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

Abstract

An information processing device (2) comprises an acquisition unit (212) that acquires a plurality of requests respectively corresponding to a plurality of tiles displayed by a display device, and a parallel processing unit (213) that executes a plurality of response processes in parallel which correspond to the acquired plurality of requests, and, in each response process, feature information corresponding to a tile ID included in a request is extracted from a feature database (232) in which a tile ID and feature information indicating a feature displayed in each tile are associated, a physical feature value between the current position and the feature indicated by the extracted feature information is calculated on the basis of the extracted feature information, the possibility of a vehicle reaching the feature is determined on the basis of the calculated physical feature value and remaining energy information, and the determined possibility of reaching and the extracted feature information are outputted to a display device (1).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a technology for displaying the reachability of a vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for calculating the travelable distance of a vehicle by evaluating a plurality of links extending outward from the position of the vehicle, and displaying the travelable range of the vehicle on a map screen based on the calculation result.

[0003] However, in Patent Document 1, since the travelable distance of the entire map image displayed on the display device is calculated at once, there is a problem that the response time from when a request is issued until the travelable range is displayed on the display device becomes long.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technology capable of shortening the response time until reachability is displayed.

[0006] An information processing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method in an information processing device that controls a display device that displays a map image partitioned into a plurality of tiles according to the zoom level, with each tile assigned a tile ID, wherein a plurality of requests corresponding to each of the plurality of tiles displayed on the display device are acquired, each request includes the tile ID, the current location of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle, a plurality of response processes corresponding to the acquired plurality of requests are executed in parallel, in each response process, the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is extracted from a feature database in which the tile ID and feature information indicating the feature to be displayed on each tile are associated, a geographic feature quantity is calculated between the current location and the feature indicated by the extracted feature information based on the extracted feature information, the possibility of the vehicle reaching the feature is determined based on the calculated geographic feature quantity and the remaining energy information, and the determined possibility of reaching the feature and the extracted feature information are output to the display device.

[0007] According to this disclosure, the response time to requests for displaying the drivable range can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the overall configuration of the information processing system in the embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This block diagram shows an example of the configuration of a display device, as shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing device. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the vehicle configuration shown in Figure 1. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the data structure of a geographical feature database. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the data structure of a geographical features database. [Figure 7] Figure 6 is a graph showing the connection relationships of nodes stored in the geographical feature database. [Figure 8] Figure 6 shows an example of calculating geographical features from node "1" to node "10" in the geographical feature database shown. [Figure 9] This flowchart shows an example of processing in a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] This is a flowchart showing an example of processing in the information processing device according to the embodiments of this disclosure. [Figure 11] Figure 10 is a flowchart detailing the response processing process. [Figure 12] Figure 11 is a flowchart detailing the process for extracting feature information. [Figure 13] This is an explanatory diagram of the process by which geometric data is extracted. [Figure 14] This figure shows an example of the display screen for the superimposed map image shown on the display unit. [Figure 15] This figure shows an example of the data structure of the geographic feature database in the comparative example of this disclosure and the geographic feature database in the first modified example. [Figure 16] Figure 15 shows graphs illustrating the node connections for the geographic feature database in the comparative example and the geographic feature database in the first modified example. [Figure 17] This figure shows an example of the data structure of the feature database in the first modified example. [Figure 18] This figure shows an example of the display screen in the ninth modified example of this disclosure. [Figure 19] This figure shows an example of a display screen in the tenth modified example of this disclosure. [Figure 20] This figure shows an example of a display screen in the 11th modified example of this disclosure. [Figure 21] This figure shows an example of a display screen in the 12th modified example of this disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] (Knowledge forming the basis of this disclosure) In recent years, electric vehicles have become widely popular. Since electric vehicles have a short cruising range, it is required to display the drivable range from the current position on a map image. In the prior art including Patent Document 1, the drivable range of the entire map image displayed on the display device is calculated at once. Therefore, there has been a problem that the response time from when a request is issued for the display device to display the drivable range until the drivable range is displayed on the display device becomes long.

[0010] In particular, in recent years, in a navigation system that uses a mobile terminal such as a smartphone to navigate a vehicle to a destination, which has become widely popular, since the mobile terminal is connected to a cloud server that provides a navigation function via a network, the response time becomes even longer.

[0011] By the way, in a map service on the Internet, a map image is divided into a plurality of tiles according to the zoom level, and drawing processing is performed in units of tiles. The zoom level is a numerical value that specifies the number of divisions of a single world map, and as the value increases, the number of divisions of the world map increases. Each of these divided regions is called a tile.

[0012] Therefore, the inventor has obtained the knowledge that if the calculation of the drivable range is also divided into tile units and each divided process is executed in parallel, the response time can be shortened, and has come up with each aspect shown below.

[0013] An information processing method in one aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method in an information processing device that controls a display device that displays a map image partitioned into a plurality of tiles according to the zoom level, with each tile assigned a tile ID, wherein a plurality of requests corresponding to each of the plurality of tiles displayed on the display device are acquired, each request includes the tile ID, the current location of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle, a plurality of response processes corresponding to the acquired plurality of requests are executed in parallel, in each response process, the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is extracted from a feature database in which the tile ID and feature information indicating the feature to be displayed on each tile are associated, a geographic feature quantity is calculated between the current location and the feature indicated by the extracted feature information based on the extracted feature information, the possibility of the vehicle reaching the feature is determined based on the calculated geographic feature quantity and the remaining energy information, and the determined reachability and the extracted feature information are output to the display device.

[0014] In this configuration, the display device acquires multiple requests corresponding to each of the multiple tiles it displays, and multiple response processes corresponding to the acquired requests are executed in parallel. In each response process, multiple requests are acquired, feature information corresponding to the requests is extracted from the feature database, the vehicle's current location and geographical features between each feature are calculated, the reachability to each feature is determined based on the geographical features and the vehicle's remaining energy information, and the determined reachability and the extracted feature information are output to the display device.

[0015] Therefore, for example, if the number of tiles displayed on the display device is n, the response time from when a request is issued until the reachability range is displayed on the display device is reduced to approximately 1 / n compared to when the response processing is performed serially. As a result, the response time required until reachability is displayed can be shortened.

[0016] Furthermore, in this configuration, the request includes a tile ID, and feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is extracted from the feature database. Therefore, feature information indicating features suitable for the zoom level can be quickly extracted.

[0017] Furthermore, in this configuration, the vehicle's reachability to each feature is determined based on the extracted feature information and the vehicle's remaining energy information. This makes it possible to determine reachability only for features appropriate to the zoom level. As a result, this configuration can shorten the response time compared to determining the reachability of all features included in the tile.

[0018] Furthermore, in this configuration, the extracted feature information and the determined reachability are output to the display device, allowing the display device to show features suitable for the zoom level and their reachability. As a result, features unsuitable for the zoom level and their reachability are not displayed, making the reachability easier to understand.

[0019] In the above information processing method, the feature information extracted from the feature database may be stored in a cache memory in association with the tile ID, and in the extraction of feature information, if the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is stored in the cache memory, the feature information may be extracted from the cache memory.

[0020] In this configuration, feature information extracted from the feature database is associated with a tile ID and stored in cache memory. Therefore, when a request for the same tile ID is received thereafter, the feature information corresponding to that request can be retrieved quickly.

[0021] In the above-described information processing method, the feature information includes geometric data indicating the topography of the feature, and further, the geometric data corresponding to the zoom level may be extracted from the geometric data included in the feature information extracted by the feature database, and the extracted geometric data may be included in the feature information when outputting to the display device.

[0022] In this configuration, geometric data corresponding to the zoom level is extracted from the geometric data contained in the feature information extracted from the feature database, and the feature information including the extracted geometric data is output to the display device. Therefore, the display device can display the shape of the feature at a granularity appropriate to the zoom level.

[0023] One possible approach is to associate tile IDs with feature information on a one-to-one basis and store pre-extracted geometry data for each feature based on the zoom level. However, this would require storing a large amount of feature information even for features on tiles that are rarely viewed, resulting in an excessively large database size for the feature. This configuration employs a process to extract geometry data, thus reducing the database size compared to the previous approach.

