JP2019087969A - Travel field investigation support device - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve efficiency of storage and transmission of moving image data acquired in a travel field investigation.SOLUTION: A device, which applies a process to data of a moving image photographed with vehicle travel to reduce the volume of the data, comprises a mapping unit for mapping vehicle travel history data to the moving image data; and a determination unit for determining a degree of reducing the volume of the moving image data by processing, on the basis of a travel history.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving condition adjustment support device.

  In order to maintain map data and road data used in car navigation devices, applications that operate on personal computers, etc. and display maps, a vehicle equipped with a camera actually travels the road to perform on-site surveys Hereinafter, it may be referred to as "the current driving condition". The map data is created based on position information obtained when the vehicle actually travels, an image (including a moving image) of the surroundings of the vehicle at the time of traveling, which is photographed by a camera mounted on the vehicle, and the like.

  In this case, if it is necessary to store data of all moving images taken while the vehicle is traveling, a huge amount of storage is required, which may result in an increase in the cost of equipment for data maintenance. In addition, when moving image data is uploaded via communication from the field of the current condition to store it in the storage of the data center, not only communication costs increase, but also the data transmission time takes a long time, resulting in transmission failure. There is a risk that the burden on the worker may be excessive.

JP 2003-42796 A

Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-42796) describes a technique for efficiently transferring data via a network. The technology described in Patent Document 1 sets importance on a route guide in moving image data for a route guide, and thins moving image data based on the importance to generate decimated data ( See paragraphs [0025], [0026], [0033] of the specification of cited document 1)).
However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is intended to improve the efficiency in transmitting data from the server to the car navigation device, and moving image data from the current driving site to the data center It does not relate to the efficiency improvement in transmission.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to improve the efficiency of storage and transmission of moving image data acquired at the time of actual driving.
That is, the device according to the first aspect of the present invention is a device that reduces the amount of data by performing processing on data of a moving image taken as the vehicle travels, and the moving history data of the vehicle is And a determination unit that determines the degree of reducing the data amount of moving image data by processing based on the travel history.

  According to the apparatus of the above configuration, it is possible to reduce the moving image data obtained by the current driving control according to the degree based on the traveling history of the vehicle. Therefore, the storage for moving image data can be made smaller without losing necessary information, which can contribute to the reduction of equipment cost for data maintenance. In addition, when uploading moving image data from the current driving site to the storage of the data center by communication, the communication cost can be reduced and the transmission time can be shortened. As a result, the possibility of transmission failure can be reduced, and the burden on the operator can also be reduced.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the above device, the associating unit associates the traveling history data of the vehicle with the data of the moving image based on the time when the moving image was captured, and the determining unit The degree to which the amount of data of moving image data in the time period is reduced by the process is determined based on the traveling history at a predetermined time in a predetermined time.
According to this, it is possible to reduce the data of the moving image by the degree of reduction suitable for the moving image every predetermined time.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, a road on the road on which the vehicle has traveled based on the coordinate extracting unit for extracting the coordinates of the vehicle from the traveling history and the coordinates of the vehicle extracted by the coordinate extracting unit. The determination unit further includes a road characteristic extraction unit that extracts characteristics from the map data, and the determination unit determines the degree based on the road characteristics extracted by the road characteristic extraction unit.
According to this, since it is possible to determine the degree to which the data amount of moving image data is reduced based on the road characteristics of the road on which the vehicle actually travels, the data amount of moving image data is more appropriately reduced according to the road characteristics. be able to.

Further, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a speed determination unit that extracts or calculates the speed of the vehicle from the travel history, and the determination unit determines the speed of the vehicle extracted or calculated by the speed determination unit. Determine the degree based on
According to this, it is possible to reduce the data amount of moving image data more appropriately according to the speed of the vehicle.

Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned device, the travel history includes the driving state of the vehicle, and the determining unit determines the degree based on the driving state of the vehicle.
According to this, it is possible to reduce the data amount of moving image data more appropriately according to the driving state of the vehicle.

The method according to the sixth aspect of the present invention is a method of reducing the amount of data by processing the data of moving images taken as the vehicle travels. And a determination step of determining the degree of reducing the data amount of the moving image data by processing based on the traveling history.
According to this, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be achieved.

