System, program, and edge device

Abstract

The present invention is capable of collecting information and processing the information, and reduces the burden on an edge device which performs operations based on the processed information, and reduces power consumption by the edge device.　A system (100) comprises: a first acquisition unit (131) for acquiring, from an edge device (4), a plurality of types of information collected by the edge device; a second acquisition unit (132) capable of acquiring request information for requesting processing of specific information from the edge device; a processing unit (133) for processing the specific information, from among the plurality of types of information, when the second acquisition unit acquires the request information; and a transmission control unit (134) for transmitting the processing results to the edge device if the processing unit has processed the specific information.

Description

Systems, programs and edge devices

[0001] The present invention relates to a system, a program, and an edge device.

[0002] Various technologies related to the distribution of information processing functions in communication networks have been proposed. For example, Patent Literature 1 (JP-A-2007-103396) describes a planning node configured to allocate distributed functions in a distributed control system including a network that facilitates an IoT system including a server and an edge computer and multiple communication devices. Patent Literature 1 also describes that the distributed functions of the planning node include one or more AI functions or control functions that facilitate the IoT system, that the planning node includes a processor unit, and that the processor collects requirements for the distributed functions that constitute the distributed control system, network information, and information on the multiple communication devices, and generates a plan for allocating the distributed functions to corresponding ones of the multiple communication devices and a plan for allocating network resources to corresponding ones of the multiple communication devices based on the collected requirements and network information.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-032955

[0004] However, conventional functional distribution technology such as that described in Patent Document 1 was intended to distribute functions and network resources among multiple communication devices located between a server and a controlled device (part of an edge computer). Therefore, even if the distribution reduces the burden on some communication devices, the burden on the remaining communication devices increases. In other words, in the prior art, the processing burden on the I / O control device (part of the edge device) included in the communication device remained high. In particular, when the I / O control device is equipped with a battery and operates without external power supply (e.g., a vehicle, smartphone, robot, or drone), excessive processing burden directly leads to power consumption issues.

[0005] A system according to one aspect of the present invention is a server that is capable of collecting information and processing the information, and that has a communication unit that communicates with an edge device that performs operations based on the processed information, and that includes a first acquisition unit that acquires from the edge device multiple types of information collected by the edge device via the communication unit, a second acquisition unit that is capable of acquiring from the edge device via the communication unit request information requesting processing of specific information included in the multiple types of information, a processing unit that processes the specific information from the multiple types of information when the second acquisition unit acquires the request information, and a transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to send the processing result to the edge device when the processing unit processes the specific information.

[0006] In addition, an edge device according to another aspect of the present invention is an edge device having a communication unit that communicates with the above-mentioned system, and includes: a collection unit that collects multiple types of information; a first transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit to the system location information of the edge device, wireless quality information collected by the edge device, and capacity information indicating the capacity of the multiple types of information; a first acquisition unit that acquires from the system, via the communication unit, destination information indicating a destination to which the edge device will send the multiple types of information, and instruction information indicating a portion of the multiple types of information to be processed by the edge device; a second transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit request information based on the destination information and the instruction information to the system; a processing unit that processes information corresponding to the destination information when the edge device is included in the destination indicated by the destination information; a second acquisition unit that acquires from the system, via the communication unit, the processing results of the system when the system has processed the specific information, the processing results of the system; and an operation control unit that performs an operation based on the processing results of at least one of the processing unit and the system.

[0007] Each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the present invention also includes a program that causes a computer to operate as each part (software element) of the server or edge device, thereby realizing the server or edge device on the computer, as well as a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system according to one embodiment of the present invention, and an edge device according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a first server (second server) constituting a processing server provided in the system. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing differences between the first server and second server constituting the processing server. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an instruction server provided in the system. FIG. 5 is a table showing an example of a management form of response time by the instruction server. FIG. 6 is a table used by the instruction server to determine the destination of request information. FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining updating of an instruction trained model by the instruction server. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the edge device of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of a device control method according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a table used by the instruction server according to a modified example of the present invention to determine the destination of request information. FIG. 4 is a table showing an example of a management form of response time by the instruction server. FIG. 5 is a diagram explaining the operation of an edge device communicating with a system according to a modified example of the present invention.

[0009] <System> First, an embodiment of a system according to one aspect of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1 , the system 100 communicates with an edge device 4. The system 100 also includes a processing server 1, an instruction server 2, and a communication network 3. While FIG. 1 illustrates the system 100 including one processing server 1, the system 100 may include multiple processing servers 1. While FIG. 1 illustrates the case where the instruction server 2 is a component of the system 100, the instruction server 2 may be implemented in an edge device 4. In this case, the instruction server 2 and the edge device 4 may communicate directly without using the communication network 3. The edge device 4 may be any device capable of collecting information, processing the information, and performing an operation based on the processed information. Examples of the edge device 4 include a vehicle, a smartphone, a robot, a drone, and the like. Details of the system 100 will be described below using a vehicle as the edge device 4.

[0011] [Communication Network] The communication network 3 is responsible for communication between the processing server 1 and the edge device 4, and communication between the instruction server 2 and the edge device 4. The communication network 3 also handles communication between the processing server 1 and the instruction server 2 that constitute the system 100. The communication network 3 includes a communication control device 31 and a base station 32. That is, the processing server 1 and the instruction server 2 according to this embodiment communicate with the edge device 4 via a cellular system. The communication network 3 according to this embodiment includes multiple base stations 32. The communication network 3 according to this embodiment is managed by a telecommunications carrier. That is, the communication network 3 is not dedicated to communication between the edge device 4, but also handles communication between other communication devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablet terminals, etc.). For this reason, congestion in the communication network 3 may reduce the communication speed of at least one of the communication between the processing server 1 and the edge device 4 and the communication between the instruction server 2 and the edge device 4.

[0012] The communication control device 31 periodically collects the location information of the base station 32, the wireless quality information collected by the base station 32, and the transmission delay time. The location information of the base station 32 is information (e.g., PCI, ECGI) for identifying the base station 32 with which communication is being performed. If the base station 32 and the communication control device 31 have a function for locating the location of the edge device 4 (such as NR Positioning), the location information of the base station 32 may further include the location information of the located edge device 4. However, if the base station 32 and the communication control device 31 do not have a function for locating the location of the edge device 4, the transmission delay time of the wireless section may be used instead of the location information. The wireless quality information collected by the base station 32 includes the uplink error rate, the number of simultaneous connections, the utilization rate of the wireless resource block, etc. If the base station 32 and the communication control device 31 have a function for collecting and notifying the wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4, the wireless quality information collected by the base station 32 may further include the wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4. The wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4 includes radio wave strength, radio wave quality, downstream error rate, etc. The transmission delay time is the transmission delay time in the wired section between the communication control device 31 and the processing server 1. Furthermore, the communication control device 31 according to this embodiment may be configured to collect radio wave modulation methods, etc.

[0013] [Processing Server] The processing server 1 is a computer capable of collecting information and processing the information. The processing server 1 according to this embodiment includes a first server 1a and a second server 1b. The first server 1a may be configured as a multi-access edge computer (MEC) managed by a telecommunications company, for example. The second server 1b may be configured as a cloud server managed by a company that provides cloud services, for example. The processing server 1 does not have to be divided into the first server 1a and the second server 1b, or may be divided into three or more servers. Furthermore, the first server 1a and the second server 1b may both be MECs, or both may be cloud servers.

[0014] At least one of the first server 1a and the second server 1b according to this embodiment is a renewable energy server that operates using power supplied from a generator that generates electricity using renewable energy. Generators that generate electricity using renewable energy include solar panels, wind power generators, hydroelectric generators, geothermal power generators, and wave power generators. This allows for reduced carbon dioxide emissions compared to when the server operates using power supplied from a generator that generates electricity using fossil fuels. Both the first server 1a and the second server 1b according to this embodiment are renewable energy servers. The first server 1a and the second server 1b according to this embodiment switch their power supplier between a generator that generates electricity using renewable energy and a generator that generates electricity using fossil fuels depending on the power supply status. The power supply status includes at least one of the operating status of the generator and the power storage status of a storage battery connected to the generator. At least one of the first server 1a and the second server 1b may be a renewable energy server and a server that operates using power supplied from a generator that generates electricity using fossil fuels. In addition, both the first server 1a and the second server 1b may operate using power supplied from a generator that generates electricity using fossil fuels. Below, a specific configuration of the first server 1a will be described, and then differences between the first server 1a and the second server 1b will be described.

