JP2023059956A - Map maintenance device, guide device, control method, program, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a map maintenance device capable of suitably automatically generating a list relating to change points where map data should be updated.

SOLUTION: A map maintenance device includes: an acquisition unit that acquires news information; an extraction unit that extracts a change point candidate in map data based on the news information and the map data to be updated; and a transmission request unit that requests an on-vehicle apparatus identified based on a change point candidate spot, which is a spot corresponding to the change point candidate, to transmit the communication status of the change point candidate spot.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

COPYRIGHT: (C)2023,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to map data maintenance technology.

Conventionally, there are techniques for organizing map data. For example, in Patent Document 1, pre-opening information including information about routes scheduled to be put into service and map data including routes already in use and planned to be put in use are stored, and a non-use data version stored as pre-opening information and the data version of the map data to determine whether or not the map data corresponding to the pre-opening information can be used.

JP 2014-238471 A

Closures and new openings of facilities, new installations and removals of signs occur at various points, and there is a problem that it takes time and effort to accurately grasp such information and reflect it in map data. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a map maintenance apparatus capable of preferably automatically generating a list of changes for which map data should be updated.

The invention described in the present application is a map maintenance apparatus, which extracts candidates for changes in the map data based on an acquisition unit that acquires news information, the news information, and map data to be updated. an extraction unit; and a transmission request unit that requests an in-vehicle device specified based on a change point candidate point, which is a point corresponding to the change point candidate, to transmit the communication status of the change point candidate point.

Another invention described in the present application is a control method executed by a map maintenance apparatus, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring news information; an extracting step of extracting change point candidates; and a transmission request for requesting transmission of the communication status of the change point candidate points to the vehicle-mounted device specified based on the change point candidate points, which are points corresponding to the change point candidates. and

Another invention described in the present application is a program executed by a computer of a map maintenance apparatus, the acquisition unit acquiring news information, and the map data based on the news information and map data to be updated. and an in-vehicle device identified based on the candidate change point, which is a point corresponding to the candidate change point, to request transmission of the communication status of the candidate change point. The computer functions as a requestor.

1 is a schematic configuration of a map management system according to an embodiment; 1 shows a schematic configuration of a map maintenance device; It is an example of the data structure of a change list. It is an example of the data structure of map data. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an overview of update processing of a change point list; FIG. This is a display example of a news site searched based on the search word "closed". It is a display example of a news site searched based on the search word "open a store". It is an example of a display showing the content posted by SNS. FIG. 10 shows posted content when a newly added sign is displayed on a photo posted by SNS. A display example of an in-vehicle device that searches for a route is shown.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the map maintenance apparatus includes an acquisition unit that acquires news information, and based on the news information and map data to be updated, information on changes in the map data. An extraction unit for extracting and a generation unit for generating the list of changes.

The map maintenance device includes an acquisition unit, an extraction unit, and a generation unit. The acquisition unit acquires news information. Here, the news information includes web information provided on news sites, web information posted by SNS (Social Networking Service), voice information such as radio, and the like. The extraction unit extracts information about changes in the map data based on the news information and map data to be updated. Here, the changed points are information related to changes such as facilities and other features (including traffic lights, signboards, signs, etc.) registered in the map data. The generator generates a list of changes. According to this aspect, the map maintenance apparatus can generate a list of changes to be reflected when updating the map data from the news information, and can favorably improve the efficiency of the map updating process.

In one aspect of the above map maintenance device, the extraction unit extracts at least one of an object, a position, a date, and an aspect of change regarding the change from the news information. As a result, the map maintenance apparatus can suitably collect the information necessary for updating the map data in the list of changes to be generated.

In another aspect of the map maintenance apparatus, the acquisition unit receives news information searched based on one or more keywords from news information that can be acquired via a communication network. According to this aspect, the map maintenance apparatus can suitably acquire news information including the contents related to changes in map data and efficiently generate a list of changes.

In another aspect of the map maintenance device, the map maintenance device further includes a reliability determination unit that determines reliability of the change point, and the generation unit adds the reliability information to the change point list. include. According to this aspect, the map maintenance apparatus can preferably include the reliability of information regarding changes generated from news information in the list of changes.

