Probe Vehicle Data Server for Dynamic Boarding Point Selection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional systems cannot provide information for boarding/deboarding points that users have never visited before, and they fail to account for varying conditions such as vehicle size and ease of door opening/closing when determining meeting points.

Innovation Solution

A data server and boarding/deboarding point provision method that utilizes probe vehicles as sensors to collect data, analyzing and storing information on suitable boarding/deboarding points, and providing this information to terminals based on user requests, regardless of unfamiliar areas or changing conditions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If meeting place is determined solely on the basis of movement history between current users, then it is possible to determine familiar meeting places, but it is not possible to provide information for areas where boarding/deboarding has never taken place

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccuracy of meeting place determinationVSAvoidability to provide information for unfamiliar areas
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary data collection by probe vehicles that gather boarding/deboarding information in advance and store it in a database. This preliminary action enables the system to provide accurate meeting place information for both familiar and unfamiliar areas, as the data is prepared beforehand rather than calculated in real-time based only on current user movement history

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a database as an intermediary between probe vehicles and information terminals. The database stores boarding/deboarding information collected by probe vehicles and makes it available to information terminals, allowing users to access meeting place information for areas they have never visited before while maintaining reliability through structured data management

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Device complexity

If meeting place is determined solely on the basis of length of stay, then it is possible to use simple criteria, but it is not possible to meet changing conditions such as vehicle size and ease of door opening/closing

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesimplicity of determination criteriaVSAvoidability to accommodate varying conditions
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the parameters used for meeting place determination by incorporating multiple factors including vehicle size, door opening ease, and boarding/deboarding frequency. Instead of relying solely on length of stay, the system evaluates multiple parameters to adapt to varying conditions while maintaining a manageable level of complexity through systematic data collection and evaluation

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Measurement precision

If probe vehicles collect and store detailed boarding/deboarding information, then it is possible to provide accurate meeting place information, but it increases data processing and storage requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaccuracy of boarding/deboarding point informationVSAvoidamount of data to be processed and stored
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the essential boarding/deboarding information from probe vehicle data, such as location, frequency, and relevant conditions, rather than storing all raw data. This extraction approach maintains measurement precision for meeting place determination while reducing the quantity of data that needs to be processed and stored in the database

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP3869482B1Pickup and drop-off point providing system, data server, and pickup and drop-off point providing method
Publication Date: 2024.05.29 NISSAN MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP3869482B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3869482B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3869482B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To provide, when a request for boarding/deboarding point information is made from an information terminal, information regarding a suitable boarding/deboarding point irrespective of areas where boarding/deboarding has never taken place or of various changes in conditions. A boarding/deboarding point providing system comprising a probe vehicle group (4), a data server (2), and an on-board unit (1) or a mobile terminal (3). When vehicle data transmitted from the probe vehicle group (4) are input, the data server (2) extracts a boarding/deboarding point suitable for boarding a vehicle or deboarding a vehicle from the vehicle data, and stores the point while updating the boarding/deboarding point information database. When a request for boarding/deboarding point information is received from the on-board unit (1) or the mobile terminal (3), the boarding/deboarding point information stored in the boarding/deboarding point information database is searched for a boarding/deboarding point that meets the request conditions, and the search result that includes the boarding/deboarding point is transmitted to the on-board unit (1) or the mobile terminal (3).