[0015] {First Server} As shown in FIG. 2, the first server 1 a includes a processing-side communication unit 11 (communication unit), a processing-side storage unit 12 , and a processing-side control unit 13 .

[0016] [Processing-Side Communication Unit] The processing-side communication unit 11 communicates with the edge device 4. The processing-side communication unit 11 according to this embodiment communicates wirelessly with the edge device 4 via the communication network 3. The processing-side communication unit 11 according to this embodiment also communicates with the instruction server 2. The processing-side communication unit 11 according to this embodiment is configured with a communication module.

[0017] [Processing-Side Storage Unit] The processing-side storage unit 12 stores a processing program 121. The processing-side storage unit 12 according to this embodiment also stores a processing trained model 122. The processing-side storage unit 12 according to this embodiment is configured with a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, etc.

[0018] The processing program 121 describes the operation of the processing control unit 13 of the first server 1a. The processing program 121 also specifies the types and forms of specific information (described in detail below), how each specific information is to be processed, the processing time per computing resource for each type of information, and the form in which each specific information is to be output. The computing resources include GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) usage rate, CPU (Central Processing Unit) usage rate, memory usage rate, etc.

[0019] The processing trained model 122 is used for information processing. Information processing using the processing trained model 122 includes, for example, object detection based on image data, vehicle type identification based on image data, etc. In other words, the processing trained model 122 includes, for example, a model constructed by machine learning the relationship between image data generated by previously capturing an image of at least one of the outside and inside of the edge device 4 and the objects depicted in the image based on the image data.

[0020] [Processing-side Control Unit] The processing-side control unit 13 includes a processing-side first acquisition unit 131 (first acquisition unit), a processing-side second acquisition unit 132 (second acquisition unit), a server-side processing unit 133 (processing unit), a processing-side transmission control unit 134 (transmission control unit), and a resource monitoring unit 135. The processing-side control unit 13 according to this embodiment is configured with a processor. When this processor executes the processing program 121 stored in the processing-side storage unit 12, the processing program 121 causes the processing-side control unit 13 to function as each of the control blocks 131 to 135.

[0021] (Processing-Side First Acquisition Unit) The processing-side first acquisition unit 131 acquires at least one of multiple types of information (multiple types of information (1)) collected by the edge device 4 from the edge device 4 via the processing-side communication unit 11. The multiple types of information (1) include information (e.g., image data, driving logs, and various types of information received as input) generated by an information acquisition unit 44 (described in detail later) included in the edge device 4. The processing-side first acquisition unit 131 according to this embodiment can acquire, as one of the multiple types of information, information whose data volume has been reduced by the edge device 4. Information whose data volume has been reduced includes compressed information, partially processed information, and the like. This allows the processing-side first acquisition unit 131 to acquire information even if the edge device 4 reduces the data volume of the information. Therefore, the processing-side first acquisition unit 131 can acquire information that is too large to transmit or receive as is.

[0022] Furthermore, the processing-side first acquisition unit 131 according to this embodiment can acquire the previous processing result from the edge device 4 via the processing-side communication unit 11. The previous processing result can be acquired when the processing server 1 (at least one of the first server 1a and the second server 1b) processes multiple types of information and the result of a similar processing performed previously (hereinafter, the previous processing result) is required for the processing. This eliminates the need for the processing server 1 (at least one of the first server 1a and the second server 1b) to maintain its state (it becomes stateless). As a result, it is possible to easily strengthen processing capacity by scaling out, or to continue processing using a processing server 1 located nearby even if the edge device 4 moves.

[0023] The processing-side first acquisition unit 131 according to this embodiment may acquire other information useful for the operation of the edge device 4 from other devices via the processing-side communication unit 11. The other information includes, for example, information collected by other edge devices 4, image data generated by a surveillance camera installed near a road, and the like.

[0024] (Processing-side second acquisition unit) The processing-side second acquisition unit 132 is capable of acquiring request information from the edge device 4 via the processing-side communication unit 11. The request information is information requesting processing of specific information included in multiple types of information. Details of the specific information will be described later.

[0025] (Server-Side Processing Unit) When the processing-side second acquisition unit 132 acquires request information, the server-side processing unit 133 processes specific information from among the multiple types of information. The processing includes real-time processing and non-real-time processing. Real-time processing is processing for which a response request time is set. The response request time is the upper limit of the time allowed from when the edge device 4 starts controlling the transmission of information until the edge device 4 acquires the corresponding processing result. Real-time processing includes recognition processing and control processing. Recognition processing includes object detection based on image data, vehicle type identification based on image data, object detection based on LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), and edge device 4 position estimation based on LiDAR. Control processing includes determining a global route plan, determining a local route plan, steering and speed control, and the like. Non-real-time processing is processing for which a response request time is not set. The server-side processing unit 133 selects and executes processing from these processing depending on the content of the request information. If the processing-side second acquisition unit 132 has not acquired the request information, the server-side processing unit 133 does not operate.

[0026] When the processing-side first acquisition unit 131 acquires other information useful for the operation of the edge device 4, the server-side processing unit 133 according to this embodiment processes the specific information using the other information. Specifically, for example, when performing object detection based on image data, the server-side processing unit 133 may verify whether the object actually exists by referring to image data from a surveillance camera capturing an image of an area where the object is supposed to exist. This allows the server-side processing unit 133 to perform more advanced processing than when not using the other information.

[0027] (Processing-side transmission control unit) When the server-side processing unit 133 processes the specific information, the processing-side transmission control unit 134 controls the processing-side communication unit 11 to transmit the processing result to the edge device 4. Note that when the server-side processing unit 133 does not process the specific information, the processing-side transmission control unit 134 does not operate.

[0028] (Resource Monitoring Unit) The resource monitoring unit 135 collects the usage status of computing resources (hereinafter referred to as resource usage status) of the first server 1a. The resource monitoring unit 135 then transmits the collected resource usage status to the instruction server 2 via the processing-side communication unit 11. This enables the instruction server 2 to estimate a response time (described in detail below) when requesting information processing from the first server 1a.

[0029] 3, in the second server 1b according to this embodiment, the time required for the processing-side first acquisition unit 131 to acquire information is longer than that required for the first server 1a, and the time required for the server-side processing unit 133 to process information is shorter than that required for the first server 1a. In other words, in the first server 1a according to this embodiment, the time required for the processing-side first acquisition unit 131 to acquire information is relatively shorter (than that required for the second server 1b), and the time required for the server-side processing unit 133 to process information is relatively longer (than that required for the second server 1b).

[0030] [Instruction Server] The instruction server 2 is a computer that instructs the edge device 4 on the upload destination of information and the processing content of the information. As shown in Fig. 4 , the instruction server 2 includes an instruction-side communication unit 21, an instruction-side storage unit 22, and an instruction-side control unit 23.

[0031] [Instruction-side communication unit] The instruction-side communication unit 21 communicates with the edge device 4. The instruction-side communication unit 21 according to this embodiment communicates wirelessly with the edge device 4 via the communication network 3. The instruction-side communication unit 21 according to this embodiment also communicates with the processing server 1. The instruction-side communication unit 21 according to this embodiment also communicates with the communication control device 31 of the communication network 3. The instruction-side communication unit 21 according to this embodiment is configured with a communication module.

[0032] [Instruction-side storage unit] The instruction-side storage unit 22 stores an instruction program 221. The instruction-side storage unit 22 according to this embodiment also stores a base station database 222, a delay table 223, and an instruction trained model 224 (trained model). The instruction-side storage unit 22 according to this embodiment is configured with a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, etc.

[0033] The instruction program 221 describes the operation of the instruction side control unit 23 of the instruction server 2. The instruction program 221 also specifies the types and forms of specific information, and the processing time per computing resource depending on the type of specific information.

[0034] The base station database 222 stores base station data, which is static data for each of the multiple base stations 32. Each piece of base station data includes location information of the base station 32 (PCI, ECGI, etc. of the base station 32).