In another aspect of the map maintenance apparatus, the reliability determination unit determines the reliability based on information regarding the source of the news information from which the information regarding the change has been extracted. According to this aspect, the map maintenance device can suitably determine the reliability of the information regarding the change.

In another aspect of the map maintenance apparatus, the reliability determination unit increases the reliability corresponding to the change as the number of pieces of news information related to the change increases. In this way, the map maintenance apparatus can accurately determine the reliability by judging the reliability regarding the change points according to the number of related news information.

In another aspect of the map preparation device, the map preparation device selects changes to be reflected in the map data from the list of changes generated by the generation unit based on the reliability determined by the reliability determination unit. It further comprises a map updater for determining points. According to this aspect, the map maintenance device can preferably maintain the reliability of the map data.

In another aspect of the map maintenance apparatus, the extracting unit extracts information about a traffic light or a sign as information about the change, based on an image included in the news information. According to this aspect, the map maintenance apparatus can preferably register changes related to traffic lights and signs in the list of changes.

In another aspect of the map maintenance device, the acquisition unit acquires at least one of display information on a news site or a social networking site, or audio information related to broadcast audio, as the news information. As a result, the map maintenance apparatus can suitably acquire news information from which information about changes is to be extracted.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a guidance device that provides guidance based on map data updated by a map maintenance device, wherein the map data includes facilities or areas other than facilities to which reliability information is added. A warning unit is provided for outputting a warning based on the reliability when providing guidance regarding an object. According to this aspect, the guidance device notifies the user of the degree of reliability of the target facilities and features, so that it is possible to suitably utilize even the information on the changes that are not sufficiently reliable.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a control method executed by a map maintenance apparatus, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring news information; based on the news information and map data to be updated, An extracting step of extracting information about changes in the map data, and a generating step of generating a list of the changes. By executing this control method, the map maintenance apparatus can generate a list of changes to be reflected when updating the map data from the news information, and can favorably improve the efficiency of the map updating process.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a program executed by a computer of a map maintenance apparatus, comprising: an acquisition unit for acquiring news information; , the computer functions as an extraction unit for extracting information about changes in the map data and a generation unit for generating a list of the changes. By executing this program, the computer can generate from the news information a list of changes that should be reflected when updating the map data, and can favorably improve the efficiency of the map updating process. Preferably, the program is stored in a storage medium.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Overview of map management system]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration of a map management system according to this embodiment. The map management system includes a map maintenance device 1 that updates and distributes map data, a plurality of vehicle-mounted devices 2 that move with each vehicle, and a server device 4 .

The map preparation device 1 stores the distribution map DB 10, and in response to a request from the vehicle-mounted device 2, extracts the map data "D1" from the distribution map DB 10 and transmits it. The map data D1 may be partial map data around the position of the vehicle on the vehicle-mounted device 2, or difference information for updating the map DB 20 of the vehicle-mounted device 2 to the latest information. Further, the map maintenance device 1 can communicate with the server device 4 via a communication network such as the Internet, and retrieves information about news (also referred to as "news information D2") stored in the server device 4 based on a predetermined keyword. Acts as a crawler to search and collect. Here, the news information D2 corresponds to, for example, various display information such as websites and SNSs that can be displayed by a browser, radio audio information distributed by podcasts, and the like. Then, based on the news information D2 received from the server device 4, the map preparation device 1 creates a list of changes (also referred to as "change list Lc") regarding facilities and features other than facilities since the latest update of the distribution map DB 10. ) are generated and stored.

The in-vehicle device 2 is a stationary terminal or a portable terminal, and receives and stores the map data D1 from the map preparation device 1 . Based on the received map data D1 and the like, the in-vehicle device 2 searches for a route to the destination set by the user and provides guidance based on the set route. The in-vehicle device 2 is an example of a "guidance device" in the present invention.

The server device 4 is a web server that stores various types of information in HTML documents related to news and transmits information specified by a URL from a client such as the map maintenance device 1 according to a predetermined protocol such as HTTP. Although only one server device 4 is shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of server devices 4 can actually communicate with the map maintenance device 1 and the like.

