Server device, system, control method and program for server device

Abstract

Provided is a server device that contributes to more reliable evacuation of a person needing support in an evacuation action. The server device includes a person-needing-support determination unit and an evacuation action control unit. The person-needing-support determination unit performs control for determining, from at least one or more persons needing support on a support recipient list of a supporter, a person needing support for which the supporter will support an evacuation action. The evacuation action control unit transmits, to a terminal owned by the supporter, a support start instruction including information relating to the person needing support and support procedure information relating to a procedure whereby the supporter will support the action of evacuating the determined person needing support.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a server device, a system, a control method for a server device, and a storage medium.

Background Art

[0002] When the occurrence of a large-scale disaster is predicted due to typhoon disasters, earthquakes, etc., residents will evacuate to evacuation shelters. Various technologies applicable to the evacuation of residents have been developed.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes that when a disaster occurs, it automatically notifies evacuees within a predetermined area to evacuate to an evacuation location, the weak are assisted by caregivers to evacuate, and upon completion of evacuation, they send a reply to the center to inform the relevant parties of the evacuation destination. The system of Patent Document 1 includes a table registering evacuees, their location information, information on whether they are weak, and in the case of the weak, their caregivers, and means for receiving notification of the occurrence of a disaster. Further, the system includes means for extracting evacuees within a predetermined area from the table based on the location of the received disaster. Furthermore, the system includes means for notifying, in the case where the extracted evacuees are weak, in addition to the content of the disaster and the evacuation location, that the caregiver is going to assist, and for notifying the caregiver of the location information of the weak and the request for assistance.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes providing a welfare support system capable of quickly providing appropriate welfare services of caregivers to those who need assistance. The welfare support system of Patent Document 2 includes storage means, selection means, and assistance request transmission means. The storage means stores map information of a predetermined area including the location information of the assisted person and the location information of the caregiver. The selection means selects, based on the location information of the assisted person and the caregiver, a caregiver who should assist the assisted person from the caregivers included in the map information of the predetermined area. The assistance request transmission means transmits an assistance request message requesting the selected caregiver to assist the assisted person.

[0005] Patent Document 3 describes a support system that can be deployed in a multi-purpose facility to support disaster prevention in the event of a disaster. The support system of Patent Document 3 is deployed in a multi-purpose facility where residents affected by a disaster take refuge to support disaster prevention. The support system comprises a database in which supporter attribute information relating to the attributes of supporters who provide disaster prevention support is stored in advance, a disaster situation acquisition means, and a support content information generation means. The disaster situation acquisition means acquires the situation of the disaster as disaster situation information when a disaster occurs. The support content information generation means generates support content information for the disaster prevention support provided by supporters based on the disaster situation information acquired by the disaster situation acquisition means and the supporter attribute information stored in the database. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-118702 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-140252 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-077072 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] As mentioned above, when a large-scale disaster is predicted, residents will evacuate to shelters. In such cases, all residents of the area are required to evacuate to shelters, but some residents may be those who require assistance during evacuation due to illness or other reasons and have difficulty evacuating on their own (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "those requiring assistance"). It is essential that these individuals who require assistance during evacuation can be safely evacuated.

[0008] The primary objective of this invention is to provide a server device, a system, a control method for the server device, and a storage medium that contribute to enabling persons requiring assistance during evacuation to evacuate more reliably. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a server device is provided comprising: a person requiring assistance determination unit that controls the determination of a person requiring assistance from among at least one person requiring assistance listed on the supporter's list of persons requiring assistance, and an evacuation action control unit that transmits an assistance commencement instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, which includes information on the determined person requiring assistance and assistance procedure information relating to the procedure for the supporter to assist the determined person requiring assistance in their evacuation.

[0010] A second aspect of the present invention provides a system comprising: a terminal held by a supporter; a server device, the server device comprising: a support recipient determination unit that controls the determination of a support recipient from among at least one support recipient listed on the supporter's list of support recipients, the supporter providing support for evacuation; and an evacuation action control unit that transmits a support commencement instruction to the terminal held by the supporter, the support recipient containing information about the determined support recipient and support procedure information relating to detailed procedures for when the supporter assists the determined support recipient in evacuation.

[0011] A third aspect of the present invention provides a control method for a server device, which controls the server device to determine which person in need of assistance the supporter will assist in evacuation from among at least one person in need of assistance listed in the supporter's list of persons to be supported, and transmits a support commencement instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, which includes information about the determined person in need of assistance and support procedure information relating to the detailed procedure the supporter will follow when assisting the determined person in need of assistance in evacuation.

[0012] A fourth aspect of the present invention is provided, a computer-readable storage medium that stores a program for causing a computer mounted on a server device to execute a program for determining which persons in need of assistance the supporter will assist in evacuation from among at least one person in need of assistance listed on the supporter's list of persons to be supported, and a program for transmitting a support commencement instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, which includes information about the determined person in need of assistance and support procedure information relating to the detailed procedures the supporter will follow when assisting the determined person in need of assistance in evacuation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to each aspect of the present invention, a server device, a system, a control method for the server device, and a storage medium are provided that contribute to enabling persons requiring assistance during evacuation to evacuate more reliably. However, the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described above. The present invention may also produce other effects in lieu of or in conjunction with the effects described above. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the outline of one embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of operation in one embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of a schematic configuration of the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of a list of people eligible for support according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the supporter terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the supported person terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the supporter terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the supported person terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the supporter terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the supporter terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the display of the supporter terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the processing configuration of the server device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the supported person registration unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the supported person database according to the first embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the supporter registration unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the supporter registration unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the supporter database according to the first embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the evacuation behavior control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the processing configuration of the supporter terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of the processing configuration of the supported person terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 25] Figure 25 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 26] Figure 26 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the evacuation support system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 27] Figure 27 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the support-requiring person registration unit according to the third embodiment. [Figure 28] Figure 28 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the server device disclosed in this application. [Figure 29] Figure 29 shows an example of the display of a terminal according to a modified version of the invention disclosed. [Figure 30] Figure 30 shows an example of the display of a terminal according to a modified version of the invention disclosed. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] First, an overview of one embodiment will be described. The reference numerals in the drawings attached to this overview are provided for convenience as examples to aid understanding, and this overview is not intended to be limiting in any way. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the blocks shown in each drawing represent functional units, not hardware units. The connecting lines between blocks in each drawing include both bidirectional and unidirectional lines. Unidirectional arrows schematically indicate the flow of the main signal (data) and do not exclude bidirectional flow. In this specification and in the drawings, elements that can be similarly described are given the same reference numerals to avoid redundant explanation.

[0016] A server device 100 according to one embodiment includes a person requiring assistance determination unit 101 and an evacuation action control unit 102 (see Figure 1). The person requiring assistance determination unit 101 controls the determination of a person requiring assistance from among at least one person requiring assistance listed in the supporter's list of persons to be supported, so that the supporter can provide evacuation assistance (step S1 in Figure 2). The evacuation action control unit 102 transmits an assistance start instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, which includes information about the determined person requiring assistance and assistance procedure information regarding the procedure for the supporter to assist the determined person requiring assistance in their evacuation (step S2).

[0017] When a disaster occurs or is anticipated, the server device 100 notifies supporters that assistance is needed for persons requiring evacuation assistance (persons in need of assistance). Specifically, the server device 100 controls the selection of persons in need of assistance from a pre-registered list of persons in need of assistance, which includes multiple persons in need of assistance. Once a person in need of assistance is selected, the server device 100 instructs the supporter to begin assisting that person. The server device 100 sends an instruction to the supporter's terminal, including the name of the person in need of assistance and information on the assistance procedure. The supporter assists the person in need of assistance with their evacuation according to the assistance procedure information. This operation of the server device 100 ensures that persons in need of evacuation assistance can evacuate more reliably.

[0018] Specific embodiments will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0019] [First Embodiment] The first embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

[0020] [System Configuration] Figure 3 shows an example of a schematic configuration of an evacuation support system according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 3, the evacuation support system includes a disaster prevention center and at least one evacuation shelter. Although not shown in Figure 3, neighborhood associations (self-governing disaster prevention organizations) in each area may also be included in the evacuation support system.

[0021] Disaster prevention centers are managed and operated by local governments and other organizations. For example, they may be located in city halls. Schools, community centers, and other facilities in each region serve as evacuation shelters. These facilities are utilized as "evacuation shelters" in the event of a disaster.

[0022] The disaster prevention center operates and manages server device 10. Server device 10 is a server responsible for managing disaster prevention for local residents, operating evacuation centers, and supporting evacuees. Server device 10 may be installed in the same building as the disaster prevention center, or it may be installed on a network (on the cloud).

[0023] Among the local residents are those who require assistance during evacuation. These are residents who, due to illness or other reasons, would have difficulty evacuating without the help of others.

[0024] Furthermore, some local residents are designated to provide support to those in need. When disasters such as heavy rain, typhoons, earthquakes, etc., occur, these supporters rush to the aid of those in need and assist them in their evacuation.

[0025] Each supporter and support recipient possesses a device. For example, supporters A1 to A3 each possess supporter devices 20-1 to 20-3. Support recipients B1 to B3 each possess support recipient devices 30-1 to 30-3.

[0026] The server device 10 and the supporter terminal 20 are configured to communicate with each other via wireless or other means of communication. Similarly, the server device 10 and the support recipient terminal 30 are configured to communicate with each other via wireless or other means of communication.

[0027] In the following explanation, unless there is a particular reason to distinguish between support terminals 20-1 to 20-3, they will simply be referred to as "support terminal 20." Similarly, unless there is a particular reason to distinguish between support-requiring terminals 30-1 to 30-3, they will simply be referred to as "support-requiring terminal 30."

[0028] The configuration of the evacuation support system shown in Figure 3 is illustrative and not intended to limit its configuration. For example, the disaster prevention center may include multiple server devices 10.

[0029] [General operation] Next, we will describe the general operation of the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment.

[0030] <Registration for persons requiring support> Individuals requiring assistance register their information in advance with the disaster prevention center (server device 10) (see Figure 4). In the following explanation, the information that individuals requiring assistance register with server device 10 will be referred to as "information of individuals requiring assistance."

[0031] Persons requiring assistance register their information with the server device 10 using any means necessary. For example, a person requiring assistance may register by operating their personal assistance terminal 30. For example, a person requiring assistance may access the server device 10 by operating their assistance terminal 30. More specifically, a person requiring assistance may access a web page provided by the server device 10.

[0032] For persons requiring assistance who have difficulty registering their own information, an agent (for example, a parent, child, or welfare officer) may register the information of the person requiring assistance in the server device 10. In other words, in the evacuation support system disclosed in this application, local governments and persons in a position to support persons requiring assistance, such as welfare officers, can work together with the persons requiring assistance to create individual evacuation plans (individual evacuation plans) for each person requiring assistance.

[0033] Information on individuals requiring support includes attribute information of those individuals. More specifically, this information includes personal information, health information, family information, etc.

[0034] Personal information includes the so-called four basic pieces of information (name, gender, address, and age), as well as contact information (telephone number, email address, etc.), routes taken within the house, and the structure of the house.

[0035] Health information refers to information about the physical and health status of individuals requiring support. Examples of health information include height, weight, blood type, medical history, chronic illnesses, regular medications, care level (disability level), and details of the disability. Examples of details of the disability include the type of disability (e.g., difficulty walking, visual impairment) and related information (e.g., whether a wheelchair is needed).

[0036] Family information refers to information about the family of the person requiring support. Examples of family information include the names of blood relatives, the names of family members living together, and the names of other relatives.

[0037] When the server device 10 obtains information about persons requiring support (personal information, health information, etc.) from persons requiring support, it generates a person requiring support ID to identify the person. The server device 10 stores the generated person requiring support ID, attribute information, etc., in the person requiring support database. Details of the person requiring support database will be described later.

