Data collection system, data collection device, server, and data collection method

Abstract

This data collection system comprises a data collection device and a server. The data collection device includes: a collection condition determination unit that determines whether to collect input data in accordance with set collection conditions; a condition establishment monitoring unit that measures an establishment count for each condition element of the collection conditions; a condition establishment information transmission unit that transmits the measured establishment counts to the server at a predetermined timing; and a collection condition setting unit that receives collection conditions from the server and sets the received collection conditions in the collection condition determination unit. The server includes a condition establishment analysis unit for calculating the sum of the establishment counts of each of the condition elements of the measured collection conditions on the basis of the establishment counts received from the data collection device, a collection conditions update unit for updating the collection conditions on the basis of the sum of the establishment counts, and a collection condition transmission unit for transmitting the updated collection conditions to the data collection device.

Description

Data collection system, data collection device, server, and data collection method

[0001] The present invention relates to a data collection system for collecting data from a vehicle.

[0002] Conventionally, there is known a technology for collecting driving data from a plurality of vehicles and analyzing and utilizing the collected driving data. However, collecting all driving data has the problem of increasing the burden and cost on the center that collects the driving data. In contrast, the conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 can collect only the necessary data by determining whether or not driving data is necessary based on the collection status and collection needs of the driving data to be collected.

[0003] The following prior art exists as background art in this technical field. Patent Document 1 (JP 2019-153128 A) describes a traveling data collection center that is mounted on a vehicle and includes a data acquisition unit that acquires traveling data, which is information obtained by traveling of the vehicle, a vehicle-side transmission unit that transmits information, and a vehicle-side reception unit that receives information, the vehicle-side transmission unit including an on-board terminal that transmits the traveling data acquired by the data acquisition unit, and a collection unit that collects the traveling data transmitted from the vehicle-side transmission units of the on-board terminals of a plurality of the vehicles, the traveling data collection center including a collection instruction information generation unit that determines, for each vehicle, a road section from which the traveling data is to be collected from the vehicle according to the traveling frequency of the vehicle for each road section, and generates collection instruction information for causing the on-board terminal of each vehicle to acquire the traveling data in the determined road section based on collection needs, which are information indicating the traveling data that needs to be acquired and the conditions for acquiring the traveling data, and a center-side transmission unit that transmits information, the center-side transmission unit including the collection instruction information generated by the collection instruction information generation unit, The driving data collection system described in the present invention transmits the driving data to the on-board terminal of each vehicle, the data acquisition unit of the on-board terminal acquires the driving data in accordance with the collection instruction information received from the driving data collection center, the vehicle-side transmission unit of the on-board terminal transmits summary information, which shows an overview of the driving data and has a smaller amount of information than the driving data, before transmitting the driving data acquired by the data acquisition unit, the driving data collection center, when receiving the summary information from the on-board terminal, has a necessity determination unit that determines whether the driving data corresponding to the summary information is necessary based on the collection status of the driving data in the collection unit and the collection needs, the center-side transmission unit transmits the necessity determination result of the necessity determination unit to the on-board terminal, and the vehicle-side transmission unit of the on-board terminal transmits the driving data if the necessity determination result received from the driving data collection center indicates that the driving data is necessary, but does not transmit the driving data if the driving data is not necessary.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-153128

[0005] The driving data collection system described in the aforementioned Patent Document 1 first acquires driving data according to collection conditions, and then determines whether the data is necessary based on the collection status and collection needs of the acquired driving data. However, if the collection conditions are not appropriate, there is a possibility that necessary data will be missed or unnecessary data will be collected.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a technique for analyzing inappropriate collection conditions and changing the collection conditions in accordance with the analyzed situation.

