CN113920757A

CN113920757A - Information processing apparatus, control method for information processing apparatus, and recording medium

Info

Publication number: CN113920757A
Application number: CN202010656560.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 小野惇也; 大关孝; 塚田善昭; 森田豪
Original assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-09
Filing date: 2020-07-09
Publication date: 2022-01-11

Abstract

The invention discloses an information processing device for controlling the lighting of signal lamps. The information processing apparatus includes: an acquisition unit that acquires information on a transaction condition related to priority traffic from a communication device associated with a vehicle within a prescribed distance from the signal lamp; a control unit that controls lighting of the signal lamp in accordance with a case where a transaction condition related to priority traffic is satisfied based on information of the transaction condition; and a processing unit that processes payment of a reward for the priority pass so that the reward is collected from a vehicle side that becomes capable of priority pass when lighting of the traffic light is controlled by the control unit, and that further changes an appearance form of the traffic light to indicate that the traffic light is controlled for the purpose of priority pass when lighting of the traffic light is controlled.

Description

Information processing apparatus, control method for information processing apparatus, and recording medium

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus for performing priority traffic with reward, a control method of the information processing apparatus, and a recording medium.

Background

Conventionally, as a traffic light for controlling the traveling of a vehicle passing through an intersection, a traffic light that notifies the surroundings when a predetermined situation in the surroundings of the traffic light is detected is known. Specifically, patent document 1 proposes a technique of notifying a traffic participant near an intersection of an emergency vehicle of the approach of the emergency vehicle by rotating a red rotary lamp provided in a traffic light when the approach of the emergency vehicle to the intersection is detected.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese laid-open patent publication No. H09-270092

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, in recent years, development of vehicles having an automatic driving function has been advanced, and autonomous vehicle control without intervention of manual driving by a driver has been realized. In the case where many vehicles travel by the automatic driving function, for example, it is possible to cause a plurality of vehicles to travel in coordination at a constant speed, and it is expected to realize travel control with higher power efficiency (or fuel efficiency). On the other hand, there is a demand for shortening the travel time by performing travel control for preferentially passing through an intersection even if a certain reward is paid according to the situation of the user.

In the case of intersection passage, if the traffic lights are controlled so as to pay a reward from the side of the vehicle that passes preferentially at the intersection to the side of the vehicle that allows the preferential passage, there is a possibility that the above-described demand can be satisfied.

However, when the traffic lights to be controlled are simply lighted in green, yellow, and red, the traffic participants around the traffic lights cannot grasp which control the traffic lights are under even if the traffic participants look at the vicinity of the traffic lights. That is, when the lighting of the traffic lights has changed, the surrounding traffic participants cannot know whether the lighting change of the traffic lights is used for priority traffic accompanied by reward, and may not sufficiently obtain a sense of recognition of the lighting change of the traffic lights.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to realize a technique that enables surrounding traffic participants to easily grasp the state of a traffic light that can assist priority traffic with compensation.

Means for solving the problems

According to the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus for controlling lighting of a traffic light, characterized in that,

the information processing apparatus includes:

an acquisition unit that acquires information on a transaction condition related to priority traffic from a communication device associated with a vehicle within a prescribed distance from the signal lamp;

a control unit that controls lighting of the signal lamp in accordance with a case where a transaction condition related to priority traffic is satisfied based on information of the transaction condition; and

a processing unit that processes payment of a reward in such a manner that the reward for priority passage is collected from a vehicle side that becomes capable of priority passage when lighting of the signal lamp is controlled by the control unit,

when the lighting of the traffic light is controlled, the control unit further changes the appearance of the traffic light to indicate that the traffic light is controlled for priority traffic.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus for controlling lighting of a traffic light, characterized in that,

the information processing apparatus includes:

the traffic light is operated in two states of a normal state in which the traffic light is turned on for a purpose other than priority traffic and a priority traffic state in which the turning on of the traffic light can be controlled for priority traffic,

when the traffic light is in the priority passage state, the control unit causes the appearance of the traffic light to be different from the appearance of the traffic light in the normal state.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an information processing apparatus for controlling lighting of a traffic light,

the control method of the information processing apparatus includes:

an acquisition step of acquiring information on a transaction condition relating to priority traffic from a communication device associated with a vehicle within a prescribed distance from the signal lamp;

a control step of controlling lighting of the traffic light in accordance with a case where a transaction condition related to priority traffic is satisfied based on information on the transaction condition; and

a processing step of processing payment of a reward so as to collect the reward for the priority passage from the vehicle side that becomes capable of priority passage when the lighting of the traffic light is controlled in the control step,

in the control step, when the lighting of the traffic light is controlled, the appearance of the traffic light is further changed to indicate that the traffic light is controlled for priority traffic.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling an information processing apparatus for controlling lighting of a traffic light, comprising the steps of,

the control method of the information processing apparatus includes:

in the case where the traffic light is in the priority passage state, the control step may change an appearance of the traffic light from an appearance of the traffic light in the normal state.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to make surrounding traffic participants easily grasp the state of a traffic light that can assist priority traffic with remuneration.

Drawings

Fig. 1A is a diagram showing an example of a traffic system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 1B is a diagram illustrating an example of a user interface for route setting when the transportation system according to the present embodiment is used.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the information processing device according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the communication device according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 4A is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the navigation information processing server according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 4B is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the signal lamp according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing a series of operations of presentation mode control processing in the information processing device according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing a series of operations of the transaction condition determination process in the information processing device according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 7A is a diagram illustrating an example of a traveling state of the vehicle according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 7B is a diagram for explaining an example of a payment method of the reward according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 8A is a diagram (1) illustrating an example of a signal lamp and a presentation member according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 8B is a diagram (2) illustrating an example of the signal lamp and the presentation member according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 8C is a diagram (3) illustrating an example of the signal lamp and the presentation member according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 8D is a diagram (4) illustrating an example of the signal lamp and the presentation member according to the present embodiment.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the plurality of features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. The same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof is omitted.

