 31 may identify the starting section of the right-turn-only lane 53 based on the information stored in the map information DB 322.

[0035] Furthermore, the control unit 31 of the server 30 determines whether or not a right-turn congestion is occurring. If vehicle 10 is stopped with its vehicle protruding from the right-turn-only lane 53, the following fourth vehicle 10D will exhibit behavior to avoid the third vehicle 10C that is stopped in the right-turn congestion (hereinafter also referred to as avoidance behavior). By detecting this avoidance behavior, the position of the third vehicle 10C can be identified, and it can be determined that a right-turn congestion is occurring. The control unit 31 identifies the position of the third vehicle 10C based on the steering operation of vehicle 10 located in the target section. The fourth vehicle 10D, which is driving to avoid the third vehicle 10C, exhibits behavior to change its course to the left. Therefore, it can be determined that locations where the steering wheel is frequently turned to the left are the locations where the last vehicle 10 in the right-turn congestion (i.e., the third vehicle 10C) is located. The control unit 31 determines that a section in which the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 14 has a proportion of vehicles 10 in a second range (e.g., 0 to -20 degrees) is equal to or greater than a predetermined first proportion is a section in which a third vehicle 10C exists. The second range of the steering angle (e.g., 0 to -20 degrees) is the steering angle when a vehicle 10 changes course from the second straight lane 52 to the first straight lane 51. The location may be identified as a section with a certain width. For example, the target section may be divided into multiple sections, and in each divided section, if the proportion of vehicles 10 whose steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor 14 falls within a second range is equal to or greater than a predetermined first proportion, that section may be identified as the location where the third vehicle 10C exists. The location where the third vehicle 10C exists may be the second section in which the proportion of vehicles 10 equal to or greater than the predetermined first proportion change course away from the right-turn-only lane 53.

[0036] When the third vehicle 10C, which is at the end of a right-turn congestion, is present, the control unit 31 determines that a right-turn congestion has occurred. In this case, the control unit 31 outputs congestion information indicating that a right-turn congestion has occurred. At this time, the control unit 31 displays, for example, the location and length of the right-turn congestion on the display included in the input / output device 34. Alternatively, congestion information may be provided to vehicle 10.

[0037] Next, we will describe the process for determining whether or not a right-turn congestion is occurring in the server 30. Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the process for determining whether or not a right-turn congestion is occurring in the server 30 in the first embodiment. The flowchart shown in Figure 4 is executed in the server 30 at predetermined intervals for each target section. It should be assumed that the driving information DB 321 stores driving information corresponding to multiple vehicles 10.

[0038] In step S101, the control unit 31 extracts driving information for the target section. The target section is the section for which it is determined whether or not a right-turn congestion is occurring. The target section may correspond to a link stored in the map information DB 322. Alternatively, the target section may be specified by the operator via the input / output device 34. Based on the location information stored in the driving information DB 321 and the location information for each section stored in the map information DB 322, the control unit 31 extracts driving information for vehicles 10 that have traveled through the target section during a predetermined period. The predetermined period is a period that is considered to represent the current situation of the target section. This ensures that only driving information that is considered to represent the current situation of the target section is used. Next, in step S102, the control unit 31 calculates the average vehicle speed of the vehicles 10 present in the target section during the predetermined period. That is, the control unit 31 calculates the average value of the vehicle speeds stored in the vehicle speed field of the driving information extracted in step S101.

[0039] In step S103, the control unit 31 determines whether the average vehicle speed calculated in step S102 is less than or equal to the first vehicle speed. The first vehicle speed is stored in the storage unit 32 as the upper limit of vehicle speed when congestion occurs. For example, the first vehicle speed is 20 km / h. If the determination in step S103 is positive, the system proceeds to step S104; if the determination is negative, the system proceeds to step S105. In step S104, the control unit 31 determines that congestion is occurring in the target section. On the other hand, in step S105, the control unit 31 determines that congestion is not occurring in the target section.

