Dispatch system, dispatch method, and program

The vehicle dispatching system allows users to identify dispatched taxis through markers displayed on mobile devices, addressing the issue of vehicle identification in taxi services.

JP7875452B2Active Publication Date: 2026-06-18SONY GROUP CORP

Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
SONY GROUP CORP
Filing Date
2021-10-19
Publication Date
2026-06-18

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Users requesting taxis or similar services cannot easily identify the dispatched vehicle by appearance alone, necessitating confirmation with the driver, which is inconvenient.

Method used

A vehicle dispatching system and method that includes mobile devices with display units, a management device, and a terminal device, where the terminal device displays a marker on the mobile device that has accepted the request, and optionally combines captured images with predetermined images for identification.

🎯Benefits of technology

Enables users to easily identify the dispatched vehicle by its appearance, reducing confusion and inconvenience during pickup.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure 0007875452000001
    Figure 0007875452000001
  • Figure 0007875452000002
    Figure 0007875452000002
  • Figure 0007875452000003
    Figure 0007875452000003
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

The present technology relates to a vehicle dispatch system, a vehicle dispatch method, and a program that enable a user to easily identify the vehicle dispatched in response to their request. The present invention comprises a plurality of mobile vehicles having a display unit, a vehicle dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of the mobile vehicles, and a terminal device that makes a request to the vehicle dispatch management device for the dispatch of a mobile vehicle. A mark held as information by the terminal device that has made the request is displayed on the display unit of the mobile vehicle that has accepted the request.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

【Technical Field】 【0001】 The present technology relates to a vehicle dispatching system, a vehicle dispatching method, and a program, and particularly to a vehicle dispatching system, a vehicle dispatching method, and a program that enable a user to easily identify a vehicle dispatched in response to the user's request. 【Background Art】 【0002】 Patent Document 1 discloses a system that projects an image corresponding to a position on the window glass of an automobile. 【Prior Art Documents】 【Patent Documents】 【0003】 【Patent Document 1】 U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2019 / 0098268 【Summary of the Invention】 【Problems to be Solved by the Invention】 【0004】 A user who requests a taxi or the like cannot identify only by appearance the vehicle dispatched in response to the user's request, so it is necessary to confirm with the driver, which is troublesome. 【0005】 The present technology has been made in view of such a situation, and enables a user to easily identify a vehicle dispatched in response to the user's request. 【Means for Solving the Problems】 【0006】 The vehicle dispatching system according to the first aspect of the present technology includes a plurality of mobile devices having display units, a vehicle dispatching management device that manages the vehicle dispatching of the mobile devices, and a terminal device that requests vehicle dispatching to the vehicle dispatching management device, and has a processing unit that causes the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request to display a mark that the terminal device that has made the request has as information. 【0007】 The first aspect of this technology is a dispatch method comprising a plurality of mobile devices having a display unit, a dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of the mobile devices, and a terminal device that requests dispatch from the dispatch management device, wherein the processing unit of the dispatch system, which is equipped with a processing unit, causes the terminal device that made the request to display a marker, which is held as information, on the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request. 【0008】 In the first aspect of this technology, the dispatch system and dispatch method consist of a plurality of mobile devices having a display unit, a dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of the mobile devices, and a terminal device that requests dispatch from the dispatch management device, wherein a marker held as information by the terminal device that made the request is displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that accepts the request. 【0009】 The dispatch system, a second aspect of this technology, comprises a plurality of mobile devices, a dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of the mobile devices, and a terminal device that requests dispatch from the dispatch management device and has a camera unit and a display unit. The dispatch system has a processing unit that, when the image captured by the camera unit of the terminal device that made the request includes an image of the mobile device that has accepted the request, displays an output image on the display unit of the terminal device, which is an image obtained by combining a predetermined image with the captured image. 【0010】 In the dispatch system of the second aspect of this technology, the system comprises a plurality of mobile devices, a dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of the mobile devices, and a terminal device that requests dispatch from the dispatch management device and has a camera unit and a display unit. When the image captured by the camera unit of the terminal device that made the request includes an image of the mobile device that accepted the request, an output image obtained by combining a predetermined image with the captured image is displayed on the display unit of the terminal device. 【0011】 The third aspect of this technology is a program that causes a computer to function as a processing unit that displays a marker, which is information held by a terminal device that has made a dispatch request to a dispatch management device, on the display unit of a mobile device that has accepted the request. 【0012】 In the third aspect of the program of this technology, a marker held as information by the terminal device that made a dispatch request to the dispatch management device is displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request. [Brief explanation of the drawing] 【0013】 [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a first embodiment of a taxi dispatch system to which this technology is applied. [Figure 2] Figure 1 illustrates the basic dispatch process from requesting a taxi to boarding the vehicle in the taxi dispatch system. [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates the actual dispatch process in the taxi dispatch system shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4] This is a plan view of a taxi illustrating the arrangement of a rear transparent screen and projector. [Figure 5] Figure 1 is a sequence diagram showing the entire flow of the dispatch process in the taxi dispatch system. [Figure 6] This diagram illustrates a vehicle dispatch request screen on a user's terminal. [Figure 7] This is an example diagram of the vehicle dispatch waiting screen on a user terminal. [Figure 8] This figure shows a modified version of the vehicle dispatch waiting screen on the user terminal. [Figure 9] This diagram illustrates an example of an arrival notification screen on a user's terminal. [Figure 10] This flowchart illustrates the steps involved in the vehicle dispatch process performed by the user application on the user's terminal. [Figure 11] This flowchart illustrates the procedure for processing the vehicle dispatch process performed by the integrated vehicle dispatch management system. [Figure 12] This flowchart illustrates the steps involved in the dispatch process performed by the driver application on a taxi terminal. [Figure 13] This is a side view of a taxi with a landmark displayed. [Figure 14]A side view of a taxi with a mark displayed at a position different from that in FIG. 13. [Figure 15] It is a diagram for explaining a boarding process in a second embodiment of a taxi dispatch system. [Figure 16] It is a configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a user terminal in a second embodiment of a taxi dispatch system. [Figure 17] It is a flowchart exemplifying a procedure of processing in a dispatch process performed by a user app of a user terminal. [Figure 18] It is a diagram exemplifying an output image when a monochromatic image is synthesized in an image area of a commissioned taxi in a photographed image. [Figure 19] It is a block diagram showing a configuration example of hardware of a computer that executes a series of processes by a program. 【Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention】 【0014】 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present technology will be described with reference to the drawings. 【0015】 <First Embodiment of Taxi Dispatch System> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a first embodiment of a taxi dispatch system to which the present technology is applied. 【0016】 In FIG. 1, a taxi dispatch system 1 which is a first embodiment of a taxi dispatch system to which the present technology is applied is a system that dispatches a taxi as a moving device to a user based on a dispatch request from a user who is a taxi user. Note that there are cases where a pick-up time is specified and cases where it is not specified in the dispatch request, and a dispatch request with a specified pick-up time will be particularly referred to as a dispatch reservation. 【0017】 The taxi dispatch system 1 includes a user terminal 11, taxis 12 (12A, 12B, 12C, 12D), dispatch management devices 13 (13A, 13B, 13C), and a dispatch integrated management device 14. 【0018】 The taxis 12 managed by the taxi dispatch system 1 (taxi 12 managed by the taxi dispatch system 1) may include vehicles operated by a designated taxi company and vehicles operated by an individual. The former will be referred to as company taxis, and the latter as individual taxis. 【0019】 In the taxi dispatch system 1 shown in Figure 1, the existence of taxi companies A, B, and C is assumed. Company A taxi 12A, Company B taxi 12B, and Company C taxi 12C represent company taxis operated by Company A, Company B, and Company C, respectively. Individual taxi 12D represents an individual taxi operated by an individual. However, the number of taxi companies, the number of company taxis operated by each taxi company, and the number of individual taxis shown in Figure 1 are examples only, and there are no special restrictions on these numbers. Furthermore, when Company A taxi 12A, Company B taxi 12B, and Company C taxi 12C are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as Company Taxi 12, and when Company Taxi 12 and Individual Taxi 12D are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as Taxi 12. 【0020】 A taxi company may build a company-specific taxi dispatch system that includes a company-specific dispatch management device (including a device for managing operations) to manage the dispatch of its company taxis. In the taxi dispatch system 1 shown in Figure 1, it is assumed that companies A, B, and C each have their own company-specific dispatch management devices, and dispatch management devices 13A, 13B, and 13C represent the dispatch management devices of companies A, B, and C, respectively. 【0021】 In addition, when not distinguishing between Company A's dispatch management device 13A, Company B's dispatch management device 13B, and Company C's dispatch management device 13C, they will simply be referred to as dispatch management device 13. Company taxis of taxi companies that do not have a dispatch management device incorporated into the taxi dispatch system 1 will be classified as taxis equivalent to individual taxis 12D in the taxi dispatch system 1 shown in Figure 1. 【0022】 Figure 1 shows a taxi dispatch system 1 that manages the dispatch of company taxis 12, which are managed by a company-dedicated dispatch management device 13, and other individual taxis 12D. However, the application of this technology is not limited to this. This technology can be applied to the taxi dispatch system 1 of Figure 1, but without including the dispatch management device 13, and managing the dispatch of one or more taxis (not limited to individual taxis). This technology can be applied to the taxi dispatch system 1 of Figure 1, but regardless of whether it is company-dedicated or not, and managing the dispatch of taxis managed by one or more dispatch management devices 13 and other taxis. In this case, the dispatch management device 13 may be, for example, a dispatch management device that manages taxi dispatch by region in addition to by company. 【0023】 In the taxi dispatch system 1 shown in Figure 1, when information is exchanged between two separated devices, they are assumed to be connected (communication connected) via a communication network or communication path of any communication standard. 【0024】 The communication network or channel connecting two separated devices may be the Internet, public telephone networks, wide-area communication networks for mobile communication such as so-called 4G and 5G networks, WAN (Wide Area Network), LAN (Local Area Network), wireless communication networks that comply with Bluetooth® standards, communication channels for short-range wireless communication such as NFC (Near Field Communication), communication channels for infrared communication, or wired communication networks that comply with standards such as HDMI® (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) and USB (Universal Serial Bus). In the following, unless otherwise specified, information exchange between the two devices will be conducted via the designated communication network or channel. 【0025】 The user terminal 11 (terminal device) is, for example, an information processing device such as a smartphone or tablet used by a user requesting a taxi 12. The user terminal 11 is connected to the integrated dispatch management device 14. The user terminal 11 represents one user terminal used by any one of the multiple users who use the taxi dispatch system 1. When simply referred to as a user, it refers to the user who uses the user terminal 11 shown in Figure 1. 【0026】 A user application program, the user app 21, is installed on the user terminal 11. In the following, "user app 21" refers to the processing unit that executes the user application program. The user app 21 may utilize a predetermined program executed on the dispatch management device 14 via an API (Application Programming Interface). For example, the user app 21 may operate the user terminal 11 as a device that inputs and outputs information requested or generated by the execution of a program on the dispatch management device 14. 【0027】 The user application 21 displays various screens on the display, such as the dispatch request screen, dispatch confirmation notification screen, dispatch waiting screen, and arrival notification screen. 【0028】 The dispatch request screen is where the user specifies (including input and selection) dispatch request information such as the pick-up location, destination, and landmarks, and then submits a dispatch request (dispatch application) based on the specified dispatch request information. Further details about the dispatch request screen will be described later. 【0029】 The dispatch confirmation notification screen is a screen that notifies the user that a dispatch has been confirmed in response to their dispatch request from the dispatch request screen. 【0030】 The dispatch waiting screen is a screen that displays the current location of the taxi 12 to be dispatched to the user after the dispatch has been confirmed. The taxi 12 dispatched to the user is the taxi 12 that accepted the user's dispatch request and is referred to as the accepted taxi 12-1. Further details about the dispatch waiting screen will be described later. 【0031】 The arrival notification screen is a notification screen that informs the user that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived near the pickup location specified by the user. 【0032】 The user application 21 (user terminal 11) supplies (transmits) various information to the integrated dispatch management device 14. The information supplied to the integrated dispatch management device 14 includes a dispatch request notification that the user has made a dispatch request, dispatch request information related to the dispatch request specified by the user, and the current location of the user (user terminal 11). The current location of the user terminal 11 is detected, for example, by a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver installed in the user terminal 11. 【0033】 The user application 21 acquires (receives) various information from the integrated dispatch management device 14. The information acquired from the integrated dispatch management device 14 includes dispatch confirmation notifications, arrival notifications, and vehicle movement data. 【0034】 A dispatch confirmation notification is information that informs the user that a taxi has been dispatched to them. An arrival notification is information that informs the user that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived near the pick-up location specified by the user. Vehicle movement data is information (described later) that represents the movement log of each taxi 12 managed by the taxi dispatch system 1, such as its current location and status (operating status). However, the vehicle movement data acquired by the user application 21 is limited to vehicle movement data acquired from some of the taxis 12 managed by the taxi dispatch system 1, and is limited to some of the information included in the vehicle movement data (current location and current status, etc.). 【0035】 Taxi 12, as illustrated in Taxi 12A of Company A in Figure 1, has an in-vehicle unit 31, a communication unit 32, a terminal device 33, and a projector 34. 【0036】 The in-vehicle unit 31 (taxi meter) is equipped with a vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41. The vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 acquires necessary data from the fare meter, GPS receiver, gyro sensor, speed meter, etc. (all not shown) and generates vehicle movement data representing the movement log of the taxi 12 (own vehicle) on which it is installed. 【0037】 Vehicle movement data includes various information such as company ID, radio ID, driver ID, status, status time, fare, current location, driving speed, direction of travel, pick-up location, and destination (drop-off location). The company ID identifies the taxi company to which the vehicle belongs. The radio ID identifies the vehicle itself. The driver ID identifies the driver operating the vehicle. 