JP6020217B2 - Traffic information provision system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic information providing system that provides traffic information related to the required travel time of a road.

  The prior art described in Patent Document 1 is known for predicting traffic conditions. In this prior art, an information reliability indicating how much the driver trusts the provided traffic information and a behavior change rate indicating how much the driver's behavior changes according to the information reliability are defined. Is done. And the method of correcting the prediction of a traffic condition is disclosed by using the action change rate by the information reliability of a driver.

JP 2007-164262 A

  When it is assumed that the estimated travel time is corrected using the information reliability and behavior change rate as in the above prior art in order to provide traffic information related to the travel time of the road, the following problems There is. The determination of whether the driver trusts the provided information or whether the driver changes the behavior based on the provided information depends greatly on the psychological state of the driver at the time of driving. Therefore, depending on the psychological state at the time of driving, the information reliability and behavior change rate used for correcting the traffic information may not always match the judgment of the driver, and the prediction may be uncertain.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. The purpose is to provide a technique for providing traffic information relating to the travel time of a road in a manner that considers driving characteristics based on the driver's traffic experience.

The traffic information providing system of the present invention made to achieve the above object includes a storage means, a first acquisition means, a difference calculation means, a correction means, and a presentation means.
The storage means is a difference between the travel time required for a certain road section acquired based on the traffic information provided from the external device and the actual travel time required for the vehicle passing through the road section. Is stored as difference data corresponding to the driver of the vehicle related to the measurement of the actual travel time required and the road section. The first acquisition means acquires the required travel time of the target road section based on the traffic information provided from the external device.

  The difference calculation means calculates a difference statistic by performing predetermined statistical processing on the difference data of the target road section related to the target driver accumulated in the storage means. The correcting means calculates a required time with difference obtained by correcting the required moving time acquired by the first acquiring means based on the difference statistic calculated by the difference calculating means. The presenting means presents presentation information regarding the required time with difference calculated by the correcting means to the target driver.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the traffic information regarding the travel required time provided from the outside can be corrected using the difference data accumulated based on the driver's traffic experience. For example, it is assumed that when the driver passes a certain road section, traffic information related to the travel time of the road section is provided. At that time, the difference between the travel time required for the road section provided as traffic information and the travel time actually measured during travel is accumulated. And when the driver travels again on the same road section, by taking into account the travel time provided as the current traffic information, the statistical amount obtained by statistically processing the difference data accumulated by the past traffic experience, Information on travel time reflecting the driving characteristics of the driver can be predicted. As described above, by applying the driving characteristics based on the actual driving experience of the driver to the prediction of the required travel time, it is possible to perform prediction with high certainty that does not depend on the psychological state of the driver.

The block diagram which shows the structure of a traffic information provision system. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of difference data. The flowchart 1 which shows the procedure of the process which a traffic information provision system performs. The flowchart 2 which shows the procedure of the process which a traffic information provision system performs.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to the following embodiment, It is possible to implement in various aspects.
[Description of configuration of traffic information provision system]
As shown in FIG. 1, a traffic information providing system 1 includes a traffic information distribution device 10 installed in a center that distributes traffic information to vehicles in a wide area, and an information provision device 20 used in a vehicle driven by a driver. Is provided. In FIG. 1, only one information providing device 20 is illustrated for the sake of brevity, but a plurality of information providing devices 20 may be used in each vehicle.

  The traffic information distribution device 10 is configured by an information processing device having a server function. The traffic information distribution device 10 includes a communication unit 11, an information storage unit 12, a difference database 13, a difference amount calculation unit 14, and a control unit 15.

  The communication unit 11 is a communication device for communicating with various external devices such as the information providing device 20, the traffic information center 30, and the communication device 40 via a communication network such as a wireless communication network or the Internet. is there. The communication unit 11 transmits and receives various types of information for providing the driver with information related to the required travel time on the road with the information providing device 20.

