Vehicle dispatch management device and vehicle dispatch management method

Abstract

The present invention is a vehicle dispatch management device that manages on-demand vehicle dispatch services. The device creates vehicle dispatch plans for candidate vehicles on the basis of a user's vehicle dispatch request, causes the user's terminal device to display a request for approval of the created vehicle dispatch plan for one vehicle, receives an approval notification transmitted from the terminal device in response to the request, confirms the vehicle dispatch plan for the one vehicle, and transmits a vehicle dispatch instruction based on the confirmed vehicle dispatch plan to the one vehicle. When creating each vehicle dispatch plan, the device calculates an estimated time that it will take to confirm the vehicle dispatch plan after responding to the vehicle dispatch request, and calculates an expected arrival time at the boarding location in the vehicle dispatch plan on the basis of the calculated estimated time. The device also causes a vehicle dispatch plan suggestion screen based on the approval request to be displayed to present the expected arrival time at the boarding location to the user.

Description

Vehicle allocation management device and vehicle allocation management method

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle allocation management technology, and more particularly to a vehicle allocation management device and a vehicle allocation management method for managing vehicle allocation on an on-demand basis.

[0002] Mobility services are known as services that smoothly transport passengers and / or luggage by vehicle. In recent years, against the backdrop of a decrease in transportation demand due to population decline and labor shortages, mobility services that simultaneously transport passengers and luggage in a single vehicle have been proposed.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a shared vehicle operation scheduling system for a shared vehicle operation service that accepts usage requests from user terminals via a network and creates on-demand an optimal shared vehicle operation schedule indicating the locations that each available shared vehicle will visit from now on, the scheduled visit times, and the scheduled departure times.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-140788

[0005] In the system disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when creating schedules for each vehicle, a root schedule is created based on the scheduled arrival time at or departure time from a location to be visited after the current time after the time of receipt of the usage request, and a solution schedule is searched for from the root schedule by an optimal schedule search.

[0006] However, this system did not take into account the time lag between the time a request was received and the time the schedule was determined. Furthermore, when recreating the schedule, conditions for passing points were not specified. As a result, vehicles could not operate according to the created schedule, resulting in delays. Furthermore, if a vehicle was already traveling on a route between destinations, the schedule could not be changed or re-created, making it difficult to operate vehicles flexibly and reducing operational efficiency.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle dispatch management device and a vehicle dispatch management method that, when a new dispatch request is made for a vehicle traveling on a predetermined route, can accurately determine the estimated arrival time of the vehicle at the boarding location in response to the new dispatch request.

[0008] The present invention, which aims to solve the above problems, comprises the following invention-specifying matters and technical features.

[0009] That is, according to one aspect, the present invention provides a vehicle dispatch management device that manages vehicle dispatches in response to a vehicle dispatch request. The vehicle dispatch management device includes a vehicle dispatch request acquisition unit that acquires the vehicle dispatch request from a terminal device; a vehicle dispatch plan creation unit that creates a vehicle dispatch plan including a boarding location for each of one or more candidate vehicles selected from a plurality of vehicles based on the acquired vehicle dispatch request and confirms the vehicle dispatch plan for a specific vehicle in the created vehicle dispatch plan; an acceptance processing unit that transmits the created vehicle dispatch plan for the candidate vehicles to the terminal device; and a vehicle dispatch instruction unit that transmits the confirmed vehicle dispatch plan to the specific vehicle. The vehicle dispatch plan creation unit includes a predicted time calculation unit that calculates a predicted time until the vehicle dispatch plan is confirmed in response to the vehicle dispatch request. The vehicle dispatch plan creation unit calculates a predicted arrival time at the boarding location in the vehicle dispatch plan based on the predicted time calculated by the predicted time calculation unit. The acceptance processing unit also controls the vehicle dispatch plan for the candidate vehicles, including the predicted arrival time, to be displayed on the terminal device.

[0010] Another aspect of the present invention is a vehicle dispatch management method using a vehicle dispatch management device that manages vehicle dispatches in response to a vehicle dispatch request. The method includes: acquiring the vehicle dispatch request from a terminal device; creating a vehicle dispatch plan including a boarding location for each of one or more candidate vehicles selected from a plurality of vehicles based on the acquired vehicle dispatch request; transmitting the created vehicle dispatch plan for the candidate vehicles to the terminal device and displaying the vehicle dispatch plan on the terminal device; confirming the vehicle dispatch plan for a specific vehicle among the candidate vehicles in response to the transmitted vehicle dispatch request; and transmitting the confirmed vehicle dispatch plan to the specific vehicle. Creating the vehicle dispatch plan includes calculating a predicted time until the vehicle dispatch plan is confirmed in response to the acquired vehicle dispatch request; and calculating an expected arrival time at the boarding location in the vehicle dispatch plan based on the calculated predicted time. Furthermore, displaying the vehicle dispatch plan includes displaying the calculated expected arrival time.

[0011] According to the present invention, when a new dispatch request is made for a vehicle traveling on a predetermined route, the estimated arrival time of the vehicle in response to the new dispatch request can be calculated with high accuracy.