【0038】 The status indicates the operating status of the vehicle, obtained from the fare meter, and represents one of the following states: "occupied," "vacant," or "on call." The status time indicates the time when the status information was generated (obtained). The fare is obtained from the fare meter and represents the fare collected in the past and the current fare when the status is "occupied." Current location, speed, and direction of travel represent the current position, speed, and direction of travel of the vehicle, obtained from, for example, a GPS receiver, gyro sensor, or speedometer. The boarding location indicates the location where current and past passengers boarded the vehicle. The destination (drop-off location) indicates the location where past passengers dropped off the vehicle (the destination of transport). 【0039】 The vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 generates vehicle movement data periodically or irregularly and supplies (transmits) it to the dispatch management device 13 or the integrated dispatch management device 14 via the communication unit 32. If the vehicle is a company taxi 12, the vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 supplies the vehicle movement data to the dispatch management device 13 that manages the vehicle. The vehicle movement data supplied to the dispatch management device 13 is then supplied from the dispatch management device 13 to the integrated dispatch management device 14. If the vehicle is a private taxi, the vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 supplies the vehicle movement data to the integrated dispatch management device 14. Note that if the vehicle is a company taxi 12, the vehicle movement data to the integrated dispatch management device 14 may be supplied from the vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 instead of from the dispatch management device 13. 【0040】 The communication unit 32 controls communication between the taxi 12, which is equipped with the communication unit 32, and other devices that are moving away from it. 【0041】 The terminal device 33 is an information processing device such as a smartphone or tablet used by the driver operating the vehicle. The terminal device 33 may be installed in the vehicle, or the in-vehicle unit 31 may have the functions of the terminal device 33. The terminal device 33 is connected to the dispatch management device 14 and the projector 34 via communication. The terminal device 33 and the dispatch management device 14 are connected via the communication function of the terminal device 33 without going through the communication unit 32, but they may also be connected via the communication unit 32. The terminal device 33 and the projector 34 may be connected by a cable, and the image projected by the projector 34 may be transmitted unilaterally from the terminal device 33 to the projector 34. 【0042】 If the vehicle is a company taxi 12A, 12B, or 12C, the exchange of various information between the terminal device 33 and the dispatch integrated management device 14 may not be conducted directly, but may be conducted via the dispatch management device 13 that manages the vehicle, or via the communication unit 32 of the vehicle. 【0043】 A driver application program, or driver app 51, is installed on the terminal device 33. In the following, "driver app 51" refers to the processing unit that executes the driver application program. The driver app 51 may utilize a predetermined program executed on the dispatch management device 14 via an API. For example, the driver app 51 may operate the terminal device 33 as a device that inputs and outputs information requested or generated by the execution of a program on the dispatch management device 14. 【0044】 The driver app 51 displays various screens on the display, such as the request acceptance screen and the dispatch confirmation notification screen. The request acceptance screen is an operation screen that presents the driver with dispatch request information such as the pick-up location specified by the user, and allows the driver to specify whether or not to accept the user's dispatch request. The dispatch confirmation notification screen is a screen that notifies the driver that the dispatch of their vehicle has been confirmed. 【0045】 The driver application 51 receives various information from the dispatch management device 14. The information received from the dispatch management device 14 includes dispatch request notifications, dispatch request information, and dispatch confirmation notifications. A dispatch request notification is information that notifies the driver that a dispatch request has been made. Dispatch request information is information related to the dispatch request, such as the pick-up location specified by the user. A dispatch confirmation notification is information that notifies the driver that the dispatch of the vehicle to the user has been confirmed. 【0046】 The driver application 51 supplies (transmits) various information, such as a request acceptance notification, to the dispatch management device 14. The request acceptance notification is information that notifies the driver that they have accepted the dispatch request. 【0047】 The driver application 51 supplies the projector 34 with an image (projected image) to be projected onto the rear transparent screen. The projected image may include an image of a landmark specified by the user as part of the dispatch request information. 【0048】 The projector 34 projects an image (hereinafter referred to as the projected image) onto the rear transparent screen from the rear side. In other words, rear projection is adopted as the projection method using the projector 34. As the rear transparent screen, for example, a rear transparent film attached to the window portion of the taxi 12, such as the front door glass or rear door glass, is used. The projector 34 is installed inside the vehicle and projects the image onto the rear transparent film from the inside of the vehicle. As a result, the window portion to which the rear transparent film is attached becomes a rear transparent screen, and the projected image projected from the inside of the vehicle onto the rear transparent screen is displayed so that it can be seen by people outside the vehicle (such as users waiting for a ride). 【0049】 The projector 34 is connected to the terminal device 33 via communication. The connection between the projector 34 and the terminal device 33 can be any configuration, as long as the terminal device 33 can supply projected images to the projector 34. Alternatively, the projector 34 may be connected to the integrated dispatch management device 14 via communication, and the projected images may be supplied from the integrated dispatch management device 14. In this embodiment, the processing related to the display of the projector 34 is mainly performed by the terminal device 33, but the integrated dispatch management device 14 can perform equivalent processing. 【0050】 The projector 34 has an output control unit 61. The output control unit 61 controls the projection of the projected image onto the rear transparent screen. 【0051】 The output control unit 61 acquires the projected image supplied from the terminal device 33 (driver application 51) and projects the acquired projected image onto the rear transparent screen. The output control unit 61 controls the position and size (projection area) of the projected image on the rear transparent screen according to the specifications from the driver application 51. If no projection area is specified, the output control unit 61 projects the image onto a default projection area. 【0052】 Specifically, the projected image supplied from the driver app 51 to the output control unit 61 is an image of a marker specified by the user as dispatch request information. By displaying the user-specified marker image on the rear transparent screen, the user can easily identify the accepted taxi 12-1 dispatched in response to their request from the marker. When the user-specified marker is not displayed on the rear projection screen, any image such as an advertisement is supplied from the driver app 51 to the output control unit 61 and displayed on the rear transparent screen. 【0053】 The dispatch management device 13 manages the dispatch of company taxis 12. The dispatch management device 13 is composed of, for example, a server device (information processing device) with network connectivity. Note that the dispatch management device 13A for company A, the dispatch management device 13B for company B, and the dispatch management device 13C for company C are all configured similarly, and the explanation will use the dispatch management device 13A for company A as an example. 【0054】 The dispatch management device 13A is connected to the communication unit 32 of Company A's taxi 12A and the integrated dispatch management device 14. When the dispatch management device 13A uses the terminal device 33 for dispatch management, or when the dispatch management device 13A relays communication between the terminal device 33 of Company A's taxi 12A and the integrated dispatch management device 14, the dispatch management device 13A is also connected to the terminal device 33. 【0055】 The dispatch management device 13A includes a vehicle movement data management unit 81, an order information management unit 82, and a communication unit 83. 【0056】 The vehicle movement data management unit 81 manages vehicle movement data supplied periodically or irregularly from the vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 of each A company taxi 12A via the communication unit 32. Specifically, the vehicle movement data management unit 81 stores the vehicle movement data from the vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 of each A company taxi 12A in its internal storage unit. Whenever new vehicle movement data is supplied from the vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 of each A company taxi 12A, the vehicle movement data management unit 81 updates the vehicle movement data in its storage unit to include the latest movement log using the new vehicle movement data. The vehicle movement data management unit 81 supplies the vehicle movement data from each A company taxi 12A to the dispatch integrated management device 14 via the communication unit 83. 【0057】 The vehicle movement data management unit 81 can display the vehicle movement data of each A company taxi 12A stored in the memory unit on a display (not shown). For example, when an operator managing the operation of A company taxis 12A receives a dispatch request by phone or other means to A company, the operator displays the vehicle movement data stored in the memory unit on the display. The operator checks the current location and status of each A company taxi 12A and searches for an A company taxi 12A that can respond to the dispatch request. Based on the search results, the operator makes a dispatch request to the driver of an A company taxi 12A that can respond to the dispatch request by phone or other arbitrary method. 【0058】 The order information management unit 82 manages information on pre-arranged vehicle dispatch requests from customers, etc., that is, dispatch reservations, which are dispatch requests with a specified pick-up time. For example, when an operator at Company A receives a call from a customer requesting a dispatch reservation, the operator inputs the dispatch reservation information (dispatch reservation information), such as the customer's name, pick-up time, pick-up location (boarding location), and destination, from the operating terminal and stores it in the order information management unit 82. 【0059】 The order information management unit 82 prompts the operator to make a dispatch request corresponding to the dispatch reservation information by displaying a warning on the display or the like when it is a specified time before the pick-up time in the stored dispatch reservation information. The operator searches for a taxi 12A of Company A that can respond to the dispatch reservation in the same way as in the case of a dispatch request without a specified pick-up time, and makes a dispatch request to the driver. 【0060】 The communication unit 83 controls communication between the dispatch management device 13, which is equipped with the communication unit 83, and other devices that are separated from it. 【0061】 The dispatch management device 13 is not limited to the configuration shown in Figure 1. Other configurations of the dispatch management device 13 may be the same as those of the integrated dispatch management device 14, which will be described in detail later. In that case, for example, Company A's dispatch management device 13 can accept dispatch requests to Company A from user terminals 11, regardless of the operator. Company A's dispatch management device 13A searches for Company A taxis 12A that can respond to the dispatch request based on the vehicle movement data of each Company A taxi 12A. As a result of the search, Company A's dispatch management device 13 notifies the terminal device 33 of the Company A taxi 12A that matches the dispatch request, confirms that the driver has accepted the dispatch request, and confirms the dispatch. 【0062】 In yet another configuration of the dispatch management device 13, when it receives a dispatch request from a telephone or user terminal 11, it may forward the received dispatch request to the integrated dispatch management device 14. In this case, the integrated dispatch management device 14 treats the dispatch request from the dispatch management device 13 in the same way as the dispatch request from the user terminal 11. 【0063】 The dispatch management device 13 is not limited to any particular form, but for the sake of simplicity, the dispatch management device 13 will be assumed to have only the function of relaying vehicle movement data of each company taxi 12 from each company taxi 12 to the integrated dispatch management device 14. Regardless of whether the taxi 12 is a company taxi 12 or not, the integrated dispatch management device 14 will receive vehicle movement data from each taxi 12 without explicitly mentioning the existence of the dispatch management device 13. 【0064】 The integrated dispatch management device 14 is a dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of all taxis 12 belonging to Company A's taxi 12A, Company B's taxi 12B, Company C's taxi 12C, and individual taxi 12D. The integrated dispatch management device 14 is composed of, for example, a server device (information processing device) having network connectivity. The integrated dispatch management device 14 is connected to the user terminal 11, the taxi terminal device 33, and the dispatch management device 13 (communication unit 32), respectively. 【0065】 The vehicle dispatch integrated management device 14 includes a vehicle movement data management unit 101, a customer data management unit 102, an order information management unit 103, a dispatch management unit 104, an optimal vehicle search unit 105, and a communication unit 106. 【0066】 The vehicle movement data management unit 101 manages the vehicle movement data of each taxi 12. The vehicle movement data of each taxi 12 is supplied periodically or irregularly from the vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 of each taxi 12 to the vehicle movement data management unit 101 via the communication unit 32. 【0067】 The vehicle movement data management unit 101 stores the vehicle movement data of each taxi 12 supplied by each taxi 12 in its internal storage unit. Whenever new vehicle movement data is supplied, the vehicle movement data management unit 101 updates the vehicle movement data in its storage unit with the latest movement log data using the new vehicle movement data. The vehicle movement data of each taxi 12 stored in the storage unit may be displayed on a display (not shown). 【0068】 The customer data management unit 102 generates customer data based on data entered by the operator or data supplied from the user terminal 11, and stores it in its internal memory. For example, the customer data management unit 102 stores information such as the customer's name, preferred taxi company or taxi company that the customer wants to be dispatched preferentially, frequently used taxi stands, and average waiting time for a ride, associating this information with user identification information (customer ID) that identifies the customer. The customer data may be data entered by the user at the user terminal 11, or it may be data generated by the customer data management unit 102 based on the user's ride history, etc. 【0069】 The Order Information Management Unit 103 manages information on pre-arranged dispatch requests from customers, etc., that is, dispatch reservations with specified pick-up times. The Order Information Management Unit 103 manages dispatch reservation information received from the representative reservation center that oversees each taxi company and from user terminals 11. 【0070】 The order information management unit 103 stores dispatch reservation information related to dispatch reservations. When a dispatch reservation is received by telephone at a reservation center, etc., the operator inputs the dispatch reservation information from the operation terminal and stores it in the order information management unit 103. In the case of a dispatch reservation from the user application 21 on the user terminal 11, that is, when dispatch request information with a specified pick-up time is supplied from the user application 21, the order information management unit 103 stores that dispatch request information as dispatch reservation information. The dispatch reservation information includes information such as the pick-up location, destination, landmarks, etc., similar to dispatch request information without a specified pick-up time, as well as information on the pick-up time (reservation time). 【0071】 The order information management unit 103 supplies a dispatch request notification and dispatch request information to the dispatch management unit 104 based on the dispatch reservation information when a predetermined time before the pick-up time in the stored dispatch reservation information is approaching. In this way, even in the case of a dispatch reservation, it is processed in the same way as a dispatch request without a specified pick-up time. For the sake of simplicity, the explanation of the case of a dispatch reservation will be omitted below. 【0072】 The dispatch management unit 104 manages the dispatch of managed taxis 12 based on dispatch request information, etc. For example, when a dispatch request operation is performed on the user terminal 11, the dispatch management unit 104 acquires the dispatch request notification and dispatch request information supplied from the user terminal 11 (user application 21) via the communication unit 106. The dispatch management unit 104 acquires the optimal taxi 12 (optimal vehicle) that is suitable for dispatching to the pick-up location (a pick-up location specified by the user) included in the dispatch request information from the optimal vehicle search unit 105. The dispatch management unit 104 supplies the dispatch request notification and dispatch request information to the terminal device 33 (driver application 51) of the optimal vehicle acquired from the optimal vehicle search unit 105 via the communication unit 106. The dispatch request information that the dispatch management unit 104 supplies to the terminal device 33 may be some of the information included in the dispatch request information acquired from the user terminal 11 that the driver needs, or it may be all of the information. 