Further, according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in the above method, the associating step associates the traveling history data of the vehicle with the data of the moving image based on the time when the moving image was taken, The degree to which the amount of data of moving image data in the time period is reduced by the process is determined based on the traveling history at a predetermined time in a predetermined time.
According to this, the same effect as that of the second aspect can be achieved.

Further, according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the above method, a road of a road on which the vehicle has traveled based on the coordinate extraction step of extracting the coordinates of the vehicle from the traveling history and the coordinates of the vehicle extracted by the coordinate extraction step. The method further includes a road characteristic extraction step of extracting the characteristic from the map data, and the determination step determines the degree based on the road characteristic extracted by the road characteristic extraction step.
According to this, the same effect as that of the third aspect can be achieved.

Further, according to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the above method, the method further includes a speed determination step of extracting or calculating the speed of the vehicle from the traveling history, and the determining step includes the speed of the vehicle extracted or calculated by the speed determination step. Determine the degree based on
According to this, the same effect as that of the fourth aspect can be achieved.

Further, according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, in the above method, the travel history includes the driving state of the vehicle, and the determining step determines the degree based on the driving state of the vehicle.
According to this, the same effect as that of the fifth aspect can be achieved.

A computer program according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is a computer program for reducing the amount of data by performing processing on data of moving images taken as the vehicle travels. It functions as an associating means for associating the traveling history data with the moving image data, and a determining means for determining the degree of reducing the data amount of the moving image data based on the traveling history.
According to this, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be achieved.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the computer program, the associating means associates the traveling history data of the vehicle with the data of the moving image based on the time when the moving image was taken, and the determining means The degree to which the amount of data of moving image data within a predetermined time is reduced by the process is determined based on the travel history of the predetermined time within the predetermined time.
According to this, the same effect as that of the second aspect can be achieved.

Further, according to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the computer program further includes a computer based on coordinate extraction means for extracting coordinates of the vehicle from the traveling history, and the vehicle based on the coordinates of the vehicle extracted by the coordinate extraction means. The road characteristic extraction means functions as road characteristic extraction means for extracting from the map data the road characteristics of the traveled road, and the determination means determines the degree based on the road characteristics extracted by the road characteristic extraction means.
According to this, the same effect as that of the third aspect can be achieved.

Further, according to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the computer program causes the computer to further function as speed determining means for extracting or calculating the speed of the vehicle from the traveling history, and the determining means is The degree is determined based on the calculated speed of the vehicle.
According to this, the same effect as that of the fourth aspect can be achieved.

Further, according to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the computer program, the travel history includes the driving state of the vehicle, and the determination means determines the degree based on the driving state of the vehicle.
According to this, the same effect as that of the fifth aspect can be achieved.

  Further, according to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, a recording medium for recording the computer program is defined.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a running condition adjustment support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a moving image data reduction unit of the traveling reality adjustment support device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of a moving image data reduction method by the moving image data reduction unit according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 (A) shows a vehicle equipped with the traveling condition adjustment support device according to one embodiment, and FIG. 4 (B) shows an example of a traveling condition performed by causing the vehicle of FIG. 4 (A) to travel. It is. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a moving image data reduction method by the moving image data reduction unit according to one embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a moving image data reduction method by the moving image data reduction unit according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, an example of a running present adjustment support device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention and a running present adjustment using the same will be described with reference to the attached drawings. The traveling current adjustment support device 1 is mounted on a vehicle, and is used to perform on-site surveys (that is, traveling current adjustment) for acquiring information necessary for generating map data while traveling on a road with the vehicle.
(Driving condition adjustment support device)
FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration of a running condition adjustment assisting device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the traveling reality control assisting device 1 of the present embodiment includes a GPS receiving device 10, an autonomous positioning device 20, a vehicle operation sensor 30, a control device 40, a map database 50 (map DB), a display device 60, An input device 70, a front imaging device 80, a rear imaging device 90, a storage device 100, a communication device 110, and a system bus 120 are provided.

  The GPS receiver 10 receives radio waves including positioning data from a plurality of GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites. The positioning data is used to obtain absolute position information (latitude and longitude) of the vehicle at each time.