[0024] In the above-described information processing method, the calculation of the geographical features may involve referring to a geographical feature database that stores the geographical features between each of a plurality of features and a predetermined feature that is reachable by the feature itself.

[0025] When using common pathfinding methods such as Dijkstra's algorithm, geographical features cannot be calculated for tiles that do not contain the current location.

[0026] In this configuration, the current location and geographical features between each feature are calculated by referring to a geographical feature database that stores the geographical features between each feature and predetermined features that are reachable by that feature. Therefore, even for tiles that do not contain the current location, the current location and geographical features between features within the tile can be calculated.

[0027] In the above information processing method, the multiple features whose geographic features are stored in the geographic feature database are features assigned one to each tile at the maximum zoom level, and the feature information stored in the feature database may indicate features assigned one to each tile at the maximum zoom level.

[0028] Even if a single tile contains multiple features at the maximum zoom level, these features are close together, so there is no significant difference in reachability, and there is no problem in consolidating them into a single node.

[0029] In this configuration, the geographic feature database stores geographic features for multiple features, each of which is assigned one per tile at the maximum zoom level. The feature information stored in the feature database represents the features assigned one per tile at the maximum zoom level. As a result, the number of features is reduced, and the capacity of both databases can be reduced. Furthermore, because the number of features is reduced, geographic features can be calculated at high speed.

[0030] In the above-described information processing method, the geographical feature may include at least one of the distance between the current location and each object, and the elevation difference between the current location and each object.

[0031] According to this configuration, the feasibility of reaching each object can be determined by taking into account at least one of the following: the distance between the current location and each object, and the difference in elevation between the current location and each object.

[0032] In the above-described information processing method, the request includes additional information, which includes at least one of vehicle information, user information, current time, and weather information. In determining reachability, the vehicle's reachability to each object may be further determined based on the additional information.

[0033] This configuration allows for determining the feasibility of reaching each location by taking into account at least one of the following: vehicle information, user information, current time, and weather information.

[0034] In the above information processing method, the remaining energy information may be the remaining electrical energy or remaining fuel of the vehicle.

[0035] According to this configuration, the possibility of reaching each destination is calculated by taking into account the remaining power or fuel, so the possibility of reaching each destination can be determined for electric vehicles or gasoline vehicles.

[0036] In the above-described information processing method, the feature database includes a first table for storing the tile IDs and a second table for storing the feature information, and the one piece of feature information stored in the second table may be associated with one or more tile IDs among the tile IDs stored in the first table.

[0037] If the feature database is configured by associating one feature information with one tile ID, the feature database will end up storing the same feature information redundantly. With this configuration, one feature information stored in the second table is associated with one or more tile IDs among the tile IDs stored in the first table. Therefore, the second table can store one feature information for each feature, avoiding the redundant storage of multiple feature information for the same feature.

[0038] In the above information processing method, each response process may further extract feature information for a second tile located around the display range in addition to the first tile within the display range of the display device, calculate the geographical feature quantities of the feature indicated by the extracted feature information, determine the reachability based on the geographical feature quantities and the remaining energy information, and output the determined reachability and the extracted feature information.

[0039] According to this configuration, when the user scrolls or zooms out of the display area, the display device can quickly display the features located on the tiles to be displayed within the display area, as well as the reachability of those features.

[0040] In the above-described information processing method, the second tile is a tile that surrounds the display range and is located m (where m is an integer of 1 or more) tiles outside the outer perimeter of the display range.

[0041] According to this configuration, when the user scrolls or zooms out of the display screen, the display device can quickly display the features located on the tiles to be displayed within the display range, along with the reachability of those features.

[0042] In the above information processing method, each request further includes the direction of travel of the vehicle, and the second tile may be a tile located in the direction of travel of the vehicle.

[0043] According to this configuration, when the display screen is scrolled in the direction of the vehicle's movement, the display device can quickly display the features located on the tiles to be displayed within the display range, as well as the reachability of those features.

[0044] In the above-described information processing method, the second tile may be a tile that includes a feature whose reachability is substantially zero.

[0045] According to this configuration, when a user inputs an operation to display the boundary portion of the drivable area, the display device can quickly display the features located on the tiles within that boundary portion and the reachability of those features.

[0046] In the above information processing method, the output may determine the priority of each tile so that the tile on which the feature with low reachability is located is displayed higher, and the feature information and reachability of the feature located on the tile with the higher priority may be output preferentially.

[0047] With this configuration, users can prioritize recognizing locations that are difficult to reach and the limits of the drivable range.

[0048] In the above information processing method, each request further includes the direction of travel of the vehicle, and in the output, the priority of each tile is determined so that the display order of tiles in the direction of travel is higher, and the feature information and reachability of features located on tiles with higher priority may be output preferentially.

[0049] With this configuration, users can prioritize recognizing the reachability of features in their direction of travel.

[0050] In the above information processing method, the output may determine the priority of each tile so that the display order of tiles closest to the current location is higher, and the feature information and reachability of features located on tiles with a higher priority may be output preferentially.

[0051] With this configuration, users can prioritize recognizing reachability based on the locations they are most likely to visit in the near future.

[0052] In the above information processing method, the priority of each tile may be determined so that the display order of tiles containing roads as features is higher, and the feature information and reachability of features located on tiles with a higher priority may be output preferentially.

[0053] With this configuration, users can recognize roads and routes that are relevant to reachability before locations that are not relevant to reachability.

[0054] An information processing device according to another aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing device that controls a display device that displays a map image partitioned into a plurality of tiles according to the zoom level, with each tile assigned a tile ID, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of requests from the display device corresponding to each of the plurality of tiles displayed by the display device; and a parallel processing unit that executes a plurality of response processes in parallel corresponding to the acquired plurality of requests, each request including the tile ID, the current location of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle, wherein each response process extracts the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request from a feature database associated with the tile ID and feature information indicating features to be displayed on each tile, calculates the current location and geographical feature quantities between each feature based on the extracted feature information, determines the reachability of the vehicle to each feature based on the calculated geographical feature quantities and the remaining energy information, and outputs the determined reachability and the extracted feature information to the display device.

[0055] An information processing program according to yet another aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing program that causes a computer to function as an information processing device for controlling a display device that displays a map image partitioned into a plurality of tiles according to the zoom level, with each tile assigned a tile ID, the program comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of requests from the display device corresponding to each of the plurality of tiles displayed by the display device; each request includes the tile ID, the current location of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle, and the computer to function as a parallel processing unit that executes a plurality of response processes in parallel corresponding to the acquired plurality of requests, in each response process, extracts the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request from a feature database in which the tile ID and feature information indicating the features to be displayed on each tile are associated, calculates the current location and geographical feature quantities between each feature based on the extracted feature information, determines the reachability of the vehicle to each feature based on the calculated geographical feature quantities and the remaining energy information, and outputs the determined reachability and the extracted feature information to the display device.

[0056] These configurations yield the same effects as the information processing method described above.

[0057] It goes without saying that this disclosure allows such information processing programs to be distributed via computer-readable, non-temporary recording media such as CD-ROMs or via communication networks such as the Internet.

[0058] The embodiments described below are all specific examples of this disclosure. The numerical values, shapes, components, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are examples only and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, those not described in the independent claim representing the highest-level concept will be described as optional components. In addition, the contents of each embodiment can be combined.

[0059] (Embodiment) Figure 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of an information processing system in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The information processing system includes a display device 1, an information processing device 2, and a vehicle 3. The display device 1 and the information processing device 2 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with one another via a network 4. The network 4 consists of a wide-area communication network, such as the Internet communication network and a mobile phone communication network. The display device 1 and the vehicle 3 are connected via a communication channel 5. The communication channel 5 is, for example, a proximity wireless communication channel such as Bluetooth® or a wired communication channel such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable. The vehicle 3 may be connected to the display device 1 and the information processing device 2 so as to be able to communicate with them via the network 4 instead of the communication channel 5.

