Driving skill evaluation system and vehicle

Abstract

A driving skill evaluation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a processing circuit that is capable of performing a process for presenting, to a driver of a vehicle, one or more evaluation candidate sections which are candidate sections for evaluation of the driving skill of the driver and which have been set in a planned travel route of the vehicle, and a process for receiving a first selection operation by the driver, that is capable of setting some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections on the basis of the first selection operation by the driver, and that is capable of evaluating the driving skill of the driver on the basis of travel data of the vehicle in each of the one or more evaluation target sections which have been set; and a user interface that is capable of presenting the one or more evaluation candidate sections and that is capable of receiving the first selection operation.

Description

Driving skill evaluation system and vehicle

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving skill evaluation system that evaluates the driving skill of a driver of a vehicle, and to a vehicle.

[0002] In recent years, there has been a technology that evaluates the driving skills of a driver when the driver drives a vehicle such as an automobile and presents the evaluation results to the driver. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology that limits the evaluation of driving skills within a specific area that is preset by the user and does not require eco-driving, etc.

[0003] JP 2010-285954 A

[0004] A driving skill evaluation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a processing circuit and a user interface. The processing circuit is capable of performing a process of presenting to a driver one or more evaluation candidate sections set on a planned driving route of the vehicle as candidates for sections for evaluating the driving skills of the driver of the vehicle and a process of accepting a first selection operation from the driver. The processing circuit is capable of setting some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections based on the first selection operation from the driver. The user interface is capable of presenting the one or more evaluation candidate sections and accepting the first selection operation.

[0005] A vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a processing circuit and a user interface. The processing circuit is capable of performing a process of presenting to a driver one or more evaluation candidate sections set on a planned driving route of the vehicle as candidates for sections for evaluating the driving skills of the driver of the vehicle and a process of accepting a first selection operation by the driver, and is capable of setting some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections based on the first selection operation by the driver. The user interface is capable of presenting the one or more evaluation candidate sections and accepting the first selection operation.

[0006] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one embodiment and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0007] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example configuration of a driving skill evaluation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of an in-vehicle device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a server device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4A is a flowchart illustrating an example operation of the driving skill evaluation system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4B is another flowchart illustrating an example operation of the driving skill evaluation system shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example configuration of a driving skill evaluation system according to a modified example. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of the smartphone shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example configuration of a driving skill evaluation system according to another modified example. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of the in-vehicle device shown in FIG. 7.

[0008] In the evaluation of driving skills, the evaluation results for the evaluation target sections may be presented to the driver. For example, if the evaluation results for all evaluation target sections are presented, the driver may feel annoyed. Furthermore, if a large amount of information is presented while driving, the driver may find it difficult to concentrate on driving operations. Therefore, in the evaluation of driving skills, it is desirable that the evaluation results be presented appropriately.

[0009] It is desirable to provide a driving skill evaluation system and a vehicle that can appropriately present evaluation results.

[0010] Some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following description illustrates one specific example of the present disclosure and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. For example, each element, including numerical values, shapes, materials, parts, the position of each part, and the connection method of each part, is merely an example and should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. Furthermore, in the following exemplary embodiments, components not described in independent claims based on the highest concept of the present disclosure are optional and may be provided as needed. The drawings are schematic and are not intended to be drawn to scale. Throughout this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same function and configuration are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. Furthermore, components not directly related to one embodiment of the present disclosure are not shown in the drawings.

[0011] <Embodiment> [Configuration Example] Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a driving skill evaluation system (driving skill evaluation system 1) according to one embodiment. The driving skill evaluation system 1 is configured to evaluate the driving skill of a driver with respect to driving operations and present the evaluation results to the driver. The driving skill evaluation system 1 includes an in-vehicle device 10 and a server device 30.

[0012] The in-vehicle device 10 is fixedly installed in the vehicle 9. For example, the in-vehicle device 10 sets a planned driving route to a destination based on an input operation by the driver and presents the planned driving route to the driver. The in-vehicle device 10 also collects driving data such as the acceleration, angular velocity, and vehicle position of the vehicle 9. The in-vehicle device 10 also presents an evaluation result of the driving skill based on the driving data to the driver. The in-vehicle device 10 is capable of communicating with a server device 30 connected to the Internet (not shown) using, for example, mobile phone communication such as 4G or 5G, or network communication.

[0013] The server device 30 is an information processing device. The server device 30 evaluates the driving skill of the driver of the vehicle 9 based on the driving data of the vehicle 9. The server device 30 is connected to the Internet and is capable of communicating with the in-vehicle device 10 of the vehicle 9.

[0014] In the driving skill evaluation system 1, the server device 30 selects one or more sections (candidate evaluation sections) for which driving skills can be evaluated, based on the planned driving route of the vehicle 9, and selects one or more items (candidate evaluation items) for which driving skills can be evaluated. The in-vehicle device 10 presents these one or more candidate evaluation sections and one or more candidate evaluation items to the driver. The driver selects one or more sections to be actually evaluated from the one or more candidate evaluation sections, and selects one or more items to be actually evaluated from the one or more candidate evaluation items. Based on the driver's selection operation, the in-vehicle device 10 sets some or all of the one or more candidate evaluation sections as one or more target evaluation sections, and sets some or all of the one or more candidate evaluation items as one or more target evaluation items. The server device 30 evaluates the driving skills for one or more target evaluation items based on driving data of the vehicle 9 in the one or more target evaluation sections. The in-vehicle device 10 then presents the evaluation results of the driving skills to the driver. This allows the driving skill evaluation system 1 to appropriately present the evaluation results of the driving skill for the section selected by the driver.