[Configuration of server device]
FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the map maintenance device 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2 , the map preparation device 1 has a communication section 11 , a storage section 12 , an input section 13 , a control section 15 and a display section 16 . Each of these elements in the map maintenance apparatus 1 are interconnected via a bus line.

The communication unit 11 communicates various data with the in-vehicle device 2 under the control of the control unit 15 . In this embodiment, the communication unit 11 transmits the map data D1 extracted from the distribution map DB 10 by the control unit 15 to the vehicle device 2 when receiving a request to acquire the map data D1 from the vehicle device 2 . Also, under the control of the control unit 15, the communication unit 11 performs data communication with the server device 4 that manages display information or audio information related to news, and receives news information D2.

The storage unit 12 stores a program for controlling the operation of the map preparation device 1 and holds information necessary for the operation of the map preparation device 1 . The storage unit 12 stores the distribution map DB 10 and a change point list Lc for updating the distribution map DB 10 . The input unit 13 is an interface that receives various inputs from a user, and corresponds to, for example, buttons, a touch panel, a keyboard, a voice input device, and the like. The input unit 13 supplies the generated input signal to the control unit 15 . The display unit 16 displays predetermined information under the control of the control unit 15 .

The control unit 15 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. (not shown), and performs various controls on each component in the map maintenance apparatus 1 . In this embodiment, the control unit 15 analyzes the news information D2 received from the server device 4 to perform the process of generating the change point list Lc. Further, the control unit 15 updates the distribution map DB 10 with the change point list Lc based on the input to the input unit 13 and the like. Further, when the communication unit 11 receives a predetermined request signal from the vehicle-mounted device 2 , the control unit 15 extracts the map data D<b>1 from the distribution map DB 10 and transmits the map data D<b>1 to the vehicle-mounted device 2 through the communication unit 11 . In this case, the above-described request signal includes, for example, the vehicle position information of the vehicle-mounted device 2 and/or the latest update date and time information of the map DB 20. Based on these information, the control unit 15 to extract the map data D1 to be distributed. The control unit 15 is an example of the "acquisition unit", the "extraction unit", the "generation unit", the "reliability determination unit", and the "map update unit" in the present invention, and the "computer" that executes the program in the present invention. .

[data structure]
Next, specific examples of the data structures of the change point list Lc and the map data D1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

FIG. 3 is an example of the data structure of the change point list Lc. The change point list Lc mainly has items of "list number", "position", "status", "date and time of change", "reliability", "type", and "name". Here, "list number" indicates an identification number assigned to each record in the change point list Lc. "Position" indicates the latitude and longitude representing the point where the change is presumed. Further, "status" indicates a change mode of a facility or the like to be changed. "Change date and time" indicates the date and time when the change is made or is estimated to be made. "Reliability" indicates the reliability of the change point information indicated by the corresponding record. In the example of FIG. 3, the reliability has a five-level evaluation value with "5" being the maximum. "Type" indicates the type (category) of the facility or the like whose status has been changed, and "Name" indicates the name of the facility or the like whose status has been changed.

The map preparation device 1 generates each record of the change point list Lc shown in FIG. 3 based on the news information D2 received from the server device 4. The processing for generating the change point list Lc will be described later.

FIG. 4 is an example of the data structure of the map data D1. The map data D1 shown in FIG. 4 includes facility information and road data. The facility information mainly includes position information, name information, type information, and reliability information.

The reliability information is included, for example, in the facility information corresponding to the record of the change point list Lc in which the reliability is less than a predetermined level (for example, the maximum value "5") among the facility information. The reliability information mainly includes information on each item such as "status", "change date and time", and "reliability" registered in the change point list Lc. For example, when reflecting in the distribution map DB 10 a record in the change point list Lc whose “status” is “disappeared” and whose “reliability” is less than a predetermined degree, the map preparation device 1 transfers the facility information of the target facility to the distribution map DB 10. Instead of completely erasing it from the DB 10, the above reliability information is added to the facility information. A method of using the reliability information will be described later.