[0012] Other technical features, objects, and operational effects or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting, and other effects may also be present.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration model of a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating derivation of a route pattern in a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a sequence chart illustrating an overview of a vehicle dispatch service in a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a flowchart illustrating an example of vehicle dispatch management processing by a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a flowchart illustrating an example of vehicle dispatch management processing by a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of vehicle dispatch management processing by a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating vehicle operating routes in a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments described below are merely examples, and are not intended to exclude various modifications or applications of techniques not explicitly described below. The present invention can be implemented in various modifications (e.g., by combining the various embodiments) without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, in the following description of the drawings, identical or similar parts are denoted by identical or similar reference numerals. The drawings are schematic and do not necessarily correspond to actual dimensions, ratios, etc. Parts in the drawings may have different dimensional relationships or ratios.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management system 1 includes a vehicle dispatch management device 10, a terminal device 20, and vehicles V, which are communicatively connected to each other via a communication network N. The vehicle dispatch management system 1 of the present disclosure provides, for example, an on-demand vehicle dispatch service using multiple vehicles V for a certain area. An "on-demand vehicle dispatch service" is a service that allocates (dispatches) a specific vehicle to a user in an immediate response to a vehicle dispatch request from the user. In other words, in an on-demand vehicle dispatch service, there is no user-specified vehicle dispatch reservation time. Furthermore, "immediate response" is a concept that not only means dispatching a vehicle immediately in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, but also includes a certain degree of time that the user would normally tolerate. The vehicle dispatch management system 1 of the present disclosure is based on such an "on-demand vehicle dispatch service."

[0016] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 is a computing device that comprehensively manages a vehicle dispatch service using multiple vehicles V in a target area. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 implements, for example, a vehicle dispatch management server program and executes the vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor, thereby realizing the vehicle dispatch service of the present disclosure.

[0017] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 includes various databases 12 that manage data necessary to realize the vehicle dispatch service. The databases 12 include, for example, an operation record database 12a, a user information database 12b, a map database 12c, a vehicle information database 12d, and a vehicle dispatch plan database 12e (see FIG. 2). In this example, the databases 12 are configured as part of the vehicle dispatch management device 10, but are not limited to this, and all or part of the databases 12 may be configured separately from the vehicle dispatch management device 10.

[0018] In general, the vehicle allocation management device 10 receives a request for allocation of a vehicle V from a user who desires allocation, creates and confirms a vehicle allocation plan for one vehicle V selectively assigned to the vehicle allocation request, and issues a vehicle allocation instruction to the one vehicle V in accordance with the confirmed vehicle allocation plan. The vehicle allocation plan is confirmed, for example, in response to the user's consent.

[0019] The following description will be given using an example of a vehicle dispatch request for a ride from a user who is a passenger, but the vehicle dispatch request may also be a vehicle dispatch request for luggage delivery from a user who is a shipper (a luggage delivery company or a general person). Therefore, a general user who is not a luggage delivery company may also request a luggage delivery vehicle to have their luggage delivered. The vehicle dispatch request may include, for example, information such as the user name, the type of vehicle dispatch request, the desired boarding and disembarking locations (desired boarding and disembarking locations), and the transportation details (such as the number of passengers, if any), but is not limited to this.

[0020] The vehicle dispatch plan includes a travel route that defines a route from a location where the vehicle V is waiting (a starting waiting location), passing through several points (boarding and disembarking locations) along the way where the user gets on and off, to a waiting location that is an end location (which is not necessarily the same as the initial waiting location). When creating or updating a vehicle dispatch plan for a vehicle traveling on a predetermined travel route based on a new vehicle dispatch request, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 of the present disclosure predicts the time until the vehicle dispatch plan is finalized, and creates the vehicle dispatch plan using a predicted position of the vehicle V according to the predicted time. This makes it possible to calculate the predicted arrival time at the boarding location based on the travel route that passes through the predicted position resulting from movement during the predicted time from the position of the vehicle V at the time the user's dispatch request is accepted until the vehicle dispatch plan is finalized.

[0021] The vehicle V is a vehicle registered in the vehicle information database 12d and available for use by a user. The vehicle V may be any type of vehicle (e.g., sedan, minivan, SUV, etc.), but must be capable of carrying both passengers and freight. The vehicle V may be an electric vehicle (EV) powered by an onboard battery. The vehicle V may also be a fully autonomous vehicle, regardless of its level of automation. The vehicle V includes a control device 300 that controls the vehicle V itself or its onboard equipment (e.g., a navigation device) according to instructions from the vehicle dispatch management device 10 (see FIG. 2 ). The control device 300 acquires location information of the vehicle V via a GPS system, transmits the information to the vehicle dispatch management device 10, and receives dispatch instructions from the vehicle dispatch management device 10 to control the operation of various devices or equipment of the vehicle V. The control device 300 includes, for example, a navigation function that presents a route according to a dispatch plan, and, in the case of a fully autonomous vehicle, an autonomous driving control function that controls the vehicle V along its route.

[0022] The terminal device 20 is, for example, a computing device through which a user wishing to ride makes a vehicle dispatch request by operating a user interface. The terminal device 20 is, for example, a smartphone, a pad computer, a laptop personal computer, a desktop computer, etc., but is not limited to these. The terminal device 20 implements, for example, a vehicle dispatch management client program (a so-called vehicle dispatch app). The terminal device 20 executes the vehicle dispatch app under the control of a processor, thereby enabling the user to use the vehicle dispatch service of the vehicle dispatch management device 10. For example, a user can make a vehicle dispatch request from a vehicle dispatch request screen (not shown) on the user interface of the terminal device 20 and, in response, accept the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch management device 10, thereby making a reservation for a ride or a package delivery for a vehicle V.

