AU2016310737B2 - Information processing device and congestion display method - Google Patents

Abstract

An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a specification unit and a display control unit. On the basis of the speeds and traveling directions of vehicles running in a predetermined area, the specification unit calculates, with respect to each of a plurality of direction candidates, a congestion direction evaluation value comprising an inner product of the velocity vectors of vehicles which coincide with the direction candidates, an average speed of the vehicles the traveling directions of which coincide with the direction candidates, a vehicle density in the travelling directions which coincide with the direction candidates, or a traffic amount of the vehicles the travelling directions of which coincide with the direction candidates, and, on the basis of the calculated congestion direction evaluation value, specifies a direction candidate that represents the travelling directions of the vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the predetermined area, as a congestion direction. The display control unit displays a map or a route map corresponding to the predetermined area on a display unit with direction information that enables the congestion direction to be recognized.

Description

INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE AND CONGESTION DISPLAY METHOD FIELD [0001] Embodiments of the present invention relates to an information processing device and a congestion display method.

BACKGROUND [0002] There is a technique that divides a preset area or route into a plurality of areas (hereinafter, referred to as divided areas) and displays parts corresponding to the divided areas in a map of the preset area or a route map of the route in different colors in accordance with the different states (such as smooth, crowded, or congested traffic, for example) of vehicles in the divided areas.

CITATION LIST

Nonpatent Literature [0003] Nonpatent Literature 1: Doro Kotsu Joho Now!!, [online], July of 2000, Japan Road Traffic Information Center, [searched on August 24, 2015], Internet CURL: http ://www.jartic.or.jp/>

Nonpatent Literature 2: Traffic Scope, [online], iTransport Lab. Co., Ltd., [searched on August 24, 2015], Internet CURL: http://www.itransportlab.jp/trafficscope/index .html>

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0004] However, although the technique can determine which divided area within the area or the route is crowded by the difference in color within the map or the route map,

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 it cannot determine in which direction within the divided area traveling vehicles are crowding.

[0005] An information processing device of an embodiment includes a determining unit and a display controller. The determining unit calculates, based on velocities and travel directions of vehicles traveling within a certain area, for each of a plurality of direction candidates, an inner product of velocity vectors, an average velocity, vehicle density, or a traffic amount as a congestion direction evaluation value, the inner product of velocity vectors being an inner product of velocity vectors of vehicles coinciding with a direction candidate of the plurality of direction candidates, the average velocity being an average velocity of vehicles with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate, the vehicle density being vehicle density with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate, the traffic amount being a traffic amount of vehicles with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate and determines the direction candidate representing a travel direction of vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the certain area to be a congestion direction based on the calculated congestion direction evaluation value. The display controller displays a map or a route map corresponding to the certain area including direction information that makes the congestion direction identifiable on a display. A congestion display method includes calculating, based on velocities and travel directions of vehicles traveling within a certain area, for each of a plurality of direction candidates, an inner product of velocity vectors, an average velocity, vehicle density, or a traffic amount as a congestion direction evaluation value, the inner product of velocity vectors being an inner product of velocity vectors

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 of vehicles coinciding with a direction candidate of the plurality of direction candidates, the average velocity being an average velocity of vehicles with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate, the vehicle density being vehicle density with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate, the traffic amount being a traffic amount of vehicles with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate; determining the direction candidate representing a travel direction of vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the certain area to be a congestion direction based on the calculated congestion direction evaluation value; and displaying a map or a route map corresponding to the certain area including direction information that makes the congestion direction identifiable on a display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0006] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a configuration of a congestion display system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of a traffic information creation device of the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2B is a diagram for explaining an example of direction candidates in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of processing to set computation areas and a display condition in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for setting the computation areas in the congestion

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of processing to display direction information in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5B is a diagram of an example of the relation between vehicle density and an inter-vehicle distance calculated in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining an example of a change of a display mode of the direction information in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6B is a diagram for explaining an example of the change of the display mode of the direction information in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6C is a diagram for explaining an example of the change of the display mode of the direction information in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6D is a diagram for explaining an example of the change of the display mode of the direction information in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a display example of the direction information for a map in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of a display example of the direction information for the map in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of a traffic information creation device of a congestion display system according to a second

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of processing to display direction information in the congestion display system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of processing to determine a congestion direction in the congestion display system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of a traffic information creation device of a congestion display system according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of processing to display direction information in the congestion display system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of processing to determine a congestion direction in the congestion display system according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of a traffic information creation device of a congestion display system according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of processing to display direction information in the congestion display system according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of a traffic information creation device of a congestion display system according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of processing to set computation sections and a display

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 condition in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for setting the computation sections in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of processing to display direction information in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a diagram of a display example of the direction information for a route map in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a diagram of a display example of the direction information for the route map in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0007] The following describes a congestion display system in which an information processing device and a congestion display method according to the present embodiments are used with reference to the accompanying drawings .

(First Embodiment) [0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example of a configuration of a congestion display system according to a first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the congestion display system according to the present embodiment has a traffic information creation device 1 (an example of an information processing device) that creates traffic information on the traffic of vehicles within a preset area (hereinafter, referred to as an area A to be displayed), a display device 2 (an example of a display) that is provided in a traffic control room or the like and can display the traffic information and the like created by the traffic

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 information creation device 1, a traffic counter data acquisition device 5, and a probe information acquisition device 6.

[0009] The probe information acquisition device 6 receives image information and other vehicle information (what is called probe information) collected from a vehicle-mounted device 4 mounted on a vehicle. In this example, the vehicle information is information on the vehicle on which the vehicle-mounted device 4 is mounted. In the present embodiment, the vehicle information is information indicating the position of the vehicle, the travel direction of the vehicle, and the velocity of the vehicle. The traffic counter data acquisition device 5 generates vehicle sensing information on the basis of a sensing result by a vehicle sensor 3 (what is called a traffic counter) provided on a roadside of a road or the like. In this example, the vehicle sensing information is information on a vehicle sensing result by the vehicle sensor 3. In the present embodiment, the vehicle sensing information is information indicating sensing results of the velocities of vehicles having passed through the installation position of the vehicle sensor 3, the travel directions of the vehicles, the number of the vehicles, vehicles parking on the road near the vehicle sensor 3, and vehicles illegally traveling on an exclusive lane for public transportation. The probe information acquisition device 6 receives road surface information from a patrol car 7. In this example, the road surface information is information on a road on which the patrol car 7 has traveled. In the present embodiment, the road surface information is information indicating fallen objects present on the road on which the patrol car 7 has traveled and information indicating the position of the patrol car 7.