[0060] Display device 1 displays a map image divided into multiple tiles according to the zoom level, with each tile assigned a tile ID. Display device 1 is composed of a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet. Display device 1 is held by a user riding in vehicle 3. Display device 1 may also be composed of an in-vehicle terminal such as a car navigation system installed in vehicle 3. Display device 1 sends a request to information processing device 2.

[0061] The information processing device 2 is composed of, for example, a cloud server including one or more computers. The information processing device 2 receives a request from the display device 1, performs response processing, and transmits the response result to the display device 1. The response result includes feature information and reachability, etc.

[0062] Vehicle 3 is, for example, an electric vehicle and transmits various information to the display device 1. The electric vehicle may be not only an electric vehicle in the narrow sense, but also a plug-in hybrid vehicle. Vehicle 3 may also be, for example, an electric motorcycle, an electric assist bicycle, or an electric kick scooter.

[0063] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the display device 1 shown in Figure 1. The display device 1 includes a processor 11, a communication unit 12, an operation unit 13, a display unit 14, a memory 15, and a sensor 16.

[0064] The processor 11 is composed of electrical circuits such as a CPU or ASIC. The processor 11 includes a request output unit 111, a feature information acquisition unit 112, a display control unit 113, and an additional information acquisition unit 114.

[0065] The request output unit 111 outputs multiple requests corresponding to each of the multiple tiles displayed on the display unit 14 to the information processing device 2 using the communication unit 12. The requests include, for example, a tile ID, the current location of the vehicle 3, and the remaining power of the vehicle 3 (an example of remaining energy information). The tile ID is an identifier for each tile that makes up the map image. The current location of the vehicle 3 can be, for example, the current location of the display device 1 detected by the sensor 16 or the current location of the vehicle 3 obtained from the vehicle 3. The remaining power of the vehicle 3 can be, for example, the remaining power of the battery of the vehicle 3 obtained from the vehicle 3. The requests may also include additional information, which will be described later. The additional information may include vehicle information, user information, and auxiliary information, which will be described later.

[0066] In this embodiment, the map image is composed of multiple tiles corresponding to the zoom level. The zoom level is a numerical value indicating the number of divisions in the map image. When the zoom level is 0, the map image is composed of one tile representing the entire world map; when the zoom level is 1, the map image is composed of four tiles, each dividing the world map into four sections; and when the zoom level is 2, the map image is composed of sixteen tiles, each dividing the world map into sixteen sections. Thus, as the zoom level increases, the number of divisions in the world map increases. Therefore, as the zoom level increases, the area covered by a single tile becomes smaller, but it becomes possible to display more detailed features.

[0067] The tile ID is represented by three components (x, y, z) where z is the zoom level. x is a number indicating the position of the tile from the left edge when the world map is divided at zoom level z. y is a number indicating the position of the tile from the top edge when the world map is divided at zoom level z.

[0068] The tile shapes may include quadrilaterals such as squares and rectangles. However, this is just an example, and the tile shapes may also be polygons other than quadrilaterals, such as triangles or hexagons.

[0069] The feature information acquisition unit 112 acquires the response result calculated by the response processing to the request from the information processing device 2 using the communication unit 12. The response result includes feature information indicating the feature to be displayed on each tile, and the possibility of vehicle access to the feature indicated by the feature information.

[0070] Features are objects displayed on a map image, such as roads and buildings. In this embodiment, the map image is a background map image showing the terrain. The final map image is generated by superimposing features onto the background map image. Hereinafter, this final map image will be referred to as the superimposed map image. Reachability is information indicating whether or not the vehicle 3 can reach each feature displayed on the superimposed map image. Reachability may be expressed as a binary value, such as "1" if reachable and "0" if unreachable, or as a continuous value such as 0 to 100%.

[0071] The display control unit 113 generates a superimposed map image by superimposing reachability and the features indicated by the acquired feature information onto the map image, and displays the generated superimposed map image on the display unit 14.

[0072] The additional information acquisition unit 114 acquires vehicle information from the vehicle 3 using the communication unit 12. The vehicle information includes, for example, at least one of the following: vehicle ID, vehicle type, load capacity, and driving mode. The vehicle ID is an identifier for the vehicle. The vehicle type is information indicating the type of vehicle 3, and may include information such as sedan and SUV, or information indicating the product name of the vehicle 3. The load capacity indicates the weight of the load in the vehicle 3. The load includes passengers and luggage. The driving mode includes modes set in the vehicle 3, such as energy-saving mode, normal mode, and power mode.

[0073] Furthermore, the additional information acquisition unit 114 acquires user information based on the user's operation received by the operation unit 13. The user information includes at least one of the following: user ID, gender, and weight. The user ID is the user's identifier. Any information that can uniquely identify the user may be used as the user ID, such as a mobile phone number and email address. The gender is the gender of the user who owns the display device 1 or vehicle 3. The weight is the weight of the user who owns the display device 1 or vehicle 3.

[0074] Furthermore, the additional information acquisition unit 114 acquires auxiliary information. The auxiliary information is information that affects the reachability of the vehicle 3 and includes, for example, at least one of the current time and weather information. The additional information acquisition unit 114 may acquire the current time using, for example, the clock function provided by the processor 11. The additional information acquisition unit 114 may access a weather forecast server using, for example, the communication unit 12 and acquire weather information indicating the current weather from the weather forecast server.

[0075] The communication unit 12 includes a communication circuit for connecting the display device 1 to the network 4 and a communication circuit for connecting the display device 1 to the communication path 5. The communication unit 12 transmits requests to the information processing device 2 and receives response results to the requests from the information processing device 2. The communication unit 12 also receives map images from the information processing device 2. Furthermore, the communication unit 12 receives vehicle information from the vehicle 3.

[0076] The operation unit 13 is, for example, a touch panel and accepts various operations input by the user. These operations include inputting the user information mentioned above, specifying the display range of the map image, and so on.

[0077] The display unit 14 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display unit 14 displays the superimposed map image generated by the display control unit 113.

[0078] Memory 15 is composed of a non-volatile storage device such as flash memory. Memory 15 may store, for example, user information and vehicle information that does not change dynamically (e.g., vehicle ID and vehicle type).

[0079] Sensor 16 is composed of, for example, a GPS sensor and acquires the current location of the display device 1.

[0080] Figure 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the information processing device 2 shown in Figure 1.

[0081] The information processing device 2 includes a processor 21, a communication unit 22, a memory 23, and a cache memory 24.

[0082] The processor 21 consists of an electrical circuit such as a CPU and includes a map image distribution unit 211, an acquisition unit 212, and a parallel processing unit 213. Each block from the map image distribution unit 211 to the parallel processing unit 213 is realized by the CPU executing an information processing program.

[0083] The map image distribution unit 211 reads map image tiles corresponding to each of the multiple requests transmitted from the display device 1 and acquired by the acquisition unit 212 from the map image database 231, and transmits the read tiles to the display device 1 using the communication unit 22. Here, the map image distribution unit 211 executes the process of reading multiple tiles corresponding to multiple requests and transmitting the read multiple tiles in parallel. This makes it possible to quickly display multiple tiles corresponding to requests on the display device 1. Specifically, the map image distribution unit 211 only needs to read the tiles corresponding to the tile IDs included in each request from the map image database 231. The map image database 231 stores tile IDs in association with tiles.

[0084] The acquisition unit 212 acquires multiple requests transmitted from the display device 1 using the communication unit 22, and inputs the acquired multiple requests to the map image distribution unit 211 and the parallel processing unit 213.

[0085] The parallel processing unit 213 executes multiple response processes in parallel to correspond to multiple requests acquired by the acquisition unit 212. The parallel processing unit 213 includes an extraction unit 201, a calculation unit 202, a determination unit 203, and an output unit 204. The extraction unit 201 to the output unit 204 execute multiple response processes for multiple requests in parallel.

[0086] The extraction unit 201 extracts feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request from the feature database 232. The feature database 232 is a database that stores feature information indicating the feature to be displayed on each tile, in association with the tile ID.