[0023] In this way, in the vehicle dispatch management system 1 disclosed herein, in an on-demand vehicle dispatch service, the time until a vehicle dispatch plan is finalized in response to a new vehicle dispatch request is predicted, and the vehicle dispatch plan is created using the predicted position of the vehicle according to the predicted time. In other words, the predicted arrival time at the boarding point is calculated based on the operating route that passes through the predicted position due to movement from the position of vehicle V at the time of receiving the vehicle dispatch request to the predicted time until the vehicle dispatch plan is finalized, thereby improving the accuracy of the predicted arrival time.

[0024] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration model of a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 is configured as a functional configuration model including functional components such as a front-end processing unit 110, a demand information acquisition unit 120, a vehicle dispatch request acquisition unit 130, a boarding / alighting location determination unit 140, a vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 150, a driving route planning unit 160, and a vehicle communication interface unit 170. As described above, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 also includes various databases 12. This functional model is realized by the vehicle dispatch management device 10 executing a vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor, thereby cooperating with various hardware resources. The functional configuration model shown here is merely an example, and all or part of the functions of a certain functional component may be realized by other functional components. For ease of explanation, the figure also illustrates the configuration of a user's terminal device 20 and a portion of the control device 300 in the vehicle V.

[0025] The operation record database 12a stores, for example, information (actual operation information) relating to past operation records for each vehicle V. The actual operation information includes, for example, various specification information such as operation times (operation start times and end times), operation routes, and travel distances for each vehicle V. The actual operation information may indicate actual demand for the vehicle V in a certain time period and / or in a certain area based on the operation times for each vehicle V.

[0026] The user information database 12b stores user information about users who use the vehicle dispatch service. The user information includes, for example, a user ID and password, personal attributes, information about the service usage status (such as the number of times of use), and the actual time required from a vehicle dispatch request to approval of a vehicle dispatch plan. The user information is registered in the user information database 12b under the control of the vehicle dispatch management device 10, for example, by the user inputting predetermined information when the vehicle dispatch app is first launched.

[0027] The map database 12c stores map data for at least the area covered by the vehicle dispatch service. The map data includes, for example, information on addresses, place names, roads, and facility names. The map data may also include information necessary for route searches and environmental information such as road congestion conditions. The map data may be known data, or may be, for example, an external map database that can be connected via an API.

[0028] The vehicle information database 12d stores information (vehicle information) about the vehicle V available for use by the user. The vehicle information includes, for example, information about the vehicle ID, vehicle attributes (vehicle registration number, vehicle model, maximum number of occupants / maximum load capacity, etc.), current vehicle dispatch plan, current location, and current status (service status, remaining battery capacity (driving range), number of occupants, load capacity, etc.). The current location of the vehicle V is updated as needed based on location information transmitted from the vehicle V, as will be described later.

[0029] The vehicle allocation plan database 12e stores a vehicle allocation plan based on a vehicle allocation request for each vehicle V. The vehicle allocation plan includes a travel route from a waiting location as a starting point to a waiting location as an end point via several boarding and disembarking points.

[0030] The front-end processing unit 110 performs various processes with the user's terminal device 20. As an example, the front-end processing unit 110 refers to the user information database 12b and performs login authentication processing in response to a login request from a vehicle dispatching app on the user's terminal device 20. The front-end processing unit 110 also receives a vehicle dispatch request from the vehicle dispatching app on the user's terminal device 20, passes the request to the vehicle dispatch request acquisition unit 130, and communicates with the terminal device 20 to receive the user's approval or disapproval of the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 150 in response to the request. In the present disclosure, the front-end processing unit 110 also functions as an acceptance processing unit under the control of the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 150. That is, as described below, the acceptance processing unit transmits an acceptance request including expected arrival times at boarding and disembarking locations to the user's terminal device 20, controls the terminal device 20 to display a vehicle dispatch plan proposal screen based on the acceptance request, and receives a notification of acceptance or rejection transmitted from the terminal device 20 in response to the acceptance request.

[0031] At a predetermined timing, the demand information acquisition unit 120 acquires demand information regarding the demand amount of the vehicles V. For example, the demand information acquisition unit 120 refers to the vehicle information database 12d, calculates the current demand amount based on the number of waiting vehicles V that are not currently assigned any vehicle dispatch plan (number of waiting vehicles), and outputs this as demand information.

[0032] The demand information acquisition unit 120 may also be configured to calculate future demand for the vehicles V in addition to the current demand. For example, the demand information acquisition unit 120 refers to the operation record database 12a and predicts future demand for the vehicles V based on past actual operation information, etc., and outputs this as demand information. For example, the future demand may be the number of vehicles V that are expected to be in demand at a specific time or time period, such as 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, or 1 hour after a reference time (e.g., the current time). The demand information acquisition unit 120 may also predict future demand by taking into account, in addition to actual operation information, environmental factors such as temporal and seasonal factors and event hosting. The demand information acquisition unit 120 may include a demand prediction model that has been subjected to machine learning according to a predetermined machine learning algorithm, with actual operation information, etc., as explanatory variables and predicted demand as a target variable. In this way, by the demand information acquisition unit 120 predicting future demand, an optimal vehicle plan can be created that takes into account not only current demand but also future demand, enabling efficient operation of the vehicles V.