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 [0010] The traffic information creation device 1 determines the traffic condition on the basis of the vehicle information acquired by the probe information acquisition device 6, the vehicle sensing information acquired by the traffic counter data acquisition device 5, the road surface information acquired by the probe information acquisition device 6, and the like and includes information on the congestion of the area A to be displayed in a map M. The traffic information creation device 1 transmits the map M as traffic information to the display device 2 and displays the map M on the display device 2. The display device 2 displays the map M received from the traffic information creation device 1, thereby providing a user with the traffic information.

[0011] FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of the traffic information creation device of the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

[0012] As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the traffic information creation device 1 has a display area setting unit 101, a vector processing unit 102, and a display data processing unit 103. The display area setting unit 101 (an example of a setting unit) sets the area A to be displayed that displays the map M. In the present embodiment, the display area setting unit 101 has a computation area setting unit 101a and a display condition setting unit 101b. [0013] The computation area setting unit 101a sets an area instructed via an operating unit (not illustrated) of the traffic information creation device 1 as the area A to be displayed. The computation area setting unit 101a divides the area A to be displayed into a plurality of divided areas (an example of a certain area) and sets the divided areas as computation areas a±. In this example, i

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 is a number identifying the computation area and is an integer of 1 or more. The display condition setting unit 101b sets a display condition of traffic information in the display device 2.

[0014] The vector processing unit 102 acquires the vehicle information indicating of the position of vehicle within the computation area a± from the probe information acquisition device 6. Next, the vector processing unit 102 (an example of a determining unit) determines (selects) a direction candidate representing the travel direction of vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the computation area a± among a plurality of preset direction candidates (hereinafter, referred to as direction candidates) to be a congestion direction (an example of a first direction) on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles indicated by the acquired vehicle information (that is, the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles traveling within the computation area a±) . In the present embodiment, the vector processing unit 102 has an individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a and an area vector computation processing unit 102b.

[0015] Based on the velocities and the travel directions of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation area a±, the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a determines the vectors (hereinafter, referred to as velocity vectors) of the respective vehicles. The area vector computation processing unit 102b calculates, for each of the direction candidates, the inner product of velocity vectors coinciding with the direction candidate among the velocity vectors of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation area a± as a congestion direction evaluation value. In this example, the congestion direction evaluation value is a value for

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU ίο

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 determining whether the direction candidate is a direction in which the congestion of vehicles is occurring within the computation area a± . The reason why the inner product of the velocity vectors coinciding with the direction candidate is determined is that the inner product of velocity vectors that are traveling in different travel directions by 180 degrees and are equal in velocity is zero. The area vector computation processing unit 102b determines the congestion direction of the computation area a± on the basis of the inner product of the velocity vectors calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value for each of the direction candidates.

[0016] FIG. 2B is a diagram for explaining an example of the direction candidates in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the area vector computation processing unit 102b sets eight directions including the north N (D_x) , the northeast NE (D₂) , the east E (D₃) , the southeast SE (D₄) , the south S (D₅) , the southwest SW (D₆) , the west W (D₇) , and the northwest NW (Dg) as the direction candidates. The area vector computation processing unit 102b regards velocity vectors within a certain angle θ (π/4, for example) based on each of the direction candidate as the velocity vectors coinciding with the direction candidate and calculates the inner product of the velocity vectors within the certain angle Θ.

[0017] As illustrated in FIG. 2B, for example, when calculating the inner product of the velocity vectors coinciding with the north N (Di) as illustrated in FIG. 2B, the area vector computation processing unit 102b calculates the inner product of velocity vectors within a travel direction range of 3π/8 < θ < 5π/8 among the velocity

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 vectors of the vehicles traveling within the computation area a± . Also for the other direction candidates D2 to Dg (the northeast NE, the east E, the southeast SE, the south S, the southwest SW, the west W, and the northwest NW), the inner product of the velocity vectors is similarly calculated.

[0018] The display data processing unit 103 displays the map M of the area A to be displayed on the display device 2. Specifically, the display data processing unit 103 (an example of a display controller) displays a partial area m (an example of a map) corresponding to the computation area a± within the map M of the area A to be displayed including direction information (an example of first information) that makes the congestion direction determined by the vector processing unit 102 identifiable on the display device 2. With this display, in which direction within the partial area m traveling vehicles are crowding can be determined, and traffic fluidity in a wide area such as on a city level can be visualized. In addition, there is no need to determine the crowded state of each road, and traffic fluidity in newly emerging countries, in which road maintenance and improvement is rapidly progressing, and in which maps of each road are behind in catching up, can also be visualized.

[0019] In the present embodiment, the display data processing unit 103 has a display condition computation processing unit 103a and a display processing unit 103b. The display condition computation processing unit 103a changes a display mode of the direction information included in the partial area m on the basis of the display condition set by the display condition setting unit 101b. The display processing unit 103b generates the map M in which the direction information with the display mode

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 changed is included in the partial map m and displays the map M on the display device 2.

[0020] The following describes processing to set the computation areas a± and the display condition in the congestion display system according to the present embodiment with reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of the processing to set the computation areas and the display condition in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for setting the computation areas in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment. [0021] As illustrated in FIG. 3, after setting the area A to be displayed, the computation area setting unit 101a divides the area A to be displayed into a plurality of divided areas (four divided areas, for example) and sets the divided areas as the computation areas a± (Step S301) . In the present embodiment, the computation area setting unit 101a divides the area A to be displayed into the computation areas a± of a preset size. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the computation area setting unit 101a divides the area A to be displayed into the computation areas a± with a rectangular shape of a preset size, for example. In this example, the computation areas a± are divided areas with a lateral length of LI and a vertical length of L2.