[0015] 2 shows an example of the configuration of the in-vehicle device 10. The in-vehicle device 10 includes a display operation unit 11, a speaker 12, a storage unit 13, a communication unit 14, an acceleration sensor 15, an angular velocity sensor 16, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiving unit 17, and a processing unit 20.

[0016] The display operation unit 11 and the speaker 12 are user interfaces. The display operation unit 11 includes, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, a touch sensor, various indicators, various buttons, etc. The display operation unit 11 accepts operations by the driver and displays the processing results of the in-vehicle device 10. The speaker 12 outputs the processing results of the in-vehicle device 10 as audio.

[0017] The storage unit 13 is, for example, a non-volatile memory, and is configured to store program data for various software executed in the in-vehicle device 10, setting data, and the like.

[0018] The communication unit 14 is configured to communicate via the Internet by performing mobile phone communication, network communication, etc. The communication unit 14 is capable of communicating with a server device 30 connected to the Internet.

[0019] The acceleration sensor 15 is configured to detect acceleration in each of three directions in the coordinate system of the vehicle 9 .

[0020] The angular velocity sensor 16 is configured to detect three angular velocities (yaw angular velocity, roll angular velocity, and pitch angular velocity) in the coordinate system of the vehicle 9 .

[0021] The GNSS receiver 17 is configured to acquire the position of the vehicle 9 on the ground using a GNSS such as a Global Positioning System (GPS).

[0022] The processing unit 20 is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and is configured using, for example, one or more processors, one or more memories, etc. The processing unit 20 collects driving data including time series data of acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 15, time series data of angular velocity detected by the angular velocity sensor 16, and time series data of the vehicle position of the vehicle 9 obtained by the GNSS receiving unit 17. Note that in this example, the driving data includes time series data of acceleration, angular velocity, and vehicle position, but is not limited thereto. For example, the driving data may include time series data of speed obtained by integrating the time series data of acceleration. The driving data may also include time series data corresponding to the driving operation of the driver of the vehicle 9, such as time series data of accelerator opening and time series data of steering angle. The processing unit 20 can operate as a communication processing unit 21, a user interface processing unit 22, a navigation processing unit 23, an evaluation section setting unit 24, and an evaluation item setting unit 25 by executing software installed in the in-vehicle device 10.

[0023] The communication processing unit 21 is configured to control the operation of the communication unit 14 .

[0024] The user interface processing unit 22 is configured to control the operations of the display operation unit 11 and the speaker 12 .

[0025] The navigation processing unit 23 is configured to determine a planned driving route for the vehicle 9 using a map information database including information about road maps. The navigation processing unit 23 may, for example, have a storage unit that stores the map information database, and may determine the planned driving route using the map information database stored in the storage unit, or, for example, the communication unit 14 may determine the planned driving route by communicating with a network server in which the map information database is stored. The navigation processing unit 23 determines the planned driving route to the destination based on information about the destination that is input by the driver operating the display operation unit 11 and supplied via the user interface processing unit 22. The navigation processing unit 23 then controls the operation of the user interface processing unit 22 so that the display operation unit 11 presents the planned driving route to the driver.

[0026] The evaluation target section setting unit 24 is configured to set some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections selected by the server device 30 as one or more evaluation target sections based on the driver's selection operation.

[0027] The evaluation target item setting unit 25 is configured to set some or all of the one or more candidate evaluation items selected by the server device 30 as one or more evaluation target items based on the driver's selection operation.

[0028] 3 shows an example of the configuration of the server device 30. The server device 30 includes a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and a processing unit 40.

[0029] The communication unit 31 is configured to perform network communication to communicate via the Internet, and is capable of communicating with the communication unit 14 of the vehicle 9.

[0030] The storage unit 32 is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and is configured to store program data and setting data of various software executed by the server device 30. In this example, server software related to the driving skill evaluation system 1 is installed in the server device 30. The program data of this software is stored in the storage unit 32. The storage unit 32 also stores map data DM and a database DB. The map data DM is road map data. The database DB stores vehicle driving data related to various drivers and evaluation results of the driving skills of various drivers. In the database DB, the driving data and evaluation results of the driving skills are registered in association with various data, such as the driver, the vehicle's driving section, and the vehicle's driving date and time.

[0031] The processing unit 40 ( FIG. 3 ) is configured to control the operation of the server device 30, and is configured using, for example, one or more processors, one or more memories, etc. By executing software installed in the server device 30, the processing unit 40 can operate as a communication processing unit 41, an evaluation candidate section selection unit 42, an evaluation candidate item selection unit 43, a driving skill evaluation unit 44, a registration unit 45, and a presentation processing unit 46.

[0032] The communication processing unit 41 is configured to control the operation of the communication unit 31 .

[0033] The evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 is configured to select one or more evaluation candidate sections in the planned travel route based on the planned travel route transmitted from the vehicle 9 .

[0034] The evaluation candidate sections may be selected in advance by an engineer and registered in the map data DM, for example. In this case, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned driving route using the evaluation candidate sections registered in the map data DM.