[0033] The vehicle allocation request acquisition unit 130 receives and acquires a vehicle allocation request from a user via the front-end processing unit 110. The time when the vehicle allocation request acquisition unit 130 receives the vehicle allocation request becomes the start time for counting various limit times, as described below. The vehicle allocation request acquisition unit 130 passes the acquired vehicle allocation request to each of the boarding and alighting location determination unit 140 and the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150.

[0034] Based on the dispatch request that has been delivered, the boarding and alighting location determination unit 140 refers to the map database 12c and determines predetermined boarding and alighting locations (e.g., bus stops) shown on the map where the user can actually get on and off. That is, for the desired boarding and alighting locations specified by the dispatch request, the boarding and alighting location determination unit 140 refers to the map database 12c and determines boarding and alighting locations that indicate geographical locations in the target area where the user can actually get on and off. Furthermore, if the dispatch request does not include a desired boarding or alighting location, the boarding and alighting location determination unit 140 refers to the map database 12c and determines boarding and alighting locations based on the user's current location. The boarding and alighting location determination unit 140 delivers the determined boarding and alighting locations to the dispatch plan creation unit 150.

[0035] The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 extracts candidate vehicles (candidate vehicles v) from among the vehicles V in the target area based on the given vehicle allocation request, creates and confirms a vehicle allocation plan for an optimal vehicle V selected from the candidate vehicles v, and issues a vehicle allocation instruction to the vehicle V in accordance with the confirmed vehicle allocation plan. In order to extract the candidate vehicles v, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 requests the travel route planning unit 160 to derive a route pattern. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 proposes the created vehicle allocation plan to the user and confirms it upon receiving the user's consent. The proposed vehicle allocation plan includes an expected arrival time of the vehicle V at the user's boarding location. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 may present multiple candidate vehicle allocation plans to the user, allow the user to select one vehicle allocation plan from the candidates, and confirm the selected plan. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 stores the confirmed vehicle allocation plan in the vehicle allocation plan database 12e and notifies the vehicle allocation instruction unit 172 to issue a vehicle allocation instruction to the vehicle V.

[0036] More specifically, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 first requests the travel route planning unit 160 to derive a route pattern in accordance with the acquired vehicle allocation request. The route pattern indicates a route that passes through all of the boarding and alighting points (waypoints) that are determined in response to a new vehicle allocation request, in addition to a route that passes through the determined boarding and alighting points. In response to the request for route pattern derivation from the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150, the travel route planning unit 160 references the map database 12c and the vehicle information database 12d to extract one or more vehicles V that can meet the vehicle allocation request as candidate vehicles v, and derives a route pattern for each of the extracted candidate vehicles v according to the boarding and alighting points. The travel route planning unit 160 may also associate the derived route pattern with environmental information such as congested areas, detour routes due to traffic restrictions, temporal and seasonal factors, and event dates. The travel route planning unit 160 passes the derived route pattern to the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150.

[0037] For example, as shown in FIG. 3, candidate vehicles v(1) to v(3) are extracted based on the geographical relationship between the boarding location Req_PU and the disembarking location Req_DO specified in the dispatch request. Candidate vehicle v(1) is a vehicle for which a route passing through points P(0) to P(1) to P(2) has already been set. Candidate vehicle v(2) is a vehicle waiting at waiting location S. Candidate vehicle v(3) is a vehicle for which a route passing through points P(0) to P(1) has already been set. Looking at candidate vehicle v(1), there are a total of six patterns (route patterns) in which the boarding location Req_PU and the disembarking location Req_DO are added to points P(0) to P(2). Similarly, candidate vehicles v(2) and v(3) have one and three route patterns, respectively. 2 , the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 150 includes a predicted time calculation unit 152 that calculates a predicted time until a vehicle dispatch plan is finalized in response to an acquired vehicle dispatch request. As an example, the predicted time calculation unit 152 calculates the predicted time based on an average value of past actual required times, which are calculated by aggregating the times required from the time when all users who use the vehicle dispatch service make a vehicle dispatch request, accept the proposed vehicle dispatch plan (acceptance request), and finalize the vehicle dispatch plan.

[0038] Alternatively or additionally, the predicted time calculation unit 152 may calculate the predicted time based on user characteristic information. The user characteristic information may include, for example, the user's age and the number of times the user has used a vehicle dispatch service in the past. The user characteristic information may also include information based on the average time required from a user's past request for a vehicle dispatch to their acceptance of a proposed vehicle dispatch plan. Furthermore, the predicted time calculation unit 152 may calculate a predicted time shorter than the average actual required time in the past for, for example, a user who is not elderly, a user who has frequently used a vehicle dispatch service, and / or a user who tends to have a short time required from a vehicle dispatch request to its acceptance. This allows a predicted time that is more in line with actual circumstances to be calculated for users who are accustomed to making vehicle dispatch reservations or who do not usually spend much time operating the terminal device 20. The predicted time calculation unit 152 may be configured as a demand forecasting model that has been machine-learned according to a predetermined machine learning algorithm, using, for example, the user's characteristic information as an explanatory variable and the average required time as a target variable.