  The autonomous positioning device 20 includes an acceleration sensor 21, an angular velocity sensor 22, and a distance sensor 23. The acceleration sensor 21 includes a piezoelectric element or the like, detects the acceleration of the vehicle on which the traveling condition adjustment support device 1 is mounted, and outputs acceleration data. The angular velocity sensor 22 includes a vibrating gyroscope or the like, detects an angular velocity of the vehicle at the time of turning of the vehicle, and outputs angular velocity data and relative azimuth data. The distance sensor 23 measures and outputs a vehicle speed pulse composed of a pulse signal generated as the wheels of the vehicle rotate. These acceleration data, angular velocity data, relative azimuth data, and vehicle speed pulses are used to obtain relative position information of the vehicle.

  The vehicle operation sensor 30 is a sensor that detects various operation states of the vehicle. For example, the vehicle operation sensor 30 detects an operation state of a steering wheel, a wiper, a direction indicator, an accelerator, a brake, etc. (Hereafter, these are collectively called "vehicle operation data").

  The control device 40 includes an interface 41, a CPU 42 (Central Processing Unit), a ROM 43 (Read Only Memory), and a RAM 44 (Random Access Memory), and performs control of the entire running condition support device 1. The interface 41 performs an interface operation with the GPS receiver 10, the acceleration sensor 21, the angular velocity sensor 22, the distance sensor 23, and the vehicle operation sensor 30. From these, positioning data, acceleration data, angular velocity data, relative heading data, vehicle speed pulses, and vehicle operation data are received into the control device 40. The CPU 42 controls the entire control device 40. The ROM 43 includes a non-volatile memory (not shown) in which a control program for controlling the control device 40 and the like is stored. The RAM 44 readably stores various setting values preset by the user via the input device 70, and provides a working area to the CPU 42. The control program for controlling the control device 40 is not limited to the ROM 43, and may be stored in the RAM 44 or the storage device 100.

  The map database 50 stores map data. The map data includes information related to road elements for defining map information such as links and nodes and information drawn on the map in association with latitude information and longitude information.

  The display device 60 is a device including a display screen for displaying various display data under the control of the control device 40. For example, a moving image captured by the front imaging device 80 and the rear imaging device 90 may be displayed, and information of the vehicle position based on data transmitted from the GPS receiving device 10 or the autonomous positioning device 20 (latitude information, longitude Information) may be displayed. By reading map data from the map database 50, the control device 40 may display a map including the area where the host vehicle travels on the display device 60, or may display the position of the host vehicle on the map. In that case, a navigation image provided by a separate navigation device may be displayed by the display device 60. Further, information indicating the vehicle operation state based on the output from the vehicle operation sensor 30 may be displayed by the display device 60. The display device 60 may also function as a human interface for input using the input device 70.

The input device 70 may be configured of keys, switches, buttons, a remote control, an audio input device, and the like for inputting various commands and data. The input device 70 may be disposed around the front panel of the main body of the on-vehicle electronic system mounted in the vehicle or around the display device 60. When the display device 60 is a touch panel system, the touch panel provided on the display screen of the display device 60 also functions as the input device 70.
Furthermore, the input device 70 also includes an audio unit. The voice unit comprises a voice recognition unit and a microphone. The voice generated by the user is collected by the microphone and input to the voice recognition unit. The voice recognition unit recognizes the voice instruction from the user and provides the control device 40 with the recognition result. Thus, the user can input an instruction or the like by voice instead of the remote control or the touch panel. The voice by the user may be taken as it is as voice data.

  The front imaging device 80 and the rear imaging device 90 respectively include cameras attached to the front and the rear of the vehicle, and acquire moving images of the front and the rear of the vehicle according to the control of the control device 40. An exemplary arrangement for attaching the front imaging device 80 and the rear imaging device 90 to the vehicle 400 is shown in FIG. 4 (A). However, the arrangement method of the front imaging device 80 and the rear imaging device 90 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 4A, and the front imaging device 80 may be any portion capable of imaging the front including the front of the vehicle 400 The imaging device 90 may be any portion capable of imaging the rear including the rear of the vehicle 400. Further, the number and arrangement positions of the imaging devices for capturing moving images around the vehicle 400 are not limited to these.

  The storage device 100 is configured of, for example, an HDD or the like. The control device 40 stores moving image data and travel history data acquired by the front imaging device 80 and the rear imaging device 90 in association with the acquisition time of each data. Here, the travel history data includes data of position information of the vehicle 400 obtained based on data provided by the GPS receiving device 10 and the autonomous positioning device 20, and vehicle operation data provided by the vehicle operation sensor 30. As a result, the moving image data and the traveling history data are stored in the storage device 100 in association with each other according to their acquisition times.