[Change list generation processing]
(1) Processing overview

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an overview of the change point list Lc generating process executed by the map maintenance apparatus 1 . The map maintenance device 1 repeatedly executes the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the map preparation apparatus 1 searches for news information D2 necessary for generating a record of the change point list Lc based on a predetermined keyword (also referred to simply as a "search word"). D2 is received from the server device 4 (step S101). That is, the map maintenance apparatus 1 collects the news information D2 necessary for generating the records of the change point list Lc from predetermined search words using a known search engine or the like. Here, the aforementioned search words are, for example, "closed", "opened", "opened", "opened", etc., and are determined in advance based on a personal method or a known learning technique.

After that, the map preparation device 1 identifies the name, position, date and time of change, etc. of a facility whose status has been changed or is scheduled to be changed, such as closing or opening, from the news information D2 received from the server device 4 (step S102). Details of the specifying process in step S102 will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9. FIG.

Next, the map preparation device 1 determines whether or not the change in the status of the facilities identified in step S102 has been reflected in the distribution map DB 10 (step S103). That is, the map preparation apparatus 1 determines whether or not the distribution map DB 10 reflects the change in the status of the facility or the like that has been changed or is scheduled to be changed, such as closing or opening, in step S103. If the changes related to the facilities identified in step S102 have already been reflected in the distribution map DB 10 (step S103; Yes), the map preparation device 1 terminates the processing of the flowchart without updating the change point list Lc.

On the other hand, when the map preparation device 1 determines that the changes related to the facilities identified in step S102 are not reflected in the distribution map DB 10 (step S103; No), it updates the change point list Lc (step S104). That is, the map maintenance apparatus 1 generates or updates records in the change point list Lc corresponding to the facilities identified in step S102. At this time, the map preparation device 1 sets the reliability of the facility identified in step S102 according to the source of the news information D2 used in step S102.

Specific examples (first to third examples) of updating the change point list Lc to the distribution map DB 10 will now be described.

In a first example, the map preparation apparatus 1 reflects only the records of the change point list Lc whose reliability is equal to or higher than a predetermined degree in the distribution map DB 10 when the distribution map DB 10 is updated. As a result, the map maintenance device 1 can suitably secure the reliability of the distribution map DB 10 . Note that the update timing described above may be, for example, a timing determined at predetermined time intervals, or may be a predetermined timing based on user input.

In the second example, instead of or in addition to the first example, when there is a record in the change point list Lc whose reliability is less than the predetermined degree, the map maintenance apparatus 1 Reliability information (see FIG. 4) indicating the reliability, the status after change (closed, etc.), and the date and time when the status was changed is added to the facility information of the facility. A utilization example of the reliability information will be described later.

In the third example, the map preparation apparatus 1 reflects the record of the change point list Lc specified by the user input in the distribution map DB 10 . In this case, for example, the administrator of the map maintenance apparatus 1 reflects only the records of the change point list Lc for facilities, etc., for which status changes have actually been confirmed, in the distribution map DB 10 . Further, in this case, if there are items in the change point list Lc that could not be identified from the news information D2 (for example, position, reliability, etc.), the map preparation apparatus 1 accepts input from the input unit 13, Information necessary for updating the distribution map DB 10 may be obtained as appropriate.

In addition, in order to confirm the status change, the map preparation device 1 receives a change in the status of facilities, etc. specified in the change point list Lc from the vehicle-mounted device 2 equipped with a camera that captures the scenery in front of the vehicle. You may receive the image which image|photographed the position (also called a "change candidate point."). In this case, the map preparation device 1 may acquire the above image by transmitting an image transmission request to the vehicle-mounted device 2 located around the change candidate point. Then, the map preparation device 1 causes the display unit 16 to display, for example, a photographed image of the change candidate spot acquired from the vehicle-mounted device 2, and an input for confirming with the administrator of the map preparation device 1 whether or not the change candidate spot has been changed. accept. In another example, the map preparation device 1 acquires the Wi-Fi (registered trademark) communication status at the change candidate point from the in-vehicle device 2 or another device, and detects the occurrence or disappearance of a new Wi-Fi spot. Destruction or occurrence of facilities or the like at candidate points may be determined.

