JP7461788B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to technology for dispatching vehicles to users.

Vehicles such as buses that are shared by multiple users are designed to travel along predetermined routes, but a mechanism has been proposed for changing the route of this type of vehicle according to user demand. For example, Patent Document 1 describes how a bus that operates along a route determines whether or not to pass through a boarding or alighting point depending on whether or not a user requests to board at that point.

JP 2002-20891 A

In so-called on-demand transportation services, vehicles are dispatched to a boarding point designated by a user. In this case, if a user is late for a vehicle at the boarding point, this causes a disruption to the vehicle's travel schedule.

The present invention aims to prevent users from missing their trains at the boarding point.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an information processing device comprising: a boarding request specifying a user's boarding point; an acquisition unit that acquires location information of the user's communication terminal; and a vehicle dispatch processing unit that performs processing to dispatch a vehicle to the boarding point in response to the boarding request when the location indicated by the acquired location information is within a determined range based on the specified boarding point and falls within a range that differs depending on the number or density of a plurality of boarding points determined in an area including the specified boarding point.

The range may vary depending on the user's movement speed.

The range may vary depending on the user's travel method to the specified boarding point.

The range may vary depending on the time it takes for the vehicle to travel to the designated boarding point or the distance between the designated boarding point and the vehicle.

The range may vary depending on the weather.

The range may be different for each boarding point.

The range may vary depending on the day or time.

The device may also include a transmission unit that transmits information about the location indicated by the acquired location information and the range to the communication terminal when the location indicated by the acquired location information is not within a predetermined range based on the designated boarding point.

The present invention makes it possible to prevent users from missing their trains at the boarding point.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the relationship between the position of a user terminal 10 and a boarding point. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a user terminal 10. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the in-vehicle terminal 20. FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the server device 30. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a server device 30. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the server device 30.

[composition]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle management system 1 according to the present embodiment. The vehicle management system 1 includes a plurality of user terminals 10 each functioning as a communication terminal used by passengers who get on and off the vehicle (i.e., users to whom the vehicle management system 1 provides transportation services), a plurality of vehicle-mounted terminals 20 each functioning as a communication terminal used by a driver in the vehicle, and a server device 30 functioning as an information processing device according to the present invention. A network 2 connects the user terminals 10, the vehicle-mounted terminals 20, and the server device 30 so that they can communicate with each other. The network 2 is, for example, a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or a combination of these, and includes a wired section or a wireless section. It is preferable that the network 2 is, for example, a network conforming to a fifth-generation mobile communication system, but is not necessarily limited to this.

In the vehicle management system 1, a user operates his/her user terminal 10 to request a ride from an arbitrary boarding point to an arbitrary destination point. This boarding request is transmitted from the user terminal 10 to the server device 30 via the network 2. A plurality of vehicles each equipped with an on-board terminal 20 are running or waiting in a distributed manner, and the server device 30 selects a vehicle that matches the user's boarding request from a group of vehicles that are in the vicinity of the boarding point in the boarding request or a group of vehicles that are scheduled to run in the vicinity of the boarding point. The server device 30 specifies a route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination point via the boarding point, and notifies the on-board terminal 20 of the selected vehicle of information regarding the route. In this way, the server device 30 selects a vehicle that matches the user's boarding request and notifies the on-board terminal 20 of information regarding the route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination point via the boarding point. This is called a vehicle dispatch process for dispatching a vehicle to the boarding point in response to a boarding request. In response to the vehicle dispatch process by the server device 30, the driver of the vehicle equipped with the on-board terminal 20 drives the vehicle according to the notified route. The server device 30 also notifies the user terminal 10 of the user of information regarding the vehicle the user should board and the scheduled time when the vehicle will arrive at the boarding point and the destination. The user travels by foot or other means to the notified boarding point by the notified scheduled boarding time, and boards the vehicle at the boarding point.

The characteristic operation of the server device 30 in this embodiment is that the vehicle dispatch process is performed only when the position of the user terminal 10 that transmitted the boarding request is included in a predetermined range based on the boarding point specified in the boarding request. For example, in FIG. 2, when boarding point x is specified in the boarding request, if the user terminal 10 is inside the circle C of radius Lm centered on the boarding point x (for example, position u1), the vehicle dispatch process is performed in response to the vehicle dispatch request. On the other hand, when boarding point x is specified in the boarding request, if the user terminal 10 is outside the circle C of radius Lm (for example, position u2), the vehicle dispatch process is not performed. If the user himself is far away from the boarding point at the time when the user requests boarding, the user may miss the vehicle at the boarding point. Therefore, in this embodiment, the vehicle dispatch process is performed only when the user is near the desired boarding point at the time when the user requests boarding, thereby reducing the possibility that the user will miss the vehicle at the boarding point. In the following, the predetermined range based on the boarding point specified in the boarding request is referred to as the "boarding request valid range" in the sense that the boarding request is valid.

