Terminal device, person search system, server, person search method, and program

Abstract

Provided is a terminal device capable of appropriately managing each of the occupants of a vehicle when an occupant of the vehicle is involved in an action outside the vehicle. The terminal device comprises a vehicle number reception means, an inquiry means, a position information acquisition means, and a position display means. The vehicle number reception means receives an input of a vehicle number. The inquiry means inquires the server that searches for a person about a search for the position of the person by using the vehicle number. The position information acquisition means acquires position information of at least one member of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the inquiry. The position display means displays information indicating the position of the member on a screen on the basis of the acquired position information.

Description

Terminal device, person search system, server, person search method and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a terminal device, a person search system, a server, a person search method, and a program.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a passenger management device that manages passengers on a transportation means capable of transporting a large number of people. The passenger management device according to Patent Document 1 stores images including the faces of passengers boarding the vehicle in association with the time of capture, and stores images including the faces of passengers disembarking in association with the time of capture. Furthermore, the passenger management device according to Patent Document 1 detects the number of passengers on board based on the stored information and compares passengers who boarded and disembarked with passengers who boarded after disembarking. Furthermore, based on the comparison result, the passenger management device according to Patent Document 1 transmits a location information request signal to the mobile terminal device of passengers who have not returned at the scheduled time, and receives location information transmitted from the mobile terminal device that received the location information request signal.

[0003] International Publication No. 2018 / 123843

[0004] The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires passengers to get on and off the vehicle in order to manage passengers. Therefore, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to grasp the location of each vehicle occupant when the vehicle occupant is moving around outside the vehicle. Therefore, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to appropriately manage each vehicle occupant when the vehicle occupant is moving around outside the vehicle.

[0005] The purpose of the present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and is to provide a terminal device, a person search system, a server, a person search method, and a program that are capable of appropriately managing each of the vehicle occupants when the vehicle occupants are active outside the vehicle.

[0006] The terminal device according to the present disclosure has a vehicle number receiving means for receiving input of a vehicle number, a query means for using the vehicle number to query a server that searches for people to search for their location, a location information obtaining means for obtaining location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the query, and a location display means for displaying information representing the locations of the members on a screen based on the obtained location information.

[0007] The person search system according to the present disclosure includes one or more terminal devices and a server that searches for people, wherein the terminal devices include a vehicle number plate number receiving means that receives an input of a vehicle number plate, a query means that uses the vehicle number plate to make a query to the server that searches for people to search for their locations, a location information acquisition means that acquires location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number plate from the server in response to the query, and a location display means that displays information indicating the locations of the members on a screen based on the acquired location information.The server according to the present disclosure also includes a query reception means that receives a query to search for the location of a person using the vehicle number plate from the terminal devices, a matching means that performs matching using biometric information of members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number plate in response to the query, and a transmission processing means that performs processing to transmit the location information of the members to the terminal device that made the query in response to the matching result.

[0008] The person search method disclosed herein accepts input of a vehicle number, uses the vehicle number to query a server that searches for people to search for the person's location, obtains location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the query, and displays information indicating the locations of the members on a screen based on the obtained location information.

[0009] The program disclosed herein causes a computer to perform the following steps: accepting input of a vehicle number; using the vehicle number to query a server that searches for people to search for the person's location; obtaining location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the query; and displaying information representing the positions of the members on a screen based on the obtained location information.

[0010] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a terminal device, a person search system, a server, a person search method, and a program that are capable of appropriately managing each of the vehicle occupants when the vehicle occupants are active outside the vehicle.

[0011] 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a person search method executed by a terminal device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a person search system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an overview of the operation of the person search system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a server according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a person search method executed by the person search system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a group registration screen displayed in grouping processing according to the present disclosure. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating group information stored in a server according to the present disclosure. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a location search inquiry screen displayed in query-related processing according to the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an inquiry notification screen displayed in query-related processing according to the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a location display screen displayed on a terminal device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a server according to the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a person search method executed by the person search system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining a method of generating group information using a parking image, performed by a server according to the present disclosure. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating group information generated by a group information acquisition unit according to the present disclosure. FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a location display screen displayed on a terminal device according to the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a case where the person search system according to the present disclosure is applied to distress detection.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. In addition, in each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted as necessary. In addition, although the following description will be made using drawings, a drawing used in the description of a certain embodiment does not apply only to that embodiment. Each drawing may be applied to all embodiments.

[0013] (Embodiment 1) Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device 1 according to the present disclosure. The terminal device 1 has a vehicle number reception unit 2, a query unit 4, a location information acquisition unit 6, and a location display unit 8. The vehicle number reception unit 2 functions as a vehicle number reception means. The query unit 4 functions as a query means. The location information acquisition unit 6 functions as a location information acquisition means. The location display unit 8 functions as a location display means. Using these components, the terminal device 1 displays the locations of members of a group associated with the vehicle number.

[0014] The terminal device 1 may be realized by a computer. The terminal device 1 may be owned by a user. The terminal device 1 may be, for example, but is not limited to, a smartphone, a mobile phone, or a tablet terminal. The above-described components may be realized by an application (person search application) installed in the terminal device 1. In other words, the above-described components may be realized by the terminal device 1, which is a computer, executing a program stored in the terminal device 1.

[0015] 2 is a flowchart showing a person search method executed by the terminal device 1 according to the present disclosure. The vehicle number acceptance unit 2 accepts input of a vehicle number (step S12). Specifically, the vehicle number acceptance unit 2 may accept input of the vehicle number by operation of the user of the terminal device 1.

[0016] Here, in the present disclosure, a "vehicle number" is a character string that identifies a vehicle. The vehicle number may be affixed to the vehicle so as to be visible from the vehicle's exterior. The vehicle number may be, for example, written (stamped) on a license plate affixed to the vehicle. The vehicle number may be, for example, the registration number of a vehicle such as an automobile. In the case of a Japanese vehicle, the license plate may be, for example, a vehicle registration plate, a vehicle number plate, a sign, etc. Furthermore, in the case of a Japanese vehicle, the vehicle number may indicate, for example, the name of the place of registration, a classification number, kana characters, and a series of designated numbers. The name of the place of registration may indicate the name of the place of registration where the vehicle is registered (a sign indicating the Land Transport Bureau or the Motor Vehicle Inspection and Registration Office). The classification symbol may indicate the type of vehicle and its classification by purpose. The kana characters may indicate the purpose, such as business use or private use. The series of designated numbers is a part of the vehicle number and is a four-digit number or the like written relatively prominently in a predetermined position on the license plate. Furthermore, the vehicle number does not have to be the entire character string written on the license plate. The vehicle number may be a part of the character string printed on the license plate that is most effective for identifying the vehicle. For example, the vehicle number may be a series of designated numbers.

[0017] The query unit 4 queries the server to search for the person's location (step S14). The query unit 4 requests the server to search for the person's location. In other words, the query unit 4 can be said to function as a requesting means. The query unit 4 performs processing to query the server to search for the location of one or more members of a group corresponding to a vehicle number. Here, the "server" provides a person search service that searches for a person's location using a vehicle number. As will be described later, the server may store information that associates vehicle numbers with groups corresponding to the vehicle numbers. Details of the server will be described later.

[0018] In the present disclosure, a "group" is associated with a vehicle license plate number. One or more members belong to a group. Specifically, a "member of a group" may be an occupant of a vehicle associated with the vehicle license plate number. Also, one group may include occupants of multiple vehicles. For example, if the vehicle is a private car, the members of the group may be family members or the like who ride in the vehicle. For example, if the vehicle is a bus (such as a tourist bus), the members of the group may be passengers or the like who ride in the vehicle. Here, when a vehicle visits a controlled area and the occupants of the vehicle act in the controlled area, it is highly likely that occupants who ride in the same vehicle at a certain time belong to the same group. Therefore, in the present disclosure, occupants who ride in the same vehicle at a certain time are considered to be members of a group, and the vehicle license plate number of the vehicle is associated with the occupants of the vehicle. For example, a period from when a person first boards a vehicle until a predetermined time has elapsed may be considered a "certain timing." Also, for example, an arbitrary period designated by a user may be considered a "certain timing." Then, occupants who boarded the vehicle during that period may be considered members of the same group.

[0019] The location information acquisition unit 6 acquires location information of one or more members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number (step S16). Specifically, in response to the inquiry in the processing of S14, the location information acquisition unit 6 acquires location information of one or more members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server. Here, "location information" is information indicating the location where the member is located. The member location information may be generated by the server. The location information may indicate, for example, two-dimensional location coordinates. The location information may also indicate, for example, latitude and longitude. The location information may also indicate GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates.

[0020] The location display unit 8 displays information indicating the location of the member on the screen based on the acquired location information (step S18). Here, the "screen" may be, for example, a display (display device) mounted on the terminal device 1, or an image projected from the terminal device 1. Specifically, the location display unit 8 may display, for example, the location of the member on a map displayed on the screen. Furthermore, for example, the location display unit 8 may display, for example, text data indicating the area or address where the member is located on the screen. Furthermore, for example, the location display unit 8 may display, for example, GPS coordinates indicating the location where the member is located on the screen.

[0021] The terminal device 1 according to the present disclosure, configured as described above, allows a user to easily grasp the locations of group members associated with vehicle license plates. Here, by associating vehicle occupants with the vehicle license plates of the vehicles, the occupants can be easily managed as a group. Therefore, the user of the terminal device 1 can appropriately grasp the location of each vehicle occupant. Therefore, the terminal device 1 according to the present disclosure makes it possible to appropriately manage each vehicle occupant when the vehicle occupant is active outside the vehicle.

[0022] The person search system including the terminal device 1 and the server also enables appropriate management of each vehicle occupant when the vehicle occupant is outside the vehicle. The person search method executed by the terminal device 1 also enables appropriate management of each vehicle occupant when the vehicle occupant is outside the vehicle. The program executing the person search method also enables appropriate management of each vehicle occupant when the vehicle occupant is outside the vehicle. The server also enables appropriate management of each vehicle occupant when the vehicle occupant is outside the vehicle. The method and program executed by the server also enable appropriate management of each vehicle occupant when the vehicle occupant is outside the vehicle.

[0023] (Embodiment 2) Next, embodiment 2 will be described with reference to the drawings. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. In addition, the same elements in each drawing are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted as necessary. Embodiment 2 corresponds to a specific example of embodiment 1.

[0024] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a person search system 20 according to the present disclosure. The person search system 20 includes one or more image capture devices 30, a server 100, and one or more terminal devices 200. The image capture devices 30, the server 100, and the terminal devices 200 each have a function as, for example, a computer.

[0025] With the above configuration, the person search system 20 searches for people who are active in a managed area managed by the person search system 20. In the present disclosure, a "managed area" may be a relatively wide area in which an unspecified number of people can act freely. Examples of managed areas include, but are not limited to, theme parks, leisure facilities, shopping malls, complexes, service areas, parking areas, tourist spots, recreational areas, specific urban areas, and mountainous regions.

[0026] The image capture device 30 and the server 100 are communicatively connected via a network. The server 100 and the terminal device 200 are communicatively connected via a network. The network may be, for example, a wireless network or a wired network. That is, the server 100 is connected to the image capture device 30 and the terminal device 200 via a wireless or wired connection. The wireless network may be, for example, a network using a communication line standard such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), or a network used in a specific area such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) or local 5G. The wired network may be, for example, a local area network (LAN) or optical fiber. The terminal device 200 may be communicatively connected to the image capture device 30 via a network.

[0027] The photographing device 30 is, for example, a camera. The photographing device 30 photographs a subject present in a controlled area and generates image data (photographed image) showing the photographed image. The image data may show a still image, a moving image, or frames constituting a moving image. The photographing device 30 may be installed in the controlled area. Alternatively, the photographing device 30 may photograph a subject while moving within the controlled area. Furthermore, the photographing device 30 may photograph the entire controlled area from the sky. The photographing device 30 may be mounted on a mobile object such as a drone.

[0028] The photographing device 30 transmits the generated photographed image (image data) to the server 100. At this time, the photographing device 30 may transmit photographing position information, which is information that enables identification of the location where the photographed image was taken, along with the photographed image (image data), to the server 100. Therefore, the photographed image transmitted to the server 100 may be accompanied by the photographing position information. Furthermore, the photographing device 30 may transmit identification information of the photographing device 30 to the server 100 along with the photographed image (image data). Therefore, the identification information of the photographing device 30 may be accompanied by the photographed image. The photographing position information may indicate the location of the location where the photographing device 30 is installed, or may indicate the location of a location where photographs can be taken by the photographing device 30. Furthermore, in the case of a photographing device 30 that is fixedly installed in a controlled area, the photographing position information may indicate an identification number assigned to each photographing device 30 and associated with the photographing position. Furthermore, a mobile photographing device 30 may transmit location information indicating its own location at the time the photographed image was taken to the server 100 along with the photographed image. Furthermore, the mobile image capturing device 30 may transmit, to the server 100, image capturing location information indicating the location where the image was captured, along with the image.

[0029] The image capturing device 30 may be installed at multiple locations in the controlled area. Specifically, the image capturing device 30 may be installed at a location in the controlled area where it can capture images of locations where a person may be active. The image capturing device 30 may also be installed at a location where it can capture images of a parking space for a vehicle in which a person visiting the controlled area is riding. In the present disclosure, the image capturing device 30 captures an image of a subject, including a person, and generates a captured image including the person's biometric information. Therefore, the image capturing device 30 functions as a detection device that can detect the person's biometric information.

[0030] Here, biometric information of a person is information that represents the characteristics of that person. The biometric information of a person may be information unique to that person. In other words, a person can be identified using the biometric information of that person. The biometric information of a person may be, for example, a person image that is an image of the person, but is not limited to this. The person image may be, for example, a face image, an image of the upper body including a face image, or a whole-body image including a face image, but is not limited to these. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the biometric information is a face image. Note that when multiple people are present within the imaging range of the imaging device 30, the imaging device 30 may generate a captured image that includes images of multiple people. Note also that when no people are present within the imaging range of the imaging device 30, the imaging device 30 may generate a captured image that does not include any people. The imaging device 30 may generate a captured image that captures at least the face of the person. Then, the imaging device 30 transmits the captured image (image data) that includes the face image of the person to the server 100.