[0038] The server device 10 issues the generated support recipient ID to the support recipient. More specifically, the server device 10 transmits the generated support recipient ID to the support recipient terminal 30. The support recipient terminal 30 stores the support recipient ID internally.

[0039] <Supporter Registration> Supporters pre-register their information with the disaster prevention center (server device 10) (see Figure 5). In the following explanation, the information that supporters register with server device 10 will be referred to as "supporter information".

[0040] Supporters register their information with the server device 10 using any means necessary. For example, a supporter registers by operating their supporter terminal 20. For example, a supporter accesses the server device 10 by operating their supporter terminal 20. More specifically, a supporter accesses a web page provided by the server device 10.

[0041] Supporter information includes the supporter's attribute information and a list of those receiving support. More specifically, supporter information includes the supporter's personal information, health information, family information, and ability information. Note that the supporter's personal information, health information, and family information can be the same as the information corresponding to the person receiving support, so further explanation is omitted.

[0042] Competency information refers to information about the abilities, skills, qualifications, etc., possessed by the support provider. Examples of competency information include a driver's license, a medical license, and foreign language proficiency. Support provider information may also include supplementary information to the competency information. For example, the type of vehicle owned by a user with a driver's license (e.g., sedan, minivan, etc.) and the languages ​​they can speak (e.g., English, Chinese) may be included as supplementary information in the support provider information.

[0043] The list of people to be supported (list of people requiring support) is a list of people requiring support that each support provider will provide (see Figure 6). Figure 6 is a summary (extracted) of the lists of people to be supported for each of support providers A1 to A3 shown in Figure 3. Referring to Figure 6, for example, support provider A1 is registered to assist people requiring support B1 to B3 in the event of a disaster. Similarly, support provider A2 is registered to assist people requiring support B1 and B2 in the event of a disaster.

[0044] In this way, supporters register at least one person in need of assistance with the server device 10. In other words, it is registered with the server device 10 that each person in need of assistance will receive (or may receive) assistance during evacuation from at least one supporter. The relationship between those in need of assistance and supporters is a many-to-many relationship. The server device 10 stores that each of the multiple supporters has multiple people in need of assistance as their target. That is, it is possible to register that different supporters are providing assistance to the same person in need of assistance.

[0045] When server device 10 obtains supporter information (personal information, list of recipients, etc.) from a supporter, it generates a supporter ID to identify that supporter. Server device 10 stores the generated supporter ID, attribute information, list of recipients, etc., in the supporter database, associating them with each other. Details of the supporter database will be described later.

[0046] The server device 10 issues the generated supporter ID to the supporter. The server device 10 transmits the generated supporter ID to the supporter terminal 20. The supporter terminal 20 stores the supporter ID internally.

[0047] <Evacuation support> Referring to Figure 7, we will now explain the system operation during support actions where a support worker assists a person in need of assistance with evacuation.

[0048] When a disaster occurs or is anticipated, the disaster prevention officer of the local government inputs an "evacuation information transmission instruction" to the server device 10 (step S01). More specifically, the disaster prevention officer of the local government specifies the alert level and the area to which the evacuation information will be transmitted (e.g., large and small districts, etc.) and instructs the server device 10 to transmit the evacuation information. For example, the server device 10 obtains the evacuation information transmission instruction using a GUI (Graphical User Interface) as shown in Figure 8.

[0049] Upon receiving an instruction to transmit evacuation information, the server device 10 prompts residents of the designated area to evacuate. Specifically, the server device 10 transmits evacuation information, including directions to evacuation shelters, to terminals (not shown) carried by residents in the area. Alternatively, the server device 10 may prompt evacuation via disaster prevention radio or the like.

[0050] The server device 10 also transmits evacuation information to the persons requiring assistance and those providing assistance in the designated area (step S02 in Figure 7).

[0051] Here, the information transmitted from the server device 10 to the supporter terminal 20 includes the supporter ID assigned to the owner of the supporter terminal 20. Similarly, the information transmitted from the server device 10 to the terminal 30 of the person requiring support includes the person requiring support ID assigned to the owner of the terminal 30 of the person requiring support.

[0052] Furthermore, the information transmitted from the supporter terminal 20 to the server device 10 includes the supporter ID issued by the server device 10. Similarly, the information transmitted from the person requiring support terminal 30 to the server device 10 includes the person requiring support ID issued by the server device 10.

[0053] The server device 10 transmits evacuation information, including information for supporters, to the supporter terminal 20. Upon receiving this evacuation information, the supporter terminal 20 displays a message as shown in Figure 9. Supporters who see the message shown in Figure 9 recognize that the person in need of assistance is in need of support.

[0054] The server device 10 transmits evacuation information, including information for those requiring assistance, to the terminal 30 of the person requiring assistance. Upon receiving this evacuation information, the terminal 30 displays a message as shown in Figure 10. Upon seeing the message shown in Figure 10, the person requiring assistance recognizes that at least one of their supporters will come to evacuate them to a shelter.

[0055] When a support worker sees the display shown in Figure 9, if they are able to provide assistance to the person in need, they notify the server device 10. Support workers who are able to provide assistance to the person in need press the "Available to Assist" button shown in Figure 9. In response to the pressing of this button, the support worker terminal 20 sends an "Available to Assist" notification to the server device 10.

[0056] Furthermore, supporters who are unable to provide assistance to those in need due to being far from the disaster area, etc., press the "Unable to provide assistance" button shown in Figure 9. Upon pressing this button, the supporter terminal 20 sends an "Unable to provide assistance notification" to the server device 10.

[0057] The server device 10 reflects the status of the supporter in the supporter database in response to the "support available notification" or "support unavailable notification" received from the supporter terminal 20.

[0058] The server device 10 determines which person in need of assistance a supporter will go to. Specifically, the server device 10 sends a "request to select a person in need of assistance" to the supporter terminal 20 of the supporter who has responded that they can provide assistance. Upon receiving this request, the supporter terminal 20 displays a GUI that allows the supporter to select a person in need of assistance.

[0059] For example, the supporter terminal 20 displays a GUI as shown in Figure 11. For example, a supporter who sees the display shown in Figure 11 selects which of the support recipients B1, B2, or B3 to support. For example, supporter A1 selects to support support recipient B2.

[0060] The supporter terminal 20 notifies the server device 10 of the selected person in need of support. Specifically, the supporter terminal 20 sends a response (a response to the request to select a person in need of support) containing information about the selected person in need of support to the server device 10. In this way, the supporter operates the supporter terminal 20 to select the person in need of support to provide support to (go to provide support to) from among the pre-registered persons in need of support (step S03 in Figure 7).

[0061] The server device 10 reflects the confirmed combinations of persons requiring assistance and their supporters in the database of persons requiring assistance and the database of supporters, respectively. The server device 10 reflects the information of the supporters and the information of the persons requiring assistance that the supporters have selected to provide assistance to in both databases.

[0062] Specifically, the server device 10 sets information about the support worker assigned to provide assistance (for example, the support worker ID) in the database of persons requiring assistance. The server device 10 also updates the status of persons requiring assistance for whom a support worker has been assigned. Specifically, the server device 10 sets the status of the person requiring assistance to "Support worker assigned".

[0063] Furthermore, the server device 10 sets information about the person receiving support (for example, the person ID) in the supporter database.

[0064] Once a person requiring assistance is identified, the server device 10 notifies that person of information about the support provider who will provide assistance. Specifically, the server device 10 sends a "support provider information notification" to the support recipient's terminal 30 (step S04 in Figure 7). In the example above, person B2 is notified that support provider A1 will be coming to provide assistance.

[0065] In this case, the terminal for the person requiring assistance 30 displays the information shown in Figure 12. The person requiring assistance confirms the name of the supporter who will come to provide support, and then operates the terminal for the person requiring assistance 30 to press the "OK" button. Upon pressing this button, the terminal for the person requiring assistance 30 sends a "Supporter Confirmation Notification" to the server device 10 (step S05 in Figure 7).

[0066] In the example above, person B2, who requires assistance, operates the assistance terminal 30 to notify the server device 10 that he has confirmed that supporter A1 will come to provide assistance.

[0067] Upon receiving the notification, the server device 10 instructs the support worker to go and assist the person in need of assistance. In the example above, the server device 10 instructs support worker A1 to assist in the evacuation of person B2.

[0068] Specifically, the server device 10 sends a "support commencement instruction" to the supporter terminal 20 (step S06 in Figure 7). The support commencement instruction includes information about the person requiring support (e.g., name, address, person ID), support procedure information, etc.

[0069] Support procedure information is detailed information regarding the procedures that supporters use when assisting a person in need of assistance with their evacuation. Server device 10 generates support procedure information based on the attributes of the person in need of assistance and / or the supporter.

[0070] For example, if a person requiring assistance needs a wheelchair, the server device 10 generates assistance procedure information that includes precautions such as how to interact with the person in the wheelchair and how to get the person in the wheelchair into a vehicle.

[0071] The support terminal 20 displays information as shown in Figure 13 based on the information included in the support commencement instruction. The support terminal 20 displays information as shown in Figure 13 based on the information of the person requiring support (e.g., name) and support procedure information. In the display shown in Figure 13, the content described under "Notes" corresponds to the support procedure information. The server device 10 recognizes that person requiring support B2 needs a wheelchair for mobility based on the attribute information of person requiring support B2 (details of person requiring support B2's disability and related information). Based on this fact, the server device 10 generates support procedure information including content such as "Notes" shown in Figure 13.

[0072] It should be noted that the display in Figure 13 is an example, and various display contents are naturally possible. For example, the support procedure information generated by the server device 10 may include the content and sequence of support to be performed by the supporter. The supporter terminal 20 may display the support content in chronological order according to the support procedure information.

[0073] Upon receiving the instruction to begin assistance, the support worker will proceed to the person in need of assistance.

[0074] Furthermore, the server device 10 updates the status of the supporter who sent the support start instruction. Specifically, the server device 10 sets the status field in the supporter database to "Providing support".

[0075] Upon arriving at the scene (such as the home of the person in need of assistance), the support worker operates the support worker terminal 20 to report the situation at the scene to the server device 10. For example, if the support worker can assist the person in need of assistance with evacuation by themselves, they report this to the server device 10. Alternatively, if the whereabouts of the person in need of assistance are unknown, the support worker reports this to the server device 10. Or, if it is difficult to provide assistance by one person, the support worker reports this to the server device 10.

[0076] For example, the support terminal 20 acquires the on-site situation using a GUI as shown in Figure 14. The support terminal 20 sends a "site situation report" including the ID of the person requiring support and the acquired on-site situation to the server device 10 (step S07 in Figure 7).

[0077] The server device 10 takes action according to the situation on site as reported by the supporter. If the supporter does not require assistance and can provide support independently, the server device 10 does not take any special action. On the other hand, if the whereabouts of the person requiring assistance are unknown, the server device 10 notifies the local disaster prevention organization. Alternatively, if providing support independently is not possible, the server device 10 requests assistance (reinforcements) from other supporters.

[0078] The support worker moves to the evacuation center with the person in need of support, and once the support for the person in need of support is completed, notifies the server device 10 of this. More specifically, the support worker operates the support worker terminal 20 to notify the server device 10 of the completion of the support (see Figure 15). The support worker terminal 20 sends a "support completion notification" including the person in need of support ID to the server device 10 (step S08 in Figure 7).