[0007] A representative example of the invention disclosed in the present application is as follows: That is, a data collection system includes a data collection device and a server, wherein the data collection device has a collection condition determination unit that determines whether to collect input data in accordance with set collection conditions, a condition satisfaction monitoring unit that measures the number of times each condition element of the collection conditions is satisfied, a condition satisfaction information transmission unit that transmits the measured number of times each condition element is satisfied to the server at a predetermined timing, and a collection condition setting unit that receives the collection conditions from the server and sets the received collection conditions to the collection condition determination unit, and the server has a condition satisfaction analysis unit that calculates the sum of the number of times each condition element of the measured collection conditions is satisfied based on the number of times each condition element is satisfied received from the data collection device, a collection condition update unit that updates the collection conditions based on the sum of the number of times each condition element is satisfied, and a collection condition transmission unit that transmits the updated collection conditions to the data collection device.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, the collection conditions can be changed depending on the situation. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

[0009] 1 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle data collection system in Example 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the vehicle data collection system in Example 1. FIG. 3 is a timing diagram during data collection in Example 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of collection condition change processing in Example 1. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a vehicle data collection system in Example 2. FIG. 6 is a timing diagram during data collection in Example 2. FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a vehicle data collection system in Example 3. FIG. 8 is a timing diagram during data collection in Example 2. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of collection condition change processing in Example 3. FIG. 10 is a timing diagram during data collection in Example 3. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of collection condition change processing in Example 3.

[0010] Examples of embodiments (embodiments) of the present invention will be described below.

[0011] First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle data collection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] The vehicle data collection system is configured by a vehicle control device 12 mounted on a vehicle 11 and a server 16 connected to the vehicle control device 12 .

[0013] The vehicle control device 12 is equipped with an SoC 13, which is an integrated circuit including a CPU 14 and a memory 15. In the vehicle control device 12, a processing program constituting a logic circuit is stored in the memory 15. The server 16 is a computer having a CPU 17 and a memory 18, and in the server 16, a processing program constituting a logic circuit is stored in the memory 18. Note that the CPUs 14 and 17 are the main actors in the processing, but for convenience, the following description may refer to each process as the subject.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a vehicle data collection system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] The data collection device 19 implemented in the vehicle control device 12 includes a data receiving unit 101 , a collection condition determining unit 102 , a transmitting unit 103 , a condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104 , and a collection condition setting unit 105 .

[0016] The data receiving unit 101 receives data to be collected from sensors and other control devices. The data collected by the data receiving unit 101 includes, for example, environmental data around the vehicle, vehicle behavior data, and occupant operation data, and can be acquired from sensors and cameras mounted on the vehicle. The collection condition determining unit 102 determines whether to collect the data received by the data receiving unit 101 based on whether the data matches the collection conditions. The transmitting unit 103 transmits the data determined to be collected and the number of conditions satisfied monitored by the condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104 to the server 13. The condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104 counts the number of times the collection condition determining unit 102 determines to collect data at a predetermined timing (e.g., every hour) and monitors the degree of satisfaction with the collection conditions. The collection condition setting unit 105 sets the collection conditions received from the server 16 in the collection condition determining unit 102.

[0017] The server 16 includes a receiving unit 106 , a condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 , a condition changeability confirmation unit 108 , a collection condition update unit 109 , and a collection condition transmission unit 110 .

[0018] The receiving unit 106 receives data collected by the vehicle control device 12 and the number of monitored condition satisfactions. The condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 counts the total number of satisfactions of each condition element of the collection conditions from the number of satisfactions collected from multiple vehicles 12. The condition changeability confirmation unit 108 updates changeable conditions and sets unchangeable conditions not to be updated. The collection condition update unit 109 sets collection conditions for collecting data from the vehicle 11. The collection condition transmission unit 110 transmits the collection conditions set by the collection condition update unit 109 to the vehicle 11.

[0019] In conventional data collection, the collection condition update unit 109 of the server 16 sets the collection conditions, the collection condition transmission unit 110 transmits the set collection conditions to the vehicle 11, the collection condition setting unit 105 of the vehicle 11 updates the collection conditions, the collection condition determination unit 102 collects data based on the updated collection conditions, and the transmission unit 103 transmits the collected driving data to the server 16. A problem with this is that if the collection conditions are not appropriate, there are few opportunities for the collection conditions to be met, making it impossible to collect necessary data, or the collection conditions may be met frequently, resulting in the collection of unnecessary data.