[0031] Furthermore, the camera device 30 installed at a location where it can photograph the parking space may capture an image of one or more vehicles present in the parking space and generate a captured image including an image of the vehicle. Specifically, the camera device 30 may generate a captured image including an image of the license plate of the vehicle present in the parking space. In other words, the camera device 30 may generate a captured image showing the license plate number of the vehicle present in the parking space. The camera device 30 then transmits the captured image (image data) showing the license plate number to the server 100.

[0032] The server 100 corresponds to the server in the first embodiment described above. Therefore, the server 100 provides a person search service that searches for the location of a person using a vehicle license plate number. The server 100 may be an information processing device that performs information processing. The server 100 may also function as a person search server or a person search device that searches for a person. The server 100 may also function as a management server or a management device that manages a managed area. The server 100 may also function as a monitoring server or a monitoring device that monitors a managed area. The server 100 may also be realized by, for example, cloud computing. The server 100 may also be realized by, for example, multiple computers that are connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other. Each component of the server 100, which will be described later, may also be realized by multiple computers.

[0033] The server 100 has a group information storage unit 110 and a controlled area image storage unit 112. The server 100 stores in the group information storage unit 110 group information that associates groups of occupants of vehicles that have visited the controlled area with the license plate numbers of those vehicles. Therefore, in the group information stored in the group information storage unit 110, the members of the group are associated with the license plate numbers of the vehicles in which the members were riding. Here, the group information includes biometric information of each occupant who is a member of the group. Specific examples of group information, a method for grouping group members related to the group information, and a method for acquiring biometric information included in the group information will be described later.

[0034] The server 100 also acquires, as controlled area images, images taken by the imaging device 30 of subjects at various locations in the controlled area. The server 100 then stores the controlled area images in the controlled area image storage unit 112. The group information storage unit 110 and the controlled area image storage unit 112 may be realized by a database. The group information storage unit 110 and the controlled area image storage unit 112 may also be realized by physically separate devices.

[0035] The terminal device 200 corresponds to the terminal device 1 in the above-described first embodiment. The terminal device 200 may be, for example, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a smart watch, or a wearable device. The terminal device 200 may also be a PC (Personal Computer) such as a desktop personal computer or a laptop personal computer.

[0036] The terminal device 200 may be owned by at least a user who may legitimately desire to locate the location of a person in a controlled area. Hereinafter, a "user who may legitimately desire to locate the location of a person in a controlled area" may be referred to as an "authorized user." The authorized user may be, for example, at least one of the members of the group described above. In this case, if the user of the terminal device 200 loses sight of at least one of the other members in the controlled area, the authorized user may desire to locate the location of the other members. The authorized user may also be, for example, an administrator who manages the controlled area or a vehicle. In this case, if all (or at least one) of the group members go missing in the controlled area, the administrator who is the user of the terminal device 200 may desire to locate the location of the missing member. The administrator who manages the controlled area may be, for example, a person in charge of the controlled area or a person associated with a public institution (such as the police or fire department) that has jurisdiction over the controlled area. The administrator who manages the vehicle may be, for example, a tour bus driver. On the other hand, a user who unlawfully searches for a person in a controlled area by stalking or the like is not a legitimate user. Furthermore, the terminal device 200 may be owned by each member of a group corresponding to the vehicle number.

[0037] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an overview of the operation of the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure. Note that the person search system 20 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes multiple terminal devices 200A and 200B. As indicated by arrow A1, the terminal device 200A queries the server 100 to search for a person's location in response to a user operation. Specifically, the terminal device 200A queries the server 100 to search for the person's location using a vehicle license plate number corresponding to a group to which the person to be searched belongs. More specifically, the terminal device 200A transmits the vehicle license plate number to the server 100 and requests the server 100 to search for the locations of members of the group corresponding to the vehicle license plate number. The terminal device 200A transmits query information to the server 100. The query information includes the vehicle license plate number and an instruction to request the search for the locations of members of the group corresponding to the vehicle license plate number. Hereinafter, a user who performs an operation to query for a person's location may be referred to as an inquirer. Therefore, in FIG. 4, the terminal device 200A is the inquirer's terminal. It should be noted that the inquirer is not necessarily a legitimate user.

[0038] When the server 100 receives a query from the terminal device 200A to search for a person's location, it searches for the location of a group member corresponding to the vehicle number. Specifically, the server 100 performs a match using the biometric information of the group member corresponding to the vehicle number. More specifically, the server 100 receives query information including the vehicle number from the terminal device 200A. The server 100 matches (cross-checks) the biometric information of the group member corresponding to the query-related vehicle number stored in the group information storage unit 110 with the biometric information contained in each of the multiple control area images stored in the control area image storage unit 112. That is, the server 100 searches the multiple control area images stored in the control area image storage unit 112 for images containing the biometric information of the group member corresponding to the vehicle number included in the query information. The server 100 determines the location where the control area image containing biometric information determined by the matching process to be the same person as the person in the biometric information of the group member corresponding to the vehicle number was captured as the location of that member. Then, the server 100 transmits location information indicating the member's location to the terminal device 200A that made the inquiry, as indicated by an arrow A2.

[0039] When the terminal device 200A acquires the location information of the members, it displays the location information, which is information indicating the location of the members, on a screen (display, etc.), thereby enabling the inquirer to grasp the location of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number.

[0040] The person search system 20 may prevent the transmission of member location information to the inquirer's terminal device 200 if the inquirer is not a legitimate user. Specifically, in the server 100, the vehicle number may be associated in advance with a registered password (first password). This registered password may be set (registered) in advance by a legitimate user. When making an inquiry, the terminal device 200A accepts input of a password by the inquirer and performs an inquiry using the input password and the vehicle number. In other words, the inquirer inputs a password into the terminal device 200. The terminal device 200A then transmits inquiry information including the vehicle number and password to the server 100.

[0041] When the server 100 receives an inquiry from the terminal device 200A, it determines whether the entered password matches a registered password previously associated with the vehicle number related to the inquiry. In other words, when the server 100 receives an inquiry from the terminal device 200A, it determines whether the entered password matches a registered password previously associated with the vehicle number related to the inquiry. In other words, when the server 100 receives an inquiry from the terminal device 200A, it determines whether the entered password matches a registered password previously associated with the vehicle number related to the inquiry. If the password and the registered password match, the server 100 may perform processing to transmit location information of group members corresponding to the vehicle number to the terminal device 200A that made the inquiry. This allows the terminal device 200A of the authorized user to acquire the member's location information and display the member's location display information on the screen. On the other hand, if the passwords do not match, the server 100 does not transmit the location information of the group members corresponding to the vehicle number to the terminal device 200A. Therefore, even if a terminal device 200A of an unauthorized user, i.e., a person who does not know the registered password, performs an inquiry, it cannot display the location display information of the group members corresponding to the vehicle number. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unauthorized users from knowing the locations of members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number.

[0042] Furthermore, the person search system 20 may be configured to transmit the location information of a group member corresponding to a vehicle number to the inquirer's terminal device 200A when the member permits disclosure of his or her location information. Specifically, the server 100 receives an inquiry from the terminal device 200A, as indicated by arrow A1. The server 100 then performs processing to output a notification (inquiry notification) to the terminal device 200B of the group member corresponding to the vehicle number related to the inquiry, as indicated by arrow B1, inquiring about permission to display the member's location display information. In other words, the server 100 transmits a notification output command to the terminal device 200B, as indicated by arrow B1, instructing the terminal device 200B to output a notification inquiring about permission to display the location display information. As a result, when an inquiry is made about a vehicle number corresponding to a group of which the first user, the terminal device 200B, is a member, the terminal device 200B outputs a notification inquiring about permission to display the first user's location display information. In other words, upon receiving the notification output command, the terminal device 200B outputs a notification to the first user inquiring about permission to display the first user's location display information. For example, the terminal device 200B may display information inquiring about permission to display the location display information on a screen. Here, the first user is the user of the terminal device 200B. Note that there may be multiple terminal devices 200B.

[0043] If the first user permits the display of the location display information, the terminal device 200B responds with permission to the notification through the operation of the first user, as shown by arrow B2. In other words, the terminal device 200B transmits an permission response indicating a response of permission to display the location display information to the server 100, as shown by arrow B2. The server 100 transmits the location information of the user of the terminal device 200B that responded with permission to the terminal device 200A that made the inquiry, as shown by arrow A2. On the other hand, the server 100 does not transmit the location information of the user of the terminal device 200B that did not respond with permission to the terminal device 200 that made the inquiry.

[0044] Furthermore, when the terminal device 200B outputs the notification, it may display the identification information of the inquirer. Specifically, when the terminal device 200A makes an inquiry to search for the location of a person as indicated by the arrow A1, it makes the inquiry along with the identification information of the inquirer. In other words, the terminal device 200A transmits inquiry information including the vehicle number and the identification information of the inquirer to the server 100.

[0045] When the server 100 receives an inquiry from the terminal device 200A, it performs processing to cause the terminal device 200B, a member of the group, to output a notification requesting permission to display the location display information and the inquirer's identification information, as indicated by arrow B1. In other words, the server 100 transmits a notification output command to the terminal device 200B, as indicated by arrow B1, including the notification requesting permission to display the location display information and the inquirer's identification information. The terminal device 200B outputs the notification and the inquirer's identification information. This allows the user of the terminal device 200B to recognize the identity of the inquirer. This allows the user of the terminal device 200B to more appropriately determine whether to respond with permission. In other words, if the user of the terminal device 200B does not recognize the identification information displayed with the notification, the user can refrain from responding with permission to display the location display information.

[0046] It is desirable that the identification information of the inquirer output by the terminal device 200B be identifiable by the user of the terminal device 200B (for example, the name or nickname of the inquirer). Furthermore, the identification information of the inquirer output by the terminal device 200B only needs to uniquely correspond to the identification information of the inquirer transmitted from the terminal device 200A, and does not need to strictly match the identification information of the inquirer transmitted from the terminal device 200A. In other words, the identification information of the inquirer transmitted from the terminal device 200A may be the identification information of the terminal device 200A (such as the MAC (Media Access Control) address). Furthermore, the identification information of the inquirer output by the terminal device 200B may be the name of the inquirer.

[0047] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a server 100 according to the present disclosure. The server 100 has, as its main hardware components, a control unit 102, a storage unit 104, a communication unit 106, and an interface unit 108 (IF; Interface). The control unit 102, the storage unit 104, the communication unit 106, and the interface unit 108 are interconnected via a data bus or the like. Note that the above-described imaging device 30 may also have the hardware configuration of the server 100 shown in FIG. 5.

[0048] The control unit 102 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 102 functions as a calculation device that performs control processing, calculation processing, etc. The control unit 102 may have multiple processors. The storage unit 104 is a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk. The storage unit 104 is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 104 has a function for storing control programs, calculation programs, etc. executed by the control unit 102. In other words, the storage unit 104, which is a memory, etc., stores one or more instructions. The storage unit 104 also has a function for temporarily storing processing data, etc. The storage unit 104 may include a database. The storage unit 104 may also have multiple memories.

[0049] The communication unit 106 performs processing necessary for the server 100 to communicate with other devices via a network. The communication unit 106 is, for example, a communication interface. The communication unit 106 may include a communication port, a router, a firewall, etc. The interface unit 108 (IF; Interface) is, for example, a user interface (UI). The interface unit 108 has an input device such as a keyboard, a touch panel, a mouse, or a microphone, and an output device such as a display or a speaker. The interface unit 108 may be configured such that the input device and the output device are integrated, such as a touch screen or a touch panel. The interface unit 108 accepts data input operations by a user such as an operator or worker, and outputs information to the user.

[0050] Server 100 also has, as its components, a group information storage unit 110, a management area image storage unit 112, a group information acquisition unit 120, and a management area image acquisition unit 130. Server 100 also has, as its components, a query reception unit 140, a notification processing unit 150, a matching unit 160, a location information generation unit 170, and a transmission processing unit 180.

[0051] As mentioned above, the server 100 does not have to be physically configured as a single device. In this case, the components described above may be implemented by multiple physically separate devices. For example, as mentioned above, the group information storage unit 110 and the managed area image storage unit 112 may each be implemented by separate devices. This also applies to the other embodiments described below.

[0052] The group information storage unit 110 functions as a group information storage means. The controlled area image storage unit 112 functions as a controlled area image storage means. The group information acquisition unit 120 functions as a group information acquisition means. The controlled area image acquisition unit 130 functions as a controlled area image acquisition means. The inquiry reception unit 140 functions as an inquiry reception means. The notification processing unit 150 functions as a notification processing means. The matching unit 160 functions as a matching means. The location information generation unit 170 functions as a location information generation means. The transmission processing unit 180 functions as a transmission processing means.

[0053] Each of the above-described components can be realized, for example, by executing a program under the control of the control unit 102. More specifically, each component can be realized by the control unit 102 executing a program (instructions) stored in the storage unit 104. Alternatively, each component may be realized by recording the necessary program on any non-volatile recording medium and installing it as needed. Each component may not necessarily be realized by software programs, but may be realized by any combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Each component may also be realized using a user-programmable integrated circuit, such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) or a microcomputer. In this case, a program consisting of each of the above-described components may be realized using this integrated circuit. This also applies to other embodiments described below.

[0054] As described above, the group information storage unit 110 stores the above-described group information. The group information storage unit 110 may be realized by a database. The group information storage unit 110 stores group information for each group. As described above, the group information storage unit 110 stores group information in which vehicle numbers are associated with biometric information of members of the group corresponding to the vehicle numbers.