[0079] In accordance with the notification, the server device 10 reflects the fact that the evacuation of the person requiring assistance has been completed in the database of persons requiring assistance. The server device 10 then removes the person requiring assistance who has completed assistance from the list of persons eligible for assistance. Specifically, the server device 10 sets the status field of the person requiring assistance who has completed evacuation to "Evacuation Completed". In the example above, the status of person requiring assistance B2 is stored as "Evacuation Completed" and is excluded from the list of persons eligible for evacuation assistance. The server device 10 may also register information about the evacuation destination of the person requiring assistance who has completed evacuation (for example, the name and address of the evacuation center) in the database of persons requiring assistance.

[0080] Furthermore, the server device 10 reflects the status of supporters who have completed their support actions in the supporter database. Specifically, the server device 10 sets the status field of supporters who have completed their support actions to "Available for Support".

[0081] Once support for one person in need of assistance is completed, that person can then assist another person in need of assistance. For example, in the above example, if persons B1 and B3 have not yet evacuated, person A1 can decide which person to assist and then assist with their evacuation. Specifically, the server device 10 sends a request for selection of a person in need of assistance to the supporter terminal 20 of the person who has completed the assistance, enabling them to select a new person to be assisted. The system operation after the supporter selects a new person in need of assistance can be the same as described above, so the explanation is omitted.

[0082] As mentioned above, individuals requiring assistance who have been marked as "assistant determined" or "evacuation completed" will be excluded from receiving assistance. For example, when assistant A1 selects individuals requiring assistance, if "assistant determined" has already been marked for individual B2, B2 will be excluded from receiving assistance. This approach avoids the inefficiency of having multiple assistants go to assist the same individual.

[0083] Next, we will describe the details of each device included in the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment.

[0084] [Server equipment] Figure 16 shows an example of the processing configuration (processing module) of the server device 10 according to the first embodiment. Referring to Figure 16, the server device 10 includes a communication control unit 201, a person requiring assistance registration unit 202, an assistant registration unit 203, an instruction acquisition unit 204, an evacuation information transmission unit 205, a person requiring assistance determination unit 206, an evacuation action control unit 207, and a storage unit 208.

[0085] The communication control unit 201 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 201 receives data (packets) from terminals (supporter terminal 20, support recipient terminal 30). The communication control unit 201 also transmits data to terminals (supporter terminal 20, support recipient terminal 30). The communication control unit 201 passes the data received from other devices to other processing modules. The communication control unit 201 transmits the data acquired from other processing modules to other devices. In this way, other processing modules send and receive data with other devices via the communication control unit 201. The communication control unit 201 has the function of a receiving unit that receives data from other devices and the function of a transmitting unit that transmits data to other devices.

[0086] The Persons Requiring Assistance Registration Unit 202 is a means to realize the above-mentioned registration of persons requiring assistance. The Persons Requiring Assistance Registration Unit 202 acquires information on persons requiring assistance who are residents who may become evacuees in the future and who require assistance from others. More specifically, the Persons Requiring Assistance Registration Unit 202 acquires information on persons requiring assistance (attribute information), such as personal information, health information, and family information, by any means necessary.

[0087] For example, the support-requiring person registration unit 202 may obtain support-requiring person information from the support-requiring person terminal 30. Alternatively, the support-requiring person may send a document containing the support-requiring person information or an external storage device containing the support-requiring person information to the disaster prevention center, and the staff of the center may input the support-requiring person information into the server device 10.

[0088] The support recipient registration unit 202 may provide support recipients with a GUI or input form for entering support recipient information. For example, the support recipient registration unit 202 may display a GUI as shown in Figure 17 on the support recipient terminal 30.

[0089] The person requiring assistance operates the assistance terminal 30 and inputs the information shown in Figure 17. Once the person requiring assistance has finished inputting the information, they press the "Confirm" button and input their personal information (name, age, contact information, etc.) into the server device 10. If health information or family information is to be registered (if the corresponding button is pressed), the assistance registration unit 202 should display a GUI or input form similar to Figure 17 for inputting this information.

[0090] Upon acquiring information on persons requiring assistance, the assistance registration unit 202 generates an assistance recipient ID to identify the person requiring assistance. The assistance recipient ID can be any information that can uniquely identify the person requiring assistance registered in the server device 10. For example, the assistance registration unit 202 may assign a unique value each time an assistance recipient is registered and use that as the assistance recipient ID.

[0091] The support recipient registration unit 202 stores the generated support recipient ID and the support recipient's attribute information in the support recipient database (see Figure 18).

[0092] As shown in Figure 18, the database of persons requiring assistance includes a status field indicating the status of each person requiring assistance and a supporter field indicating the supporters who provide assistance to each person. For ease of understanding, the supporter field in the diagrams, including Figure 18, displays the names of the supporters, but in reality, the supporter's ID is set in this field. Also, the initial value of the status field is "Before Evacuation".

[0093] The database of persons requiring assistance shown in Figure 18 is an example and is not intended to limit the items to be stored. For example, biometric information of persons requiring assistance (facial image, features generated from the facial image) may be registered in the database. The health information and family information shown in Figure 18 include specific details such as physical information like height and weight, and the number and relationship of family members living together. In addition, although not shown in Figure 18, contact information of persons requiring assistance and information about their housing (routes within the house, structure of the house) may also be registered in the database.

[0094] The support recipient registration unit 202 issues the generated support recipient ID to the support recipient (support recipient terminal 30).

[0095] The supporter registration unit 203 is a means of realizing the supporter registration described above. The supporter registration unit 203 acquires information about supporters who provide support to others. The basic operation of the supporter registration unit 203 can be the same as that of the support recipient registration unit 202, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0096] The supporter registration unit 203 acquires supporter attribute information (personal information, ability information, etc.) as well as a list of people to be supported. For example, the supporter registration unit 203 displays a GUI as shown in Figure 19 on the supporter terminal 20. When the supporter selects "Register Person in Need of Support" (when the "Register Person in Need of Support" button is pressed), the supporter registration unit 203 displays a GUI, etc., on the supporter terminal 20 to acquire information on the person in need of support who will be supported (see Figure 20).

[0097] The supporter registration unit 203 obtains information (for example, names) of the person to be supported (persons in need of support) using a GUI as shown in Figure 20. For example, a supporter enters the names of their parents, children, relatives, acquaintances, and friends as people in need of support.

[0098] Upon obtaining supporter information, the supporter registration unit 203 generates a supporter ID to identify the supporter. The supporter ID can be any information that uniquely identifies a supporter registered with the server device 10. For example, the supporter registration unit 203 may assign a unique value each time a supporter is registered and use that as the supporter ID.

[0099] The supporter registration unit 203 stores the generated supporter ID, supporter attribute information, and list of recipients in the supporter database, associating them with each other (see Figure 21).

[0100] As shown in Figure 21, the supporter database includes a status field indicating the status of each supporter and a support recipient field indicating the person receiving support. For ease of understanding, the support recipient field in the diagrams, including Figure 21, displays the name of the person receiving support; however, in reality, the support recipient ID of the person receiving support is set in this field. Also, the initial value of the status field is "blank (not set)".

[0101] Furthermore, for ease of understanding, the diagrams, including Figure 21, show the names of those requiring support in the list of people to be supported, but in reality, the ID of the person requiring support is listed. The supporter registration unit 203 searches the database of people requiring support using the names included in the list of people to be supported as keys and obtains the corresponding ID of the person requiring support. The supporter registration unit 203 stores the obtained ID of the person requiring support in the list of people to be supported in the supporter database.

[0102] The supporter database shown in Figure 21 is an example and is not intended to limit the items to be stored. For example, the supporter's biometric information (face image, features generated from the face image) may be registered in the supporter database. In addition, the supporter database may also register the priority when the supporter enters the list of people to be supported (order in which people need support are supported; planning priority) and the people who have received support.

[0103] Alternatively, the supporter database may include fields to store the number of supporters' planned support sessions and the number of support sessions completed. The planned support session field stores the number of people in need of support listed in the list of people to be supported. The completed support session field stores the number of people in need of support that the supporter has completed.

[0104] The supporter registration unit 203 issues the generated supporter ID to the person requiring support (supporter terminal 20).

[0105] The instruction acquisition unit 204 is a means of acquiring instructions to transmit evacuation information from disaster prevention officials of local governments. The instruction acquisition unit 204 acquires transmission instructions regarding evacuation information from disaster prevention officials of local governments using a GUI as shown in Figure 8. The disaster prevention officials of local governments specify the alert level to be issued and the area to which the evacuation information will be transmitted. The area to which the evacuation information will be transmitted may be a relatively small area such as a large or small village, or it may be a relatively large area such as the entire local government.

[0106] The evacuation information transmission unit 205 is a means of transmitting evacuation information to residents in areas designated by the local government's disaster prevention officer. The evacuation information transmission unit 205 transmits evacuation information to terminals held by residents in the designated areas. In doing so, the evacuation information transmission unit 205 transmits evacuation information to regular residents (residents who are neither those requiring assistance nor those providing assistance), for example, information corresponding to the alert level entered by the local government's disaster prevention officer. For example, the evacuation information transmission unit 205 transmits evacuation information to residents' terminals with content such as, "An evacuation order has been issued for the elderly and others. Please take appropriate evacuation action." The addresses of terminals to which evacuation information will be transmitted are registered in advance.

[0107] The evacuation information transmission unit 205 transmits evacuation information to supporters that includes information (messages) that make the supporters aware that they are "supporters." Specifically, the evacuation information transmission unit 205 transmits evacuation information that includes a message that makes the supporters aware of the need to register as supporters with the disaster prevention center (server device 10) and provide support to those in need.

[0108] The evacuation information transmission unit 205 accesses the supporter database and transmits evacuation information, including the content shown in Figure 9, to the addresses of supporters registered in the database (addresses that can be received by the supporter terminal 20).

[0109] The evacuation information transmission unit 205 receives either a "support available notification" or a "support unavailable notification" from the supporter's supporter terminal 20. The support available notification is sent to the server device 10 when the "support available" button shown in Figure 9 is pressed. The support available notification includes the supporter's supporter ID. The evacuation information transmission unit 205 searches the supporter database using the supporter ID as a key and identifies the corresponding entry (supporter). The evacuation information transmission unit 205 sets the status field of the identified entry to "support available".

[0110] A notification of unavailability of support is sent to the server device 10 when the "Unavailable Support" button shown in Figure 9 is pressed. The unavailability of support notification includes the supporter's supporter ID. The evacuation information transmission unit 205 searches the supporter database using the supporter ID as a key and identifies the corresponding entry (supporter). The evacuation information transmission unit 205 sets the status field of the identified entry to "Unavailable Support".

[0111] The evacuation information transmission unit 205 transmits evacuation information to persons requiring assistance, including a message that allows the person to recognize that they are registered as a "person requiring assistance" with the disaster prevention center (server device 10) and that assistance personnel will support their evacuation. For example, the evacuation information transmission unit 205 accesses the database of persons requiring assistance and transmits evacuation information, including the content shown in Figure 10, to the addresses of persons requiring assistance registered in the database (addresses that the terminal 30 of persons requiring assistance can receive).

[0112] The support recipient determination unit 206 is a means for determining which support recipients will assist a person in need of assistance. The support recipient determination unit 206 controls the system to determine which person in need of assistance will be assisted by the first support recipient from among at least one person in need of assistance listed in the support recipient list of the first support recipient among multiple support recipients. For example, in the example shown in Figure 7, the support recipient determination unit 206 controls the system to determine which person in need of assistance will be assisted by support recipient A1 from among support recipients B1 to B3 listed in the support recipient list of support recipient A1, among multiple support recipients A1 to A3.

[0113] The following describes the case in which the support recipient determination unit 206 determines which support recipients the support recipient will provide based on the support recipient's will.

[0114] The support recipient determination unit 206 identifies entries in the supporter database whose status field is set to "Support Available". The support recipient determination unit 206 reads the list of recipients from the identified entries. For example, in the example in Figure 21, the list of recipients, including support recipients B1 and B2, is read from the entry for supporter A2.