[0087] Here, the extraction unit 201 stores the extracted feature information in the cache memory 24, associating it with the tile ID. Subsequently, if the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is stored in the cache memory 24, the extraction unit 201 extracts the feature information from the cache memory 24. On the other hand, if the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is not stored in the cache memory 24, the extraction unit 201 extracts the feature information from the feature database 232. As a result, frequently extracted feature information is extracted from the cache memory 24, further reducing response time.

[0088] The calculation unit 202 calculates geographical feature quantities between the current location of vehicle 3 included in the request and the features indicated by the extracted feature information, based on the feature information extracted by the extraction unit 201. The geographical feature quantities can be, for example, the distance between the current location of vehicle 3 and the features. The distance can be, for example, the distance of the route from the current location of vehicle 3 to the features. Typically, the extraction unit 201 extracts multiple feature information. Therefore, the calculation unit 202 calculates the distance from the current location of vehicle 3 for each of the multiple features indicated by the multiple extracted feature information.

[0089] Here, the calculation unit 202 simply needs to calculate the distance between the vehicle 3's current position and the feature by referring to the geographic feature database 233. The geographic feature database 233 stores the geographic features of each of a predetermined number of features between itself and a major reachable feature. As a result, even if the current position is not included in the tile, the calculation unit 202 can calculate the geographic features between the vehicle 3's current position and the feature.

[0090] Note that the distance may be the straight-line distance between the current position of vehicle 3 and the feature. The geographical feature may be the elevation difference between the current position of vehicle 3 and the feature.

[0091] The determination unit 203 determines the reachability of the vehicle 3 to the feature based on the geographical features calculated by the calculation unit 202 and the remaining power included in the request. Here, the determination unit 203 can determine the reachability using a machine learning model that takes geographical features and remaining power as input data and reachability as output data. The machine learning model is a model created in advance by supervised learning, using a dataset of geographical features, remaining power, and reachability as training data and reachability as training data. When distance is adopted as a geographical feature, the training data includes distance as a geographical feature; when elevation difference is adopted as a geographical feature, the training data includes elevation difference as a geographical feature; and when distance and elevation difference are adopted as geographical features, the training data includes distance and elevation difference as geographical features.

[0092] Machine learning models can include, for example, neural networks, decision tree-based models such as LightGBM, or multiple regression analysis models.

[0093] Furthermore, the input data for the machine learning model may include the additional information described above. Specifically, at least one of vehicle information, user information, and auxiliary information may be used as input data. When vehicle information is used as input data, the input data includes at least one of the following: vehicle ID, vehicle type, load weight, and driving mode. When user information is used as input data, the input data includes at least one of the following: user ID, gender, and weight. When auxiliary information is used as input data, the input data includes at least one of the following: current time and weather information. When additional information is included in the input data, the machine learning model will include the additional information as training data in addition to geographical features and remaining power, and will be created by machine learning using this training data. It is believed that the accuracy of determining reachability will improve as the variety of input data increases in the machine learning model.

[0094] The output unit 204 transmits the reachability determined by the determination unit 203 and the feature information extracted by the extraction unit 201 to the display device 1 using the communication unit 22.

[0095] The communication unit 22 consists of a communication circuit that connects the information processing device 2 to the network 4. The communication unit 22 receives requests transmitted from the display device 1. The communication unit 22 also transmits reachability and feature information to the display device 1. Furthermore, the communication unit 22 transmits multiple tiles read from the map image database 231 by the map image distribution unit 211.

[0096] Memory 23 consists of non-volatile storage devices such as SSDs and HDDs. Memory 23 stores a map image database 231, a feature database 232, and a geographic feature database 233.

[0097] The cache memory 24 is composed of, for example, RAM or flash memory, and stores the feature information extracted by the extraction unit 201 in association with the tile ID. Note that the cache memory 24 may use a portion of the storage area of ​​memory 23.

[0098] Figure 4 shows an example of the configuration of vehicle 3 shown in Figure 1. Vehicle 3 includes a sensor 31, a vehicle controller 32, a communication unit 33, and a memory 34. Sensor 31 includes a GPS sensor, a battery sensor, and a weight sensor. The GPS sensor detects the current position of vehicle 3. The battery sensor detects the remaining power of the battery that powers vehicle 3. The weight sensor detects the load weight of vehicle 3.

[0099] The vehicle controller 32 is, for example, a computer and is responsible for the overall control of the vehicle 3. The vehicle controller 32 transmits the current position of the vehicle 3, detected by the GPS sensor, to the display device 1 using the communication unit 33. The vehicle controller 32 transmits the remaining battery power, detected by the battery sensor, to the display device 1 using the communication unit 33. The vehicle controller 32 acquires the load weight detected by the weight sensor. The vehicle controller 32 acquires the vehicle ID and vehicle type from the memory 34. The vehicle controller 32 sets the driving mode of the vehicle 3 according to the operation of the user riding in the vehicle 3. Then, the vehicle controller 32 generates vehicle information including at least one of the vehicle ID, vehicle type, load weight, and driving mode, and transmits the generated vehicle information to the display device 1 using the communication unit 33.

[0100] Memory 34 consists of a non-volatile storage device such as flash memory and stores the vehicle ID and vehicle type.

[0101] Figure 5 shows an example of the data structure of the feature database 232. The feature database 232 includes a first table T1 and a second table T2. The first table T1 stores tile IDs. Here, the first table T1 stores the tile IDs of all the tiles that make up the map image. The first row of the first table T1 stores the tile ID (x, y, z) = (1, 1, 2). This tile ID indicates the tile ID of the 1st tile from the left and 1st tile from the top of the 16 tiles that make up the map image at zoom level 2.

[0102] The second table T2 stores multiple feature information entries 2321. Each feature information entry 2321 stores the feature ID, geometry data, starting node ID, ending node ID, and road type in association with each other.

[0103] Feature IDs are identifiers used to uniquely identify multiple features intended to be displayed in an overlaid map image. Geometry data is data that shows the shape of a feature. If the feature is a road, the geometry data consists of multiple points that show the shape of the road. If the feature is a building, the geometry data consists of multiple points that show the shape of the building's outer edge when viewed from above. Each of the multiple points that make up the geometry data contains location information consisting of latitude and longitude.

[0104] The starting node ID is the identifier of the starting node. If the feature is a road, the starting node indicates the starting point of the road. If the feature is a road, the starting node is the representative node of the road. Therefore, when the calculation unit 202 calculates the geographical features from the current location to the road, it only needs to calculate the geographical features from the current location to the starting node of the road. If the feature is a building, the starting node indicates the representative node of the building. Therefore, when the calculation unit 202 calculates the geographical features from the current location to the building, it only needs to calculate the geographical features from the current location to the representative node of the building.

[0105] The endpoint node ID is the identifier for the endpoint node. If the feature is a road, the endpoint node indicates the end of the road. If the feature is a building, the endpoint node will be blank.

[0106] The starting node is a representative location on the road, such as an intersection. The ending node is a representative location on the road, such as an intersection or dead end. Note that depending on the zoom level, some roads may not include intersections within the tile. In this case, for example, the starting node will be the location of the leftmost road within the tile, and the ending node will be the location of the rightmost road within the tile.

[0107] Road type is information indicating the type of road. This includes information such as whether the road is an expressway, national highway, main road, branch road, and the number of lanes.

[0108] If feature information is stored for each tile ID, the feature database 232 may end up storing multiple feature information entries 2321 that represent the same feature. Therefore, in this embodiment, one feature information entry 2321 stored in the second table T2 is associated with one or more tile IDs from among the tile IDs stored in the first table T1. As a result, the second table T2 can store one feature information entry 2321 for each feature, avoiding the storage of duplicate feature information that represents the same feature.

[0109] Figure 6 shows an example of the data structure of the geographic feature database 233. Figure 7 is a graph showing the connection relationships of the nodes stored in the geographic feature database 233 shown in Figure 6. Figure 8 shows an example of calculating geographic features from node "1" to node "10" in the geographic feature database 233 shown in Figure 6.