  Further, the communication unit 11 is, for example, road traffic information distributed from a VICS (Vehicle Information Communication System, registered trademark) traffic information center 30 and various communication devices 40, and probe information transmitted from a probe vehicle such as a taxi. Receive the latest traffic information. The traffic information received from the outside via the communication unit 11 includes, for example, travel time, traffic jam, traffic obstacle, traffic regulation, weather, wind direction, road surface condition, data useful for route search in traffic jam prediction information, and the like.

  The information storage unit 12 stores traffic information received from the external traffic information center 30 or the communication device 40 via the communication unit 11. In addition, the information storage unit 12 acquires the travel time required for a certain road section acquired based on the accumulated traffic information, and the actual travel time measured when the vehicle actually passes through the road section. The difference is calculated. And it accumulate | stores in the difference database 13 as difference data corresponding to the driver of the vehicle which concerns on measurement of the required travel time, and the said road area.

  The difference database 13 is a storage device that accumulates a difference data group corresponding to each driver of the vehicle. The detailed contents of the difference data stored in the difference database 13 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the difference data is composed of information related to the difference in required travel time for each road section associated with identification information (driver ID) unique to the driver. In the difference database 13, difference data relating to a plurality of drivers is classified and stored for each driver.

  The information for each road section includes a difference time, a time stamp, and a congestion degree information in association with information indicating road section identification information (road ID) and road type (highway, general road, etc.). Data records are accumulated.

  The difference time is the time difference between the actual travel time measured when the vehicle driven by the driver passes through the road section and the travel time obtained based on traffic information provided from the outside at that time. It is information which shows. The time stamp is information indicating the date and time when the actual travel time required was measured. The degree of congestion is information indicating the degree of congestion (for example, congestion, congestion, smoothness, etc.) of the road section indicated by traffic information provided from the outside at that time. The difference data record is accumulated in the difference database 13 as difference data related to the driver of the vehicle related to the measurement of the actually measured travel time every time the information providing apparatus 20 is notified of the actual travel time required.

  Returning to the description of the block diagram of FIG. The difference amount calculation unit 14 statistically processes the difference data group of the target road section related to the target driver stored in the difference database 13, and calculates a difference statistic indicating the driving characteristics of the driver in the road section. To do. This difference statistic is an index that indicates how much time difference is expected to occur from the travel time based on external traffic information when the driver passes a certain road section. Alternatively, it is represented by a physical quantity such as a time difference or a speed difference per unit distance.

  The control unit 15 has a function of executing various types of information processing related to traffic information distribution. The control unit 15 receives data such as the current location and destination of the vehicle, a planned route to the destination, and driver identification information from the information providing device 20 via the communication unit 11. Based on the traffic information received from the traffic information center 30, various communication devices 40, etc., the control unit 15 uses the roads on the surrounding road and the planned route based on the data received from the information providing device 20 as target road segments. The travel time of the target road section is acquired. Then, the travel time with difference, which is corrected by taking into account the difference statistic calculated by the difference amount calculation unit 14 with respect to the acquired travel time, is transmitted to the information providing apparatus 20 as the transmission source.

  The information providing apparatus 20 is embodied by, for example, a navigation system mounted on a vehicle or a portable information communication terminal possessed by a vehicle driver. The information providing apparatus 20 includes a communication unit 21, a map database 22, a required time calculation unit 23, a vehicle position specifying unit 24, a display unit 25, an operation unit 26, a voice output unit 27, and a control unit 28.

  The communication unit 21 transmits / receives various types of information related to the travel time of the road section on the current location, the vicinity of the destination, and the planned route to / from the traffic information distribution device 10 via a communication network such as a wireless communication network or the Internet. . As the communication unit 21, various communication methods such as a cellular phone, a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications), and a wireless RAN can be employed.

  The map database 22 is a database related to navigation map data stored in a large-capacity information storage medium such as an optical disk, a hard disk drive, or a nonvolatile semiconductor memory. Examples of the map data include map drawing data for map display, road data necessary for processing such as map matching, route search, route guidance, intersection data, place name data for displaying place names, and the like. Note that, instead of the information providing apparatus 20 including the map database 22, the information providing apparatus 20 may acquire map data necessary for route guidance from the traffic information distribution apparatus 10 via the communication unit 21. Good.