[0035] Furthermore, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 may select, for example, a section that includes a predetermined number of curves or a predetermined number of intersections as an evaluation candidate section based on the map data DM. In this case, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned traveling route by analyzing the curves, intersections, etc. on the planned traveling route based on the map data DM.

[0036] Furthermore, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 may select evaluation candidate sections using, for example, a database DB in addition to the map data DM.

[0037] Specifically, for example, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 may select, as the evaluation candidate section, a section in which vehicle vibration is low when various vehicles are traveling, for example, based on the vehicle travel data registered in the database DB. In other words, in a section in which vehicle vibration is high, it is difficult to determine whether the vibration is due to the driver's driving skill or the road surface conditions of the traveled road. Therefore, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select, as the evaluation candidate section. The evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can obtain data on vehicle vibration based on, for example, time-series data on acceleration from the vehicle travel data. The evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned travel route by analyzing data indicating vehicle vibration contained in the database DB.

[0038] Furthermore, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 may select, as an evaluation candidate section, a section where many drivers have not received very good evaluation results for their driving skills, based on the driving skill evaluation results registered in the database DB. In other words, in a section where many drivers have not received very good evaluation results for their driving skills, many drivers find it difficult to perform driving operations, and there is a lot of room for improvement in their driving skills. Therefore, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select, as an evaluation candidate section, a section where many drivers have not received very good evaluation results for their driving skills. In this case, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned driving route by analyzing the evaluation results of the driving skills of various drivers contained in the database DB.

[0039] In this manner, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 selects one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned driving route. Then, from the one or more evaluation candidate sections selected in this manner, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 further selects one or more evaluation candidate sections for which the driver of the vehicle 9 has driven the section a predetermined number of times. That is, for example, in a section that the driver is driving for the first time, the driver may be too focused on the evaluation results presented for the first time and be unable to concentrate on driving operations. Therefore, it is desirable to exclude sections for which the number of times driven is less than the first number from the evaluation candidate sections. Furthermore, in a section that the driver drives every day, the driver may find it annoying to be presented with the same evaluation results every day. Therefore, it is desirable to exclude sections for which the number of times driven is more than the second number from the evaluation candidate sections. Here, the second number is greater than the first number. The evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can obtain the number of times the driver of the vehicle 9 has driven each of the one or more evaluation candidate sections, for example, based on a database DB. The evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 is configured to select one or more evaluation candidate sections in which the number of times the driver of the vehicle 9 has driven the vehicle is greater than or equal to a first number and less than or equal to a second number, in order to exclude sections in which the number of times the driver has driven the vehicle is less than a first number and sections in which the number of times the driver has driven the vehicle is greater than a second number from the evaluation candidate sections.

[0040] The evaluation candidate item selection unit 43 is configured to select one or more evaluation candidate items that can be evaluated in one or more evaluation candidate sections selected by the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42. That is, at a curve, for example, driving skills regarding steering operation can be evaluated, and at an intersection, for example, driving skills regarding braking operation and acceleration operation can be evaluated. Therefore, the evaluation candidate item selection unit 43 can select one or more evaluation candidate items that can be evaluated in one or more evaluation candidate sections selected by the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 based on, for example, map data DM.

[0041] The candidate evaluation items for each of the one or more candidate evaluation sections may be selected in advance by an engineer and registered in the map data DM. In this case, the candidate evaluation item selection unit 43 can use the map data DM to select one or more candidate evaluation items based on the candidate evaluation items for each of the one or more candidate evaluation sections. Specifically, the candidate evaluation item selection unit 43 can select, as one or more candidate evaluation items, candidate evaluation items that can be evaluated in at least one of the one or more candidate evaluation sections. Furthermore, the candidate evaluation item selection unit 43 can select one or more candidate evaluation items by analyzing curves, intersections, and the like in the one or more candidate evaluation sections based on the map data DM.

[0042] The driving skill evaluation unit 44 is configured to evaluate driving skills for one or more evaluation items set by the in-vehicle device 10 based on the driving data of the vehicle 9 in each of one or more evaluation sections set by the in-vehicle device 10. By evaluating the driving skills, the driving skill evaluation unit 44 is configured to generate evaluation results including, for example, the driver's driving skill level, the characteristics of the driver's driving operation, and advice on driving operation.

[0043] The registration unit 45 is configured to register the vehicle driving data and the evaluation results of the driver's driving skills in a database DB stored in the storage unit 32. The driving data and the evaluation results of the driving skills are registered in association with various data such as the driver, the driving section of the vehicle, and the date and time of driving the vehicle.

[0044] The presentation processing unit 46 is configured to perform a presentation process of presenting the evaluation results of the driver's driving skills, which are registered in the database DB, to the driver at an appropriate timing.

[0045] Here, the processing unit 20 and the processing unit 40 correspond to a specific example of a "processing circuit" in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The display operation unit 11 corresponds to a specific example of a "user interface" in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] [Operation and Function] Next, the operation and function of the driving skill evaluation system 1 of this embodiment will be described.