In the present embodiment, an example of a traffic system that controls traffic lights so as to control priority passage of a vehicle passing through an intersection will be described.

Construction of traffic System

The configuration of the transportation system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1A. The vehicle 130 is, for example, an electric vehicle capable of autonomous driving or a vehicle capable of traveling using fuel. The vehicle 130 can detect the state in the vehicle by various sensors in the vehicle and transmit the collected data to the navigation information processing server 150. The data thus collected and transmitted is also commonly referred to as floating data, probe data, traffic information, and the like. Such data includes, for example, the current position, the speed of the vehicle, the remaining amount of the battery or fuel of the vehicle, an image or three-dimensional data obtained by a camera or a LIDAR, and the like, but may include other information. These data are transmitted to the navigation information processing server 150 at regular intervals or in accordance with the occurrence of a specific event. The vehicle 130 also transmits setting information such as a destination and a route point set by the user and transaction conditions related to priority traffic, which will be described later, to the navigation information processing server 150. In the following description, data transmitted from the vehicle 130 to the navigation information processing server 150 is collectively referred to as vehicle information. Some or all of the vehicle information is also sent to the communication device 140 associated with the vehicle 130 as needed. In the following example, the case where the communication device 140 is a smartphone is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the communication device 140 may be an in-vehicle device incorporated in the vehicle 130, or may be a personal computer, a tablet terminal, or the like.

The navigation information processing server 150 is configured by one or more server devices, and sequentially acquires and records vehicle information from the plurality of vehicles 130 in the vehicle database. Further, the information of the traffic lights 120 (from the information processing device 110) may be sequentially acquired, and the traffic conditions of various routes may be grasped substantially in real time. The navigation information processing server 150 can estimate, for example, a route through which the vehicle passes, a required time for passing, and a reward paid and received until the vehicle reaches the destination, using the acquired information. The navigation information processing server 150 (described below with reference to fig. 1B) can transmit the estimated route and reward to the communication device 140 in response to the request. When the user selects a desired route, the selected route is set to the vehicle 130, and the vehicle 130 passes through the route by, for example, automatic driving (or manual driving is also possible). Display 141 is an example of transaction condition settings displayed on the display unit of communication device 140, and shows a screen on which a reward related to priority passage can be set.

The information processing apparatus 110 controls lighting of the signal lamp 120. In addition to control to switch the lighting of traffic light 120 at a normal lighting timing, information processing device 110 may communicate with communication device 140 associated with vehicle 130 within a predetermined distance and control the lighting of traffic light 120 in accordance with a transaction condition related to priority traffic. The control based on the transaction condition related to the priority passage will be described later. In the example of the present embodiment, the case where signal lamp 120 and information processing device 110 are provided separately is described as an example, but information processing device 110 may be incorporated in signal lamp 120.

The traffic light 120 operates in two states, that is, a normal state in which the traffic light 120 is turned on for a purpose other than priority traffic and a priority traffic state in which the turning on of the traffic light 120 can be controlled for priority traffic. In the normal state, for example, the lighting of signal lamp 120 can be switched at a predetermined lighting timing or a predetermined timing corresponding to the sensing of the traffic participant. In the state for priority traffic, the traffic signal 120 can change the appearance of the traffic signal (specifically, change the presentation form of the presentation member) to indicate to the surrounding traffic participants that the lighting of the traffic signal 120 is controlled for the purpose of priority traffic. The normal state and the priority passage state can be switched as appropriate by the information processing apparatus 110. The switching between the normal state and the priority traffic state can be based on at least one of the day of the week, the time zone, the traffic volume of the traveling vehicle, and the installation location of the traffic light 120, for example.

The network 111 includes a communication network such as the internet or a mobile phone network, and transmits information between the information processing device 110 and the navigation information processing server 150, and between the information processing device 110 and the vehicle 130 or the communication device 140.

The communication device 140 can communicate with the vehicle 130 via wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), or can communicate with the information processing device 110 and the navigation information processing server 150 via the network 111 such as a mobile communication network. The communication device 140 is associated with the vehicle 130, for example, by pairing with the vehicle 130 in advance.

In order for the user of the vehicle 130 to reach the destination using the transportation system 100, a route to the destination is determined using, for example, the communication device 140 associated with the vehicle 130. Fig. 1B shows an example of a route setting user interface in the communication device 140 according to the present embodiment. The communication device 140 first displays a destination setting screen 161 for setting a destination. The user inputs a destination via an operation unit 303, which will be described later, of the communication device 140. When a transaction condition related to priority traffic is set in advance when a destination is input, the communication device 140 transmits information of the set destination and the transaction condition related to priority traffic to the navigation information processing server 150. In the following description, the transaction condition related to the priority passage may be simply referred to as "transaction condition", and the information on the transaction condition related to the priority passage may be simply referred to as "information on the transaction condition".

On the other hand, when the transaction condition is not set, the communication device 140 displays the transaction condition setting screen 162. The transaction condition setting screen 162 is a screen for setting transaction conditions, and can set, for example, a reward paid by the vehicle to another vehicle when priority passage is possible, and a reward for a request for priority passage to another vehicle when priority passage of another vehicle is accepted.