[0039] The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 attempts to create a vehicle allocation plan based on each route pattern of the candidate vehicle v derived by the travel route planning unit 160. The vehicle allocation plan includes a travel route that adds a waiting location serving as a starting point and a waiting location serving as an end point to the route pattern. In this case, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 identifies a predicted position of the candidate vehicle v at the time when the vehicle allocation plan is expected to be finalized based on the predicted time calculated by the predicted time calculation unit 152 and the location information included in the vehicle information of each vehicle V acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 171 (described later), and creates a travel route based on the identified predicted position. Furthermore, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 calculates predicted arrival times at the boarding and disembarking locations of the user who made the vehicle allocation request along the travel route. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 associates the calculated predicted arrival times with the vehicle allocation plan.

[0040] Next, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 sorts the vehicle allocation plans in order of the expected arrival time at the boarding location of the user who made the vehicle allocation request, and extracts the vehicle allocation plan with the earliest expected arrival time from among them. Furthermore, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 narrows down the vehicle allocation plans by deleting or excluding vehicle allocation plans that meet predetermined exclusion conditions. As the predetermined exclusion condition, for example, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 may exclude candidate vehicles v whose cruising distance does not meet a predetermined threshold. Furthermore, based on the location information acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 171, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 may exclude, from the candidate vehicles v, vehicles V that are located in, for example, a busy station or a congestion-prone area with many intersections, based on the location information acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 171. Furthermore, based on the location information acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 171, the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150 may exclude, from the candidate vehicles v, vehicles V whose travel route includes detour routes due to traffic restrictions such as restrictions on right and left turns or travel direction, or construction restrictions. Furthermore, the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 150 may exclude vehicles V located in areas that depend on predetermined environmental factors from the candidate vehicles v based on the location information acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 171. A predetermined environmental factor is, for example, the holding of an event, which is expected to temporarily increase demand for vehicles V around the facility where the event is being held, and therefore vehicles V located in such areas are excluded from the candidate vehicles v. Furthermore, for example, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 excludes the vehicle dispatch plan if the time until a user who has made a new vehicle dispatch request boards the vehicle exceeds a predetermined delay limit time. In this way, by excluding vehicles V located in a predetermined vehicle delay area from the candidate vehicles v, it is possible to prevent unexpectedly delayed vehicle dispatches in on-demand vehicle dispatch services.

[0041] When a vehicle allocation plan proposed by a user is accepted, the vehicle allocation plan creating unit 150 stores the time required until the plan is finalized as an actual required time in the user information database 12b.

[0042] The vehicle communication interface unit 170 exchanges various types of information with the vehicle V via the communication network N. For example, the vehicle communication interface unit 170 includes a vehicle information acquisition unit 171 that acquires vehicle information including location information of the vehicle V, and a vehicle allocation instruction unit 172 that instructs the vehicle V to move according to a vehicle allocation plan.

[0043] The vehicle information acquisition unit 171 communicates with the communication unit 310 of the control device 300 and acquires the location information and the like acquired by the location information acquisition unit 320. Furthermore, the vehicle allocation instruction unit 172 refers to the vehicle allocation plan database 12f in accordance with instructions from the vehicle allocation plan creation unit 150, identifies a corresponding vehicle allocation plan, and transmits driving instructions to the vehicle V in accordance with the identified vehicle allocation plan. The control device 300 of the vehicle V that has received the driving instructions uses a navigation function to display a driving route in accordance with the vehicle allocation plan on, for example, a user interface (indicated as "UI" in the figure) 330.

[0044] FIG. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining an outline of a vehicle dispatch service in a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] As shown in the figure, a user who wishes to use a vehicle dispatch service executes a vehicle dispatch app implemented in the terminal device 20 and inputs the necessary information for the vehicle dispatch request on a vehicle dispatch request screen displayed on the user interface, and the terminal device 20 then transmits the vehicle dispatch request to the vehicle dispatch management device 10 (S401). For example, a user who wishes to ride (reserve a vehicle) operates the vehicle dispatch app to input the boarding and disembarking locations, the number of passengers, etc. The boarding and disembarking locations can be selected, for example, from a geographical map displayed by the vehicle dispatch app. Alternatively, the boarding location may be the user's current location obtained using a GPS function installed in the user's smartphone.

[0046] When the vehicle dispatch management device 10 receives a vehicle dispatch request from the terminal device 20 (S402), it requests vehicles V in the target area to acquire vehicle information including location information (S403). In response to this, each vehicle V transmits vehicle information including its own location information acquired from the GPS system to the vehicle dispatch management device 10 (S404). Note that the acquisition and transmission of location information by the vehicle V may be performed periodically or in response to a transmission request from the vehicle dispatch management device 10. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 acquires the vehicle information including location information transmitted from the vehicle V (S402).

[0047] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 creates a vehicle dispatch plan for candidate vehicles v extracted based on the user's dispatch request and proposes it to the user (S405). That is, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 derives a route pattern based on the dispatch request and creates a vehicle dispatch plan for candidate vehicles v extracted based on the derived route pattern. In this case, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 predicts the time from when the user makes a dispatch request until when they accept the proposed vehicle dispatch plan, and calculates the expected arrival times at the user's boarding and disembarking locations along the travel route based on the predicted time and the location information of each vehicle V. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 further selects an optimal vehicle dispatch plan to propose to the user based on the calculated expected arrival times and predetermined exclusion conditions. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 transmits an acceptance request including the contents of the vehicle dispatch plan to the terminal device 20 to propose the selected vehicle dispatch plan to the user.