[0047] (Overall Operation Overview) First, the operation of the driving skill evaluation system 1 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. The in-vehicle device 10 sets a planned driving route to a destination based on the driver's operation on the display operation unit 11, and presents the planned driving route to the driver. The server device 30 selects one or more evaluation candidate sections and one or more evaluation candidate items based on the planned driving route. The in-vehicle device 10 presents the one or more evaluation candidate sections and one or more evaluation candidate items to the driver. The driver selects a section to be evaluated from the one or more evaluation candidate sections, and selects an item to be evaluated from the one or more evaluation candidate items. Based on the driver's selection operation, the in-vehicle device 10 sets some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections, and sets some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate items as one or more evaluation target items. When the vehicle 9 is traveling through one or more evaluation sections, the in-vehicle device 10 collects driving data including time series data of acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor 15, time series data of angular velocity detected by the angular velocity sensor 16, and time series data of the vehicle position of the vehicle 9 obtained by the GNSS receiving unit 17. The server device 30 evaluates the driving skills of the driver for one or more evaluation items based on the driving data collected by the in-vehicle device 10 for each of the one or more evaluation sections. The server device 30 then registers the driving data and the evaluation results of the driving skills in a database DB and performs a presentation process to present the evaluation results of the driver's driving skills to the driver at an appropriate time. The in-vehicle device 10 presents the evaluation results of the driver's driving skills to the driver.

[0048] (Detailed Operation) FIGS. 4A and 4B show an example of the operation of the driving skill evaluation system 1. FIG.

[0049] First, the in-vehicle device 10 accepts a destination input operation by the driver (step S101). Specifically, the driver inputs the destination by operating the display operation unit 11 of the in-vehicle device 10. The user interface processing unit 22 of the in-vehicle device 10 accepts the destination input operation.

[0050] Next, the user interface processing unit 22 checks whether a destination has been input (step S102). If a destination has not been input ("N" in step S102), this process ends.

[0051] If a destination is input in step S102 ("Y" in step S102), the navigation processing unit 23 of the in-vehicle device 10 sets a planned driving route to the destination (step S103). The user interface processing unit 22 controls the operation of the display operation unit 11 so that the display operation unit 11 presents the planned driving route to the driver. The display operation unit 11 presents the planned driving route to the driver.

[0052] The communication processing unit 21 of the in-vehicle device 10 then performs a transmission process of data indicating this planned driving route, and the communication unit 14 transmits this data to the server device 30. The communication unit 31 of the server device 30 receives this data, and the communication processing unit 41 performs a reception process of this data.

[0053] Next, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 of the server device 30 selects one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned traveling route (step S104). Specifically, as described above, for example, if the evaluation candidate sections are registered in the map data DM, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned traveling route using the evaluation candidate sections registered in the map data DM. Furthermore, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned traveling route by, for example, analyzing curves, intersections, and the like on the planned traveling route based on the map data DM. Furthermore, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned traveling route by, for example, analyzing data indicating vehicle vibrations contained in the database DB. Furthermore, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 can select one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned traveling route by, for example, analyzing evaluation results of various drivers' driving skills contained in the database DB.

[0054] Next, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 of the server device 30 selects one or more evaluation candidate sections from the one or more evaluation candidate sections selected in step S104, for which the number of times the driver of the vehicle 9 has driven the section falls within a predetermined range (step S105). The evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 obtains the number of times the driver of the vehicle 9 has driven the section for each of the one or more evaluation candidate sections selected in step S104, based on the database DB. Then, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42 selects one or more evaluation candidate sections from these one or more evaluation candidate sections, for example, for which the number of times the driver of the vehicle 9 has driven the section is equal to or greater than a first number and equal to or less than a second number.

[0055] Next, the candidate evaluation item selection unit 43 of the server device 30 selects one or more candidate evaluation items that can be evaluated in the one or more candidate evaluation sections selected by the candidate evaluation section selection unit 42 in step S105 (step S106). Specifically, as described above, if the candidate evaluation items for each of the one or more candidate evaluation sections are registered in the map data DM, the candidate evaluation item selection unit 43 can use the registered candidate evaluation items to select one or more candidate evaluation items that can be evaluated in the one or more candidate evaluation sections. In addition, the candidate evaluation item selection unit 43 can select one or more candidate evaluation items by analyzing curves, intersections, etc. in the one or more candidate evaluation sections based on the map data DM.

[0056] The communication processing unit 41 of the server device 30 then performs a transmission process of data indicating one or more candidate evaluation sections and one or more candidate evaluation items, and the communication unit 31 transmits this data to the in-vehicle device 10. The communication unit 14 of the in-vehicle device 10 receives this data, and the communication processing unit 21 performs a reception process of this data.

[0057] Next, the in-vehicle device 10 presents one or more candidate evaluation sections and one or more candidate evaluation items to the driver, and accepts a selection operation by the driver (step S107).

[0058] For example, the user interface processing unit 22 controls the operation of the display operation unit 11 so that the display operation unit 11 presents one or more evaluation candidate sections to the driver. The display operation unit 11 presents one or more evaluation candidate sections to the driver. Specifically, the display operation unit 11 can, for example, display a map showing a planned driving route and highlight one or more evaluation candidate sections on the planned driving route by, for example, changing the line thickness or color. The driver performs a selection operation to select one or more sections that should actually be evaluated from the one or more evaluation candidate sections. Specifically, the driver performs the selection operation by, for example, touching one or more sections that should actually be evaluated from the one or more evaluation candidate sections on the map displayed on the display operation unit 11. The user interface processing unit 22 accepts this selection operation by the driver.