[0035] The delay table 223, as shown in FIG. 5 , is a list of response times when information is processed by the edge device 4 and when it is processed by the processing server 1. The response time is the time required from when the edge device 4 (device-side second transmission control unit 435) starts transmission control until the edge device 4 (device-side second acquisition unit 436) acquires the corresponding processing result. As described above, the processing server 1 according to this embodiment is divided into the first server 1a and the second server 1b. Therefore, the delay table 223 according to this embodiment lists the response times when processing is performed by the edge device 4, the response times when processing is performed by the first server 1a, and the response times when processing is performed by the second server 1b. The delay table 223 according to this embodiment also includes a breakdown of the response times. The breakdown includes transmission time and processing time. The processing time is the time required for the processing server 1 and the edge device 4 to process the information. Note that it is sufficient for the delay table 223 to include at least the response times. Therefore, the delay table 223 does not need to store the response time separately for transmission time and processing time.

[0036] The instruction trained model 224 is constructed by machine learning the relationship between the location information of the base station 32 in past communications, the location information of the edge device 4, the distance or transmission delay time of the wireless section (between the edge device 4 and the base station 32), wireless quality information collected by the base station 32, wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4, the transmission delay time in the wired section between the communication control device 31 and the processing server 1, the data volume of the processed information, and the response time required for communication between the processing server 1 and the edge device 4 at that time (described in detail below). As described above, the processing server 1 according to this embodiment is divided into a first server 1a and a second server 1b. Therefore, the instruction trained model 224 according to this embodiment is constructed by machine learning the relationship that further adds the resource usage status of the processing server 1 to the above relationship. The instruction-side memory unit 22 according to this embodiment stores multiple instruction trained models 224 corresponding to multiple types of information.

[0037] 4, the instruction-side control unit 23 includes an instruction-side first acquisition unit 231, an instruction-side second acquisition unit 232, a generation unit 233, a load balancing unit 234, a determination unit 235, an instruction-side transmission control unit 236 (second transmission control unit), an instruction-side third acquisition unit 237, and an update unit 238. The instruction-side control unit 23 according to this embodiment is configured with a processor. When this processor executes the instruction program 221 stored in the instruction-side storage unit 22, the instruction program 221 causes the instruction-side control unit 23 to function as each of the control blocks 231 to 238.

[0038] (Instruction-side first acquisition unit) The instruction-side first acquisition unit 231 acquires, from the communication control device 31, location information of the base station 32 and wireless quality information collected by the base station 32, via the instruction-side communication unit 21. The instruction-side first acquisition unit 231 also acquires, from the communication control device 31, the transmission delay time in the wired section, via the instruction-side communication unit 21.

[0039] (Instruction-side second acquisition unit) The instruction-side second acquisition unit 232 acquires multiple types of information (2) from the edge device 4 via the instruction-side communication unit 21. The multiple types of information (2) include location information of the edge device 4, route information of the edge device 4, the PCI (Physical Cell ID) of the communicating base station 32, and the ECGI (E-UTRAN Cell Global Identifier) ​​of the communicating base station 32. The instruction-side second acquisition unit 232 also acquires wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4 from the edge device 4 via the instruction-side communication unit 21. The instruction-side second acquisition unit 232 also acquires capacity information indicating the data capacity of the information from the edge device 4 via the instruction-side communication unit 21. In addition, if the information acquired by the instruction side first acquisition unit 231 (location information of base station 32 collected by base station 32, wireless quality information collected by base station 32) includes information acquired by the instruction side second acquisition unit 232 (location information of edge device 4, wireless quality information collected by edge device 4, and at least one of PCI and ECGI of base station 32 with which it is communicating), the instruction side second acquisition unit 232 does not need to acquire the information included in the information acquired by the instruction side first acquisition unit 231.

[0040] (Load Balancing Unit) The load balancing unit 234 acquires the resource usage status of the first server 1a and the resource usage status of the second server 1b from the first server 1a and the second server 1b, respectively.

[0041] (Generation Unit) The generation unit 233 generates a response time for each of multiple types of information based on data required for generating the response time. The data required for generating the response time includes the location information of the base station 32, wireless quality information collected by the base station 32, transmission delay time in the wired section, multiple types of information (2), wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4, and capacity information. As described above, the processing server 1 according to this embodiment is divided into the first server 1a and the second server 1b. Therefore, the generation unit 233 according to this embodiment generates a response time for when the first server 1a performs processing and a response time for when the second server 1b performs processing for each of multiple types of information, further based on the resource usage status. Furthermore, the generation unit 233 according to this embodiment generates the response time using the instruction trained model 224. Therefore, the generation unit 233 according to this embodiment includes a preprocessing unit 233a and an inference unit 233b.

[0042] The preprocessing unit 233a preprocesses various types of information into a format that can be input to the instruction trained model 224. The various types of information include the location information (PCI, ECGI) of the base station 32, wireless quality information collected by the base station 32, transmission delay time in the wired section, multiple types of information (2) collected by the edge device 4, wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4, capacity information, and resource usage status. Regarding the PCI and ECGI of the communicating base station 32, the preprocessing unit 233a first generates a pair of the edge device 4 and the base station 32 based on these. Then, based on the location information of the paired edge device 4 and base station 32, the preprocessing unit 233a calculates an estimated value of the distance of the wireless section as one piece of information to be input to the inference unit 233b. The preprocessing unit 233a may also estimate the distance of the wireless section from the transmission delay time of the wireless section.

[0043] The inference unit 233b inputs each preprocessed information into the instruction trained model 224 and outputs an inferred value of the response time. This makes it possible to easily obtain an inferred value based on past information. When the generation unit 233 generates the response time, it updates the corresponding response time in the delay table 223.

[0044] (Determination Unit) The determination unit 235 determines whether or not predetermined requirements are met for each of the multiple types of information. The determination unit 235 according to this embodiment determines that the predetermined requirements are met when both of the following conditions (1) and (2) are met: (1) No abnormality has occurred in the processing server 1; (2) The response time of the processing server 1 is shorter than the predetermined response request time, or no response request time is set for the information to be processed. Abnormalities include, for example, disconnection of communication between the processing server 1 and the edge device 4, or stoppage of operation of the processing server 1, etc.

[0045] As described above, the processing server 1 according to this embodiment is divided into the first server 1a and the second server 1b. Therefore, the determination unit 235 determines whether predetermined requirements are satisfied for each of the cases where the information is processed by the first server 1a and the second server 1b. For example, if the information is image data (the processing is object detection based on the image data) and the response request time is set to 100 msec, and the acquired delay table 223 is as shown in the upper part of FIG. 5 (the processing time of the first server 1a is, for example, 50 msec, and the processing time of the second server 1b is, for example, 55 msec), the determination unit 235 determines that the predetermined requirements are satisfied for both the cases where the information is processed by the first server 1a and the second server 1b. On the other hand, if the acquired delay table 223 is as shown in the lower part of Figure 5 (the processing time of the first server 1a is, for example, 80 msec, and the processing time of the second server 1b is, for example, 105 msec), the judgment unit 235 will judge that the specified requirements are met when processing is performed by the first server 1a, and will judge that the specified requirements are not met when processing is performed by the second server 1b.

[0046] Furthermore, the determination unit 235 generates destination information and instruction information based on the result of the determination of whether or not the predetermined requirements are satisfied. The destination information is information indicating the destination when the edge device 4 transmits multiple types of information. The content (destination) of this destination information changes depending on the processing content. The instruction information is information indicating which part of the multiple types of information the edge device 4 processes. In other words, the instruction information is information that specifies whether to transmit all data or to transmit intermediate data that has undergone some processing.

[0047] The determination unit 235 according to this embodiment determines the content (destination) of the destination information according to a predetermined priority order, such as that shown in FIG. 6 . The determination unit 235 according to this embodiment generates destination information according to a priority order based on processing time and power supply source. For example, if the response request time is set to 100 msec and a delay table 223 like that shown in the upper part of FIG. 5 is acquired (when predetermined requirements are met both when processing by the first server 1a and when processing by the second server 1b), the determination unit 235 generates destination information addressed to the second server 1b, which is a renewable energy server and has a short processing time. On the other hand, if the response request time is set to 100 msec and a delay table 223 like that shown in the lower part of FIG. 5 is acquired, the second server 1b does not meet the predetermined requirements, and the second server 1b cannot be used as the destination. Therefore, the determination unit 235 generates destination information addressed to the first server 1a, which is a renewable energy server. Furthermore, if the processing server 1 (both the first server 1a and the second server 1b) does not satisfy the predetermined requirements, the determination unit 235 according to this embodiment generates destination information that includes the edge device 4 as a destination.