【0073】 When a driver accepts a dispatch request at the terminal device 33 of the optimal vehicle supplied with the dispatch request notification and dispatch request information by the dispatch management unit 104, the dispatch management unit 104 receives the request acceptance notification supplied from the terminal device 33 of the optimal vehicle via the communication unit 106. Upon receiving the request acceptance notification, the dispatch management unit 104 confirms the optimal vehicle obtained from the optimal vehicle search unit 105 as the accepting taxi 12-1 to be dispatched to the user (confirms the dispatch). Once the dispatch is confirmed, the dispatch management unit 104 sends a dispatch confirmation notification to the user terminal 11 and the terminal device 33 of the accepting taxi 12-1 via the communication unit 106. 【0074】 In addition, the dispatch management unit 104 may receive a request rejection notice from the terminal device 33 of the optimal vehicle that supplied the dispatch request notification and dispatch request information. In that case, the dispatch management unit 104 obtains the next most suitable vehicle for dispatching to the user from the optimal vehicle search unit 105 as the optimal vehicle, and repeats the same process until it receives a request acceptance notice from the terminal device 33 of the optimal vehicle. 【0075】 The optimal vehicle search unit 105 searches (detects) the taxi 12 best suited for dispatching to the pick-up location specified by the user, based on the vehicle movement data of each taxi 12 in the vehicle movement data management unit 101. For example, the optimal vehicle search unit 105 searches for the taxi 12 that can arrive at the pick-up location the fastest as the optimal vehicle. When the optimal vehicle search unit 105 is instructed by the dispatch management unit 104 to search for the optimal vehicle, it searches for the optimal vehicle for the pick-up location specified by the user and supplies the search results to the dispatch management unit 104. In addition, the optimal vehicle search unit 105 may also search for a vehicle that can respond to the dispatch request, rather than the optimal vehicle. 【0076】 The communication unit 106 controls communication with other devices that are separated from the vehicle dispatch integrated management device 14. 【0077】 <Overview of the dispatch process for Taxi Dispatch System 1> Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the basic dispatch process from requesting a taxi to boarding the vehicle in the taxi dispatch system 1 shown in Figure 1. 【0078】 In Figure 2, steps S11 to S13 represent the dispatch request process, the dispatch waiting process, and the boarding process, respectively. The dispatch request process represents the process in which the user application 21 on the user terminal 11 requests the dispatch of a taxi 12. The dispatch waiting process represents the process in which the user 201 waits for the dispatch (pickup) after the dispatch has been confirmed. The boarding process represents the process from when the accepted taxi 12-1, which has accepted the dispatch request, arrives near the boarding location until the user 201 boards the accepted taxi 12-1. 【0079】 In step S11 of Figure 2, the dispatch request process shows the hand 201A of user 201 requesting a taxi 12, and the user terminal 11 (e.g., a smartphone) held in hand 201A. In the dispatch request process of step S11, user 201 launches the user application 21 on the user terminal 11, and the dispatch request screen is displayed on the display 151 of the user terminal 11. Details about the dispatch request screen will be described later. 【0080】 User 201 specifies dispatch request information, such as user identification information (name, customer ID, etc.), the desired pick-up location, the desired drop-off destination, and the payment method, by performing a predetermined operation on the dispatch request screen. After specifying the dispatch request information, User 201 performs a dispatch request operation to notify the dispatch management device 14 of the dispatch request with the contents of the specified dispatch request information. As a result, the dispatch request for taxi 12 is accepted by the dispatch management device 14. After the dispatch request is accepted by the dispatch management device 14 and the dispatch is confirmed (the accepted taxi 12-1 to be dispatched to the user is confirmed), a message indicating that the dispatch has been confirmed is displayed on the display 151 of the user terminal 11, and the process proceeds to the dispatch waiting process in step S12. 【0081】 In step S12 of Figure 2, the dispatch waiting process shows the display 151 of the user terminal 11. In step S12, the dispatch waiting screen is displayed on the display 151 of the user terminal 11. The dispatch waiting screen displays a map of the area around the pick-up location specified by user 201 as one of the dispatch request information. On the map, a pick-up location marker 172 indicating the pick-up location specified by the user and a taxi marker 173C indicating the current location of the accepting taxi 12-1 that has accepted the dispatch request are displayed. Further details about the dispatch waiting screen will be described later. 【0082】 This dispatch waiting screen allows user 201 to predict the waiting time until the accepted taxi 12-1 arrives at the pickup location. When the accepted taxi 12-1 arrives near the pickup location, the process moves to step S13, the boarding process. 【0083】 In step S13 of Figure 2, the boarding process shows user 201 waiting near the boarding location and accepting taxi 12-1 arriving near the boarding location. 【0084】 In the boarding process of step S13, user 201 visually identifies the accepted taxi 12-1 and boards it. Taxis 12 managed by the taxi dispatch system 1 have stickers affixed to them that represent, for example, the service name, company name, logo, or mark unique to the taxi dispatch system 1, or they are equipped with indicator lights. User 201 finds the accepted taxi 12-1 by the sticker or other display. User 201 provides user identification information (name, etc.) to the driver of the accepted taxi 12-1, confirms that it is the accepted taxi 12-1, and boards the taxi. 【0085】 In the basic dispatch process shown in Figure 2 above, in the boarding process in step S13, the taxi 12 that arrives and stops near the pick-up location specified by user 201 may be the taxi 12 that has accepted another person's dispatch request. That is, if multiple users request dispatch to nearby pick-up locations at similar times, or considering that such a situation may occur, the user who requested the dispatch cannot determine from appearance alone that the taxi 12 that arrives near the pick-up location is the accepting taxi 12-1 that has accepted their dispatch request. If multiple taxis 12 are parked near the pick-up location, it is not possible to identify from appearance alone which taxi 12 is the accepting taxi 12-1 that has accepted one's dispatch request. 【0086】 Therefore, problems arise such as confusion among users when multiple users try to board a taxi 12 that has stopped near the pick-up location, or users becoming confused because they are not sure that the taxi 12-1 is the one that accepted their ride request. 【0087】 Therefore, in the taxi dispatch system 1 shown in Figure 1, users can easily identify the accepted taxi 12-1 that has accepted their dispatch request based on its appearance. 【0088】 Figure 3 illustrates the actual dispatch process in the taxi dispatch system 1 shown in Figure 1. Parts common to both Figure 1 and Figure 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their explanations are omitted. In Figure 3, as in Figure 2, the dispatch request process is represented as step S11, the dispatch waiting process as step S12, and the boarding process as step S13. 【0089】 In step S11 of Figure 3, the dispatch request process, user 201 launches the user application 21 on the user terminal 11, and displays the dispatch request screen on the display 151 of the user terminal 11. User 201 specifies dispatch request information such as user identification information, pick-up location, destination, and payment method by performing predetermined operations on the dispatch request screen, similar to step S11 in Figure 2. However, unlike step S11 in Figure 2, in step S11 in Figure 3, user 201 specifies (sets) a marker 221 as one of the dispatch request information items. The marker 221 is selected by the user from, for example, a large number of types of icons (marker icons). 【0090】 The vehicle dispatch waiting process in step S12 of Figure 3 is the same as in Figure 2, so the explanation is omitted. 【0091】 In the boarding process of step S13 in Figure 3, user 201 boards a taxi 12 that has arrived near the designated boarding location, after determining from its appearance that it is the accepted taxi 12-1 that has accepted his dispatch request. That is, when the accepted taxi 12-1 that has accepted user 201's dispatch request arrives near the boarding location, the marker 221 set by user 201 in the dispatch request process of step S11 is displayed on the rear door window of the accepted taxi 12-1, for example, on the sidewalk side (left side of the vehicle). The rear door window and other window areas are covered with a rear-transparent film, creating a rear-transparent screen. The image of the marker 221 is projected onto the rear door window, which is a rear-transparent screen, by a projector 34 inside the vehicle (see Figure 1). 【0092】 User 201 can easily identify the accepting taxi 12-1 that has accepted their ride request by finding a vehicle displaying the marker 221 that they set in step S11. Once User 201 has identified the accepting taxi 12-1, they provide the driver of the accepting taxi 12-1 with their user identification information, such as their name, and confirm that it is the accepting taxi 12-1 that accepted their ride request before getting in. 【0093】 According to the dispatch process shown in Figure 3 above, in the boarding process in step S13, user 201 can easily identify by the marker 221 that the taxi 12 that has arrived near the boarding location specified by user 201 is the accepted taxi 12-1 that has accepted his dispatch request. In other words, even if multiple users request dispatch to nearby boarding locations at similar times, or even considering the possibility of such a situation occurring, user 201 can determine by appearance alone whether the taxi 12 parked near the boarding location is the accepted taxi 12-1 that has accepted his dispatch request. Therefore, problems such as confusion among users when multiple users try to board the taxi 12 parked near the boarding location, or confusion among users who are unsure whether they have boarded the taxi 12 that has accepted their dispatch request, are eliminated. 【0094】 Figure 4 is a plan view of taxi 12 illustrating the arrangement of the rear transparent screen and projector. 【0095】 In the taxi 12 of Figure 4, the rear transparent screen 241 represents the portion of the front door glass on the left side of the vehicle to which the rear transparent film is attached. The rear transparent screen 242 represents the portion of the rear door glass on the left side of the vehicle to which the rear transparent film is attached. The projector 34 of each taxi 12 in Figure 1 is installed, for example, on the upper part of the C-pillar on the left side of the interior or on the ceiling. The projector 34 projects the projection image, such as the marker 221 in Figure 3, onto the rear transparent screens 241 and 242 from the rear side. By switching the projection area, the projector 34 can project the image onto either the area of ​​the rear transparent screen 241 or the area covering both of them. 【0096】 Furthermore, the case is not limited to the example shown in Figure 4. Any one or more of the window areas of the taxi 12, such as the front door windows on both sides, the rear door windows on both sides, the windshield, the back door window, and the quarter windows on both sides, may be used as rear transparent screens. In the case where multiple window areas are used as rear transparent screens, one projector may project images onto multiple of these rear transparent screens, or one projector may project images onto a single rear transparent screen. 【0097】 In this embodiment, a display device that uses a rear transparent screen and a projector is given as an example of a display device that displays images such as landmarks so that users outside the vehicle can see them, that is, a display device that displays images toward people outside the vehicle. However, the display device is not limited to this. For example, a transparent display incorporated into the window portion of the taxi 12 may be used as the display device. By using a thin transparent display or a flexible display as the display device, the display device may be placed not only in the window portion but also in any part of the exterior of the vehicle, including the exterior body portion. In other words, the display device only needs to display images so that users outside the vehicle can see them, and is not limited to a specific form, nor is it limited to a specific part in which it is placed. 【0098】 <Overall flow of the taxi dispatch system> Figure 5 is a sequence diagram showing the overall flow of the dispatch process for the taxi dispatch system 1 shown in Figure 1. 【0099】 Figure 5 shows the processing and information exchange between a designated user terminal 11 that makes a dispatch request, a dispatch management device 14, and a designated taxi 12 (accepting taxi 12-1) that accepts the dispatch request. The processing at the user terminal 11 represents the processing of the user application 21 and the user's operations on the user terminal 11 (user application 21). The processing at the taxi 12 represents the processing of the driver application 51 on the taxi's terminal device 33 and the driver's operations on the terminal device 33 (driver application 51). The dispatch management device 14 is assumed to periodically or irregularly acquire vehicle movement data such as the current location and status of the taxi 12 managed by the taxi dispatch system 1. 【0100】 In step S21, the user launches the user application 21 on the user terminal 11 to display the dispatch request screen on the display. The user performs a dispatch request operation by specifying (inputting) dispatch request information such as user identification information (name, customer ID, etc.), pick-up location, destination, landmarks, etc., through predetermined operations on the dispatch request screen, and instructs the dispatch integrated management device 14 to be notified of the dispatch request (dispatch application). 【0101】 In step S22, the user terminal 11, in response to the dispatch request operation in step S21, supplies (transmits) a dispatch request notification and the dispatch request information specified in step S21 to the integrated dispatch management device 14. Note that the supply of the dispatch request notification and the dispatch request information to the integrated dispatch management device 14 is not limited to simultaneous. 【0102】 In step S41, the vehicle dispatch integrated management device 14 acquires (receives) the vehicle dispatch request notification and vehicle dispatch request information supplied from the user terminal 11 in step S22. 【0103】 In step S42, the dispatch management device 14 detects (searches) the taxi 12 best suited for dispatching to the pick-up location specified by the user in step S21, which is included in the pick-up request information acquired in step S41. In detecting the best taxi 12, the dispatch management device 14 refers to the current location and current status included in the vehicle movement data acquired periodically or irregularly from each taxi 12. 【0104】 In step S43, the dispatch management device 14 supplies (transmits) a dispatch request notification to the taxi 12 (terminal device 33) detected in step S42, along with the dispatch request information acquired in step S41. 【0105】 In step S61, if the taxi 12 (terminal device 33) corresponds to the optimal taxi 12 detected in step S42, it acquires (receives) the dispatch request notification and dispatch request information supplied from the dispatch integrated management device 14 in step S43. 【0106】 In step S62, the driver of taxi 12 accepts the dispatch request on the request acceptance screen displayed on the terminal device 33 in response to the dispatch request notification received in step S61. The request acceptance screen also displays the details of the dispatch request, such as the pick-up location. The driver can also refuse the dispatch request, but the details of the refusal will be omitted. 【0107】 In step S63, the taxi 12 (terminal device 33) responds to the request acceptance operation in step S62 by supplying (transmitting) a request acceptance notification to the dispatch integrated management device 14, which notifies the acceptance of the dispatch request. 【0108】 In step S44, the dispatch management device 14 receives the request acceptance notification supplied by the taxi 12 (terminal device 33) in step S63. 【0109】 In step S45, when the dispatch management device 14 receives a request acceptance notification from the taxi 12 detected in step S42, it designates that taxi 12 as the accepted taxi 12-1 that accepted the dispatch request and confirms the dispatch to the user. 【0110】 In step S46, the vehicle dispatch management device 14 supplies (transmits) a vehicle dispatch confirmation notification to the user terminal 11, informing it that the vehicle dispatch has been confirmed. 【0111】 In step S47, the dispatch management device 14 supplies (sends) a dispatch confirmation notice to the accepting taxi 12-1 (terminal device 33) informing it that the dispatch to the user has been confirmed. 【0112】 In step S23, the user terminal 11 (user application 21) receives the dispatch confirmation notification supplied from the dispatch integrated management device 14 in step S46. 【0113】 In step S24, the user terminal 11 (user application 21) displays a dispatch confirmation notification (display of a dispatch confirmation screen) to notify the user that the dispatch has been confirmed, in response to the dispatch confirmation notification in step S23. 【0114】 In step S64, the accepting taxi 12-1 (terminal device 33) receives the dispatch confirmation notice supplied from the dispatch integrated management device 14 in step S47. 【0115】 In step S65, the accepting taxi 12-1 (terminal device 33) displays the marker included in the dispatch request information acquired in step S61, that is, the marker set by the user in step S21. Specifically, the terminal device 33 supplies an image of the marker included in the dispatch request information acquired in step S61 to the projector 34, and displays the image of the marker specified by the user on the rear transparent screen, which is the window portion of the accepting taxi 12-1. 【0116】 Note that the display of the marker in step S65 does not have to be immediately after the terminal device 33 receives the dispatch confirmation notification in step S64. For example, it may be done after the terminal device 33 or the accepting taxi 12-1 and the user (user terminal 11) have approached to a distance less than a predetermined distance (or less) and the user is at a distance where they can see the image of the marker displayed on the rear transparent screen. This case will be described later. 