In addition, in this vehicle management system 1, even when a vehicle is en route to a destination requested by a user already in the vehicle, it is permitted to pick up other users who wish to have their own destination close to the destination, or who wish to have their own destination in approximately the same direction as the destination.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a user terminal 10. The user terminal 10 is, for example, a computer such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal, or a personal computer. The user terminal 10 is physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, and a bus connecting these. In the following description, the word "device" can be interpreted as a circuit, a device, a unit, etc. The hardware configuration of the user terminal 10 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the figure, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

Each function of the user terminal 10 is realized by loading a specific software (program) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communications via the communication device 1004, and control at least one of the reading and writing of data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

The processor 1001, for example, operates an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured with a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, registers, etc. Also, for example, a baseband signal processing unit, a call processing unit, etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

The processor 1001 reads out programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described below. The functional blocks of the user terminal 10 may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001. The various processes may be executed by one processor 1001, or may be executed simultaneously or sequentially by two or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips. The programs may be transmitted from the network 2 to the user terminal 10 via a telecommunications line.

The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory (primary storage device), etc. The memory 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing the method according to this embodiment.

Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium, and may be composed of at least one of, for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, etc. Storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device. Storage 1003 stores a performance evaluation program and a group of sheet music data described below.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting/receiving device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc., to realize at least one of, for example, Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). For example, a transmitting/receiving antenna, an amplifier unit, a transmitting/receiving unit, a transmission path interface, etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmitting/receiving unit may be implemented as a transmitting unit or a receiving unit that is physically or logically separated.

The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a key, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, a GPS unit, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one structure (e.g., a touch screen).

Each device, such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, is connected by a bus for communicating information. The bus may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

The user terminal 10 may also be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized by the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the in-vehicle terminal 20. The in-vehicle terminal 20 is, for example, a car navigation device, a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal, or a computer such as a personal computer. The in-vehicle terminal 20 may be a terminal that is integrated into or fixed to the vehicle, or a terminal that is portable and can be brought into the vehicle by the driver. The hardware configuration of the in-vehicle terminal 20 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in Figure 4, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices. In addition, the in-vehicle terminal 20 may be configured by communicating and connecting multiple devices each having a different housing.

The in-vehicle terminal 20 is physically configured as a computer device including a processor 2001, a memory 2002, a storage 2003, a communication device 2004, an input device 2005, an output device 2006, and a bus connecting these, similar to the user terminal 10. Each function of the in-vehicle terminal 20 is realized by loading a specific software (program) onto hardware such as the processor 2001 and the memory 2002, causing the processor 2001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 2004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 2002 and the storage 2003. The processor 2001, memory 2002, storage 2003, communication device 2004, input device 2005, output device 2006, and the bus connecting them are similar in terms of hardware to the processor 1001, memory 1002, storage 1003, communication device 1004, input device 1005, output device 1006, and the bus connecting them described for the user terminal 10, so their description will be omitted.

Figure 5 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of server device 30. The hardware configuration of server device 30 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in Figure 5, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices. In addition, server device 30 may be configured by communicating with multiple devices each having a different housing.

The server device 30 is physically configured as a computer device including a processor 3001, a memory 3002, a storage 3003, a communication device 3004, and a bus connecting these. Each function of the server device 30 is realized by loading a specific software (program) onto hardware such as the processor 3001 and the memory 3002, causing the processor 3001 to perform calculations, control communication by the communication device 3004, and control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 3002 and the storage 3003. The processor 3001, the memory 3002, the storage 3003, the communication device 3004, and the bus connecting these are similar in terms of hardware to the processor 1001, the memory 1002, the storage 1003, the communication device 1004, and the bus connecting these described for the user terminal 10, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. However, the communication device 3004 does not have to be hardware for communicating according to a wireless communication standard, but may be hardware (transmitting/receiving device) for communicating between computers via the network 2 according to any wired communication standard.