[0055] The group information acquisition unit 120 acquires the group information described above. The group information acquisition unit 120 may acquire the group information through a user operation on the terminal device 200, which will be described later. Specifically, the group information acquisition unit 120 may acquire the group information through a grouping operation on the terminal device 200. Note that "grouping" refers to a process for grouping occupants of vehicles corresponding to a vehicle number as members of one group. In the second embodiment, as will be described later, the grouping may be performed by the terminal device 200. The group information acquisition unit 120 may acquire the group information by receiving, from the terminal device 200, group information generated by the terminal device 200. Alternatively, the group information acquisition unit 120 may acquire the group information by generating group information in response to an operation on the terminal device 200. The group information acquisition unit 120 then stores the acquired group information in the group information storage unit 110. Note that the group information includes a vehicle number corresponding to the group and biometric information of the group members. Examples of group information will be described later.

[0056] The group information acquisition unit 120 may acquire group information about a group in which the occupants of multiple vehicles are members of one group. That is, the group information acquisition unit 120 may acquire group information about a group in which the occupants of vehicles corresponding to multiple vehicle license plates are members of one group. For example, if a group visits a controlled area by riding in multiple vehicles, the occupants of the vehicles corresponding to the multiple vehicle license plates may be members of one group.

[0057] Furthermore, the group information acquisition unit 120 may acquire group information that associates a registration password with a group. That is, a vehicle number may be associated with a registration password in advance. The group information acquisition unit 120 may associate a registration password with a vehicle number. The registration password may be set by the authorized user described above. In this case, the group information acquisition unit 120 may acquire a registration password from the terminal device 200 of the authorized user and associate it with the vehicle number. This registration password is used when making an inquiry to search for a person's location. This will be described in more detail later.

[0058] Note that the occupants of a certain vehicle X may be different at different times. For example, if vehicle X is a tourist bus, or if vehicle X is a passenger car shared by different groups, the occupants of vehicle X at one time may be different from the occupants of vehicle X at another time. Therefore, if group information regarding past occupants of vehicle X has already been stored in the group information storage unit 110, the group information acquisition unit 120 may acquire group information regarding occupants different from the past occupants of vehicle X. In this case, the group information acquisition unit 120 (or the group information storage unit 110) may delete the group information regarding the past occupants of vehicle X stored in the group information storage unit 110. For example, when the provision of services by vehicle X is completed, the group information acquisition unit 120 may delete the group information. For example, if vehicle X is used for sightseeing, the group information may be deleted when the planned sightseeing itinerary is completed. Furthermore, if vehicle X is a rental car, the group information may be deleted when vehicle X is returned.

[0059] As described above, the controlled area image storage unit 112 stores the controlled area images described above. The controlled area image storage unit 112 may be realized by a database. The controlled area image acquisition unit 130 acquires the captured image from the imaging device 30 as a controlled area image. The controlled area image acquisition unit 130 may acquire (receive) the controlled area image using the communication unit 106. Then, the controlled area image acquisition unit 130 stores the acquired controlled area image in the controlled area image storage unit 112.

[0060] The inquiry receiving unit 140 receives an inquiry from the terminal device 200. Specifically, the inquiry receiving unit 140 receives an inquiry to search for a person's location from the terminal device 200 (terminal device 200A in FIG. 4 ). More specifically, the inquiry receiving unit 140 acquires (receives) inquiry information from the inquirer's terminal device 200. The inquiry receiving unit 140 outputs the vehicle number to the notification processing unit 150 and the matching unit 160.

[0061] As described above, the inquiry information includes a vehicle number corresponding to the group whose location is to be located and an instruction to request a search for the locations of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number. The inquiry receiving unit 140 may also acquire, along with the vehicle number, identification information of the person who made the inquiry (the inquirer). In other words, the inquiry receiving unit 140 may acquire inquiry information that includes the identification information of the inquirer.

[0062] Furthermore, if the vehicle number is associated with a registered password in advance, the inquiry receiving unit 140 may acquire the password along with the vehicle number. In other words, the inquiry receiving unit 140 may acquire inquiry information including the vehicle number and the password. In this case, the inquiry receiving unit 140 refers to the group information storage unit 110 and determines whether the registered password corresponding to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information matches the password included in the inquiry information. If the registered password matches the password included in the inquiry information, the inquiry receiving unit 140 performs processing to perform matching (generate location information). Specifically, if the passwords match, the inquiry receiving unit 140 outputs the vehicle number to the matching unit 160. On the other hand, if the passwords do not match, the inquiry receiving unit 140 may transmit a message to the inquirer's terminal device 200 indicating that location information transmission is not permitted.

[0063] When an inquiry is received, the notification processing unit 150 performs processing to output a notification (inquiry notification) to each terminal device 200 of the group member corresponding to the vehicle number related to the inquiry, inquiring about permission to display information indicating the member's location. That is, the notification processing unit 150 performs processing to transmit the above-mentioned notification output command to each terminal device 200 of the group member corresponding to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information. The notification processing unit 150 controls the communication unit 106 to transmit the notification output command to each terminal device 200 of the group member corresponding to the vehicle number. Here, if the inquiry information includes identification information of the inquirer, the notification processing unit 150 performs processing to transmit the notification output command including the identification information of the inquirer to the terminal device 200 of the group member corresponding to the vehicle number.

[0064] Furthermore, when a permission response is transmitted from the terminal device 200, the notification processing unit 150 acquires the permission response. Then, the notification processing unit 150 performs processing to perform matching (generation of location information) for the member corresponding to the terminal device 200 that transmitted the permission response. In other words, the notification processing unit 150 outputs an instruction to the matching unit 160 to perform matching for the member corresponding to the terminal device 200 that transmitted the permission response.

[0065] In response to the inquiry, the matching unit 160 performs matching using the biometric information of the group members corresponding to the vehicle number. The matching unit 160 matches the biometric information of the group members corresponding to the vehicle number with the biometric information included in the controlled area image. The matching unit 160 performs matching using the biometric information of the group members corresponding to the vehicle number by referring to the group information storage unit 110 and the controlled area image storage unit 112. The matching unit 160 matches the biometric information of the group members corresponding to the inquiry-related vehicle number stored in the group information storage unit 110 with the biometric information included in each of the multiple controlled area images stored in the controlled area image storage unit 112. In other words, the matching unit 160 searches the multiple controlled area images stored in the controlled area image storage unit 112 for images containing biometric information of the same person as the group member corresponding to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information. The matching unit 160 may also extract the biometric information of the member corresponding to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information from the group information storage unit 110. The matching unit 160 may then match the extracted biometric information with the biometric information of the controlled area image stored in the controlled area image storage unit 112 .

[0066] When the biometric information is a facial image, for example, the matching unit 160 performs a matching process between the facial image of the member corresponding to the vehicle license plate number and the facial images included in each of the multiple controlled area images as follows. The matching unit 160 detects the facial image in the controlled area image. For example, the matching unit 160 may detect the facial image using an existing machine learning algorithm trained to detect facial images. Furthermore, the matching unit 160 compares the facial image of the member corresponding to the vehicle license plate number stored in the group information storage unit 110 with the facial image detected from the controlled area image. In other words, the matching unit 160 performs a matching process to determine whether at least two facial images show the face of the same person. The matching unit 160 may perform the matching process based on, for example, the positions of facial feature points such as the eyes, nose, and mouth, the position and size of the facial region in each of the two facial images. For example, the matching unit 160 may calculate the degree of similarity between the two facial images. Then, the matching unit 160 may generate a matching result based on the calculated degree of similarity. When the degree of match is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the matching unit 160 may generate a matching result of "match," indicating that the faces shown in the two facial images belong to the same person. On the other hand, when the degree of match is less than a predetermined threshold, the matching unit 160 may generate a matching result of "mismatch," indicating that the faces shown in the two facial images do not belong to the same person. The matching unit 160 may perform matching using, for example, a matching algorithm learned by an existing machine learning algorithm.

[0067] In the present disclosure, the matching unit 160 acquires a controlled area image, including a facial image, captured by the imaging device 30. The matching unit 160 detects the facial image in the controlled area image. The matching unit 160 also acquires registered facial images of group members corresponding to the vehicle number from the group information storage unit 110. Here, the "registered facial image" refers to the facial image of the member associated with the vehicle number in the group information. The matching unit 160 matches the facial image in each controlled area image with the registered facial image. The matching unit 160 generates a matching result based on the calculated degree of match. If the calculated degree of match is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the matching unit 160 generates a matching result indicating "match." On the other hand, if the calculated degree of match is less than the predetermined threshold, the matching unit 160 generates a matching result indicating "mismatch." In this way, the matching unit 160 generates a matching result between the registered facial image of each member associated with the vehicle number and the facial image in the controlled area image. If the facial image included in the controlled area image shows the same person as the registered facial image of each member corresponding to the vehicle license plate number, the matching unit 160 may generate a matching result indicating a "match." The matching unit 160 outputs the generated matching result to the location information generation unit 170.

[0068] The location information generation unit 170 generates location information for the group members. Specifically, the location information generation unit 170 determines the location where a controlled area image containing biometric information of the same person as the group member corresponding to the vehicle number was captured as the location of that member. More specifically, the location information generation unit 170 generates location information indicating the location of each member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information. Even more specifically, the location information generation unit 170 uses the matching result to determine, for each member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number, a controlled area image containing biometric information determined to match the biometric information of that member. Then, the location information generation unit 170 generates the shooting location of the imaging device 30 that captured the controlled area image as the location information of that member.

[0069] The control area image containing biometric information determined to match the biometric information of each member is defined as the matched control area image. When there are multiple matched control area images, the location information generating unit 170 may generate the photographing location of the camera 30 that captured the most recent matched control area image as the member's location information. When an inquiry is made using the terminal device 200, the inquirer's terminal device 200 may inquire about the member's location at a specified time. In this case, the inquiry information may include the time specified by the inquirer's operation. The location information generating unit 170 may generate the photographing location of the camera 30 that captured the matched control area image, among the multiple matched control area images, that was captured at the time closest to the specified time as the member's location information. The location information generating unit 170 may also use multiple matched control area images to track the transition of the member's location corresponding to the matched control area image. The location information generating unit 170 may generate location information indicating the member's movement trajectory through tracking. Furthermore, when an inquiry is made on the terminal device 200, the inquirer's terminal device 200 may inquire about a search for a member's movement route during a specified period. In this case, the inquiry information may include a period specified by the inquirer's operation. The location information generation unit 170 may generate location information indicating the member's movement route using, from among the multiple matched control area images, multiple matched control area images taken during the specified period.

[0070] The transmission processing unit 180 performs processing for transmitting the location information of the group members corresponding to the vehicle number, generated by the location information generation unit 170, to the inquirer's terminal device 200. That is, the transmission processing unit 180 performs processing for transmitting the member's location information to the terminal device 200 that made the inquiry, in accordance with the result of the matching. The transmission processing unit 180 may control the communication unit 106 to transmit the member's location information to the inquirer's terminal device 200. At this time, the transmission processing unit 180 may perform processing for transmitting, together with the member's location information, an instruction to display location display information indicating the member's location on the screen of the terminal device 200 to the inquirer's terminal device 200. As a result, when the inquirer's terminal device 200 receives the member's location information, it may display the location display information on the screen of the terminal device 200.

[0071] The transmission processing unit 180 may perform processing to transmit location information of the user of the terminal device 200 (a member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number) who responded with permission to the inquiry notification from the notification processing unit 150 to the terminal device 200 that made the inquiry. In this case, the location information generation unit 170 may perform the above-described location information generation processing for the user of the terminal device 200 who responded with permission to the inquiry notification from the notification processing unit 150. On the other hand, the location information generation unit 170 may not perform the above-described location information generation processing for the user of the terminal device 200 who did not respond with permission to the inquiry notification from the notification processing unit 150. Furthermore, the matching unit 160 may perform the above-described matching processing for the user of the terminal device 200 who responded with permission to the inquiry notification from the notification processing unit 150. On the other hand, the matching unit 160 may not perform the above-described matching processing for the user of the terminal device 200 who did not respond with permission to the inquiry notification from the notification processing unit 150.

[0072] Furthermore, when the password included in the inquiry information matches the registered password, the transmission processing unit 180 may perform processing to transmit location information of the group members corresponding to the vehicle number to the terminal device 200 that made the inquiry. Furthermore, when the password included in the inquiry information matches the registered password, the location information generation unit 170 may perform the above-mentioned location information generation processing. Furthermore, when the password included in the inquiry information matches the registered password, the matching unit 160 may perform the above-mentioned matching processing. On the other hand, when the password included in the inquiry information does not match the registered password, the location information generation unit 170 may not perform the above-mentioned location information generation processing. Furthermore, when the password included in the inquiry information does not match the registered password, the matching unit 160 may not perform the above-mentioned matching processing.

[0073] 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a terminal device 200 according to the present disclosure. The terminal device 200 has, as its main hardware components, a control unit 202, a storage unit 204, a communication unit 206, an interface unit 208 (IF), and an imaging unit 210. The control unit 202, the storage unit 204, the communication unit 206, the interface unit 208, and the imaging unit 210 are connected to each other via a data bus or the like. Note that the above-described imaging device 30 may also have the hardware configuration of the terminal device 200 shown in FIG. 6.

[0074] The control unit 202 is a processor such as a CPU. The control unit 202 functions as an arithmetic device that performs control processing, arithmetic processing, etc. The control unit 202 may have multiple processors. The storage unit 204 is a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk. The storage unit 204 is, for example, a ROM or a RAM. The storage unit 204 has a function for storing control programs, arithmetic programs, etc. executed by the control unit 202. In other words, the storage unit 204, which is a memory, etc., stores one or more instructions. The storage unit 204 also has a function for temporarily storing processing data, etc. The storage unit 204 may include a database. The storage unit 204 may also have multiple memories.

[0075] The communication unit 206 performs processing necessary for the terminal device 200 to communicate with other devices via a network. The interface unit 208 is, for example, a user interface. The interface unit 208 has an input device such as a keyboard, touch panel, mouse, or microphone, and an output device such as a display or speaker. The interface unit 208 may be configured so that the input device and the output device are integrated, for example, as in a touch screen or touch panel. The interface unit 208 may also have a projection function such as a projector that projects an image onto a screen. The interface unit 208 accepts data input operations by a user and outputs information to the user.