For example, the following conditions are set: there are other vehicles that are about to stop at a host vehicle near an intersection due to a red light, and that are about to pass through a road that intersects with the intersection due to a green light. In this case, "the reward paid by the vehicle when priority passage is possible" means that the vehicle is paid so as not to pay for the purpose of shortening the travel time because the vehicle wants to arrive at the destination as soon as possible. That is, in the example of the intersection, it is shown that another vehicle is stopped by a red light and the own vehicle can pass by a green light by making a transaction to pay a reward. In contrast, the "reward requested for preferential passage of another vehicle" indicates a reward requested to be charged as compensation for extension of the travel time. That is, in the example of the intersection, the reward set by the vehicle in order to receive the preferential passage of another vehicle and stop the vehicle at a red light when the vehicle is going to pass at a green light is shown.

When the reward is determined on the transaction condition setting screen 162, the communication device 140 transmits the reward to the navigation information processing server 150 as information on the transaction condition related to the priority passage. At this time, the communication device 140 also transmits information of the destination.

In the example shown in fig. 1B, an example is shown in which the amount of the reward is set using the virtual money for "the reward paid by the vehicle when priority passage becomes possible" and "the reward requested for priority passage of another vehicle". However, the amount of the reward may, for example, display the amount converted in the currency of the country. For example, if the amount of the reward is set to an amount corresponding to the payroll per unit time, the buying and selling of time can be expressed on a realistic and intuitive scale. In addition, regarding "reward requested for preferential passage of another vehicle", a length of time that can allow the waiting time may be set. In this way, in the transaction condition setting, it is possible to set how much value can be paid in the travel time.

The navigation information processing server 150 returns the route search result of the vehicle 130 in consideration of the current traffic condition, the route to the destination of another vehicle, or the transaction condition. The communication device 140 displays the received route search result on the route search result screen 163. The route search result screen 163 displays a plurality of route candidates such as "route 1" to "route 6". Each route includes the arrival time and the required time estimated by the navigation information processing server 150. In addition, a reward is displayed among the candidates of each route. The reward is the reward that can be obtained until the destination is reached. The more priority passes are accepted by other vehicles, the more payment is obtained, and the more priority passes are accepted by other vehicles, the more payment is generated. The transaction condition setting is not limited to the case of setting the route, and may be changed while the vehicle is traveling.

< construction of information processing apparatus >

Next, a functional configuration example of the information processing device 110 that controls lighting of the traffic light will be described with reference to fig. 2. Furthermore, the various functional blocks described may be integrated or separated, and further, the functions described may be implemented by other functional blocks. In addition, a part described as hardware may be implemented by software, and vice versa.

The communication unit 201 includes a communication circuit that communicates with the plurality of communication devices 140 via the network 111. The information processed by the control unit 202 is transmitted to the communication device 140 or the like, or the information to be processed by the control unit 202 is received from the communication device 140 or the like.

The control unit 202 includes a CPU210 as a central processing unit and a RAM 211. The control unit 202 loads and executes the program stored in the recording unit 203 on the RAM211 to control the operation of each unit inside the control unit 202 or control the operation of each unit of the information processing apparatus 110. Further, control unit 202 executes presentation mode control processing for signal lamp 120. The presentation mode control process will be described later.

The RAM211 includes a volatile storage medium such as a DRAM, and temporarily stores parameters, processing results, and the like for the control unit 202 to execute programs. The recording unit 203 includes, for example, a nonvolatile recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, and stores setting values and programs necessary for the operation of the information processing apparatus 110.

When the vehicle is in the priority passage state, first, the information acquisition unit 212 specifies a vehicle to be processed among vehicles passing around the traffic light 120 (for example, within a predetermined distance), and acquires information on the transaction conditions from the communication device 140 associated with the vehicle. The transaction condition determination unit 213 determines whether or not the transaction condition related to the priority passage is satisfied based on the information of the transaction condition acquired from the one or more communication devices 140.

The traffic control unit 214 controls the lighting of the traffic lights 120 based on the determination result (i.e., whether or not the traffic condition related to the priority traffic is satisfied) in the traffic condition determination unit 213. When the lighting of the traffic light is controlled based on the determination result of the transaction condition determination unit 213, the reward processing unit 215 processes the payment of the reward (that is, determines the reward paid by the vehicle) based on the satisfied transaction condition, and transmits information of the determined reward to the communication device 140.

The presentation mode control unit 216 can determine whether the control state of the traffic light 120 is the priority traffic state or the normal state. In addition, when the lighting of the traffic light 120 is controlled for priority traffic (when the transaction condition related to priority traffic is satisfied) in the state for priority traffic, the presentation mode control unit 216 controls the presentation mode of the presentation member of the traffic light 120. As described later, the indication member of the signal lamp 120 may have various forms. Therefore, the presentation form control unit 216 can make the presentation form different according to the form of the presentation member included in the signal lamp 120.

< construction of communication device >

Next, a configuration example of the communication device 140 will be described with reference to fig. 3. The configuration shown in fig. 3 shows functional blocks configuring a smartphone, which is an example of the communication device 140 of the present embodiment. Furthermore, the various functional blocks described may be integrated or separated, and further, the functions described may be implemented by other functional blocks. In addition, a part described as hardware may be implemented by software, and vice versa.

The communication unit 301 includes, for example, a communication circuit or the like, and is connected to the internet via mobile communication such as LTE, or connected to the vehicle 130 via Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication to transmit and receive necessary data.