[0022] The computation area setting unit 101a sets a direction candidate D_x to be determined to be the congestion direction within the computation area a±. In this example, x is a number identifying the direction candidate and is an integer of 1 or more. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the computation area setting unit 101a sets, on the basis of the center C of the computation area a±, the direction candidate Di pointing to the north N, the

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019

direction	candidate	d2	pointing	to	the	northeast NE,	the
direction	candidate	d3	pointing	to	the	east E, the
direction	candidate	d4	pointing	to	the	southeast SE,	the
direction	candidate	d5	pointing	to	the	south S, the
direction	candidate	ϋβ	pointing	to	the	southwest SW,	the
direction	candidate	d7	pointing	to	the	west W, and the
direction	candidate	d8	pointing	to	the	northwest NW	as the
direction	candidate	Dx,	for example	u Although the

computation area setting unit 101a sets the eight direction candidates D_{x (i t}o 8) in the present embodiment, a plurality of direction candidates D_x may be set; only the direction candidate D_x and the direction candidate D₅ may be set, for example .

[0023] Next, the display condition setting unit 101b sets the display condition of the direction information included in the map M of the area A to be displayed (Step S302). In the present embodiment, the display condition setting unit 101b sets a velocity standard value V_B, a traffic amount standard value Q_B, and a density standard value K_B for use in the determination of the display mode of the direction information as the display condition. In this example, the velocity standard value V_B is the average velocity of vehicles for use in the determination of a vehicle congestion degree within the computation area a± . The traffic amount standard value Q_B is the traffic amount of vehicles for use in the determination of the vehicle congestion degree within the computation area a± . In this example, the traffic mount is the number of vehicles that have traveled through the computation area a± within a unit time. The density standard value K_B is the density of vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as vehicle density) for use in the determination of the vehicle congestion degree within the computation area a±. In this example, the

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 vehicle density is the number of vehicles present within a unit distance.

[0024] The following describes processing to display the direction information in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment with reference to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B. FIG. 5A is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of the processing to display the direction information in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5B is a diagram of an example of the relation between the vehicle density and an intervehicle distance calculated in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 5B, the vertical axis represents the vehicle density [/m], whereas the horizontal axis represents the inter-vehicle distance [m] .

[0025] First, the computation area setting unit 101a divides the area A to be displayed into a plurality of divided areas (Step S501) and sets the divided areas as the computation areas a± similarly to Step S301 in FIG. 3 (Step S502) .

[0026] The individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a first sets a computation area ai among the computation areas a± as an area for which the congestion direction is determined (Step S503) . Next, the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a acquires the vehicle information indicating a position within the computation area ai from the probe information acquisition device 6. Furthermore, the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a determines, for the respective vehicles within the computation area ai, the velocity vectors of the respective vehicles on basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles indicated by the acquired vehicle information (Step S504) .

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 [0027] Next, the area vector computation processing unit 102b calculates, for each of the direction candidates D_x, the inner product of the velocity vectors of vehicles with a travel direction coinciding with the direction candidate D_x as the congestion direction evaluation value (Step S505) . In this example, the travel direction coinciding with the direction candidate D_x includes travel directions within the range of the preset angle Θ based on the direction candidate D_x in addition to the travel direction coinciding with the direction candidate D_x. The area vector computation processing unit 102b then determines the direction candidate D_x having the inner product calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value that is larger than a certain value among the direction candidates D_x to be the congestion direction (Step S506). In this example, the certain value is a preset value and is a value that determines that the vehicles with the travel direction coinciding with the direction candidate D_x are crowding.

[0028] Next, the display condition computation processing unit 103a compares the average velocity of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction, the traffic amount of the vehicles, or the vehicle density of the vehicles with the respective standard values (the velocity standard value V_B, the traffic amount standard value Q_B, and the density standard value K_B) (Step S507), and determines the degree of congestion (hereinafter, referred to as a congestion degree) of each congestion direction. In other words, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction on the basis of the average velocity of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction, the traffic amount of the vehicles, or the

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 vehicle density of the vehicles. In the present embodiment, the display condition computation processing unit 103a calculates the vehicle density of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction using the following Formula (1):

Vehicle density (/km) = 1.0 [km] / (inter-vehicle distance [km] + average vehicle length [km]) ... (1)

The inter-vehicle distance is the distance (what is called an inter-vehicle head distance) from the head of the vehicle mounting the vehicle-mounted device 4 (what is called a probe vehicle) to the head of a preceding vehicle traveling ahead of the probe vehicle. The average vehicle length is the average of the vehicle length of probe vehicles .

[0029] In the present embodiment, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines any of congested, crowded, and smooth to be the congestion degree of the congestion direction. Congested is the highest congestion degree. Crowded is the second highest congestion degree next to congested. Smooth is the lowest congestion degree. Although the display condition computation processing unit 103a sets any of the three stages of congestion degree, or congested, crowded, and smooth, as the congestion degree of each congestion direction in the present embodiment, this is not limiting as long as any of a plurality of congestion degrees is set as the congestion degree of each congestion direction. The display condition computation processing unit 103a may set either of the two stages of congestion degree of congested and free flow, as the congestion degree of each congestion direction, for example. Alternatively, the display condition computation processing unit 103a may set any of three or more stages of congestion degree as the

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 congestion degree of each congestion direction.

[0030] The display condition computation processing unit 103a increases the congestion degree as the average velocity of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± becomes slow, for example. Specifically, when the average velocity of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± is lower than the velocity standard value V_B, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction to be congested. When the average velocity of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± matches the velocity standard value V_B, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction to be crowded. Furthermore, when the average velocity of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± is higher than the velocity standard value V_B, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction to be smooth.

[0031] Alternatively, the display condition computation processing unit 103a increases the congestion degree as the traffic amount of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± (the number of vehicles that have traveled within the computation area a± per unit time) increases. Specifically, when the traffic amount of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± (the number of vehicles that have traveled within the computation area a± per unit time) is larger than the traffic amount standard value Q_B, the display condition

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction to be congested. When the traffic amount of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± matches the traffic amount standard value Q_B, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction to be crowded. Furthermore, when the traffic amount of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± is smaller than the traffic amount standard value Q_B, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction to be smooth. [0032] Alternatively, the display condition computation processing unit 103a increases the congestion degree as the vehicle density of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± (the number of vehicles per unit distance) increases.

Specifically, when the vehicle density of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± (the number of vehicles per unit distance) is higher than the density standard value K_B, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction to be congested. When the vehicle density of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± matches the density standard value K_B, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction to be crowded. Furthermore, when the vehicle density of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction in the computation area a± is lower than the density standard

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 value K_B, the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction to be smooth.