【0117】 In step S48, when the accepted taxi 12-1 arrives near the pick-up location specified by the user, the dispatch management device 14 detects that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the pick-up location (or near the pick-up location). The "near the pick-up location" refers to an area within a predetermined distance from the pick-up location. The dispatch management device 14 tracks the current location of the accepted taxi 12-1 based on vehicle movement data supplied periodically or irregularly from each taxi 12, and continuously detects the distance to the pick-up location specified by the user. 【0118】 In step S49, the dispatch management device 14, in response to the detection in step S48, supplies (sends) an arrival notification to the user terminal 11 (user application 21) indicating that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived near the pick-up location. 【0119】 In step S25, the user terminal 11 (user application 21) receives the arrival notification supplied from the vehicle dispatch integrated management device 14 in step S49. 【0120】 In step S26, the user terminal 11 (user application 21), upon receiving the arrival notification in step S25, displays an arrival notification. That is, the user terminal 11 (user application 21) displays an arrival notification screen on its display to inform the user that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the pick-up location (or near the pick-up location). Alternatively, the user terminal 11 may emit a notification sound from its speaker or vibrate using its actuator to notify the user that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the pick-up location. 【0121】 In step S27, the user identifies an accepting taxi 12-1 near the pick-up location that is displaying the landmark set by the user in step S21, and boards the accepting taxi 12-1. 【0122】 <Processing of the vehicle dispatch process on user terminal 11 (user application 21)> The processing of the vehicle dispatch process on the user terminal 11 (user application 21) will be explained in detail below. The processing of the vehicle dispatch process on the user terminal 11 will be explained in order, divided into the vehicle dispatch request process in step S11 of Figure 3, the request acceptance process in step S12, and the boarding process in step S13. 【0123】 In step S11 of Figure 3, during the vehicle dispatch request process, the user application 21 on the user terminal 11 displays the vehicle dispatch request screen on the display 151. 【0124】 Figure 6 is an example of the dispatch request screen on the user terminal 11. 【0125】 Figure 6 shows the display 151 of the user terminal 11, which displays the dispatch request screen 152. The dispatch request screen 152 includes a vehicle status display unit 161, a dispatch request operation unit 162, a boarding location input unit 163, a destination input unit 164, a landmark setting unit 165, and a payment setting unit 166. 【0126】 The operation status display unit 161 displays the operation status of taxis 12 located near the current location of the user terminal 11. 【0127】 The operation status display unit 161 displays a map of the area around the user terminal 11's current location. The range of the map displayed on the operation status display unit 161 can be changed by the user's scrolling and zooming operations. 【0128】 The map displays two taxi markers: an empty taxi marker 173A and an occupied / on-call taxi marker 173B, indicating the current location and status of taxis 12 within the map's display area. The empty taxi marker 173A represents the current location of taxi 12 whose status is "empty." The occupied / on-call taxi marker 173B represents the current location of taxis whose status is "occupied" or "on-call." The empty taxi marker 173A and the occupied / on-call taxi marker 173B differ, for example, in their display color or pattern. 【0129】 The map displays a current location marker 171 representing the current location of the user terminal 11 (user), and a boarding location marker 172 representing the boarding location entered in the boarding location input unit 163. 【0130】 User application 21 obtains its current location, for example, using the GPS receiver on the user terminal 11. User application 21 supplies the obtained current location to the dispatch management device 14 and obtains a map of the area around the current location from the dispatch management device 14 to be displayed on the operation status display unit 161. User application 21 displays a current location marker 171 on the map at the location corresponding to the current location of the user terminal 11 obtained by the GPS receiver. User application 21 displays a boarding location marker 172 on the map at the location corresponding to the boarding location entered in the boarding location input unit 163. 【0131】 The user application 21 continuously acquires vehicle movement data (current location and status of taxis) of taxis 12 located within the map area from the dispatch management device 14, and displays vacant taxi marks 173A and occupied / on-call taxi marks 173B on the map based on the acquired vehicle movement data. The image displayed as the operation status display unit 161 may be generated by the dispatch management device 14. In that case, the user application 21 acquires and displays the image of the operation status display unit 161 generated by the dispatch management device 14. 【0132】 The dispatch request operation unit 162 receives user operations (dispatch request operations) that instruct the dispatch integrated management device 14 to notify the dispatch request. 【0133】 The dispatch request operation unit 162 displays an operation bar 162A. When the user slides the operation bar 162A to the right, the user application 21 supplies (sends) a dispatch request notification to the dispatch integrated management device 14. The dispatch request notification informs the dispatch integrated management device 14 that the user has formally requested a taxi. 【0134】 The user application 21 supplies (transmits) dispatch request information to the integrated dispatch management device 14 along with the dispatch request notification. The dispatch request information includes the pick-up location, destination, landmark, and payment method specified by the user in the following pick-up location input unit 163, destination input unit 164, landmark setting unit 165, and payment setting unit 166. 【0135】 Note that dispatch request information may be supplied to the integrated dispatch management device 14 at a different time than the dispatch request notification. The dispatch request information supplied to the integrated dispatch management device 14 from the user application 21 may include information other than the information specified on the dispatch request screen 152 in Figure 6. The dispatch request information may include, for example, user identification information (such as a name) to identify the user. Regarding user identification information, for example, the user may enter their name on a screen not shown, or they may enter an account (customer ID) that has been registered in the integrated dispatch management device 14 in advance in order to use the taxi dispatch system 1 service. In particular, if an account is entered, the integrated dispatch management device 14 (customer data management unit 102) can use the information stored as customer data as dispatch request information by associating the customer data registered in advance in the integrated dispatch management device 14 (customer data management unit 102) with the account. 【0136】 The pick-up location input section 163 is selected when the user enters their desired pick-up location (place) for boarding the taxi 12. Once the pick-up location input section 163 is selected by the user (e.g., by touch operation), the user can enter the pick-up location. The pick-up location (address) entered by the user is displayed in the pick-up location input section 163. 【0137】 The boarding location input section 163 may be left blank until the user enters information, or it may be pre-filled with the current location of the user terminal 11 as obtained by the GPS receiver. The boarding location input section 163 may also contain the address of a location specified on a map through user operation or other means. 【0138】 The destination input section 164 is selected when the user enters the desired destination (transportation destination). Once the destination input section 164 is selected by the user, the user can enter the destination. The destination input section 164 displays the destination (address) entered by the user. The destination input section 164 may also contain the address of a location specified on a map by the user. 【0139】 The marker setting unit 165 is selected when setting a marker to be displayed on the rear transparent screen of the taxi 12. When the marker setting unit 165 is selected by the user, the marker selection screen 165A, for example, as shown in Figure 6, is displayed on the display 151 of the user terminal 11. The marker selection screen 165A displays multiple types of markers that can be set. In the marker selection screen 165A of Figure 6, multiple types of marker icons are shown as examples of markers that can be set. When a marker is selected from among the markers displayed on the marker selection screen 165A by the user, the selected marker is set as the marker desired by the user. However, the user may scroll on the marker selection screen 165A to display even more types of markers that can be set. Multiple markers may be selected and multiple markers may be set. In this case, multiple markers will be displayed simultaneously at different positions on the accepted taxi 12-1. The identifier is not limited to icons; it may also be an arbitrary string of characters (including symbols) such as the user's name, or any image stored on the user terminal 11, etc. In other words, the identifier may be an image containing one or more of the following: icons, illustrations, patterns, characters, shapes, and symbols. 【0140】 The payment setting unit 166 is selected when setting the payment method for the charges. When the payment setting unit 166 is selected by the user, several types of configurable payment methods are displayed on the display 151 of the user terminal 11. When the user selects one of these payment methods, the selected payment method is set as the user's preferred payment method. 【0141】 Payment methods include, for example, cash payment to the driver or credit card payment using a credit card registered in the user application 21. Figure 6 shows an example of how the payment settings section 166 looks when credit card payment is selected. 【0142】 After the user's operation on the dispatch request screen 152 described above sends the dispatch request notification and dispatch request information to the integrated dispatch management device 14, the dispatch is confirmed when any taxi 12 accepts the dispatch request. Once the dispatch is confirmed, the user application 21 receives a dispatch confirmation notification from the integrated dispatch management device 14. Upon receiving the dispatch confirmation notification, the user application 21 notifies the user that the dispatch has been confirmed (that the dispatch request has been accepted) by displaying it on the display 151. Subsequently, the user application 21 proceeds to the dispatch waiting process shown in step S12 of Figure 3. 【0143】 In step S12 of Figure 3, during the vehicle dispatch waiting process, the user application 21 displays the vehicle dispatch waiting screen on the display 151. 【0144】 Figure 7 is an example of the dispatch waiting screen on the user terminal 11. Note that parts corresponding to the dispatch request screen 152 in Figure 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their explanations are omitted. 【0145】 In the dispatch waiting screen 153 of Figure 7, an accepted taxi mark 173C is added to the operation status display unit 161 compared to the dispatch request screen 152 of Figure 6. The accepted taxi mark 173C represents the current location of the taxi 12 that has accepted the dispatch request from the user terminal 11. The accepted taxi mark 173C has a different display color or pattern from both the vacant taxi mark 173A and the occupied / receiving taxi mark 173B. 【0146】 The user application 21 continuously acquires vehicle movement data (current location) of the accepted taxi 12-1 that has accepted the dispatch request from the integrated dispatch management device 14, and displays the accepted taxi marker 173C on the map at the current location of the accepted taxi 12-1 based on the acquired vehicle movement data. This allows the user to understand how close the accepted taxi 12-1 has come to the pickup location specified by the user. 【0147】 Figure 8 shows a modified example of the dispatch waiting screen on the user terminal 11. In the figure, parts corresponding to the dispatch waiting screen 153 in Figure 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their explanations are omitted. 【0148】 In the dispatch waiting screen 153 of Figure 8, the operation status display unit 161 displays a marker 221 set by the user in association with the accepted taxi mark 173C. This allows the user to easily recognize that the accepted taxi mark 173C represents the location of the accepted taxi 12-1, and also reduces the burden on the user to remember the marker 221 that they have set themselves. 【0149】 When the accepting taxi 12-1 arrives near the pickup location specified by the user, the user application 21 receives an arrival notification from the dispatch management device 14. Upon receiving the arrival notification, the user application 21 proceeds to the boarding process shown in step S13 of Figure 3. 【0150】 In step S13 of Figure 3, during the boarding process, the user application 21 displays a pop-up arrival notification screen on the display 151 to inform the user that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the boarding location (or near the boarding location) specified by the user. 【0151】 Figure 9 is an example of the arrival notification screen on the user terminal 11. 【0152】 The arrival notification screen 261 in Figure 9 displays, for example, a string of text notifying that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the pick-up location (or near the pick-up location), as well as a marker 221 set by the user. 【0153】 The arrival notification screen 261 is displayed overlaid on the screen of another application, even if the user is displaying the screen of another application on the display 151 of the user terminal 11. This allows the user to recognize that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived near the pick-up location. 【0154】 When the user application 21 receives an arrival notification from the dispatch management device 14, it may output a notification sound from the speaker on the user terminal 11 to notify the user that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the pick-up location specified by the user. Similarly, when the user application 21 receives an arrival notification from the dispatch management device 14, it may generate a vibration using an actuator on the user terminal 11 to notify the user that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived. 【0155】 When the user recognizes that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived near the pick-up location via the arrival notification screen 261, etc., the user finds the accepted taxi 12-1 that is displaying the marker 221 set by the user on the window part of the car, such as the door glass. Even if there are multiple taxis 12 managed by the taxi dispatch system 1 near the pick-up location, the accepted taxi 12-1 can be easily identified by finding the taxi 12 that is displaying the marker 221 set by the user. Once the user has identified the accepted taxi 12-1, the user boards the accepted taxi 12-1. 【0156】 Here, when the user boards the accepted taxi 12-1, they provide the driver with user identification information such as their name and customer ID. The driver compares the user identification information directly provided by the user with the user identification information included in the dispatch request information acquired by the terminal device 33 in step S61 of Figure 5. This allows the driver to confirm that the passenger about to board is the user who made the dispatch request. Such identity verification may be performed in the following ways. 【0157】 The user application 21 displays a two-dimensional code, such as a QR code (registered trademark), which encodes user identification information, on the arrival notification screen 261 displayed on the display 151 of the user terminal 11, or on the display 151 after the arrival notification screen 261 has been displayed. The user identification information used as the two-dimensional code (user identification information used for identity verification) may be a marker set by the user. When the user boards the taxi 12 that has arrived near the designated pick-up location, they hold the two-dimensional code displayed on the display 151 of the user terminal 11 over a code reader installed on the rear door or around the rear seats of the taxi 12. The code reader scans and decodes the two-dimensional code displayed on the display 151 of the user terminal 11, and reads the user identification information. The user identification information read by the code reader is supplied to a terminal device 33 that is connected to the code reader via communication. 【0158】 Terminal device 33 compares the user identification information from the code reader with the user identification information included in the dispatch request information obtained in step S61 of Figure 5. If the user identification information matches, terminal device 33 determines that identity verification has been successful and displays a notification to that effect on its display. If the user identification information does not match, terminal device 33 determines that identity verification has failed and displays a notification to that effect on its display. The driver, upon seeing the notification on terminal device 33's display, allows the passenger to board if identity verification has been successful, or refuses the passenger to board if identity verification has failed. 【0159】 In identity verification at terminal device 33, instead of using a two-dimensional code to transmit user identification information from user terminal 11 to terminal device 33, near-field wireless communication such as NFC may be used. For example, a communication terminal for near-field wireless communication that communicates with user terminal 11 is installed on the rear door or around the rear seats of taxi 12. When a user boards taxi 12 that has arrived near their designated pick-up location, they bring user terminal 11 close to the communication terminal for near-field wireless communication to establish a communication connection between user terminal 11 and the communication terminal for near-field wireless communication. Once user terminal 11 and the communication terminal for near-field wireless communication are connected, user application 21 on user terminal 11 supplies user identification information specified by the user to the communication terminal for near-field wireless communication. The communication terminal for near-field wireless communication supplies the user identification information from user terminal 11 (user application 21) to the connected terminal device 33. This transmits user identification information from user terminal 11 to terminal device 33. The identity verification process at terminal device 33 is the same as when using a two-dimensional code, so the explanation is omitted. 