The operation unit 303 includes buttons and a touch panel provided in the communication device 140, and receives operations performed on various GUIs for operations such as the destination setting screen 161 and the transaction condition setting screen 162 displayed on the display unit 305. The display unit 305 includes a display panel such as an LCD or an OLED, for example, and displays GUIs for various operations such as the destination setting screen 161 and the transaction condition setting screen 162, and GUIs for enabling confirmation of a route during traveling, and the like, in accordance with instructions from the display control unit 314. The sensor unit 304 includes a sensor for biometric authentication for identifying the user of the communication device 140, in addition to the GPS for identifying the current position.

The recording unit 306 includes, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as a semiconductor memory, and stores map information, information on set transaction conditions, a program executed by the control unit 302, and the like. The recording unit 306 holds data of a distributed ledger used in the block chain technique, for example. In the present embodiment, a transaction (transaction) using virtual money based on a reward notified from the information processing apparatus 110 is recorded in the distributed ledger. For example, the communication device 140 functions as a node (node) that manages the distributed ledger, and the program executed by the control unit 302 may include a program for processing a transaction using virtual money or managing the distributed ledger, or a program for an intelligent contract.

The control unit 302 includes a CPU310 and a RAM311, and controls the operations of each functional block in the control unit 302 and each part in the communication device 140 by the CPU310 executing a program recorded in the recording unit 306, for example.

The transaction condition setting unit 312 sets the information of the transaction conditions based on the user operation performed on the transaction condition setting screen 162 described above. The transaction condition setting unit 312 records the information of the set transaction condition in the recording unit 306, and transmits the information of the transaction condition to the navigation information processing server 150 and the peripheral information processing device 110 via the communication unit 301. The navigation information acquisition unit 313 acquires information of the route search result from the navigation information processing server 150.

The display control unit 314 controls the display of the display unit 305 to display a GUI for various operations such as the destination setting screen 161 and the transaction condition setting screen 162, a GUI capable of confirming a route during traveling, and the like. The display control unit 314 causes the display unit 305 to display the destination setting screen 161 and the route search result screen 163, for example, based on the user operation and the information of the route search result received from the navigation information processing server 150.

When the information processing device 110 controls the lighting of the traffic light 120, the priority traffic control unit 315 receives a traffic-enabled notification (i.e., a notification indicating that priority traffic is enabled) or a traffic-disabled notification (a notification indicating that priority traffic of another vehicle is received) from the information processing device 110. Upon receiving these notifications, the priority traffic control unit 315 transmits a control signal for causing the vehicle 130 to preferentially traffic or stop at the intersection.

Reward processing unit 316 receives information of the determined reward from information processing device 110. The consideration processing unit 316 executes a consideration transaction based on the determined consideration information, and records the transaction in the distributed ledger.

< construction of information processing Server for navigation >

Further, the configuration of the navigation information processing server 150 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 4A. The navigation information processing server 150 is configured by one or more server devices. Furthermore, the various functional blocks described may be integrated or separated, and further, the functions described may be implemented by other functional blocks. In addition, a part described as hardware may be implemented by software, and vice versa.

Communication unit 401 includes a communication circuit that communicates with communication device 140 and vehicle 130 via network 111. The information processed by the control unit 402 is transmitted to the communication device 140 or the like, or the information to be processed by the control unit 402 is received from the communication device 140 or the like.

The control unit 402 includes a CPU410 as a central processing unit and a RAM 411. The control unit 402 loads and executes the program stored in the recording unit 403 on the RAM411 to control the operation of each unit inside the control unit 402 or control the operation of each unit of the navigation information processing server 150. Further, the control unit 402 executes route search processing for generating a route search result shown in fig. 1B. The RAM411 includes a volatile storage medium such as a DRAM, and temporarily stores parameters, processing results, and the like for the control unit 402 to execute programs. The recording unit 403 includes, for example, a nonvolatile recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, and stores setting values and programs necessary for the operation of the navigation information processing server 150.

The recording unit 403 includes, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as a semiconductor memory, and stores an application program executed by the control unit 402, data used in the program, and the like.

The vehicle setting information acquisition unit 412 receives the above-described vehicle information (i.e., the current position, the vehicle speed information, the destination information, the transaction condition information, etc.) from the plurality of vehicles 130, and records the vehicle information in the vehicle database. Further, the vehicle setting information acquisition unit 412 receives information of a search request (information of the current position, the destination for route search, and the transaction condition) from the communication device 140.

The traffic information acquisition unit 413 sequentially acquires information of the traffic lights 120 (for example, information of lighting states and lighting timings of the traffic lights) from the information processing devices 110 of the traffic lights installed at various points.

The navigation information generation unit 414 generates a route search result for information of a search request from the communication device 140. For example, the navigation information generating unit 414 determines a predetermined number of route candidates with a low route cost from the current position to the destination, and calculates the paid and received rewards while determining the information of the transaction conditions of other vehicles that are expected to approach within a predetermined distance when passing through each route candidate and the information of the transaction conditions included in the search request. The navigation information generation unit 414 calculates a travel time that varies depending on payment and receipt of a reward. Further, the route candidates may be corrected to follow the route to the charging facility or the refueling facility in the vicinity of the place where charging or refueling is necessary. The navigation information generation unit 414 sorts the calculated route candidates in, for example, a required time order, and transmits the route candidates to the communication device 140 as search result information. As shown in the route search result screen 163 of fig. 1B described above, the search result information includes information of a route, arrival time/required time, and reward.