[0048] Here, when there are multiple destinations whose available response time is shorter than the required response time, the renewable energy server is prioritized. However, the server to be prioritized may be determined based on other policies (e.g., processing cost) other than whether or not renewable energy is used. By performing such processing by the determination unit 235, the edge device 4 only needs to process information whose available response time exceeds the required response time. Therefore, even if the processing server 1 and the edge device 4 share the processing, there is no need to worry about the processing server 1 not being able to keep up and causing problems with the operation of the edge device 4.

[0049] Furthermore, when the generating unit 233 is configured to generate the response time without basing it on the resource usage status, the determining unit 235 may be configured to determine that the predetermined requirements are met when the conditions (1) and (2) as well as the condition (3) that the computing resources are sufficient are met. In this configuration, when the conditions (1) and (2) are met but the condition (3) is not met, the determining unit 235 may generate destination information including the processing server 1 (system 100) and the edge device 4 as destinations, and instruction information instructing the edge device 4 to process the shortage of computing resources. In this way, when only the condition (3) is not met, the edge device 4 can process the shortage of computing resources of the processing server 1, and the remaining processing can be performed by the processing server 1. In other words, it is possible to effectively utilize the computing resources of the processing server 1 that are not generally used when the predetermined requirements are not met.

[0050] (Instruction-Side Transmission Control Unit) The instruction-side transmission control unit 236 controls the instruction-side communication unit 21 to transmit the destination information and instruction information generated by the determination unit 235 to the edge device 4, as shown in FIG.

[0051] (Instruction-side third acquisition unit) The instruction-side third acquisition unit 237 acquires the actual measured values ​​of the response time a predetermined time ago for each of the multiple types of information from the edge device 4 via the instruction-side communication unit 21. The response time is the time from when the edge device 4 transmits the multiple types of information and request information to the processing server 1 to when it receives the processing result.

[0052] (Update unit) The update unit 238 updates the trained model for instructions 224 based on the actual measured value of the response time obtained in the most recent measurement. Specifically, the update unit 238 trains (updates) the trained model for instructions 224 by backpropagating the difference between the actual measured value of the response time and the available response time, as shown in FIG. 7, for example. In other words, the actual measured value of the response time is the correct data when updating the trained model for instructions 224. This makes it possible to improve the prediction accuracy of the trained model for instructions 224 or maintain high prediction accuracy.

[0053] {Effects and Effects of the System} According to the system 100 described above, the processing server 1 processes specific information from among multiple types of information required for the operation of the edge device 4, based on a request from the edge device 4. As a result, the system 100 can reduce the burden on the edge device 4 and reduce the power consumption of the edge device 4. Furthermore, as long as communication with the edge device 4 is possible, processing can be performed at any location. Therefore, the system 100 can be installed near renewable energy power generation facilities, which are often located in suburban areas due to their large scale, and can use renewable energy to cover the power required for operation.

[0054] Furthermore, the system 100 is implemented in a stateless manner, in which the processing server 1 does not have a state. Therefore, the system 100, which includes multiple processing servers 1, can easily strengthen processing capacity by scaling out, and even if an edge device 4 moves, it can continue processing by using a processing server 1 located nearby. As a result, it is possible to reduce the impact of communication interruptions between the processing server 1 and the edge device 4, improving the reliability of the system 100.

[0055] [Edge Device] The edge device 4 according to this embodiment is a so-called connected car. That is, the edge device 4 wirelessly communicates with the system 100 via the base station 32 of the communication network 3 while traveling on a road.

[0056] {Configuration of Edge Device} As shown in FIG. 8, the edge device 4 includes a device-side communication unit 41 (communication unit), a device-side storage unit 42, a device-side control unit 43, and an information acquisition unit 44.

[0057] [Device-Side Communication Unit] The device-side communication unit 41 communicates with the system 100. Specifically, the device-side communication unit 41 communicates wirelessly with the processing server 1 and the instruction server 2 via the communication network 3. The device-side communication unit 41 according to this embodiment is configured by a wireless communication module.

[0058] [Device-Side Storage Unit] The device-side storage unit 42 stores a device program 421. The device-side storage unit 42 also has a processing storage unit 422. The processing storage unit 422 is an area for storing the results of the previous processing. The device-side storage unit 42 also has a request storage unit 423. The request storage unit 423 is an area for storing "request information" corresponding to "multiple types of information." The device-side storage unit 42 according to this embodiment is configured with a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, etc.

[0059] The device program 421 describes the operation of the device-side control unit 43 (particularly the device-side processing unit 434). The content of the processing portion of the device program 421 is the same as that of the processing program 121 of the processing server 1. This makes it possible to derive the same calculation results for one specific piece of information as when performed by the processing server 1.

[0060] [Information Acquisition Unit] The information acquisition unit 44 includes at least one of a camera, at least one type of sensor, and an interface. The camera captures images of at least one of the exterior and interior of the edge device 4 and generates image data. The at least one type of sensor detects the operation of at least one of the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal and generates a driving log. The interface accepts input of various information (e.g., driving route, etc.) by a person riding in the edge device 4.

[0061] [Device-Side Control Unit] The device-side control unit 43 includes a collection unit 431, a device-side first transmission control unit 432 (first transmission control unit), a device-side first acquisition unit 433 (first acquisition unit), a device-side processing unit 434 (processing unit), a device-side second transmission control unit 435 (second transmission control unit), a device-side second acquisition unit 436 (second acquisition unit), and an operation control unit 437. The device-side control unit 43 according to this embodiment is configured with a processor. When the device-side control unit 43 executes the device program 421 stored in the device-side storage unit 42, the device program 421 causes the device-side control unit 43 to function as the above-mentioned control blocks 431 to 437.

[0062] (Collection Unit) The collection unit 431 collects multiple types of information. The multiple types of information collected by the collection unit 431 according to this embodiment include at least one of multiple types of information (1) (at least one of image data generated by the camera, a driving log, and various types of information received as input) and at least one of multiple types of information (2) (at least one of route information of the edge device 4, the PCI of the communicating base station 32, and the ECGI of the communicating base station 32). The collection unit 431 according to this embodiment also collects wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4. The collection unit according to this embodiment periodically collects multiple types of information and wireless quality information. The collection unit 431 may be configured to collect each type of information simultaneously or at different times for each type of information. The collection unit 431 also generates capacity information for each of the multiple types of information.

[0063] (Device-side first transmission control unit) The device-side first transmission control unit 432 controls the device-side communication unit 41 to transmit multiple types of information (2) (position information and route information of the edge device 4, PCI and ECGI of the communicating base station 32), wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4, actual measured values ​​of response time, and capacity information to the instruction server 2 of the system 100.

[0064] (Device-Side First Acquisition Unit) The device-side first acquisition unit 433 acquires destination information and instruction information from the instruction server 2 via the device-side communication unit 41 .

[0065] (Device-Side Processing Unit) The device-side processing unit 434 processes information corresponding to the destination information when the edge device 4 is included in the destination indicated by the destination information (when the processing server 1 does not satisfy the predetermined requirements). The device-side processing unit 434 is configured to be able to perform various processes similar to those of the server-side processing unit 133 of the processing server 1. Furthermore, the device-side processing unit 434 according to this embodiment may perform at least a portion of the process based on instruction information. For example, when the process to be performed is object detection using a Vision Transformer, the process can be divided into an embedding process and an encoding process. The embedding process is a process of dividing an image into patches and embedding each patch into a vector. The encoding process is a process of inputting each vector into a Transformer encoder after embedding the patches. In this case, the device-side processing unit 434 performs the embedding process for the object detection. Then, the device-side second transmission control unit 435 transmits request information to the processing server 1 (system) requesting the execution of an encoding process for the object detection. Upon receiving the request, the processing server 1 performs the encoding process. Unlike conventional object detection using convolutional neural networks, the Vision Transformer has a smaller output data size for layers close to the input layer compared to the input image. This allows for significant reductions in the amount of calculations performed by the device-side processing unit 434 when performing object detection and the size of data sent to the processing server 1, while still enabling object detection with the same accuracy as conventional methods.