【0160】 In the identity verification process at terminal device 33, the door lock may be turned off only if identity verification is successful. In this case, the code reader when using a two-dimensional code or the communication terminal for short-range wireless communication when using short-range wireless communication is installed in a position where the user terminal 11 can be approached from the outside of the vehicle with the door closed. The lock control device, which controls the on and off of the door lock, is connected to terminal device 33 in communication and controls the door lock according to the driver's operation and instructions supplied from terminal device 33. If identity verification is successful, terminal device 33 instructs the lock control device to turn the lock off, or to allow the driver to switch the lock on and off with normal operation. If identity verification fails, terminal device 33 instructs the lock control device to turn the lock on, or to turn the lock on and at the same time prevent the driver from turning the lock off with normal operation. In other words, terminal device 33 instructs the lock control device to turn the lock off with normal operation only if identity verification is successful. 【0161】 Such door locking controls may be applied only to some doors that are opened and closed when passengers board (for example, the rear door on the left side of the vehicle), or they may be applied to all doors. 【0162】 The processing procedure for the vehicle dispatch process on user terminal 11 will be explained. 【0163】 Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating the steps of the processing performed by the user application 21 on the user terminal 11 during the vehicle dispatch process. 【0164】 In step S81, the user application 21 displays the dispatch request screen 152 shown in Figure 6 on the display 151. The process proceeds from step S81 to step S82. 【0165】 In step S82, the user application 21 receives the user's input on the ride request screen 152, including the user's identification information, pickup location, destination, and payment method, as well as other ride request information. The process then proceeds from step S82 to step S83. 【0166】 In step S83, the user application 21 accepts the user's request for a designated landmark based on the user's operation on the landmark setting unit 165 of the dispatch request screen 152. The process proceeds from step S83 to step S84. The landmark is specified as one of the dispatch request information items, along with the pick-up location, based on the user's operation on the dispatch request screen 152. However, in this flowchart, in order to clearly show the setting of the landmark, the process of accepting the specification of the dispatch request information is shown separately in steps S82 and S83. 【0167】 In step S84, the user application 21 determines whether or not a ride request operation has been performed by the user. Specifically, the user application 21 determines whether or not the operation bar 162A in the ride request operation section 162 of the ride request screen 152 has been slid to the right. 【0168】 If it is determined in step S84 that no dispatch request operation has been performed, the process returns to step S82 and repeats from step S82. 【0169】 If it is determined in step S84 that a vehicle dispatch request operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S85. 【0170】 In step S85, the user application 21 supplies (transmits) a dispatch request notification requesting a vehicle, along with the dispatch request information received in steps S82 and S83, to the integrated dispatch management device 14. The process then proceeds from step S85 to step S86. 【0171】 In step S86, when the taxi 12 accepts the dispatch request, the user application 21 receives a dispatch confirmation notice from the dispatch integrated management device 14, which notifies the user that the dispatch has been confirmed. The process then proceeds from step S86 to step S87. 【0172】 In step S87, the user application 21 displays a dispatch confirmation message to notify the user that the dispatch has been confirmed. The process then proceeds from step S87 to step S88. 【0173】 In step S88, the user application 21 displays the dispatch waiting screen 153 shown in Figure 7 or Figure 8 on the display 151. The process proceeds from step S88 to step S89. 【0174】 In step S89, when the accepting taxi 12-1 arrives near the pickup location for the dispatch request, the user application 21 receives an arrival notification from the dispatch integrated management device 14. The process then proceeds from step S89 to step S90. 【0175】 In step S90, the user application 21 displays an arrival notification to inform the user that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the pick-up location (or near the pick-up location). That is, the user application 21 displays the arrival notification screen 261 shown in Figure 9 on the display 151. In conjunction with the arrival notification display, or instead of the arrival notification display, the user application 21 may generate either or both a notification sound from the user terminal 11 and / or vibration of the user terminal 11. 【0176】 With the above steps completed, the vehicle dispatch process in the user application 21 on the user terminal 11 is finished. 【0177】 <Processing of the dispatch process by the integrated dispatch management device 14> The dispatch process in the integrated dispatch management device 14 will be explained in detail according to the flowchart in Figure 11. Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure for the dispatch process performed by the integrated dispatch management device 14. 【0178】 In step S101, the dispatch management unit 104 of the dispatch integrated management device 14 determines whether or not it has acquired (received) a dispatch request notification supplied from the user terminal 11 (user application 21). 【0179】 If it is determined in step S101 that a dispatch request notification has not been received, the process repeats step S101. 【0180】 If it is determined in step S101 that a dispatch request notification has been received, the process proceeds to step S102. 【0181】 In step S102, the dispatch management unit 104 acquires the dispatch request information supplied to the integrated dispatch management device 14 from the user terminal 11 (user application 21) along with the dispatch request notification. The process proceeds from step S102 to step S103. In step S102, considering that a marker may not be set in the user application 21, information other than the marker, such as user identification information, boarding location, destination, and payment method, is acquired. 【0182】 In step S103, the dispatch management unit 104 determines whether the user has set a marker. That is, the dispatch management unit 104 determines whether the dispatch request information obtained in step S102 includes a marker. 【0183】 If it is determined in step S103 that the user has not set a marker, the process skips step S104 and proceeds to step S105. 【0184】 If it is determined in step S103 that the user has set a marker, the process proceeds to step S104. 【0185】 In step S104, the dispatch management unit 104 retrieves the markers included in the dispatch request information obtained in step S102. The process proceeds from step S104 to step S105. 【0186】 In step S105, the dispatch management unit 104 extracts taxis 12 located within a predetermined radius (within a predetermined distance) of the pick-up location (the pick-up location specified by the user) included in the dispatch request information acquired in step S102 as dispatch candidates. Until it is determined in the next step S106 that the dispatch request has been accepted, the dispatch management unit 104 supplies (transmits) dispatch request notifications and dispatch request information to the dispatch candidate taxis 12 in order of priority. The dispatch request information supplied to the dispatch candidate taxis 12 is assumed to be the same as the dispatch request information acquired by the integrated dispatch management device 14 from the user terminal 11 (user application 21), but it may be only a part of the information. 【0187】 The extraction and prioritization of candidate taxis 12 is performed by the optimal vehicle search unit 105 of the dispatch integrated management device 14. The optimal vehicle search unit 105 obtains the current location of each taxi 12 from the vehicle movement data of each taxi 12 stored in the vehicle movement data management unit 101. Based on the current location of each taxi 12, the optimal vehicle search unit 105 extracts taxis 12 that are within a predetermined distance or less from the pick-up location specified by the user. 【0188】 The optimal vehicle search unit 105 predicts the arrival time (arrival time) of each candidate taxi 12 if they were to travel from their current location to the pickup location specified by the user. When predicting the arrival time, the optimal vehicle search unit 105 obtains the current status of each candidate taxi 12 from the vehicle movement data of the vehicle movement data management unit 101. 【0189】 The optimal vehicle search unit 105 predicts the arrival time of a taxi 12 if its current status is "available," by traveling the shortest route from its current location to the pick-up location specified by the user. 【0190】 The optimal vehicle search unit 105 predicts the arrival time for a taxi 12 whose current status is "in use" by predicting the arrival time when traveling from its current location to the user-specified pick-up location via the current passenger's destination. The current passenger's destination is obtained from the dispatch request information when the passenger requested a ride. Past dispatch request information is stored in the dispatch management unit 104 and can be retrieved from the dispatch management unit 104. 【0191】 The optimal vehicle search unit 105 predicts the arrival time of a taxi 12 whose current status is "on call" if it travels from its current location to the pick-up location specified by the user, via a route that passes through the pick-up location and destination of the passenger scheduled to be picked up. The pick-up location and destination of the passenger scheduled to be picked up are obtained from the dispatch request information when the passenger requests a ride. 【0192】 The optimal vehicle search unit 105 prioritizes the candidate taxis 12 based on the predicted arrival time, in order of arrival time to the pick-up location specified by the user. Until the dispatch request is accepted by one of the candidate taxis 12, the optimal vehicle search unit 105 supplies the candidate taxis 12 to the dispatch management unit 104 one by one as the optimal vehicle, in order of priority. 【0193】 Furthermore, the search for the optimal vehicle in the optimal vehicle search unit 105 is not limited to a specific method. The taxi 12 that the optimal vehicle search unit 105 searches for and supplies to the dispatch management unit 104 may not be the optimal vehicle, but rather a vehicle that can respond to the user's dispatch request. 【0194】 The dispatch management unit 104 supplies (transmits) dispatch request notifications and dispatch request information to the optimal vehicle supplied by the optimal vehicle search unit 105 until it is determined in the next step S106 that the dispatch request has been accepted. 【0195】 In step S106, the dispatch management unit 104 determines whether it has received a request acceptance notice from the taxi 12 that supplied the dispatch request notification and dispatch request information in step S105, indicating that the dispatch request has been accepted. 【0196】 If it is determined in step S106 that a request acceptance notification has not been received, the process is repeated from step S105. Each time step S105 is repeated, the dispatch management unit 104 supplies dispatch request notifications and dispatch request information to taxis 12 whose priority has been lowered by one. 【0197】 If it is determined in step S106 that a request acceptance notification has been received, the process proceeds to step S107. 【0198】 In step S107, the dispatch management unit 104 confirms the taxi 12 that supplied the dispatch request notification in step S105, immediately preceding the step in step S106 when it received the request acceptance notification, as the accepted taxi 12-1. Once the accepted taxi 12-1 is confirmed, the dispatch management unit 104 supplies (sends) a dispatch confirmation notification to the user terminal 11 (user application 21) informing it that the dispatch has been confirmed. The process then proceeds from step S107 to step S108. 【0199】 In step S108, the dispatch management unit 104 sends a dispatch confirmation notice to the accepting taxi 12-1, informing it that the dispatch has been confirmed. The process then proceeds from step S108 to step S109. 【0200】 In step S103, if it is determined that the user has not set a marker, the dispatch request information supplied in step S105 to the accepting taxi 12-1 that supplied the request acceptance notification in step S106 will not include a marker. Therefore, in this case, the marker will not be displayed to the accepting taxi 12-1. 【0201】 On the other hand, if it is determined in step S103 that the user has set a marker, the dispatch request information supplied in step S105 to the accepting taxi 12-1 that supplied the request acceptance notification in step S106 will include the marker. However, the accepting taxi 12-1 may not be equipped with a display device (such as a projector 34 and a rear transparent screen) to display the marker. In this case as well, the marker will not be displayed in the accepting taxi 12-1. 【0202】 If the user has set a marker in this manner, and the accepting taxi 12-1 that supplied the request acceptance notification in step S106 is unable to display the marker, the following processing may be performed. When the dispatch management unit 104 supplies the dispatch confirmation notification to the user terminal 11 (user application 21) in step S107, it notifies the user terminal 11 (user application 21) that the marker is not displayed by the accepting taxi 12-1, and displays this fact on the display 151 of the user terminal 11. The same processing may also be performed if the user has not set a marker. 【0203】 If the user has set a marker, and the accepting taxi 12-1 that supplied the request acceptance notification in step S106 is unable to display the marker, the following processing may be performed. 【0204】 Before supplying a dispatch confirmation notification to the user terminal 11 (user app 21) in step S107, the dispatch management unit 104 notifies the user terminal 11 (user app 21) that no landmarks will be displayed for the accepted taxi 12-1. In response to this notification, the user terminal 11 (user app 21) displays a confirmation screen on the display 151, allowing the user to choose whether or not it is acceptable for the accepted taxi 12-1 not to display landmarks. In addition to the confirmation screen, the display 151 of the user terminal 11 may also display the current location of the accepted taxi 12-1 on a map, and may also display the estimated arrival time. 【0205】 If the user selects "yes" on the acceptance / rejection screen, the user terminal 11 (user application 21) notifies the dispatch management unit 104 of this. At this time, the dispatch management unit 104 confirms the dispatch of the accepting taxi 12-1, which supplied the request acceptance notification in step S106, to the user, and the process proceeds to step S107. 【0206】 In response to this, if the user selects "negative" on the acceptance / rejection screen, the user terminal 11 (user application 21) notifies the dispatch management unit 104 of this. At this point, the dispatch management unit 104 decides not to dispatch the accepted taxi 12-1, which supplied the request acceptance notification in step S106, to the user, and the process returns to step S105, and repeats from step S105. 【0207】 As a result, the processes in steps S105 and S106 are repeated until the accepting taxi 12-1 that accepted the dispatch request in step S106 is a taxi 12 that can display a marker, or until the user accepts that the accepting taxi 12-1 does not display a marker. If the accepting taxi 12-1 that accepted the dispatch request in step S106 is a taxi 12 that can display a marker, or if the user accepts that the accepting taxi 12-1 does not display a marker, the process proceeds to step S107. Note that the user's choice of whether or not it is acceptable for the accepting taxi 12-1 not to display a marker may be made only once in the user terminal 11 (user application 21). In this case, if negation is selected, the processes in steps S105 and S106 are repeated until the accepting taxi 12-1 that accepted the dispatch request in step S106 is a taxi 12 that can display a marker. 【0208】 In step S109, the dispatch management unit 104 obtains the current location of the user terminal 11 from the user terminal 11 and supplies it to the accepting taxi 12-1. The process proceeds from step S109 to step S110. 【0209】 In step S110, the dispatch management unit 104 supplies the current location of the accepted taxi 12-1, stored in the vehicle movement data management unit 101, to the user terminal 11 (user application 21). The process proceeds from step S110 to step S111. The vehicle movement data stored in the vehicle movement data management unit 101 is updated periodically or irregularly with vehicle movement data supplied from the taxi 12 (communication unit 32). If the user application 21 on the user terminal 11 displays the current location and status of taxis 12 other than the accepted taxi 12-1 in the operation status display unit 161 of the dispatch waiting screen 153 in Figure 7 or Figure 8, the dispatch management unit 104 supplies the vehicle movement data (current location and status) of taxis 12 that are within the range of the map displayed on the operation status display unit 161 to the user application 21 on the user terminal 11. 【0210】 In step S111, the dispatch management unit 104 determines whether the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the pick-up location specified by the user, based on the vehicle movement data (current location) of the accepted taxi 12-1 stored in the vehicle movement data management unit 101 and the current location of the user terminal 11 acquired in step S109. Here, if the accepted taxi 12-1 arrives within a predetermined distance or less that can be considered close to the pick-up location specified by the user (near the pick-up location), it is determined that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the pick-up location specified by the user. 