Figure 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the vehicle management system 1. As shown in Figure 6, the server device 30 realizes the functions of an acquisition unit 31, a vehicle dispatch processing unit 32, and a transmission unit 33.

As described above, when a user operates his/her user terminal 10 to request a ride from an arbitrary boarding point to an arbitrary destination point, this boarding request is transmitted from the user terminal 10 to the server device 30 via the network 2. In the server device 30, the acquisition unit 31 acquires the boarding request specifying the boarding point and destination point from the user terminal 10 via the network 2. The user terminal 10 measures the position of the terminal itself using a GPS unit or so-called base station positioning. The boarding request includes position information indicating the position measured by the user terminal 10 at the time the user requested the ride.

In the server device 30, when the position indicated by the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is included in the boarding request valid range, the vehicle dispatch processing unit 32 performs a vehicle dispatch process to dispatch a vehicle to the boarding point in response to the boarding request. In other words, the vehicle dispatch processing unit 32 selects a vehicle that matches the user's boarding request from a group of vehicles that are in the vicinity of the boarding point in the boarding request or a group of vehicles that are scheduled to travel in the vicinity of the boarding point, and calculates a route from the current position of the selected vehicle to the destination point via the boarding point. This route is a concept that includes information such as which positions the vehicle will pass and when.

On the other hand, if the location indicated by the location information included in the boarding request acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is not included in the boarding request effective range, the dispatch processing unit 32 does not perform dispatch processing. Here, the boarding request effective range is, for example, inside a circle C centered on the boarding point as illustrated in FIG. 2, but is not limited to this example. In addition, the boarding request effective range may be expressed by a distance based on the boarding point (for example, inside a circle with a radius of Lm centered on the boarding point), or may be expressed by a required time based on the boarding point (for example, a range that can be reached within M minutes on foot from the boarding point).

In this embodiment, the locations where the user can get on and off the vehicle, that is, the locations of the boarding and alighting points for the vehicle, are determined in advance. Therefore, the boarding point where the user gets on the vehicle is specified from among the predetermined boarding and alighting points, and the destination point where the user gets off the vehicle is specified from among the predetermined boarding and alighting points. The storage unit 321 of the vehicle dispatch processing unit 32 stores boarding and alighting point information regarding these multiple boarding and alighting points. This boarding and alighting point information includes information regarding the location of the boarding and alighting point and its availability conditions (for example, information regarding the date and time when the boarding and alighting point can be used as a boarding and alighting point, specifically, information indicating whether each boarding and alighting point is available on the date or time, and whether each boarding and alighting point is available on the date or time). Furthermore, the storage unit 321 stores map data and traffic data within all traffic service areas. The map data includes information regarding the location of each road in all traffic service areas, the direction and number of lanes that can be traveled on each road, and traffic signals on each road. The traffic data includes information regarding congestion, accidents, etc. on each road in all traffic service areas. The traffic data may also include information on traffic volume sensed by a specific sensing device in each region, and statistical information from a macro perspective on how vehicles on roads move depending on conditions such as date and time. These map data and traffic data are used to identify vehicle routes and the time required for vehicles to move along those routes. The storage unit 321 also stores information on the routes of each vehicle, such as which vehicle passes through which position at what time, and which user boards and disembarks from which boarding and disembarking point in which vehicle.

The boarding request effective range differs depending on each boarding point. Information indicating the boarding request effective range for each boarding point is stored in the storage unit 321. In this embodiment, the boarding request effective range for each boarding point differs depending on the number or density of multiple boarding points existing in the area including the boarding point. The area here refers to a geographical area divided in advance by a predetermined criterion, such as an administrative district. For example, in a certain area G1, when the number or density of multiple boarding points existing in the area G1 is equal to or greater than a threshold, the boarding request effective range is smaller than that of an area where the number or density of multiple boarding points is less than the threshold. In other words, the greater the number or density of multiple boarding points existing in the area G1, the smaller the boarding request effective range, so the user needs to make a boarding request at a position closer to the boarding point.

In the server device 30, the transmission unit 33 transmits various information to the user terminal 10 or the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 via the network 2. The information transmitted from the transmission unit 33 to the user terminal 10 is, for example, information about the vehicle that the user of the user terminal 10 should board, the scheduled time when the vehicle will arrive at the boarding point and the destination point, and the like. The information transmitted from the transmission unit 33 to the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 is, for example, information about the route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination point via the boarding point. In particular, in this embodiment, when the position indicated by the position information acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is not included in the boarding request effective range determined based on the specified boarding point, the transmission unit 33 transmits information about the position indicated by the position information and the range to the user terminal 10. The position indicated by the position information and the information about the range here are information about how far the user terminal 10 needs to move from its position to enter the range determined based on the boarding point. A user who has not been assigned a vehicle can see this information and know how far he or she needs to move in order for the boarding request to be handled effectively.