Moreover, the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 5 is an example, and the processing procedure applicable to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of searching for news information D2 based on a search word in step S101, the map maintenance apparatus 1 crawls a specific news site and receives news information D2, and performs specific processing based on step S102 for each piece of news information D2. may be performed.

(2) Specific Example of Generation Processing of Change Point List Lc Next, a specific example of the identification processing in step S102 of FIG. 5 will be described.

FIG. 6A is a display example of a news site searched based on the search word "closed". In this example, in step S101 of FIG. 5, the map preparation device 1 receives the display information of the news site shown in FIG. 6A from the server device 4 as the news information D2 based on the search word "closed".

In this case, the map maintenance apparatus 1 extracts elements such as words (also called “list generation elements WE”) necessary for generating records of the change list Lc from the character string of the news site shown in FIG. 6A. to extract Specifically, the map preparation device 1 extracts words representing information such as when, where, what, and what happened from the character string of the news site shown in FIG. Extract as

FIG. 6B is a display example of the above-mentioned news site clearly showing the list generation element WE. In the example of FIG. 6(B), each list generation element WE is surrounded by dashed-dotted line frames 3A to 3G, respectively, for convenience of explanation. In this case, the map preparation device 1 converts the proper noun "○○ ramen △△ shop" (see dashed lines 3A and 3D) into list generation elements representing facility names whose status has changed (that is, closed or opened). Extract as WE. The map preparation device 1 also extracts "closed" (see dashed lines 3B, 3C, and 3G) as list generation elements WE representing changes in status. Furthermore, the map preparation device 1 extracts the word "xx1-1, xx city, xx prefecture" (see dashed line 3E), which is a word presumed to represent an address, as a list generation element WE representing a position. The map preparation device 1 also extracts the word "December 20th" (see dashed line 3F), which is a word presumed to represent the date and time, as the list generation element WE representing the date and time of status change.

Then, the map maintenance apparatus 1 generates the first record of the change point list Lc shown in FIG. 3 based on the extracted list generation elements WE and the like. Specifically, the map preparation apparatus 1 converts "(X1, Y1)" registered in the item "position" into latitude and longitude "xx1-1 in xx city, xx prefecture", which is the element WE for creating a list representing the position. identified by converting to In addition, the map preparation device 1 identifies "disappeared" registered in the item "status" based on the list generation element WE "closed" representing a change in status. Further, the map preparation apparatus 1 identifies "December 20, 2016" registered in the item "date and time of change" based on "December 20," which is the list generation element WE representing the date and time of status change. Further, the map preparation apparatus 1 identifies "4" registered in the item "reliability" based on the source of the news site shown in FIG. 6A (in this case, "xx newspaper"). In this case, the map preparation apparatus 1 stores in advance a table that associates sources such as news sites with corresponding reliability levels, and determines the reliability levels by referring to the table. In addition, the map preparation device 1 replaces the "restaurant" registered in the item "type" with the word "ramen shop" in the list generation element WE representing the name of the facility whose status has been changed. ”. Further, the map preparation device 1 identifies the "○○ ramen △△ shop" to be registered in the item "name" based on the above list generation element WE "○○ ramen △△ shop".

After generating the record regarding the facility "○○ Ramen △△ shop" in the change point list Lc of FIG. When extracted from the news information D2, the list generation elements WE of the news information D2 having higher reliability based on the sender may be preferentially reflected in the record of the change point list Lc. Further, when the news information D2 does not contradict each other (for example, when both of them are related to the closure of "○○ ramen △△ shop"), the map preparation device 1 sets the reliability to either one of them. It may be set higher than the reliability. For example, when the news information D2 of the sender with the reliability of "2" and the news information D2 of the sender with the reliability of "3" represent the same content, the map preparation device 1 selects the corresponding change point list Lc. The reliability of the record may be set to a value higher than "3" (for example, "5", which is the sum of these reliability levels). In this manner, the map maintenance apparatus 1 may set the reliability of the corresponding record of the change point list Lc to be higher as the number of pieces of news information D2 representing the same content increases.