【0211】 If, in step S111, it is determined that the accepted taxi 12-1 has not arrived at the pick-up location specified by the user, the process returns to step S109 and repeats from step S109. 【0212】 If it is determined in step S111 that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived at the pick-up location specified by the user, the process proceeds to step S112. 【0213】 In step S112, the dispatch management unit 104 sends an arrival notification to the user application 21 on the user terminal 11, informing it that the accepted taxi 12-1 has arrived near the pick-up location. The process then proceeds from step S112 to step S113. 【0214】 In step S113, the vehicle dispatch process is completed. 【0215】 With the above steps completed, the dispatch process in the integrated dispatch management device 14 is finished. <Processing steps for dispatching 12 taxis> The dispatch process for taxi 12 will be explained in detail according to the flowchart in Figure 12. 【0216】 Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure for the dispatch process performed by the driver application 51 on the terminal device 33 of the taxi 12. 【0217】 In step S131, the driver application 51 of the terminal device 33 determines whether or not it has received a dispatch request notification and dispatch request information related to the dispatch request from the dispatch integrated management device 14 (dispatch management unit 104). 【0218】 If it is determined in step S131 that a dispatch request notification and dispatch request information have not been obtained, the process repeats step S131. 【0219】 If it is determined in step S131 that a dispatch request notification and dispatch request information have been obtained, the process proceeds to step S132. 【0220】 In step S132, the driver application 51, in response to receiving the dispatch request notification in step S131, displays a request acceptance screen on the terminal device 33's display, allowing the driver to choose whether or not to accept the dispatch request. The process then proceeds from step S132 to step S133. The driver application 51 also displays the dispatch request information and its details on the request acceptance screen. 【0221】 In step S133, the driver application 51 determines whether or not a request acceptance operation has been performed to accept the dispatch request, based on the driver selection operation on the request acceptance screen. 【0222】 If it is determined in step S133 that the request acceptance operation will not be performed, the process proceeds to step S134. For example, if the request acceptance operation is not performed for a certain period of time or if an operation to reject the dispatch request is performed, it will be determined that the request acceptance operation will not be performed. 【0223】 In step S134, the driver application 51 sends a request rejection notification to the dispatch integrated management device 14 (dispatch management unit 104) rejecting the dispatch request. After step S134, the dispatch process ends. 【0224】 If it is determined in step S133 that the request acceptance operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S135. 【0225】 In step S135, the driver application 51 sends a request acceptance notification to the dispatch integrated management device 14 (dispatch management unit 104) indicating that it accepts the dispatch request. The process proceeds from step S135 to step S136. 【0226】 In step S136, the driver application 51 receives a dispatch confirmation notification from the dispatch integrated management device 14 (dispatch management unit 104). The process proceeds from step S136 to step S137. Upon receiving the dispatch confirmation notification, the driver application 51 displays a dispatch confirmation screen on the terminal device 33's display, notifying the driver that the dispatch has been confirmed. As a result, if the status is "available", the driver begins moving towards the pick-up location specified by the user. 【0227】 In step S137, the driver application 51 obtains (receives) the current location of the user (user terminal 11) from the vehicle dispatch integrated management device 14. The process then proceeds from step S137 to step S138. 【0228】 In step S138, the driver application 51 determines whether the terminal device 33 and the user (user terminal 11) have come close enough to be less than (or less than or equal to) a predetermined distance, based on the current location of the terminal device 33 detected by the GPS receiver installed in the terminal device 33 and the current location of the user (user terminal 11) obtained in step S137. 【0229】 Furthermore, the driver application 51 may determine whether the terminal device 33 and the user terminal 11 have come within a predetermined distance of each other by determining whether the terminal device 33 and the user terminal 11 have established a communication connection via short-range wireless communication compliant with the Bluetooth® standard or the Wi-Fi® standard. Alternatively, instead of determining the current location of the terminal device 33, the driver application 51 may obtain the current location of the accepting taxi 12-1 from the vehicle movement data of the accepting taxi 12-1, which is its own vehicle, and determine whether the current location of the accepting taxi 12-1 and the user terminal 11 have come within a predetermined distance of each other. 【0230】 In step S138, if it is determined that the terminal device 33 and the user (user terminal 11) have not approached each other to a position less than a predetermined distance, the process returns to step S137 and repeats from step S137. The predetermined distance may be, for example, the distance at which the user can see the marker, assuming that a marker is displayed on the accepted taxi 12-1. 【0231】 In step S138, if it is determined that the terminal device 33 and the user (user terminal 11) have approached to a position where they are less than a predetermined distance apart, the driver application 51 supplies an image of the marker (a marker set by the user) included in the dispatch request information acquired in step S131 to the output control unit 61 of the projector 34. The output control unit 61 displays the image of the marker set by the user on the rear transparent screen, which is the window portion of the accepting taxi 12-1. The process proceeds from step S138 to step S139. 【0232】 Furthermore, as shown in step S65 of the sequence diagram in Figure 5, the driver application 51 may, after receiving a dispatch confirmation notification from the dispatch integrated management device 14, display an image of a marker specified by the user on the rear transparent screen. 【0233】 The user application 21 can also detect when the terminal device 33 and the user (user terminal 11) have come within a predetermined distance of each other. When the terminal device 33 and the user (user terminal 11) have come within a predetermined distance of each other, the user application 21 may generate a notification sound from the user terminal 11 or cause the user terminal 11 to vibrate. 【0234】 In step S139, the driver app 51 completes the dispatch process. 【0235】 With the above steps completed, the vehicle dispatch confirmation process at terminal device 33 is finished. 【0236】 Here, the driver app 51 displays a marker image on the rear transparent screen from the time it determines in step S138 that the terminal device 33 and the user (user terminal 11) are within a predetermined distance until the boarding process is completed. The boarding process may be completed, for example, when the driver performs a predetermined operation on the terminal device 33, or when the distance between the terminal device 33 and the user terminal 11 falls within a predetermined threshold that can be considered zero. The boarding process may also be completed when the status of the accepted taxi 12-1 switches from "on call" to "in use". 【0237】 During any period other than when a marker is displayed on the rear transparent screen of the accepted taxi 12-1, the driver app 51 supplies any image, such as an advertisement, as a projected image to the output control unit 61 of the projector 34, and displays it on the rear transparent screen. The projected image displayed on the rear transparent screen may be either a still image or a moving image. The projected image to be displayed on the rear transparent screen may be stored in advance in the terminal device 33 or in the dispatch integrated management device 14. If the projected image to be displayed on the rear transparent screen is stored in the dispatch integrated management device 14, the projected image stored in the dispatch integrated management device 14 is supplied from the dispatch integrated management device 14 to the driver app 51 of the terminal device 33, and then supplied from the driver app 51 to the output control unit 61 of the projector 34. When displaying advertisements in this manner, the advertiser providing the advertisement may bear part or all of the fare, and the calculation and processing of the fare may be performed accordingly. 【0238】 Figure 13 is a side view of taxi 12 (accepted taxi 12-1) with a marker displayed. 【0239】 In the accepted taxi 12-1 in Figure 13, the rear transparent screens 241 and 242 are the front door glass and rear door glass on the left side of the vehicle, respectively, to which a rear transparent film is attached, as illustrated in Figure 4. The rear transparent screen 242, which is the rear door glass on the left side of the vehicle, displays an image of the marker 221 set by the user. In step S139, the driver application 51 supplies the image of the marker 221 set by the user to the output control unit 61 of the projector 34 and specifies the area of ​​the rear transparent screen 242 as the projection area to the output control unit 61. The output control unit 61 of the projector 34 projects the image of the marker 221 supplied from the user application 21 onto the area of ​​the rear transparent screen 242 specified by the user application 21. 【0240】 The driver application 51 may change the projection area on which the landmark 221 is projected based on the current location and direction of travel (forward direction) of the accepting taxi 12-1 and the current location of the user terminal 11. 【0241】 The current location and direction of travel (forward direction) of the accepted taxi 12-1 can be obtained, for example, from the vehicle movement data of the accepted taxi 12-1. The driver application 51 may obtain the vehicle movement data of the accepted taxi 12-1 from the dispatch integrated management device 14, or from the vehicle movement data acquisition unit 41 of the in-vehicle device 31. The driver application 51 obtains the current location of the user terminal 11 from the dispatch integrated management device 14 as shown in step S137 of Figure 12. 【0242】 In this way, the driver application 51 obtains the current location and forward direction of the accepting taxi 12-1 and the current location of the user terminal 11, and can then detect, for example, the rear transparent screen among the multiple rear transparent screens of the accepting taxi 12-1 that is the closest to the current location of the user terminal 11. The driver application 51 projects the image of the marker 221 onto the area of ​​the rear transparent screen that is the closest to the current location of the user terminal 11. 【0243】 For example, suppose the driver app 51 detects that the current location of the user terminal 11 is on the left side of the accepted taxi 12-1 (to the left of the driver's seat) and in front of the driver's seat. In this case, the driver app 51 detects that the rear transparent screen 241, which is the front door glass on the left side of the vehicle, is the shortest distance from the current location of the user terminal 11. At this time, the image of the marker 221 is projected onto the rear transparent screen 241, which is the front door glass on the left side of the vehicle, as shown in Figure 14. 【0244】 Figure 14 is a side view of the accepted taxi 12-1 with the marker 221 displayed on the rear transparent screen 241. Note that parts corresponding to those in Figure 13 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their explanations are omitted. 【0245】 In this case, the driver application 51 specifies the area of ​​the rear transparent screen 241 as the projection area and supplies the image of the marker 221 to the output control unit 61 of the projector 34 (see Figure 4). As a result, the output control unit 61 projects the image of the marker 221 from the driver application 51 onto the area of ​​the rear transparent screen 241, as shown in Figure 14. 【0246】 According to this, marker 221 will be displayed on the rear transparent screen in a part that is as easily visible to the user as possible. 【0247】 Let's assume that rear transparent screens are attached to the front door windows on both sides and the rear door windows on both sides of the accepting taxi 12-1, and that projectors are installed inside the vehicle to project images onto each of these rear transparent screens. In this case, for example, let's assume that the current location of the user terminal 11 is on the right side of the accepting taxi 12-1 (to the right of the driver's seat) and in front of the driver's seat. At this time, of the rear transparent screens, the rear transparent screen that is the front door window on the right side of the vehicle is the closest to the current location of the user terminal 11. Therefore, the image of the marker 221 is projected onto that rear transparent screen that is the front door window on the right side of the vehicle. 【0248】 (modified version) A supplementary explanation is provided regarding the markers to be displayed on the accepted taxi 12-1. When a user sets a marker during the dispatch request process, they select the marker setting section 165 on the dispatch request screen 152, for example, as shown in Figure 6, which is displayed on the display 151 of the user terminal 11. When the marker setting section 165 is selected, the marker selection screen 165A is displayed on the display 151. The marker selection screen 165A displays several types of configurable markers that have been prepared in advance. The user selects the desired marker from among them to set the marker. 【0249】 In Figure 6, the marker selection screen 165A shows icons (marker icons) as examples of configurable markers, but the configurable markers are not limited to icons, nor are they limited to pre-prepared marker icons. 【0250】 The configurable markers may be any image stored on the user terminal 11 or an image copied from a website. These images may be photographs, illustrations, or patterns such as wallpaper. The display device for showing the markers can be placed not only on the windows of the vehicle but also on a wide range of areas including the body. In this case, when the user sets a photograph, illustration, pattern, etc. as a marker, the accepting taxi 12-1 will appear as a wrapped vehicle when the marker is displayed. In this case, it becomes extremely easy for the user to identify the accepting taxi 12-1. However, the user application 21 automatically determines whether the marker set by the user is contrary to public order and morals. As a result, if the user application 21 determines that the marker is contrary to public order and morals, it prohibits the setting of that marker and prompts the user to set the marker again. 【0251】 The configurable identifiers may be any characters, shapes, symbols, or combinations thereof (such as strings) entered by the user through a predetermined operation. If a string is set as the identifier, it may be used as user identification information for identity verification when boarding. In particular, if a string consisting of about four digits is used as the identifier, it becomes easier to verify the user's identification information during identity verification. 【0252】 The configurable identifier can be an icon used by the user on a social networking service (SNS). In this case, the user application 21 may automatically incorporate the icon used on the SNS specified by the user as the identifier. 【0253】 The markers displayed on the accepted taxi 12-1 are not limited to those set by the user. For example, the user application 21 on the user terminal 11 may automatically set one of several candidates as the marker. 【0254】 The mark to be displayed on the accepting taxi 12-1 may be set on the dispatch integrated management device 14, or on the terminal device 33 of the accepting taxi 12-1 that accepted the dispatch request. 【0255】 When setting a marker in the dispatch management device 14, the dispatch management device 14 automatically sets one of several candidates as the marker. If there are multiple dispatch requests for nearby pick-up locations at close intervals, the dispatch management device 14 may set a different marker for each dispatch request. The dispatch management device 14 supplies the set marker to the user terminal 11 (user application 21) and the terminal device 33 (driver application 51). 【0256】 When setting a landmark on the terminal device 33 of the accepted taxi 12-1, the driver may specify the landmark, or the terminal device 33 may automatically set one of several candidates as the landmark. In this case, the terminal device 33 supplies the set landmark to the user terminal 11 (user application 21) via the dispatch integrated management device 14. 【0257】 When setting a marker on the user terminal 11, if there are multiple dispatch requests to nearby pick-up locations at close intervals, the user terminal 11 (user application 21) may obtain the marker set for each dispatch request from the dispatch management device 14 and prohibit the setting of a marker that is the same as or similar to the obtained marker. The same applies when setting a marker on the terminal device 33. 【0258】 Users may enable their user application 21 on their user terminal 11 to retrieve markers provided by others that are stored in a marker storage device (such as a dispatch integrated management device 14) via communication such as a network. Users may also enable their own markers to be sent to the marker storage device via communication using their user application 21 on their user terminal 11 for storage, allowing others to retrieve them. In this case, the user application 21 may be configured to handle payment processing for markers provided by others, or to process receipt of payments when markers provided by the user are retrieved by others. 【0259】 The terminal device 33 (driver application 51) of the accepting taxi 12-1 may change one or more of the hue, brightness (luminance), or saturation of the marker image displayed on the projector 34 and display device such as a transparent screen, according to ambient light, time of day such as morning, noon, or night, or weather conditions. This will enable the display of markers that are easily visible to the user. 【0260】 The terminal device 33 (driver app 51) of the accepting taxi 12-1 may change the image displayed on the vehicle's projector 34 and display devices such as a transparent screen depending on conditions such as when the vehicle is in motion, when the vehicle is stopped, and when the user who requested the ride is near the vehicle (within a predetermined distance). For example, the display of landmarks may be limited to when the vehicle is stopped, or limited to when the user who requested the ride is near the vehicle. 