  The required time calculation unit 23 measures the required travel time when the host vehicle passes through a certain road section based on the current location specified by the host vehicle position specifying unit 24. The required travel time measured by the required time calculation unit 23 is transmitted to the traffic information distribution device 10 via the communication unit 21.

  The own vehicle position specifying unit 24 specifies the current location of the own vehicle using various sensors such as a GPS receiver, a speed sensor, and a gyroscope. In addition, the map matching using the map data recorded in the map database 22 identifies where the host vehicle is on the road.

  The display unit 25 is a display device that displays various image information based on the video signal input from the control unit 28, and includes, for example, a display installed near the driver's seat of the vehicle. The display unit 25 includes, for example, a map image around the current location, a mark indicating the current location, a planned route from the current location to the destination, an estimated arrival time at the destination calculated based on the required time with difference, and a road Image information such as the congestion status is displayed.

  The operation unit 26 is an input device for giving a command or the like related to an operation received from a user to the control unit 28, and is formed on a mechanical switch disposed around the display unit 25 or on the display surface of the display unit 25. Touch panel. The audio output unit 27 is an output device that outputs audio information based on the audio signal from the control unit 28. Thereby, various information can be presented to the user both by the display by the display unit 25 and by the audio output by the audio output unit 27.

  The control unit 28 has a function of performing various information processing related to navigation. Examples of navigation-related processing executed by the control unit 28 include map display processing and route guidance processing. In the map display process, a map image is generated based on the map data around the current location read from the map database 22 and displayed on the display unit 25. In addition, the control unit 29 displays a mark indicating the current location of the host vehicle detected by the host vehicle position specifying unit 24 on the map image displayed on the display unit 25 and displays the current location as the host vehicle moves. Move the mark or scroll the map image.

  In the route guidance process, when the user operates the operation unit 26 to set a destination, the control unit 28 reads the optimal route from the departure point to the destination from the map database 22 with the current location of the host vehicle as the departure point. Search using road data. Then, the route obtained by the route search is set as a planned route, and the planned route is superimposed on the map image and displayed on the display unit 25. And the control part 29 outputs guidance information, such as advancing direction, or a voice in front of specific guidance points, such as a branch point on a route, with the movement of the own vehicle, and the own vehicle is scheduled to the destination. Guide you to travel along the route.

  In addition, the control unit 28 transmits data such as the current location and destination of the vehicle, a planned route to the destination, and driver identification information to the traffic information distribution device 10 via the communication unit 21. And the control part 28 receives the information regarding the required time with a difference corresponding to the road area on the planned route calculated in the traffic information distribution apparatus 10. The control unit 28 causes the display unit 25 to display the required time with difference, the estimated arrival time at the destination and the degree of congestion of the road calculated by reflecting the required time with difference on the map image. As a result, the driver can know the required time and the estimated arrival time reflecting the driving characteristics of the driver.

[Description of Processing Performed by Traffic Information Providing System: First Embodiment]
A first embodiment of a series of processing executed by the traffic information distribution device 10 and the information providing device 20 in the traffic information providing system 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processes executed by the traffic information distribution apparatus 10 and the information providing apparatus 20 are classified into a required time information providing process and a difference data storing process.

  First, the required time information providing process will be described. In the traffic information distribution device 10, the control unit 15 acquires the travel time required for the target road section based on the latest traffic information provided from the external device stored in the information storage unit 12 (S10). The target road section referred to here is a road section on the current route of the vehicle and around the destination or a road section on the planned route to the destination based on data received from the information providing device 20 via the communication unit 11. is there.

  Further, the difference amount calculation unit 14 selects a difference data group corresponding to the target road section related to the target driver based on the data received from the information providing device 20 from the difference data group stored in the difference database 13. The extracted difference data group is statistically processed (S20). Here, for example, an average value, a median value, or a mode value of difference times in a plurality of difference data is calculated. And the difference statistic in the object road area regarding the object driver is computed from the result of statistical processing (S22). The difference statistic is represented by a physical quantity such as a time difference in the entire target road section, a time difference per unit distance, or a speed difference.