[0033] As illustrated in FIG. 5B, generally, as the vehicle congestion degree increases, the inter-vehicle distance decreases, and the vehicle density increases. In contrast, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, as the vehicle congestion degree decreases, the inter-vehicle distance increases, and the vehicle density decreases. Given these circumstances, the display condition computation processing unit 103a calculates the vehicle density in accordance with Formula (1) mentioned above and increases the congestion degree as the vehicle density increases.

[0034] The display processing unit 103b displays the map M of the area A to be displayed on the display device 2.

In the present embodiment, the display processing unit 103b includes the direction information for the partial area m corresponding to the computation area ai for which the congestion direction has been determined of the map M of the area A to be displayed. Although the direction information is an arrow d representing the congestion direction in the present embodiment, this is not limiting as long as it is information that makes the congestion direction identifiable; the direction information may be text representing the congestion direction, for example.

[0035] In this process, the display processing unit 103b changes the display mode of the direction information to be displayed on the computation area ai in accordance with the congestion degree of the congestion direction (Step S508). With this processing, which congestion direction in the direction information displayed on the partial area m is crowding can be easily determined. The individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a determines whether

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 the congestion direction has been determined for all the computation areas a± (Step S509). If the congestion direction has not been determined for all the computation areas a± (No at Step S509), the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a increments the number i of the computation area a± for which the congestion direction is determined (Step S510), and the process returns to Step S504. In contrast, if the congestion direction has been determined for all the computation areas a± (Yes at Step S509), the processing to display the direction information ends .

[0036] The following describes processing to change the display mode of the direction information in the congestion display system according to the present embodiment with reference to FIG. 4 and FIGS. 6A to 6D. FIGS. 6A to 6D are diagrams for explaining examples of a change of the display mode of the direction information in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment.

[0037] In the present embodiment, the display processing unit 103b changes the color of the direction information in accordance with the congestion degree of the congestion direction. Specifically, when the direction candidates Di to 8 illustrated in FIG. 4 have been determined to be the congestion direction, and when the congestion degree of the direction candidates Di, D₄, and ϋβ among the direction candidates Di _to 8 is congested, the display processing unit 103b colors the arrows di, d₄, and d6 representing the direction candidates Di, D₄, and ϋβ, respectively, in red as illustrated in FIG. 6A. When the congestion degree of the direction candidates D2, D₅, and Dg among the direction candidates Di _to 8 is crowded, the display processing unit 103b colors the arrows d2, ds, and dg representing the direction candidates D2, D₅, and Dg, respectively, in yellow

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 as illustrated in FIG. 6A. Furthermore, when the congestion degree of the direction candidates D3 and D₇ among the direction candidates Di _to 8 is smooth, the display processing unit 103b colors the arrows d3 and d₇ representing the direction candidates D3 and D7, respectively, in green as illustrated in FIG. 6A. Although the display processing unit 103b, in accordance with the three stages of congestion degree of the congestion direction, displays the color of the direction information also using the three colors in the present embodiment, when the congestion degree of the congestion direction can be set to any of three or more stages, the color of the direction information can also be displayed using three or more colors.

[0038] When the direction candidates D_lz D₃, D₅, and D₇ illustrated in FIG. 4 have been determined to be the congestion direction, and when the congestion degree of the direction candidate D₃ among the direction candidates D_lz D₃, D₅, and D₇ is congested, the display processing unit 103b colors the arrow dio representing the direction candidate D3 in red as illustrated in FIG. 6B. When the congestion degree of the direction candidate D₇ among the direction candidates D₇, D3, D₅, and D₇ is crowded, the display processing unit 103b colors the arrow d₇2 representing the direction candidate D₇ in yellow as illustrated in FIG. 6B. Furthermore, when the congestion degree of the direction candidates D₅ and D₇ among the direction candidates D₇, D3, D₅, and D₇ is smooth, the display processing unit 103b colors the arrows du and dg representing the direction candidates D₅ and D₇, respectively, in green as illustrated in FIG. 6B.

[0039] When the direction candidate D₅ illustrated in FIG. 4 has been determined to be the congestion direction,

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 and when the congestion degree of the direction candidate D₅ is crowded, the display processing unit 103b hides the arrows representing the direction candidates D_x other than the direction candidate D₅ as illustrated in FIG. 6C and includes the arrow di3 representing the direction candidate D₅ in the map M of the area A to be displayed. When the direction candidate D₇ illustrated in FIG. 4 has been determined to be the congestion direction, and when the congestion degree of the direction candidate D₇ is congested, the display processing unit 103b hides the arrows representing the direction candidates D_x other than the direction candidate D₇ as illustrated in FIG. 6C and includes the arrow d_i4 representing the direction candidate D₇ in the map M of the area A to be displayed. The display processing unit 103b may color the arrows di3, ₁₄ in a color responsive to the congestion degree (red, for example) as illustrated in FIG. 6C.

[0040] In the present embodiment, the display processing unit 103b changes the size of the direction information in accordance with the congestion degree of the congestion direction. Specifically, when the direction candidate D₇ among the direction candidates D_{7 t}o 8 illustrated in FIG. 4 has been determined to be the congestion direction, and when the congestion degree of the direction candidate D₇ is congested, the display processing unit 103b hides the arrows representing the direction candidates D_x other than the direction candidate D₇ as illustrated in FIG. 6D and includes the arrow dis representing the direction candidate Di in the map M. When the direction candidate D₇ among the direction candidates D_{7 t}o 8 illustrated in FIG. 4 has been determined to be the congestion direction, and when the congestion degree of the direction candidate D₇ is crowded, the display processing unit 103b hides the

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 arrows representing the direction candidates D_x other than the direction candidate D₇ as illustrated in FIG. 6D and includes the arrow di6 representing the direction candidate D₇ in the map M. In this process, the display processing unit 103b makes the size of the arrow dis representing the direction candidate D₇ for which the congestion degree has been determined to be congested larger than the size of the arrow d₇6 representing the direction candidate D₇ for which the congestion degree has been determined to be crowded as illustrated in FIG. 6D. In other words, the display processing unit 103b increases the size of the direction information (the arrow, for example) representing the direction candidate D_x that has been determined to be the congestion direction as the congestion degree of the direction candidate increases.