The communication device 110 is constituted by a so-called modem or the like, and under the control of the control device 40, the data center 200 transmits various information including moving image data to the data center 200 via a network constituted by a telephone network and a wireless communication network. Send.
The control device 40, the map database 50, the display device 60, the input device 70, the front imaging device 80, the rear imaging device 90, the storage device 100, and the communication device 110 are mutually connected via the system bus 120.

(Moving image data reduction unit)
The control device 40 includes a moving image data reduction unit 300 shown in FIG. The moving image data reduction unit 300 includes a map data acquisition unit 301, a travel history acquisition unit 302, a moving image data acquisition unit 303, a road characteristic determination unit 304, a driving condition determination unit 305, a traffic sign determination unit 306, and an obstacle determination unit 307. A thinning degree calculation unit 308, a thinning execution unit 309, and a post-thinning moving image data output unit 310 are included. That is, the control device 40 executes a predetermined program to obtain the map data acquisition unit 301, the travel history acquisition unit 302, the moving image data acquisition unit 303, the road characteristic judgment unit 304, the driving condition judgment unit 305, and the traffic sign judgment. A moving image reduction unit 300 including a unit 306, an obstacle judging unit 307, a thinning degree calculating unit 308, a thinning execution unit 309, and a thinned after moving image data output unit 310 is realized.

Next, the operation of the moving image data reduction unit 300 will be described. The traveling history acquisition unit 302 acquires traveling history data stored in the storage device 100. The moving image data acquisition unit 303 acquires moving image data stored in the storage device 100.
The map data acquisition unit 301 acquires map data of a map of a predetermined area including the road on which the vehicle has traveled from the map data stored in the map database 50 based on the travel history data acquired by the travel history acquisition unit 302. At this time, positional information of the vehicle at each time is associated with the acquired map data.

The road characteristic judgment unit 304 judges the road characteristic of the road on which the vehicle has traveled based on the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 301. For example, the designated speed of the road on which the vehicle traveled, the presence or absence of a traffic sign present in the vicinity of the road, and the presence or absence of a characteristic road shape (for example, intersection, junction of roads, junction point, number of lanes change, expressway Judging entrance etc.) and others.
The driving state determination unit 305 is based on the traveling history data acquired by the traveling history acquisition unit 302, the driving state of the vehicle at each time (the vehicle speed, the steering wheel of the vehicle, the wiper, the direction indicator, the accelerator, the brake operation state, etc.) To determine.

The traffic sign determination unit 306 determines whether or not the video of the traffic sign is included in the moving image captured by the front imaging device 80 and the rear imaging device 90 at each time based on the moving image data acquired by the moving image data acquisition unit 303 Do the image recognition method. The map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit 301 may be used in combination to determine whether the image of the traffic sign is included in the moving image.
The obstacle judging unit 307 judges whether the moving image of the moving image data acquired by the moving image data acquiring unit 303 includes an image of an obstacle such as a large vehicle. “A moving image includes a video of an obstacle” means, for example, that an obstacle occupying a range of a predetermined ratio or more in the whole area of the moving image is photographed for a predetermined time or more. it can.

  The thinning degree calculating unit 308 receives each determination by the road characteristic judging unit 304, the driving state judging unit 305, the traffic sign judging unit 306, and the obstacle judging unit 307, and calculates the thinning degree of moving image data based on those judgments. Do. For example, the thinning-out degree calculating unit 308 may calculate the thinning-out degree for each predetermined time zone in which the moving image of the moving image data acquired by the moving image data acquiring unit 303 was captured. In that case, the predetermined time Road characteristic judgment unit 304, driving condition judgment unit 305, traffic sign judgment unit 306, based on travel history data and moving image data acquired at predetermined time included in the band, and map data corresponding to the travel history data The thinning degree may be calculated based on each determination by the obstacle determining unit 307.