< construction of signal lamp >

Further, the structure of signal lamp 120 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 4B. Furthermore, the various functional blocks described may be integrated or separated, and further, the functions described may be implemented by other functional blocks. In addition, a part described as hardware may be implemented by software, and vice versa.

The communication unit 501 includes, for example, a communication circuit and the like, and performs transmission and reception of necessary data with the information processing device 110 via predetermined wired communication or wireless communication.

The lighting display unit 505 includes a display panel such as an LCD or an OLED, for example, and lights green, yellow, and red lights for controlling traffic at an intersection in accordance with an instruction from the display control unit 512.

The presentation means 503 is, for example, means for presenting that lighting of the traffic light 120 is controlled for priority traffic (when the transaction condition related to priority traffic is satisfied) in the priority traffic state. The presentation member 503 may be at least one of a rotary lamp, a movable back plate, a movable display plate on which predetermined characters and patterns are drawn, and an electronic bulletin board, for example.

The rotary lamp is a lamp that emits light in a predetermined color different from the color lit in the lighting display unit 505. The movable back panel can dynamically switch between a state where the back panel appears and a state where the back panel is hidden, for example. When the back panel is in a state of being exposed, visibility of lighting of the display unit 505 for lighting of the traffic light can be improved. The movable display panel can draw, for example, characters or patterns for grasping that the vehicle is in the priority traffic state and that lighting of the traffic lights is controlled for priority traffic. For example, when characters are drawn, the mobile bulletin board is used. The rear panel and the display panel may be formed to be present at all positions of the traffic light 120, or at least at any position. The electronic bulletin board is an example of an information display system configured by a display panel or the like, and can display predetermined characters in a fixed manner or scroll the characters. The electronic bulletin board may have a cylindrical shape, and the cylindrical side surface may be rotated about a cylindrical rotation axis while characters and the like are displayed on the cylindrical side surface.

The presentation member 503 is not limited to the above example, and may have another configuration as long as the appearance of the traffic light is changed to indicate that the traffic light is controlled for priority traffic.

The recording unit 504 includes, for example, a nonvolatile memory such as a semiconductor memory, and stores a program or the like executed by the control unit 502. The recording unit 504 holds configuration information indicating the configuration of the presentation member 503 provided in the signal lamp 120. The configuration information may include, for example, information such as whether the presentation member 503 of the signal lamp 120 has a rotary lamp, whether a movable rear panel is provided, whether a movable display panel is provided, whether an electronic bulletin board is provided, and whether the electronic bulletin board can be rotated.

The control unit 502 includes a CPU510 and a RAM511, and the CPU510 executes a program recorded in the recording unit 504 to control operations of each functional block in the control unit 502 and each part in the traffic light 120.

The display control unit 512 controls the lighting of the lighting display unit 505 based on an instruction received from the information processing apparatus 110 via the communication unit 501. For example, when the information processing apparatus 110 controls the lighting of the traffic light 120 for priority traffic in the priority traffic state, the display control unit 512 controls the lighting of the lighting display unit 505. In the normal state, the display control unit 512 may control the lighting of the lighting display unit 505 in response to an instruction from the information processing apparatus 110, in response to the lighting of the normal traffic light.

The presentation member control unit 513 controls the operation or display of the presentation member 503 based on an instruction received from the information processing apparatus 110 via the communication unit 501. For example, when the information processing device 110 controls the presentation mode of the traffic light 120 for priority traffic in the priority traffic state, the presentation member control unit 513 is configured to rotate the rotary light or drive the rotary light so that the rear panel appears, so that the rear panel is visible from the front of the traffic light.

< series of actions of presentation form control processing (of signal light) in information processing device 110 >

Next, a series of operations of the presentation mode control process in the information processing apparatus 110 will be described with reference to fig. 5. Note that the present processing is realized by the CPU210 of the control unit 202 executing the program recorded in the recording unit 203.

In S501, control unit 202 acquires information on the control state of traffic light 120 via communication unit 201. The information on the control state of the traffic light 120 includes, for example, information indicating whether the traffic light 120 is in a normal state or a priority traffic state.

In S502, control unit 202 determines whether or not the control state of traffic light 120 is the normal state using the acquired information of the control state. If it is determined that traffic light 120 is in the normal state, control unit 202 proceeds to S520, and if not (i.e., the priority control state), proceeds to S503.

In S503, control unit 202 identifies a vehicle to be processed from among vehicles passing around traffic light 120 (for example, within a predetermined distance). For example, the control unit 202 acquires the current position, the moving direction, and the vehicle speed of the vehicle from the communication device 140 associated with the vehicle passing around the traffic light 120, and determines whether or not the vehicle is a vehicle affected by the lighting of the traffic light (i.e., a vehicle to be processed). Vehicles stopped by the red light of the traffic light and vehicles passing by the green light are determined as vehicles affected by the lighting.

In S504, the information acquisition unit 212 of the control unit 202 acquires information on the transaction conditions of the communication device 140 from the communication device 140 associated with the vehicle to be processed.

In S505, the transaction condition determination unit 213 determines whether or not the vehicle identified as the processing target travels only in the same direction. Specifically, in the example shown in fig. 7A, only the vehicle 701 and the vehicle 702 (i.e., the processing target vehicle) are near the intersection, and the vehicle 701 and the vehicle 702 travel only in the same direction. When only vehicles traveling in the same direction approach the intersection, it is not necessary to stop the vehicle by turning signal lamp 750 to the red light. That is, when the timing at which the lighting of traffic light 750 changes to the red light is reached, the vehicles can arrive at the destination as soon as they pass by controlling the lighting of traffic light 750 to the green light. In the determination of the same direction, when there is an oncoming vehicle of the vehicle 701 and the vehicle 702, the oncoming vehicle can be regarded as a vehicle that travels only in the same direction. In addition, the same processing may be performed even when only one vehicle is to be processed.