[0041] The following describes a display example of the direction information for the map M in the congestion display system according to the present embodiment with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram of the display example of the direction information for the map in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment. [0042] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the display processing unit 103b displays the arrow d in a superimposed manner on the partial areas m corresponding to the computation areas a± for which the congestion direction has been selected from the direction candidates D_x and for which the congestion degree has been determined to be congested or crowded among the partial areas m within the map M of the area A to be displayed. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the display processing unit 103b includes the red arrow d for the partial areas m of the computation areas a± for which the congestion degree has been determined to be congested among the partial areas m corresponding to the

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 computation areas a± for which the congestion direction has been determined. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the display processing unit 103b includes the yellow arrow d for the partial areas m of the computation areas a± for which the congestion degree has been determined to be crowded among the partial areas m corresponding to the computation areas a± for which the congestion direction has been determined. [0043] FIG. 8 is a diagram of a display example of the direction information for the map in the congestion display system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is an example in which the size and the thickness of the arrow d are changed in addition to the change of the color of the arrow d in accordance with the congestion degree of the congestion direction.

[0044] As illustrated in FIG. 8, the display processing unit 103b displays the arrow d in a superimposed manner on the partial areas m corresponding to the computation areas a± for which the congestion direction has been determined from the direction candidates D_x among the partial areas m within the map M of the area A to be displayed, for example. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the display processing unit 103b includes the arrow d of the maximum size for the partial areas m of the computation areas a± for which the congestion degree has been determined to be congested among the partial areas m corresponding to the computation areas a± for which the congestion direction has been selected. In this process, the display processing unit 103b may color the arrow d of the maximum size in red. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the display processing unit 103b includes the arrow d of a size smaller than the maximum size for the partial areas m of the computation areas a± for which the congestion degree has been determined to be crowded among the partial areas m corresponding to the

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 computation areas a± for which the congestion direction has been selected. In this process, the display processing unit 103b may make the color of the arrow d of the size smaller than the maximum size yellow.

[0045] The congestion display system according to the first embodiment can thus determine in which direction within the partial area m traveling vehicles are crowding, and traffic fluidity in a wide area such as on a city level can be visualized.

(Second Embodiment) [0046] The present embodiment is an example in which, for each of a plurality of direction candidates, the average velocity of vehicles the travel directions of which coincide with the direction candidate is calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation area. In the following description, descriptions of parts similar to those of the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0047] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of a traffic information creation device of a congestion display system according to a second embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 9, this traffic information creation device 900 has the display area setting unit 101, a velocity processing unit 901, and the display data processing unit 103.

[0048] The velocity processing unit 901 (an example of the determining unit) determines (selects) a direction candidate representing the travel direction of vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the computation area a± among the preset direction candidates to be the congestion direction on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles traveling within the computation

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 area a± . In the present embodiment, the velocity processing unit 901 has the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a and an average velocity computation processing unit 901b.

[0049] Based on the velocities and the travel direction of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation area a±, the average velocity computation processing unit 901b calculates, for each of the direction candidates, the average velocity of the vehicles the travel directions of which coincide with the direction candidate as the congestion direction evaluation value. The average velocity computation processing unit 901b determines the congestion direction of the computation area a± on the basis of the average velocity calculated for each of the direction candidates.

[0050] The following describes processing to display direction information in the congestion display system according to the second embodiment with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of the processing to display the direction information in the congestion display system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining an example of processing to determine a congestion direction in the congestion display system according to the second embodiment.

[0051] The average velocity computation processing unit 901b calculates, for each of the direction candidates D_x, the average velocity of the vehicles with the travel direction coinciding with the direction candidate D_x as the congestion direction evaluation value on the basis of the velocity vectors (the velocities and the travel directions) of the respective vehicles traveling through the computation area ai calculated by the individual vehicle

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 vector computation processing unit 102a (Step S1001) . The average velocity computation processing unit 901b then determines the direction candidate D_x having the average velocity calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value that is lower than a certain velocity (30 km/h, for example) among the direction candidates D_x to be the congestion direction (Step S1002).

[0052] As illustrated in FIG. 11, when the average velocity at the current time (10:05, for example) has been calculated for each of the direction candidates Di, D3, D₅, and D₇ (the north N, the east E, the south S, and the west W) of the computation area ai, the average velocity computation processing unit 901b determines the direction candidate D₇ (the west W) the average velocity of which is lower than a certain velocity (30 km/h, for example), to be the congestion direction, for example.

[0053] The congestion display system according to the second embodiment can thus obtain an effect similar to that of the first embodiment even when the average velocity of the vehicles traveling within the computation area a± is used as the congestion direction evaluation value.

(Third Embodiment) [0054] The present embodiment is an example in which, for each of a plurality of direction candidates, the vehicle density of vehicles the travel directions of which coincide with the direction candidate is calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation area. In the following description, descriptions of parts similar to those of the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0055] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of a traffic information creation

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 device of a congestion display system according to a third embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 12, this traffic information creation device 1200 has the display area setting unit 101, a vehicle density processing unit 1201, and the display data processing unit 103.

[0056] The vehicle density processing unit 1201 (an example of the determining unit) determines (selects) a direction candidate representing the travel direction of vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the computation area a± among the preset direction candidates to be the congestion direction on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles traveling within the computation area a±. In the present embodiment, the vehicle density processing unit 1201 has the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a and a vehicle density computation processing unit 1201b.

[0057] The vehicle density computation processing unit 1201b calculates, for each of the direction candidates, the vehicle density of the vehicles the travel directions of which coincide with the direction candidate as the congestion direction evaluation value on the basis of the velocities and the travel direction of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation area a±. The vehicle density computation processing unit 1201b determines the congestion direction of the computation area a± on the basis of the vehicle density calculated for each of the direction candidates.

[0058] The following describes processing to display direction information in the congestion display system according to the third embodiment with reference to FIG. 13 and FIG. 14.

[0059] FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of the processing to display the direction

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 information in the congestion display system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an example of processing to determine a congestion direction in the congestion display system according to the third embodiment.

[0060] The vehicle density computation processing unit 1201b calculates, for each of the direction candidates D_x, the vehicle density of the vehicles with the travel direction coinciding with the direction candidate D_x as the congestion direction evaluation value on the basis of the velocity vectors (the velocities and the travel directions) of the respective vehicles traveling through the computation area ai calculated by the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a (Step S1311) . The vehicle density computation processing unit 1201b then determines the direction candidate D_x having the vehicle density calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value that is higher than a certain vehicle density (30 vehicles/km, for example) among the direction candidates D_x to be the congestion direction (Step S1312).