FIG. 7A is a display example of a news site searched based on the search word "open a store". In this example, in step S101 of FIG. 5, the map preparation device 1 receives the display information of the news site shown in FIG. 7(A) from the server device 4 as the news information D2 based on the search word "shop opening".

6A and 6B, the map maintenance apparatus 1 uses the character strings of the news site shown in FIG. Extract the generation element WE. FIG. 7B is a display example of the above-mentioned news site clearly showing the list generation element WE. In the example of FIG. 7B, each list generating element WE is surrounded by dashed-dotted line frames 3H to 3P. In this case, the map preparation device 1 replaces the proper noun "○×mart" (see dashed lines 3H, 3K, 3P) with the list generation element WE representing the name of the facility whose status has changed (that is, closed or opened). Extract as The map preparation device 1 also extracts "store opening" (see one-dot chain line 3J) and "open" (see one-dot chain line 3O) as list generation elements WE representing status changes. Further, the map preparation device 1 creates a list representing the location, the word "△× station square" (see dashed lines 3I and 3L) and the map image 3N schematically showing the store locations of the ○× mart. It is extracted as a generation element WE. The map preparation apparatus 1 also extracts the word "20th of this month" (see the dashed line 3M), which is a word presumed to represent the date and time, as the list generation element WE representing the date and time of status change.

Then, the map maintenance apparatus 1 generates the second record of the change point list Lc shown in FIG. 3 based on the extracted list generation elements WE and the like. Specifically, the map preparation apparatus 1 specifies "(X2, Y2)" to be registered in the item "position" based on the word "Δ× station front", which is the list generation element WE representing the position, and the map image 3N. do. In this case, the map preparation device 1 recognizes, for example, a map of the area around the Δ× station from the distribution map DB 10, and matches the map recognized from the distribution map DB 10 with the map image 3N, thereby emphasizing it in the map image 3N. Then, the latitude and longitude of the area 3R are calculated. Further, the map preparation device 1 identifies the "occurrence" registered in the item "status" based on the list generation elements WE "opening" and "opening" representing changes in status. Further, the map preparation apparatus 1 identifies "December 22, 2016" registered in the item "date and time of change" based on the list generation element WE representing the date and time of status change "22nd of this month". Further, the map preparation device 1 identifies "3" registered in the item "reliability" based on the source of the news site shown in FIG. Further, the map preparation apparatus 1 replaces the "supermarket" registered in the item "type" with the words in the list generation element WE representing the name of the facility whose status has been changed (that is, closed or opened). Estimate based on "Mart". Further, the map preparation apparatus 1 identifies "○× mart" to be registered in the item "name" based on the list generation element WE "○× mart" described above.

FIG. 8(A) is a display example showing the content posted by the manager of the "○○ Ramen △△ shop" through the SNS. Further, FIG. 8B is a display example showing the content posted by the user of the "○○ Ramen △△ shop" through the SNS.

In this case, the map preparation device 1 receives the display information related to the SNS posts shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B from the server device 4 as the news information D2 based on the search word "closed". In this case, for example, in the case of FIG. 8A, the map preparation device 1 extracts the character strings "○○ ramen △△ shop", "December 20th", "closed shop", etc. as list generation elements WE. . Similarly, in the case of FIG. 8B, the map preparation device 1 extracts the character strings "○○ ramen △△ shop", "20th of this month", "closed shop", etc. as list generation elements WE. Then, based on the extracted list generation elements WE, the map preparation apparatus 1 specifies the contents of each item to be registered in the change point list Lc, such as change date and time, status, and name. Preferably, the map maintenance apparatus 1 determines the reliability to be reflected in the change point list Lc based on the account information of the posting source of the SNS. For example, when the SNS posting source account shown in FIG. 8A is an authenticated account, the map maintenance device 1 sets the reliability of the SNS posting source account higher than that of the unauthenticated account. . Further, the map maintenance device 1 may set the reliability based on the name of the SNS posting source account. In this case, for example, the map preparation device 1 stores a table in which the account name and the reliability are associated in advance in the storage unit 12 of the map preparation device 1, and refers to the table to obtain the reliability. set. In another example, the map maintenance device 1 receives information about the reliability to be set by making an inquiry specifying the target account name to the server device 4 in which the table is stored.