The thinning execution unit 309 reduces moving image data by thinning moving image data based on the thinning degree calculated by the thinning degree calculation unit 308. For example, the thinning execution unit 309 may reduce moving image data for each predetermined time zone based on the thinning degree for each predetermined time zone described above. The moving image data reduction processing is performed, for example, by uniformly thinning out and encoding frames of a moving image included in the predetermined time zone at a predetermined cycle according to a thinning rate that increases as the degree of thinning increases. It can be carried out.
The encoding method may be any method as long as it can compress moving image data such as MPEG and Motion Jpeg. However, in the case of MPEG, since it is necessary to perform prediction processing to reproduce moving images by referring to the previous and subsequent frames, there is a risk that the decoded image may be disturbed if processing is simply performed to evenly thin the frames. . Therefore, in the case of MPEG, as described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-178999, video data for splicing called a repeat picture is inserted to generate a frame that does not break the relationship between the preceding and succeeding frames. After that, it is necessary to perform thinning processing.

  The post-thinning motion image data output unit 310 outputs moving image data on which the thinning-out has been performed by the thinning-out execution unit 309. The output decimated moving image data is stored in the storage device 100. The storage capacity required for the storage device 100 may be reduced by replacing moving image data before thinning-out stored in the storage device 100 with moving image data after thinning-out. Alternatively, moving image data before thinning may be held as it is in the storage device 100, and moving image data after thinning may also be stored in the storage device 100.

FIG. 3 schematically shows the flow of a moving image data reduction method by the moving image data reduction unit 300 according to the present embodiment.
First, in step S1, travel history data and moving image data stored in the storage device 100 and map data stored in the map database 50 are acquired. The travel history data and map data to be acquired are associated with each other by the position information of the point where the vehicle travels at each time.

In the following step S2, based on the traveling history data, moving image data, and map data acquired in step S1, the driving state of the vehicle, the road characteristics of the road on which the vehicle has traveled, the presence or absence of a traffic sign around the road, and the surroundings of the vehicle Determine if there is an obstacle.
In the following step S3, the thinning degree of moving image data is calculated based on the determination result in step S2. As described above, the thinning degree may be calculated for each predetermined time zone in which a moving image is captured.

In the following step S4, the data amount of moving image data is reduced by performing thinning of the moving image frame using the thinning degree calculated in step S3. For example, the data amount of moving image data may be reduced for each time slot based on the above-described thinning degree for each time slot.
In the following step S5, the moving image data subjected to the thinning in step S4 is output. The output decimated moving image data is stored in the storage device 100.

(Example of running current control)
Next, an example of the current driving control using the current driving support system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 4A, a front imaging device 80 and a rear imaging device 90 are attached to the front and the rear of the vehicle 400 equipped with the traveling condition adjustment assisting device 1. In FIG. 4B, the vehicle 400 equipped with the traveling current adjustment support device 1 according to the present embodiment travels on the road in the direction of arrow a, and the surroundings of the vehicle are photographed by the front imaging device 80 and the rear imaging device 90 A situation in which the current driving control is performed is schematically shown by acquiring the traveling history data of the vehicle 400 while acquiring the data of the moving image. In the example of FIG. 4B, the vehicle 400 travels in the order of the road segment A, the intersection I ₁ , the road segment B, the intersection I ₂ , and the road segment C. Furthermore, the traffic sign 501 along road segment A is, traffic signs 503, 504 along the road segment B is, traffic signs 505 along the road section C are respectively provided, in the corner of the intersection _{I 1} is a traffic light 502 placed It shows that it is done. In the present specification, both of the traffic signs 501, 503, 504, 505 and the traffic light 502 are represented by the term "traffic signs". In the road section C, the large vehicle 600 is assumed to be reflected in the moving image captured by the front imaging device 80 as an obstacle.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the time change of various parameters x _{1 to} x ₅ obtained by the current running tone shown in FIG. 4 and an example of the change of thinning degree P for moving image data by the front photographing device 80 calculated based thereon. Shown in 5. Double arrows A, B, C, I ₁ and I ₂ indicate time zones in which the vehicle 400 travels on the road sections A, B and C, and the intersections I ₁ and I ₂ , respectively.
x ₁ represents the transition of the vehicle speed of the vehicle 400 determined by the driving state determination unit 305 from the time change of the position information of the vehicle 400. Determination vehicle speed x ₁ may be performed based on the result of detection by the distance sensor 23.