[0040] In step S106, the control unit 31 extracts driving information for vehicles 10 whose steering angle falls within a first range from among the vehicles 10 whose driving information was extracted in step S101. The first range is the range of steering angles when changing lanes from the second straight lane 52 to the right-turn-only lane 53, for example, 5 to 20 degrees. The first range is stored in the storage unit 32. In step S107, the control unit 31 identifies the first section, which is the section where the right-turn-only lane 53 begins (i.e., the upstream end of the range of the right-turn-only lane 53). Here, the control unit 31 determines that the section in which vehicles 10 whose steering angle falls within the first range frequently appear is the first section. For example, if there is a section in which the ratio of the number of vehicles 10 whose driving information was extracted in step S106 to the number of vehicles 10 whose driving information was extracted in step S101 is equal to or greater than a predetermined second ratio, the control unit 31 identifies that section as the first section. The predetermined second ratio is stored in the memory unit 32 in advance as a value corresponding to the section where the right-turn-only lane 53 begins.

[0041] In step S108, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the first section has been identified. If the first section was not identified in step S107, it can be said that there were almost no vehicles 10 entering the right-turn-only lane 53. In this case, it is thought that the congestion is not due to right-turn congestion, but to other factors. If the determination in step S108 is positive, the process proceeds to step S109; if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S114.

[0042] In step S109, the control unit 31 extracts driving information for vehicles 10 whose steering angle falls within the second range from among the vehicles 10 whose driving information was extracted in step S101. The second range is the range of steering angles when changing lanes from the second straight lane 52 to the first straight lane 51, for example, 0 to -20 degrees. The second range is stored in the storage unit 32. In step S110, the control unit 31 identifies a second section, which is a section upstream of the first section where evasive driving behavior is detected. Here, the control unit 31 determines that a section in which vehicles 10 with steering angles within the second range frequently appear is the second section. For example, if there is a section in which the ratio of the number of vehicles 10 whose driving information was extracted in step S109 to the number of vehicles 10 whose driving information was extracted in step S101 is equal to or greater than a predetermined first ratio, the control unit 31 identifies that section as the second section. The predetermined first ratio here is stored in the storage unit 32 in advance as a value corresponding to evasive driving behavior. Furthermore, a speed-related condition may be added to the evasive behavior. Here, if a right-turn congestion occurs, the speed of the vehicle 10 traveling in the second straight lane 52 will decrease. Therefore, vehicles 10 traveling at a predetermined speed or less and with a steering angle within the second range may be treated as vehicles 10 exhibiting evasive behavior, and driving information may be extracted in step S109.

[0043] In step S111, the control unit 31 determines whether or not the second section has been identified. If the second section is not identified in step S111, it can be said that there were almost no vehicles 10 exhibiting evasive behavior. In this case, it is thought that the congestion is not due to a right-turn congestion, but to other factors. If the determination in step S111 is positive, the process proceeds to step S112; if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S114.

[0044] In step S112, the control unit 31 determines that the congestion is caused by a vehicle 10 that has deviated from the right-turn-only lane 53 (i.e., a right-turn congestion). Then, in step S113, the control unit 31 outputs that a right-turn congestion has occurred in the target section and the second section, which is the last section of the right-turn congestion. On the other hand, in step S114, the control unit 31 determines that the congestion is not caused by a vehicle 10 that has deviated from the right-turn-only lane 53 (i.e., a right-turn congestion). Then, in step S115, the control unit 31 outputs that congestion has occurred and the target section in which the congestion has occurred.

[0045] As explained above, according to this embodiment, when a right-turn congestion occurs, it is possible to detect the occurrence of the congestion and identify the section at the end of the congestion. Therefore, it becomes unnecessary to go to the site to investigate the cause of the congestion.

[0046] <Second Embodiment> In the second embodiment, in order to further improve the accuracy of detecting the occurrence of right-turn congestion, the speed of vehicle 10 is further used to determine whether or not right-turn congestion is occurring. Here, if right-turn congestion occurs, vehicle 10 stops or moves at a low speed upstream of the first section. Therefore, right-turn congestion is determined to be occurring only when the speed of vehicle 10 intermittently falls below a predetermined speed upstream of the first section. The predetermined speed here is the speed when right-turn congestion occurs, and may be, for example, 0 km / h.