[0076] The imaging unit 210 functions as an imaging device, such as a camera, that captures an image of a subject. The imaging unit 210 also functions as a reading device, such as a scanner, that reads an image. The imaging unit 210 may include an imaging element, such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) image sensor. The imaging unit 210 may include a code reader that reads a two-dimensional code or a barcode. The imaging unit 210 may include an infrared camera.

[0077] Furthermore, the terminal device 200 has, as its components, a grouping unit 220, a vehicle number receiving unit 230, a query unit 240, a location information acquisition unit 250, a location display unit 260, a notification output unit 270, and a response unit 280. The grouping unit 220 functions as a grouping means. The vehicle number receiving unit 230 functions as a vehicle number receiving means. The query unit 240 functions as a query means (request means). The location information acquisition unit 250 functions as a location information acquisition means. The location display unit 260 functions as a location display means. The notification output unit 270 functions as a notification output means. The response unit 280 functions as a response means.

[0078] Each of the above-described components can be realized, for example, by executing a program under the control of the control unit 202. More specifically, each component can be realized by the control unit 202 executing a program (instructions) stored in the storage unit 204. Alternatively, each component can be realized by recording the necessary program on any non-volatile recording medium and installing it as needed. Each component is not limited to being realized by software programs, but may also be realized by a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Each component may also be realized using a user-programmable integrated circuit, such as an FPGA or a microcomputer. In this case, a program consisting of each of the above-described components may be realized using this integrated circuit. Each of the above-described components can also be realized by application software (a person search application) installed on the terminal device 200. The same applies to other embodiments described below.

[0079] The grouping unit 220, the notification output unit 270, and the response unit 280 may be provided at least in the terminal device 200 of a user who is a member of the group (terminal device 200B in FIG. 4 ). The vehicle number reception unit 230, the inquiry unit 240, the location information acquisition unit 250, and the location display unit 260 may be provided at least in the terminal device 200 of a user who is an inquirer (terminal device 200A in FIG. 4 ).

[0080] The grouping unit 220 performs a process of grouping members corresponding to vehicle numbers in advance and associating the group members with the vehicle numbers. The grouping unit 220 performs a process for storing the above-mentioned group information in the server 100. That is, the group information can be stored in the server 100 by the process of the grouping unit 220.

[0081] The grouping unit 220 groups occupants of vehicles associated with the vehicle number as members of a group using the biometric information of the occupants, and associates the vehicle number with the group. Specifically, the grouping unit 220 may associate the vehicle number with the biometric information of the occupants of the vehicle associated with the vehicle number, for example, by an operation of a user who is one of the members of the group associated with the vehicle number.

[0082] More specifically, the grouping unit 220 may accept an input of a vehicle number corresponding to a group, for example, through an operation by a user who is one of the group members. The grouping unit 220 may accept the vehicle number by, for example, the user operating an input device (such as a touch panel) of the interface unit 208 to input a character string of the vehicle number. Furthermore, for example, the grouping unit 220 may accept the vehicle number by performing character recognition processing using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or the like on an image obtained by the user photographing the vehicle's license plate using the imaging unit 210.

[0083] Furthermore, the grouping unit 220 may accept, through a user operation, biometric information of vehicle occupants associated with a vehicle license plate number as the biometric information of group members. For example, the grouping unit 220 may accept, as the biometric information of group members, facial images obtained by the imaging unit 210 capturing the faces of each vehicle occupant through a user operation. For example, the grouping unit 220 may accept, as the biometric information of group members, facial images of members pre-stored in the storage unit 204. Then, the grouping unit 220 associates the accepted vehicle license plate number with the facial images of the group members corresponding to the vehicle license plate number. Furthermore, the grouping unit 220 may associate identification information (such as a name or nickname) of each member with the corresponding biometric information.

[0084] Then, the grouping unit 220 performs processing for transmitting information associating the vehicle number with the biometric information of the members to the server 100. Specifically, the grouping unit 220 controls the communication unit 206 to transmit this information to the server 100. Note that the grouping unit 220 may generate the above-mentioned group information by associating the vehicle number with the biometric information of the members. In this case, the grouping unit 220 performs processing for transmitting the generated group information to the server 100.

[0085] Furthermore, the grouping unit 220 may group occupants of vehicles corresponding to multiple vehicle license plates as members of one group. That is, the grouping unit 220 may group occupants of multiple vehicles as members of one group and associate each of the vehicle license plates of the multiple vehicles with that one group. For example, when grouping occupants of a vehicle, the grouping unit 220 may accept input of the vehicle license plate number of another vehicle related to the same group. For example, consider a case where occupants of vehicle A and occupants of vehicle B belong to the same group. In this case, when grouping occupants of vehicle A as members of group A corresponding to the vehicle license plate number of vehicle A, the grouping unit 220 may accept the vehicle license plate number of vehicle B and associate it with group A. As a result, the grouping unit 220 groups group A consisting of occupants of vehicle A and group B consisting of occupants of vehicle B into the same group.

[0086] The grouping unit 220 may also set a registration password to be used when searching for the location of a member of a group corresponding to a vehicle number. For example, the grouping unit 220 may set the registration password by accepting an arbitrary registration password input by a user through an operation on the interface unit 208. The grouping unit 220 may then associate the accepted registration password with the vehicle number. The grouping unit 220 may then perform processing to transmit information associating the vehicle number with the registration password to the server 100.

[0087] The grouping unit 220 may, for example, display a group registration screen for registering a group on the display of the interface unit 208. The grouping unit 220 may then perform the grouping process by accepting a user's operation related to grouping via a GUI (Graphical User Interface). An example of the group registration screen will be described later. In addition, in the second embodiment, the grouping unit 220 of the terminal device 200 performs the above-mentioned grouping process, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. As in a third embodiment described later, the server 100A may perform the grouping process.

[0088] The vehicle number acceptance unit 230 corresponds to the vehicle number acceptance unit 2 in FIG. 1 described above. The vehicle number acceptance unit 230 accepts input of a vehicle number. Specifically, when making an inquiry to search for a person's location, the vehicle number acceptance unit 230 accepts input of a vehicle number associated with a group that is the target of location search. The vehicle number acceptance unit 230 may accept the vehicle number, for example, when an inquirer operates the interface unit 208 of the terminal device 200 to input the vehicle number. In other words, the vehicle number acceptance unit 230 may accept a vehicle number input by a user who is the inquirer operating the touch panel of the terminal device 200. The vehicle number acceptance unit 230 outputs the accepted vehicle number to the inquiry unit 240.

[0089] The query unit 240 corresponds to the query unit 4 in FIG. 1 described above. The query unit 240 uses the vehicle number to query the server 100 to search for the location of a person. Specifically, the query unit 240 transmits the vehicle number received by the vehicle number reception unit 230 to the server 100, and requests the server 100 to search for the location of a member of a group corresponding to that vehicle number. The query unit 240 performs processing to transmit query information to the server 100, the query information including the vehicle number and an instruction to request the search for the location of a member of a group corresponding to that vehicle number. The query unit 240 controls the communication unit 206 to transmit the query information to the server 100.

[0090] Furthermore, the inquiry unit 240 may make an inquiry together with identification information of the inquirer, who is the person who made the inquiry. Specifically, the inquiry unit 240 may perform processing to transmit inquiry information including the vehicle number and the identification information of the inquirer to the server 100. Furthermore, if the vehicle number is associated with a registered password, the inquiry unit 240 may accept input of the password when making an inquiry. The inquiry unit 240 may accept a password entered by the inquirer by operating the interface unit 208. Then, the inquiry unit 240 may perform processing to transmit inquiry information including the vehicle number and the password to the server 100.

[0091] The vehicle number reception unit 230 and the inquiry unit 240 may, for example, display a location search inquiry screen for making an inquiry to search for a person's location on the display of the interface unit 208. The vehicle number reception unit 230 and the inquiry unit 240 may then accept an operation by an inquirer via a GUI and perform a vehicle number reception process and an inquiry process. An example of the location search inquiry screen will be described later.

[0092] The location information acquisition unit 250 corresponds to the location information acquisition unit 6 in Fig. 1 described above. The location information acquisition unit 250 acquires location information of a member of a group corresponding to a vehicle number related to an inquiry (a vehicle number included in the inquiry information) from the server 100. The location information generation unit 170 may acquire the location information of the member by having the communication unit 206 receive the location information of the member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server 100.

[0093] The location display unit 260 corresponds to the location display unit 8 in FIG. 1 described above. The location display unit 260 displays information (location display information) representing the location of the member on the screen based on the acquired location information. For example, the location display unit 260 may display the location of the member on a map displayed on the screen. Specifically, the location display unit 260 may display a map on the screen and superimpose an icon or the like representing the location of the member on the displayed map. Furthermore, for example, the location display unit 260 may display text data indicating the area or address where the member is located on the screen. Furthermore, for example, the location display unit 260 may display GPS coordinates indicating the location where the member is located on the screen. Examples of location display images will be described later.

[0094] The notification output unit 270 performs processing to output a query notification when an inquiry is made about a vehicle number corresponding to a group of which the first user, who is the user of the terminal device 200, is a member. The query notification is a notification inquiring about permission to display information representing the first user's location. Specifically, the notification output unit 270 acquires a notification output command transmitted from the server 100 and causes the interface unit 208 to output the query notification. For example, the notification output unit 270 may cause a display device such as a display to display a query notification screen indicating the query notification. The notification output unit 270 may also output the query notification by voice from a speaker. Through the processing of the notification output unit 270, the first user can understand that a location search inquiry has been made about a vehicle number corresponding to a group of which the first user is a member.

[0095] Furthermore, if the inquiry information transmitted from the inquirer's terminal device 200 includes the inquirer's identification information and the notification output command includes the inquirer's identification information, the notification output unit 270 causes the interface unit 208 to output the inquiry notification and the inquirer's identification information. That is, the notification output unit 270 causes the interface unit 208 to output the inquiry notification and the inquirer's identification information, which is the person who made the inquiry. This allows the first user to easily recognize who has made the inquiry to locate a vehicle number corresponding to a group of which the first user is a member. For example, the notification output unit 270 may cause a display device such as a display to display an inquiry notification screen showing the inquiry notification and the inquirer's identification information. An example of the inquiry notification screen will be described later.

[0096] The response unit 280 responds to the inquiry notification with permission in response to the operation of the first user. Specifically, the response unit 280 performs processing for transmitting, to the server 100, a permission response indicating a response of permission to display the location display information, in response to the first user operating the interface unit 208. The response unit 280 controls the communication unit 206 to transmit the permission response to the server 100. Note that the response unit 280 may also receive an operation related to the permission response to the inquiry notification screen via a GUI.

[0097] 7 and 8 are flowcharts illustrating a person search method executed by the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure. Fig. 7 shows a process for grouping members of a group corresponding to a vehicle number and acquiring group information.

[0098] The terminal device 200 groups the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number (step S102). Specifically, the grouping unit 220 of the terminal device 200 groups the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number, as described above. For example, the grouping unit 220 may perform the grouping process by displaying a group registration screen on the interface unit 208.

[0099] The server 100 acquires and stores the group information (step S104). Specifically, the group information acquisition unit 120 of the server 100 acquires the group information related to the group corresponding to the vehicle number, which was generated in response to the processing of S102, as described above. Then, the group information storage unit 110 stores the group information.

[0100] 9 is a diagram illustrating a group registration screen 300 displayed in the grouping process (S102) according to the present disclosure. The group registration screen 300 includes a vehicle number input area 302, a biometric information input area 304, a password input area 306, a vehicle number input area 308, and a registration button 310. Note that the password input area 306 and the vehicle number input area 308 may be omitted. Here, the group registration screen 300 is realized by a GUI.

[0101] The user of the terminal device 200 inputs the vehicle number of their own vehicle into the vehicle number input area 302 via the GUI. The vehicle number input into the vehicle number input area 302 becomes the vehicle number associated with the group related to that vehicle in the group information. For example, if the vehicle number of the user of the terminal device 200's vehicle is "12-34," the user inputs "12-34" into the vehicle number input area 302. Alternatively, when the user touches the vehicle number input area 302 via the GUI, the imaging unit 210 may be activated. Then, the user may operate the imaging unit 210 to photograph the license plate. Then, the vehicle number may be acquired using a character recognition function.

[0102] Furthermore, the user of the terminal device 200 operates the biometric information input area 304 to register the biometric information of the occupant of the vehicle associated with the vehicle number entered in the vehicle number input area 302. The biometric information registered using the biometric information input area 304 becomes the biometric information of the group members to be included in the group information. In the above example, the user of the terminal device 200 operates the biometric information input area 304 to register the biometric information of the occupant of the vehicle associated with the vehicle number "12-34." For example, when the user touches the biometric information input area 304 via the GUI, the imaging unit 210 may be activated. Then, the user may operate the imaging unit 210 to capture an image of the occupant's face. As a result, the facial image of the occupant is acquired as the biometric information of the occupant. Furthermore, the biometric information input area 304 may be configured to allow the identification information of the occupant of the acquired facial image to be input. In this case, the user may input the occupant's name, ID used in the person search service, email address, etc. as the occupant's identification information in the biometric information input area 304. The user performs the above operation for all occupants.

[0103] Furthermore, the user of the terminal device 200 uses the GUI to input an arbitrary password into the password input field 306. The password input into the password input field 306 becomes the registered password.