For example, if the transaction condition determination unit 213 determines that the vehicles identified as the processing targets pass in the same direction based on the current position, the moving direction, and the vehicle speed of the vehicle from the communication device 140, the process proceeds to S508. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S506.

In S506, the transaction condition determination unit 213 determines whether or not the transaction condition related to the priority passage is satisfied based on the information of the transaction condition received from the vehicle as the processing target. The details of the transaction condition determination processing will be described later.

In S507, if it is determined in S506 that the transaction condition is satisfied, the control unit 202 proceeds to S508, and if the transaction condition is not satisfied, the series of processes is terminated. The control unit 202 determines whether or not the transaction condition is satisfied, for example, with reference to a flag value indicating a determination result described later.

In S508, the presentation form control unit 216 of the control unit 202 acquires the configuration information of the signal lamp 120. As described above, the configuration information of the signal lamp 120 includes, for example, information on whether or not the presentation member 503 of the signal lamp 120 has a rotary lamp or a movable rear panel.

In S509, presentation mode control unit 216 controls the presentation mode of signal lamp 120. When it is determined based on the configuration information that, for example, the traffic light 120 includes the rotary lamp 810 (shown in fig. 8A), the presentation mode control unit 216 transmits an instruction to turn and turn on the rotary lamp to the traffic light 120. In this case, the period for turning on the rotation lamp and the rotation and lighting can be further specified.

The signal lamp 120 shown in fig. 8A includes a red display portion 802, a yellow display portion 803, and a green display portion 804 as a lighting display portion 505 in a housing 801. A rotary lamp 810 is also provided on the housing 801.

Alternatively, when it is determined based on the configuration information that, for example, the traffic light 120 includes the movable rear panels 821 to 824 (shown in fig. 8B), the presentation mode control unit 216 sends an instruction to the traffic light 120 to set the rear panel to the present state, so that the rear panel can be visually recognized by the traffic participants. The rear plate may have a predetermined pattern of a so-called traffic light rear plate. By providing the rear panel, visibility of the traffic light by the traffic participant can be improved.

In FIG. 8B, movable back panels 821-824 are shown in their present state. The rear panels are connected so as to be foldable at a portion where they are in contact with the housing 801. When the rear panels are folded, they are hidden. That is, as in the traffic light 120 shown by the broken line in the lower part of fig. 8B, the rear panel is not visible when viewed from the front of the traffic light 120.

Further, when it is recognized based on the configuration information that, for example, the traffic light 120 includes the movable display panel 830 (as shown in fig. 8C), the presentation mode control unit 216 sends an instruction to the traffic light 120 to make the display panel appear so that the display panel can be visually recognized by the traffic participants.

In fig. 8C, a movable display panel 830 is shown in the present state. The movable display panel 830 is telescopically connected to the housing 801, for example, in such a manner as to appear from the housing 801 or to be hidden into the housing 801. Characters or patterns for grasping that the vehicle is in the state for priority traffic and that lighting of the traffic lights is controlled for priority traffic can be drawn on the movable display panel. For example, when a character such as "in a state for priority passage" is drawn on the display panel, the character becomes a movable bulletin board.

Further, in the case where it is grasped that, for example, the signal lamp 120 includes the electronic bulletin board 840 (shown in fig. 8D) based on the configuration information, the presentation form control portion 216 transmits an instruction of display information to the signal lamp 120 to display a predetermined character on the electronic bulletin board 840 (for example, "in a state for priority passage (good person is participating in a transaction)"). Further, when it is grasped based on the configuration information that the signal lamp 120 includes the rotatable electric bulletin board 840, for example, an instruction to rotate the electric bulletin board is transmitted to the signal lamp 120. The electronic bulletin board 840 can display, for example, the current traffic light status (the traffic light is in a state for priority control), the intersection status, the status of the traffic participants, and the like.

In fig. 8D, an electronic bulletin board 840 mounted to the lower portion of the housing 801 is shown. The electronic bulletin board 840 may be configured to rotate with a shaft connecting the housing 801 and the electronic bulletin board 840 as a rotation axis.

In the examples shown in fig. 8A to 8D, the description has been given taking the case of using one presentation member as an example, but two or more presentation members may be used in combination.

In this way, by using the presentation means 503 to present that the lighting of the traffic light 120 is controlled for priority traffic in the priority traffic state, surrounding traffic participants can easily grasp the state of the traffic light (that can assist priority traffic with compensation). Further, by using the presentation member 503, the degree of attention of surrounding traffic participants to the lighting of the signal lamp 120 can be improved, or visibility can be improved. Further, since control unit 202 acquires the configuration information of signal lamp 120, it is possible to perform control in accordance with the presentation member of signal lamp 120.

In S510, traffic control unit 214 of control unit 202 controls lighting of traffic light 120. The traffic control unit 214 controls the lighting of the traffic light 120 on one road from a red light to a green light so that the vehicle on the side of paying the reward can pass through the intersection. At this time, traffic control unit 214 may transmit a notification of the possibility of traffic to communication device 140 of the vehicle that has become a vehicle capable of priority traffic in response to the lighting control of traffic light 120. At this time, the no-passage notification may be transmitted to the communication device 140 of the vehicle that has received the priority passage of the other vehicle.