In this way, the map maintenance apparatus 1 can also preferably generate the change point list Lc by receiving information based on posting by SNS from the server device 4 as the news information D2.

Next, a specific example of processing for generating the change point list Lc when a feature such as a traffic light, a sign, a signboard, etc. installed around a road is changed will be described.

FIG. 9 shows the posted content when the newly added sign is displayed on the photo posted by the SNS. In the example of FIG. 9, a photo 40 recently taken by the contributor “Δ×Taro” is included in the posted content website.

In this case, the map preparation device 1 recognizes from the photograph 40 that there is a left turn prohibition sign 41 using a known image recognition technique. Furthermore, the map preparation device 1 estimates the position of the sign 41 and the date and time of photography by referring to the position information and date and time information of the photography position, which are the metadata included in the photograph 40, for example. Note that the map preparation device 1 analyzes the text posted together with the photo 40, and if there are words related to the location where the photo 40 was taken, estimates the position of the sign 41, etc. based on the word. good too. Then, the map preparation device 1 refers to the distribution map DB 10 and determines whether or not a left turn prohibition sign is registered at the position indicated by the position information included in the photograph 40 . Then, in the example of FIG. 9, the map preparation device 1 stores the sign in the distribution map DB.
10, and creates a change point list Lc record (see FIG. 3) with the list number "L003" for the marker.

Similarly, the map preparation device 1 detects features to be registered in the distribution map DB 10, such as traffic lights and signboards, in the photos posted via the SNS. In some cases, a change list Lc record corresponding to the detected feature may be generated. Further, when there is no feature registered in the distribution map DB 10 in the photo posted by the SNS, the map preparation device 1 determines that the feature has disappeared, and creates a list of changes regarding the disappearance of the feature. A record for Lc may be generated.

Note that instead of the examples of FIGS. 6 to 9, the map preparation device 1 may generate the change point list Lc based on audio data such as radio broadcasts. For example, the map maintenance device 1 receives radio audio information related to news from the server device 4 through the communication unit 11, recognizes the audio information using a known speech recognition technology, converts the audio information into text, and then converts the audio information into text as shown in FIGS. By performing the same processing as in the example of FIG. 9, the change point list Lc is generated. Note that the map preparation apparatus 1 may directly receive radio waves and generate the change point list Lc from sentences obtained by similarly recognizing voice based on the received radio waves. In this manner, the map preparation apparatus 1 may generate the change point list Lc by using not only display information obtained via the Internet or the like, but also voice information.

[Information based on reliability]
An example of utilization of the reliability information described with reference to FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 10 shows a display example of the in-vehicle device 2 that performs a route search based on the map data D1 in which the change point list Lc of FIG. 3 is reflected. In this example, when the distribution map DB 10 is updated based on the change point list Lc, the map preparation device 1 has a record of the change point list Lc with a reliability of less than "5" indicating the disappearance (closing) of the facility. In that case, instead of deleting the facility information of the facility, reliability information indicating the reliability, the status after the change (closed), the date and time when the status was changed, etc. shall be added to the facility information. .

In the example of FIG. 10, after receiving the map data D1 from the map preparation device 1, the in-vehicle device 2 receives an input designating the facility "○○ ramen △△ shop" as the destination. Then, the in-vehicle device 2 refers to the reliability information of the facility information corresponding to the facility "○○ Ramen △△ shop" from the map data D1 having the data structure shown in FIG. It is determined that the status of "○○ Ramen △△ Shop" may have changed to "Disappeared". Note that when updating the distribution map DB 10 with the change point list Lc, the map preparation device 1 does not confirm that the reliability of the first record in the change point list Lc regarding the closing of "○○ Ramen △△ shop" is less than "5". Therefore, instead of deleting the facility information of "○○ Ramen △△ shop", information registered in the change point list Lc such as reliability is added to the facility information as reliability information. Since the reliability included in the reliability information referred to by the vehicle-mounted device 2 is relatively high at "4" out of five levels, there is a possibility that the specified facility "○○ Ramen △△ shop" will be closed. A warning window 70 indicates that the temperature is high, and confirmation buttons of "YES" and "NO" are displayed.