[0047] Next, we will explain the process for determining whether or not a right-turn congestion is occurring in server 30. Figure 5 shows the process for determining whether or not a right-turn congestion is occurring in server 30 in the second embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the process to be determined. Steps where the same process as shown in the flowchart in Figure 4 is executed are omitted from the explanation. Also, processes prior to step S111 are the same as those shown in the flowchart in Figure 4, and are therefore omitted from the illustration.

[0048] In the flowchart shown in Figure 5, if a positive determination is made in step S111, the process proceeds to step S201. In step S201, the control unit 31 extracts driving information of vehicles 10 located upstream of the first section. Note that the extraction may be limited to driving information of vehicles 10 located in the second section or vehicles 10 located within a predetermined range from the second section. In step S202, the control unit 31 determines, based on the driving information of vehicles 10 extracted in step S201, whether or not there are vehicles 10 that have remained at or below a predetermined speed for a predetermined time. The predetermined time is stored in the storage unit 32 as the stopping time when a right-turn congestion occurs. If a positive determination is made in step S202, the process proceeds to step S112; if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S114.

[0049] As described above, this embodiment makes it possible to improve the accuracy of detecting when a right-turn congestion occurs.

[0050] <Other Embodiments> The embodiments described above are merely examples, and the present invention can be implemented with appropriate modifications without departing from its spirit. The processes and means described in this disclosure can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical inconsistencies arise. Furthermore, processes described as being performed by one device may be divided and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, processes described as being performed by different devices may be executed by one device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is implemented can be flexibly changed. In addition, although the above embodiments were described using a right-turn-only lane as an example, the same can be applied to a left-turn-only lane. In this case, the fourth vehicle 10D approaching the end of the traffic jam will exhibit behavior of evasive maneuvering towards the right lane. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the example given was that the fourth vehicle 10D changes course from the second straight lane 52 to the first straight lane 51 in order to avoid the third vehicle 10C. However, the avoidance behavior of the fourth vehicle 10D is not limited to this, and also includes, for example, the behavior of moving to the left within the second straight lane 52.

[0051] The present invention can also be realized by supplying a computer program implementing the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer, and having one or more processors in the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer by a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium that can be connected to the computer's system bus, or it may be provided to the computer via a network. Non-temporary computer-readable storage mediums include, for example, any type of disk such as magnetic disks (floppy disks, hard disk drives (HDDs), etc.), optical disks (CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic cards, flash memory, optical cards, and any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1 System 10 vehicles 30 servers 31 Control Unit 32 Storage section 33 Communication Module 34 Input / Output Devices

Claims

1. In response to the occurrence of congestion, the upstream end of the dedicated right-turn or left-turn lane is obtained, In response to a predetermined first percentage or more of vehicles changing direction away from the dedicated lane upstream of the upstream end of the dedicated lane, information is output indicating that congestion is occurring due to vehicles that have deviated from the dedicated lane. A control unit configured to perform the following: The control unit, The first section in which a predetermined second proportion or more of the aforementioned vehicles change course in a direction approaching the aforementioned dedicated lane is defined as the upstream end of the area of ​​the aforementioned dedicated lane. Information processing device.

2. In response to the occurrence of congestion, to obtain the upstream end of the range of a dedicated lane for right turns or left turns, In response to a predetermined first percentage or more of vehicles changing direction away from the dedicated lane upstream of the upstream end of the dedicated lane, information is output indicating that congestion is occurring due to vehicles that have deviated from the dedicated lane. A control unit configured to perform the following: The control unit, A second section is obtained upstream of the upstream end of the dedicated lane, in which a predetermined first percentage or more of vehicles change direction away from the dedicated lane. The aforementioned second section is output as the end of a traffic jam caused by a vehicle that has deviated from the dedicated lane, Configured to perform further actions, Information processing device.

3. The control unit, Upstream of the upstream end of the dedicated lane, in response to a predetermined first proportion or more of vehicles changing direction away from the dedicated lane at a predetermined speed or below, the system outputs information indicating that congestion is occurring due to vehicles that have deviated from the dedicated lane. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The control unit, Furthermore, if there is a vehicle upstream of the upstream end of the dedicated lane that has been traveling at or below a predetermined speed for a predetermined period of time or longer, the system will output information indicating that congestion is occurring due to a vehicle that has deviated from the dedicated lane. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

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