[0110] Referring to Figure 6, the geographic feature database 233 stores multiple geographic feature information 2331. Specifically, the geographic feature information 2331 includes fields for node label, out label, and in label. The node label is an identifier for the node that indicates the location of each object to be displayed in this embodiment. Hereinafter, the node indicated by the node label will be called the local node. Also, nodes connected to the local node via one or more edges will be called the neighboring nodes. The out label field includes the identifier of the neighboring node reachable from the local node and the geographic feature of the movement between them. The in label field includes the identifier of the neighboring node reachable from the local node and the geographic feature of the movement between them. In this embodiment, the node label, out label, and in label each use the starting node ID stored in the second table T2. In the simplest form, it is necessary to store all neighboring nodes reachable from the local node, but a method has been proposed in the literature described later to calculate the geographic feature of movement between any two points by selecting and storing only some major neighboring nodes, and this embodiment adopts that method.

[0111] In Figure 7, the arrows connecting the nodes indicate the directions in which vehicle 3 can move. In the example in Figure 7, nodes "2", "4", and "5" are reachable from node "1". Therefore, the out-label column for node "1" stores the geographical features from node "1" to nodes "2", "4", and "5". Here, the distance between the local node and the target node is used as the geographical feature. Additionally, nodes "4", "5", and "8" are reachable from node "1". Therefore, the in-label column for node "1" stores the distance from nodes "4", "5", and "8" to node "1".

[0112] Similarly, for node "10", the out-label column stores the distances to nodes "4" and "6", while the in-label column stores the distances to nodes "4", "5", and "8".

[0113] Referring to Figure 8, the process by which the calculation unit 202 calculates the distance from node "1" to node "10" will be explained. In the example in Figure 6, the out-label column of node "1" stores "1.1", "2.4", and "4.2" as the distances to nodes "2", "4", and "5", respectively. The in-label column of node "10" stores "3.2", "4.1", and "1.0" as the distances to nodes "4", "5", and "8", respectively. Nodes "4" and "5" are common to both columns. Therefore, the calculation unit 202 combines nodes "1" and "10" using nodes "4" and "5", which are common to both columns, to extract candidate paths.

[0114] Here, a first path that reaches node "10" via nodes "1" to "4" and a second path that reaches node "10" via nodes "1" to "5" are extracted. The total value of the distances of the first path is "5.6", and the total value of the distances of the second path is "8.3". Therefore, the calculation unit 202 calculates the total value "5.6" of the first path with the shorter distance as the distance from node "1" to node "10" among the first path and the second path. As a result, when the current position is node "1" and the start node of a certain feature in a certain tile to be calculated is node "10", the calculation unit 202 can calculate the distance from the current position to the feature as "5.6". The calculation unit 202 calculates the distances from the current position to each feature by applying such processing to each feature included in the tile to be calculated.

[0115] An algorithm that stores the distances of such main nodes in a database in advance and calculates the distances between arbitrary nodes is known. This algorithm is published, for example, in the following document: "Takuya Akiba, Yoichi Iwata, Yuichi Yoshida, Efficiency Improvement of Graph Shortest Path Query Processing by Direct Calculation of 2Hop Labels, March 2014, DEIM Forum 2014, Internet <URL;https: / / db-event.jpn.org / deim2014 / final / proceedings / A8-3.pdf>".

[0116] When the elevation difference is adopted as the geographical feature amount, the geographical feature amount database 233 may store the elevation difference instead of the distance. Further, when both the distance and the elevation difference are adopted as the geographical feature amount, the geographical feature amount database 233 may store the distance and the elevation difference. In this case, the calculation unit 202 may extract a path for which the sum of the total value of the distance from node "1" to node "10" and the total value of the elevation difference is minimized, and calculate the distance and the elevation difference of the extracted path as the geographical feature amount from node "1" to node "10".

[0117] Alternatively, the calculation unit 202 may extract the route with the smallest total distance from node "1" to node "10" (the first route described above), further calculate the elevation difference of the extracted first route, and calculate the distance and elevation difference of the first route as geographical features from node "1" to node "10".

[0118] Furthermore, the geographic feature database 233 may also store road type and number of intersections as geographic features. In this case, the geographic feature database 233 may store information on road type and number of intersections in addition to the distance between the local node and the target node. For example, the road type can be the road type described in Figure 5. For example, the number of intersections can be the number of intersections present on the route between the local node and the target node. In this case, the calculation unit 202 may calculate at least one of the distance and elevation difference of the route from node "1" to node "10" extracted by the above process, in addition to the road type and number of intersections, as geographic features.

[0119] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing of the display device 1 in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In step S1, the operation unit 13 receives an operation from the user to specify the display range of the map image. For example, the user specifies the display range by inputting at least one of a pinch operation and a swipe operation on the map image displayed on the display unit 14.

[0120] The map image displayed here may be, for example, a map image cached in the display device 1. Furthermore, this map image may be a superimposed map image. If no map image is cached in the display device 1, the display device 1 may obtain a map image with a certain display range based on the current position of the vehicle 3 from the information processing device 2 and display it on the display unit 14.

[0121] To increase the zoom level beyond the currently displayed map image, the user should input a pinch-out gesture. To decrease the zoom level beyond the currently displayed map image, the user should input a pinch-in gesture. Additionally, to display a new map image located in a specific direction relative to the currently displayed map image, the user should input a swipe gesture in that direction.

[0122] The display area is a rectangular region defined, for example, by the latitude and longitude of one vertex (for example, the upper right vertex) of the rectangular display area of ​​the display unit 14 and the latitude and longitude of another vertex (for example, the lower left vertex).

[0123] In step S2, the request output unit 111 determines the zoom level and display range of the map image displayed on the display unit 14 based on the amount of operation received in step S1. Here, the request output unit 111 determines the zoom level of the newly displayed map image based on the amount of pinch operation received in step S1 and the zoom level of the currently displayed map image. Furthermore, the request output unit 111 may determine the display range of the newly displayed map image based on the amount of swipe operation received in step S1, the resolution of the display unit 14, the display range of the currently displayed map image, and the zoom level determined by the pinch operation.

[0124] In step S3, the request output unit 111 determines the tile ID of each of the multiple tiles to be displayed on the display unit 14 based on the zoom level and display range determined in step S2. For example, the request output unit 111 divides the display range determined in step S2 into predetermined row x predetermined column tiles that can be displayed at the zoom level determined in step S2, and determines the tile ID of each divided tile.

[0125] In step S4, the request output unit 111 generates multiple requests corresponding to the multiple tile IDs determined in step S3. Each request includes the determined tile ID, the current location of vehicle 3, and the remaining power of vehicle 3.

[0126] In step S5, the request output unit 111 transmits the multiple requests generated in step S4 to the information processing device 2 using the communication unit 12.

[0127] The processing in steps S6-S9 is executed in parallel for each of the multiple requests.

[0128] In step S6, the display control unit 113 acquires multiple map images corresponding to multiple requests, which have been transmitted from the information processing device 2, using the communication unit 12.

[0129] In step S7, the display control unit 113 draws multiple map images on the display unit 14.

[0130] For example, if n requests are sent, the display control unit 113 executes n processing sets, each consisting of steps S6 and S7 corresponding to the n requests, in parallel. As a result, the display unit 14 displays a map image consisting of n tiles.

[0131] In step S8, the feature information acquisition unit 112 acquires multiple response results corresponding to multiple requests, which are transmitted from the information processing device 2, using the communication unit 12. The response results include feature information and reachability calculated by the response processing.

[0132] In step S9, the display control unit 113 displays the feature indicated by the feature information included in the response result and the reachability included in the response result on the display unit 14.

[0133] For example, if n requests are sent, the feature information acquisition unit 112 and the display control unit 113 execute n processing sets, each consisting of steps S8 and S9 corresponding to the n requests, in parallel. As a result, the display unit 14 displays the features and reachability superimposed on the map image.

[0134] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of processing by the information processing device 2 in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In step S11, the acquisition unit 212 acquires a plurality of requests transmitted from the display device 1 using the communication unit 22. Alternatively, the acquisition unit 212 may have the communication unit 22 communicate directly with the vehicle 3 to periodically acquire the vehicle 3's current location and remaining power. In this case, the acquisition unit 212 may include the most recent current location and remaining power of the vehicle 3, acquired periodically from the vehicle 3, in the acquired request. Furthermore, in this case, the display device 1 can omit the vehicle 3's current location and remaining power from the request.