[0115] The support recipient determination unit 206 searches the support recipient database using the support recipient ID listed in the read list of support recipients as a key, and checks the status field of the corresponding entry. The support recipient determination unit 206 extracts support recipients whose status field is set to "Before Evacuation" (support recipients who have not completed evacuation and have not been assigned a supporter).

[0116] The support recipient determination unit 206 sends a "support recipient selection request" containing the extracted list of support recipients (a list of support recipient names and support recipient IDs) to the supporter terminal 20. The support recipient determination unit 206 obtains the support recipients (support recipient IDs) determined by the supporter in response to the request.

[0117] In this manner, the support recipient determination unit 206 transmits a list of people to be supported to the supporter terminal 20 (first terminal), and determines the people to be supported (first people to be supported) selected by the supporter from the list. The support recipient determination unit 206 also transmits to the supporter terminal 20 a list of people to be supported, excluding those who have already evacuated from the initially registered list of people to be supported. Furthermore, if the supporter is in a position to support people to be supported, the support recipient determination unit 206 transmits the list of people to be supported to the supporter terminal 20 and prompts the supporter to select people to be supported.

[0118] Once a supporter selects a person requiring support, the combination of supporter and person requiring support is determined, and the person requiring support determination unit 206 reflects this determined information in the supporter database and the person requiring support database.

[0119] Regarding support providers, the support recipient determination unit 206 searches the support provider database using the support provider ID of the support provider as a key and identifies the corresponding entry. The support recipient determination unit 206 sets the support recipient ID in the support recipient field of the identified entry.

[0120] Furthermore, regarding persons requiring support, the support recipient determination unit 206 searches the support recipient database using the support recipient ID of the person requiring support as a key and identifies the corresponding entry. The support recipient determination unit 206 sets the supporter ID in the supporter field of the identified entry. The support recipient determination unit 206 also sets "Supporter Determined" in the status field of the identified entry. Note that in the diagrams, including Figure 18, "Supporter Determined" is written as "Determined".

[0121] The evacuation action control unit 207 is a means for controlling the evacuation actions of persons requiring assistance by supporters. The operation of the evacuation action control unit 207 will be explained with reference to Figure 22.

[0122] Once the combination of supporter and person requiring support is determined, the evacuation action control unit 207 notifies the person requiring support of information about the supporter. The evacuation action control unit 207 sends a "supporter information notification" including the name of the supporter to the person requiring support terminal 30 (step S101).

[0123] The evacuation action control unit 207 waits for a response to the notification (step S102, No branch).

[0124] Upon receiving a "supporter confirmation notification," which is a response to the supporter information notification (step S102, Yes branch), the evacuation action control unit 207 instructs the corresponding supporter to begin providing support.

[0125] First, the evacuation action control unit 207 generates an instruction to initiate assistance, which includes the name of the person requiring assistance, the address of the person requiring assistance, and assistance procedure information (step S103). At this time, the evacuation action control unit 207 generates the assistance procedure information based on at least one of either the attribute information of the person requiring assistance or the attribute information of the person providing assistance.

[0126] For example, consider a case where the person requiring assistance is a wheelchair user. In this case, the evacuation action control unit 207 generates assistance procedure information that includes precautions for handling the wheelchair used by the person requiring assistance. Thus, the evacuation action control unit 207 may generate assistance procedure information based on the attribute information of the person requiring assistance.

[0127] Alternatively, consider the case where the supporter has a driver's license. In this case, the evacuation action control unit 207 generates support procedure information that includes instructions to drive a vehicle to the person requiring support. Thus, the evacuation action control unit 207 may generate support procedure information based on the supporter's attribute information.

[0128] Alternatively, consider a case where the person requiring assistance is a wheelchair user, and the caregiver possesses a vehicle capable of accommodating a wheelchair (such as a minivan). In this case, the evacuation action control unit 207 generates assistance procedure information that includes precautions for loading the wheelchair into the vehicle. For example, the evacuation action control unit 207 generates assistance procedure information that includes methods for securing the wheelchair to the vehicle. Thus, the evacuation action control unit 207 may generate assistance procedure information based on the attribute information of the person requiring assistance and the caregiver.

[0129] Alternatively, consider a case where the person requiring assistance does not need a wheelchair but has difficulty walking independently, and the caregiver does not own a vehicle. In this case, the evacuation action control unit 207 generates assistance procedure information that instructs the caregiver to use a means of transportation such as a taxi to reach the person requiring assistance. Alternatively, this assistance procedure information may include the contact information of a taxi company. That is, the evacuation support system may coordinate with a ride-hailing service by notifying the caregiver of the taxi company's contact information.

[0130] For example, the evacuation action control unit 207 generates the above-mentioned support procedure information by referring to table information that stores the attribute information of the person requiring support, the attribute information of the supporter, and the contents to be described in the support procedure information in association with each other.

[0131] Furthermore, if there is no special information to be included in the support procedure information, the evacuation action control unit 207 may generate support instruction information that includes map information that makes it easy to identify the address of the person requiring support (where the supporter is going). For example, if the person requiring support has no problem walking and is evacuating to a shelter that is within walking distance from their current location, the evacuation action control unit 207 may generate support instruction information that includes the map information mentioned above.

[0132] The evacuation action control unit 207 transmits an instruction to the supporter terminal 20 to begin support, which includes information about the person requiring support (including the person ID) and information about the support procedure (step S104).

[0133] In this manner, the evacuation action control unit 207 transmits a supporter information notification, including the name of the supporter, to the supporter terminal 30 (second terminal) held by the person requiring support. After receiving a supporter confirmation notification from the supporter terminal 30 indicating that the person requiring support has confirmed that they will receive support from the supporter, the evacuation action control unit 207 transmits a support commencement instruction to the supporter terminal 20 (first terminal). The evacuation action control unit 207 transmits a support commencement instruction to the supporter terminal 20 held by the supporter, including information about the person requiring support determined by the supporter determination unit 206 (name, address, person requiring support ID, etc.) and support procedure information.

[0134] The evacuation action control unit 207 updates the status of the supporter who sent the support commencement instruction. The evacuation action control unit 207 sets the status field in the supporter database to "Providing support".

[0135] Based on the instruction to begin assistance, the support personnel proceed to the location of the person in need of assistance. Upon arriving at the location of the person in need of assistance, the support personnel report the situation on site to the disaster prevention center (server device 10).

[0136] The evacuation action control unit 207 receives a "site situation report" from the supporter terminal 20, which indicates the situation at the site where the supporter has arrived (step S105). The site situation report includes the ID of the person requiring support.

[0137] The evacuation action control unit 207 handles the on-site situation report (step S106).

[0138] For example, if the evacuation action control unit 207 receives notification from a supporter stating that "there are no obstacles to providing support," it will not take any special action.

[0139] Alternatively, if the evacuation action control unit 207 receives notification from a supporter that "the whereabouts of the person in need of assistance are unknown," it will contact the local disaster prevention organization. Specifically, the evacuation action control unit 207 will search the database of persons in need of assistance using the person in need of assistance ID as a key and obtain the name, address, etc. of the person in question. The evacuation action control unit 207 will then notify the local disaster prevention organization (the organization's server, etc.) of the obtained name, address, etc. of the person in need of assistance.

[0140] Alternatively, if the evacuation action control unit 207 receives notification from a supporter that "support is not possible on its own," it selects a supporter from among those who have not yet taken support action to send as reinforcement and instructs the selected supporter to provide support. Specifically, the evacuation action control unit 207 searches the supporter database and extracts supporters who have not yet started support activities (supporters whose status field is set to "available to provide support"). The evacuation action control unit 207 selects a supporter from among the extracted supporters to send as reinforcement. The evacuation action control unit 207 sends a "support instruction" to the supporter terminal 20 of the selected supporter, including the name and address of the person in need of support.

[0141] Furthermore, the evacuation action control unit 207 can select support personnel to send to provide assistance in various ways. For example, the evacuation action control unit 207 can select support personnel who live near the person in need of assistance. Alternatively, the evacuation action control unit 207 can select support personnel who have the person in need of assistance on their list of eligible persons.

[0142] Supporters move to the evacuation center with the person in need of assistance. Once the evacuation is complete, the supporters report this to the disaster prevention center (server device 10). Specifically, the evacuation action control unit 207 receives a "support completion notification" from the supporter terminal 20 (step S107). The support completion notification includes the ID of the person in need of assistance who has completed the evacuation.

[0143] The evacuation action control unit 207 reflects in the database that the support actions by the supporters have been completed (updating the database; step S108). Specifically, the evacuation action control unit 207 sets the status field of the corresponding entry in the supporter database to "Available for Support". The evacuation action control unit 207 also sets the status field of the corresponding entry in the person requiring support database to "Evacuation Complete".

[0144] In this manner, the evacuation action control unit 207 receives a support completion notification from the supporter terminal 20 indicating that the evacuation of the person requiring support has been completed. The evacuation action control unit 207 sets the status of the supporter who has completed supporting the person requiring support to a state in which they can support another person requiring support (a second person requiring support different from the first person requiring support) (support available).

[0145] Furthermore, the support recipient determination unit 206 periodically or at predetermined intervals accesses the support recipient database and determines whether there are any support recipients whose status field is set to "Before Evacuation". If such support recipients exist, the support recipient determination unit 206 sends a "support recipient selection request" to the support recipients who have that support recipient on their list of recipients. Upon receiving the request, the support recipients select the support recipients to assist and proceed to provide assistance. This process is repeated to ensure that all support recipients are evacuated without fail.

[0146] The memory unit 208 is a means for storing information necessary for the operation of the server device 10.

[0147] [Supporter terminal] Examples of supporter terminals 20 include mobile devices such as smartphones, cell phones, game consoles, and tablets.

[0148] Figure 23 shows an example of the processing configuration (processing module) of the supporter terminal 20. Referring to Figure 23, the supporter terminal 20 comprises a communication control unit 301, a registration unit 302, an evacuation information processing unit 303, a person requiring assistance selection unit 304, an assistance action control unit 305, and a storage unit 306.

[0149] The communication control unit 301 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 301 receives data (packets) from the server device 10. The communication control unit 301 also transmits data to the server device 10. The communication control unit 301 passes the data received from other devices to other processing modules. The communication control unit 301 transmits the data acquired from other processing modules to other devices. In this way, other processing modules send and receive data with other devices via the communication control unit 301. The communication control unit 301 has the function of a receiving unit that receives data from other devices and the function of a transmitting unit that transmits data to other devices.

[0150] The registration unit 302 is a means of registering supporter information with the disaster prevention center (server device 10). The registration unit 302 displays a GUI as shown in Figures 19 and 20 and obtains supporter information (personal information, health information, family information, list of people to be supported).

[0151] The registration unit 302 transmits the acquired supporter information to the server device 10. The registration unit 302 receives the supporter ID from the server device 10. The registration unit 302 stores the received supporter ID in the storage unit 306.

[0152] The evacuation information processing unit 303 is a means for processing evacuation information received from the server device 10. When the evacuation information processing unit 303 obtains evacuation information from the server device 10, it displays a GUI as shown in Figure 9.

[0153] The evacuation information processing unit 303 obtains the intention of the supporter (whether or not they can provide support to the person in need of support) via a GUI. The evacuation information processing unit 303 notifies the server device 10 of the intention of the supporter that it has obtained. If the supporter indicates that they can provide support, the evacuation information processing unit 303 sends a notification that they can provide support to the server device 10. If the supporter indicates that they cannot provide support, the evacuation information processing unit 303 sends a notification that they cannot provide support to the server device 10.

[0154] The support recipient selection unit 304 is a means for supporters to select support recipients. The support recipient selection unit 304 receives a support recipient selection request from the server device 10. In response to receiving the request, the support recipient selection unit 304 displays a GUI as shown in Figure 11.