[0061] As illustrated in FIG. 14, when the vehicle density at the current time (10:05, for example) has been calculated for each of the direction candidates Di, D3, D₅, and D₇ (the north N, the east E, the south S, and the west W) of the computation area a₇, the vehicle density computation processing unit 1201b determines the direction candidates D3 and D₇ (the east E and the west W), the vehicle density of which is higher than the certain vehicle density (30 vehicles/km, for example), to be the congestion direction, for example.

[0062] The congestion display system according to the third embodiment can thus obtain an effect similar to that of the first embodiment even when the vehicle density of

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 the vehicles traveling within the computation area a± is used as the congestion direction evaluation value.

(Fourth Embodiment) [0063] The present embodiment is an example in which, for each of a plurality of direction candidates, the traffic amount of vehicles the travel directions of which coincide with the direction candidate is calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation area. In the following description, descriptions of parts similar to those of the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0064] FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of a traffic information creation device of a congestion display system according to a fourth embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 15, this traffic information creation device 1500 has the display area setting unit 101, a traffic amount processing unit 1501, and the display data processing unit 103.

[0065] The traffic amount processing unit 1501 (an example of the determining unit) determines (selects) a direction candidate representing the travel direction of vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the computation area a± among the preset direction candidates to be the congestion direction on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles traveling within the computation area a±. In the present embodiment, the traffic amount processing unit 1501 has the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a and a traffic amount computation processing unit 1501b.

[0066] The traffic amount computation processing unit 1501b calculates, for each of the direction candidates, the traffic amount of the vehicles the travel directions of

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 which coincide with the direction candidate as the congestion direction evaluation value on the basis of the velocities and the travel direction of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation area a± . The traffic amount computation processing unit 1501b determines the congestion direction of the computation area a± on the basis of the traffic amount calculated for each of the direction candidates.

[0067] The following describes processing to display direction information in the congestion display system according to the fourth embodiment with reference to FIG.

16. FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of the processing to display the direction information in the congestion display system according to the fourth embodiment.

[0068] The traffic amount processing unit 1501b calculates, for each of the direction candidates D_x, the traffic amount of the vehicles with the travel direction coinciding with the direction candidate D_x as the congestion direction evaluation value on the basis of the velocity vectors of the respective vehicles traveling through the computation area ai calculated by the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 102a (Step S1601). The traffic amount processing unit 1501b then determines the direction candidate D_x having the traffic amount calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value that is higher than a certain traffic amount (100 vehicles/km, for example) among the direction candidates D_x to be the congestion direction (Step S1602).

[0069] The congestion display system according to the fourth embodiment can thus obtain an effect similar to that of the first embodiment even when the traffic amount of the vehicles traveling within the computation area a± is used

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 as the congestion direction evaluation value.

(Fifth Embodiment) [0070] The present embodiment is an example in which a route on which vehicles travel is divided into a plurality of sections, the congestion direction evaluation value is calculated for each of a plurality of direction candidates on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles included in vehicle sensing information received from a vehicle sensor installed in the section, and the congestion direction of the section is determined based on the congestion direction evaluation value of the direction candidate. In the following description, descriptions of configurations similar to those of the first to fourth embodiments will be omitted.

[0071] FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an example of a functional configuration of a traffic information creation device of a congestion display system according to a fifth embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 17, this traffic information creation device 200 according to the present embodiment has a display area setting unit 201, a vector processing unit 202, and a display data processing unit 203. The display area setting unit 201 sets a route (hereinafter, referred to as a route R to be displayed) that displays a route map rm. In the present embodiment, the display area setting unit 201 has a computation section setting unit 201a and the display condition setting unit 101b. The computation section setting unit 201a divides a preset route (the route R to be displayed) into a plurality of divided areas (an example of the certain area) and sets the divided areas as computation sections r_n. In this example, n is a number identifying the computation section and is an integer of 1 or more.

[0072] The vector processing unit 202 acquires the

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 vehicle information indicating of the position of vehicles within the computation section r_n from the probe information acquisition device 6. The vector processing unit 202 acquires the vehicle sensing information generated on the basis of the vehicle sensor 3 installed within the computation section r_n from the traffic counter data acquisition device 5. Next, the vector processing unit 202 determines (selects) the direction candidate D_x representing the travel direction of the vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the computation section r_n among a plurality of direction candidates D_x (two direction candidates D_x including an up direction and a down direction in the present embodiment) to be the congestion direction (an example of the first direction) on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles indicated by the vehicle information and the vehicle sensing information that have been acquired (that is, the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles traveling within the computation section r_n) . In the present embodiment, the vector processing unit 202 has an individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 202a and a section vector computation processing unit 202b.

[0073] Based on the velocities and the travel directions of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation section r_n, the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 202a determines the velocity vectors of the respective vehicles. The section vector computation processing unit 202b calculates, for each of the direction candidates, the inner product of velocity vectors coinciding with the direction candidate among the velocity vectors of the respective vehicles traveling within the computation section r_n as the congestion direction evaluation value. The section vector computation

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 processing unit 202b determines the congestion direction of the computation section r_n on the basis of the inner product of the velocity vectors calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value for each of the direction candidates. Although the present embodiment describes a case in which the congestion display system calculates, for each of the direction candidates, the inner product of the velocity vectors of the vehicles coinciding with the travel direction of the direction candidate as the congestion direction evaluation value, the average velocity, the vehicle density, or the traffic amount may be calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value similarly to the second to fourth embodiments.

[0074] The display data processing unit 203 displays a partial area (an example of the route map) corresponding to the computation section r_n within the route map of the route R to be displayed including direction information that makes the congestion direction determined by the vector processing unit 202 identifiable on the display device 2. With this display, in which direction within the partial area traveling vehicles are crowding can be determined, and traffic fluidity in a wide area such as on a city level can be visualized. In the present embodiment, the display data processing unit 203 includes a display condition computation processing unit 103a and a display processing unit 203b. The display processing unit 203b displays the route map including the direction information with the display mode changed on the display device 2.