【0261】 According to the first embodiment of the taxi dispatch system 1 described above, a user can easily determine from the markings displayed on the taxi whether a taxi that has arrived near their designated pick-up location is an accepted taxi that has accepted their dispatch request. In other words, even if multiple users request a taxi to nearby pick-up locations at similar times, or even considering the possibility of such a situation occurring, a user can determine from its appearance alone whether a taxi parked near their pick-up location is an accepted taxi that has accepted their dispatch request. Therefore, problems such as confusion among users when multiple users try to board a taxi parked near their pick-up location, or confusion among users who are unsure whether the taxi is one that has accepted their dispatch request, are eliminated. 【0262】 <Second embodiment of the taxi dispatch system> A second embodiment of a taxi dispatch system to which this technology is applied will be described. 【0263】 In the second embodiment of the taxi dispatch system, the dispatch request process and the dispatch waiting process are the same as the dispatch request process in step S11 and the dispatch waiting process in step S12 in Figure 3 of the first embodiment of the taxi dispatch system. On the other hand, in the second embodiment of the taxi dispatch system, the boarding process differs from the boarding process in step S13 in Figure 3 of the first embodiment of the taxi dispatch system. 【0264】 Figure 15 illustrates the boarding process in a second embodiment of the taxi dispatch system. 【0265】 In Figure 15, User 201 is the user who made the dispatch request, and User Terminal 11 is the user terminal used by User 201. Accepting Taxi 12-1 is the taxi 12 that accepted User 201's dispatch request. 【0266】 When the accepted taxi 12-1 arrives near the pick-up location specified by user 201 and an arrival notification screen is displayed on the user terminal 11, the boarding process begins. 【0267】 During the boarding process, the user terminal 11, upon receiving an arrival notification, automatically starts taking pictures with its camera (shooting unit). However, user 201 may manually start taking pictures with the user terminal 11's camera. 【0268】 When the camera starts recording, the captured image (video) is displayed as a pass-through image on the user terminal 11's display 151. User 201 takes a picture of a vehicle that appears to be the accepted taxi 12-1 with the camera and observes the pass-through image displayed on the display 151. 【0269】 If the vehicle that user 201 is photographing with the camera is not the accepted taxi 12-1, that is, if the image of the accepted taxi 12-1 is not included in the image being captured by the camera, the image of the real world (real space) being captured by the camera is displayed as a pass-through image on the display 151. In this case, user 201 can recognize that the vehicle being photographed with the camera is not the accepted taxi 12-1 and will take another photograph with the camera. 【0270】 If the vehicle being photographed by user 201 with the camera is the accepted taxi 12-1, that is, if the image of the accepted taxi 12-1 is included in the image being photographed by the camera, then, as shown in Figure 15, a virtual world (virtual space) image, in which the image of the marker 221 set by the user is superimposed on the real world image being photographed by the camera, is displayed on the display 151 as a through image. In other words, using AR (Augmented Reality) technology, an image is displayed on the display 151 that makes it appear as if the accepted taxi 12-1 is displaying the marker 221. 【0271】 According to this, user 201 can easily identify the taxi 12-1 that has accepted their dispatch request by the marker 221 on the captured image displayed on the user terminal 11's display 151. The marker 221 set by user 201 is not known to anyone other than user 201, and user 201 can freely set the image or other object to be used as the marker 221 without being aware that others will see it. 【0272】 Furthermore, the boarding process in the first embodiment of the taxi dispatch system and the boarding process in the second embodiment may be made selectable by the user when requesting a taxi. 【0273】 Figure 16 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user terminal 11 in a second embodiment of the taxi dispatch system. 【0274】 Note that the second embodiment of the taxi dispatching system is configured such that the user terminal 11 in FIG. 16 is provided instead of the user terminal 11 of the taxi dispatching system 1 in FIG. 1, and illustration and description of parts other than the user terminal 11 are omitted. However, the projector 34 (and the rear transmissive screen) in each taxi 12 is unnecessary in this second embodiment. 【0275】 The user terminal 11 in FIG. 16 has a display 151, a photographing unit 301, a signal processing unit 302, and a user app 303. 【0276】 The display 151 is a display unit included in the user terminal 11. 【0277】 The photographing unit 301 is a camera included in the user terminal 11, and acquires an image of a subject (photographed image) formed by an optical system as an electrical signal and supplies it to the signal processing unit 302. 【0278】 The signal processing unit 302 performs well-known image processing such as noise removal, gradation correction, and color correction on the photographed image from the photographing unit 301, and supplies the processed photographed image to the user app 303. 【0279】 The user app 303 represents a processing unit that executes an application program for the user, similar to the user app 21 in the user terminal 11 in FIG. 1. 【0280】 The user app 303 performs the same processing as the user app 21 in FIG. 1 in the dispatching request process and the dispatching waiting process. On the other hand, the user app 303 performs different processing in the boarding process from the user app 21 in FIG. 1. 【0281】 In the boarding process, as described in FIG. 15, after the accepted taxi 12-1 arrives near the boarding location designated by the user 201 (after the arrival notice screen is displayed), photographing by the photographing unit 301 is performed. Photographing by the photographing unit 301 is started according to the user's operation or an instruction from the user app 303. 【0282】 When the imaging unit 301 starts imaging, the user application 303 is supplied with frame-by-frame images captured by the imaging unit 301 from the signal processing unit 302 at predetermined intervals. 【0283】 In the boarding process, if the user application 303 does not include an image of the accepted taxi 12-1 in the image captured by the signal processing unit 302, it supplies the image captured by the signal processing unit 302 as an output image to the display 151 and displays it as a pass-through image. 【0284】 If the image captured by the signal processing unit 302 includes an image of the accepted taxi 12-1, the user application 303 generates an output image by compositing (superimposing) the image of the user-defined marker 221 onto the image area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1 within the entire image area of ​​the captured image. The user application 303 supplies the generated output image to the display 151 and displays it as a pass-through image. 【0285】 The user application 303 includes a taxi acceptance detection unit 304, a composite image generation unit 305, and a composite unit 306. 【0286】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 acquires the captured image supplied to the user application 303 from the signal processing unit 302. If the accepted taxi 12-1 is included in the acquired captured image, the accepting taxi detection unit 304 detects the image region of the accepted taxi 12-1 in the captured image and supplies it to the composite image generation unit 305. 【0287】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 detects the image region of the accepting taxi 12-1 in the captured image, for example, by the following method. 【0288】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 acquires the current location and orientation of the user terminal 11, the shooting angle of the shooting unit 301, and the current location and direction (vehicle orientation) of the accepting taxi 12-1. 【0289】 The current location and orientation of the user terminal 11 are acquired by sensors (GPS receiver and inertial sensor) installed in the user terminal 11. The field of view of the imaging unit 301 is acquired based on the specifications of the imaging unit 301, such as the focal length of the optical system and the size of the image sensor. The current location and direction of the accepted taxi 12-1 are acquired from the vehicle movement data of the accepted taxi 12-1 supplied by the dispatch integrated management device 14. 【0290】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 detects the image region of the accepting taxi 12-1 in the captured image based on the current location and orientation of the user terminal 11 acquired, the shooting angle of the shooting unit 301, and the current location and direction (vehicle orientation) of the accepting taxi 12-1. 【0291】 Specifically, the position and shooting direction of the shooting unit 301 are determined based on the current location and orientation of the user terminal 11, and the range of locations that will be captured in the image taken by the shooting unit 301 is determined based on the shooting angle of the shooting unit 301. Based on the range of locations that will be captured in the image and the current location and direction of the accepting taxi 12-1, the image area of ​​the accepting taxi 12-1 in the captured image is determined. 【0292】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 may detect the image region of the accepting taxi 12-1 in the captured image by, for example, the following method. 【0293】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 uses a trained inference model having the structure of a neural network such as a CNN (Convolutional Neural Network). Using such an inference model, the accepting taxi detection unit 304 detects the image region of a car in the captured image by performing calculations on the captured image from the signal processing unit 302, for example, using an instance segmentation algorithm. If the taxi 12 operated by the taxi dispatch system 1 has a common pattern or shape that differs from other cars, the inference model may be used to detect the image region of the taxi 12 in the captured image. 【0294】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 acquires the position and shooting direction of the shooting unit 301 based on the current location and orientation of the user terminal 11, and the current location of the accepting taxi 12-1. 【0295】 The current location and orientation of the user terminal 11 are obtained by sensors (GPS receiver and inertial sensor) installed in the user terminal 11. The current location of the accepted taxi 12-1 is obtained from vehicle movement data supplied from the dispatch integrated management device 14. 【0296】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 identifies the image region of the accepting taxi 12-1 from among the image regions of one or more cars or taxis 12 detected by the inference model, based on the acquired position and shooting direction of the shooting unit 301 and the current location of the accepting taxi 12-1. That is, the approximate location in which the accepting taxi 12-1 appears in the captured image is determined from the position and shooting direction of the shooting unit 301 and the current location of the accepting taxi 12-1, so that the image region of the one or more cars or taxis 12 detected by the inference model is determined to be the image region of the accepting taxi 12-1. 【0297】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 may detect the image region of the accepting taxi 12-1 in the captured image by, for example, the following method. 【0298】 Each taxi 12 is equipped with a marker on the outside of the vehicle, visible to the user, which contains a two-dimensional code that encodes vehicle identification information. The vehicle identification information may be, for example, the vehicle registration number printed on the license plate. Alternatively, the license plate (vehicle registration number plate) of each taxi 12 may be used as the marker, and the vehicle identification information may be the vehicle registration number printed on the license plate. 【0299】 The accepting taxi detection unit 304 detects the position of a marker included in the captured image acquired from the signal processing unit 302 and reads the vehicle identification information written on the marker. 【0300】 When the user app 303 acquires the vehicle allocation confirmation notice from the vehicle allocation integrated management device 14 in the vehicle allocation request process (see step S86 in FIG. 10), the accepted taxi detection unit 304 acquires the vehicle identification information of the accepted taxi 12-1 from the terminal device 33 via the vehicle allocation integrated management device 14 and stores it. 【0301】 The accepted taxi detection unit 304 compares the vehicle identification information read from the captured image with the vehicle identification information acquired from the terminal device 33 of the accepted taxi 12-1. As a result, if the vehicle identification information matches, the vehicle with the marker installed in the captured image is determined to be the accepted taxi 12-1. The accepted taxi detection unit 304 specifies the image area of the accepted taxi 12-1 in the captured image based on the position of the marker in the captured image. 【0302】 If there is no marker included in the captured image, or if the vehicle identification information read from the marker does not match the vehicle identification information acquired from the terminal device 33 of the accepted taxi 12-1, the accepted taxi detection unit 304 determines that the accepted taxi 12-1 is not included in the captured image. 【0303】 The composite image generation unit 305 generates a composite image to be synthesized within the range of the image area of the accepted taxi 12-1 supplied from the accepted taxi detection unit 304 among all the image areas of the captured image. The composite image generation unit 30 generates the image of the landmark 221 set by the user on the vehicle allocation request screen 152 in FIG. 6 as the composite image. The composite image generation unit 305 supplies the generated composite image to the composite unit 306 together with the position (composite position) where the composite image is to be synthesized with respect to the captured image. 【0304】 Note that the landmarks that can be set by the user are common to those in the first embodiment of the taxi allocation system, so the description thereof is omitted. 【0305】 The composite unit 36 synthesizes (superimposes) the composite image from the composite image generation unit 305 on the captured image from the signal processing unit 302 at the composite position to generate an output image. The composite unit 36 supplies the generated output image to the display 151 for display. 【0306】 The composite image may be composited in a specific area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1. For example, the composite image may be composited in a specific area of ​​the window portion of the accepted taxi 12-1, such as the rear door glass, as shown in Figure 15. The composite image may be composited in any part of the image area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1, or it may not be limited to within the image area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1. 【0307】 Figure 17 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure for the vehicle dispatch process performed by the user application 303 on the user terminal 11. Steps S201 to S210 are the same as steps S81 to S90 in Figure 10, so their explanation is omitted. 【0308】 In step S211, the user application 303 acquires the captured image taken by the shooting unit 301. The process proceeds from step S211 to step S212. 【0309】 In step S212, the user application 303 (accepting taxi detection unit 304) detects the image region of the accepting taxi 12-1 in the captured image acquired in step S211. The process proceeds from step S212 to step S213. 【0310】 In step S214, the user application 303 (composite image generation unit 305 and synthesis unit 306) composites the image of the marker 221 set by the user in step S83 onto the image area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1 detected in step S212. The process proceeds from step S214 to step S215. 【0311】 In step S215, the user application 303 (composition unit 306) supplies the output image composed in step S214 to the display 151 for display. 【0312】 As a result, the user application 21 on the user terminal 11 completes the vehicle dispatch process. 【0313】 The dispatch process of the integrated dispatch management device 14 in this second embodiment is substantially the same as the process described in the flowchart in Figure 11. However, the process of supplying the current location of the user (user terminal 11) to the terminal device 33 of the accepting taxi 12-1 in step S109 of the flowchart in Figure 11 is unnecessary. 【0314】 In this second embodiment, the dispatch process of the taxi terminal device 33 is the same as the processes in steps S131 to S136 in the flowchart of Figure 12. However, the process for displaying the marker in steps S137 to S139 of the flowchart of Figure 12 is unnecessary. 【0315】 According to the second embodiment of the taxi dispatch system described above, users can easily identify the taxi that has accepted their dispatch request by observing the image of the taxi that has arrived near their designated pick-up location. In other words, even if multiple users request dispatch to nearby pick-up locations at similar times, or even considering the possibility of such a situation occurring, users can determine from the appearance alone whether the taxi parked near their pick-up location is the taxi that has accepted their dispatch request. This eliminates problems such as confusion among users when multiple users try to board a taxi parked near their pick-up location, or confusion among users who are unsure whether the taxi they boarded has accepted their dispatch request. 【0316】 Since only the user who set the marker can see it, users can freely set markers without being conscious of being seen by others. 【0317】 Furthermore, any modifications or extensions applicable to the first embodiment of the taxi dispatch system may also be applied to this second embodiment. 【0318】 <Modified version of the second embodiment of the taxi dispatch system> A modified example of the second embodiment of the taxi dispatch system will be described. 【0319】 In Figures 15 to 17, during the boarding process, an image of the marker 221 (marker icon) specified by the user is superimposed as a composite image onto the image area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1 in the image captured by the camera unit 301 of the user terminal 11, but the method is not limited to this. 