[0155] Even if a support worker has indicated their intention to support a person in need of support, they may decide to cancel their support after reviewing the list of people to be supported (list of people in need of support) as shown in Figure 11. In this case, the support worker presses the "Cancel" button shown in Figure 11. Upon pressing this button, the person in need of support selection unit 304 returns to the screen shown in Figure 9. A support worker who wishes to cancel their "Support Available" status should press the "Support Not Available" button on the screen in Figure 9.

[0156] The support recipient selection unit 304 sends a response (response to the support recipient selection request) to the server device 10 that includes the support recipient ID of the support recipient selected by the supporter.

[0157] The support behavior control unit 305 is a means for controlling support behaviors performed by supporters.

[0158] The support action control unit 305 receives an instruction to start support from the server device 10. In response to receiving the instruction, the support action control unit 305 displays information as shown in Figure 13. As shown in Figure 13, the support action control unit 305 displays information based on the name, address, and support procedure information of the person requiring support. Since the instruction to start support includes the person requiring support ID, the support action control unit 305 stores this ID in the storage unit 306.

[0159] Alternatively, the support action control unit 305 may display a button (for example, a confirmation button) to confirm that the supporter has seen the display, and continue displaying the information as shown in Figure 13 until the button is pressed. Alternatively, when the support action control unit 305 receives a support start instruction, it may notify the supporter of the receipt of the instruction by sound, such as an alarm.

[0160] When a support worker performs a predetermined action (for example, by pressing the "Report Situation" button displayed on the menu screen), the support action control unit 305 displays a GUI for reporting the situation at the site. The support action control unit 305 displays a GUI as shown in Figure 14.

[0161] As shown in Figure 14, the support action control unit 305 may provide an interface for the supporter to describe the situation in detail, in addition to predetermined options (for example, no obstacles to support). The support action control unit 305 transmits the on-site information entered by the supporter to the server device 10 as an "on-site situation report". The on-site situation report includes the ID of the person requiring support (the person requiring support whom the supporter rushed to the scene; the person requiring support designated by the support commencement instruction).

[0162] When the supporter performs a predetermined action (for example, by pressing the "Complete Support" button displayed on the menu screen), the support action control unit 305 displays a GUI to notify the supporter of the completion of support. The support action control unit 305 displays a GUI as shown in Figure 15. When the supporter presses the "Complete" button, the support action control unit 305 sends a support completion notification to the server device 10, including the ID of the person requiring support who evacuated with the supporter.

[0163] The memory unit 306 is a means for storing information necessary for the operation of the support terminal 20.

[0164] [Device for persons requiring assistance] Examples of the support-requiring terminal 30 include mobile devices such as smartphones, cell phones, game consoles, and tablets.

[0165] Figure 24 shows an example of the processing configuration (processing module) of the terminal for persons requiring assistance 30. Referring to Figure 24, the terminal for persons requiring assistance 30 comprises a communication control unit 401, a registration unit 402, an evacuation information processing unit 403, a supporter information notification processing unit 404, and a storage unit 405.

[0166] The communication control unit 401 is a means for controlling communication with other devices. For example, the communication control unit 401 receives data (packets) from the server device 10. The communication control unit 401 also transmits data to the server device 10. The communication control unit 401 passes the data received from other devices to other processing modules. The communication control unit 401 transmits the data obtained from other processing modules to other devices. In this way, other processing modules send and receive data with other devices via the communication control unit 401. The communication control unit 401 has the function of a receiving unit that receives data from other devices and the function of a transmitting unit that transmits data to other devices.

[0167] The registration unit 402 is a means of registering information on persons requiring assistance with the disaster prevention center (server device 10). The registration unit 402 displays a GUI as shown in Figure 17 and acquires information on persons requiring assistance (personal information, health information, family information).

[0168] The registration unit 402 transmits the acquired information on persons requiring support to the server device 10. The registration unit 402 receives the person requiring support ID from the server device 10. The registration unit 402 stores the received person requiring support ID in the storage unit 405.

[0169] The evacuation information processing unit 403 is a means for processing evacuation information received from the server device 10. When the evacuation information processing unit 403 obtains evacuation information from the server device 10, it displays it as shown in Figure 10.

[0170] The supporter information notification processing unit 404 is a means for processing supporter information notifications received from the server device 10. In response to receiving a supporter information notification from the server device 10, the supporter information notification processing unit 404 displays the information shown in Figure 12. As shown in Figure 12, the supporter information notification processing unit 404 displays the names of the supporters who will come to assist with evacuation.

[0171] As shown in Figure 12, the supporter information notification processing unit 404 displays an "OK" button to confirm that the person requiring support has seen the display. When this button is pressed, the supporter information notification processing unit 404 sends a supporter confirmation notification to the server device 10. Although Figure 12 shows an "OK" button, the supporter information notification processing unit 404 may also display a button (for example, a "Reject" button) for the person requiring support to request support from another supporter. When the reject button is pressed, the supporter information notification processing unit 404 requests the server device 10 to assign another supporter.

[0172] The memory unit 405 is a means for storing information necessary for the operation of the support-requiring terminal 30.

[0173] [System operation] Next, the operation of the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment will be described. Note that the explanation of the operations related to supporter registration and support recipient registration will be omitted. Figure 25 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment.

[0174] In response to instructions from the local government's disaster prevention officer, the server device 10 transmits evacuation information to the support terminal 20 and the terminal 30 of the person requiring support (step S11).

[0175] Upon receiving the evacuation information, the supporter terminal 20 notifies the server device 10 of the supporter's intention regarding support actions (whether or not to provide support) (step S12). The supporter terminal 20 sends a notification to the server device 10 indicating whether support is possible or not.

[0176] The server device 10 sends a request for selecting persons in need of assistance to the supporters who have responded that they can provide assistance (step S13). The server device 10 sends a request for selecting persons in need of assistance that includes a list of persons in need of assistance who are listed in the supporter's list of persons to be supported and who were in need of assistance before evacuation (a list of persons to be supported with the number of persons to be supported narrowed down).

[0177] The supporter terminal 20 receives the selection of a person requiring support by the supporter and transmits the information of the selected person requiring support to the server device 10 (sending a response to the request for selection of a person requiring support; step S14).

[0178] Once the supporters have finished selecting the person in need of support, the server device 10 sends a supporter information notification to the supporter's terminal 30 of the person in need of support (step S15).

[0179] Once the person requiring assistance confirms the name of the supporter, the terminal 30 of the person requiring assistance sends a supporter confirmation notification to the server device 10 (step S16).

[0180] Upon receiving the notification, the server device 10 sends an instruction to the supporter terminal 20 to begin support (step S17).

[0181] The support worker, in accordance with the instructions, heads to the location of the person in need of support and arrives at the site. Upon arrival at the site, the support worker terminal 20 sends a site situation report, including the situation at the site, to the server device 10 (step S18).

[0182] Server device 10 will take appropriate measures as necessary in response to the report.

[0183] When a support worker arrives at the evacuation center with a person in need of support, the support worker terminal 20 sends a support completion notification to the server device 10 (step S19). In response to this notification, the server device 10 changes the support worker's status from "Providing support" to "Available to provide support" and sets the support worker to be able to assign a new person in need of support.

[0184] <Modified example of the first embodiment> In the above embodiment, the server device 10 was described in a case where it selects a supporter by considering the supporter's situation on the day of evacuation (whether the supporter is able to support the person in need of assistance). However, the server device 10 may also select a supporter without considering the supporter's situation.

[0185] Specifically, the supporter terminal 20 does not send a "support available" or "support unavailable" notification to the server device 10. In other words, the server device 10 does not know the status of the supporters in the event of a disaster.

[0186] The server device 10 simply needs to determine which supporter will support the person in need of assistance according to each supporter's list of people to be supported. Specifically, the server device 10 sends a request to the supporter terminal 20 to select the person in need of assistance, which includes a list of people in need of assistance extracted from the list of people to be supported (list of people in need of assistance).

[0187] The supporter selects a person requiring support from the list of people requiring support displayed on the supporter terminal 20.

[0188] Thus, the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment does not need to consider whether or not supporters are available to provide assistance on the day of evacuation. However, from the viewpoint of system efficiency, it is preferable to consider the situation of supporters, as described in the first embodiment.

[0189] As described above, in the first embodiment, the supporter selects one person requiring support from among the pre-registered persons requiring support and notifies the server device 10. The server device 10 notifies the selected person requiring support of the supporter's information, and when an acknowledgment (ACK) is returned from the person requiring support, it instructs the supporter to begin support. When support is completed, the supporter notifies the server device 10 of the completion of support. In response to this notification, the supporter can select another person requiring support as a target for support. In this way, in the evacuation support system according to the first embodiment, the server device 10 communicates closely with the supporter and the person requiring support, accurately grasps their respective states and situations, and takes necessary measures. Therefore, the server device 10 does not issue support instructions to supporters who are unable to provide support, nor does it instruct multiple supporters to go and support the same person requiring support. In other words, more accurate and efficient support instructions are given to supporters, so the evacuation of persons requiring support can be achieved more reliably. Furthermore, the server device 10 notifies the person in need of assistance in advance of the information of the supporter who will come to help, so that the person in need of assistance does not have to worry unnecessarily (worrying about whether someone will come to help). Also, in the first embodiment, when the server device 10 requests assistance from a supporter for the person in need of assistance, it notifies the supporter of the procedure for assisting the person in need of assistance. The supporter assists the person in need of assistance in evacuating according to the notified procedure. For example, the person in need of assistance may need a wheelchair. In such a case, even if the supporter is not familiar with handling wheelchairs, the supporter can refer to the assistance procedure information and accurately assist the person in need of assistance who needs a wheelchair in evacuating. As a result, the person in need of assistance can be evacuated safely and securely.

[0190] [Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0191] The first embodiment described a case where a supporter selects the person requiring support. The second embodiment describes a case where the server device 10 selects the person requiring support.

[0192] Note that the configuration of the evacuation support system according to the second embodiment can be the same as that of the first embodiment, so the explanation corresponding to Figure 3 is omitted. Also, the processing configuration of the server device 10, supporter terminal 20, and person requiring support terminal 30 according to the second embodiment can be the same as that of the first embodiment, so the explanation is omitted.

[0193] The following will focus on explaining the differences between the first and second embodiments.

[0194] In the second embodiment, the support recipient determination unit 206 automatically determines the support recipients of the supporter. The support recipient determination unit 206 can determine the support recipients according to various methods and rules. That is, the support recipient determination unit 206 matches supporters with support recipients by various methods.

[0195] For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 automatically selects a person who will be eligible for support from among at least one person who is eligible for support listed on the supporter's list of eligible recipients.

[0196] For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients according to the order in which they are listed in the support recipient list. For example, if a supporter enters the names of support recipients B1, B2, and B3 in that order, support recipient B1 may be selected preferentially. That is, in the second embodiment, the order in which support recipients are listed in the support recipient list may be treated as a priority order for support.

[0197] For example, if the support recipient determination unit 206 has multiple support recipients listed in the list, it may prioritize selecting relatives of the supporter on that list. If the support recipient determination unit 206 finds that the names listed in the support recipient list (names corresponding to the support recipient IDs) are included in the supporter's family information, it will determine the support recipients listed in that family information as support recipients. In this way, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on information about the supporter's family (family information).