In S511, consideration processing section 215 processes payment of consideration (i.e., determines the consideration paid by the vehicle) based on the transaction condition, and transmits information of the determined consideration to communication device 140. When transmitting the reward information to communication device 140, control unit 202 ends the series of operations of this process.

In S520, since traffic light 120 is in the normal state, control unit 202 switches the lighting of traffic light 120 at a predetermined lighting timing and a predetermined timing corresponding to the sensing of the traffic participant, for example. After that, the control unit 202 ends the present process.

The determination of the transaction condition by the transaction condition determination unit 213 and the processing of the reward by the reward processing unit 215 will be described in more detail below.

< series of actions of transaction decision processing >

Next, a series of operations of the transaction determination process in S506 will be described with reference to fig. 6. Note that, as in the processing of fig. 5, the present processing is realized by the CPU210 of the control unit 202 executing a program recorded in the recording unit 203.

In S601, the transaction condition determination unit 213 determines the vehicle in which the reward (reward payment) paid when priority passage becomes possible is the highest amount. For example, the vehicle whose payment is the highest amount is decided based on the information of the transaction condition of each vehicle. For example, in the example shown in fig. 7B, the vehicles 701 to 702 and 703 to 704 travel in different directions and approach the intersection. At this time, the signal lamp 750 is a green lamp, and the signal lamp 751 is a red lamp. In this situation, the transaction condition determination unit 213 compares the payment remuneration of the vehicles 701 to 704, and determines the vehicle with the highest payment amount as the vehicle 704 (payment remuneration of 250).

In S602, the transaction condition determination unit 213 determines the highest amount of the reward (requested reward) for the priority passage request for the vehicle passing in the direction different from the vehicle determined in S601. In the example of fig. 7B, the highest amount of requested compensation among the vehicles 701 to 702 passing in a direction different from the vehicle 704 is 200 of the vehicle 702. Further, in the case where there is an oncoming vehicle, it may be considered as a vehicle in the same direction.

In S603, the transaction condition determination unit 213 determines whether or not the payment for the vehicle (i.e., the highest amount of the payment) determined in S601 is equal to or more than the request payment (the highest amount of the request payment) determined in S602. The transaction condition determination unit 213 proceeds to S605 when determining that the reward payment is equal to or more than the requested reward, and proceeds to S604 otherwise.

In S604, when the maximum amount of the payment reward is smaller than the requested reward, the transaction condition determination unit 213 determines that the transaction condition related to the priority passage is not satisfied, and sets the flag value indicating the determination result to 0 indicating the transaction condition NG.

On the other hand, in S605, when the reward payment is equal to or more than the requested reward, the transaction condition determination unit 213 determines that the transaction condition related to the priority passage is satisfied, and sets the flag value indicating the determination result to 1 indicating the transaction condition OK. After that, the transaction condition determination unit 213 returns to the call source.

< processing of reward in S511 >

Next, the process of remuneration in S511 will be described with reference to fig. 7A and 7B. As described above, fig. 7A shows an example in which the vehicles travel only in the same direction. In this case, the traffic light is controlled so that the vehicle can pass, and the reward processing unit 215 processes payment of the reward so that the reward is not paid from the vehicles 701 to 702 for priority passage. This reduces the chance of unnecessarily waiting for the traffic light, and eliminates the need to pay for payment, thereby providing a system that is easy to use and is expected to spread rapidly. On the other hand, even when the vehicle travels only in the same direction, the vehicle can be paid a payment for a reduction in the waiting time when the lighting of the traffic light is controlled to green.

In addition, the example shown in fig. 7B shows a case where the transaction condition is satisfied between vehicles passing in different directions. In this case, the transaction condition determination unit 213 determines the reward 250 so that the reward is paid from the vehicle 704 in which the highest amount of the reward is set to the vehicle 702 (of the vehicle in the different direction) in which the highest amount of the reward request is set.

Of course, the processing of the reward in the case where the transaction condition is satisfied between vehicles passing in different directions is not limited to this. For example, payments may be processed in a one-to-many relationship. Further, in the above example, the case where one vehicle is limited to pay consideration has been described as an example, but many-to-many consideration payments may be set. That is, the total of the rewards paid from the plurality of vehicles that have become passable with priority can be allocated to the plurality of vehicles that have received the preferential passage.

In this way, in the presentation form control process in the information processing device 110, the information of the transaction condition is acquired from the communication device 140 associated with the vehicle as the processing target, the transaction condition is determined based on the relationship between the highest amount of the payment reward of the information of the transaction condition and the request reward, and the reward is processed. This makes it possible to pay a reward for shortening the travel time or receive a reward for compensating for the extension of the travel time, and to buy and sell the value of the travel time in accordance with the situation of the user.

In the presentation form control process described above, the highest amount of the payment is used for the determination of whether or not the transaction condition is satisfied, but other determination may be used. For example, whether the transaction condition is satisfied may be determined based on the sum of the amount of payment and the amount of request payment. For example, a vehicle higher in the total amount of the payment amount and the requested payment amount can be made to perform priority passage. It can be considered that the vehicle in which the payment is higher and the charge of the higher payment is set reflects the intention to pass by more preferentially. Therefore, control in accordance with the strong intention of the user can be performed by using the total amount of the payment reward and the amount of the request reward.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the lighting of the traffic light is controlled for priority passing, the information processing device 110 processes payment of the reward so that the reward for priority passing is collected from the vehicle side that becomes capable of priority passing. At this time, the information processing apparatus 110 presents this control using the presentation means 503 of the signal lamp 120. This makes it possible for the surrounding traffic participants to easily grasp the state of the traffic lights (that can assist in priority traffic with compensation).