[0135] In step S12, the parallel processing unit 213 executes multiple response processes corresponding to each of the multiple requests that have been received.

[0136] Figure 11 is a flowchart detailing the response processing shown in Figure 10. In step S21, the extraction unit 201 performs the extraction of feature information. Details of the feature information extraction process will be described later.

[0137] In step S22, the calculation unit 202 refers to the geographic feature database 233 and calculates the geographic feature between the feature indicated by the feature information extracted in step S21 and the current location of vehicle 3. Hereinafter, it will be explained that the distance of the shortest path connecting the current location of vehicle 3 and the feature is adopted as the geographic feature. For example, if the tile A to be calculated contains features A1 and A2, the distance of the shortest path from the current location of vehicle 3 to feature A1 and the distance of the shortest path from the current location of vehicle 3 to feature A2 will be calculated.

[0138] In step S23, the determination unit 203 inputs the distance of the shortest path to the feature calculated in step S22 and the remaining power amount included in the corresponding request into the machine learning model to determine the reachability of the feature. For example, in the above example, the reachability of feature A1 and the reachability of feature A2 are determined. The determination result may be a binary value as described above, or a continuous value.

[0139] In step S24, the output unit 204 outputs a response result to the display device 1 using the communication unit 22, which includes the feature information extracted in step S21 and the reachability of each feature determined in step S23. As a result, the display device 1 individually acquires multiple response results corresponding to multiple requests.

[0140] Figure 12 is a flowchart detailing the process of extracting feature information shown in Figure 11. In step S31, the extraction unit 201 checks the cache memory 24.

[0141] In step S32, if the request ID included in the request is stored in the cache memory 24 (YES in step S32), the extraction unit 201 retrieves the feature information associated with that request ID from the cache memory 24 (step S33).

[0142] On the other hand, if the request ID included in the request is not stored in the cache memory 24 (NO in step S32), the extraction unit 201 retrieves feature information corresponding to that request ID from the feature database 232 (step S34).

[0143] In step S35, geometry data corresponding to the zoom level is extracted from the geometry data included in the feature information acquired in step S34.

[0144] Figure 13 is an explanatory diagram of the process by which geometry data is extracted. In Figure 13, the left figure shows the geometry data 1300 before extraction, and the right figure shows the geometry data 1310 after extraction. Geometry data 1300 represents the geometry data 1300 of a certain road. Geometry data 1300 consists of multiple points 1303 that indicate the shape of the road from the starting node 1301 to the ending node 1302. The extraction unit 201 extracts geometry data 1310 by applying a predetermined algorithm to the geometry data 1300, for example, by thinning out unnecessary points.

[0145] As an algorithm for thinning out unnecessary points, for example, the Douglas-Peucker algorithm can be used. When displaying a wide-area map image at a small zoom level, displaying all points 1303 that make up the geometry data 1300 would result in an excessive amount of data. Also, due to the resolution limit, it is not possible to display all points 1303 on the display unit 14. Therefore, the extraction unit 201 extracts multiple points that can be displayed according to the zoom level from among the multiple points that make up the geometry data 1300.

[0146] The Douglas-Peucker algorithm calculates the distance between a line SE connecting point S (representing the starting node 1301) and point E (representing the ending node 1302) and all points 1303 along the line. If the distance between point M (the furthest point) and line SE is greater than a threshold, points S, E, and M are determined to be extracted (step ST1). Next, the same process as in step ST1 is repeated for lines SM and ME to determine the points to be extracted (step ST2). This process is repeated until the final points to be extracted are determined.

[0147] The extraction unit 201 can extract points 1303 by applying the Douglas-Peucker algorithm and adopting a predetermined threshold according to the zoom level. The threshold can be the distance per pixel of the display unit 14 at the corresponding zoom level. This allows point 1303, which is required to be displayed in sub-pixel units, to be removed from the geometry data 1300, and the geometry data 1310 can be extracted.

[0148] Alternatively, the extraction unit 201 may narrow down the feature information to be displayed by deleting feature information that indicates small features that are difficult to display according to the zoom level, from among the feature information extracted in step S34. For example, the extraction unit 201 may narrow down the feature information to be displayed according to the zoom level based on the road type in the second table T2 shown in Figure 5. In this case, the extraction unit 201 can narrow down the feature information based on deletion rules that are pre-associated with the relationship between the zoom level and the road type to be deleted according to the zoom level.

[0149] In step S36, the extraction unit 201 stores the feature information extracted in step S34, which has geometry data from which point 1303 was deleted in step S35, in the cache memory 24 in association with the tile ID.

[0150] Furthermore, when narrowing down feature information according to the zoom level based on the road type, the extraction unit 201 can store the narrowed-down feature information in the cache memory 24 by associating it with the tile ID.

[0151] Once the processing in step S33 or step S36 is completed, the process proceeds to step S22 in Figure 11.

[0152] Figure 14 shows an example of the display screen G1 of the superimposed map image displayed on the display unit 14. In display screen G1, roads are used as features, and the accessibility of the roads is indicated in three stages. Here, the shades of color indicate differences in accessibility, with higher density indicating a higher accessibility. For example, roads with the highest density are green, roads with medium density are yellow, and roads with the lowest density are red.

[0153] Icon 1401, representing a motorcycle, indicates the current location of vehicle 3. In this way, display screen G1 indicates the reachability of roads using different colors, allowing the user to easily check the reachable range. Display screen G1 may also display the remaining battery power of vehicle 3. Furthermore, display screen G1 may indicate the reachability of not only roads but also other features such as buildings. In addition, display screen G1 may display the reachability in a contour line pattern based on the current location of vehicle 3. Furthermore, display screen G1 displays the reachability in three stages, but this is just an example, and it may be displayed in a number of stages other than three (for example, two, seven, ten, twenty, etc.).

[0154] As described above, according to this embodiment, the display device 1 acquires multiple requests corresponding to each of the multiple tiles it displays, and multiple response processes corresponding to the acquired multiple requests are executed in parallel. In each response process, multiple requests are acquired, feature information corresponding to the requests is extracted from the feature database 232, the current position of the vehicle 3 and geographical feature quantities between each feature are calculated, the reachability to each feature is determined based on the geographical feature quantities and the vehicle's remaining energy information, and the determined reachability range and the extracted feature information are output to the display device 1.

[0155] Therefore, for example, if the number of tiles displayed on display device 1 is n, the response time from when a request is issued until the reachable range is displayed on the display device is reduced to approximately 1 / n compared to when the response processing is performed serially. As a result, the response time can be shortened.

[0156] (First variation) Next, a first modified example in the embodiments of this disclosure will be described. Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the geographic feature database 2330 in the comparative example of this disclosure and the geographic feature database 233A in the first modified example. Figure 16 is a graph showing the node connection relationships for the geographic feature database 2330 and the geographic feature database 233A shown in Figure 15.

[0157] The two graphs shown in Figure 16 each represent the graph at the maximum zoom level among the expected zoom levels. The maximum zoom level can be set to a value of, for example, 18. In the comparative example, tile 1501 contains two nodes, node "2" and node "4". Accordingly, in the geographic feature database 2330 shown in Figure 15, the out-label column for node "1" includes nodes "2" and "4" from tile 1501, and the in-label column for node "6" also includes nodes "2" and "4" from tile 1501.

[0158] Thus, the comparative example allows a single tile to contain multiple nodes. In this case, as in the comparative example, when a single tile contains multiple nodes at the maximum zoom level, these nodes are close together, so there is no significant difference in reachability. Therefore, there is no problem in consolidating them into a single node.

[0159] Therefore, in the first modified example, the geographic feature database 233A has one node assigned to each tile at the maximum zoom level, as shown in the right-hand diagram of Figure 15. For example, tile 1502 has one of the two nodes that tile 1501 in the modified example contained omitted, and only node "b" is assigned to it. Accordingly, as shown in the right-hand diagram of Figure 15, the out-label column of node "a" stores nodes "b" and "f", and the in-label column of node "d" stores nodes "b" and "f".