x ₂ represents the designated speed of the traveling path. Determination specified rate x ₂ is included in the determination of the road characteristics by the road characteristic determination unit 304. In that case, a method may be used in which the traffic sign determination unit 306 determines the designated speed described on the traffic sign by performing image recognition of a moving image by the front imaging device 80 or the rear imaging device 90.
x ₃ is a parameter that takes a predetermined value other than 0 when detecting traffic signs in the vicinity of the traveling path, which is 0 at normal times (hereinafter referred to as “traffic sign detection value”) You may judge by recognizing a traffic sign by the image recognition using the moving image image | photographed with the apparatus 90, and in that case, judgment of the road characteristic by the road characteristic judgment part 304 may be taken into consideration.

x ₄ is a parameter that takes a value other than 0 during a time zone in which the vehicle 400 is traveling, which is normally 0 at the intersection and a predetermined range before and after the intersection (hereinafter referred to as “intersection detection value”). The value is determined based on the road characteristic determined by the unit 304.
x ₅ is normally 0 when the obstacle determination unit 307 determines that the moving image captured by the front imaging device 80 or the rear imaging device 90 includes an obstacle (a parameter other than 0) ((5) Hereinafter, “obstacle detection value” will be referred to). “The moving image includes an obstacle” can be, for example, a state in which an obstacle occupying a range of a predetermined ratio or more of the moving image is captured for a predetermined time or more.

Based on the vehicle speed x ₁ , the designated speed x ₂ , the traffic sign detection value x ₃ , the intersection detection value x ₄ , and the obstacle detection value x ₅ , the thinning degree calculation unit 308 calculates the thinning degree P by a predetermined calculation method. For example, the degree of thinning P may be calculated for each predetermined time zone indicated by T1 to T6 in FIG. In this example, the degree of decimation P is defined such that the decimation rate of the corresponding moving image data increases as the value thereof increases. Examples of the calculation method of thinning of P, as the vehicle speed x ₁ and designated speed x ₂ is high, the thinning of P may be set so as to easily take a small value. This is because as the vehicle speed increases, the redundancy of the captured moving image tends to decrease. Moreover, traffic sign detection value x ₃ and intersections detected value x ₄ is the degree of thinning if not 0 in comparison with the case where 0 P may be set so as to easily take a small value. This is because moving image parts including traffic signs and intersections are considered to contain important information. It is also possible to set such thinning of P when the obstacle detection value x ₅ non-zero in comparison with the case where 0 is likely to take a large value. This is because moving images including obstacles are considered to have a low relative value.
As values of the parameters x _{1 to} x ₅ , values obtained at predetermined times included in each of the time zones T _{1 to} T ₆ may be used. In the example of FIG. 5, it is assumed to calculate the thinning-out degree P of the respective time zones T1 to T6 by using the value of the parameter _x 1 ~x ₅ at the start of each time period T1 to T6.

  The thinning execution unit 309 thins moving image data based on the thinning degree P calculated by the thinning degree calculation unit 308. Specifically, moving image data is reduced by thinning out and encoding frames at a rate according to the degree of thinning P for a group of frames constituting a moving image in a predetermined time zone. In the present example, as described above, the degree of thinning P is defined such that the larger the value, the larger the thinning rate of the corresponding moving image data. For example, when the degree of thinning is 3, the rate of thinning is 75%, when the degree of thinning is 2, the rate of thinning is 50%, when the degree of thinning is 1, the rate of thinning is 25%, and when the degree of thinning is 0, the rate of thinning The thinning rate can be arbitrarily set in the range of 0 to 100% according to the thinning degree, such as 0%.

(A) to (d) of FIG. 6 show examples of how to skip frames of moving images in the time zones T3, T2, T4 and T6 of FIG. 5, respectively. Each square f in FIG. 6 indicates a frame of a moving image. In the time zone T3 shown in FIG. 6A, since the thinning degree is 0 and the thinning rate is 0%, thinning of moving image frames included in the time zone T3 is not performed. In the time zone T2 shown in FIG. 6B, since the thinning rate is 1 and the thinning rate is 25%, one frame is equally thinned every four frames in the moving image frame included in the time zone T2, and Become. Frames to be thinned out are hatched. In the time zone T4 shown in FIG. 6C, since the thinning rate is 2 and the thinning rate is 50%, one frame is equally dropped every two frames in the moving image frame included in the time zone T4. Become. In the time zone T6 shown in FIG. 6 (d), since the thinning rate is 3 and the thinning rate is 75%, 3 frames are equally dropped every 4 frames in the moving image frame included in the time zone T6. Become.
However, the method of setting the degree of thinning and the rate of thinning and the method of thinning a moving image frame are merely examples.