[0198] The support recipient determination unit 206 may determine whether a supporter can truly provide support to a person in need of support. The support recipient determination unit 206 will not select a person in need of support that it determines the supporter cannot provide support to. In other words, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select a person in need of support who the supporter can provide support to as a target for support. The above determination by the support recipient determination unit 206 can be made using a pre-prepared learning model. Specifically, the learning model is generated by machine learning using training data in which labels (support possible, support impossible) are assigned to the physical information (e.g., height, weight, gender) of the supporter and the person in need of support. For example, the learning model is generated using training data that states that a light-weight supporter cannot provide support to a heavy-weight person in need of support. Any algorithm such as support vector machines, boosting, or neural networks can be used to generate the learning model. Note that publicly known techniques can be used for the above-mentioned support vector machines, etc., so their explanation is omitted. Thus, the support recipient determination unit 206 may determine whether a supporter is capable of supporting a person in need of support and select the person in need of support who the supporter is capable of supporting as a person to be supported.

[0199] The support recipient determination unit 206 acquires the above physical characteristics from the health information of the supporter and the person requiring support, and inputs them into the learning model. The support recipient determination unit 206 only needs to obtain the determination result from the learning model. If the determination result is a combination that allows for support (a combination of a supporter and a person requiring support), the support recipient determination unit 206 selects the person requiring support as the support recipient of that supporter. In this way, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select the person requiring support according to the height, weight, and age of the supporter and the person requiring support.

[0200] Alternatively, the support recipient determination unit 206 may use a learning model that, when the physical characteristics of the supporter are input, outputs the attributes of support recipients that the supporter can support. Specifically, when the support recipient determination unit 206 inputs the height, weight, and gender of the supporter into the learning model, it obtains the attributes (height, gender, etc.) of support recipients that the supporter can support. The support recipient determination unit 206 searches the support recipient database using these requirements as keys and identifies the corresponding support recipient. The support recipient determination unit 206 may select the identified support recipient as a target for support.

[0201] The support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on their health information (information on medical history, medications, etc.). For example, if a doctor or nurse is the support recipient, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients with medical history as the target of support by that support recipient. In this case, the server device 10 only needs to obtain the support recipient's qualification information, etc., when the support recipient is registered. Thus, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on the support recipient's qualification information.

[0202] The support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on information regarding their housing (housing information). For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select a support recipient who lives (receives medical treatment) on the second floor as a support recipient for a well-built male. In other words, the support recipient determination unit 206 may determine the support recipient based on where the support recipient usually resides in their housing.

[0203] The support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on the positional relationship between the supporter and the support recipient. For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select the support recipient closest to the supporter as the support recipient. Alternatively, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select the support recipient furthest from the supporter as the support recipient. In this way, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients to be assigned to the supporter based on their positional relationship (distance between them, travel distance, travel time).

[0204] Alternatively, the unit 206 for determining persons requiring assistance may select persons requiring assistance based on the location of the evacuation center and the location of the persons requiring assistance (current location or address). The unit 206 for determining persons requiring assistance may also prioritize selecting persons requiring assistance who are furthest from the evacuation center as those to be evacuated.

[0205] The support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on the support provider's abilities. For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients who have difficulty walking on their own, based on the support provider's ability to drive a vehicle.

[0206] The support recipient determination unit 206 may calculate the priority for support for at least one person in the support recipient list. Based on the calculated priority, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select from the support recipients listed in the support recipient list those who will be assisted by supporters in their evacuation.

[0207] For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 may determine the priority of support recipients based on attribute information of the support recipient or the supporter, and select support recipients based on the determined priority. For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on their physical and mental condition (care level, disability level, etc.). For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 may prioritize selecting support recipients with a high care level or those with severe disabilities as support recipients. Alternatively, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients considering their walking speed. The support recipient determination unit 206 estimates the walking speed of support recipients based on their gender, age, etc. The support recipient determination unit 206 may prioritize selecting support recipients with slow walking speeds as support recipients.

[0208] Alternatively, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients by considering the operating time of the support equipment they are wearing. Specifically, the support recipient determination unit 206 may prioritize selecting support recipients who require equipment such as ventilators. The support recipient determination unit 206 also prioritizes setting support recipients who require support equipment that requires power, taking into account power outages caused by disasters.

[0209] Alternatively, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on the anticipated risks on the day of evacuation. For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 calculates a priority for support for support recipients based on the flood risk at the recipient's address. The support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on the calculated priority. Specifically, the support recipient determination unit 206 assigns a priority to each support recipient based on the hazard map of the evacuation area (map information showing the extent and degree of expected flooding) and the address of each support recipient.

[0210] For example, the support recipient determination unit 206 assigns a high priority to support recipients living in areas with a high risk of flooding, and a low priority to support recipients living in areas with a low risk of flooding. The support recipient determination unit 206 selects support recipients based on the priority assigned to each recipient. That is, if multiple support recipients are registered as support recipients for one support recipient, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients based on the priority of support recipients calculated based on the flood risk.

[0211] Alternatively, the support recipient determination unit 206 may calculate the priority of support recipients based on the location of the evacuation center and the address of the support recipient. Specifically, the support recipient determination unit 206 may assign a higher priority to support recipients who live far from the evacuation center and a lower priority to support recipients who live close to the evacuation center. The support recipient determination unit 206 may also select support recipients based on the priority assigned to each recipient.

[0212] Alternatively, the support recipient determination unit 206 may calculate the priority for support for persons requiring assistance based on a combination of flood risk and the location of evacuation shelters (the address of the evacuation shelter and the person requiring assistance). Specifically, the support recipient determination unit 206 assigns the highest priority to persons requiring assistance who have a high flood risk and live far from evacuation shelters. The support recipient determination unit 206 assigns the lowest priority to persons requiring assistance who have a low flood risk and live close to evacuation shelters. Based on the priority assigned to each person requiring assistance, the support recipient determination unit 206 selects persons requiring assistance to be supported.

[0213] Alternatively, the support recipient determination unit 206 may calculate the priority for support for the person requiring assistance based on the flood risk and information about the person requiring assistance's residence (information about the floor on which the person requiring assistance lives). The support recipient determination unit 206 may set a lower priority for residents living in areas with a high flood risk if their floor is higher than the flood depth expected from the hazard map. In this way, the support recipient determination unit 206 may determine the priority to be assigned to the person requiring assistance based on the flood depth from the hazard map and the floor on which the person requiring assistance lives. That is, the support recipient determination unit 206 may correct the flood depth from the hazard map by taking into account the height corresponding to the floor on which the person requiring assistance lives.

[0214] The support recipient determination unit 206 may determine who requires support by considering the geographical conditions of the person's place of residence. Specifically, the support recipient determination unit 206 calculates the distance along the actual evacuation route from the person's address to the evacuation shelter. The support recipient determination unit 206 calculates the distance along the actual evacuation route by considering detours due to bridges and road closures between the person's home and the evacuation shelter. The support recipient determination unit 206 may prioritize selecting support recipients who have longer calculated distances. Alternatively, the support recipient determination unit 206 may select support recipients by considering factors that reduce walking speed, such as slopes and stairs along the evacuation route. The support recipient determination unit 206 may prioritize setting support recipients on evacuation routes with many factors that reduce walking speed.

[0215] In the second embodiment, if the server device 10 cannot find a suitable person in need of support within the list of people to be supported, it may perform matching between supporters and people in need of support beyond that list. That is, if the number of supporters with qualifications such as doctors and nurses is limited, people in need of support who have not been registered in advance by these supporters (people in need of support who are not on the supporter's list of people to be supported) may be selected as people to be supported.

[0216] [System operation] Next, the operation of the evacuation support system according to the second embodiment will be described. Figure 26 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the evacuation support system according to the second embodiment. The same reference numerals are used for the same processes in Figures 25 and 26, and their explanations are omitted.

[0217] In the second embodiment, the server device 10 automatically selects the person requiring assistance to be assigned to the supporter (step S13a). The server device 10 (person requiring assistance determination unit 206) notifies the evacuation action control unit 207 of the selected person requiring assistance and performs the same operations as in the first embodiment.

[0218] As described above, in the second embodiment, the server device 10 automatically selects (matches) persons in need of assistance. In doing so, the server device 10 selects persons in need of assistance using location information, attribute information, etc., of the supporters and persons in need of assistance. As a result, more appropriate persons in need of assistance are selected for the supporters, and more reliable evacuation can be achieved.

[0219] [Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0220] In the third embodiment, we will describe a case in which the server device 10 verifies the suitability of the supporter.

[0221] The configuration of the evacuation support system according to the third embodiment can be the same as that of the first embodiment, so the explanation corresponding to Figure 3 is omitted. Also, the processing configuration of the server device 10, supporter terminal 20, and person requiring support terminal 30 according to the third embodiment can be the same as that of the first embodiment, so the explanation is omitted.

[0222] The following will focus on explaining the differences between the first and third embodiments.

[0223] The support-requiring person registration unit 202 according to the third embodiment obtains information about potential supporters from the support-requiring person and verifies whether the supporter candidate is capable of supporting the support-requiring person. The support-requiring person registration unit 202 operates as a "registration unit" that registers the supporter candidate in the system if the supporter candidate is capable of supporting the support-requiring person.

[0224] Figure 27 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the support-requiring person registration unit 202 according to the third embodiment. The operation of the support-requiring person registration unit 202 will be explained with reference to Figure 27.

[0225] The support recipient registration unit 202 obtains candidate supporters who can assist the support recipient from the support recipient terminal 30 (step S201).

[0226] The Persons Requiring Support Registration Unit 202 verifies the suitability of the acquired supporter candidates (Step S202). The Persons Requiring Support Registration Unit 202 verifies whether the supporter candidates are capable of appropriately supporting persons requiring support.

[0227] Specifically, the Persons Requiring Support Registration Unit 202 verifies whether a candidate supporter is capable of supporting a person requiring support, based on the attributes of the person requiring support and the attributes of the candidate supporter. For example, if a person requiring support who has a severe disability or serious illness and has difficulty moving on their own selects a woman or an elderly person as a candidate supporter, the Persons Requiring Support Registration Unit 202 will determine that the selection is inappropriate.

[0228] In contrast, the Persons Requiring Assistance Registration Unit 202 will determine that a person requiring assistance who has difficulty moving on their own is a suitable choice if they select a male person who owns a vehicle as a potential support provider.

[0229] The support recipient registration unit 202 can obtain a judgment result (suitable or unsuitable for support candidates; capable or uncapable for support candidates) by inputting the attributes of support recipients and supporters into a pre-prepared learning model.

[0230] If the supporter selection is appropriate (step S203, Yes branch), the support recipient registration unit 202 registers the information of the supporter selected by the support recipient (e.g., supporter ID) in the support recipient database (step S204).

[0231] If the selection of a supporter is inappropriate (Step S203, No branch), the support recipient registration unit 202 will not take any special action. Alternatively, the support recipient registration unit 202 may notify the support recipient that the support candidate is inappropriate, or may encourage the support recipient to register another person as a supporter.

[0232] The support recipient registration unit 202 accesses the support recipient database periodically or at predetermined intervals to obtain combinations of support recipients and supporters. Based on the obtained combinations, the support recipient registration unit 202 generates a list of support recipients as shown in Figure 6 (step S205).

[0233] The support recipient registration unit 202 registers the generated list of recipients into the supporter database (step S206).

[0234] For example, if a person requiring assistance who has difficulty moving on their own and needs a special vehicle for transportation cannot find an assistant themselves, the Assistance Person Registration Section 202 may register fire departments, local governments, etc. that possess special vehicles as "assistants."

[0235] As described above, the server device 10 according to the third embodiment verifies the suitability (appropriateness) of the supporter selected by the person requiring support. The server device 10 registers supporters who can reliably support the person requiring support in the system. This configuration prevents situations where supporters are unable to assist the person requiring support with their evacuation on the day of evacuation. Furthermore, if the server device 10 determines that the supporter selected by the person requiring support is unsuitable (i.e., it is difficult to select a supporter from the general public), it selects a public institution such as a local government as the supporter. This configuration avoids situations where a person requiring support is not assigned a supporter.