[0059] Furthermore, for example, the user interface processing unit 22 controls the operation of the display operation unit 11 so that the display operation unit 11 presents one or more candidate evaluation items to the driver. The display operation unit 11 presents one or more candidate evaluation items to the driver. Specifically, the display operation unit 11 can display, for example, one or more candidate evaluation items using a list. The driver performs a selection operation to select one or more items to be actually evaluated from the one or more candidate evaluation items. Specifically, the driver performs the selection operation by, for example, touching one or more items to be actually evaluated from the one or more candidate evaluation items displayed in a list on the display operation unit 11. The user interface processing unit 22 accepts this selection operation by the driver.

[0060] In step S107, if the user interface processing unit 22 has not received any of these selection operations ("N" in step S108), the process ends. In this case, the driving skill evaluation system 1 does not evaluate the driving skill.

[0061] In step S107, if the user interface processing unit 22 accepts these selection operations ("Y" in step S108), the evaluation target section setting unit 24 of the in-vehicle device 10 sets one or more evaluation candidate sections selected by the driver from among one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections (step S109).

[0062] Then, the evaluation target item setting unit 25 of the in-vehicle device 10 sets one or more evaluation candidate items selected by the driver from among the one or more evaluation candidate items as one or more evaluation target items (step S110).

[0063] Next, the in-vehicle device 10 inquires of the driver whether or not to present the evaluation result of the driving skill during the driving operation period to the destination, and accepts the driver's selection operation (step S111). That is, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can, for example, present the evaluation result using the in-vehicle device 10 during the driving operation period to the destination. Alternatively, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can, for example, not present the evaluation result during the driving operation period to the destination, but present the evaluation result after the fact using the driver's smartphone, for example, after the driver gets out of the vehicle 9. The driver can select either of these.

[0064] The user interface processing unit 22 controls the operation of the display operation unit 11 so as to inquire of the driver whether or not to present the evaluation result of the driving skill during the driving operation period. The display operation unit 11 displays a message prompting the driver to select either presenting the evaluation result during the driving operation period or presenting the evaluation result after the driving operation period. The driver performs a selection operation to select one of these options. The user interface processing unit 22 accepts this selection operation by the driver.

[0065] If it is selected in step S111 to present the evaluation results during the driving operation period ("Y" in step S112), the in-vehicle device 10 presents the driver with options for the timing of presenting the evaluation results and accepts the driver's selection (step S113). That is, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can, for example, present the evaluation results for one or more evaluation sections each time the vehicle 9 travels through that section. Furthermore, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can, for example, present the evaluation results for each of the one or more evaluation sections immediately after the vehicle 9 arrives at the destination. The driver can select one of these options.

[0066] The user interface processing unit 22 controls the operation of the display operation unit 11 so as to present the driver with options for the timing at which the evaluation results are to be presented. The display operation unit 11 displays the options for the timing at which the evaluation results are to be presented. The driver performs a selection operation to select one of these options. The user interface processing unit 22 accepts this selection operation by the driver.

[0067] The communication processing unit 21 of the in-vehicle device 10 then performs a transmission process of data on one or more evaluation target sections and one or more evaluation target items, as well as data on the timing of presenting the evaluation results, and the communication unit 14 transmits this data to the server device 30. The communication unit 31 of the server device 30 receives this data, and the communication processing unit 41 performs a reception process of this data.

[0068] Thereafter, the driving skill evaluation system 1 evaluates the driving skill of the vehicle 9 while the vehicle 9 is traveling through one or more evaluation sections, and presents the evaluation results to the driver at a presentation timing selected by the driver (step S114). Specifically, the processing unit 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 collects driving data while the vehicle 9 is traveling through one or more evaluation sections. Then, for example, each time the vehicle 9 completes a driving section, the communication unit 14 of the in-vehicle device 10 transmits the driving data to the server device 30 based on an instruction from the communication processing unit 21. The communication unit 31 of the server device 30 receives the driving data, and the communication processing unit 41 performs a reception process for the driving data. The driving skill evaluation unit 44 evaluates the driver's driving skill for one or more evaluation items that can be evaluated for the driving section based on the driving data for the evaluation section. The registration unit 45 registers the driving data and the evaluation results of the driving skill in the database DB. The presentation processing unit 46 performs a presentation process to present the evaluation results of the driving skill to the driver at a presentation timing selected by the driver. The communication processing unit 41 performs a transmission process of data indicating the evaluation result of the driving skill at the presentation timing selected by the driver based on an instruction from the presentation processing unit 46, and the communication unit 31 transmits this data. The communication unit 14 of the in-vehicle device 10 receives this data, and the communication processing unit 21 performs a reception process of this data. Then, the display operation unit 11 displays the evaluation result of the driving skill based on an instruction from the user interface processing unit 22. Note that this is not limited to this, and for example, the speaker 12 may output a sound indicating the evaluation result of the driving skill based on an instruction from the user interface processing unit 22.

[0069] This completes the process.

[0070] In step S111, if it is selected not to present the evaluation results during the driving operation period to the destination ("N" in step S112), the process proceeds to step S115. The communication processing unit 21 of the in-vehicle device 10 performs a transmission process of data on one or more evaluation sections and one or more evaluation items, as well as data indicating that the evaluation results will not be presented during driving operation, and the communication unit 14 transmits this data to the server device 30. The communication unit 31 of the server device 30 receives this data, and the communication processing unit 41 performs a reception process of this data.