[0104] Furthermore, if an occupant of a vehicle with a different vehicle number than the vehicle with the vehicle number input in the vehicle number input area 302 belongs to the same group, the user of the terminal device 200 may operate the other vehicle number input area 308. Specifically, the user inputs the vehicle number of a vehicle with a member of the same group, but with a different vehicle number than the vehicle with the vehicle number input in the vehicle number input area 302, into the other vehicle number input area 308. For example, if the vehicle number of the other vehicle is "56-78," the user may input "56-78" into the other vehicle number input area 308. It is assumed that the operation to group the occupants of the vehicle with the vehicle number "56-78" is performed by the occupant of the vehicle with the vehicle number "56-78" using his or her own terminal device 200 in the same manner as described above. As a result, the occupants of the vehicle with the vehicle number "12-34" and the occupants of the vehicle with the vehicle number "56-78" are grouped as members of the same group.

[0105] After the necessary information has been entered in the vehicle number input area 302, biometric information input area 304, password input area 306, and other vehicle number input area 308, the user of the terminal device 200 touches (clicks, taps, etc.) the registration button 310 on the GUI. This causes the entered information to be sent to the server 100. The group information acquisition unit 120 of the server 100 then acquires the group information as described above.

[0106] Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of group information stored in server 100 according to the present disclosure. The group information illustrated in Fig. 10 can be generated by performing a grouping process using group registration screen 300 illustrated in Fig. 9. The group information includes a group ID, a vehicle number, an occupant ID, the name of the occupant, and biometric information of the occupant.

[0107] 10, the group with group ID "1111" is associated with vehicle number "12-34" and vehicle number "56-78." In the example of Fig. 10, the occupants of the vehicle with vehicle number "12-34" and the occupants of the vehicle with vehicle number "56-78" belong to the group with group ID "1111" as group members.

[0108] The occupants of the vehicle with vehicle number "12-34" are a member with occupant ID "#11," a member with occupant ID "#12," a member with occupant ID "#13," and a member with occupant ID "#14." The name of the member with occupant ID "#11" is "AA," the name of the member with occupant ID "#12" is "BB," the name of the member with occupant ID "#13" is "CC," and the name of the member with occupant ID "#14" is "DD." Furthermore, the occupants of the vehicle with vehicle number "56-78" are a member with occupant ID "#21," a member with occupant ID "#22," and a member with occupant ID "#23." The name of the member with occupant ID "#21" is "EE," the name of the member with occupant ID "#22" is "FF," and the name of the member with occupant ID "#23" is "GG." The occupants "AA," "BB," "CC," and "DD" of the vehicles with vehicle numbers "12-34" may be from the same family. Also, the occupants "EE," "FF," and "GG" of the vehicles with vehicle numbers "56-78" may be from the same family. The two families form one group.

[0109] Returning to the description of the flowchart, FIG. 8 shows the process related to an inquiry to search for a person's location. The inquirer's terminal device 200 accepts input of a vehicle number plate (step S112). Specifically, the vehicle number plate acceptance unit 230 of the inquirer's terminal device 200 accepts input of a vehicle number plate associated with a group that is the target of location search, as described above. The inquirer's terminal device 200 also makes an inquiry to search for a person's location (step S114). Specifically, the inquiry unit 240 of the inquirer's terminal device 200 makes an inquiry to the server 100 to search for a person's location, using the vehicle number plate, as described above. The vehicle number plate acceptance unit 230 and the inquiry unit 240 may perform the vehicle number plate acceptance process and inquiry process by displaying a location search inquiry screen on the interface unit 208.

[0110] 11 is a diagram illustrating a location search inquiry screen 320 displayed in the inquiry-related processing (S112, S114) according to the present disclosure. The location search inquiry screen 320 includes a vehicle number input area 322, an identification information input area 324, a password input area 326, and an inquiry button 328. The location search inquiry screen 320 is displayed on the interface unit 208 of the inquirer's terminal device 200. The location search inquiry screen 320 can be realized by a GUI.

[0111] The inquirer uses the GUI to input a vehicle number corresponding to the group to be located in the vehicle number input area 322. The vehicle number input in the vehicle number input area 322 is included in the inquiry information. For example, if the vehicle number corresponding to the group to be located is "12-34," the inquirer inputs "12-34" in the vehicle number input area 322. Also, if the vehicle number corresponding to the group to be located is "56-78," the inquirer inputs "56-78" in the vehicle number input area 322. In the example of FIG. 10 , the vehicle numbers "12-34" and "56-78" are associated with one group, "1111." Therefore, if either "12-34" or "56-78" is input in the vehicle number input area 322, the locations of all members shown in the group information illustrated in FIG. 10 can be searched.

[0112] The inquirer inputs his / her own identification information into the identification information input area 324 via the GUI. The identification information input into the identification information input area 324 will be included in the query. The inquirer may input, for example, the inquirer's name, the inquirer's nickname, or the inquirer's ID set in the person search service into the identification information input area 324. Note that the query may include, as the inquirer's identification information, identification information (such as a MAC address) that was originally registered in the inquirer's terminal device 200. In this case, the identification information input area 324 may be omitted.

[0113] The inquirer uses the GUI to input a password in the password input field 326. The password input in the password input field 326 is included in the inquiry information. If the password input in the password input field 326 matches the registered password, the inquirer's terminal device 200 can obtain location information of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number input in the vehicle number input field 322. Note that if a registered password is not set in the group information, the password input field 326 may be omitted.

[0114] After entering the necessary information in the vehicle number input area 322, the identification information input area 324, and the password input area 326, the inquirer touches the inquiry button 328 on the GUI, which causes the inquiry information to be sent to the server 100.

[0115] Returning to the description of the flowchart, the server 100 accepts an inquiry (step S120). Specifically, the inquiry acceptance unit 140 of the server 100 receives (acquires) inquiry information from the inquirer's terminal device 200, as described above. The server 100 also determines whether the passwords match (step S122). Specifically, the inquiry acceptance unit 140 of the server 100 determines whether the password included in the inquiry information matches the registered password set for the group corresponding to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information. If the passwords do not match (NO in S122), the server 100 transmits a message to the inquirer's terminal device 200 indicating that the location information cannot be transmitted (step S124). This message is then output to the inquirer's terminal device 200.

[0116] On the other hand, if the passwords match (YES in S122), the server 100 sends a query notification to the member corresponding to the vehicle number (step S126). Specifically, as described above, the notification processing unit 150 of the server 100 performs processing to output a query notification to the terminal device 200 of each member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number included in the query information. As a result, each terminal device 200 of each member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number included in the query information outputs a query notification (step S130). Specifically, as described above, the notification output unit 270 of the terminal device 200 of the member of the group that is the target of location search outputs the query notification to the interface unit 208. Then, the terminal device 200 of the member of the group that is the target of location search responds to the query notification (step S132). Specifically, as described above, the response unit 280 of the terminal device 200 of the member of the group that is the target of location search responds to the query notification through the operation of the member. Note that if the member allows the display of their location information, the response unit 280 performs processing to send an approval response to the server 100.

[0117] 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a query notification screen 340 displayed in the query notification processing (S126, S130, S132) according to the present disclosure. The query notification screen 340 includes an identification information display area 342, an allow button 344, and a deny button 346. The query notification screen 340 is displayed on the interface unit 208 of the terminal device 200 of a member (first user) of the group that is the target of location search.

[0118] In the inquiry notification screen 340, the identification information of the inquirer is displayed in an identification information display area 342. The identification information display area 342 may display identification information corresponding to the identification information input in the identification information input area 324 illustrated in Fig. 11. As described above, the identification information displayed in the identification information display area 342 does not need to match the identification information input in the identification information input area 324 illustrated in Fig. 11.

[0119] If a member of the group that is the target of location search (first user) allows his / her location to be displayed, the member touches the allow button 344 on the GUI. This causes a response indicating permission (allowance response) to be sent to the server 100. On the other hand, if a member of the group that is the target of location search (first user) refuses to have his / her location displayed, the member touches the reject button 346 on the GUI. This may cause a response indicating refusal (rejection response) to be sent to the server 100. Note that if the allow button 344 is not touched within a predetermined time after the query notification screen 340 is displayed, a rejection response may be automatically sent to the server 100.

[0120] Returning to the description of the flowchart, the server 100 performs a check on the members who have permitted their locations to be displayed and generates their location information (step S140). The server 100 then transmits the generated location information to the inquirer's terminal device 200 (step S142). Specifically, as described above, the check unit 160 of the server 100 performs a check using biometric information on members who have permitted their locations to be displayed, among the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information. Furthermore, the location information generation unit 170 of the server 100 generates location information on the members who have permitted their locations to be displayed, based on the check result, as described above. Furthermore, the transmission processing unit 180 of the server 100 performs a process for transmitting the generated location information to the inquirer's terminal device 200.

[0121] The inquirer's terminal device 200 acquires the location information of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number (step S150). Specifically, the location information acquisition unit 250 of the inquirer's terminal device 200 acquires, from the server 100, the location information of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information who have permitted their locations to be displayed, as described above.

[0122] The inquirer's terminal device 200 displays on its screen location display information indicating the locations of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number (step S152). Specifically, the location display unit 260 of the inquirer's terminal device 200 displays the member location display information on the screen of the interface unit 208 based on the acquired location information, as described above. Examples of the location display information displayed on the screen (display, etc.) of the interface unit 208 will be described later.

[0123] In the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 8, the processes of S122 to S124 may be executed immediately before the process of S142. That is, the verification process may be executed even if the passwords do not match. Furthermore, the process of S140 may be executed for all members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information, regardless of whether or not a permission response has been received. In this case, the process of S142 may be configured not to transmit the location information of members who have not given permission to display their locations. That is, the verification process may be executed even for members who have not given permission to display their locations.

[0124] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a location display screen 400 displayed on a terminal device 200 according to the present disclosure. The location display screen 400 is a screen that displays location display information. The location display screen 400 may be displayed on the interface unit 208 of the inquirer's terminal device 200. FIG. 13 also illustrates an example of the location display screen 400 when an inquiry is made about a vehicle number corresponding to a group related to the group information illustrated in FIG. 10.

[0125] In the example of FIG. 13 , the location display screen 400 displays a map 402 of the management area visited by the group related to the group information exemplified in FIG. 10 . Furthermore, the location display screen 400 also displays the locations of the members of the group related to the group information exemplified in FIG. 10 by means of member icons 410 superimposed on the map 402. This allows the inquirer to easily recognize where the member corresponding to the member icon 410 is located. Note that the member icon 410 may indicate the name of the corresponding member, or may indicate the biometric information (such as a facial image) of the corresponding member. In the example of FIG. 13 , the member icon 410 indicates the name of the corresponding member.

[0126] In addition, a number icon 420 indicating the vehicle number corresponding to the group of the corresponding member is displayed near the member icon 410. This allows the inquirer to easily recognize which vehicle the member corresponding to the member icon 410 is an occupant of. In addition, the inquirer can easily recognize where the occupant of a vehicle associated with a certain vehicle number is located.

[0127] In the example of FIG. 13 , a member icon 410A indicating the location of occupant "AA," a member icon 410B indicating the location of occupant "BB," and a member icon 410C indicating the location of occupant "CC" are displayed close to one another. Therefore, occupants "AA," "BB," and "CC" of vehicle number "12-34" are close to one another. In addition, a number icon 420A indicating vehicle number "12-34" is displayed near the member icon 410A indicating the location of occupant "AA." A number icon 420B indicating vehicle number "12-34" is displayed near the member icon 410B indicating the location of occupant "BB." A number icon 420C indicating vehicle number "12-34" is displayed near the member icon 410C indicating the location of occupant "CC."

[0128] Furthermore, the member icon 410E indicating the position of occupant "EE", the member icon 410F indicating the position of occupant "FF", and the member icon 410F indicating the position of occupant "GG" are displayed close to one another. Therefore, occupants "EE", "FF", and "GG" of vehicle number "56-78" are close to one another. Furthermore, a number icon 420E indicating vehicle number "56-78" is displayed near the member icon 410E indicating the position of occupant "EE". A number icon 420F indicating vehicle number "56-78" is displayed near the member icon 410F indicating the position of occupant "FF". A number icon 420F indicating vehicle number "56-78" is displayed near the member icon 410F indicating the position of occupant "GG".

[0129] Furthermore, member icon 410D indicating the location of occupant "DD" of vehicle number "12-34" is displayed near the occupant of vehicle number "56-78". Therefore, occupant "DD" of vehicle number "12-34" is near the occupant of vehicle number "56-78". In other words, occupant "DD" is away from his own family and is near the family of the same group corresponding to vehicle number "56-78". Furthermore, number icon 420D indicating vehicle number "12-34" is displayed near member icon 410D indicating the location of occupant "DD".

[0130] By visually checking the location display screen 400, the inquirer can easily grasp the location of each member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number "12-34" (or "56-78") included in the inquiry information. Furthermore, if the inquirer is one of the occupants of the vehicle with the vehicle number "12-34" (for example, occupant "AA"), the inquirer can easily know where occupant "DD" who is far away from the inquirer is located. Furthermore, if the inquirer is one of the occupants of the vehicle with the vehicle number "56-78", the inquirer can easily know where the family of occupant "DD" who is nearby (the family corresponding to the vehicle number "12-34") is located.

[0131] 10, by inputting "12-34" into the vehicle number input area 322, the locations of the occupants of the vehicle with the vehicle number "12-34" as well as the occupants of the vehicle with the vehicle number "56-78" can be searched for. In other words, when a location search query is performed in a case where the group information includes multiple vehicle numbers, the locations of the occupants of the vehicles with all vehicle numbers can be searched for by performing a query using any of the multiple vehicle numbers included in the group information.

[0132] As described above, in the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure, the terminal device 200 accepts input of a vehicle license plate number and uses the vehicle license plate number to query the server 100, which searches for people, to search for the person's location. The terminal device 200 according to the present disclosure also acquires location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle license plate number from the server 100 in response to the query, and displays location display information representing the member's location on a screen based on the acquired location information. The server 100 according to the present disclosure also accepts the query from the terminal device 200 and, in response to the query, performs matching using biometric information of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle license plate number. The server 100 according to the present disclosure also transmits the member's location information to the terminal device 200 that made the query in response to the matching result.