【0320】 In other words, the composite image to be superimposed on the image area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1 is not limited to cases where the user specifies it. 【0321】 The composite image to be superimposed on the image area of ​​the Accepted Taxi 12-1 may be a monochrome image of a predetermined color. In this case, the entire image area of ​​the Accepted Taxi 12-1 and the monochrome image are superimposed, for example, by multiplication. The monochrome image to be used as the composite image may be, for example, a different color from the actual Accepted Taxi 12-1 or a conspicuous color. Similar to the configurable markers that can be set by the user to be used as the composite image, the composite image may be a photograph, illustration, or pattern such as wallpaper. Similarly, the composite image may be an image of any character, figure, symbol, or collection thereof (string of characters, etc.). 【0322】 Figure 18 is an example of the output image (through image) displayed on the display 151 when a monochrome image is superimposed on the image area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1 in the image captured by the imaging unit 301. 【0323】 The output image in Figure 18 includes the accepted taxi 12-1 and the other vehicles 321 and 322. In this case, the composite image's color is added to the image area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1, causing it to differ from the actual color of the accepted taxi 12-1. Therefore, the user 201 can easily identify the accepted taxi 12-1 by comparing the vehicle's color in the output image displayed on the display 151 with the actual vehicle's color. 【0324】 Furthermore, when a predetermined composite image is composited onto the image area of ​​the accepted taxi 12-1 in the captured image, the process of setting a marker becomes unnecessary in the dispatch request process in which the user application 303 on the user terminal 11 requests the dispatch of taxi 12. 【0325】 According to a modification of the second embodiment of the taxi dispatch system described above, a user can easily identify a taxi that has accepted their dispatch request by observing a photograph taken of a taxi that has arrived near their designated pick-up location. That is, even if multiple users request dispatch to nearby pick-up locations at similar times, or even considering the possibility of such a situation occurring, a user can determine from its appearance alone whether a taxi parked near their pick-up location is a taxi that has accepted their dispatch request. Therefore, problems such as confusion among users when multiple users try to board a taxi parked near their pick-up location, or confusion for users who are unsure whether the taxi has accepted their dispatch request, are eliminated. Users do not need to set landmarks, and the effort required for users to request a dispatch is reduced. 【0326】 <Program> The series of processes performed by the user terminal 11, dispatch management device 13, integrated dispatch management device 14, or terminal device 33 described above can be executed by hardware or by software. When the series of processes are executed by software, the programs that make up the software are installed on a computer. Here, the computer includes computers built into dedicated hardware, as well as general-purpose personal computers that can perform various functions by installing various programs. 【0327】 Figure 19 is a block diagram showing an example of computer hardware configuration when the computer executes each process performed by the user terminal 11, the dispatch management device 13, the integrated dispatch management device 14, or the terminal device 33 using a program. 【0328】 In a computer, the CPU (Central Processing Unit) 501, ROM (Read Only Memory) 502, and RAM (Random Access Memory) 503 are interconnected by a bus 504. 【0329】 An input / output interface 505 is further connected to the bus 504. An input unit 506, an output unit 507, a storage unit 508, a communication unit 509, and a drive 510 are connected to the input / output interface 505. 【0330】 The input unit 506 consists of a keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc. The output unit 507 consists of a display, speaker, etc. The storage unit 508 consists of a hard disk, non-volatile memory, etc. The communication unit 509 consists of a network interface, etc. The drive 510 drives removable media 511 such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, or semiconductor memory. 【0331】 In a computer configured as described above, the CPU 501 loads, for example, a program stored in the memory unit 508 into the RAM 503 via the input / output interface 505 and the bus 504, and executes it, thereby performing the series of processes described above. 【0332】 The program executed by the computer (CPU 501) can be provided by recording it on removable media 511, such as a packaged media. The program can also be provided via wired or wireless transmission media, such as a local area network, the internet, or digital satellite broadcasting. 【0333】 In a computer, a program can be installed in the storage unit 508 via the input / output interface 505 by inserting the removable media 511 into the drive 510. Alternatively, a program can be received by the communication unit 509 via a wired or wireless transmission medium and installed in the storage unit 508. Furthermore, programs can be pre-installed in the ROM 502 or the storage unit 508. 【0334】 The programs executed by the computer may be programs that are processed chronologically in the order described herein, or they may be programs that are processed in parallel or at necessary times, such as when a call is made. 【0335】 This technology can also be configured as follows: (1) It consists of a plurality of mobile devices having a display unit, a dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of the mobile devices, and a terminal device that requests dispatch from the dispatch management device. A processing unit causes the terminal device that made the request to display the marker it possesses as information on the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request. A dispatch system that has a vehicle dispatch system. (2) The aforementioned marker is set in any of the following: the terminal device, the dispatch management device, or the mobile device that accepted the request. The dispatch system described in (1) above. (3) The processing unit causes the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request to display the marker when the distance between the terminal device that made the request and the mobile device that accepted the request is less than or equal to a predetermined distance. The dispatch system described in (1) or (2) above. (4) If the distance between the terminal device that made the request and the mobile device that accepted the request is less than or equal to a predetermined distance, the terminal device vibrates. A dispatch system as described in any of (1) to (3) above. (5) The processing unit displays the advertisement at times other than the period during which the mark is displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request. A dispatch system as described in any of (1) to (4) above. (6) The processing unit causes the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request to display multiple types of markers. A dispatch system as described in any of (1) to (5) above. (7) The aforementioned marker is an image containing one or more of the following: icons, illustrations, patterns, letters, shapes, and symbols. A dispatch system as described in any of (1) to (6) above. (8) The processing unit changes one or more of the hue, brightness, and saturation of the mark to be displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request, depending on the situation. A dispatch system as described in any of (1) to (7) above. (9) The processing unit changes one or more of the hue, brightness, and saturation of the mark to be displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request, according to the ambient brightness, time of day, or weather. A dispatch system as described in any of (1) to (8) above. (10) The display unit of the mobile device displays the mark so that it can be seen from the outside of the mobile device. A dispatch system as described in any of (1) to (9) above. (11) The display unit of the mobile device has a screen on which the marker is projected. A dispatch system as described in any of (1) to (10) above. (12) The aforementioned screen is positioned in the window area of ​​the vehicle. The dispatch system described in (11) above. (13) The processing unit changes the position in which the marker is displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request, based on the position of the terminal device that made the request and the position of the mobile device that accepted the request. A dispatch system as described in any of (1) to (12) above. (14) When the user of the terminal device that made the request boards the mobile device that has accepted the request, the terminal device that made the request compares the marker it has as information with the marker it has as information with the mobile device that has accepted the request. The dispatch system described in any of (1) to (13) above. (15) It consists of multiple mobile devices, a dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of the mobile devices, and a terminal device that requests dispatch from the dispatch management device and has a camera unit and a display unit. A processing unit, when the image captured by the imaging unit of the terminal device that made the request includes an image of the mobile device that accepted the request, causes the processing unit to display an output image, which is a composite of the captured image and a predetermined image, on the display unit of the terminal device. A dispatch system that has a vehicle dispatch system. (16) The processing unit composites the predetermined image onto the image region of the mobile device that has accepted the request from the captured image. The dispatch system described in (15) above. (17) The predetermined image that is composited onto the captured image is a marker set by the terminal device that made the request, the dispatch management device, or the mobile device that accepted the request. The dispatch system described in (15) or (16) above. (18) Multiple mobile devices having a display unit, A dispatch management device for managing the dispatch of the aforementioned mobile devices, The aforementioned dispatch management device consists of a terminal device for requesting vehicle dispatch, A dispatch system equipped with a processing unit The processing unit causes the terminal device that made the request to display the marker it possesses as information on the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request. How to arrange a vehicle. (19) Computers, A processing unit causes the terminal device that made the dispatch request to the dispatch management system to display a marker that it has as information on the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request. A program designed to function as such. [Explanation of symbols] 【0336】 1 Taxi dispatch system, 11 User terminal, 12 Taxi, 13 Dispatch management device, 14 Integrated dispatch management device, 21 User application, 31 In-vehicle device, 33 Terminal device, 34 Projector, 51 Driver application, 104 Dispatch management unit, 105 Optimal vehicle search unit, 151 Display, 301 Image capture unit, 302 Signal processing unit, 303 User application

Claims

[Claim 1] It consists of a plurality of mobile devices having a display unit, a dispatch management device that manages the dispatch of the mobile devices, and a terminal device that requests dispatch from the dispatch management device. A dispatch system having a processing unit that causes the terminal device that made the request to display a marker it possesses as information on the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request, When the user of the terminal device that made the request boards the mobile device that has accepted the request, the mobile device obtains the marker that the terminal device that made the request possesses as information from the terminal device, compares it with the marker that the mobile device that accepted the request possesses as information, and presents the comparison result. Ride-hailing system. [Claim 2] The terminal device further comprises another display unit different from the display unit, The moving device further comprises a reading device for scanning information displayed on the other display unit. When the user of the terminal device that made the request boards the mobile device that has accepted the request, the other display unit displays the marker that the terminal device that made the request possesses as information. When the other display unit is held over the reading device, the reading device scans the mark displayed on the other display unit, which is held as information by the terminal device that made the request. The mobile device acquires the marker scanned by the reader as information held by the terminal device that made the request, compares it with the marker held by the mobile device that accepted the request, and presents the comparison result. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 3] The mobile device and the terminal device are each equipped with a short-range communication unit capable of communicating within a predetermined distance. When the user of the terminal device that made the request boards the mobile device that has accepted the request, the mobile device obtains the marker, which is held as information by the terminal device that made the request, from the terminal device via the short-range communication unit, compares it with the marker, which is held as information by the mobile device that accepted the request, and presents the comparison result. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 4] The aforementioned marker is set in any of the following: the terminal device, the dispatch management device, or the mobile device that accepted the request. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 5] The processing unit causes the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request to display the marker when the distance between the terminal device that made the request and the mobile device that accepted the request is less than or equal to a predetermined distance. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 6] If the distance between the terminal device that made the request and the mobile device that accepted the request is less than or equal to a predetermined distance, the terminal device vibrates. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 7] The processing unit displays the advertisement at times other than the period during which the mark is displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 8] The processing unit causes the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request to display multiple types of markers. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 9] The aforementioned marker is an image containing one or more of the following: icons, illustrations, patterns, letters, shapes, and symbols. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 10] The processing unit changes one or more of the hue, brightness, and saturation of the mark to be displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request, depending on the situation. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 11] The processing unit changes one or more of the hue, brightness, and saturation of the mark to be displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that has accepted the request, according to the ambient brightness, time of day, or weather. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 12] The display unit of the mobile device displays the mark so that it can be seen from the outside of the mobile device. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 13] The display unit of the mobile device has a screen on which the marker is projected. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 14] The aforementioned screen is positioned in the window area of ​​the vehicle. The dispatch system according to claim 13. [Claim 15] The processing unit changes the position in which the marker is displayed on the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request, based on the position of the terminal device that made the request and the position of the mobile device that accepted the request. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 16] The terminal device further comprises an imaging unit and another display unit different from the display unit, The processing unit, when it determines that the image captured by the imaging unit of the terminal device that made the request includes an image of the mobile device that accepted the request, causes the processing unit to display an output image, which is a composite of the captured image and a predetermined image, on the other display unit of the terminal device. The dispatch system according to claim 1. [Claim 17] The processing unit composites the predetermined image onto the image region of the mobile device that has accepted the request from the captured image. The dispatch system according to claim 16. [Claim 18] The predetermined image that is composited onto the captured image is a marker set by the terminal device that made the request, the dispatch management device, or the mobile device that accepted the request. The dispatch system according to claim 16. [Claim 19] Multiple mobile devices having a display unit, A dispatch management device for managing the dispatch of the aforementioned mobile devices, The aforementioned dispatch management device consists of a terminal device for requesting vehicle dispatch, A dispatch system equipped with a processing unit The processing unit causes the terminal device that made the request to display the marker it possesses as information on the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request. When the user of the terminal device that made the request boards the mobile device that has accepted the request, the mobile device obtains the marker that the terminal device that made the request possesses as information from the terminal device, compares it with the marker that the mobile device that accepted the request possesses as information, and presents the comparison result. How to arrange a vehicle. [Claim 20] Computers, The dispatch management system functions as a processing unit that displays a marker held as information by the terminal device that made the dispatch request to the dispatch management system on the display unit of the mobile device that accepted the request. When the user of the terminal device that made the request boards the mobile device that has accepted the request, the mobile device obtains the marker that the terminal device that made the request possesses as information from the terminal device, compares it with the marker that the mobile device that accepted the request possesses as information, and presents the comparison result. program.