[0071] Then, when the vehicle 9 subsequently travels through one or more evaluation sections, the driving skill evaluation system 1 evaluates the driving skill (step S115). Specifically, the processing unit 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 collects driving data when the vehicle 9 travels through one or more evaluation sections. Then, for example, each time the vehicle 9 completes travel through the evaluation section, the communication unit 14 of the in-vehicle device 10 transmits the driving data to the server device 30 based on an instruction from the communication processing unit 21. The communication unit 31 of the server device 30 receives this driving data, and the communication processing unit 41 performs reception processing of this driving data. The driving skill evaluation unit 44 evaluates the driver's driving skill for items that can be evaluated for this evaluation section out of one or more evaluation items based on the driving data for this evaluation section. The registration unit 45 registers the driving data and the evaluation results of the driving skill in the database DB. In step S111, the user selects not to present the evaluation results during the driving operation period to the destination ("N" in step S112), so the presentation processing unit 46 does not perform the presentation process. In this case, the driver can obtain the evaluation results of the skill evaluation by, for example, operating the driver's smartphone or personal computer after getting out of the vehicle 9 and accessing the server device 30.

[0072] This completes the process.

[0073] In this way, the driving skill evaluation system 1 is capable of performing a process of presenting to the driver one or more evaluation candidate sections, which are set on the planned driving route of the vehicle 9 and are candidates for sections for evaluating the driving skills of the driver of the vehicle 9, and a process of accepting a first selection operation from the driver. The system is also provided with a processing circuit (processing unit 20 and processing unit 40) that can set some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections based on the driver's first selection operation, and can evaluate the driver's driving skills based on vehicle driving data for each of the set one or more evaluation target sections, and a user interface (display operation unit 11) that can present one or more evaluation candidate sections and accept the first selection operation. In this way, the driving skill evaluation system 1 allows the driver to set some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections. This allows, for example, the driver to set some, rather than all, of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as the evaluation target sections for which the driving skills will actually be evaluated. For example, if evaluation results for all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections are presented, the driver may feel annoyed. The driving skill evaluation system 1 can present the evaluation results of the driving skills for, for example, a portion of one or more candidate evaluation sections. This can reduce the possibility that the driver will feel annoyed. In this way, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can appropriately present the evaluation results so as to reduce the possibility that the driver will feel annoyed.

[0074] In addition, in the driving skill evaluation system 1, the processing circuit (processing unit 20 and processing unit 40) can further perform a process of presenting one or more candidate evaluation items, which are candidates for evaluation items of driving skill, to the driver and a process of accepting a second selection operation by the driver. Some or all of the one or more candidate evaluation items can be set as one or more evaluation target items based on the driver's second selection operation. The evaluation of driving skill includes evaluation of one or more evaluation target items. The user interface (display operation unit 11) can present one or more candidate evaluation items and accept a second selection operation. In this way, in the driving skill evaluation system 1, the driver can set some or all of the one or more candidate evaluation items as one or more evaluation target items. This allows, for example, the driver to set only some of the one or more candidate evaluation items, rather than all of the one or more candidate evaluation items, as the evaluation target items for the actual evaluation of driving skill. For example, if evaluation results of driving skill for all of the one or more candidate evaluation items are presented, the driver may feel annoyed. The driving skill evaluation system 1 can present the evaluation results of driving skills for some of the one or more candidate evaluation items, for example. This can reduce the possibility that the driver will feel annoyed. In this way, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can appropriately present the evaluation results so as to reduce the possibility that the driver will feel annoyed.

[0075] Furthermore, in the driving skill evaluation system 1, the processing circuit (processing unit 20 and processing unit 40) is configured to select some or all of the multiple evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation candidate sections based on the number of times the vehicle 9 has traveled through each of the multiple evaluation candidate sections on the planned driving route. For example, in a section that the driver is driving for the first time, the driver may be too focused on the evaluation result presented for the first time and be unable to concentrate on driving operations. Therefore, it is desirable to exclude sections that have been driven fewer than a first number from the evaluation candidate sections. Furthermore, in a section that the driver drives every day, the driver may feel annoyed because the same evaluation result is presented every day. Therefore, it is desirable to exclude sections that have been driven more than a second number from the evaluation candidate sections. The driving skill evaluation system 1 selects one or more evaluation candidate sections that the driver of the vehicle 9 has driven more than a first number and less than a second number. In this way, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can appropriately present evaluation results so that the driver can concentrate on driving operations or reduce the possibility of the driver feeling annoyed.

[0076] In addition, in the driving skill evaluation system 1, the processing circuit (processing unit 20 and processing unit 40) can further perform processing to present candidate timings for presenting the evaluation results of the driving skills to the driver of the vehicle 9 and to accept the driver's third selection operation, thereby enabling the evaluation results of the driving skills to be presented to the driver at a timing based on the driver's third selection operation. As a result, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can present the evaluation results for one or more evaluation sections, for example, each time the vehicle 9 travels through that section. In this case, the driver can improve his or her driving skills by checking the presented evaluation results each time the vehicle 9 travels through the evaluation section. Furthermore, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can present the evaluation results for one or more evaluation sections, for example, immediately after the vehicle 9 arrives at the destination. In this case, for example, the evaluation results are not displayed each time the vehicle 9 travels through the evaluation section, reducing the likelihood that the driver will feel annoyed. The driver can improve his or her driving skills by checking the presented evaluation results when the vehicle 9 arrives at the destination. In this way, the driving skill evaluation system 1 can appropriately present the evaluation results to the driver at a timing that is suitable for the driver.