In addition, you may apply the device shown to the following (1)-(4) as a calculation method of the difference statistic by the statistical process of the difference data in S20, S22.
(1) In the road section where the driver's traffic history is small or the vehicle travels for the first time, there is a possibility that the driving characteristics of the driver cannot be accurately grasped because the number of data used for statistical processing of difference data is insufficient. Therefore, when the number of difference data corresponding to the target road section is less than the prescribed number, other road sections assigned the same road type as the road type of the target road section in the difference data group related to the driver. Statistical processing may be performed using the difference data group. For example, based on the difference data group accumulated for each road type, a difference statistic obtained by converting the difference time into a speed difference is calculated. Then, by adding the time difference converted from the differential speed based on the traffic history in other road sections of the same road type to the travel time of the target road section, the driver's driving in an environment similar to the target road section The required time with difference reflecting the characteristics can be calculated.

  (2) You may make it perform a statistical process according to the congestion degree attached | subjected to difference data. Specifically, when the difference data corresponding to the target road section is less than the prescribed number, the current congestion degree of the target road section ascertained from outside traffic information, etc., from the difference data group related to the driver The difference data group corresponding to the same congestion degree is extracted and used for calculation of the difference statistic. For example, a difference statistic obtained by converting a difference time into a speed difference is calculated based on a difference data group accumulated for each degree of congestion. Then, by adding the time difference converted from the differential speed based on the traffic history in the road section of the same congestion degree to the travel time of the target road section, the driver's driving in an environment similar to the current congestion degree The required time with difference reflecting the characteristics can be calculated. The difference statistic may be calculated by combining the above methods (1) and (2).

(3) Regardless of the road classification, the difference statistic may be calculated using all the difference data groups accumulated for the target driver.
(4) It is good also as an alternative of the difference statistic regarding a target driver by calculating a difference statistic using difference data regarding other drivers whose driving characteristics are similar to those of the target driver. For example, if the difference data of the target road section related to the target driver is less than the prescribed number, the difference statistics using the difference data of the target road section related to other drivers whose characteristics of the difference data are similar to the target driver Is calculated. An example of a method for identifying another driver having similar driving characteristics is to identify a partner whose summary statistic of difference data for each driver approximates that of the target driver.

  Based on the current travel time of the target road section acquired in S10 and the difference statistic calculated in the difference amount calculation unit 14 in S22, the control unit 15 calculates the required time with difference for the target road section. Calculate (S12). For example, when the difference statistic is calculated as a time difference in the entire target road section, the required time with difference is calculated by adding or subtracting the time difference to the current required travel time based on external traffic information. Alternatively, if the difference statistic is calculated as a time difference or speed difference per unit distance, it is converted into a time difference according to the distance of the target road section, and is added to or subtracted from the current travel time based on external traffic information. Thus, the required time with difference is calculated. The control unit 15 transmits difference required time information including the calculated difference required time to the information providing apparatus 20 belonging to the target driver via the communication unit 11 (S14).

  On the other hand, the control part 28 of the information provision apparatus 20 receives the required time information with a difference transmitted from the traffic information distribution apparatus 10 via the communication part 21 (S30). Then, the control unit 28 presents information to the target driver based on the received difference-added time information (S32). For example, the control unit 28 calculates a predicted arrival time at the destination using the required time with difference regarding the surrounding road or the road section on the planned route, and displays it on the navigation screen in the display unit 25. In addition, the display unit 25 displays the degree of congestion calculated from the difference between the required travel time estimated from the normal travel speed at the time of non-congestion and the required time with difference on the road on the map image. Also good.