[0075] The following describes processing to set the computation sections r_n and a display condition in the congestion display system according to the present embodiment with reference to FIG. 18 and FIG. 19. FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an example of a procedure of the

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 processing to set the computation sections and the display condition in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for setting the computation sections in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment.

[0076] After setting the route R to be displayed, the computation section setting unit 201a divides the route R to be displayed into a plurality of divided areas (four sections, for example) as illustrated in FIG. 19 and sets the divided sections as the computation sections r_n (the computation sections r_{x to} 4/ for example) (Step S1101) . As illustrated in FIG. 19, in the present embodiment, the computation section setting unit 201a divides the route R to be displayed into the computation sections r_n with a length of 1 set in advance.

[0077] The computation section setting unit 201a sets a direction candidate D_x to be determined to be the congestion direction within the computation section r_n. As illustrated in FIG. 19, in the present embodiment, the computation section setting unit 201a sets a direction candidate D21 in an up direction and a direction candidate D22 in a down direction.

[0078] The display condition setting unit 101b sets the display condition of the direction information similarly to the first embodiment (Step S302).

[0079] The following describes processing to display the direction information in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment with reference to FIG. 20. FIG. 20 is flowchart of an example of a procedure of the processing to display the direction information in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment. [0080] First, the computation section setting unit 201a

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 divides the route R to be displayed into a plurality of sections (Step S1301) and sets the divided sections as the computation section r_n similarly to Step S1101 in FIG. 18 (Step S1302) .

[0081] The individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 202a sets a computation section ri among the computation sections r_n as a section for which the congestion direction is determined (Step S1303) . Next, the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 202a acquires the vehicle sensing information generated on the basis of the vehicle sensing result by the vehicle sensor 3 installed in the computation section r_x from the traffic counter data acquisition device 5. The individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 202a acquires the vehicle information indicating a position within the computation section r_x from the probe information acquisition device 6. Furthermore, the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 202a determines the velocity vectors of vehicles that have traveled through the computation section ri on the basis of the velocities and the travel directions of the vehicles indicated by the vehicle sensing information and the vehicle information that have been acquired (Step S1304).

[0082] Next, the section vector computation processing unit 202b calculates, for each of the two direction candidates D21, 22, the inner product of the velocity vectors of the vehicles with a travel direction coinciding with the direction candidate D_x as the congestion direction evaluation value (Step S1305) . The section vector computation processing unit 202b then determines the direction candidate D_x having the inner product calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value that is larger than a certain value among the two direction candidates D21,

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 to be the congestion direction (Step S1306).

[0083] The display processing unit 203b includes the direction information for the partial area corresponding to the computation section r_n for which the congestion direction has been determined of the route map of the route R to be displayed. The method for displaying the route map including the direction information for the display device 2 is similar to that of the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0084] The individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 202a determines whether the congestion direction has been determined for all the computation sections r_n (Step S1307). If the congestion direction has not been determined for all the computation sections r_n (No at Step S1307), the individual vehicle vector computation processing unit 202a increments the number n of the computation section r_n for which the congestion direction is determined (Step S1308), and the process returns to Step S1304. In contrast, if the congestion direction has been determined for all the computation sections r_n (Yes at Step S1307), the processing to display the direction information ends .

[0085] The following describes display examples of the direction information for the route map rm in the congestion display system according to the present embodiment with reference to FIG. 21 and FIG. 22. FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 are diagrams of the display examples of the direction information for the route map in the congestion display system according to the fifth embodiment.

[0086] In the present embodiment, the display processing unit 203b changes the display mode (at least either color or size, for example) of the direction information in accordance with the congestion degree of the congestion

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 direction. As illustrated in FIG. 21, when the direction candidate D21 (the up direction) has been selected as the congestion direction from the direction candidates D21 and D22 (refer to FIG. 19), and when the congestion degree of the computation sections r2 to 4 has been determined to be congested or crowded, the display processing unit 203b displays the arrow d in a superimposed manner on the partial areas prrg to corresponding to the computation sections r2 to 4 among the partial areas pmi _to 5 within the route map rm of the route R to be displayed. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 21, the display processing unit 203b includes the red arrow d for the partial area pm₃ of the computation section r₃ for which the congestion degree has been determined to be congested among the partial areas pm₂ to 4 corresponding to the computation sections r₂ to 4 for which the congestion direction has been determined. As illustrated in FIG. 21, the display processing unit 203b includes the yellow arrow d for the partial area pm₂ of the computation section r₃ for which the congestion degree has been determined to be crowded among the partial areas prrg to 4 corresponding to the computation sections r₂ to 4 for which the congestion direction has been determined.

[0087] Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 22, when the direction candidate D22 (the down direction) has been detected to be the congestion direction from the direction candidates D₂i and D22 (refer to FIG. 19), the display processing unit 203b displays the arrow d in a superimposed manner on the partial areas pmi, ₅ corresponding to the computation sections g, ₅ among the partial areas pmi _to 5 within the route map rm of the route R to be displayed. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 22, the display processing unit 203b includes the arrow d of the maximum size for the partial area pmi of the computation section ri

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 for which the congestion degree has been determined to be congested of the partial areas pmi, 5 corresponding to the computation sections g, ₅ for which the congestion direction has been selected. In this process, the display processing unit 203b may color the arrow d of the maximum size in red. As illustrated in FIG. 22, the display processing unit 203b includes the arrow d of a size smaller than the maximum size for the partial area pm₅ of the computation section r₅ for which the congestion degree has been determined to be crowded of the partial areas pmi, 5 corresponding to the computation sections g, ₅ for which the congestion direction has been selected. In this process, the display processing unit 203b may color the arrow d of the size smaller than the maximum size in yellow. In other words, the display processing unit 203b increases the size of the arrow d and changes the color of the arrow as the congestion degree increases in accordance with the congestion degree of the congestion direction.

[0088] The congestion display systems according to the fifth embodiment can thus obtain an effect similar to that of the first embodiment.

[0089] As described above, the first to fifth embodiments can visualize traffic fluidity in a wide area such as on a city level.

[0090] Although the display condition computation processing unit 103a determines the congestion degree of the congestion direction on the basis of any of the average velocity of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction, the traffic amount of the vehicles, and the vehicle density of the vehicles in the embodiments, this is not limiting; the display condition computation processing unit 103a may determine the congestion degree of the congestion direction on the basis of the inner product

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 of the velocity vectors of the vehicles with the congestion direction as the travel direction.