[motion]
Next, the operation of the server device 30 will be described. The procedure of each process shown in Fig. 7 is described in a program implemented in the server device 30. In Fig. 7, the acquisition unit 31 acquires a boarding request transmitted from the user terminal 10 via the network 2 as described above (step S11). This boarding request includes information on the boarding point and destination point specified by the user, and the location information of the user terminal 10.

The dispatch processing unit 32 determines whether the location indicated by the location information acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is included in the boarding request valid range (step S12). If the location indicated by the location information acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is included in the boarding request valid range (step S12; YES), the dispatch processing unit 32 performs a dispatch process to dispatch a vehicle to the boarding point in response to the boarding request (step S13).

On the other hand, if the location indicated by the location information acquired by the acquisition unit 31 is not included in the boarding request valid range (step S12; NO), the dispatch processing unit 32 does not perform dispatch processing. In this case, the transmission unit 33 transmits information regarding the location indicated by the location information and the range to the user terminal 10 (step S14). This information is, for example, "Your location is too far from the specified boarding point. Please move within L km of the boarding point and make a boarding request again." By looking at this information, the user can know how far he or she needs to move in order for the boarding request to be treated as valid.

The embodiment described above makes it possible to prevent users from missing the vehicle at the boarding point.

[Modification]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment may be modified as follows. In addition, two or more of the following modifications may be combined and implemented.

[Modification 1]
The boarding request effective range may vary depending on various conditions. For example, the boarding request effective range may differ depending on the user's moving speed. The user's moving speed can be calculated by periodically measuring the position in the user terminal 10 and notifying the server device 30 of the position information. When a boarding request is made by a certain user, the boarding request effective range is wider when the user's moving speed is equal to or higher than a threshold value than when the user's moving speed is below the threshold value. In other words, if the user's walking speed is fast, the possibility of missing the vehicle is small even if the user is located far away from the boarding point, so the boarding request is valid.

[Modification 2]
The boarding request effective range may differ depending on the user's travel method to the specified boarding point. The user's travel method can be estimated based on the user's travel route and the speed range during travel (e.g., walking, bicycle, etc.) by periodically measuring the position of the user terminal 10 and notifying the server device 30 of the position information. When a user makes a boarding request, the boarding request effective range is wider when the user's travel method is a fast speed range (e.g., bicycle) than when the user's travel method is a slow speed range (e.g., walking). In other words, if the speed range of the user's travel method is fast, the possibility of missing the vehicle is small even if the user is far away from the boarding point, so the boarding request is valid.

[Modification 3]
The boarding request effective range may vary depending on the time required for the vehicle to move to the designated boarding point or the distance between the designated boarding point and the vehicle. The time required for the vehicle to move to the designated boarding point or the distance between the designated boarding point and the vehicle can be calculated by the dispatch processing unit 32. The boarding request effective range is wider when the time required for the vehicle to move to the designated boarding point or the distance between the designated boarding point and the vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold value, compared to when it is less than the threshold value. When the time required for the vehicle to move to the designated boarding point or the distance between the designated boarding point and the vehicle is large, the boarding request is valid because the possibility of the user missing the vehicle is small even if the user is located far away from the boarding point.

[Modification 4]
The boarding request valid range may vary depending on the weather. Information regarding the weather is acquired by the server device 30 from a predetermined weather information storage device. When the weather conditions make it difficult for the user to move, such as rain or snow, the boarding request valid range is narrower than when the weather conditions make it easy for the user to move, such as sunny weather. In the case of rain or snow, the user is more likely to miss the vehicle if he or she is located far away from the boarding point, so the range in which the boarding request is valid is narrower.

[Modification 5]
The boarding request effective range may be different for each boarding point, for example, a boarding point located in a densely populated area such as an urban area may have a smaller boarding request effective range than a boarding point not located in a densely populated area.

[Modification 6]
The boarding request valid range may vary depending on the day or time. The boarding request valid range is narrower during a time period, such as at night, than during the day. When it is expected that the user will take a long time to travel, such as at night, the range in which the boarding request is valid is narrower because the user is more likely to miss the vehicle if he or she is located far away from the boarding point.