[0077] [Effects] As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to perform a process of presenting to the driver one or more evaluation candidate sections that are set on the vehicle's planned driving route and are candidates for sections for evaluating the driving skills of the vehicle's driver, and a process of accepting the driver's first selection operation.Some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections can be set as one or more evaluation target sections based on the driver's first selection operation, and the driving skills of the driver can be evaluated based on the vehicle's driving data in each of the one or more set evaluation target sections.Since a processing circuit is provided, and a user interface is provided that can present one or more evaluation candidate sections and accept the first selection operation, the evaluation results can be presented appropriately.

[0078] In this embodiment, the processing circuit is further capable of performing a process of presenting one or more candidate evaluation items, which are candidates for evaluation items of driving skill, to the driver and a process of accepting a second selection operation by the driver, and is configured to set some or all of the one or more candidate evaluation items as one or more evaluation target items based on the second selection operation by the driver. The evaluation of driving skill includes evaluation of one or more evaluation target items. The user interface is capable of presenting one or more candidate evaluation items and accepting a second selection operation. This allows the evaluation results to be presented appropriately.

[0079] In this embodiment, the processing circuit is capable of selecting some or all of a plurality of evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation candidate sections based on the number of times the vehicle has traveled through each of the plurality of evaluation candidate sections on the planned driving route, thereby enabling the evaluation results to be presented appropriately.

[0080] In this embodiment, the processing circuit is further capable of presenting candidate timings for presenting the evaluation results of driving skills to the driver of vehicle 9 and performing processing to accept the driver's third selection operation, and is therefore capable of presenting the evaluation results of driving skills to the driver at a timing based on the driver's third selection operation, thereby enabling the evaluation results to be presented appropriately.

[0081] 2 and 3 , in the above embodiment, the processing unit 20 of the in-vehicle device 10 performs the processing of the user interface processing unit 22, the navigation processing unit 23, the evaluation target section setting unit 24, and the evaluation target item setting unit 25, and the processing unit 40 of the server device 30 performs the processing of the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42, the evaluation candidate item selection unit 43, the driving skill evaluation unit 44, the registration unit 45, and the presentation processing unit 46. However, this is not limited to this. For example, the processing unit 20 may perform part of the processing of the processing unit 40, or the processing unit 40 may perform part of the processing of the processing unit 20.

[0082] [Variation 2] In the above embodiment, the in-vehicle device 10 is used as shown in Fig. 1 , but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, for example, a smartphone 110 may be used as in a driving skill evaluation system 2 shown in Fig. 5 . The smartphone 110 is a highly functional mobile phone, and is fixedly installed inside the vehicle 109 in a predetermined orientation relative to the vehicle 109. As shown in Fig. 6 , the smartphone 110 has a touch panel 111, a speaker 112, a memory unit 113, a communication unit 114, an acceleration sensor 115, an angular velocity sensor 116, a GNSS receiving unit 117, and a processing unit 120. The touch panel 111, the speaker 112, the storage unit 113, the communication unit 114, the acceleration sensor 115, the angular velocity sensor 116, the GNSS receiving unit 117, and the processing unit 120 correspond to the display operation unit 11, the speaker 12, the storage unit 113, the communication unit 14, the acceleration sensor 15, the angular velocity sensor 16, the GNSS receiving unit 17, and the processing unit 20, respectively, in the above embodiment. The processing unit 120 is configured to control the operation of the smartphone 110 and is configured using, for example, one or more processors, one or more memories, etc. The processing unit 120 can operate as a communication processing unit 121, a user interface processing unit 122, a navigation processing unit 123, an evaluation section setting unit 124, and an evaluation item setting unit 125 by executing application software APP installed on the smartphone 110. The communication processing unit 121, the user interface processing unit 122, the navigation processing unit 123, the evaluation target section setting unit 124, and the evaluation target item setting unit 125 correspond to the communication processing unit 21, the user interface processing unit 22, the navigation processing unit 23, the evaluation target section setting unit 24, and the evaluation target item setting unit 25 in the above embodiment, respectively.

[0083] [Variation 3] In the above embodiment, the server device 30 evaluates the driving skills, but this is not limiting. Alternatively, for example, the in-vehicle device 210 may evaluate the driving skills, as in the driving skill evaluation system 3 shown in FIG. 7 . The in-vehicle device 210 has a memory unit 213 and a processing unit 220. The memory unit 213 stores a database DB. This database DB stores driving data of the vehicle 209 and evaluation results of the driving skills of the driver of the vehicle 209. By executing software installed in the in-vehicle device 210, the processing unit 220 can operate as the communication processing unit 21, the user interface processing unit 22, the navigation processing unit 23, the evaluation candidate section selection unit 242, the evaluation candidate item selection unit 243, the evaluation target section setting unit 24, the evaluation target item setting unit 25, the driving skill evaluation unit 244, the registration unit 245, and the presentation processing unit 246. The evaluation candidate section selection unit 242, the evaluation candidate item selection unit 243, the driving skill evaluation unit 244, the registration unit 245, and the presentation processing unit 246 correspond to the evaluation candidate section selection unit 42, the evaluation candidate item selection unit 43, the driving skill evaluation unit 44, the registration unit 45, and the presentation processing unit 46 in the above embodiment, respectively.

[0084] Although several embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure is by no means limited to the above-described embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims. The present disclosure is intended to encompass such modifications and variations to the extent that they fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0085] For example, the processing procedures of the driving skill evaluation system 1 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these processing procedures.