[0160] Figure 17 shows an example of the data structure of the feature database 232A in the first modified example. In the first modified example, one node is assigned to one tile at the maximum zoom level, so the starting node ID in the feature information 2321 can be uniquely identified by the tile ID of each tile at the maximum zoom level. Therefore, in the first modified example, the second table T2A that constitutes the feature database 232A stores the starting tile ID as the starting node ID. The starting tile ID refers to the tile ID of each tile at the maximum zoom level.

[0161] Thus, in this first modification, the number of features is reduced, and the capacity of the geographic feature database 233A and the feature database 232A can be reduced. Furthermore, because the number of features is reduced, geographic features can be calculated at high speed.

[0162] (Second variation) In the above embodiment, vehicle 3 was an electric vehicle, but this disclosure is not limited to this, and may also be a gasoline vehicle. In this case, the remaining fuel, which indicates the amount of gasoline remaining in vehicle 3, can be used as remaining energy information. This makes it possible to show the user whether each destination is reachable, even in a gasoline vehicle.

[0163] (Third variation) In step S1 of Figure 9, pinch and swipe operations were used to specify the display range of the map image, but the disclosure is not limited thereto, and operations to input the latitude and longitude of the upper right and lower left vertices that define the display range may also be used.

[0164] (Fourth variation) In Figure 3, the map image distribution unit 211 and the map image database 231 are provided by the information processing device 2, but this disclosure is not limited to this, and they may be provided by an external server connected to the network 4. In this case, the display device 1 only needs to send requests to the external server in addition to sending them to the information processing device 2.

[0165] (Fifth variation) In Figure 5, the starting node was used as the representative node for road features, but this disclosure is not limited to this, and the ending node may also be used as the representative node. In this case, the geographic feature database 233 can use the ending node as the road node.

[0166] (Sixth variation) The sixth modification outputs reachability and feature information for surrounding tiles within the display range. In the sixth modification, the parallel processing unit 213 extracts feature information for the first tile within the display range of the display unit 14 of the display device 1, as well as for the second tile located around the display range. It calculates the geographical feature quantities of the features indicated by the extracted feature information, determines the reachability of the vehicle 3 from the calculated geographical feature quantities and the remaining power of the vehicle 3, and outputs the determined reachability and the extracted feature information. Multiple response processes can be executed in parallel. The first tile is the tile corresponding to the tile ID included in the multiple requests output from the request output unit 111 of the display device 1. The second tile is a tile surrounding the display range, located m (where m is an integer of 1 or more) tiles outside the outer edge of the display range.

[0167] For example, if the display area contains 4 (vertical) x 3 (horizontal) = 9 tiles, then the tiles one tile outside the outer edge of the display area include the 18 tiles surrounding the display area. Similarly, the tiles three tiles outside the outer edge of the display area include the 18 tiles surrounding the outer edge, the tiles surrounding those, and the tiles surrounding those. Note that m is, for example, 1 to 3.

[0168] In this case, the display control unit 113 of the display device 1 first displays the superimposed map image corresponding to the first tile on the display unit 14, and when it receives a scroll instruction or zoom-out instruction from the user via the operation unit 13, it displays the superimposed map image corresponding to the second tile included in the display range after scrolling or zooming out on the display unit 14.

[0169] As a result, when the user scrolls or zooms out of the superimposed map image, the display device 1 can quickly display the superimposed map image corresponding to the tile to be displayed within the display range.

[0170] (Seventh variation) The seventh modification is characterized in that the second tile described in the sixth modification is the tile in the direction of the vehicle's movement. The request output from the display device 1 further includes the direction of the vehicle 3's movement. The direction of the vehicle 3's movement is expressed as an angle with respect to a reference direction (e.g., north).

[0171] In this case, the parallel processing unit 213 only needs to identify the tile that lies in the direction of travel of the vehicle 3 and is located m tiles outside the outer edge of the display range as the second tile. As a result, when the display screen is scrolled in the direction of travel of the vehicle 3, the display device 1 can quickly display the superimposed map image corresponding to the tile to be displayed in the display range.

[0172] (Variation 8) The eighth variation involves replacing the second tile described in the sixth variation with a tile located around the display area that is substantially unreachable.

[0173] In this case, the parallel processing unit 213 only needs to identify as a second tile any tile located m tiles outside the outer edge of the display range, and whose reachability is below a threshold. This threshold is the upper limit of the range in which reachability can be considered to be approximately zero. As a result, when the user inputs an operation via the operation unit 13 to display the boundary portion of the drivable range, the display device 1 can quickly display the superimposed map image corresponding to the tiles in that boundary portion.

[0174] (9th variation) In the ninth modified example, the output unit 204 outputs reachability and feature information such that the display order of tiles containing features with low reachability is prioritized. For example, for each tile requested by the display device 1, the output unit 204 calculates a tile evaluation value based on the reachability of the features located within the tile. The evaluation value is, for example, the average value of the reachability of the features located within each tile. The output unit 204 determines the priority of each tile in order of lowest evaluation value, and outputs the feature information and reachability of the features located within the tile to the display device 1 in the order of highest priority. The display device 1 generates an overlaid map image in the order of the received feature information and reachability, and displays it on the display unit 14.

[0175] Figure 18 shows an example of display screen G2 in the ninth modified example of this disclosure. In the display screen G2 shown on the left, no superimposed map images 1801 are displayed because the display device 1 has not received feature information and reachability. In the display screen G2 shown in the center, the superimposed map images 1801 are displayed in order, starting with the superimposed map images 1801 of tiles where features with low reachability are located. In the display screen G2 shown on the right, all requested superimposed map images 1801 are displayed.

[0176] This allows users to prioritize identifying areas that are difficult to reach and the limits of the drivable range.

[0177] The output unit 204 may also output the feature information and reachability information with the determined priority assigned to it. In this case, the display device 1 should generate the superimposed map image 1801 in the order of the tiles where the features with higher priority are located and display it on the display unit 14. Furthermore, if reachability is displayed using contour lines, the output unit 204 should set a higher priority for tiles that include the boundary between drivable and inaccessible areas.

[0178] (10th variation) In the tenth modified example, the output unit 204 outputs reachability and feature information such that the display order of tiles in the direction of travel of the vehicle 3 is prioritized. In this case, the request output from the display device 1 also includes the direction of travel of the vehicle 3. The output unit 204 identifies the tiles located in the direction of travel from among all the tiles requested from the display device 1. The output unit 204 then outputs the feature information and reachability of the features located on the identified tiles with higher priority than the feature information and reachability of the features located on the remaining tiles. The display device 1 generates a superimposed map image in the order in which the feature information and reachability are received and displays it on the display unit 14. Tiles located in the direction of travel refer to, for example, tiles located within a predetermined angle range to the left and right of a straight line indicating the direction of travel, with the vehicle 3 as the center. The priority order of tiles located within this range may be, for example, in order of proximity to the current position of the vehicle 3. For reachability and feature information located on tiles with the same priority, the output unit 204 may output them in the order in which they can be calculated first.

[0179] Figure 19 shows an example of the display screen G3 in the tenth modified example of this disclosure. From left to right, the superimposed map images 1801 are displayed in order, starting with the superimposed map images 1801 of the tiles located in the direction of travel of the vehicle 3.

[0180] This allows users to prioritize recognizing the reachability of features in their direction of travel.

[0181] The output unit 204 may also output the feature information and reachability in association with the above-mentioned priority order.

[0182] (11th variation) In the 11th modified example, the output unit 204 outputs reachability and feature information such that tiles closer to the current location of vehicle 3 are given priority in display order. The output unit 204 calculates the distance to the current location of vehicle 3 for all tiles requested by the display device 1, determines the priority order in order of proximity, and outputs reachability and feature information located on tiles with higher priority. The display device 1 generates an overlaid map image in the order in which the feature information and reachability are received and displays it on the display unit 14. For reachability and feature information located on tiles with the same priority, the output unit 204 only needs to output them in the order in which they were calculated first.