In this way, the vehicle-mounted device 2 refers to the reliability information, and appropriately utilizes the information in the change point list Lc that is not reliable enough to be fully reflected in the distribution map DB 10 and the map data D1. User convenience can be improved by notifying the possibility of changing the status according to the frequency.

As described above, the map maintenance device 1 according to this embodiment includes the distribution map DB 10 . Based on the news information D2 received from the server device 4 and the distribution map DB 10, the map preparation device 1 extracts information about changes in the distribution map DB 10,
to generate As a result, the map preparation apparatus 1 can automatically collect information about changes in the distribution map DB 10 that are necessary when updating the distribution map DB 10, and store the information as a change list Lc.

1 map maintenance device 2 in-vehicle device 4 server device 10 distribution map DB
11 communication unit 12 storage unit 13 input unit 15 control unit 16 display unit

Claims (15)

an acquisition unit that acquires news information;
an extraction unit that extracts candidates for changes in the map data based on the news information and map data to be updated;
a transmission request unit that requests an in-vehicle device identified based on the change point candidate point, which is a point corresponding to the change point candidate, to transmit the communication status of the change point candidate point;
map maintenance device. 2. The map maintenance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit extracts at least one of an object, a position, a date, and a mode of change in which the candidate for the change point is changed from the news information. 3. The map maintenance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit receives news information retrieved based on one or more keywords from news information that can be acquired via a communication network. 4. The transmission request unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission request unit identifies the vehicle-mounted devices existing in the vicinity of the change point candidate point, and issues the transmission request to the identified vehicle-mounted devices. Map preparation device as described. a reliability determination unit that determines the reliability of the change point candidates;
a generation unit that generates a list of candidates for the change point,
5. The map maintenance apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the generation unit includes the reliability information in the list of change point candidates. 6. The map maintenance apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the reliability determination unit determines the reliability based on information regarding a source of the news information from which the information regarding the candidates for the change point is extracted. 7. The map maintenance apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said reliability determination unit increases the reliability of said change point candidate as the number of news information relating to said change point candidate increases. Claims 5 to 7, further comprising a map updating unit that determines a change point to be reflected in the map data from the list of change point candidates generated by the generation unit based on the reliability determined by the reliability determination unit. Item 8. The map maintenance device according to any one of Item 7. 8. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, further comprising: a map update unit that includes information of the reliability determined by the reliability determination unit in the map data when the map data is updated from the list of change point candidates. A map maintenance device as described in Clause. 10. The map maintenance apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the extracting unit extracts information about a traffic light or a sign as information about the change candidate based on an image included in the news information. 11. The acquiring unit according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the acquisition unit acquires at least one of display information on a news site or a social networking site, or audio information related to broadcast audio, as the news information. map maintenance equipment. A guidance device that provides guidance based on map data updated by the map maintenance device according to claim 9,
A guidance device comprising a warning unit that outputs a warning based on the reliability when providing guidance regarding facilities or features other than facilities to which reliability information is added in the map data. A control method executed by a map maintenance device,
an extracting step of extracting change point candidates of the map data based on the news information and map data to be updated;
a transmission request step of requesting an in-vehicle device identified based on the change point candidate point, which is a point corresponding to the change point candidate, to transmit the communication status of the change point candidate point;
A control method with A program executed by a computer of a map maintenance device,
an acquisition unit that acquires news information;
an extraction unit that extracts candidates for changes in the map data based on the news information and map data to be updated;
A program that causes the computer to function as a transmission request unit that requests an in-vehicle device specified based on the change point candidate point corresponding to the change point candidate to transmit the communication status of the change point candidate point. A storage medium storing the program according to claim 14.

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