[0048] When the terminal device 20 receives the request for approval of the vehicle dispatch plan, it displays it as a vehicle dispatch plan proposal screen on the user interface and prompts the user to accept or reject (accept or reject) the proposed vehicle dispatch plan (S406). The vehicle dispatch plan proposal screen includes the above-mentioned estimated arrival time, allowing the user to input their acceptance or rejection of the proposed vehicle dispatch plan based on the estimated arrival time, etc. When the user inputs their acceptance or rejection on the vehicle dispatch plan proposal screen, the terminal device 20 responds by sending an acceptance or rejection notice to the vehicle dispatch management device 10 (S407), and the vehicle dispatch management device 10 receives the acceptance or rejection notice sent from the terminal device 20 (S408). For example, if the acceptance or rejection notice indicates acceptance of the vehicle dispatch plan, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 confirms the vehicle dispatch plan for vehicle V in accordance with the vehicle dispatch plan, sends a confirmation notice of the vehicle dispatch reservation to the terminal device 20, and sends a vehicle dispatch instruction to vehicle V in accordance with the vehicle dispatch plan (S409).

[0049] When the terminal device 20 receives the notification of confirmation of the vehicle dispatch reservation, it displays the notification on the user interface to inform the user that the vehicle dispatch reservation has been confirmed (S410). Meanwhile, when the vehicle V receives the dispatch instruction, it displays, for example, on a navigation screen, a driving route according to the dispatch plan indicated in the dispatch instruction to guide the driver (S411). This enables the driver to operate the vehicle V on an on-demand basis in response to the user's dispatch request.

[0050] 5A and 5B are flowcharts illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management process performed by a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This process is realized by the vehicle dispatch management device 10 executing a vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor, in cooperation with various hardware resources.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 1A, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 waits for a new vehicle dispatch request from a user (S501). Meanwhile, for example, a user wishing to ride inputs a vehicle dispatch request by operating a vehicle dispatch app on the user interface of the terminal device 20. When a vehicle dispatch request is received from the user (Yes in S501), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 requests each vehicle V to transmit vehicle information and acquires the vehicle information, including location information, transmitted from each vehicle V (S502).

[0052] Next, the dispatch management device 10 refers to the map database 12c based on the boarding and disembarking locations specified in the dispatch request, and determines the boarding and disembarking locations (boarding and disembarking locations) where the user will actually board and disembark (S503).

[0053] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 extracts one or more candidate vehicles v according to the determined boarding or disembarking locations (S504). For example, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 extracts a vehicle V in operation near the boarding location as a candidate vehicle v. A vehicle V in operation is a vehicle that is waiting at a waiting location in a state where it can provide service or is actually transporting passengers. This makes it possible to exclude, for example, a vehicle V that is located far away from the boarding or disembarking location from the candidate vehicles v, thereby reducing the number of route patterns to be derived.

[0054] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 derives a route pattern for each extracted candidate vehicle v by referring to the map database 12c (S505). As described above, the route pattern indicates a route that passes through all of the previously determined boarding and alighting points (waypoints) when new boarding and alighting points are added to the route that passes through these points. Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 creates a vehicle dispatch plan based on the derived route pattern (S506). The vehicle dispatch plan includes a travel route that adds a starting waiting point, an ending waiting point, and a predicted position of the candidate vehicle v according to the predicted time until the vehicle dispatch plan is finalized to the route pattern. A new vehicle dispatch plan is created for the vehicle V waiting at the waiting point. In addition, a new vehicle dispatch plan is created or updated for the vehicle V currently operating according to an already set vehicle dispatch plan based on the derived route pattern. Furthermore, the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 150 calculates the expected arrival times at the boarding and alighting points of the user who made the vehicle dispatch request along the travel route. Details of the vehicle dispatch plan creation process will be described later.

[0055] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 narrows down the vehicle dispatch plans by excluding any vehicle dispatch plans that do not meet a predetermined exclusion condition from the created vehicle dispatch plans (S507). For example, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 excludes vehicle dispatch plans of candidate vehicles whose cruising distances are less than a predetermined threshold. Furthermore, based on the location information acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 171, the vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 150 excludes from the candidate vehicles v, for example, vehicles V that are located in a congested area such as in front of a busy station or in a congested area with many intersections, or vehicles V whose travel route includes a detour route due to traffic restrictions such as restrictions on right and left turns or restrictions on the direction of travel, or construction restrictions.

[0056] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 calculates evaluation values ​​for the narrowed-down vehicle dispatch plans according to a predetermined evaluation function, and selects one vehicle dispatch plan with the highest calculated evaluation value (S508). The predetermined evaluation function is, for example, a function defined such that the shorter the ride time from the boarding time to the disembarking time, the higher the evaluation value.

[0057] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 proposes the contents of the selected vehicle dispatch plan to the user (S509 in FIG. 5B). That is, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 transmits the contents of the created current vehicle dispatch plan to the terminal device 20, and in response, the terminal device 20 displays the contents on the user interface and prompts the user to accept or reject the vehicle dispatch plan.