  Next, the difference data accumulation process will be described. Each time the control unit 28 passes through a predetermined road section, the control unit 28 extracts an actual measurement value of the travel time required for the road section calculated by the required time calculation unit 23 (S40). Then, the extracted information relating to the actual travel time, the road section, the date and time, the driver identification, and the like are transmitted to the traffic information distribution apparatus 10 via the communication unit 21 (S42).

  In the traffic information distribution device 10, upon receiving information on the actual travel time required from the information providing device 20, the control unit 15 performs the relevant operation based on the traffic information provided from the external device stored in the information storage unit 12. The required travel time at the time of actual measurement in the road section and the congestion degree of the road are acquired (S15). The information accumulating unit 12 calculates a difference between the required travel time acquired based on the traffic information and the received actual travel time (S50). Then, difference data is generated based on the calculated difference, and is stored in the difference database 13 in association with the corresponding driver ID and road ID (S52). The difference data includes information such as a difference time, a time stamp, and a congestion degree (see FIG. 2).

[Description of Processing Performed by Traffic Information Providing System: Second Embodiment]
A second embodiment of a series of processes executed by the traffic information distribution device 10 and the information providing device 20 in the traffic information providing system 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing of the second embodiment differs from the processing of the first embodiment in that the required time with difference is calculated on the information providing device 20 side, not on the traffic information distribution device 10 side.

  In the required time information provision processing, the control unit 15 of the traffic information distribution device 10 determines the current travel time of the target road section based on the latest traffic information provided from the external device stored in the information storage unit 12. Is acquired (S11). The target road section referred to here is a road section on the current route of the vehicle and around the destination or a road section on the planned route to the destination based on data received from the information providing device 20 via the communication unit 11. is there. The control unit 15 transmits the required time information including the acquired required travel time to the information providing apparatus 20 belonging to the target driver via the communication unit 11 (S13).

  Further, the difference amount calculation unit 14 calculates the difference statistic of the target road section related to the target driver based on the difference data group accumulated in the difference database 13 (S21, S23). This processing content is the same as the processing content of S20 and S22 in the first embodiment (see FIG. 3) described above. Then, information including the calculated difference statistic is transmitted to the information providing apparatus 20 belonging to the target driver via the communication unit 11 (S25).

  On the other hand, the control unit 28 of the information providing apparatus 20 receives the required time information and the difference statistics transmitted from the traffic information distribution apparatus 10 via the communication unit 21 (S31). The control unit 28 calculates the required time with difference for the target road section based on the received required travel time and the difference statistic (S33). For example, when the difference statistic is calculated as a time difference in the entire target road section, the required time with difference is calculated by adding or subtracting the time difference to the required travel time based on external traffic information. Or, if the difference statistics are calculated as a time difference or speed difference per unit distance, convert them into a time difference according to the distance of the target road section, and add or subtract it to the required travel time based on external traffic information. The required time with difference is calculated.

  Then, the control unit 28 presents information to the target driver based on the calculated required time information with difference (S35). The content of this information presentation is the same as S32 in the first embodiment described above (see FIG. 3). The procedure of the difference data accumulation process is the same as the procedure of the first embodiment (see FIG. 3) described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[effect]
The traffic information providing system 1 according to the embodiment has the following effects.
Reflecting the driver's driving characteristics by adding the difference statistics obtained by statistically processing the difference data accumulated based on the driver's traffic experience to the travel time provided as the current traffic information Information on the required time with difference can be predicted. As described above, by applying the driving characteristics based on the actual driving experience of the driver to the prediction of the required travel time, it is possible to perform prediction with high certainty that does not depend on the psychological state of the driver.

  The information providing apparatus 20 acquires the actual travel time required and notifies the traffic information distribution apparatus 10, so that the traffic information distribution apparatus 10 can determine the difference between the travel time based on the traffic information and the actual travel time required. Data can be generated and stored in the difference database 13.