[0066] Furthermore, the device-side processing unit 434 can process the same information as the multiple types of information transmitted to the processing server 1, based on the request information stored in the request storage unit 423. The device-side processing unit 434 processes the same information as the multiple types of information transmitted to the processing server 1, when the device-side communication unit 41 transmits the request information and the multiple types of information to the processing server 1, and when the device-side second acquisition unit 436 does not acquire the processing result from the processing server 1 within a predetermined period of time.

[0067] (Device-Side Second Transmission Control Unit) The device-side second transmission control unit 435 controls the device-side communication unit 41 to transmit request information based on the destination information and instruction information to the processing server 1. The device-side second transmission control unit 435 also controls the device-side communication unit 41 to transmit multiple types of information (1) to the processing server 1. As described above, the processing server 1 according to this embodiment is divided into the first server 1a and the second server 1b. Therefore, the device-side second transmission control unit 435 according to this embodiment controls the device-side communication unit 41 to transmit the multiple types of information (1) to the server specified by the destination information, either the first server 1a or the second server 1b, based on the destination information acquired from the instruction server 2. Furthermore, the device-side second transmission control unit 435 according to this embodiment narrows down the multiple types of information to the information corresponding to the request information when transmitting the request information. This prevents the communication bandwidth from becoming congested when transmitting multiple types of information.

[0068] Furthermore, in the case where information processing is performed on the processing server 1 side and the previous processing result is required for the processing, the device-side second transmission control unit 435 according to this embodiment controls the device-side communication unit 41 to also transmit the previous processing result. Furthermore, as described above, the device-side processing unit 434 may perform at least a portion of the processing based on instruction information. In such a case, the device-side second transmission control unit 435 according to this embodiment controls the device-side communication unit 41 to transmit the partially processed specific information to the processing server 1. For example, if the specific information is image data, the partially processed specific information becomes the intermediate data and layer number (m) output from the mth layer. Note that, depending on the layer, the data size of the intermediate data may be smaller than the input image. Furthermore, if the processing server 1 is not included in the destination of the request information (i.e., all information is processed by the edge device 4), the device-side second transmission control unit 435 does not operate.

[0069] (Device-side second acquisition unit) When the processing server 1 processes the identification information, the device-side second acquisition unit 436 acquires the processing result by the processing server 1 from the processing server 1 via the device-side communication unit 41. When the processing server 1 performs object detection based on image data, the image data becomes the identification information. Then, the device-side second acquisition unit 436 acquires information about the detected object as the processing result. In addition, when the processing server 1 performs object recognition, instance / semantic segmentation, image captioning, etc., the image data becomes the identification information.

[0070] (Operation Control Unit) The operation control unit 437 performs an operation based on the processing results of at least one of the device-side processing unit 434 and the processing server 1. For example, if the acquired processing result is information about a detected object, the operation control unit 437 performs an operation such as displaying the information on a display unit in the edge device 4. Furthermore, if the acquired processing result is setting or changing a driving route, the operation control unit 437 performs an operation such as displaying the set or changed route on a display unit in the edge device 4. Furthermore, the operation control unit 437 according to this embodiment stores the processing results in the processing storage unit 422 and then performs an operation based on the stored processing results. In this way, by retaining the processing results in the processing storage unit 422 (managing the processing status in the edge device 4), when performing processing that is completed after multiple processing attempts, it is possible to continue the processing even if communication is interrupted or the processing server to which the processing is requested is changed midway.

[0071] {Edge Device Modification} The edge device 4 may be an autonomous vehicle that can recognize objects based on information, make decisions based on the recognition results, and travel based on the decisions. In this case, if the acquired processing result is information about a detected object, the operation control unit 437 performs driving (stopping, changing lanes, etc.) to prevent the autonomous vehicle from colliding with the object. If the acquired processing result is setting or changing a driving route, the operation control unit 437 performs driving (continuing the previous driving, changing direction, etc.) to allow the autonomous vehicle to travel along the set or changed route. The power required for processing such a vehicle (excluding the power required for driving) is overwhelmingly greater than the power required for simple information exchange by a connected car without autonomous driving capabilities. Therefore, by implementing the above configuration, the processing server 1 is responsible for at least a portion of the power-intensive processing. This reduces the power consumption of the edge device 4.

[0072] Furthermore, if the edge device 4 is an autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle may perform autonomous driving at level 4 or higher. The power required for processing for autonomous driving at level 4 or higher (excluding the power required for driving) is overwhelmingly greater than that required for autonomous driving at level 3 or lower. Therefore, by doing as described above, the processing server 1 will be responsible for at least a portion of the processing that consumes a lot of power. Therefore, by doing as described above, the power consumption of the autonomous vehicle can be reduced.

[0073] Furthermore, when the edge device 4 is an autonomous vehicle, the autonomous vehicle may be an electric vehicle powered by electricity stored in a battery. In this way, at least part of the processing that consumes a lot of power is handled by the processing server 1. This allows the battery to last longer (the driving range to be longer) compared to when all recognition and judgment is performed by the autonomous vehicle.

[0074] {Effects of Edge Device} According to the edge device 4 described above, part of the information processing required for the operation of the edge device 4 is assigned to the processing server 1 as needed. Therefore, the edge device 4 can reduce the load on the edge device 4 and reduce the power consumption of the edge device 4.

[0075] <Device Control Method> Next, an embodiment of a device control method according to another aspect of the present invention will be described.

[0076] {Flow of device control method} As shown in FIG. 9 , the information processing method includes a collection step A1, a reception step A2, a generation step B1, a first determination step B2, a first transmission step B3, a second determination step A3, a second transmission step A4, a third determination step A5, a first processing step A6, a second processing step A7, a third transmission step A8, a third processing step C1, a fourth transmission step C2, a holding step A9, and an operation step A10.

[0077] (Collection Step) In the initial collection step A1, multiple types of information (at least one of multiple types of information (1) (at least one of image data generated by the camera, driving log, and various types of information received as input), and at least one of multiple types of information (2) (at least one of route information of the edge device 4, PCI of the communicating base station 32, and ECGI of the communicating base station 32)) are collected. Also, in the collection step A1, wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4 is collected. Also, in the collection step A1, capacity information of the collected information is generated. The edge device 4 collects the information.

[0078] (Reception Step) After collecting the information, the reception step A2 is performed. In the reception step A2, the instruction server 2 receives, for example, from the edge device 4, the position information and route information of the edge device 4, the PCI and ECGI of the communicating base station 32, wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4, the actual measured value of the response time, and capacity information. In the reception step A2 according to this embodiment, the instruction server 2 also receives the resource usage status, for example, from the processing server 1. In the reception step A2 according to this embodiment, the instruction server 2 also receives, for example, from the communication control device 31, the position information of the base station 32, wireless quality information collected by the base station, and the transmission delay time in the wired section.

[0079] (Generation Step) After various pieces of information are transmitted to the instruction server 2, the process proceeds to generation step B1. In generation step B1, a response time required from when an edge device starts transmission control until the edge device acquires the corresponding processing result is generated. The response time is generated based on the location information of the base station 32, wireless quality information collected by the base station 32, transmission delay time, location information of the edge device 4, PCI and ECGI of the communicating base station 32, wireless quality information collected by the edge device 4, and capacity information indicating the capacity of information. In generation step B1 according to this embodiment, a response time when the first server 1a performs processing and a response time when the second server 1b performs processing are generated for each of the multiple types of information, further based on the resource usage status. The response time is generated, for example, by the instruction server 2.

[0080] (First Determination Step) After the response time is generated, the process proceeds to the first determination step B2. In the first determination step B2, it is determined whether the information satisfies predetermined requirements, and destination information and instruction information are generated based on the result of the determination. The determination of whether the predetermined requirements are satisfied and the generation of the destination information and instruction information are performed, for example, by the instruction server 2.

[0081] (First Transmission Step) After the destination information and instruction information are generated, the process proceeds to the first transmission step B3. In the first transmission step B3, the destination information and instruction information are transmitted to the edge device 4. The transmission of the destination information and instruction information is performed by, for example, the instruction server 2.

[0082] (Second Determination Step) After the destination information and instruction information are transmitted, the process proceeds to a second determination step A3. In the second determination step A3, it is determined whether the destination indicated by the destination information includes the edge device 4. This determination is made by, for example, the edge device 4.