[0133] With the above-described configuration of the person tracking system 20 according to the present disclosure, an inquirer can easily determine the location of vehicle occupants who are active outside the vehicle by using the vehicle number corresponding to the group being the target of location tracking. That is, when making an inquiry to locate multiple members of a group, it is cumbersome for the inquirer to input information about each of the multiple members into the terminal device 200. In contrast, with the person tracking system 20 according to the present disclosure, an inquirer can make an inquiry to locate the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number simply by inputting the vehicle number of the group. Furthermore, since the person tracking system 20 according to the present disclosure treats the occupants of a vehicle as a single group, the inquirer can make an inquiry to locate the members of the group simply by knowing the vehicle number of the vehicle. That is, the inquirer can make an inquiry to locate the members of the group without knowing the identification information of the group and the identification information of the group members. Therefore, the person tracking system 20 according to the present disclosure enables appropriate management of each of the occupants of a vehicle when the occupants are active outside the vehicle.

[0134] As described above, in the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure, the terminal device 200 may display the locations of group members on a map displayed on the screen. This configuration allows the inquirer to easily understand the locations of each member of the group being searched for. This makes it possible to more appropriately manage each vehicle occupant when they are outside the vehicle.

[0135] Furthermore, as described above, in the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure, the terminal device 200 may group members of a group corresponding to a vehicle number plate in advance and perform processing to associate the group members with the vehicle number plate. Furthermore, the terminal device 200 may group occupants of a vehicle associated with the vehicle number plate as group members using the occupants' biometric information and associate the group with the vehicle number plate. This configuration allows for easy grouping of vehicle occupants in response to an operation by the user of the terminal device 200. Therefore, it is possible to group members of a group corresponding to a vehicle number plate according to the intention of the user of the terminal device 200. Furthermore, by associating the occupants' biometric information with the vehicle number plate, the server 100 can easily search for the location of a person using the vehicle number plate, as described above.

[0136] Furthermore, as described above, in the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure, the terminal device 200 may group the occupants of multiple vehicles as members of one group and associate each of the vehicle license plates of the multiple vehicles with the one group. With this configuration, even if one group visits a controlled area in multiple vehicles, the occupants of the multiple vehicles can be easily grouped into one group.

[0137] Furthermore, as described above, in the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure, when an inquiry is received, the server 100 may perform processing to output an inquiry notification to each terminal device 200 of a group member corresponding to the vehicle number related to the inquiry. In this case, when an inquiry is made about a vehicle number corresponding to a group of which a first user, the user of the terminal device 200, is a member, the terminal device 200 may perform processing to output an inquiry notification about the first user. The terminal device 200 may then respond to the inquiry notification by indicating permission through an operation by the first user. The server 100 may then perform processing to transmit location information of the user (first user) of the terminal device 200 that responded to the inquiry notification by indicating permission to the terminal device 200 that made the inquiry. The terminal device 200 may then display on its screen information indicating the location of the user (first user) of another terminal device 200 that responded to the inquiry notification by indicating permission. With this configuration, when a member of a group that is the target of location search does not want to disclose his or her location, the location of that member is prevented from being displayed on the inquirer's terminal device 200.

[0138] Furthermore, when an inquiry notification is output, as described above, the terminal device 200 may make the inquiry along with the identification information of the person who made the inquiry. The server 100 may receive the identification information of the person who made the inquiry and perform processing to output the identification information of the person who made the inquiry along with the inquiry notification. The terminal device 200 may then output the identification information of the person who made the inquiry along with the inquiry notification. With this configuration, members of the group that is the target of location search can easily know who the inquirer is. Therefore, members of the group that is the target of location search can more easily determine whether to respond with permission to the inquiry notification. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the location of a member of the group that is the target of location search from being known to the inquirer against the member's will.

[0139] Furthermore, as described above, in the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure, vehicle numbers may be associated with registered passwords (first passwords) in advance. In this case, the terminal device 200 may accept input of a password when making an inquiry. The server 100 may accept a password when accepting an inquiry, and if the accepted password matches the registered password, perform processing to transmit location information of members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number to the terminal device 200 that made the inquiry. In other words, the terminal device 200 may acquire location information when the input password matches the registered password. With this configuration, if the inquirer is not an authorized user, i.e., a person who does not know the registered password, the unauthorized user is prevented from determining the location of members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number. In other words, if the inquirer is not an authorized user, it is highly likely that the inquirer does not know the registered password, and therefore it is extremely unlikely that the input password matches the registered password. In this case, the server 100 does not transmit location information of members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number to the inquirer's terminal device 200. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unauthorized users from determining the location of members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number.

[0140] (Embodiment 3) Next, embodiment 3 will be described with reference to the drawings. For clarity of description, the following description and drawings have been omitted and simplified as appropriate. Furthermore, in each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and duplicate description is omitted as necessary. Note that the configuration of the person search system 20 is substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 3, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. Furthermore, the configuration of the terminal device 200 may be substantially the same as that shown in FIG. 6, and therefore description thereof will be omitted. Note that, as will be described later, in embodiment 3, the terminal device 200 may not have the grouping unit 220.

[0141] Fig. 14 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a server 100A according to the present disclosure. Similar to the server 100 shown in Fig. 5, the server 100A has, as its main hardware components, a control unit 102, a storage unit 104, a communication unit 106, and an interface unit 108. The functions of the control unit 102, the storage unit 104, the communication unit 106, and the interface unit 108 are substantially similar to those of the server 100 shown in Fig. 5, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0142] Server 100A also has as its components a group information storage unit 110, a controlled area image storage unit 112, a parking image acquisition unit 110A, a group information acquisition unit 120A, and a controlled area image acquisition unit 130. Server 100 also has as its components a query reception unit 140, a notification processing unit 150, a matching unit 160, a location information generation unit 170, and a transmission processing unit 180. The functions of the components other than parking image acquisition unit 110A and group information acquisition unit 120A are substantially the same as those in FIG. 5 above, and therefore will not be described here.

[0143] The parking image acquisition unit 110A functions as a parking image acquisition means. The parking image acquisition unit 110A acquires a captured image as a parking image from the image capture device 30 installed at a location where the parking space can be captured. The parking image may be a capture of a vehicle entering a parking space, or a capture of a vehicle parked in the parking space.

[0144] The group information acquisition unit 120A functions as a group information acquisition unit. The group information acquisition unit 120A groups members corresponding to vehicle numbers in advance and acquires group information that associates the group members with the vehicle numbers. Specifically, the group information acquisition unit 120A recognizes the vehicle numbers from the parking image acquired by the parking image acquisition unit 110A. Specifically, the group information acquisition unit 120A recognizes the vehicle numbers engraved on the license plates from the parking image in which the vehicle license plates are photographed. The group information acquisition unit 120A may acquire the vehicle numbers using character recognition processing such as OCR.

[0145] Furthermore, the group information acquisition unit 120A acquires, from the parking image, biometric information of occupants who have exited the vehicle associated with the acquired vehicle number. Specifically, the group information acquisition unit 120A detects facial images (or whole-body images, etc.) of each occupant who has exited the vehicle in the parking image. The group information acquisition unit 120A may detect the biometric information using, for example, a machine learning algorithm trained to detect facial images, similar to the facial image detection process used in the matching unit 160 described above. The group information acquisition unit 120A acquires the detected facial images as biometric information of the members of the group associated with the vehicle number.

[0146] Furthermore, the group information acquisition unit 120A groups occupants who have exited the same vehicle as members belonging to the same group. Then, the group information acquisition unit 120A generates group information that associates the vehicle number with the biometric information of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number. That is, the group information acquisition unit 120A uses the vehicle number obtained by photographing the parked vehicle and the biometric information obtained from the occupants who have exited the vehicle to group the occupants as members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number. Then, the group information acquisition unit 120A generates group information that associates the vehicle number with the biometric information of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number. In this case, the grouping unit 220 of the terminal device 200 does not need to perform the grouping process described above in the second embodiment.

[0147] Furthermore, the group information acquisition unit 120A may include in the group information the time at which the parking image used when the vehicle number was recognized was taken. That is, the group information may include the time at which the image was taken when the vehicle number was recognized. Note that if this parking image was taken when the vehicle entered the parking space, the time of taking the image can be considered to be the entry time. Note that the time of taking the image may be included in the inquiry information. That is, when an inquiry is made, the terminal device 200 may accept the time of taking the image (entry time) along with the vehicle number. This makes it possible to identify the group that is the target of location search when the same vehicle carrying different groups visits the same management area at different times.

[0148] Furthermore, the group information acquisition unit 120A may group occupants of vehicles corresponding to multiple vehicle license plates as members of one group. That is, the group information acquisition unit 120A may group occupants of multiple vehicles as members of one group and associate each of the vehicle license plates of the multiple vehicles with the one group. In this case, the group information acquisition unit 120A may generate group information that associates the vehicle license plates of the multiple vehicles with the occupants of these vehicles.

[0149] For example, the group information acquisition unit 120A may analyze the control area image acquired by the control area image acquisition unit 130 and analyze the behavior of each of multiple groups corresponding to multiple vehicle license plates. If the group information acquisition unit 120A determines that a group corresponding to a certain vehicle license plate is acting together with a group corresponding to another vehicle license plate, the group information acquisition unit 120A may combine these groups into one group. For example, if multiple groups are acting while maintaining a distance of less than a predetermined distance for a predetermined period of time, the group information acquisition unit 120A may generate group information that combines these multiple groups into one group.

[0150] Alternatively, the group information acquisition unit 120A may group occupants of vehicles corresponding to multiple vehicle license plates into members of a single group by receiving operation information indicating operations of the terminal device 200 performed by group members. For example, consider a case where an occupant of vehicle A and an occupant of vehicle B belong to the same group. In this case, the occupant of vehicle A may operate the terminal device 200 to associate the vehicle license plate number of vehicle A in which the occupant is an occupant with the vehicle license plate number of vehicle B. Note that this operation on the terminal device 200 may be realized by the grouping unit 220 described in the second embodiment.

[0151] Furthermore, the group information acquisition unit 120A may set a registration password to be used when making an inquiry to search for the location of a member corresponding to the group. For example, the group information acquisition unit 120A may associate the registration password with the vehicle number by receiving operation information indicating an operation of the terminal device 200 performed by a member of the group. For example, one of the group members may operate the terminal device 200 to input an arbitrary registration password and associate it with the vehicle number of his / her vehicle. Note that this operation on the terminal device 200 may be realized by the grouping unit 220 described in the second embodiment.

[0152] Furthermore, the group information acquisition unit 120A may set identification information (such as names or nicknames) of the group members. Then, the group information acquisition unit 120A may generate group information including the set identification information of the members. For example, the group information acquisition unit 120A may set the identification information of the group members by receiving operation information indicating an operation of the terminal device 200 performed by a group member. For example, a group member may operate the terminal device 200 to input the identification information of a group member corresponding to a vehicle number. Note that this operation on the terminal device 200 may be realized by the grouping unit 220 described in the second embodiment.

[0153] FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a person search method executed by the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure. FIG. 15 shows a process for grouping members of a group corresponding to a vehicle license plate number and acquiring group information. The process shown in FIG. 15 is mainly executed by the server 100. Note that the process related to the inquiry for searching for the position of a person is substantially the same as the process shown in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 8, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0154] The server 100A acquires an image from the photographing device 30 of the parking space (step S200). Specifically, the parking image acquisition unit 110A of the server 100A acquires a parking image from the photographing device 30 installed at a location where the parking space can be photographed, as described above. The server 100A recognizes the vehicle license plate (step S202). Specifically, the group information acquisition unit 120A of the server 100A recognizes the vehicle license plate from the parking image acquired in the processing of S200, as described above. As a result, the group information acquisition unit 120A acquires the vehicle license plate.

[0155] The server 100A acquires biometric information of the vehicle occupants (step S204). Specifically, the group information acquisition unit 120A of the server 100A acquires biometric information of the occupants who have exited the vehicle associated with the vehicle number acquired in the process of S202 from the parking image acquired in the process of S200, as described above.

[0156] The server 100A groups the members corresponding to the vehicle number plates (step S206). Specifically, the group information acquisition unit 120A of the server 100A groups the occupants who have exited vehicles corresponding to the same vehicle number plates as members belonging to the same group, as described above. The server 100A then generates and stores group information (step S208). Specifically, the group information acquisition unit 120A of the server 100A generates group information that associates the vehicle number plates with the biometric information of the members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number plates, as described above. The group information storage unit 110 then stores the group information.

[0157] FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a method for generating group information using parking images, performed by the server 100A according to the present disclosure. FIG. 16 illustrates a parking space Pk capable of accommodating multiple vehicles. Multiple image capture devices 30A (image capture devices 30A1, 30A2, and 30A3) are installed in the parking space Pk. The image capture device 30A1 is installed at a position where it can capture images of vehicles entering the parking space Pk, such as the entrance gate of the parking space Pk. The image capture device 30A1 can, for example, capture images of the license plate of a vehicle entering the parking space Pk. The image capture devices 30A2 and 30A3 are positioned opposite each other at both ends of the parking space Pk. The image capture devices 30A2 and 30A3 can, for example, capture images of a vehicle parked in the parking space Pk and occupants who have exited the vehicle. Furthermore, the group information acquisition unit 120A may use the images captured by the image capturing devices 30A1, 30A2, and 30A3 to track the movement trajectory of the vehicle from when the vehicle enters the parking space Pk until when the vehicle is parked.

[0158] The image capturing device 30A transmits a captured image of the license plate of the vehicle V1 to the server 100A. The group information acquisition unit 120A then recognizes the vehicle number of the vehicle V1. The image capturing device 30A also transmits a captured image of the four occupants M1 who have exited the vehicle V1 to the server 100A. The group information acquisition unit 120A then acquires the biometric information of the four occupants M1 who have exited the vehicle V1. The group information acquisition unit 120A then generates group information that associates the vehicle number of the vehicle V1 with the biometric information of the four occupants M1. At this time, the group information acquisition unit 120A may acquire the vehicle number of the vehicle V1 from a parking image obtained when the vehicle V1 enters the parking space Pk. The group information acquisition unit 120A may then track the movement trajectory of the vehicle V1 from the time it enters the parking space Pk until it is parked, and acquire the biometric information of the occupant M1 using a parking image taken of the occupant M1 who has disembarked from the vehicle V1.