[Modification 7]
Although the server device 30 has been illustrated as an example of an information processing device according to the present invention, the present invention can be applied to any computer that realizes the functional blocks illustrated in FIG.

[Other Modifications]
The block diagrams used in the description of the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. The method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated and directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wires, wirelessly, etc.). The functional blocks may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

Functions include, but are not limited to, judgement, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, regarding, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs the transmission function is called a transmitting unit or transmitter. As mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on the method of realization for either of these.

The notification of information is not limited to the aspects/embodiments described in the present disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB))), other signals, or a combination of these. In addition, the RRC signaling may be called an RRC message, and may be, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, etc.

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be applied to at least one of systems using LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and other suitable systems, and next-generation systems extended based on these. In addition, multiple systems may be combined (e.g., a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G, etc.).

The processing steps, sequences, flow charts, etc. of each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be reordered unless inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order and are not limited to the particular order presented.

Information, etc. may be output from a higher layer (or a lower layer) to a lower layer (or a higher layer). It may also be input/output via multiple network nodes.

The input and output information may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input and output information may be overwritten, updated, or added to. The output information may be deleted. The input information may be transmitted to another device.

The determination may be based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean (true or false) value, or a comparison of numerical values (e.g., a comparison with a predetermined value).

Each aspect/embodiment described in the present disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched according to execution. In addition, notification of predetermined information (e.g., notification that "X is true") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., not notifying the predetermined information).
Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.
Additionally, software, instructions, information, etc. may be transmitted or received over a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and/or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave, etc.), then these wired and/or wireless technologies are included within the definition of transmission media.

The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.
In addition, the terms described in this disclosure and the terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, at least one of the channel and the symbol may be a signal (signaling). Also, the signal may be a message. Also, a component carrier (CC) may be called a carrier frequency, a cell, a frequency carrier, etc.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" are used interchangeably.

In addition, the information, parameters, etc. described in the present disclosure may be represented using absolute values, may be represented using relative values from a predetermined value, or may be represented using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by an index.
The names used for the above-mentioned parameters are not limiting in any way. Furthermore, the formulas etc. using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not limiting in any way.

In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)", "user terminal 10", "User Equipment (UE)", "terminal", etc. may be used interchangeably.
A mobile station may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

The user terminal 10 or the vehicle-mounted terminal 20 may be referred to as a transmitting device, a receiving device, a communication device, etc.

The terms "determining" and "determining" may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, inquiry (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, and the like. "Determining" and "determining" may also include receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and the like. Additionally, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc., to have been "judged" or "decided." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering some action to have been "judged" or "decided." Additionally, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

The terms "connected," "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access." As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other and routed using one or more wires, cables, and/or printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

The "means" in the configuration of each of the above devices may be replaced with "part," "circuit," "device," etc.

When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Additionally, the term "or," as used in this disclosure, is not intended to be an exclusive or.

In this disclosure, where articles have been added through translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are in the plural form.

In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combined" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

1...vehicle management system, 2...network, 10...user terminal, 1001...processor, 1002...memory, 1003...storage, 1004...communication device, 1005...input device, 1006...output device, 20...vehicle-mounted terminal, 2001...processor, 2002...memory, 2003...storage, 2004...communication device, 2005...input device, 2006...output device, 30...server device, 31...acquisition unit, 32...vehicle dispatch processing unit, 321...storage unit, 33...transmission unit, 3001...processor, 3002...memory, 3003...storage, 3004...communication device.

Claims (8)

An acquisition unit that acquires a boarding request specifying a boarding point of a user and location information of the communication terminal of the user;
and a vehicle dispatch processing unit that performs processing to dispatch a vehicle to a boarding point in response to the boarding request when the location indicated by the acquired location information is within a determined range based on the specified boarding point and falls within a range that differs depending on the number or density of the multiple boarding points determined in an area including the specified boarding point. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the range varies depending on a moving speed of the user. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the range differs depending on a transportation method of the user to the specified boarding point. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the range varies depending on the time required for the vehicle to travel to the specified boarding point or the distance between the specified boarding point and the vehicle. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the range varies depending on weather. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , characterized in that the range differs depending on each of the boarding points. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the range varies depending on a day or an hour. The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a transmission unit that , when the location indicated by the acquired location information is not included in a predetermined range based on the specified boarding point, transmits information regarding the location indicated by the location information and the range to the communication terminal.

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