[0083] (Second Transmission Step) If it is determined that the edge device 4 is not included in the destinations indicated by the destination information (A3: NO), the process proceeds to the second transmission step A4. In the second transmission step A4, request information based on the destination information and instruction information is transmitted to the processing server 1. Also, in the second transmission step A4, all information required for processing is transmitted to the processing server 1. If the processing server 1 is composed of a first server 1a, a second server 1b, etc., information corresponding to the request information is transmitted to the server specified by the destination information among the first server 1a, the second server 1b, etc., based on the destination information. The request information, instruction information, and information corresponding to the request information are transmitted, for example, by the edge device 4. Also, if the previous processing result is required for information processing, the previous processing result is also transmitted in the second transmission step A4.

[0084] (Third Determination Step) If it is determined in the second determination step A3 that the edge device 4 is included in the destinations indicated by the destination information (A3: YES), the process proceeds to the third determination step A5. In the third determination step A5, it is determined whether or not all information that requires processing is to be processed by the edge device. This determination is made, for example, by the edge device 4.

[0085] (First Processing Step) If it is determined in the third determination step A5 that the edge device 4 processes all the information that needs to be processed (A5: YES), the process proceeds to the first processing step A6. In the first processing step A6, the edge device 4 processes all the information that needs to be processed.

[0086] (Second Processing Step) If it is determined in the third determination step A5 that the edge device 4 will not process all of the information that needs to be processed (A5: NO), the process proceeds to the second processing step A7. In the second processing step A7, the edge device 4 processes a portion of the information that corresponds to the destination information (the destination is the edge device 4) out of all the information that needs to be processed.

[0087] (Third Transmission Step) After the edge device 4 has processed a portion of the information corresponding to the destination information, the process proceeds to the third transmission step A8. In the third transmission step A8, request information based on the destination information and instruction information is transmitted to the processing server 1. Also, in the third transmission step A8, the remaining information that the edge device 4 did not process is transmitted to the processing server 1. If the processing server 1 is composed of a first server 1a, a second server 1b, etc., information corresponding to the request information is transmitted based on the destination information to the server specified by the destination information among the first server 1a, the second server 1b, etc. The edge device 4 transmits the request information, instruction information, and information corresponding to the request information. Also, if the previous processing result is required to process the information, the previous processing result is also transmitted in the third transmission step A8.

[0088] (Third Processing Step) After the request information is transmitted, the process proceeds to the third processing step C1. In the third processing step C1, specific information from among the multiple types of information is processed. The information processing is performed by, for example, the processing server 1.

[0089] (Fourth Transmission Step) If the specific information has been processed in the third processing step C1, the process proceeds to the fourth transmission step C2. In the fourth transmission step C2, the processing result is transmitted to the edge device 4. The processing result is transmitted by, for example, the processing server 1.

[0090] (Storage Step) After the first processing step A6 (processing all information), after the fourth transmission step C2 (transmission of all processing results), or after the second processing step A7 (processing some information) and the fourth transmission step C2 (transmission of some processing results), the process proceeds to the storage step A9. In the storage step A9, the processing results of the processing performed in the first processing step A6, the processing results transmitted in the fourth transmission step C2, or the processing results of the processing performed in the second processing step A7 and the processing results transmitted in the fourth transmission step C2 are stored. The edge device 4 stores the processing results.

[0091] (Operation Step) After the processing result is stored, the process proceeds to operation step A10. In operation step A10, an operation is performed based on the processing result stored in the storage step A9. The operation is performed by the edge device 4.

[0092] {Effects of the Device Control Method} According to the device control method described above, the processing server 1 is responsible for processing specific information from among multiple types of information required for the operation of the edge device 4, based on a request from the edge device 4. Therefore, the device control method reduces the burden on the edge device 4 and can reduce the power consumption of the edge device 4. Furthermore, as long as communication with the edge device 4 is possible, the processing server 1 can perform processing at any location. Therefore, for example, it is possible to install the processing server 1 near a renewable energy power generation facility, which is often located in the suburbs due to its large scale, and use renewable energy to cover the power required for operation.

[0093] <Modifications of the present invention> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. Embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0094] For example, in the system 100 according to the above embodiment, the communication unit, first acquisition unit, second acquisition unit, processing unit, and transmission control unit are configured by the processing server 1 (the processing-side first acquisition unit 131, the processing-side second acquisition unit 132, the server-side processing unit 133, and the processing-side transmission control unit 134). However, in the system 100, the communication unit, first acquisition unit, second acquisition unit, processing unit, and transmission control unit may be configured by another edge device 4A. That is, the processing unit of the other edge device 4A can process multiple types of information using at least the same method as the edge device 4. The method at least the same as the edge device 4 includes cases where the content is completely identical, as well as cases where the content is more advanced than the method of the edge device 4 (but can also serve as the method of the edge device). The phrase "configured by another edge device 4A" means that at least one of the offload destinations of the edge device 4 in the system 100 is another edge device.

[0095] In this case, the instruction server 2 also communicates with the other edge device 4A. The instruction server 2 acquires multiple types of information (2) and resource usage status from the other edge device 4A, generates a response time based on the resource usage status, and updates the delay table 223. The instruction server 2 then determines the contents of the destination information (destination) according to a predetermined priority order. If the other edge device 4A is included as a candidate for the offload destination, the predetermined priority order is set to include the other edge device 4A, as shown in FIG. 10 . Note that while FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a priority list in which only one type of other edge device 4A is set, multiple other edge devices 4A may be set as candidates for the offload destination. In this case, at least one of the other edge devices 4A may be a renewable energy device that operates using power supplied from a generator that generates electricity using renewable energy, similar to the processing server 1.

[0096] For example, if the response request time is set to 100 msec and a delay table 223 such as that shown in FIG. 11 is acquired (when the predetermined requirements are met in all cases of processing by the first server 1a, processing by the second server 1b, and processing by another edge device 4A), and the predetermined priority is set as shown in FIG. 10 (when the priority of the other edge device 4A is higher than that of the processing server 1), the instruction server 2 generates destination information with the other edge device with the highest priority as the destination. Note that if the response request time is set to less than 100 msec and a delay table 223 such as that shown in FIG. 11 is acquired, the other edge device 4A does not meet the predetermined requirements, and therefore the other edge device 4A cannot be used as the destination. Therefore, the instruction server 2 generates destination information with the first server 1a, which is a renewable energy server, as the destination. Furthermore, if neither the processing server 1 nor the other edge device 4A meets the predetermined requirements, the instruction server 2 generates destination information that includes the edge device 4 as the destination.

[0097] Furthermore, in the system 100 according to this embodiment, when processing is offloaded from the edge device 4 to the processing server 1, the edge device 4 transmits specific information to the first server 1a (MEC) or the second server 1b (cloud server). Upon receiving the specific information, the first server 1a or the second server 1b starts the processing. Then, the first server 1a or the second server 1b returns the processing result to the edge device 4. On the other hand, when processing is offloaded from the edge device 4 to another edge device 4A, the edge device 4 transmits the specific information to the first server 1a. Upon receiving the specific information, the first server 1a transfers the specific information to the other edge device 4A. Then, the other edge device 4A starts the processing. Then, the other edge device 4A returns the processing result to the first server 1a. Upon receiving the processing result, the first server 1a transfers the processing result to the edge device 4. Communication between the edge device 4 and the other edge device 4A may be performed via the second server 1b.

[0098] Conventionally, one of the processes that has the greatest impact (benefits) from offloading processing is AI processing using trained models (e.g., object detection using images). This is because AI processing consumes a lot of power and utilizes a large amount of computing resources. However, even for the same AI processing, the structure and parameters of the trained model used for each information processing service provided vary significantly. For this reason, it is generally not possible to reuse trained models. Therefore, when executing AI processing on a processing server that does not have trained models and parameters, it is necessary to download the trained models and parameters before the AI ​​processing, which causes delays in offloading. On the other hand, preparing one or more servers that can handle all AI processing has been problematic in terms of cost. However, by using the above method, processing can be offloaded without the hassle of downloading AI structure data and weight data by utilizing another edge device 4A that has processing capabilities equivalent to or greater than that of the edge device 4.