[0159] Similarly, for vehicle V2, the group information acquisition unit 120A generates group information that associates the vehicle license plate number of vehicle V2 with the biometric information of three occupants M2. Similarly, for vehicle V3, the group information acquisition unit 120A generates group information that associates the vehicle license plate number of vehicle V3 with the biometric information of three occupants M3. Similarly, for vehicle V4, the group information acquisition unit 120A generates group information that associates the vehicle license plate number of vehicle V4 with the biometric information of two occupants M4.

[0160] 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of group information generated by the group information acquisition unit 120A according to the present disclosure. The group information includes a group ID, a vehicle number, an entry time, an occupant ID, and biometric information of the occupant. The entry time is, for example, the time when a vehicle corresponding to the vehicle number enters a parking space. In the example of FIG. 16, the entry time may be, for example, the time when the vehicle number is recognized using an image captured by the image capture device 30A1.

[0161] In the example of Figure 17, the group with group ID "0001" is associated with vehicle number "12-34." Therefore, in the example of Figure 17, the occupant of the vehicle with vehicle number "12-34" belongs to the group with group ID "0001" as a member of the group. In addition, the entry time of the vehicle with vehicle number "12-34" is 10:35.

[0162] In the example of FIG. 17 , the occupants of the vehicle with the vehicle number "12-34" are a member with occupant ID "#1," a member with occupant ID "#2," a member with occupant ID "#3," and a member with occupant ID "#4." The group information shown in FIG. 17 includes biometric information Bi1 of the member with occupant ID "#1," biometric information Bi2 of the member with occupant ID "#2," biometric information Bi3 of the member with occupant ID "#3," and biometric information Bi4 of the member with occupant ID "#4." The group information may also include the names of each occupant. In the example of FIG. 17 , the members corresponding to the group information may be family members.

[0163] 18 is a diagram illustrating a location display screen 500 displayed on a terminal device 200 according to the present disclosure. The location display screen 500 is a screen that displays location display information. Similar to the location display screen 400 illustrated in FIG. 13, the location display screen 500 is displayed on the interface unit 208 (display, etc.) of the inquirer's terminal device 200. FIG. 18 also illustrates an example of the location display screen 500 when an inquiry is made regarding the vehicle number "12-34" corresponding to the group related to the group information illustrated in FIG. 17.

[0164] In this case, the inquirer's terminal device 200 accepts the input of vehicle number "12-34" and makes an inquiry to search for the locations of members of the group related to vehicle number "12-34." In response to the inquiry, the server 100A performs a match using the biometric information of the members of the group related to vehicle number "12-34." The server 100A then generates location information of the members of the group related to vehicle number "12-34" and transmits it to the inquirer's terminal device 200. As a result, the inquirer's terminal device 200 displays the location display screen 500.

[0165] In the example of FIG. 18 , the location display screen 500 displays a map 502 of a theme park, which is a managed area. Furthermore, on the location display screen 500, the locations of group members related to the group information illustrated in FIG. 17 are displayed by member icons 510 superimposed on the map 502. This allows the inquirer to easily recognize the location of the member corresponding to the member icon 510. The member icon 510 may indicate the name of the corresponding member or the biometric information (e.g., a facial image) of the corresponding member. In the example of FIG. 17 , the member icon 510 indicates the biometric information of the corresponding member in thumbnail format. Furthermore, a license plate icon 520 indicating the vehicle license plate number corresponding to the corresponding member's group is displayed near the member icon 510. This allows the inquirer to easily recognize which vehicle the member corresponding to the member icon 510 is an occupant of. Furthermore, the inquirer can easily recognize the location of the occupant of a certain vehicle license plate number.

[0166] In the example of FIG. 17 , the member icon 510-1 indicating the location of occupant "#1," the member icon 510-2 indicating the location of occupant "#2," and the member icon 510-3 indicating the location of occupant "#3" are displayed close to each other. Therefore, occupants "#1," "#2," and "#3" of vehicle number "12-34" are close to each other. Note that occupants "#1," "#2," and "#3" of vehicle number "12-34" were photographed by the camera device 30B1 located in the controlled area. In other words, the positions of occupants "#1," "#2," and "#3" of vehicle number "12-34" correspond to the photographing position of the camera device 30B1. Furthermore, the number icon 520-1 indicating the vehicle number "12-34" is displayed near the member icon 510-1 indicating the location of occupant "#1." A number icon 520-2 indicating the vehicle number "12-34" is displayed near the member icon 510-2 indicating the location of occupant "#2." A number icon 520-3 indicating the vehicle number "12-34" is displayed near the member icon 510-3 indicating the location of occupant "#3."

[0167] In the example of FIG. 17 , the member icon 510-4 for occupant #4 is displayed at a position away from occupants #1, #2, and #3. Therefore, occupant #4 is located at a position away from the other members of vehicle number "12-34." Note that occupant #4 of vehicle number "12-34" was photographed by the camera 30B2 located in the controlled area. In other words, the position of occupant #4 of vehicle number "12-34" corresponds to the photographing position of camera 30B2. Furthermore, the photographing position of camera 30B2 is far from the photographing position of camera 30B1. Furthermore, a number icon 520-4 representing vehicle number "12-34" is displayed near the member icon 510-4 indicating the position of occupant #4.

[0168] By visually checking the location display screen 500, the inquirer can easily grasp the location of each member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number "12-34" included in the inquiry information. Furthermore, if the inquirer is occupant "#1" of the vehicle with vehicle number "12-34," the inquirer can easily know where occupant "#4" is located. Furthermore, if the inquirer is occupant "#4," the inquirer can easily know where the other members of vehicle number "12-34" are located.

[0169] FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a case in which the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure is applied to distress detection. FIG. 19 illustrates a case in which a mountain climber is searched for after becoming lost. In the example of FIG. 19 , the management area is a mountainous region and its surrounding area. First, at point P1, mountain climber M5 submits a mountain climbing notification via the web or the like. Point P2 corresponds to a parking lot at the base of the mountainous region, point P3 corresponds to the trailhead, points P4, P5, and P6 correspond to key points (such as rest spots) on the mountain climbing route, and points P7, P8, and P9 correspond to difficult sections of the mountainous region. Furthermore, image capture devices 30C2, 30C3, 30C4, 30C5, 30C6, 30C7, 30C8, and 30C9 are installed at points P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, and P9, respectively. Therefore, the image capturing device 30C can capture images of climbers visiting these locations. The images captured by the image capturing device 30C are then transmitted to the server 100A as managed area images.

[0170] Three mountain climbers M5 arrive at point P2 in vehicle V5. Therefore, mountain climbers M5 are occupants of vehicle V5. At this time, the photographing device 30C2 photographs vehicle V5 and mountain climbers M5 and transmits the photographed image to server 100A. The group information acquisition unit 120A of server 100A recognizes the license plate number of vehicle V5 from the photographed image of vehicle V5. The group information acquisition unit 120A of server 100A also acquires biometric information of each of the three mountain climbers M5 from the photographed image of mountain climber M5 who disembarked from vehicle V5. The group information acquisition unit 120A then generates group information that associates the license plate number of vehicle V5 with the biometric information of the three mountain climbers M5. At point P3, mountain climber M5 fills out a mountain entry form and enters the mountainous area. The mountain entry reports prepared at points P1 and P3 may include the names and equipment of each member of climber M5's group, the dates of entry and planned descent, and the license plate number of vehicle V5.

[0171] Mountain climber M5 then travels via points P4 to P6 toward points P7 to P9, which are difficult to reach. For example, if mountain climber M5 has not yet descended the mountain by the scheduled date for descent, if a third party requests a search for mountain climber M5, or if vehicle V5 is left abandoned at point P2 for several days, the administrator of the managed area or police officials will determine that mountain climber M5 has been lost. In this case, the administrator of the managed area or police officials will act as an inquirer and input the license plate number of vehicle V5 into terminal device 200. If vehicle V5 is left abandoned in a parking lot or if the license plate number of vehicle V5 is indicated on the mountain entry notification, the administrator of the managed area or police officials can easily find out the license plate number of vehicle V5.

[0172] The terminal device 200 receives the license plate number of the vehicle V5 and makes an inquiry to search for the location of the mountain climber M5. In response to the inquiry, the server 100A performs a match using the biometric information of the mountain climber M5 who is a member of the group related to the vehicle number. The server 100A then generates location information for the mountain climber M5 and transmits it to the inquirer's terminal device 200. As a result, the inquirer's terminal device 200 displays a location display screen showing the location of the mountain climber M5.

[0173] For example, as shown in the example of FIG. 19 , if mountain climber M5 becomes lost between points P7 and P8, server 100A can generate location information indicating mountain climber M5's movement trajectory from managed area images captured by image capture devices 30C2-30C7. Then, the inquirer's terminal device 200 displays location display information indicating mountain climber M5's movement trajectory. This allows the inquirer (managed area administrator or police officials) to determine that mountain climber M5 likely reached point P7 but not points P8 or P9. Therefore, the managed area administrator or police officials can focus their search on the area between points P7 and P8. This increases the likelihood of finding the lost mountain climber M5, making it easier to locate the lost mountain climber M5.

[0174] As described above, in the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure, the server 100A preliminarily groups members of a group corresponding to a vehicle license plate number and acquires group information associating the group members with the vehicle license plate number. The server 100A also uses the vehicle license plate number obtained by photographing the parked vehicle and biometric information obtained from the occupants who have exited the vehicle to group the occupants as members of the group corresponding to the vehicle license plate number. This configuration allows the occupants of a vehicle to be grouped when they exit the vehicle. Furthermore, unlike the second embodiment, the occupants of a vehicle can be automatically grouped without any operation by the user of the terminal device 200.

[0175] Furthermore, as described above, in the person search system 20 according to the present disclosure, the server 100A may group the occupants of multiple vehicles as members of one group and associate each of the vehicle license plates of the multiple vehicles with the one group. With this configuration, even if one group visits a controlled area in multiple vehicles, the occupants of the multiple vehicles can be grouped into one group.

[0176] (Modifications) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, each process in the above-described flowchart may be realized using a trained model trained by machine learning.

[0177] Furthermore, for example, the order of the processes in the above-described flowcharts can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, one or more of the processes in the above-described flowcharts may be omitted. For example, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, the processes of S122 to S124 may be omitted. Furthermore, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 8, the processes of S126 to S132 may be omitted. In this case, in the process of S140, the server 100 performs processing such as matching for all members.

[0178] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are mutually applicable. For example, the components of the server according to the second embodiment may be realized by the server according to the third embodiment. Similarly, the components of the server according to the third embodiment may be realized by the server according to the second embodiment. The same applies to the terminal device. Furthermore, at least one of the components of the terminal device may be realized by the server. Similarly, at least one of the components of the server may be realized by the terminal device.

[0179] Furthermore, in the above-described second and third embodiments, the biometric information indicates a person's image (such as a facial image) of the vehicle occupant (group member), but the biometric information is not limited to this. The biometric information may indicate an image of any part of the occupant's body. The "any part" may be, for example, an item carried by the occupant (such as a bag or nameplate). The biometric information may also indicate a feature of the occupant's person's image (such as a facial image). In this case, the group information storage unit may store, as the biometric information, the feature of the member's image, rather than the image itself of the member corresponding to the vehicle number plate.

[0180] Furthermore, the biometric information does not have to represent an image. The biometric information may be information indicating the movement (walking behavior, etc.) of the occupant. In this case, the biometric information may be detected by, for example, a detection device having a function such as motion capture, instead of the image capturing device 30. Furthermore, for example, the biometric information may represent the occupant's voiceprint. In this case, the biometric information may be detected by, for example, a detection device (microphone, etc.) capable of detecting voiceprints (voice), instead of the image capturing device 30. Furthermore, for example, the biometric information may represent the occupant's fingerprint. In this case, the biometric information may be detected by, for example, a detection device capable of detecting fingerprints, instead of the image capturing device 30. Furthermore, for example, the biometric information may be any information detected by optical fiber laid in a controlled area (e.g., vibrations indicating the occupant's gait information). Furthermore, the terminal device may have a built-in detection device (sensor, etc.) capable of detecting the above-mentioned biometric information.

[0181] The inquirer may also specify a member to be searched for. In this case, the terminal device 200 may transmit query information including identification information of the member to be searched for to the server 100. The server 100 may then perform matching on only the specified member and generate location information for that member.

[0182] Furthermore, when the server receives an inquiry from the terminal device of an arbitrary inquirer, it outputs an inquiry notification to the terminal device of a member of the group related to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information, but this configuration is not limited to this. If one of the members of the group related to the vehicle number included in the inquiry information is the inquirer, the server may output an inquiry notification to the terminal device of a member other than the inquirer. Therefore, the terminal device may output an inquiry notification when an inquiry is made by a person other than the first user who is the user of the terminal device.

[0183] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, each embodiment can be combined with other embodiments as appropriate.

[0184] Each drawing is merely an example for describing one or more embodiments. Each drawing may not relate to only one particular embodiment, but may also relate to one or more other embodiments. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, various features or steps described with reference to any one drawing can be combined with features or steps shown in one or more other drawings to create, for example, an embodiment not explicitly shown or described. Not all features or steps shown in any one drawing are necessary to describe an exemplary embodiment, and some features or steps may be omitted. The order of steps described in any drawing may be changed as appropriate.

[0185] The above-described program includes instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium or a tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media or tangible storage media include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD) or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD), Blu-ray disc or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may also be transmitted on a transitory computer-readable medium or communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer-readable media or communication media include electrical, optical, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals. The program may also include a program product.