[0236] Next, we will describe the hardware of each device that makes up the evacuation support system. Figure 28 shows an example of the hardware configuration of server device 10.

[0237] The server device 10 can be configured using an information processing device (a so-called computer), and has the configuration illustrated in Figure 28. For example, the server device 10 includes a processor 311, memory 312, input / output interface 313, and communication interface 314, etc. The components of the processor 311, etc. are connected by an internal bus or the like and are configured to communicate with each other.

[0238] However, the configuration shown in Figure 28 is not intended to limit the hardware configuration of the server device 10. The server device 10 may include hardware not shown, and it may not have to have an input / output interface 313 if necessary. Also, the number of processors 311 etc. included in the server device 10 is not intended to be limited to the example in Figure 28; for example, multiple processors 311 may be included in the server device 10.

[0239] The processor 311 is a programmable device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or DSP (Digital Signal Processor). Alternatively, the processor 311 may be a device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The processor 311 executes various programs, including an operating system (OS).

[0240] Memory 312 includes RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. Memory 312 stores the OS program, application programs, and various data.

[0241] The input / output interface 313 is an interface for a display device or input device (not shown). The display device is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The input device is, for example, a device that accepts user input such as a keyboard or mouse.

[0242] The communication interface 314 is a circuit, module, etc., that communicates with other devices. For example, the communication interface 314 includes a NIC (Network Interface Card), etc.

[0243] The functions of the server device 10 are realized by various processing modules. These processing modules are realized, for example, by the processor 311 executing a program stored in memory 312. The program can also be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can be a non-transitory material such as semiconductor memory, hard disk, magnetic recording medium, or optical recording medium. In other words, the present invention can also be embodied as a computer program product. Furthermore, the program can be downloaded via a network or updated using the storage medium on which the program is stored. Moreover, the processing module may be realized by a semiconductor chip.

[0244] Furthermore, the supporter terminal 20 and the support recipient terminal 30 can also be configured using information processing devices, similar to the server device 10. Since their basic hardware configurations are identical to those of the server device 10, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0245] The server device 10, which is an information processing device, is equipped with a computer, and its functions can be realized by having the computer execute a program. Furthermore, the server device 10 executes a control method for the server device 10 using this program.

[0246] [Differentiation] The configuration and operation of the evacuation support system described in the above embodiment are illustrative examples and are not intended to limit the system's configuration.

[0247] The server device 10 may provide the disaster prevention officer of the neighborhood association (community association) with information on the safety and evacuation status of persons requiring assistance. For example, the server device 10 may transmit information to a terminal held by the disaster prevention officer of the neighborhood association that enables the terminal to display information as shown in Figure 29. In this case, the server device 10 may also display the name, address, etc., of persons requiring assistance whose safety cannot be confirmed, as well as the status of their supporters. In the example in Figure 29, two of the five supporters scheduled to support "Taro Yamada" are available to provide assistance. The disaster prevention officer can identify persons requiring assistance whose safety is unknown or who have not yet completed their evacuation through a display like the one shown in Figure 29 (evacuation information dashboard), enabling them to take swift and reliable action.

[0248] Alternatively, the server device 10 may generate information for local governments (evacuation information dashboard) and provide the local government's disaster prevention officer with the evacuation information dashboard. For example, the server device 10 may generate an evacuation information dashboard containing information like that shown in Figure 18 and provide it to the local government's disaster prevention officer. By referring to the evacuation information dashboard, the local government's disaster prevention officer can check the status of people in need of assistance throughout the region. The local government's disaster prevention officer can identify neighborhood associations that are in a situation where some action is needed but have not taken the necessary steps, and provide support to those neighborhood associations. In other words, in order to enable local government disaster prevention officers to check the evacuation status of people in need of assistance, the server device 10 may provide the information stored in the database of people in need of assistance shown in Figure 18 to the disaster prevention officer and neighborhood association chairpersons.

[0249] Furthermore, the server device 10 may provide an interface that allows the disaster prevention officer of the neighborhood association to select supporters for persons requiring assistance who have not yet completed evacuation (persons whose safety is unknown). For example, when a person requiring assistance is selected by tapping the information indicating the status of supporters shown in Figure 29 (e.g., "Supporters 2 / 5" or "Supporters 3 / 5" in the same figure), the server device 10 displays a list of supporters for the selected person (see Figure 30). In this case, the server device 10 may display the name and relationship of each supporter, as well as the status of the supporter (available to provide support, unavailable to provide support). When the disaster prevention officer selects a supporter who is displayed as "available to provide support," the server device 10 requests that supporter provide support to the person requiring assistance. In this way, the server device 10 can check in advance whether the supporters who have been registered as supporters are actually able to go and provide support, and based on the results of this check, it can request support from the appropriate supporter. Furthermore, when a person other than the supporter (such as a disaster prevention officer or chairman of a local government or neighborhood association) selects supporters to assign to those in need of support, the server device 10 may provide the person other than the supporter with information indicating the status of each supporter (for example, the number of planned support tasks and the number of completed tasks).

[0250] The server device 10 may extract residents from the local area who are considered to be in need of assistance but have not registered as needing assistance (residents who have not created an individual evacuation plan), and provide information on the extracted residents to the local government's disaster prevention officer. For example, the server device 10 may extract residents above a certain age or residents who require care but have not registered as needing assistance, and send a list of the extracted residents to a terminal used by the disaster prevention officer. The disaster prevention officer may request the resident to register as needing assistance either directly or through the person in charge of the neighborhood association to which the resident belongs.

[0251] Information on residents who have not registered as persons requiring assistance (residents who have not created an individual evacuation plan) may be shared among relevant parties (e.g., support providers, persons requiring assistance, relatives, welfare commissioners, neighborhood association chairpersons, etc.). Alternatively, information on persons requiring assistance after registration and individual evacuation plans registered in the system may be shared among relevant parties. The server device 10 may set the scope of access to the above information by granting appropriate viewing permissions to each relevant party. This configuration ensures the privacy of residents and the security of the system.

[0252] The server device 10 may request firefighters and fire brigades to make a preventative deployment (pre-mobilization) to prevent delays in the evacuation of those requiring assistance. The server device 10 may identify areas where many people requiring assistance with high evacuation priority reside and notify fire brigades, etc., of information about the identified areas. Fire brigades may then head to the notified areas to assist in the evacuation of those requiring assistance.

[0253] In the above embodiment, it was explained that a person requiring assistance uses the assistance terminal 30 to register various information and perform operations. However, depending on the state and circumstances, a person requiring assistance may not be able to operate the assistance terminal 30. Therefore, in the evacuation support system disclosed in this application, a person requiring assistance does not need to possess the assistance terminal 30. In other words, the evacuation support system does not need to perform any operations or processes that require the assistance terminal 30. Specifically, the registration of the person requiring assistance may be performed by an agent, and the operations related to the notification of supporter information (steps S04 and S05 in Figure 7) may be omitted.

[0254] The above embodiment described a case where a supporter registers as a supporter. However, supporter registration may also be performed by the person requiring support (or their representative). That is, when the person requiring support (or their representative) enters the registration information (individual evacuation plan), the supporter's information may also be registered in the system.

[0255] Server device 10 may receive information issued by an external server operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency or other similar organization when such an external server issues weather warnings or advisories. Server device 10 may treat the received information as an "evacuation information transmission instruction" to be entered by a local government disaster prevention officer. Server device 10 may also automatically transmit evacuation information (inquiries regarding the availability of support) in response to receiving information from an external server.

[0256] Supporters and those requiring support may register as supporters or those requiring support using applications provided by local governments, etc. (for example, disaster prevention apps, community bulletin board apps, etc.).

[0257] The server device 10 does not need to prompt evacuation actions from residents of a designated area who are at little (or no) risk from disaster. The server device 10 also does not need to prompt evacuation actions from residents on higher ground who are not deemed to need to evacuate even if a flood occurs. In other words, people in need of assistance who are in a safe location may be excluded from the scope of assistance and may be excluded from selection by support providers and matching by the server device 10.

[0258] The server device 10 may also contact the families of persons requiring assistance who are subject to evacuation in real time regarding the status of their evacuation. For example, the server device 10 (evacuation action control unit 207) may report to the family (pre-registered contact information of the family) the timing of when the support personnel are decided, when the support personnel arrive at the scene, and when the support is completed.

[0259] The person requiring assistance (the person requiring assistance terminal 30) may notify the server device 10 of additional information such as their health status at the time of sending the supporter confirmation notification. The person requiring assistance terminal 30 (supporter information notification processing unit 404) displays a GUI that acquires the health status of the person requiring assistance and acquires the health status of the person requiring assistance. The person requiring assistance terminal 30 sends a supporter confirmation notification including the acquired health status to the server device 10. When the server device 10 sends an instruction to the supporter to start assistance, it may notify the supporter of the acquired health status. The supporter may prepare to go to provide assistance based on the notified information. For example, the supporter may take measures such as bringing a wheelchair.

[0260] The server device 10 may store biometric information (e.g., facial images) of both the supporter and the person requiring support. For example, when multiple supporters register multiple persons requiring support as targets for support, the server device 10 may acquire facial images of both the supporters and the persons requiring support. When the server device 10 sends a supporter information notification to the person requiring support, it may also send a facial image of the supporter heading to the terminal 30 of the person requiring support. Through this approach, the person requiring support can receive evacuation support with peace of mind, even if they do not know each other personally.

[0261] The server device 10 may send an instruction to the supporter terminal 20 to initiate support, which includes the current location of the person requiring support, rather than their address. In this case, the server device 10 may obtain location information (location information calculated using GPS (Global Positioning System), etc.) from the person requiring support terminal 30 and send an instruction to initiate support, which includes this location information, to the supporter terminal 20. In other words, the server device 10 may issue an instruction to initiate support using location information calculated by the person requiring support terminal 30 using GPS, etc., instead of the person requiring support's address. This approach ensures that supporters can reliably reach the person requiring support even if their pre-registered address changes or if they are in a location other than their home during a disaster.

[0262] If the person requiring assistance is unable to return a supporter confirmation notice (so-called ACK), the server device 10 may, after a predetermined period has elapsed since the transmission of the supporter information notice, request the voluntary disaster prevention organization to confirm the safety of the person requiring assistance. The person in charge of the voluntary disaster prevention organization will go to the person requiring assistance and confirm their safety. If safety cannot be confirmed, the person in charge will try again after some time has passed.

[0263] The server device 10 may include the route to the home of the person requiring assistance in the instruction to begin assistance. Alternatively, the server device 10 may send an instruction to begin assistance to the supporter terminal 20 that includes information about the evacuation route from the home of the person requiring assistance to the evacuation center (map information clearly showing the evacuation route). In this case, the server device 10 may individually notify the person of the evacuation timing depending on the status of the evacuation route. More specifically, the server device 10 may adjust the timing of sending the instruction to begin evacuation so that many evacuees do not use the same route at the same time, taking into account travel by vehicle. Alternatively, the server device 10 may provide guidance on evacuation routes considering past traffic congestion, or it may distribute evacuation routes to prevent congestion.

[0264] In the above embodiment, it is assumed that the person in need of assistance is registered on the list of persons to be supported by at least one of several supporters. However, it is possible that there are persons in need of assistance who are not listed. With regard to such persons in need of assistance, the server device 10 may request support from the local disaster prevention organization, or it may request support from supporters who are not listed.