[0099] The system 100 may also include a planning unit that plans a travel route for the edge device 4. In this case, the edge device 4 may be a vehicle 4 with a navigation function or an autonomous driving function. The edge device 4 may also be a mobile terminal (e.g., a smartphone) with a map guidance function or a means of transportation other than a vehicle that has an autonomous travel function (e.g., a drone). The planning unit is preferably provided in at least one of the server-side processing unit 133 and the device-side processing unit 434, but is not particularly limited thereto. The planning unit plans a travel route by selecting a road with relatively favorable conditions for communication with other edge devices 4A. This allows for greater utilization of edge devices of the same type that do not require the effort of downloading AI structure data and weight data. Specifically, when the priority of the other edge device 4A is set higher than that of the processing server 1 as shown in FIG. 10 , roads with relatively favorable conditions include, for example, roads passing through the range of a LAN (Local Area Data Network: the range of a cell formed by a base station to which the first server 1a is connected) that has a first server 1a and is capable of communicating with the other edge device 4A (however, both the edge device 4 and the other edge device 4A must communicate via cellular communication), as shown in FIG. 12 . Furthermore, when the priority of the processing server 1 is set higher than that of the other edge devices 4A, roads with relatively favorable conditions include roads passing through the range of a LAN that has a first server 1a with ample computing resources. Furthermore, roads with relatively favorable conditions also include roads passing through the range of a LAN that has a first server 1a connected to a second server 1b with ample computing resources. Furthermore, when the priority of a renewable energy server is set higher, roads with relatively favorable conditions include roads passing through the range of a LAN that has a renewable energy server. In this case, the operation control unit 437 also steers the vehicle so that it follows the travel route planned by the planner.

[0100] Although the system 100 according to the above embodiment includes a server (processing server 1) having a function of processing specific information and a server (instruction server 2) having a function of generating a response time, the system 100 may include a single server having both of these functions.

[0101] The processing server 1 may also be configured integrally with the communication control device 31 of the communication network 3. At least a part of the control block of the processing server 1 may be provided in the communication control device 31. Conversely, at least a part of the control block of the communication control device 31 may be provided in the processing server 1.

[0102] Furthermore, some or all of the functions of the control blocks can be realized by logic circuits. For example, an integrated circuit in which a logic circuit that functions as each of the control blocks is formed is also included in the scope of the present invention. In addition, the functions of the control blocks can also be realized by, for example, a quantum computer.

[0103] Furthermore, the effects achieved by each aspect of the present invention described above will also contribute to the achievement of, for example, Goal 7 "Affordable and clean energy for all," Goal 9 "Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization," and Goal 13 "Take urgent action to combat climate change" of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) advocated by the United Nations.

[0104] <Summary> The system according to aspect 1 of the present invention is a system that is capable of collecting information and processing the information, and that has a communication unit that communicates with an edge device that performs operations based on the processed information, and that is configured to have the following: a first acquisition unit that acquires from the edge device via the communication unit at least one of multiple types of information collected by the edge device; a second acquisition unit that is capable of acquiring from the edge device via the communication unit request information requesting processing of specific information included in the multiple types of information; a processing unit that processes the specific information when the second acquisition unit acquires the request information; and a transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit a processing result to the edge device when the processing unit has processed the specific information.

[0105] A system according to aspect 2 of the present invention may be configured as in aspect 1 above, further comprising a determination unit that determines whether each of the plurality of types of information satisfies specified requirements, and based on the results of the determination, generates destination information indicating the destination to which the edge device will send the plurality of types of information, and instruction information indicating which part of the plurality of types of information the edge device will process, and a second transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to send the destination information and the instruction information to the edge device.

[0106] A system according to aspect 3 of the present invention may be configured in the above-described aspect 2 to include a generation unit that generates, for each of the multiple types of information, a response time required from when the edge device starts transmission control until the edge device obtains the corresponding processing result, based on location information for identifying the base station conducting the communication, wireless quality information collected by the base station, a transmission delay time in the wired section between the communication control device and the system, location information of the edge device, wireless quality information collected by the edge device, and capacity information indicating the capacity of the multiple types of information, and the determination unit may determine that the specified requirements are met when no abnormality has occurred and the response time is shorter than a specified response request time or when the response request time is not set for the information to be processed.

[0107] A system according to aspect 4 of the present invention may be configured such that, in aspect 3 above, the judgment unit judges that the specified requirements are met if no abnormality has occurred, if the response time is shorter than a specified response request time or if the response request time is not set for the information to be processed, and if the system has sufficient computing resources, and if no abnormality has occurred, if the response time is shorter than the response request time, and if the computing resources are insufficient, the judgment unit generates destination information that includes the system and the edge device as destinations, and instruction information that instructs the edge device to process the shortage of computing resources.

[0108] A system according to aspect 5 of the present invention may be configured as in aspect 3 above, further comprising a trained model constructed by machine learning the relationship between location information of the base station in past communications, location information of the edge device, the distance of the wireless section between the edge device and the base station, wireless quality information collected by the base station, wireless quality information collected by the edge device, the transmission delay time in the wired section between the communication control device and the processing server, the data volume of the processed information, and the response time required for communication between the processing server and the edge device at that time, and the generation unit may generate the response time using the trained model.

[0109] A system according to aspect 6 of the present invention may be configured in the above-described aspect 5, further comprising an update unit that updates the trained model based on the actual measured value of the response time obtained in the most recent measurement.

[0110] A system according to aspect 7 of the present invention may be configured such that, in any of aspects 1 to 6 above, the first acquisition unit is capable of acquiring, as one of the multiple types of information, information whose data volume has been reduced by the edge device.

[0111] A system according to aspect 8 of the present invention may be configured in any of aspects 3 to 6 above, comprising a first server in which the first acquisition unit takes a relatively short time to acquire information and the processing unit takes a relatively long time to process information, and a second server in which the first acquisition unit takes a longer time to acquire information than the first server and the processing unit takes a shorter time to process information than the first server, and the generation unit generates the response time when the first server performs processing and the response time when the second server performs processing for each of the multiple types of information.

[0112] A system according to aspect 9 of the present invention may be configured as in aspect 8 above, which includes a plurality of at least one of the first servers and the second servers, and one or more of the first servers and some of the one or more second servers are renewable energy servers that operate using electricity supplied from a generator that generates electricity using renewable energy, and the judgment unit may generate the destination information addressed to the renewable energy server when there are multiple servers whose response time is shorter than the required response time, including the renewable energy server.

[0113] A system according to a tenth aspect of the present invention may be configured in the eighth aspect above, wherein at least one of the first server and the second server is stateless.

[0114] A system according to aspect 11 of the present invention may be configured such that, in aspect 10 above, when at least one of the first server and the second server processes multiple types of information and the processing requires the results of a similar processing performed previously, the first acquisition unit acquires the results of the similar processing performed previously from the edge device via the communication unit.

[0115] A system according to aspect 12 of the present invention may be configured in any of aspects 1 to 11 above, wherein the communication unit, the first acquisition unit, the second acquisition unit, the processing unit, and the transmission control unit are configured by other edge devices capable of processing the multiple types of information at least in the same manner as the edge device.

[0116] A system according to aspect 13 of the present invention may be configured in the above-described aspect 12 such that the edge device is a vehicle traveling on a road and is equipped with a planning unit that plans its own travel route, and the planning unit selects a road that has relatively good conditions for communicating with the other edge devices to plan the travel route.

[0117] A program according to aspect 14 of the present invention may be a program for causing a computer to function as the system in any of aspects 1 to 13 above, and may be configured to cause the computer to function as the first acquisition unit, the second acquisition unit, the processing unit, and the transmission control unit.

[0118] A system according to aspect 15 of the present invention is a system that is capable of collecting information and processing the information, and that has a communication unit that communicates with a vehicle that performs operations based on the processed information, and that is configured to include a first acquisition unit that acquires from the vehicle via the communication unit at least one of multiple types of information collected by the vehicle, a second acquisition unit that is capable of acquiring from the vehicle via the communication unit request information requesting processing of specific information included in the multiple types of information, a processing unit that processes the specific information when the second acquisition unit acquires the request information, and a transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit the processing results to the vehicle when the processing unit has processed the specific information.