[0186] Some or all of the above embodiments can be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes. (Supplementary Note 1) A terminal device comprising: vehicle number receiving means for receiving input of a vehicle number; querying means for using the vehicle number to query a server that searches for people to search for a person's location; location information acquisition means for acquiring location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the inquiry; and location display means for displaying information representing the locations of the members on a screen based on the acquired location information. (Supplementary Note 2) The terminal device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the location display means displays the locations of the members on a map displayed on the screen. (Supplementary Note 3) The terminal device according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising: grouping means for grouping members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number in advance and performing processing to associate the members of the group with the vehicle number. (Supplementary Note 4) The terminal device according to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the grouping means groups occupants of vehicles associated with the vehicle number as members of a group using biometric information of the occupants, and associates the vehicle number with the group. (Supplementary Note 5) The terminal device according to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the grouping means groups occupants of multiple vehicles as members of a single group, and associates each of the vehicle numbers of the multiple vehicles with the single group. (Supplementary Note 6) The terminal device according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising: notification output means that, when an inquiry is made about the vehicle number corresponding to a group of which a first user who is a user of the terminal device is a member, performs processing to output a notification inquiring about permission to display information indicating the position of the first user; and response means that responds to the notification by operation of the first user, indicating permission. (Supplementary Note 7) The terminal device according to Supplementary Note 6, wherein the position display means displays on a screen information indicating the position of the first user of another terminal device that responded to the notification by indicating permission. (Supplementary Note 8) The terminal device according to Supplementary Note 6, wherein the inquiry means makes an inquiry together with identification information of the person making the inquiry, and the notification output means outputs the identification information of the person making the inquiry together with the notification.(Supplementary Note 9) The terminal device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the vehicle number is associated in advance with a first password, the inquiry means accepts input of a password when making an inquiry, and the location information acquisition means acquires location information if the input password matches the first password. (Supplementary Note 10) A person search system comprising: one or more terminal devices; and a server that searches for people, wherein the terminal devices have: vehicle number acceptance means that accepts input of a vehicle number, inquiry means that uses the vehicle number to make an inquiry to the server that searches for people to search for a person's location, location information acquisition means that acquires location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the inquiry, and location display means that displays information indicating the locations of the members on a screen based on the acquired location information. (Supplementary Note 11) The person search system according to Supplementary Note 10, wherein the server comprises: inquiry receiving means for receiving the inquiry from the terminal device; matching means for performing matching using biometric information of members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number in response to the inquiry; and transmission processing means for performing processing for transmitting position information of the members to the terminal device that made the inquiry in response to the matching result. (Supplementary Note 12) The person search system according to Supplementary Note 11, wherein the server further comprises: group information acquisition means for grouping members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number in advance, and acquiring group information that associates the members of the group with the vehicle number. (Supplementary Note 13) The person search system according to Supplementary Note 12, wherein the group information acquisition means of the server uses the vehicle number obtained by photographing a parked vehicle and biometric information obtained from an occupant who has exited the vehicle to group the occupant as a member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number. (Supplementary Note 14) The person search system according to Supplementary Note 12, wherein the group information acquisition means of the server groups occupants of a plurality of vehicles as members of one group, and associates each of the vehicle license plates of the plurality of vehicles with the one group.(Supplementary Note 15) The person search system according to Supplementary Note 11, wherein the server further comprises a notification processing means that, when the query is accepted, performs processing to output a notification to each terminal device of a member of a group corresponding to the vehicle number related to the query, the notification inquiring about permission to display information indicating the member's location, the transmission processing means of the server performs processing to transmit location information of a user of the terminal device that responded to the notification by giving permission to the notification to the terminal device that made the query, the terminal device further comprising: notification output means that outputs the notification, and response means that makes the response in response to an operation by the user of the terminal device. (Supplementary Note 16) The person search system according to Supplementary Note 15, wherein the query means of the terminal device accepts identification information of the person who made the query, the query accepting means of the server accepts the identification information of the person who made the query when accepting the query, the notification processing means of the server performs processing to output the identification information of the person who made the query together with the notification, and the notification output means of the terminal device outputs the identification information of the person who made the query together with the notification. (Supplementary Note 17) The person search system according to Supplementary Note 11, wherein the vehicle number is associated in advance with a first password, the inquiry means of the terminal device accepts input of a password when making an inquiry, and the transmission processing means of the server performs processing for transmitting location information of a member of a group corresponding to the vehicle number to the terminal device that made the inquiry if the input password matches the first password. (Supplementary Note 18) A server comprising: inquiry receiving means for accepting, from a terminal device, an inquiry to search for a location of a person using the vehicle number, matching means for performing matching using biometric information of a member of a group corresponding to the vehicle number in response to the inquiry, and transmission processing means for performing processing for transmitting location information of the member to the terminal device that made the inquiry in response to a result of the matching.(Supplementary Note 19) The server according to Supplementary Note 18, further comprising: a group information acquisition means that groups members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number in advance, and acquires group information that associates the members of the group with the vehicle number. (Supplementary Note 20) The server according to Supplementary Note 19, wherein the group information acquisition means uses the vehicle number obtained by photographing the parked vehicle and biometric information obtained from occupants who have exited the vehicle to group the occupants as members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number. (Supplementary Note 21) The server according to Supplementary Note 19, wherein the group information acquisition means groups occupants of a plurality of vehicles as members of one group, and associates each of the vehicle numbers of the plurality of vehicles with the one group. (Supplementary Note 22) The server according to Supplementary Note 18, further comprising: a notification processing means that, when the inquiry is accepted, performs processing to output a notification to each terminal device of a group member corresponding to the vehicle number related to the inquiry, inquiring about permission to display information indicating the member's location, and the transmission processing means performs processing to transmit location information of a user of the terminal device that responded to the notification by giving permission to the notification to the terminal device that made the inquiry. (Supplementary Note 23) The server according to Supplementary Note 22, wherein the inquiry accepting means accepts identification information of the person who made the inquiry when accepting the inquiry, and the notification processing means performs processing to output the identification information of the person who made the inquiry together with the notification. (Supplementary Note 24) The server according to Supplementary Note 18, wherein the vehicle number is associated in advance with a first password, the inquiry accepting means accepts the password when accepting the inquiry, and the transmission processing means, when the accepted password matches the first password, performs processing to transmit location information of the group member corresponding to the vehicle number to the terminal device that made the inquiry.(Supplementary Note 25) A person search method comprising: accepting input of a vehicle number; using the vehicle number to make a query to a server that searches for people to search for a person's location; obtaining location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the query; and displaying information indicating the positions of the members on a screen based on the obtained location information. (Supplementary Note 26) A program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: accepting input of a vehicle number; using the vehicle number to make a query to a server that searches for people to search for a person's location; obtaining location information of one or more members of the group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the query; and displaying information indicating the positions of the members on a screen based on the obtained location information. (Supplementary Note 27) A person search method comprising: accepting, from a terminal device, a query to search for a person's location using the vehicle number; performing a match using biometric information of a member of the group corresponding to the vehicle number in response to the match; and performing processing to transmit the position information of the members to the terminal device that made the query based on the result of the match. (Supplementary Note 28) A program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: receiving an inquiry from a terminal device to search for a person's location using a vehicle number; performing a match using biometric information of a group member corresponding to the vehicle number in response to the inquiry; and performing processing to transmit the member's location information to the terminal device that made the inquiry in response to the match result.

[0187] Some or all of the elements (e.g., configurations and functions) described in Supplementary Notes 2 to 9 that are dependent on Supplementary Note 1 may also be dependent on Supplementary Notes 25 and 26 in the same dependency relationship as Supplementary Notes 2 to 9. Similarly, some or all of the elements (e.g., configurations and functions) described in Supplementary Notes 19 to 24 that are dependent on Supplementary Note 18 may also be dependent on Supplementary Notes 27 and 28 in the same dependency relationship as Supplementary Notes 19 to 24. Some or all of the elements described in any Supplementary Note may be applicable to various hardware, software, recording means for recording software, systems, and methods.

[0188] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the invention.

[0189] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-114462, filed on July 18, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

[0190] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Terminal device 2 Vehicle number reception unit 4 Inquiry unit 6 Location information acquisition unit 8 Location display unit 20 Person search system 30 Imaging device 100 Server 100A Server 102 Control unit 104 Memory unit 106 Communication unit 108 Interface unit 110 Group information storage unit 110A Parking image acquisition unit 112 Managed area image storage unit 120 Group information acquisition unit 120A Group information acquisition unit 130 Managed area image acquisition unit 140 Inquiry reception unit 150 Notification processing unit 160 Matching unit 170 Location information generation unit 180 Transmission processing unit 200 Terminal device 202 Control unit 204 Memory unit 206 Communication unit 208 Interface unit 210 Imaging unit 220 Grouping unit 230 Vehicle number reception unit 240 Inquiry unit 250 Location information acquisition unit 260 Location display unit 270 Notification output unit 280 Response unit 300 Group registration screen 302 Vehicle number input area 304 Biometric information input area 306 Password input area 308 Other vehicle number input area 310 Register button 320 Location search inquiry screen 322 Vehicle number input area 324 Identification information input area 326 Password input area 328 Inquiry button 340 Inquiry notification screen 342 Identification information display area 344 Allow button 346 Reject button 400 Location display screen 402 Map 410 Member icons 420 Number icons 500 Location display screen 502 Map 510 Member icons 520 Number icons

Claims

1. A terminal device having: a vehicle number receiving means for receiving input of a vehicle number; a query means for using the vehicle number to query a server that searches for people to search for their location; a location information obtaining means for obtaining location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the query; and a location display means for displaying information indicating the locations of the members on a screen based on the obtained location information.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein said location display means displays the location of said member on a map displayed on said screen.

3. The terminal device according to claim 1, further comprising: a grouping means for grouping members of a group corresponding to said vehicle number in advance and performing processing for associating said group members with said vehicle number.

4. The terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the grouping means groups occupants of a vehicle associated with the vehicle number as members of a group using biometric information of the occupants, and associates the vehicle number with the group.

5. The terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the grouping means groups occupants of a plurality of vehicles as members of one group, and associates each of the vehicle license plates of the plurality of vehicles with the one group.

6. A terminal device as described in claim 1, further comprising: a notification output means for performing processing to output a notification inquiring permission to display information representing the location of a first user when an inquiry is made about the vehicle number corresponding to a group of which the first user, who is a user of the terminal device, is a member; and a response means for responding to the notification with permission through operation by the first user.

7. The terminal device according to claim 6, wherein the location display means displays on a screen information indicating the location of the first user of another terminal device that has responded with permission to the notification.

8. The terminal device according to claim 6, wherein the inquiry means makes an inquiry together with identification information of the person making the inquiry, and the notification output means outputs the identification information of the person making the inquiry together with the notification.

9. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle number is associated in advance with a first password, the inquiry means accepts input of a password when making an inquiry, and the location information acquisition means acquires location information when the input password matches the first password.

10. A person search system comprising one or more terminal devices and a server that searches for people, wherein the terminal devices comprise: a vehicle number receiving means that receives input of a vehicle number; a query means that uses the vehicle number to query the server that searches for people to search for their location; a location information acquisition means that acquires location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the query; and a location display means that displays information indicating the locations of the members on a screen based on the acquired location information.

11. The person search system of claim 10, wherein the server comprises: an inquiry receiving means for receiving the inquiry from the terminal device; a matching means for performing a match using biometric information of the group members corresponding to the vehicle number in response to the inquiry; and a transmission processing means for performing processing to transmit the location information of the members to the terminal device that made the inquiry in response to the result of the match.

12. The person search system according to claim 11, wherein the server further comprises: a group information acquisition means for grouping members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number in advance and acquiring group information associating the members of the group with the vehicle number.

13. The person search system of claim 12, wherein the group information acquisition means of the server uses a vehicle number obtained by photographing a parked vehicle and biometric information obtained from an occupant who has exited the vehicle to group the occupant as a member of a group corresponding to the vehicle number.

14. The person search system according to claim 12, wherein the group information acquisition means of the server groups occupants of multiple vehicles as members of one group, and associates each of the vehicle license plates of the multiple vehicles with that one group.

15. The person search system described in claim 11, wherein the server further comprises a notification processing means which, when the inquiry is accepted, performs processing to output a notification to each terminal device of a member of a group corresponding to the vehicle number related to the inquiry, inquiring about permission to display information indicating the member's location; the transmission processing means of the server performs processing to transmit location information of the user of the terminal device that responded to the notification by giving permission to the terminal device that made the inquiry; and the terminal device further comprises a notification output means which outputs the notification, and a response means which makes the response in response to operation by the user of the terminal device.

16. A person search system as described in claim 15, wherein the inquiry means of the terminal device accepts identification information of the person who made the inquiry; the inquiry acceptance means of the server accepts identification information of the person who made the inquiry when accepting the inquiry; the notification processing means of the server performs processing to output the identification information of the person who made the inquiry together with the notification; and the notification output means of the terminal device outputs the identification information of the person who made the inquiry together with the notification.

17. The person search system described in claim 11, wherein the vehicle number is previously associated with a first password, the inquiry means of the terminal device accepts input of a password when making an inquiry, and the transmission processing means of the server performs processing to transmit location information of a member of a group corresponding to the vehicle number to the terminal device that made the inquiry if the input password matches the first password.

18. A server having an inquiry receiving means for receiving an inquiry from a terminal device to search for a person's location using a vehicle number plate; a matching means for performing a match using biometric information of a group member corresponding to the vehicle number plate in response to the inquiry; and a transmission processing means for performing processing to transmit the member's location information to the terminal device that made the inquiry in response to the result of the match.

19. A person search method comprising: accepting input of a vehicle number; using the vehicle number to query a server that searches for people to search for the person's location; obtaining location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the query; and displaying information indicating the locations of the members on a screen based on the obtained location information.

20. A program that causes a computer to execute the following steps: accepting input of a vehicle number; using the vehicle number to query a server that searches for people to search for their location; obtaining location information of one or more members of a group corresponding to the vehicle number from the server in response to the query; and displaying information indicating the locations of the members on a screen based on the obtained location information.

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