[0183] Figure 20 shows an example of the display screen G4 in the 11th modified example of this disclosure. From left to right, the superimposed map images 1801 are displayed in order, starting with the superimposed map images 1801 of the tiles closest to the current position of the vehicle 3.

[0184] This allows users to prioritize recognizing reachability based on locations they are most likely to visit in the near future.

[0185] The output unit 204 may also output the feature information and reachability in association with the above-mentioned priority order.

[0186] (12th variation) In the 12th modified example, the output unit 204 outputs reachability and feature information such that the display order of tiles containing roads as features is prioritized. The output unit 204 sets the priority of reachability and feature information located within tiles containing roads as features to be higher than that of reachability and feature information located within tiles that do not contain roads as features, and outputs the reachability and feature information according to the priority. The display unit 1 generates an overlaid map image in the order in which the feature information and reachability are received and displays it on the display unit 14. The priority of tiles containing roads is set such that, for example, tiles containing major roads are set higher than tiles that do not contain major roads. Major roads are, for example, national roads, prefectural roads, toll roads, etc. Alternatively, the priority of tiles containing roads may be set such that, for example, roads with heavy traffic or roads with many lanes are given higher priority.

[0187] Figure 21 shows an example of display screen G5 in the 12th modified example of this disclosure. From left to right, the superimposed map images 1801 are displayed in order, starting with the superimposed map images 1801 of tiles that include major roads.

[0188] This allows users to recognize roads and routes that are relevant to reachability before locations that are not.

[0189] The output unit 204 may also output the feature information and reachability in association with the above-mentioned priority order. [Industrial applicability]

[0190] This disclosure is useful in the field of automotive technology because it allows for the rapid presentation of reachability.

Claims

1. An information processing method in an information processing device that controls a display device that displays a map image divided into multiple tiles according to the zoom level, with each tile assigned a tile ID, The display device obtains multiple requests corresponding to each of the multiple tiles displayed on the display device, and each request includes the tile ID, the current location of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle. The system executes multiple response processes corresponding to the multiple requests obtained, In each response process, From a feature database in which the tile ID and feature information indicating the feature to be displayed on each tile are associated, the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is extracted. Based on the extracted feature information, the geographical feature quantities between the current location and the feature indicated by the extracted feature information are calculated. Based on the calculated geographical features and the remaining energy information, the possibility of the vehicle reaching the feature is determined. The determined reachability and the extracted feature information are output to the display device. In calculating the aforementioned geographical features, the geographical features are calculated by referring to a geographical feature database that stores the geographical features between each of multiple features and a predetermined feature that is reachable by the feature itself. Information processing methods.

2. Furthermore, the feature information extracted from the feature database is associated with the tile ID and stored in the cache memory. In the extraction of feature information, if the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is stored in the cache memory, the feature information is extracted from the cache memory. The information processing method according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned feature information includes geometric data that shows the topography of the feature, Furthermore, from the geometric data contained in the feature information extracted from the feature database, the geometric data corresponding to the zoom level is extracted, In outputting to the display device, the extracted geometry data is included in the feature information and output. The information processing method according to claim 1 or 2.

4. In the aforementioned geographic feature database, the multiple features whose geographic features are stored are features assigned one to each tile at the maximum zoom level. The feature information stored in the feature database indicates a feature assigned to each tile, one at a time, at the maximum zoom level. The information processing method according to claim 1.

5. The aforementioned geographical feature includes at least one of the distance between the current location and each object, and the elevation difference between the current location and each object. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The aforementioned request includes additional information, which includes at least one of vehicle information, user information, current time, and weather information. In determining the reachability, the possibility of the vehicle reaching each object is further determined based on the additional information. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The remaining energy information is the remaining power or fuel of the vehicle. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The feature database includes a first table for storing the tile ID and a second table for storing the feature information. The feature information stored in the second table is associated with one or more tile IDs among the tile IDs stored in the first table. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. An information processing method in an information processing device that controls a display device that displays a map image divided into multiple tiles according to the zoom level, with each tile assigned a tile ID, The display device obtains multiple requests corresponding to each of the multiple tiles displayed on the display device, and each request includes the tile ID, the current location of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle. The system executes multiple response processes corresponding to the multiple requests obtained, In each response process, From a feature database in which the tile ID and feature information indicating the feature to be displayed on each tile are associated, the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is extracted. Based on the extracted feature information, the geographical feature quantities between the current location and the feature indicated by the extracted feature information are calculated. Based on the calculated geographical features and the remaining energy information, the possibility of the vehicle reaching the feature is determined. The determined reachability and the extracted feature information are output to the display device. In each response process, the device extracts feature information for the first tile within the display range of the display device as well as for the second tile located around the display range, calculates the geographical feature quantities of the feature indicated by the extracted feature information, determines the reachability based on the geographical feature quantities and the remaining energy information, and outputs the determined reachability and the extracted feature information. Information processing methods.

10. The second tile is a tile that surrounds the display area, and is located m (where m is an integer of 1 or more) tiles outside the outer perimeter of the display area. The information processing method according to claim 9.

11. Each request further includes the direction of travel of the vehicle, The second tile is a tile located in the direction of travel of the vehicle. The information processing method according to claim 9.

12. The second tile is a tile that includes a feature whose reachability is substantially zero. The information processing method according to claim 9.

13. In the output, the priority of each tile is determined so that the tile on which the feature with low reachability is located is displayed higher, and the feature information and reachability of the feature located on the tile with the highest priority are output preferentially. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. Each request further includes the direction of travel of the vehicle, In the output, the priority of each tile is determined so that the display order of tiles in the direction of travel is higher, and the feature information and reachability of features located on tiles with higher priority are output preferentially. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

15. In the output, the priority of each tile is determined so that tiles closer to the current location are displayed in a higher order, and the feature information and reachability of features located on tiles with higher priority are output preferentially. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

16. In the output described above, the priority of each tile is determined so that tiles containing roads as features are displayed higher in the display order, and the feature information and reachability of features located on tiles with higher priority are output preferentially. The information processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

17. An information processing device for controlling a display device that displays a map image divided into multiple tiles according to the zoom level, with each tile assigned a tile ID, An acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of requests from the display device corresponding to each of the plurality of tiles displayed by the display device, and each request includes the tile ID, the current location of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle. It comprises a parallel processing unit that performs multiple response processing operations corresponding to the multiple requests obtained, In each response process, From a feature database in which the tile ID and feature information indicating the feature to be displayed on each tile are associated, the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is extracted. Based on the extracted geographical information, the geographical features between the current location and each geographical feature are calculated. Based on the calculated geographical features and the remaining energy information, the feasibility of the vehicle reaching each object is determined. The determined reachability and the extracted feature information are output to the display device. In calculating the aforementioned geographical features, the geographical features are calculated by referring to a geographical feature database that stores the geographical features between each of multiple features and a predetermined feature that is reachable by the feature itself. Information processing device.

18. An information processing program that causes a computer to function as an information processing device that controls a display device that displays a map image divided into multiple tiles according to the zoom level, with each tile assigned a tile ID, An acquisition unit that acquires a plurality of requests from the display device corresponding to each of the plurality of tiles displayed by the display device, and each request includes the tile ID, the current location of the vehicle, and the remaining energy information of the vehicle. The computer is made to function as a parallel processing unit that executes multiple response processes corresponding to the multiple requests obtained, In each response process, From a feature database in which the tile ID and feature information indicating the feature to be displayed on each tile are associated, the feature information corresponding to the tile ID included in the request is extracted. Based on the extracted geographical information, the geographical features between the current location and each geographical feature are calculated. Based on the calculated geographical features and the remaining energy information, the feasibility of the vehicle reaching each object is determined. The determined reachability and the extracted feature information are output to the display device. In calculating the aforementioned geographical features, the geographical features are calculated by referring to a geographical feature database that stores the geographical features between each of multiple features and a predetermined feature that is reachable by the feature itself. Information processing program.

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