[0058] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 determines whether or not the proposed vehicle dispatch plan has been accepted by the user (S510). If the proposed vehicle dispatch plan has been accepted by the user (Yes in S510), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 confirms the current vehicle dispatch plan (S511). The vehicle dispatch management device 10 stores the confirmed vehicle dispatch plan in the vehicle dispatch plan database 12e. Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 transmits a notification of confirmation of the vehicle dispatch reservation to the terminal device 20, and transmits a dispatch instruction based on the vehicle dispatch plan to the vehicle V (S512).

[0059] On the other hand, if the vehicle dispatch management device 10 receives a non-acceptance (rejection) from the user in response to the proposed vehicle dispatch plan (No in S510), it cancels the current vehicle dispatch plan based on the user's vehicle dispatch request (S513). In this case, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 returns the temporarily held vehicle dispatch plan used to recreate the vehicle dispatch plan to the original held vehicle dispatch plan. If the user desires a different vehicle dispatch service, the user will make a new vehicle dispatch request.

[0060] 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management process performed by a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, this is a flowchart illustrating the details of the vehicle dispatch plan narrowing process (S506) shown in FIG. 5A.

[0061] As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 calculates a predicted time from the time a vehicle dispatch request is accepted until a vehicle dispatch plan is finalized (S601). As described above, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 calculates the predicted time based on, for example, the average value of past actual required times, which are calculated by aggregating the time required from the time a vehicle dispatch request is accepted until a vehicle dispatch plan is finalized. Alternatively, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 may calculate the predicted time based on user characteristic information.

[0062] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 identifies the predicted positions of the candidate vehicles v at the time when the vehicle dispatch plan is expected to be finalized based on the calculated predicted time and the position information of each candidate vehicle v (S602). Subsequently, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 creates a driving route that passes through the identified predicted positions (S603).

[0063] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 calculates the expected arrival times at the boarding and disembarking locations of the user who made the vehicle dispatch request according to the created operating route (S604), and then creates a vehicle dispatch plan associated with the calculated expected arrival times (S605).

[0064] In this way, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 predicts the time until a vehicle dispatch plan is finalized in response to a user's vehicle dispatch request, and creates the vehicle dispatch plan using the predicted position of the vehicle according to the predicted time, so that the expected arrival time at the boarding location can be accurately determined based on the operating route of the vehicle V from the predicted position. For example, as shown in Figure 5, assume that the vehicle V is traveling through a city according to the operating route of the vehicle dispatch plan, and the user transmits a vehicle dispatch request from the vehicle dispatch app of the terminal device 20 at the boarding location P_PU. Also, assume that the location of the vehicle V at the time the vehicle dispatch management device 10 accepts the vehicle dispatch request is point P_Req.

[0065] If the predicted position of vehicle V based on the predicted time until the dispatch plan for vehicle V is finalized is not taken into consideration, the operating route of vehicle V will be the shortest route from point P_Req to boarding point P_PU (shown by the dashed line in the figure). However, by the time the user responds to and accepts the proposed dispatch plan, vehicle V has already passed the previous intersection and is no longer able to take the shortest route. Therefore, if the predicted arrival time at boarding point P_PU is calculated according to such an operating route, there is a risk that the actual arrival time of vehicle V will differ greatly from the predicted arrival time.

[0066] Meanwhile, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 of the present disclosure calculates an expected time until a vehicle dispatch plan is finalized for a candidate vehicle v based on a dispatch request, and predicts the position of vehicle V after the calculated expected time. Assume that vehicle V's position at this time is point P_Est. In other words, vehicle V has traveled a distance d past the intersection based on the expected time. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 calculates the expected arrival time at boarding point P_PU along the operating route (shown by a solid line in the figure) from point P_Req via point P_Est to boarding point P_PU. This allows the vehicle dispatch management device 10 to present a more accurate expected arrival time to the user.

[0067] As described above, according to this embodiment, in an on-demand vehicle dispatch service, the time until a vehicle dispatch plan is finalized in response to a new vehicle dispatch request is predicted, and the vehicle dispatch plan is created using the predicted position of the vehicle according to the predicted time, so that the predicted arrival time at the boarding location can be accurately determined based on the operating route of the vehicle V from the predicted position. Therefore, a more accurate predicted arrival time can be presented to the user, and the user can accept or reject the proposed vehicle dispatch plan based on this.

[0068] The above-described embodiments are merely examples for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to these embodiments. The present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0069] For example, in the methods disclosed herein, steps, operations, or functions may be performed in parallel or in a different order unless the results are inconsistent. The steps, operations, and functions described are provided merely as examples, and some of the steps, operations, and functions may be omitted or combined into one, or other steps, operations, or functions may be added, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0070] Furthermore, although various embodiments are disclosed in this specification, specific features (technical matters) in one embodiment can be added to or substituted for specific features in other embodiments, with appropriate modifications, and such forms are also included in the spirit of the present invention.