The post-thinning motion image data output unit 310 outputs, to the storage device 100, the motion image data whose data amount has been reduced by the above-described frame thinning, and the storage device 100 stores the data.
Instead of calculating the degree of thinning for each predetermined time zone, the degree of thinning calculation unit 308 may sequentially calculate the degree of thinning based on the parameter value that changes sequentially. An example of the degree of thinning in that case is shown by P 'in FIG. Then, the thinning process of moving image data may be sequentially performed according to the thinning degree P 'of each time. This makes it possible to reduce moving image data while appropriately preventing information from being lost.
When the user inputs a specific signal or voice via the input device 70 in addition to the calculation of the thinning degree P, P ′ as described above, the thinning degree calculation unit 308 always calculates the thinning degree to a predetermined value. The thinning rate may be set to a predetermined value (for example, 100% or 0%).

The moving image data reduction unit 300 of FIG. 2 is not limited to the one realized in the traveling condition adjustment support device 1, and may be realized to reduce moving image data in a data center.
In addition to the moving image data reduction method according to the present embodiment described above, a general moving image data compression method may be used in combination. For example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-252333, in combination with a method of thinning out a target frame at a predetermined cycle when it is detected that the target frame and the immediately preceding frame are identical or nearly identical. It is also good.
In addition to the moving image data reduction method according to the present embodiment described above, a moving image taken in the past and a moving image taken anew are compared, and travel in areas other than the traveling section where the change between the two is noticeable For the section, a method of reducing moving image data by deleting newly acquired moving image data may be used in combination.

(Modification)
Although the moving image data reduction unit 300 illustrated in FIG. 2 has been described as including the thinning degree calculating unit 308 and the thinning execution unit 309, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the moving image data reduction unit 300, instead of the thinning degree calculating unit 308 and the thinning execution unit 309, the road characteristic judging unit 304, the driving state judging unit 305, the traffic sign judging unit 306, and the obstacle judging unit 307 On the basis of this, it may be determined whether or not moving image data reduction processing is to be performed, and only when it is determined that the reduction processing is to be performed, a portion may be provided to perform moving image data reduction processing of the judgment target section. As the moving image data reduction processing in that case, any method including a conventionally known method can be used.

Alternatively, the moving image data reduction unit 300 may use the judgment of the road characteristic judgment unit 304, the driving condition judgment unit 305, the traffic sign judgment unit 306, and the obstacle judgment unit 307 instead of the thinning degree calculation unit 308 and the thinning execution unit 309. On the basis of this, it may have a part that deletes all of the frame groups of the moving image of the judgment target section.
Alternatively, the moving image data reduction unit 300 may use the judgment of the road characteristic judgment unit 304, the driving condition judgment unit 305, the traffic sign judgment unit 306, and the obstacle judgment unit 307 instead of the thinning degree calculation unit 308 and the thinning execution unit 309. On the basis of this, there is a portion for reducing the data amount of moving image data by deleting the portion other than the predetermined portion of the video of the moving image of the determination target section or reducing the image quality of the moving image of the determination target section. You may

In the above description, although the imaging device represented by the front imaging device 80 and the rear imaging device 90 has been described as being mounted on a vehicle, the present invention is not limited to this, the periphery of the vehicle is It can be realized using an imaging device capable of imaging. For example, instead of mounting a camera as a photographing device on a vehicle, a passenger of the vehicle may hold and photograph.
Further, in the above description, although the traveling history data and the moving image data are associated by each acquisition time, the present invention is not limited to this, and the traveling history data and the moving image data are associated by any method It may be done. For example, by capturing a moving image with a camera with a GPS function, information on a shooting location may be directly associated with traveling image data as travel history data.