[0091] Although the congestion display systems determine the congestion direction on the basis of any one of the inner product of the velocity vectors, the average velocity, the vehicle density, and the traffic amount calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value for each of the direction candidates in the embodiments, the congestion direction may be determined on the basis of two or more congestion direction evaluation values among the inner product of the velocity vectors, the average velocity, the vehicle density, and the traffic amount. The congestion display system may calculate the direction candidate the average velocity of which is lower than the certain velocity and the vehicle density of which is higher than the certain vehicle density as the congestion direction, for example [0092] Computer programs to be executed by the traffic information creation devices 1 and 200 according to the present embodiments are embedded and provided in a read only memory (ROM), for example. The computer programs to be executed by the traffic information creation devices 1 and 200 according to the present embodiments may be recorded and provided in a computer-readable recording medium such as a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), a flexible disk (FD), a compact disc recordable (CD-R), and a digital versatile disc (DVD), as an installable or executable file.

[0093] Furthermore, the computer programs to be executed by the traffic information creation devices 1 and 200 according to the present embodiments may be stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. The computer

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 programs to be executed by the traffic information creation devices 1 and 200 according to the present embodiments may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

[0094] Computer programs to be executed by the traffic information creation devices 1, 200, 900, 1200, and 1500 according to the present embodiments are modularized including the above-mentioned parts (the display area setting units 101 and 201, the vector processing units 102 and 202 (the velocity processing unit 901, the vehicle density processing unit 1201, or the traffic amount processing unit 1501), and the display data processing units 103 and 203). As actual hardware, a central processing unit (CPU) reads the computer programs from the ROM and executes them, thereby causing the parts to be loaded on a main memory device and generating the display area setting units 101 and 201, the vector processing units 102 and 202 (the velocity processing unit 901, the vehicle density processing unit 1201, or the traffic amount processing unit 1501), and the display data processing units 103 and 203 on the main memory device.

[0095] The embodiments of the present invention have been described; these embodiments are presented by way of example and do not intend to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be performed in various other modes, and various omissions, replacements, and alternations can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and the gist of the invention and are included in the invention described in the claims and the scope of equivalents thereof.

[0096] In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word comprise or variations such as comprises or comprising is used in an inclusive sense,

i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention.

[0097] It is to be understood that, if any prior art publication is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.

Claims (16)

1. An information processing device comprising:

a determining unit configured to calculate, based on velocities and travel directions of vehicles traveling within a certain area, for each of a plurality of direction candidates, an inner product of velocity vectors, an average velocity, vehicle density, or a traffic amount as a congestion direction evaluation value, the inner product of velocity vectors being an inner product of velocity vectors of vehicles coinciding with a direction candidate of the plurality of direction candidates, the average velocity being an average velocity of vehicles with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate, the vehicle density being vehicle density with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate, the traffic amount being a traffic amount of vehicles with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate; and determine the direction candidate representing a travel direction of vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the certain area to be a congestion direction based on the calculated congestion direction evaluation value; and a display controller configured to display a map or a route map corresponding to the certain area including direction information that makes the congestion direction identifiable on a display.

2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the direction candidate having the inner product of the velocity vectors calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value, the inner product being larger than a certain value, to be

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2016310737 09 Aug 2019 the congestion direction.

3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the direction candidate having the average velocity calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value, the average velocity being lower than a certain velocity, to be the congestion direction .

4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the direction candidate having the vehicle density calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value, the vehicle density being higher than a certain vehicle density, to be the congestion direction.

5. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the direction candidate having the traffic amount calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value, the traffic amount being larger than a certain traffic amount, to be the congestion direction.

6. The information processing device according to claim 1, comprising a setting unit configured to divide the map or the route map into a plurality of divided areas and set each of the divided areas as the certain area.

7. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the display controller determines a congestion degree of the congestion direction based on the average velocity, the traffic amount, or the vehicle density of vehicles with the congestion direction as a travel

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 direction and changes a display mode of the direction information in accordance with the congestion degree.

8. The information processing device according to claim 7, wherein the display controller changes color or size of the direction information in accordance with the congestion degree .

9. A congestion display method comprising:

calculating, based on velocities and travel directions of vehicles traveling within a certain area, for each of a plurality of direction candidates, an inner product of velocity vectors, an average velocity, vehicle density, or a traffic amount as a congestion direction evaluation value, the inner product of velocity vectors being an inner product of velocity vectors of vehicles coinciding with a direction candidate of the plurality of direction candidates, the average velocity being an average velocity of vehicles with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate, the vehicle density being vehicle density with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate, the traffic amount being a traffic amount of vehicles with the travel directions coinciding with the direction candidate;

determining the direction candidate representing a travel direction of vehicles in congestion that has occurred in the certain area to be a congestion direction based on the calculated congestion direction evaluation value; and displaying a map or a route map corresponding to the certain area including direction information that makes the congestion direction identifiable on a display.

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019

10. The congestion display method according to claim 9, wherein the direction candidate having the inner product of the velocity vectors calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value, the inner product being larger than a certain value, is determined to be the congestion direction.

11. The congestion display method according to claim 9, wherein the direction candidate having the average velocity calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value, the average velocity being lower than a certain velocity, is determined to be the congestion direction.

12. The congestion display method according to claim 9, wherein the direction candidate having the vehicle density calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value, the vehicle density being higher than a certain vehicle density, is determined to be the congestion direction.

13. The congestion display method according to claim 9, wherein the direction candidate having the traffic amount calculated as the congestion direction evaluation value, the traffic amount being larger than a certain traffic amount, is determined to be the congestion direction.

14. The congestion display method according to claim 9, wherein the map or the route map is divided into a plurality of divided areas and each of the divided areas is set as the certain area.

15. The congestion display method according to claim 9, wherein a congestion degree of the congestion direction is determined based on the average velocity, the traffic amount, or the vehicle density of vehicles with the

11604709_1 (GHMatters) P107900.AU

2016310737 09 Aug 2019 congestion direction as a travel direction and a display mode of the direction information is changed in accordance with the congestion degree.

16. The congestion display method according to claim 15, wherein color or size of the direction information is changed in accordance with the congestion degree.