[0265] In the above-described embodiment, it has been explained that the on-site situation report is transmitted to the server device 10 by an explicit operation of the supporter. However, the supporter terminal 20 may estimate the situation at the site based on the position information of its own device or the like, and transmit the on-site situation report to the server device 10. For example, when the position of the supporter terminal 20 (the supporter terminal 20 itself) coincides with the position of the house of the person requiring support, and after a predetermined time has elapsed, the supporter terminal 20 moves towards the evacuation shelter, it is determined that the support for the person requiring support has been completed smoothly, and this fact is notified to the server device 10. On the other hand, if the supporter terminal 20 does not move towards the evacuation shelter even after a predetermined time has elapsed since arriving at the site, it is determined that the evacuation support is not proceeding smoothly, and this fact is notified to the server device 10. The server device 10 takes appropriate measures (for example, measures such as sending other supporters to provide support) in response to the notification from the supporter terminal 20.

[0266] When the supporter terminal 20 recognizes that its own device has reached the evacuation shelter, it may automatically transmit a support completion notification to the server device 10. Alternatively, similarly, when the terminal 30 for the person requiring support recognizes that its own device has reached the evacuation shelter, it may notify the server device 10 to that effect. The server device 10 may determine that the support for the person requiring support has been completed when it detects that the two terminals (the supporter terminal 20 and the terminal 30 for the person requiring support) have moved to the evacuation shelter at substantially the same timing.

[0267] In the above-described embodiment, the case where the database for the person requiring support and the supporter database are configured inside the server device 10 has been explained, but these databases may be constructed in an external database server or the like. That is, some functions of the server device 10 may be implemented on another server. More specifically, as long as any of the devices included in the system implements the "person requiring support determination unit (person requiring support determination means)", "evacuation behavior control unit (evacuation behavior control means)", etc. described above.

[0268] When registering supporters or those requiring support, the server device 10 may verify the identities of these residents. Specifically, the server device 10 acquires identity verification documents (e.g., passports, driver's licenses, etc.) with biometric information described therein, along with the biometric information and personal information of the residents. The server device 10 performs a one-to-one comparison using the biometric information in the identity verification document and the biometric information obtained from the resident. When the comparison is successful, the server device 10 may perform supporter registration and registration of those requiring support.

[0269] The form of data transmission and reception between each device (server device 10, supporter terminal 20, terminal of those requiring support 30) is not particularly limited, but the data transmitted and received between these devices may be encrypted. Between these devices, personal information of residents, etc. is transmitted and received, and in order to appropriately protect this information, it is desirable that encrypted data is transmitted and received.

[0270] In the flowcharts (flowcharts, sequence diagrams) used in the above description, a plurality of steps (processes) are described in order, but the execution order of the steps executed in the embodiment is not limited to the described order. In the embodiment, for example, each process can be executed in parallel, etc., and the order of the illustrated steps can be changed within a range that does not affect the content.

[0271] The above embodiment has been described in detail to facilitate understanding of the disclosure of the present application, and it is not intended that all the configurations described above are necessary. Also, when a plurality of embodiments are described, each embodiment may be used alone or in combination. For example, it is also possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, or to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace other configurations for a part of the configuration of the embodiment.

[0272] From the above description, the industrial applicability of the present invention is clear, and the present invention is suitably applicable to an evacuation support system that supports the evacuation of residents, etc.

[0273] Some or all of the above embodiments may also be described as follows, but are not limited to the following: [Note 1] A unit for determining persons requiring assistance, which controls the process of determining which persons requiring assistance will be supported by the supporter from among at least one person requiring assistance listed on the supporter's list of persons requiring assistance, An evacuation action control unit transmits a support commencement instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, which includes information on the determined person requiring support and support procedure information relating to the procedure the supporter uses to assist the determined person requiring support in their evacuation. A server device equipped with the following features. [Note 2] The evacuation action control unit is a server device according to Appendix 1, which generates the support procedure information based on at least one of the attribute information of the person requiring support or the attribute information of the supporter. [Note 3] The aforementioned support recipient determination unit transmits the support recipient list to the terminal, The server device described in Appendix 2, which designates the persons in need of support selected by the supporter from the list of persons to be supported as persons to be supported. [Note 4] The aforementioned department for determining persons requiring support, The server device described in Appendix 3 transmits the list of persons to be supported to the terminal when the supporter is in a position to support the person in need of support. [Note 5] The aforementioned department for determining persons requiring support, The server device described in Appendix 2, which allows the supporter to select a person requiring assistance from among at least one person requiring assistance listed in the supporter's list of persons requiring assistance, in order to provide assistance to that person during evacuation. [Note 6] The aforementioned department for determining persons requiring support, The server device described in Appendix 5, which calculates the priority for support for at least one person requiring assistance, and, based on the calculated priority, selects a person requiring assistance from among the at least one person requiring assistance to whom the supporter will provide evacuation assistance. [Note 7] The aforementioned department for determining persons requiring support, A server device as described in Appendix 6, which calculates the priority for providing assistance to at least one person requiring assistance based on the flood risk at the address of at least one person requiring assistance. [Note 8] The aforementioned department for determining persons requiring support, A server device as described in Appendix 6, which calculates the priority for providing assistance to the at least one person requiring assistance based on information regarding the flood risk and floor level at the address of the at least one person requiring assistance. [Note 9] The aforementioned department for determining persons requiring support, A server device as described in Appendix 6, which calculates the priority for providing assistance to at least one person in need of assistance based on the address of at least one person in need of assistance and the location of the evacuation shelter. [Note 10] The server device as described in Appendix 2, further comprising a registration unit that acquires information on the candidate supporter, verifies whether the candidate supporter is capable of supporting the person in need of support, and registers the candidate supporter in the system if the candidate supporter is capable of supporting the person in need of support. [Note 11] The registration unit is a server device as described in Appendix 10, which verifies whether the candidate supporter can provide support to the person requiring support based on the attribute information of the candidate supporter and the attribute information of the person requiring support. [Note 12] The device owned by the supporter, Server device, Includes, The server device is A unit for determining persons requiring assistance, which controls the determination of persons requiring assistance from among at least one person requiring assistance listed on the list of persons requiring assistance of the aforementioned supporter, in order to determine which persons requiring assistance will be supported by the supporter during evacuation. An evacuation action control unit transmits an evacuation commencement instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, which includes information on the determined person requiring assistance and support procedure information relating to the detailed procedures the supporter will follow when assisting the determined person requiring assistance with evacuation. A system that includes these features. [Note 13] In the server device, Perform control to determine a person requiring assistance, whom the supporter will assist in evacuation, from among at least one or more persons requiring assistance listed in the supporter's list of persons requiring assistance. A control method for a server device that transmits a support start instruction including information regarding the determined person requiring assistance and support procedure information regarding detailed procedures when the supporter assists in the evacuation of the determined person requiring assistance to a terminal possessed by the supporter. [Appendix 14] On a computer installed in a server device A process for determining a person requiring assistance, whom the supporter will assist in evacuation, from among at least one or more persons requiring assistance listed in the supporter's list of persons requiring assistance, A process for transmitting a support start instruction including information regarding the determined person requiring assistance and support procedure information regarding detailed procedures when the supporter assists in the evacuation of the determined person requiring assistance to a terminal possessed by the supporter, A computer-readable storage medium that stores a program for executing the above.

[0274] It should be noted that each disclosure of the above-cited prior art documents is incorporated herein by reference. As described above, embodiments of the present invention have been described, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are merely illustrative and that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. That is, the present invention naturally includes various modifications and corrections that can be made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the entire disclosure, including the claims, and the technical idea.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0275] 10 Server device 20 Supporter terminal 20-1 Supporter terminal 20-2 Supporter terminal 20-3 Supporter terminal 30 Terminal of person requiring assistance 30-1 Terminal of person requiring assistance 30-2 Terminal of person requiring assistance 30-3 Terminals for people requiring assistance 100 Server Devices 101 Support Required Person Determination Department 102 Evacuation Action Control Unit 201 Communication Control Unit 202 Registration Department for Persons Requiring Support 203 Supporter Registration Department 204 Instruction acquisition part 205 Evacuation Information Transmission Unit 206 Support Required Person Determination Department 207 Evacuation Action Control Unit 208 Memory section 301 Communication Control Unit 302 Registration Department 303 Evacuation Information Processing Unit 304 Selection Department for Persons Requiring Support 305 Support Action Control Unit 306 Storage section 311 Processors 312 memory 313 Input / Output Interfaces 314 Communication Interface 401 Communication Control Unit 402 Registration Department 403 Evacuation Information Processing Unit 404 Supporter Information Notification Processing Unit 405 Storage section

Claims

1. A support recipient determination unit provides support to the supporter in determining which individuals require assistance from among the list of individuals requiring assistance listed by the supporter, in order to determine which individuals require assistance to support the supporter's evacuation actions. An evacuation action control unit transmits a support commencement instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, which includes information on the determined person requiring support and support procedure information relating to the procedure the supporter uses to assist the determined person requiring support in their evacuation. Equipped with, The aforementioned support recipient determination unit transmits the support recipient list to the terminal, thereby obtaining information from the terminal about the support recipients selected by the supporter from the support recipient list. The evacuation action control unit is a server device that determines whether the person requiring assistance, as determined by the supporter, has predetermined attributes, and if the person requiring assistance, as determined by the supporter, has predetermined attributes, generates the support procedure information corresponding to those predetermined attributes.

2. The aforementioned department for determining persons requiring support, By sending a predetermined message to the terminal, the terminal obtains whether or not the supporter is able to support the person in need of support. The server device according to claim 1, wherein when the supporter is in a state where they can support the person in need of support, they transmit the list of persons to be supported to the terminal.

3. The device owned by the supporter, Server device, Includes, The server device is A unit for determining persons requiring assistance, which provides support to the supporter in determining which persons requiring assistance will be supported in evacuation from among at least one person requiring assistance listed on the supporter's list of persons requiring assistance, An evacuation action control unit transmits an evacuation commencement instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, which includes information on the determined person requiring assistance and support procedure information relating to the detailed procedures the supporter will follow when assisting the determined person requiring assistance with evacuation. Equipped with, The aforementioned support recipient determination unit transmits the support recipient list to the terminal, thereby obtaining information from the terminal about the support recipients selected by the supporter from the support recipient list. The evacuation action control unit is a system that determines whether the person requiring assistance, as determined by the supporter, has predetermined attributes, and if the person requiring assistance, as determined by the supporter, has predetermined attributes, it generates the support procedure information corresponding to those predetermined attributes.

4. In the server device, From among the list of persons requiring assistance provided by the supporter, at least one person is listed as a person requiring assistance, and the supporter is provided with assistance in determining which persons require assistance to help with evacuation. A control method for a server device that transmits a support commencement instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, the instruction including information relating to the determined person in need of support and support procedure information relating to the detailed procedures the supporter will follow when assisting the determined person in need of support with their evacuation, By transmitting the list of persons to be supported to the terminal, the terminal obtains information on persons requiring support determined by the supporter from the list of persons to be supported. A control method for a server device, which determines whether the person requiring support, as determined by the supporter, has predetermined attributes, and if the person requiring support, as determined by the supporter, has predetermined attributes, generates support procedure information corresponding to those predetermined attributes.

5. The computer installed in the server device A process to support the supporter in determining which individuals require assistance during evacuation from among at least one person listed on the supporter's list of eligible individuals, A process of transmitting a support commencement instruction to a terminal held by the supporter, which includes information on the determined person requiring support and support procedure information relating to the detailed procedures the supporter will follow when assisting the determined person requiring support in their evacuation; A program to execute, To the aforementioned computer, The process involves transmitting the list of persons to be supported to the terminal, thereby allowing the terminal to obtain information on persons requiring support determined by the supporter from the list of persons to be supported. The process involves determining whether the person requiring support, as determined by the supporter, possesses a predetermined attribute, and if the person requiring support, as determined by the supporter, possesses a predetermined attribute, then generating the support procedure information corresponding to the predetermined attribute. A program to execute.

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