  The present invention is not limited to the description of the above-described embodiment, examples, and modifications. Various modifications are also included in the present invention as long as those skilled in the art can easily conceive of the claims without departing from the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 traveling present control assisting device 10 GPS receiver 20 autonomous positioning device 21 acceleration sensor 22 angular velocity sensor 23 distance sensor 30 vehicle operation sensor 40 control device 41 interface 42 CPU
43 ROM
44 RAM
50 map database 60 display device 70 input device 80 front imaging device 90 rear imaging device 100 storage device 110 communication device 120 system bus 200 data center 300 moving image data reduction unit 301 map data acquisition unit 302 travel history acquisition unit 303 moving image data acquisition Unit 304 Road characteristic judgment unit 305 Driving condition judgment unit 306 Traffic sign judgment unit 307 Obstacle judgment unit 308 Thinning degree calculation unit 309 Thinning execution unit 310 Thinning after motion image data output unit 400 Vehicles 501, 503, 504, 505 Road traffic sign 502 traffic light 600 obstacle (large vehicle)

Claims (16)

A device that reduces the amount of data by processing the data of moving images taken as the vehicle travels,
An associating unit that associates travel history data of the vehicle with data of the moving image;
The determination part which determines the data amount of the data of the said moving image by the said process based on the said driving | running | working history. The associating unit associates the traveling history data of the vehicle with the data of the moving image based on the time when the moving image was captured.
The determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the degree of reducing the data amount of the moving image data within a predetermined time by the processing is determined based on the travel history at a predetermined time within the predetermined time. Device. A coordinate extraction unit that extracts coordinates of the vehicle from the travel history;
And a road characteristic extraction unit that extracts, from map data, road characteristics of a road on which the vehicle has traveled based on the coordinates of the vehicle extracted by the coordinate extraction unit.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the degree based on the road characteristic extracted by the road characteristic extraction unit. The system further includes a speed determination unit that extracts or calculates the speed of the vehicle from the travel history,
The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determination unit determines the degree based on the speed of the vehicle extracted or calculated by the speed determination unit. The travel history includes the driving state of the vehicle,
The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determination unit determines the degree based on a driving state of the vehicle. A method of reducing the amount of data by processing the data of moving images taken as the vehicle travels,
Associating the travel history data of the vehicle with the data of the moving image;
Determining the degree to which the data amount of the moving image data is reduced by the processing based on the traveling history. The associating step associates the traveling history data of the vehicle with the data of the moving image based on the time when the moving image was taken,
The determination step according to claim 6, wherein the degree of reducing the data amount of the moving image data within a predetermined time by the processing is determined based on the travel history at a predetermined time within the predetermined time. the method of. A coordinate extracting step of extracting coordinates of the vehicle from the traveling history;
A road characteristic extraction step of extracting from the map data the road characteristic of the road on which the vehicle has traveled based on the coordinate of the vehicle extracted by the coordinate extraction step;
The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the determination step determines the degree based on the road characteristic extracted by the road characteristic extraction step. The method further includes a speed determination step of extracting or calculating the speed of the vehicle from the travel history,
The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the determination step determines the degree based on the speed of the vehicle extracted or calculated by the speed determination step. The travel history includes the driving state of the vehicle,
The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the determining step determines the degree based on a driving state of the vehicle. A computer program for reducing the amount of data by processing the data of moving images taken as the vehicle travels.
Associating means for associating the traveling history data of the vehicle with the data of the moving image based on the time when the moving image was taken;
A computer program which functions as determination means for determining the degree of reducing the data amount of data of the moving image by the processing based on the traveling history. The associating means associates the traveling history data of the vehicle with the data of the moving image based on the time when the moving image was taken,
12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the determination means determines the degree of reduction of the data amount of data of the moving image within a predetermined time by the processing based on the travel history at a predetermined time within the predetermined time. Computer program. Coordinate extraction means for further extracting the coordinates of the vehicle from the travel history;
Based on the coordinates of the vehicle extracted by the coordinate extraction unit, the control unit functions as a road characteristic extraction unit that extracts from the map data the road characteristics of the road on which the vehicle has traveled.
13. The computer program according to claim 11, wherein said determination means determines said degree based on said road characteristic extracted by said road characteristic extraction means. Further causing the computer to function as a speed determination unit that extracts or calculates the speed of the vehicle from the travel history;
The computer program according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the determination means determines the degree based on the speed of the vehicle extracted or calculated by the speed determination means. The travel history includes the driving state of the vehicle,
The computer program according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the determination means determines the degree based on a driving state of the vehicle.   The recording medium which records the computer program as described in any one of Claims 11-15.

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