[0071] 1... Vehicle dispatch management system 10... Vehicle dispatch management device 110... Front-end processing unit 120... Demand information acquisition unit 121... Current demand calculation unit 122... Demand forecasting unit 130... Vehicle dispatch request acquisition unit 140... Boarding and alighting location determination unit 150... Vehicle dispatch plan creation unit 152... Predicted time calculation unit 160... Travel route planning unit 170... Vehicle communication interface unit 171... Vehicle information acquisition unit 172... Vehicle dispatch instruction unit 12... Database 12a... Operation record database 12b... User information database 12c... Map database 12d... Vehicle information database 12e... Vehicle dispatch plan database 20... Terminal device N... Communication network V... Vehicle 300... Control device 310... Communication unit 320... Position information acquisition unit 330... User interface unit

Claims

1. A vehicle allocation management device for managing the allocation of vehicles according to vehicle allocation requests, comprising: a vehicle allocation request acquisition unit that acquires the vehicle allocation requests from a terminal device; a vehicle allocation plan creation unit that creates a vehicle allocation plan including a boarding location for each of one or more candidate vehicles extracted from the plurality of vehicles based on the acquired vehicle allocation requests, and determines the vehicle allocation plan for a specific vehicle among the created vehicle allocation plans; an approval processing unit that transmits the vehicle allocation plans of the created candidate vehicles to the terminal device; a vehicle allocation instruction unit that transmits the determined vehicle allocation plan to the specific vehicle, wherein the vehicle allocation plan creation unit includes a predicted time calculation unit that calculates a predicted time until the vehicle allocation plan is determined in response to the vehicle allocation request; the vehicle allocation plan creation unit calculates an expected arrival time at the boarding location in the vehicle allocation plan based on the predicted time calculated by the predicted time calculation unit; the approval processing unit controls so that the vehicle allocation plan of the candidate vehicle including the expected arrival time is displayed on the terminal device; a vehicle allocation management device.

2. further comprising a vehicle information acquisition unit that requests vehicle information including the position information of each of the plurality of vehicles and acquires the vehicle information from each of the vehicles; the vehicle allocation plan creation unit creates the vehicle allocation plan based on the acquired vehicle information; the vehicle allocation management device according to Claim 1.

3. the vehicle allocation plan creation unit calculates the expected arrival time based on the position information of the acquired vehicle information and the calculated predicted time; the vehicle allocation management device according to Claim 2.

4. the vehicle allocation plan creation unit excludes the vehicle allocation plans of the candidate vehicles in a traffic jam occurrence area based on the position information; the vehicle allocation management device according to Claim 2.

5. the vehicle allocation plan creation unit excludes the vehicle allocation plans of the candidate vehicles including a detour route due to traffic regulations based on the position information; the vehicle allocation management device according to Claim 2.

6. the vehicle allocation plan creation unit excludes the vehicle allocation plans of the candidate vehicles in an area depending on a predetermined environmental factor based on the position information; the vehicle allocation management device according to Claim 2.

7. A vehicle allocation management device for managing the allocation of vehicles according to vehicle allocation requests, comprising: a vehicle allocation request acquisition unit that acquires the vehicle allocation requests from a terminal device; Based on the obtained vehicle allocation request, create a vehicle allocation plan including the boarding location for each of one or more candidate vehicles extracted from the plurality of vehicles, and determine the vehicle allocation plan for a specific vehicle among the created vehicle allocation plans. A vehicle allocation plan creation unit; A commitment processing unit that transmits the vehicle allocation plan of the created candidate vehicle to the terminal device; A vehicle allocation instruction unit that transmits the determined vehicle allocation plan to the specific vehicle, and includes: The vehicle allocation plan creation unit includes a predicted time calculation unit that calculates a predicted time until the vehicle allocation plan is determined based on characteristic information corresponding to the characteristics of each user in response to the vehicle allocation request. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit calculates an expected arrival time at the boarding location in the vehicle allocation plan based on the predicted time calculated by the predicted time calculation unit. The commitment processing unit controls so that the vehicle allocation plan of the candidate vehicle including the expected arrival time is displayed on the terminal device. Vehicle allocation management device.

8. The characteristic information includes information based on an average value of the time required from when the user made the vehicle allocation request in the past until the user commits to the commitment request. The vehicle allocation management device according to claim 7.

9. The characteristic information includes information based on the number of times the user has used the vehicle allocation service in the past and / or the age of the user. The vehicle allocation management device according to claim 7.

10. The vehicle allocation management device according to claim 1, further comprising a vehicle allocation instruction unit that transmits the determined vehicle allocation plan to the terminal device. The vehicle allocation management device according to claim 1.

11. A vehicle allocation management method by a vehicle allocation management device that manages vehicle allocation in response to a vehicle allocation request, comprising: Obtaining the vehicle allocation request from a terminal device; Creating a vehicle allocation plan including a boarding location for each of one or more candidate vehicles extracted from a plurality of vehicles based on the obtained vehicle allocation request; Transmitting the vehicle allocation plan of the created candidate vehicle to the terminal device and displaying the vehicle allocation plan on the terminal device; In response to the transmitted vehicle allocation request, determining the vehicle allocation plan of a specific vehicle among the candidate vehicles; Transmitting the determined vehicle allocation plan to the specific vehicle, and includes: Creating the vehicle allocation plan includes: Calculating a predicted time until the vehicle allocation plan is determined in response to the obtained vehicle allocation request; Calculating an expected arrival time at the boarding location in the vehicle allocation plan based on the calculated predicted time. The said causing to display includes causing to display the calculated predicted arrival time, Vehicle allocation management method.