[0086] The effects described in this specification are merely examples, and the effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects described in this specification. Therefore, other effects may be obtained with respect to the present disclosure.

[0087] Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the following aspects.

[0088] (1) A driving skill evaluation system comprising: a processing circuit capable of performing a process of presenting to the driver one or more evaluation candidate sections set on the vehicle's planned driving route, which are candidates for sections for evaluating the driving skills of the driver of the vehicle, and a process of accepting a first selection operation from the driver; the processing circuit capable of setting some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections based on the driver's first selection operation; and the processing circuit capable of evaluating the driver's driving skill based on the vehicle's driving data in each of the one or more set evaluation target sections; and a user interface capable of presenting the one or more evaluation candidate sections and accepting the first selection operation. (2) The driving skill evaluation system according to (1), wherein the processing circuit is further capable of performing a process of presenting one or more candidate evaluation items to the driver that are candidates for evaluation items of the driving skill and a process of accepting a second selection operation from the driver, and is capable of setting some or all of the one or more candidate evaluation items as one or more evaluation target items based on the second selection operation from the driver, the evaluation of the driving skill includes an evaluation of the one or more evaluation target items, and the user interface is capable of presenting the one or more candidate evaluation items and accepting the second selection operation. (3) The driving skill evaluation system according to (1) or (2), wherein the processing circuit is further capable of selecting some or all of the plurality of candidate evaluation sections as the one or more evaluation candidate sections based on the number of times the vehicle has traveled through each of the plurality of candidate evaluation sections on the planned driving route. (4) The processing circuit is further capable of presenting candidates for the timing of presenting the evaluation result of the driving skill to the driver of the vehicle and performing processing to accept a third selection operation of the driver, and is capable of presenting the evaluation result of the driving skill to the driver at a timing based on the third selection operation of the driver. The driving skill evaluation system described in any of (1) to (3).(5) A vehicle equipped with a processing circuit capable of performing a process of presenting to the driver one or more evaluation candidate sections set on the vehicle's planned driving route, which are candidates for sections for evaluating the driving skills of the driver of the vehicle, and a process of accepting a first selection operation from the driver, and capable of setting some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections based on the first selection operation from the driver; and a user interface capable of presenting the one or more evaluation candidate sections and accepting the first selection operation.

[0089] The processing unit 20 shown in FIG. 2 can be implemented by circuitry including at least one semiconductor integrated circuit, such as at least one processor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)), at least one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and / or at least one field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The at least one processor can be configured to perform all or a portion of the various functions of the processing unit 20 shown in FIG. 2 by reading instructions from at least one non-transitory, tangible computer-readable medium. Such media can take various forms, including, but not limited to, various magnetic media such as hard disks, various optical media such as CDs or DVDs, and various semiconductor memories (i.e., semiconductor circuits) such as volatile or non-volatile memories. Volatile memories can include DRAM and SRAM. Non-volatile memories can include ROM and NVRAM. An ASIC is an integrated circuit (IC) specialized to perform all or a portion of the various functions of the processing unit 20 shown in FIG. 2. An FPGA is an integrated circuit designed to be configurable after manufacture to perform all or a portion of the various functions of the processing unit 20 shown in FIG. 2. The same applies to the processing unit 40 shown in FIG. 3, the processing unit 120 shown in FIG. 6, and the processing unit 220 shown in FIG.

Claims

1. A driving skill evaluation system comprising: a processing circuit capable of performing a process of presenting to the driver one or more evaluation candidate sections set on the vehicle's planned driving route as candidates for sections for evaluating the driving skills of the driver of the vehicle and a process of accepting a first selection operation from the driver, and capable of setting some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections based on the driver's first selection operation, and capable of evaluating the driver's driving skill based on the vehicle's driving data in each of the one or more set evaluation target sections; and a user interface capable of presenting the one or more evaluation candidate sections and accepting the first selection operation.

2. The driving skill evaluation system described in claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further capable of performing a process of presenting one or more candidate evaluation items to the driver that are candidates for evaluation items of the driving skill and a process of accepting a second selection operation by the driver, and is capable of setting some or all of the one or more candidate evaluation items as one or more evaluation target items based on the second selection operation by the driver, the evaluation of the driving skill includes an evaluation of the one or more evaluation target items, and the user interface is capable of presenting the one or more candidate evaluation items and accepting the second selection operation.

3. The driving skill evaluation system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further capable of selecting some or all of the plurality of evaluation candidate sections as the one or more evaluation candidate sections based on the number of times the vehicle has traveled through each of the plurality of evaluation candidate sections on the planned driving route.

4. The driving skill evaluation system of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further capable of presenting candidate timings for presenting the evaluation results of the driving skills to the driver of the vehicle and accepting a third selection operation by the driver, and is capable of presenting the evaluation results of the driving skills to the driver at a timing based on the third selection operation by the driver.

5. A vehicle equipped with a processing circuit capable of performing a process of presenting to the driver one or more evaluation candidate sections set on the vehicle's planned driving route, which are candidates for sections for evaluating the driving skills of the driver of the vehicle, and a process of accepting a first selection operation by the driver, and capable of setting some or all of the one or more evaluation candidate sections as one or more evaluation target sections based on the first selection operation by the driver; and a user interface capable of presenting the one or more evaluation candidate sections and accepting the first selection operation.

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