[0020] To solve this problem, the data collection device 19 of this embodiment transmits the number of times each element of a collection condition is satisfied to the server 16. The condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104 of the data collection device 19 counts the number of times each condition element of the set collection conditions is satisfied, and the transmission unit 103 transmits the measurement result to the server 16 at a predetermined timing (e.g., at regular intervals). The condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 of the server 16 counts the total number of times each condition element of the collection conditions is satisfied from the number of times each condition element is satisfied collected from multiple vehicles at a predetermined timing (e.g., at regular intervals), the condition changeability confirmation unit 108 updates changeable conditions and sets unchangeable conditions not to be updated, the collection condition update unit 109 changes the collection conditions based on the measurement result, and the collection condition transmission unit 110 transmits the collection conditions updated by the collection condition setting unit 105 and sets the updated collection conditions to the vehicle 12.

[0021] 3 is a timing diagram of data collection in the first embodiment of the present invention. The effect of measuring the number of times each condition element of the collection condition is satisfied will be described with reference to FIG.

[0022] Consider an example of data collection conditions: condition A (201): the vehicle's speed is 90 km / h or faster; and condition B (202): another vehicle is present within 20 meters ahead. When these two conditions are met, data for a predetermined period of time before and after the condition is met is transmitted to the server 16 as collected data (206). In FIG. 3 , condition A is met three times (201, 204), condition B is met once (202, 205), and both condition A and condition B are met simultaneously once (201, 202, 203). The number of times each element of the collection condition is met (204, 205) is measured in the vehicle and transmitted to the server 16 at a predetermined timing. The number of times met can be used to analyze collection condition elements that may be preventing desired data collection. Furthermore, transmitting the number of times met at a predetermined timing can adjust the collection conditions if the tendency for the collection conditions to be met varies depending on the time period, and also allows for fine-tuning of the collection conditions.

[0023] 4 is a flowchart of the collection condition change process executed by the server 16 in the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the procedure for updating the collection condition based on the number of established conditions transmitted to the server 16 will be described.

[0024] The receiving unit 106 receives the number of satisfied elements of the collection conditions from a plurality of vehicles and sends the received information to the condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 (301).

[0025] The condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 calculates the sum of the number of satisfied conditions for each element of the collection conditions received from the plurality of vehicles (302).

[0026] The condition changeability confirmation unit 108 determines whether each condition is changeable based on preset changeability information (303), and the condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 excludes conditions determined to be unchangeable from the condition change targets (304). Using the changeability information updates only changeable conditions and not unchangeable conditions, thereby avoiding the failure to collect desired data by changing conditions that are prohibited from being changed. For example, while thresholds for conditions such as time and vehicle speed may be changeable, environmental conditions such as differences in road type (highway vs. local road) and weather are intended for data collection and can be set to remain unchanged. Note that the settings listed here are merely examples, and environmental conditions such as roads and weather may also be set to be changeable.

[0027] The condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 then determines whether the number of data collections, which is the number of collected data items transmitted to the server 16, meets a preset standard (305). For example, if the number of data collections is greater than a preset threshold, the unit 108 determines that the number of data collections is high. The unit 108 then modifies the collection conditions by tightening the condition elements that are determined to be changeable with a high number of satisfied conditions, or by adding other conditions (306). For example, if condition A is "the speed of the vehicle is 90 km / h or more," the threshold speed may be changed to 95 km / h, and condition A may be changed to "the speed of the vehicle is 95 km / h or more," thereby tightening the condition elements. The threshold change amount may be a predetermined value, or may be changed depending on the degree of deviation from the threshold. For example, if condition B is "there is another vehicle within 20 m ahead on a highway, and another vehicle within 10 m ahead on a general road," condition B may be changed to "there is another vehicle within 20 m ahead on a highway, and another vehicle within 10 m ahead on a general road," and another condition may be added. On the other hand, if the number of data collections is smaller than the threshold, it is determined that the number of data collections is small, and the condition changeability confirmation unit 108 changes the collection conditions so as to relax or exclude the condition elements that are determined to be changeable and have a small number of fulfillment counts (307). By changing the conditions in this way, it is possible to balance multiple conditions and optimize the collection conditions.

[0028] In addition to the above, various collection conditions for various genres can be set. For example, the following collection conditions may be set: 1. Time: A time determined from a start time to an end time, such as morning, afternoon, evening, or late night 2. Vehicle operation mode: Autonomous driving mode, operation mode when an abnormality is detected, etc. 3. Vehicle operation: Sudden steering, speed, sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, sudden braking, headlights on, wiper operation, airbag operation 4. Position: Within a specified distance from a specified point 5. Background verification: Object detection (N / N+1 comparison degradation detection), behavior prediction (detection of differences between actual measurement and prediction) 6. Road type: Expressway, ordinary road, number of lanes, merging, branching, intersection, curve, corner, uphill, downhill, tunnel, etc. 7. Vehicle movement: Lane keeping, lane change, turning, turning 8. Relative direction and position of other vehicles: Same direction, crossing, oncoming, ahead, behind, left, right 9. Weather: Rain, snow, wind, illuminance, etc. 10. Events: accidents, traffic jams, construction, sinkholes, protrusions, etc. 11. Scene detection: cut-in, cut-out, appearance from blind spot, swaying, near-collision, tailgating, etc.

[0029] After steps 306 and 307, the collection condition update unit 109 updates the collection conditions with the changed collection conditions (308). The collection condition transmission unit 110 transmits the set collection conditions to the vehicle (309).

[0030] Although the number of data collection times has been described as being calculated from the collected data held by the server 16, the vehicle control device 12 may detect the number of data collection times and transmit this together with the number of times the collection conditions are met to the server 16. Furthermore, the vehicle control device 12 may transmit the time at which the collection conditions are met to the server 16, instead of the number of times the collection conditions are met.

[0031] In the vehicle data collection system of Example 1, inappropriate collection conditions are analyzed by focusing on the number of times each condition element of the collection conditions is met, and the collection conditions are changed according to the analyzed situation, so that the data collection conditions can be optimized in detail, unnecessary data collection can be reduced, and desired data can be collected efficiently.

[0032] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same configurations and processes as those in the first embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0033] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a vehicle data collection system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] The data collection device 19 implemented in the vehicle control device 12 includes a data receiving unit 101 , a collection condition determining unit 102 , a transmitting unit 103 , a condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104 , a collection condition setting unit 105 , and an environmental information acquiring unit 401 .

[0035] The data receiving unit 101, collection condition determining unit 102, condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104, and collection condition setting unit 105 are the same as those in the first embodiment. The environmental information acquiring unit 401 measures surrounding environmental information (weather, location information, topography, etc.) when each condition element of the collection condition is satisfied. The transmitting unit 103 transmits to the server 13 the data determined to be collected, the number of satisfied conditions monitored by the condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104, and the number of satisfied environmental information items measured by the environmental information acquiring unit 401.

[0036] The server 16 has a receiving unit 106, a condition satisfaction analyzing unit 107, a condition changeability checking unit 108, a collection condition updating unit 109, and a collection condition transmitting unit 110, and has the same configuration as in the first embodiment.

[0037] 6 is a timing diagram of data collection in Example 2 of the present invention. The effect of measuring environmental information will be described with reference to FIG.

[0038] Consider an example of data collection conditions: condition A (201): the vehicle's speed is 90 km / h or faster; and condition B (202): there is another vehicle within 20 meters ahead. When these two conditions are met simultaneously, data for a predetermined period before and after the condition is met is transmitted to the server 16 as collected data (206). In FIG. 6 , condition A is met three times (201, 204), condition B is met once (202, 205), and both condition A and condition B are met simultaneously (201, 202, 203). In this case, the data collection device 19 detects environmental information C (506) and transmits the number of occurrences and the environmental information to the server 16 at a predetermined timing (e.g., every fixed time). The server 16 can update the collection conditions to more optimal ones based on the vehicle's surrounding environment. For example, condition B may be met less frequently if it is not possible to recognize a vehicle ahead due to external influences such as rain. If the detected environmental information indicates rain, environmental condition C indicating rain and environmental condition D indicating other than rain are added as collection conditions, and if environmental condition C is met, condition B is relaxed by changing it from "recognizing another vehicle ahead" to "recognizing some kind of object ahead," and if environmental condition D is met, the condition can be updated from "there is another vehicle within 20 meters ahead" to "there is some kind of object within 20 meters ahead," as in condition B. This makes it possible to optimize detailed data collection conditions, suppress unnecessary data collection, and efficiently collect only desired data.Furthermore, it is possible to avoid collection conditions set due to differences in environmental information not functioning as intended, and to set different conditions for each environmental situation.

[0039] The vehicle data collection system of Example 2 focuses on environmental information, analyzes inappropriate collection conditions, and changes the collection conditions according to the analyzed situation, so that data collection conditions can be optimized in detail, unnecessary data collection can be reduced, and desired data can be collected efficiently.

[0040] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same configurations and processes as those in the first embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0041] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a vehicle data collection system according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] The data collection device 19 implemented in the vehicle control device 12 includes a data receiving unit 101 , a collection condition determining unit 102 , a transmitting unit 103 , a condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104 , a collection condition setting unit 105 , and a condition satisfaction time monitoring unit 601 .

[0043] The data receiving unit 101, collection condition determining unit 102, condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104, and collection condition setting unit 105 are the same as those in the first embodiment. The condition satisfaction time monitoring unit 601 measures the satisfaction time for each element of the set collection condition, i.e., the condition satisfaction time and the condition end time. The transmitting unit 103 transmits to the server 13 the data determined to be collected, the number of conditions satisfied monitored by the condition satisfaction count monitoring unit 104, and the satisfaction time measured by the condition satisfaction time monitoring unit 601. The transmitting unit 103 may transmit the condition satisfaction time and the condition end time to the server 13 instead of the satisfaction time.

[0044] The server 16 has a receiving unit 106, a condition satisfaction analyzing unit 107, a condition changeability checking unit 108, a collection condition updating unit 109, and a collection condition transmitting unit 110, and has the same configuration as in the first embodiment.

[0045] 8 is a timing diagram for data collection in the second embodiment of the present invention. The effect of measuring the time for which each condition element of the collection condition is satisfied will be described with reference to FIG.

[0046] As an example of data collection conditions, consider the case where condition A (201): the vehicle's speed is 90 km / h or faster, and condition B (202): there is another vehicle within 20 meters ahead, are both met simultaneously, and data for a predetermined period before and after the condition is met is transmitted to the server 16 as collected data (206). Note that the time when condition A is met is X, and the time when condition B is met is Y, where X is greater than Y. In FIG. 8 , condition A is met three times (201, 204), condition B is met once (202, 205), and both condition A and condition B are met once simultaneously (201, 202, 203). In this case, it is difficult to determine which collection condition should be changed based solely on the number of met conditions (204, 205) received by the server 16. In contrast, by using the met times (706, 707), when the number of met conditions for multiple condition elements is the same, it is possible to determine which collection condition should be adjusted by referring to the met times.

[0047] 9 is a flowchart of the collection condition change process executed by the server 16 in the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, the procedure for updating the collection condition based on the establishment time transmitted to the server 16 will be described.

[0048] The receiving unit 106 receives the number of satisfied conditions and the time for which each element of the collection condition is satisfied from a plurality of vehicles, and sends the information to the condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 (801).

[0049] The condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 calculates the sum of the number of times each element of the collection condition received from the plurality of vehicles is satisfied and the sum of the time each element of the collection condition is satisfied (802).

[0050] The condition changeability confirmation unit 108 determines whether each condition can be changed based on the changeability information set in advance (303), and the condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 excludes conditions that are determined to be unchangeable from the condition change targets (304).

[0051] The condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 then determines whether the number of data collections, which is the number of collected data items sent to the server 16, meets a preset standard (305). For example, if the number of data collections is greater than a preset threshold, the unit determines that the number of data collections is high, and the condition changeability confirmation unit 108 changes the collection conditions by tightening the conditions of the condition elements that have been satisfied for a long time and adding other conditions (803). On the other hand, if the number of data collections is less than the threshold, the unit determines that the number of data collections is low, and the unit 108 changes the collection conditions by loosening or excluding the condition elements that have been satisfied for a short time (804). Such condition changes can optimize the collection conditions.

[0052] After steps 803 and 804, the collection condition update unit 109 updates the collection conditions with the changed collection conditions (308). The collection condition transmission unit 110 transmits the set collection conditions to the vehicle (309).

[0053] 10 is a timing diagram for data collection in the third embodiment of the present invention. The effect of measuring the time for which each condition element of the collection condition is satisfied will be described with reference to FIG.

[0054] In the second embodiment (FIG. 8) described above, the time for collecting data when the collection condition is met is set as a fixed value, and because the number of times data is collected is proportional to the data collection time, whether the criterion is met is determined by comparing the number of times data is collected. In contrast, in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, when data is collected continuously while the collection condition is met, as in collection time=Z (908), the data collection time can be changed, making it difficult to determine whether the number of times data is collected meets the criterion. In this case, whether the criterion is met is determined using the data collection time, rather than the number of times data is collected, based on the time information of the collected data sent to the server 16.

[0055] 11 is a flowchart of the collection condition change process executed by the server 16 in the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, the procedure for updating the collection conditions based on the data collection time transmitted to the server 16 will be described.

[0056] The receiving unit 106 receives the number of satisfied conditions and the time for which each element of the collection condition is satisfied from a plurality of vehicles, and sends the information to the condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 (801).

[0057] The condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 calculates the sum of the number of times each element of the collection condition received from the plurality of vehicles is satisfied and the sum of the time each element of the collection condition is satisfied (802).

[0058] The condition changeability confirmation unit 108 determines whether each condition can be changed based on the changeability information set in advance (303), and the condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 excludes conditions that are determined to be unchangeable from the condition change targets (304).

[0059] The condition satisfaction analysis unit 107 then determines whether the time information of the collected data transmitted to the server 16 satisfies a preset standard (1001). For example, if the data collection time is greater than a preset threshold, the unit 108 determines that the data collection time is long, and changes the collection conditions by tightening the condition elements that have been determined to be changeable for a long time, or by adding other conditions (803). On the other hand, if the data collection time is less than the threshold, the unit 108 determines that the data collection time is short, and changes the collection conditions by loosening or excluding the condition elements that have been determined to be changeable for a short time (804). Such condition changes can optimize the collection conditions.

[0060] After steps 803 and 804, the collection condition update unit 109 updates the collection conditions with the changed collection conditions (308). The collection condition transmission unit 110 transmits the set collection conditions to the vehicle (309).

[0061] Although the data collection time is referenced from the collected data on the server 16, the data collection time may be detected in the vehicle and transmitted to the server 16 together with the number of occurrences and the time of occurrence. If the data collection time is variable, the detailed conditions for data collection can be optimized by making a judgment based on the data collection time rather than the number of data collections, thereby suppressing unnecessary data collection and enabling the efficient collection of desired data. Furthermore, by adding the time of occurrence and the data collection time to the judgment conditions, the collection conditions can be changed to be more optimal.

[0062] In the vehicle data collection system of Example 3, inappropriate collection conditions are analyzed by focusing on the time when each condition element of the collection conditions is met, and the collection conditions are changed according to the analyzed situation, so that the data collection conditions can be optimized in detail, unnecessary data collection can be reduced, and desired data can be collected efficiently.

[0063] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications and equivalent configurations within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to configurations including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Furthermore, the configuration of another embodiment may be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, part of the configuration of each embodiment may be added, deleted, or replaced with other configurations.

[0064] Furthermore, the aforementioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in part or in whole in hardware, for example by designing them as integrated circuits, or may be realized in software by having a processor interpret and execute a program that realizes each function.

[0065] Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a storage device such as a memory, hard disk, or SSD (Solid State Drive), or in a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD.

[0066] In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those that are considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily represent all the control lines and information lines that are necessary for implementation. In reality, it can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected.

Claims

1. A data collection system comprising a data collection device and a server, wherein the data collection device has a collection condition determination unit that determines whether to collect input data in accordance with set collection conditions, a condition satisfaction monitoring unit that measures the number of times each condition element of the collection conditions is satisfied, a condition satisfaction information transmission unit that transmits the measured number of times each condition element is satisfied to the server at a predetermined timing, and a collection condition setting unit that receives collection conditions from the server and sets the received collection conditions to the collection condition determination unit, and the server has a condition satisfaction analysis unit that calculates the sum of the number of times each condition element of the measured collection conditions is satisfied based on the number of times each condition element is satisfied received from the data collection device, a collection condition update unit that updates the collection conditions based on the sum of the number of times each condition element is satisfied, and a collection condition transmission unit that transmits the updated collection conditions to the data collection device.

2. A data collection system as described in claim 1, wherein the data collection device has an environmental information acquisition unit that acquires environmental information of the environment in which the vehicle is located from a sensor, the condition fulfillment information transmission unit transmits the measured number of fulfillments and the acquired environmental information to the server at the specified timing, and the condition fulfillment analysis unit calculates the sum of the number of fulfillments of each condition element of the collection condition measured in the same environment based on the number of fulfillments and the environmental information received from the data collection device.

3. A data collection system as described in claim 1, wherein the condition fulfillment monitoring unit measures the number of fulfillments and the time for which each condition element of the collection condition is fulfilled; the condition fulfillment information transmission unit transmits the measured number of fulfillments and the measured time for which each condition element is fulfilled to the server; the condition fulfillment analysis unit calculates the sum of the number of fulfillments and the sum of the time for which each condition element is fulfilled for the collection condition based on the number of fulfillments and the time for which each condition element is fulfilled received from the data collection device; and the collection condition update unit updates the collection conditions based on the sum of the number of fulfillments and the sum of the time for which each condition element is fulfilled.

4. A data collection system according to claim 1, wherein the collection condition update unit updates collection conditions that are determined to be changeable based on preset changeability information, based on the sum of the number of times they are met.

5. A vehicle control device mounted on a vehicle, the vehicle control device comprising a data collection device that transmits collected data to a server, the data collection device having: a collection condition determination unit that determines whether to collect input data in accordance with set collection conditions; a condition satisfaction monitoring unit that counts the number of times each condition element of the collection conditions is satisfied; a condition satisfaction information transmission unit that transmits the measured number of times each condition element is satisfied to the server at a predetermined timing; and a collection condition setting unit that receives collection conditions from the server and sets the received collection conditions in the collection condition determination unit.

6. A server that collects data from a data collection device, wherein the data collection device determines whether to collect input data in accordance with collection conditions received from the server, counts the number of times each condition element of the collection conditions is met, and transmits the measured number of times each condition element is met to the server at a predetermined timing, and the server comprises: a condition satisfaction analysis unit that calculates the sum of the number of times each condition element of the measured collection conditions is met based on the number of times each condition element is met received from the data collection device; a collection condition update unit that updates the collection conditions based on the sum of the number of times each condition element is met; and a collection condition transmission unit that transmits the updated collection conditions to the data collection device.

7. A data collection method executed by a data collection system, the data collection system having a data collection device and a server, the data collection method comprising: the data collection device determining whether to collect input data in accordance with set collection conditions; the data collection device counting the number of times each condition element of the collection conditions is met; the data collection device transmitting the measured number of times each condition element is met to the server at a predetermined timing; the data collection device receiving the collection conditions from the server and setting the received collection conditions in the collection condition determination unit; the server calculating the sum of the number of times each condition element of the measured collection conditions is met based on the number of times each condition element is met received from the data collection device; the server updating the collection conditions based on the sum of the number of times each condition element is met; and the server transmitting the updated collection conditions to the data collection device.