[0119] An edge device according to aspect 16 of the present invention may be an edge device in any of aspects 1 to 15 above, which is equipped with a communication unit that communicates with the system, and which includes: a collection unit that collects multiple types of information; a first transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit to the system location information of the edge device, wireless quality information collected by the edge device, and capacity information that indicates the capacity of the multiple types of information; a first acquisition unit that acquires from the system, via the communication unit, destination information that indicates a destination when the edge device transmits the multiple types of information, and instruction information that indicates a portion of the multiple types of information to be processed by the edge device; a processing unit that processes information corresponding to the destination information when the edge device is included in the destination indicated by the destination information; a second transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit request information based on the destination information and the instruction information to the system; a second acquisition unit that, when the system has processed the specific information, acquires from the system, via the communication unit, a processing result by the system,

[0120] The edge device according to Aspect 17 of the present invention may be configured in the above-mentioned Aspect 16, wherein the processing unit performs a process of dividing image data into a plurality of patches and embedding each patch into a vector in object detection using a Vision Transformer, and transmits to the system request information to request execution of a process of inputting the vector into a Transformer encoder in the object detection. The edge device according to Aspect 18 of the present invention may be configured in the above-mentioned Aspect 16 or 17, further comprising a processing memory unit that stores a result of a previous process performed for information processing, and the second transmission control unit controls the communication unit to also transmit the result of the previous process when the information processing is performed by the system and the result of the previous process is necessary for the process.

[0121] 100 System 1 Processing server 1a First server 11 Processing side communication unit 12 Processing side memory unit 121 Processing program 122 Processing trained model 13 Processing side control unit 131 Processing side first acquisition unit (first acquisition unit) 132 Processing side second acquisition unit (second acquisition unit) 133 Server side processing unit (processing unit) 134 Processing side transmission control unit (transmission control unit) 135 Resource monitoring unit 1b Second server 2 Instruction server 21 Instruction side communication unit 22 Instruction side memory unit 221 Instruction program 222 Base station database 223 Delay table 224 Instruction trained model 23 Instruction side control unit 231 Instruction side first acquisition unit 232 Instruction side second acquisition unit 233 Generation unit 233a Preprocessing unit 233b Inference unit 234 Load balancing unit 235 Judgment unit 236 Instruction side transmission control unit 237 Instruction side third acquisition unit 238 Update unit 3 Communication network 31 Communication control device 32 Base station 4 Edge device 41 Device side communication unit 42 Device side memory unit 421 Device program 422 Processing memory unit 423 Request memory unit 43 Device side control unit 431 Collection unit 432 Device side first transmission control unit 433 Device side first acquisition unit 434 Device side processing unit 435 Device side second transmission control unit 436 Device side second acquisition unit 437 Operation control unit 44 Information acquisition unit

Claims

1. A system comprising a communication unit that communicates with an edge device capable of collecting information and processing the information and performing operations based on the processed information, comprising: a first acquisition unit that acquires from the edge device via the communication unit at least one of multiple types of information collected by the edge device; a second acquisition unit that can acquire from the edge device via the communication unit request information requesting processing of specific information included in the multiple types of information; a processing unit that processes the specific information when the second acquisition unit acquires the request information; and a transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit a processing result to the edge device when the processing unit has processed the specific information.

2. The system described in claim 1, further comprising: a judgment unit that judges whether each of the multiple types of information satisfies specified requirements, and based on the result of the judgment, generates destination information indicating a destination when the edge device transmits the multiple types of information, and instruction information indicating a portion of the multiple types of information to be processed by the edge device; and a second transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit the destination information and the instruction information to the edge device.

3. The system described in claim 2, further comprising a generation unit that generates, for each of the multiple types of information, a response time required from when the edge device starts transmission control to when the edge device obtains the corresponding processing result, based on location information for identifying the base station performing the communication, wireless quality information collected by the base station, the transmission delay time in the wired section between the communication control device and the system, location information of the edge device, wireless quality information collected by the edge device, and capacity information indicating the capacity of the multiple types of information, and wherein the judgment unit judges that the specified requirements are met when no abnormality has occurred and the response time is shorter than a specified response request time or when the response request time is not set for the information to be processed.

4. The system described in claim 3, characterized in that the judgment unit judges that the specified requirements are met when no abnormality has occurred, when the response time is shorter than a specified response request time or the response request time is not set for the information to be processed, and when the system has sufficient computing resources, and when no abnormality has occurred, when the response time is shorter than the response request time, and when the computing resources are insufficient, generates destination information including the system and the edge device as destinations, and instruction information instructing the edge device to process the shortage of computing resources.

5. The system described in claim 3, further comprising a trained model constructed by machine learning the relationship between location information of the base station in past communications, location information of the edge device, the distance of the wireless section between the edge device and the base station, wireless quality information collected by the base station, wireless quality information collected by the edge device, the transmission delay time in the wired section between the communication control device and the processing server, the data capacity of the processed information, and the response time required for communication between the processing server and the edge device at that time, and the generation unit generates the response time using the trained model.

6. The system according to claim 5, further comprising an update unit that updates the trained model based on an actual response time value obtained in the most recent measurement.

7. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the first acquisition unit is capable of acquiring information whose data volume has been reduced by the edge device as one of the multiple types of information.

8. The system described in any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a first server in which the first acquisition unit takes a relatively short time to acquire information and the processing unit takes a relatively long time to process information, and a second server in which the first acquisition unit takes a longer time to acquire information than the first server and the processing unit takes a shorter time to process information than the first server, wherein the generation unit generates the response time when the first server performs processing and the response time when the second server performs processing for each of the multiple types of information.

9. The system described in claim 8, characterized in that the system includes at least one of the first servers and the second servers in a plurality of locations, and one or more of the first servers and some of the one or more second servers are renewable energy servers that operate using electricity supplied from a generator that generates electricity using renewable energy, and when there are multiple servers whose response time is shorter than the response required time and the renewable energy server is included, the determination unit generates the destination information with the renewable energy server as the destination.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the first server and the second server is stateless.

11. The system described in claim 10, characterized in that when at least one of the first server and the second server processes multiple types of information and the processing requires the results of a similar processing performed previously, the first acquisition unit acquires the results of the similar processing performed previously from the edge device via the communication unit.

12. A system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the communication unit, the first acquisition unit, the second acquisition unit, the processing unit, and the transmission control unit are configured by other edge devices capable of processing the multiple types of information at least in the same manner as the edge device.

13. The system described in claim 12, further comprising a planning unit that plans a movement route for the edge device, the planning unit selecting a road that has relatively good conditions for communication with the other edge devices to plan the movement route.

14. A program for causing a computer to function as the system according to claim 1, the program causing a computer to function as the first acquisition unit, the second acquisition unit, the processing unit, and the transmission control unit.

15. A system having a communication unit capable of collecting information and processing the information, and communicating with a vehicle that performs an operation based on the processed information, comprising: a first acquisition unit that acquires from the vehicle via the communication unit at least one of multiple types of information collected by the vehicle; a second acquisition unit that can acquire from the vehicle via the communication unit request information requesting processing of specific information included in the multiple types of information; a processing unit that processes the specific information when the second acquisition unit acquires the request information; and a transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit a processing result to the vehicle when the processing unit has processed the specific information.

16. An edge device having a communication unit that communicates with the system described in claim 1, comprising: a collection unit that collects multiple types of information; a first transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit to the system position information of the edge device, wireless quality information collected by the edge device, and capacity information indicating the capacity of the multiple types of information; a first acquisition unit that acquires from the system via the communication unit destination information indicating a destination when the edge device transmits the multiple types of information and instruction information indicating a portion of the multiple types of information to be processed by the edge device; a processing unit that processes information corresponding to the destination information when the edge device is included in the destination indicated by the destination information; a second transmission control unit that controls the communication unit to transmit request information based on the destination information and the instruction information to the system; a second acquisition unit that acquires from the system via the communication unit a processing result by the system when the system has processed the specific information; and an operation control unit that performs an operation based on the processing result by at least one of the processing unit and the system.

17. The edge device described in claim 16, characterized in that the processing unit performs a process of dividing image data into a plurality of patches and embedding each patch in a vector in object detection using a Vision Transformer, and transmits request information to the system to request the system to perform a process of inputting the vector into a Transformer encoder in the object detection.

18. An edge device as described in claim 16 or 17, characterized in that it has a processing memory unit that stores the results of a previously performed processing of information, and when the information processing is performed by the system and the result of the previously performed processing is necessary for the processing, the second transmission control unit controls the communication unit to also transmit the result of the previously performed processing.

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