[Modification]
In the said embodiment, the traffic information delivery apparatus 10 and the information provision apparatus 20 cooperated, and demonstrated the example which performs a series of processes regarding provision of required time with a difference. The present invention can be implemented not only by this but also by a single information processing apparatus having various processing functions executed by the traffic information distribution apparatus 10 and the information providing apparatus 20 in the above embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Traffic information provision system, 10 ... Traffic information delivery apparatus, 11 ... Communication part, 12 ... Information storage part, 13 ... Difference database, 14 ... Difference amount calculation part, 15 ... Control part, 20 ... Information provision apparatus, 21 ... Communication unit 22 ... Map database 23 ... Time required calculation unit 24 ... Self-vehicle position specifying unit 25 ... Display unit 26 ... Operation unit 27 ... Sound output unit 28 ... Control unit 30 ... Traffic information center 40: Communication device.

Claims (9)

Information on the difference between the travel time required for a certain road section acquired based on the traffic information provided from the external device and the actual travel time measured by the vehicle actually passing through the road section, Storage means (13) for accumulating as difference data corresponding to the vehicle driver and the road section related to the measurement of the actual travel time required;
First acquisition means (15, S10, S11) for acquiring the travel time of the target road section based on traffic information provided from an external device;
Difference calculation means (14, S20, S22, S21) that calculates a difference statistic by performing a predetermined statistical process on the difference data of the target road section related to the target driver stored in the storage means. , S23)
Correction means (15, S12, 28, S33) for calculating the required time with difference obtained by correcting the movement required time acquired by the first acquisition means based on the difference statistic calculated by the difference calculation means. )When,
Presenting means (28, S32, S35) for presenting information for presentation related to the required time with difference calculated by the correcting means to the target driver;
A traffic information providing system characterized by comprising: The traffic information providing system according to claim 1,
Second acquisition means (23, S40, S41) for acquiring an actual travel time measured by a vehicle actually passing through a road section;
Generating the difference data relating to the difference between the actually measured travel time acquired by the second acquisition means and the travel time required for the road section acquired based on traffic information provided from an external device; Recording means (12, S50, S52, S51, S53) for recording on the means;
A traffic information providing system further comprising: In the traffic information providing system according to claim 1 or 2,
The first acquisition means acquires a travel time relating to a road section on a planned route to a vehicle destination as the target road section,
The difference calculating means calculates a difference statistic by performing a predetermined statistical process on the difference data of the road section on the planned route regarding the driver of the vehicle,
Traffic information providing system characterized by The traffic information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The difference data is stored in the storage means in association with information indicating the road type of the road section,
The difference calculation means, when the difference data of the target road section related to the target driver is insufficient, the difference data regarding the target driver in another road section corresponding to the same road type as the target road section To calculate the difference statistic using
Traffic information providing system characterized by In the traffic information provision system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The difference data is stored in the storage unit in association with information indicating the degree of congestion of the road section when the required travel time of the road section is acquired based on traffic information provided from an external device. And
The difference calculation means, when the difference data of the target road section related to the target driver is insufficient, out of the difference data related to the target driver of the target indicated by traffic information provided from an external device Calculating difference statistics using the difference data corresponding to the current degree of congestion in the road section,
Traffic information providing system characterized by The traffic information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The difference calculation means calculates difference statistics using all difference data related to the target driver accumulated in the storage means;
Traffic information providing system characterized by The traffic information providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When the difference data of the target road section related to the target driver is insufficient, the difference calculation means is configured to detect difference data of the target road section of another driver whose characteristics of the difference data are similar to those of the target driver. To calculate the difference statistic using
Traffic information providing system characterized by The traffic information providing system according to claim 1,
A center side distribution device (10) for performing information communication with each other, and a vehicle side information providing device (20),
The center-side distribution device includes the storage unit, the first acquisition unit, the difference calculation unit, and the correction unit.
The vehicle-side information providing device includes the presenting means;
Traffic information providing system characterized by The traffic information providing system according to claim 1,
A center side distribution device (10) for performing information communication with each other, and a vehicle side information providing device (20),
The center-side distribution device is
The storage means, the first acquisition means, and the difference calculation means,
The vehicle-side information providing device is
A traffic information providing system comprising: the correcting means; and the presenting means.

Images