In the above-described embodiment, when the lighting of the traffic light 120 is controlled for priority traffic in the priority traffic state, the presentation of the presentation member 503 of the traffic light 120 is controlled. However, the control unit 202 may control the presentation of the presentation member 503 of the signal lamp 120 only according to whether or not the signal lamp 120 is in the priority passage state. In this case, although the presentation means 503 for controlling the signal lamp 120 is not necessarily required only when the transaction condition is satisfied, the surrounding traffic participants can easily grasp the state of the signal lamp that can assist the preferential passage with the reward. In addition, the presentation form control process in the information processing apparatus 110 can be simplified.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the reward processing unit 316 of the communication device 140 performs a reward transaction based on the reward information specified by the information processing device 110 and records the transaction in the distributed ledger has been described as an example. However, the transaction of the reward specified by the information processing device 110 may be performed and the result may be recorded in the recording unit 203. Alternatively, it is also possible to perform an actual transaction of the reward determined by the information processing device 110 and transmit only information of the result of the transaction to the communication device 140.

< summary of the embodiments >

1. The information processing apparatus (e.g., reference numeral 110) of the above-described embodiment, which controls lighting of a signal lamp,

the information processing apparatus includes:

an acquisition unit (e.g., 202, 212) that acquires information of a transaction condition related to priority traffic from a communication device associated with a vehicle within a prescribed distance from a signal lamp;

control means (e.g., 202, 214) for controlling lighting of the traffic lights in accordance with a case where a transaction condition relating to priority traffic is satisfied based on information on the transaction condition; and

a processing unit (e.g., 202, 215) that processes payment of the reward in such a manner that the reward for the priority passage is collected from the vehicle side that becomes capable of priority passage in a case where lighting of the signal lamp is controlled by the control unit,

when controlling the lighting of the traffic lights, the control unit further changes the appearance of the traffic lights to indicate that the traffic lights (e.g., 202, 216) are controlled for priority traffic.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to make surrounding traffic participants easily grasp the state of the traffic lights that can assist priority traffic with compensation.

2. On the basis of the above-described embodiments,

the signal lamp is provided with a prompting member (for example, 503),

the change of the appearance form of the signal lamp includes a change of a presentation form in a presentation member of the signal lamp.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to improve the degree of attention of surrounding traffic participants to the lighting of the signal lamp 120 or improve visibility by using some sort of presentation member.

3. On the basis of the above-described embodiments,

the prompting member of the signal lamp comprises a movable back panel (for example, 821-824),

as a change in the appearance of the traffic light, the control unit causes a back panel (e.g., 216, 513) to appear on the traffic light.

According to this embodiment, the use of the back panel can easily improve the degree of attention of the traffic participants and improve the visibility of the lighting of the traffic lights.

4. On the basis of the above-described embodiments,

the prompting member of the signal lamp includes a rotary lamp (e.g., 810),

as a change in the appearance of the traffic light, the control unit rotates and lights the rotary lamp (e.g., 216 and 513).

According to this embodiment, it is possible to strongly concentrate attention of the traffic participant by rotation.

5. On the basis of the above-described embodiments,

the prompting member of the signal lamp includes an information display unit (e.g., 840),

as a change in the appearance form of the traffic light, the control unit causes the information display unit to display at least one of the current traffic light situation, the intersection situation, and the situation of the traffic participants (e.g., 216 and 513).

According to this embodiment, it is possible to present the situation around the traffic light to the traffic participant after the traffic light is controlled for the purpose of priority traffic.

6. On the basis of the above-described embodiments,

the control unit acquires configuration information indicating the configuration of the presentation member of the traffic light from the traffic light, and changes the content of the instruction for changing the appearance form of the traffic light according to the configuration of the presentation member of the traffic light.

According to this embodiment, appropriate presentation control can be realized in accordance with presentation characteristics (for example, designation of display time, display content, and the like) of each presentation member.

7. The information processing apparatus (e.g., 110) of the above-described embodiment, which controls lighting of a signal lamp,

the information processing apparatus includes:

the traffic light is operated in two states, a normal state in which the traffic light 120 is turned on for a purpose other than priority traffic and a priority traffic state in which the turning on of the traffic light 120 can be controlled for priority traffic,

when the traffic light is in the priority passage state, the control unit makes the appearance of the traffic light different from the appearance of the traffic light in the normal state.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for controlling lighting of a signal lamp,

the information processing apparatus includes:

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,

the signal lamp is provided with a prompting component,

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

the prompting component of the signal lamp comprises a movable back panel,

the control unit causes a back panel to appear on the traffic light as a change in the appearance of the traffic light.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

the prompting component of the signal lamp comprises a rotary lamp,

the control unit rotates and lights the rotary lamp as a change of the appearance of the traffic light.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

the prompting component of the signal lamp comprises an information display unit,

the control unit causes the information display unit to display at least one of a current traffic light situation, an intersection situation, and a traffic participant situation as a change in the appearance of the traffic light.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2,

the control unit acquires configuration information indicating a configuration of a presentation member of the signal lamp from the signal lamp, and changes a content of an instruction for changing an appearance form of the signal lamp according to the configuration of the presentation member of the signal lamp.

7. A recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. An information processing apparatus for controlling lighting of a signal lamp,

the information processing apparatus includes:

9. A recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each unit of the information processing apparatus according to claim 8.

10. A method of controlling an information processing apparatus for controlling lighting of a traffic light,

the control method of the information processing apparatus includes:

11. A method of controlling an information processing apparatus for controlling lighting of a traffic light,

the control method of the information processing apparatus includes: