JP6417272B2 - Information processing apparatus and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for predicting travel time.

  A technique for collecting and accumulating probe information transmitted from a vehicle that actually travels on a road and obtaining statistical data of the probe information is known. In the statistical data, for each link (predetermined section) included in the road network, the travel time when passing through the road section corresponding to the link is stored in association with each other. Such statistical data is also referred to as traffic information data, and is used, for example, to predict the travel time of the entire route in the route search process.

  In Patent Document 1, traffic information data in which travel time for passing through a road section corresponding to a link is prepared in advance for each congestion degree (congestion, congestion, empty road). A technique for predicting travel time according to the current congestion level is described.

JP 2008-210249 A

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, information received from the VICS (registered trademark) center (hereinafter also referred to as “VICS information”) is used as means for acquiring the current congestion degree. However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that when the VICS information cannot be received, the travel time cannot be predicted according to the current congestion degree.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the problems of the prior art. In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a search based on the traffic congestion degree acquired based on the VICS information (hereinafter also referred to as “VICS traffic congestion degree”) is performed on the traffic information data generated based on the probe information. To do. However, the transmission target link of probe information and the transmission target link of VICS information do not necessarily match. For example, in the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the probe information is separately transmitted in association with each of the link LKa connecting the node 1 and the node 2 and the link LKb connecting the node 2 and the node 3. On the other hand, in the VICS information, information such as the passing times of a plurality of vehicles transmitted from the sensor 90 is associated with two links LKa and LKb connecting the node 1 to the node 3 in the VICS center (that is, the link (Without distinction between LKa and LKb). This is because only one VICS sensor 90 is installed between the node 1 and the node 3. In this way, when the transmission target link of the probe information does not match the transmission target link of the VICS information, between the congestion level acquired from the probe information (hereinafter also referred to as “probe congestion level”) and the VICS congestion level. May cause wrinkles. In the example of FIG. 1, the probe congestion degree of the link LKa is “smooth” and the probe congestion degree of the link LKb is “congestion”, while the VICS congestion degree of the links LKa and LKb is “congestion”. As a method for generating the probe congestion level, a method of generating from the probe information of a plurality of vehicles that have traveled a predetermined link during a predetermined period, or the probe information of a single vehicle that has traveled a predetermined link during a predetermined period is used. There is a way.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the degree of probe congestion and the travel time for passing the road section corresponding to the link. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a probability density distribution of travel time for passing through a road section corresponding to the link LKa, classified by probe congestion degree. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the probability density distribution of travel time for passing the road section corresponding to the link LKb, classified by probe congestion degree. In FIG. 2, the probability density distribution when the congestion degree is “smooth” is a solid line, the probability density distribution when the congestion degree is “congested” is a broken line, and the probability density when the congestion degree is “congestion” The probability density distribution when the distribution is not indicated by a one-dot chain line and the congestion degree is not distinguished is indicated by a two-dot chain line. As shown in FIG. 2, if the degree of congestion is different, the travel time for passing through the road section corresponding to the link is greatly different. In the example of FIG. 1, the congestion level of the link LKa is “smooth” according to the probe congestion level. For this reason, as the travel time of the link LKa, the travel time represented by the solid line in FIG. However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the search is performed based on the VICS congestion level, the travel time represented by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 2A is searched as the travel time of the link LKa.

  Thus, when the transmission target link of the probe information does not match the transmission target link of the VICS information, the type of traffic congestion when the traffic information data is classified (that is, the probe traffic congestion) and the search key of the traffic information data The difference between the type of congestion level (that is, the VICS congestion level) causes an inappropriate search result as described above. If the travel time is predicted based on an inappropriate search result, there is a problem that the prediction accuracy of the travel time is deteriorated. Note that such a problem is, for example, when the traffic information data is classified based on the traffic information data classified and generated based on the VICS congestion degree, such as when performing a search based on the probe congestion degree. This is a common problem when the type of traffic information and the type of congestion level of the search key of the traffic information data are different from each other.

For this reason, in the technology for predicting travel time, the predictability of travel time according to the current congestion level is improved, and the type of congestion level when the traffic information data is classified and the search key of the traffic information data It has been desired to suppress deterioration in prediction accuracy in the case where the type of congestion degree is different from each other.
In addition to the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus that performs appropriate prediction of travel time.
Moreover, this invention makes it a subject to provide the information processing apparatus which performs a suitable route search.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms.

(1) According to an aspect of the present invention, an information processing apparatus is provided. A storage unit for storing information on travel time for each of a plurality of links constituting a traffic network; and searching for information on the travel time based on a current traffic jam degree; A prediction unit that predicts a travel time required for the user of the vehicle to pass the road section corresponding to the link; and the information related to the travel time is classified according to a first congestion level based on a first information source The first time information which is information relating to travel time required to pass the road section corresponding to the link; and the information processing apparatus further includes: the prediction unit searches for information relating to the travel time. And having identification information for identifying the link enabling the use of a second congestion level based on a second information source different from the first information source as the current congestion level; It is; based on the identification information, if the congestion degree of the current status available to said second congestion level, to find the first time information by using the second congestion level.
According to the information processing apparatus of this aspect, the prediction unit searches for information on travel time when the user of the information processing apparatus predicts travel time required to pass the road corresponding to the link. Whether the second congestion degree based on the second information source different from the first information source may be used for the information on the travel time when the prediction unit searches for the information on the travel time. Contains identifying information to represent. For this reason, when the prediction unit represents that the identification information is usable, the prediction unit uses the second congestion degree instead of the first congestion degree that is the congestion degree acquired from the first information source, and Information on travel time can be searched. Then, even if the first traffic jam level cannot be used, the prediction unit can search the travel time information using the second traffic jam level and predict the travel time. The predictability of travel time according to the degree of traffic congestion can be improved. In addition, when the prediction unit indicates that the identification information is unusable, the prediction unit does not use the second congestion level instead of the first congestion level. Therefore, by appropriately setting the identification information in advance, the traffic information data (information relating to travel time for each of a plurality of links constituting the traffic network) is classified as a first traffic congestion level. If the second traffic congestion level, which is the traffic congestion level of the search key of the traffic information data, is different from each other, if the prediction unit searches for information on travel time using the second traffic congestion level, it is inappropriate. It can suppress that a search result may be obtained. That is, according to this information processing apparatus, by appropriately setting the identification information in advance, it is possible to suppress a decrease in reliability of the predicted travel time, in other words, deterioration in prediction accuracy by the prediction unit. .

(2) In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect; the prediction unit; if the first congestion level as the current congestion level is unreliable, or if the first congestion level cannot be acquired, the identification information Depending on the method, the search method for information on the travel time may be changed.
According to the information processing apparatus of this aspect, when the first traffic jam level is unreliable or the first traffic jam level cannot be acquired, the prediction unit uses the other method according to the identification information to determine the travel time information. You can search and predict travel time. In this way, the prediction unit executes appropriate search processing according to the reliability of the first traffic jam level, so that the reliability of the predicted travel time is improved, in other words, the prediction accuracy by the prediction unit is improved. can do.

(3) In the information processing apparatus according to the above aspect; the prediction unit; based on the identification information, when the second congestion level cannot be used as the current congestion level, without considering the current congestion level The first time information may be searched.
Usually, this may be obtained when the congestion level (first congestion level) when the traffic information data is classified and the congestion level of the search key of the traffic information data (second congestion level) are different from each other. Comparing the case where the travel time is predicted based on an appropriate search result and the case where the travel time is predicted based on a search result obtained without considering the degree of congestion, the latter is predicted. High reliability. According to the information processing apparatus of this aspect, when the identification information indicates that the congestion level acquired from the second information source cannot be used, the prediction unit does not consider the congestion level. Search (first time information) and predict travel time. For this reason, the prediction accuracy by a prediction part can further be improved.

(4) In the information processing apparatus of the above aspect; the information on the travel time is further: second information on the travel time required to pass the road section corresponding to the link for each second congestion level. The prediction unit; based on the identification information, when the first time information cannot be retrieved using the second congestion level as the current congestion level, the current congestion level The second time information may be searched using the second congestion degree as a degree.
The second time information included in the information related to the travel time is information related to the time required for passing the road section corresponding to the link for each second degree of congestion. In other words, the second time information is information related to the required time classified by the second traffic congestion degree. According to the information processing apparatus of this aspect, when the identification information indicates that the second traffic congestion level cannot be used, the prediction unit obtains the second traffic level acquired from the second information source as the current traffic congestion level. By using the degree of traffic congestion, information related to travel time (second time information) is searched, and travel time is predicted. In this way, it is possible to eliminate the difference between the congestion level when the traffic information data is classified and the congestion level of the search key of the traffic information data, so the prediction unit obtains an inappropriate search result. This can be suppressed. That is, according to this information processing apparatus, it is possible to suppress a decrease in reliability of the predicted travel time, in other words, deterioration in prediction accuracy by the prediction unit.

(5) In the information processing apparatus of the above aspect, the information processing device further includes: a correspondence relationship storage unit that stores a correspondence relationship between the first congestion degree and the second congestion degree; the prediction unit; You may obtain | require the said 1st traffic degree corresponding to the said 2nd traffic congestion degree from a memory | storage part, and search the said 1st time information using the calculated | required said 1st traffic congestion degree.
According to the information processing apparatus of this aspect, even when the standard in the first traffic jam level and the standard in the second traffic jam level are different, the prediction unit uses the correspondence relationship storage unit to The first traffic jam level corresponding to the traffic jam level can be obtained, and information relating to travel time can be searched.

(6) According to one form of this invention, the traffic information data containing the information regarding the travel time about each of the some link which comprises a traffic network are provided. The traffic information data is: information on the travel time; first time that is information on travel time required to pass the road corresponding to the link for each first congestion level based on a first information source. The traffic information data further includes: a second traffic jam based on a second information source different from the first information source as a current traffic jam degree when searching for information on the travel time; Identification information identifying the link for which the degree is available.
According to the traffic information data of this form, by using the identification information, the operation information in the processing unit, specifically, the second information that is different from the first information source when searching for information related to travel time is obtained. It is possible to control whether or not to substitute the congestion degree acquired from the source.

(7) In the traffic information data of the above form; the first time information may further include information on travel time required to pass through the road section corresponding to the link in a state where the degree of congestion is not taken into consideration. Good.
According to this form of traffic information data, it is possible to increase the number of search condition options that can be adopted by the processing unit by including information related to the required time in a state where the degree of congestion is not considered.

(8) In the traffic information data of the above form; the information related to the travel time is further: information related to the travel time required to pass the road section corresponding to the link according to the degree of congestion based on the second information source The second time information may be included.
According to the traffic information data of this form, it is possible to increase the search condition options that can be adopted by the processing unit by including the information related to the required time classified according to the congestion degree of the second information source.

  The present invention can be realized in various modes, for example, an information processing device that predicts travel time required to pass through a link, a travel time prediction method, and a plurality of links that constitute a traffic network. Traffic information data including travel time information for each of the above, a traffic information data generating device, a traffic information data generating method, an information processing device or a guidance system including a generating device, and the functions of these devices, methods, or systems The present invention can be realized in the form of a computer program for realizing, a server device for distributing the computer program, a non-temporary storage medium storing the computer program, and the like.

It is a figure explaining the subject of a prior art. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the probe traffic degree and the travel time for passing a link. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the guidance system as one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining a traffic information database. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a substitution permission determination process. It is a figure which shows an example of the information regarding the travel time classified according to the VICS congestion degree. It is a figure which shows an example of the traffic information database produced | generated through substitution permission determination processing. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the presence or absence of a significant difference, and the travel time for passing a link. It is a sequence diagram which shows the procedure of a route guidance process. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a travel time prediction process. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the guidance system in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the traffic information database produced | generated through the substitution permission determination process of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the travel time prediction process in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the guidance system in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining a correspondence table. It is a figure which shows an example of the traffic information database produced | generated through the substitution permission determination process of 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the travel time prediction process in 3rd Embodiment.

A. First embodiment:
A-1. System outline:
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a guidance system as an embodiment of the present invention. The guidance system 1 according to the present embodiment guides a route from a designated departure place to a destination and a travel time predicted to be required for passing the route in response to a request from the user. . At this time, the guidance system 1 predicts the travel time in consideration of the current congestion level of the links included in the route to be guided.

  The “congestion degree” is information indicating the degree of congestion of the link. In the present embodiment, the degree of congestion (high degree of congestion), congestion (medium degree of congestion), and smoothness (low degree of congestion). 3 types are assumed. There are two types of “current congestion level”: the current congestion level acquired from the probe information and the current congestion level acquired from the VICS information. The guidance system 1 of the present embodiment can maintain the reliability of the predicted travel time by properly using two types of congestion levels in the travel time prediction process described later. Each vehicle that transmits probe information functions as a “first information source”, and a VICS center that transmits VICS information functions as a “second information source”.

  The guidance system 1 of this embodiment includes a server 10 and a navigation device 20. The server 10 is connected to the Internet INT by communication. The navigation device 20 is connected to the Internet INT by wireless communication via the communication carrier BS. The communication carrier BS includes a transmission / reception antenna, a radio base station, and an exchange. That is, the server 10 and the navigation apparatus 20 are connected via the Internet INT and can communicate with each other.

A-1-1. Server configuration:
The server 10 includes a CPU 110, a communication unit 120, a ROM 130, a RAM 140, and a storage unit 150, and each unit is connected to each other via a bus (not shown). The server 10 functions as an “information processing apparatus”.

  The storage unit 150 includes a hard disk, a flash memory, a memory card, and the like. The storage unit 150 includes a map database (DB) 152, a route database (DB) 154, and a traffic information database (DB) 156. The map database 152 stores data representing map images. The data representing the map image includes information necessary for displaying the map, such as terrain, buildings, and road shapes.

  The route database 154 stores data representing the road configuration. The data representing the configuration of the road includes information necessary for specifying the configuration of the road, such as information about nodes and information about links. A node means an element point in a traffic route. For example, intersections, branch points, end points, start points, stations, and the like correspond to nodes. A link means a line segment connecting nodes. For example, roads such as roadways and pedestrian roads, and traffic routes such as railroad tracks correspond to links.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the traffic information database 156. The traffic information database 156 stores information on travel time required for passing through the road section corresponding to each link for each link stored in the route database 154. “Information related to travel time” includes classification conditions, travel time statistical information, and a substitution permission flag described later. The traffic information generation unit 118 of the server 10 associates the probe information transmitted from the vehicles VH1, VH2, etc. that actually passed through the road with the VICS information transmitted from the VICS center at the corresponding time in association with the storage unit 150. Remember me. The traffic information generation unit 118 generates a traffic information database 156 by collecting statistics of a large number of probe information accumulated in the storage unit 150. Further, in this embodiment, probe information is adopted as travel time statistical information included in the traffic information database 156, but other information such as travel time included in the VICS information may be used as long as the travel time statistical information is included. Good. That is, the information source based on the travel time statistical information included in the traffic information database 156 may be different from the information source based on the first congestion degree. Note that the VICS information associated with the probe information in the storage unit 150 is used in a substitution permission determination process described later.

  The traffic information database 156 includes fields of a target link, an entrance link, an exit link, a classification condition, and travel time statistical information. For example, in the road configured as shown on the left side of FIG. 4, when attention is focused on the link L2, there are a plurality of combinations of the entrance link and the exit link for the link L2. For example, when going straight from link L1 and passing through link L2 and going to link L3, when going straight from link L1 and passing through link L2 and going to link L8, turn left from link L5 and pass through link L2 to link L3 For example, when heading. In the traffic information database 156 of this embodiment, travel time statistical information is stored for the combination of the link of interest, the entrance link, and the exit link. For this reason, for example, even if the link L2 is smooth when traveling straight, but is a link that is congested when turning right, the traffic information database 156 includes travel time statistical information that takes into account actual road conditions during straight traveling and turning left and right Can be stored.

  The classification conditions are conditions used when the server 10 collects the probe information statistics. The classification conditions of the present embodiment include fields for day of the week, time zone, season, weather, singular day, probe congestion level, and substitution permission flag. In FIG. 4, some of the classification conditions are omitted for convenience of illustration. The probe congestion degree functions as a “first congestion degree”. The day of the week, the time zone, and the season are the day of the week, the time zone, and the season corresponding to the date and time when the vehicle entered the link of interest. Note that the day of the week, the time zone, and the season may be the day of the week, the time zone, and the season corresponding to the date and time when the vehicle leaves the link of interest. The weather is weather information in the vicinity of the target link at the date and time when the vehicle entered the target link. A peculiar day is a day on which the travel time statistical information shows a tendency different from the usual traffic situation. Examples of specific days include days such as Golden Week, Bon Festival, and New Year's holidays. In the example of FIG. 4, 0 represents a day that does not correspond to a specific day, and 1 represents a day that corresponds to a specific day. In addition, the presence / absence of an event near the target link at the date and time when the vehicle entered the target link may be provided as a classification condition. Examples of events here include events and festivals. The probe congestion degree is the congestion degree of the target link (information indicating the degree of congestion of the link, congestion / congestion / smooth / no distinction). When the server 10 generates the traffic information database 156, these pieces of information are obtained by calculation using date information and position information included in the probe information. These pieces of information may be stored in advance in probe information received by the server 10. The substitution permission flag is information that defines the operation content of the prediction unit 116 in the travel time prediction process. The substitution permission flag is set in a substitution permission determination process described later.

  The travel time statistical information is statistical information on the time required for the vehicle that has transmitted the probe information to actually pass the link of interest. As travel time statistical information, the number of data, travel time average value, variance, minimum value, maximum value, mode value, histogram information, etc., for a set of probe information after classification according to the classification conditions described above can be adopted. The travel time statistical information classified according to the degree of probe congestion functions as “information about required time” and “first time information”. As described above, the traffic information database 156 stores statistical information on the time required for the vehicle to actually pass the road corresponding to the link of interest for each entry / exit link and for each classification condition. Can do.

  In FIG. 3, the CPU 110 controls each unit of the server 10 by expanding a computer program stored in the ROM 130 onto the RAM 140 and executing the computer program. In addition, the CPU 110 functions as a route search unit 112, a congestion degree acquisition unit 114, a prediction unit 116, and a traffic information generation unit 118. The route search unit 112 uses the route database 154 to search for a route from the departure place to the destination. For the route search, for example, the Dijkstra method can be used.

The congestion level acquisition unit 114 acquires the following current probe congestion level and current VICS congestion level as the current congestion level.
Current probe congestion level: A congestion level calculated from probe information received within a predetermined time from the current time. The predetermined time can be arbitrarily set. When a plurality of pieces of probe information are received within a predetermined time, the congestion degree acquiring unit 114 determines the statistics (number of data, travel time average value, variance, minimum value, maximum value, mode value, histogram information, etc.). One congestion level may be determined and used as the current probe congestion level.
Current VICS congestion level: The congestion level included in the VICS information received from the VICS center within a predetermined time from the current time. The predetermined time can be arbitrarily set. When a plurality of VICS information is received within a predetermined time, the congestion level acquisition unit 114 may determine one congestion level from the statistics and use the current VICS congestion level. The congestion level included in the VICS information received from the VICS center functions as a “second congestion level”.

  The prediction unit 116 obtains a travel time predicted to be required for passing the route searched by the route search unit 112 by executing a travel time prediction process described later.

  The traffic information generation unit 118 generates a traffic information database 156 by receiving a lot of probe information from many vehicles and taking these statistics. Details are as described in FIG. The traffic information generation unit 118 further updates a part of the traffic information database 156 by executing a substitution permission determination process described later.

  The communication unit 120 controls communication with other devices via a communication interface (not shown). Other devices are, for example, the navigation device 20 (FIG. 3), the vehicles VH1, VH2 (FIG. 4), the VICS center (FIG. 1), and other servers not shown.

A-1-2. Configuration of navigation device:
The navigation device 20 includes a CPU 210, a communication unit 220, a ROM 230, a RAM 240, a storage unit 250, an input / output unit 260, and a current position acquisition unit 270. It is connected. The navigation device 20 functions as a “client device of an information processing device”.

  CPU210 controls each part of the navigation apparatus 20 by expand | deploying and executing the computer program stored in ROM230 on RAM240. In addition, the CPU 210 also functions as the route guide unit 212. The route guidance unit 212 performs a route guidance process, which will be described later, so that the route from the designated departure point to the destination and the travel time predicted to be required for passing the route are given to the user. And guide you.

  The communication unit 220 controls communication with other devices via a communication interface (not shown). The other device is, for example, the server 10 or another server (not shown). The storage unit 250 includes a hard disk, a flash memory, a memory card, and the like. The input / output unit 260 is various interfaces used for input / output of information between the navigation device 20 and the user. As the input / output unit 260, for example, a touch panel as an input unit, operation buttons, a keyboard, a microphone, a touch panel as an output unit, a liquid crystal panel, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) indicator, or the like can be employed. The current position acquisition unit 270 receives radio waves transmitted from artificial satellites constituting a GPS (Global Positioning System) and acquires current position information (for example, latitude and longitude) indicating the current position of the navigation device 20. To do.

A-2. Substitute permission judgment processing:
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the substitute permission determination process. The substitute permission determination process is a process of updating the traffic information database 156 and assigning a substitute permission flag to information relating to travel time. The substitute permission flag is a traffic information database that uses the current VICS congestion level as a substitute for the current probe congestion level when the prediction unit 116 cannot search the traffic information database 156 using the current probe congestion level in the travel time prediction process. This is information for specifying whether to search 156. The substitution permission determination process is executed at an arbitrary timing. For example, it may be executed after the traffic information generation unit 118 generates the traffic information database 156, or may be executed periodically. The substitution permission flag functions as “identification information”.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of information related to travel time classified according to the VICS congestion level. In step S102 of FIG. 5, the traffic information generation unit 118 generates information 156x regarding travel times classified according to the VICS congestion level. Specifically, the traffic information generation unit 118 uses the VICS congestion degree and other classification conditions in the VICS information stored in association with each probe information for the probe information stored in the storage unit 150. By taking statistics as classification conditions, information 156x relating to travel time is generated. Other classification conditions are the same as those of the traffic information database 156. As described with reference to FIG. 1, when the transmission target link of the probe information does not match the transmission target link of the VICS information, the traffic information generation unit 118 uses, for example, the following methods a1 to a2 to use the VICS congestion The degree is assigned to the probe information transmission target link. In the following description, n means an arbitrary integer of 1 or more.

(A1) When the probe information and the VICS information correspond to n: 1, the traffic information generation unit 118 assigns the VICS congestion degree in the VICS information to n pieces of probe information, respectively.
(A2) When the probe information and the VICS information correspond to 1: n, the traffic information generation unit 118 selects one VICS information from the plurality of VICS information, and determines the VICS congestion level in the selected VICS information. Assign to probe information. As a selection method, for example, a method of adopting the degree of congestion with the longer link length can be employed. As another selection method, one VICS congestion degree is determined from statistics (average value of travel time, minimum value, maximum value, mode value, etc.) of VICS congestion degrees in a plurality of VICS information. It is also possible to assign the congestion degree to the probe information. An example of the method used in this case will be described. The traffic information generation unit 118 extracts a speed associated with each congestion degree from the VICS congestion degree included in each VICS information. Here, the speed associated with the degree of congestion is a predetermined speed corresponding to each degree of congestion. This speed may be set from the average speed of passing vehicles or may be a constant. Next, the traffic information generation unit 118 calculates the travel time of the link from the extracted speed and the link length. Then, the speed of the entire plurality of links is calculated from the link length obtained by adding up the plurality of links and the travel time, and the congestion level corresponding to the speed is set as the congestion level of the entire plurality of links. In addition, a method of assigning points (for example, traffic jam: 3, congestion: 2, smoothness: 1) to the traffic congestion levels corresponding to the respective VICS information, and obtaining the traffic congestion level from the average of a plurality of VICS information points can be adopted.

  As a result of step S102, information 156x (FIG. 6) relating to travel times classified according to the VICS congestion level is generated. In the present embodiment, the travel time statistical information of the information 156x regarding the travel time is based on the probe information.

  In step S104 in FIG. 5, the traffic information generation unit 118 repeatedly executes steps S110 to S116 with the information 156x related to travel time grouped for each condition excluding the congestion degree as one processing unit. For example, in the example of FIG. 6, the traffic information generation unit 118 repeatedly executes steps S110 to S116 for each processing unit of entries E1, 2,..., N that match all the classification conditions except the VICS congestion level. Note that n is an arbitrary integer of 3 or more.

  In step S110, the traffic information generation unit 118 compares the information 156x relating to travel time by the degree of congestion. Specifically, the traffic information generation unit 118 is the same as the travel time statistical information of the congestion degree “congestion” of the entry E1 of the information 156x regarding the travel time and the travel time statistical information of the congestion degree “congestion” of the same entry E1. The travel time statistical information of the traffic level “smooth” of the entry E1 and the travel time statistical information of the traffic level “no distinction” of the same entry E1 are respectively compared.

  In step S112, the traffic information generation unit 118 determines whether there is a significant difference between the pieces of information compared in step S110. For the determination of the significant difference, for example, a test method for comparing populations such as Mann-Whitney U test is used. When it is determined that there is a significant difference (step S112: YES), in step S114, the traffic information generation unit 118 determines the substitution permission flag of the entry as “1”. The traffic information generation unit 118 stores “1” in the substitution permission flag of the entry corresponding to the entry currently being processed in the traffic information database 156. If it is determined that there is no significant difference (step S112: NO), the traffic information generation unit 118 determines the entry substitution permission flag to “0” in step S116. The traffic information generation unit 118 stores “0” in the substitution permission flag of the entry corresponding to the entry currently being processed in the traffic information database 156.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the traffic information database 156 generated through the substitute permission determination process. If the substitution permission flag is 1, the substitution of the search key in the travel time prediction process is permitted, that is, the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156 using the current VICS congestion level in the travel time prediction process. It means to allow that. If the substitution permission flag is 0, the substitution of the search key in the travel time prediction process is not permitted, that is, the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156 using the current VICS congestion level in the travel time prediction process. It means not to allow. The travel time information 156x used in the substitute permission determination process is not used after the process is completed in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the presence / absence of a significant difference and the travel time for passing through a link. FIG. 8A shows a case where the probe information included in a certain entry is aggregated by travel time and probability density distribution for each VICS congestion level, and as a result, there is a significant difference for each congestion level. FIG. 8B shows a case where the probe information included in a certain entry is tabulated by travel time and probability density distribution for each VICS congestion level, and there is no significant difference for each congestion level. Normally, when the travel time statistical information (information related to the required time) for passing the road section corresponding to the link is classified according to the traffic congestion level, if the traffic congestion level is different, the travel time statistical information as shown in FIG. There should be a difference. For example, there is a significant difference between the case where the degree of congestion is “congested” and the case where the degree of congestion is “smooth”, such that the former time is relatively long and the latter time is relatively short. Should occur. On the other hand, if there is no difference in travel time statistical information (or if there is little difference) as shown in Fig. 8 (B) even though the degree of congestion is different, the classification based on the degree of congestion should not make sense. Can do. That is, it is possible to compare the travel time statistical information according to the degree of traffic congestion with each other and determine whether or not the correspondence between the traffic congestion degree and the travel time statistical information is correct based on the presence or absence of a significant difference. In the substitute permission determination process described with reference to FIG. 5, the travel time statistical information for passing through the road section corresponding to the link is obtained for each congestion degree (second congestion degree) based on the VICS center (second information source). . Then, the obtained travel time statistical information for each traffic level is compared with each other, and depending on whether or not there is a significant difference, the VICS center traffic level (second traffic level) and the probe traffic level (first traffic level) It is possible to determine whether or not the association with the travel time statistical information classified by the above is correct, and to rationally determine a substitute permission flag (identification information) according to the determination result.

A-3. Route guidance process:
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure of route guidance processing. The route guidance process is a process for guiding the user from the designated departure place to the destination with respect to the user of the navigation device 20.

  In step S202, the congestion degree acquisition unit 114 of the server 10 receives the probe information from the vehicle VH that transmits the probe information. The probe information includes the time when the link entered the link of interest and the link ID. In step S203, the traffic level acquisition unit 114 of the server 10 generates a current probe traffic level. Details are as described in FIG. In step S204, the congestion degree acquisition unit 114 of the server 10 receives VICS information generated from information on a plurality of vehicles that have passed through the VICS sensor 90 from the VICS center. The VICS information includes the VICS congestion level. The information on the current probe traffic congestion level or the current VICS traffic congestion level information acquired by the traffic congestion level acquisition unit 114 is temporarily stored in the RAM 140 of the server 10.

  In step S210, the route guidance unit 212 of the navigation device 20 acquires a route guidance request from the user. The route guidance request includes designation of a departure place and a destination. The route guidance unit 212 can acquire the designation of the departure point and the destination via an input screen that is displayed via the input / output unit 260, for example. Note that the route guidance unit 212 may omit the designation of the departure place with the current position information acquired by the current position acquisition unit 270. In step S <b> 212, the route guide unit 212 transmits a route search request to the server 10. The route search request includes designation of a departure place and a destination.

  In step S214, the route search unit 112 of the server 10 searches for a route from the departure point to the destination included in the route search request. In step S <b> 300, the prediction unit 116 of the server 10 obtains a travel time predicted to be required for passing the route for the route searched by the route search unit 112. Specifically, the prediction unit 116 performs travel time prediction processing for the route searched by the route search unit 112. In step S <b> 216, the route search unit 112 of the server 10 transmits a response including the obtained route and the travel time predicted by the prediction unit 116 to the navigation device 20.

  In step S218, the route guidance unit 212 of the navigation device 20 executes route guidance processing using the route and travel time included in the received response.

A-4. Travel time prediction processing:
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure of travel time prediction processing. The travel time prediction process is a process for predicting a travel time required to travel an arbitrary route. Hereinafter, an arbitrary route that is a target of the travel time prediction process is also referred to as a “target route”. When the travel time prediction process is executed as a route guidance process subroutine (FIG. 9, step S300), the target route is the route searched by the route search unit 112 in step S214. The travel time prediction process may be executed as an independent process instead of as a route guidance process subroutine.

  In step S302, the prediction unit 116 acquires the current probe congestion level of the processing target link. Specifically, the prediction unit 116 specifies the first link of the target route and sets the specified link as the processing target link. The prediction unit 116 acquires the current probe congestion level for the processing target link from the RAM 140.

  In step S304, the prediction unit 116 determines whether or not the current probe congestion level acquired in step S302 is reliable. The criteria for determining whether or not there is reliability can be arbitrarily determined. For example, the prediction unit 116 can determine whether or not there is reliability on the basis that the number of probe information received in a predetermined time range retroactively from the current time is a predetermined number or more. . The prediction unit 116 determines that the probe information is reliable if the number of probe information received in a predetermined time range retroactively from the current time is greater than or equal to the predetermined number, and if less than the predetermined number, the reliability is determined. Judge that there is no. The predetermined time range and the predetermined number can be arbitrarily determined. For example, depending on the link attributes (for example, the number of lanes, road width, link length, etc.) in the probe information that is the source of the current probe congestion level Can be set.

  If it is determined that the current probe congestion level is reliable (step S304: YES), in step S306, the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156 using the current probe congestion level acquired in step S302 as a key. At the time of this search, the prediction unit 116 also uses the processing target link, the entrance link and the exit link for the processing target link, and the classification condition such as the day of the week on the date and time when the travel time prediction process is executed as the search condition. . As a result, the prediction unit 116 can acquire one travel time statistical information corresponding to the current probe congestion degree from the traffic information database 156, and use this time as the link travel time of the processing target link.

  In step S308, the prediction unit 116 adds the obtained link travel time to the travel time accumulation memory. The prediction unit 116 identifies the next link of the target route, sets the identified link as a processing target link, and causes the process to transition to step S302.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the current probe congestion level is not reliable (step S304: NO), or when the current probe congestion level cannot be obtained in step S302, the prediction unit 116 in step S310, the traffic information database. Reference is made to the substitute permission flag 156. At this time, the prediction unit 116 considers the processing target link, the entrance link and the exit link with respect to the processing target link, and the classification condition such as the day of the week on the date and time when the travel time prediction process is executed, and the traffic information database 156. Search for.

  When the substitute permission flag is 0 (impossible) (step S310: 0), in step S312, the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156 without considering the degree of congestion. The traffic information database 156 of the present embodiment includes travel time statistical information when the congestion level is not distinguished (FIG. 7, probe congestion level “no distinction”). For this reason, in step S312, the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156 using “no distinction” as a key to easily obtain the link travel time searched for the traffic information database 156 without considering the degree of congestion. can do. At the time of this search, the prediction unit 116 also uses the link condition and the classification condition as the search condition, as in step S306. As a result, the prediction unit 116 can acquire one piece of travel time statistical information specified without considering the degree of congestion from the traffic information database 156, and can use this time as the link travel time of the processing target link. Thereafter, the prediction unit 116 performs addition of the obtained link travel time to the travel time accumulation memory and transition of the processing target link (step S308). If the travel information statistical information is not included in the traffic information database 156 when the congestion degree is not distinguished, the prediction unit 116 removes the congestion degree from the search condition and searches the traffic information database 156 in step S312. Also good. In this case, the prediction unit 116 performs statistical processing using the obtained plurality of travel time statistical information, and calculates travel time statistical information when the degree of congestion is not distinguished by calculating one link travel time. be able to.

  When the substitute permission flag is 1 (permitted) (step S310: 1), in step S314, the prediction unit 116 acquires the current VICS congestion level of the processing target link from the RAM 140. In step S316, the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156 using the current VICS congestion level acquired in step S314 as a key. At the time of this search, the prediction unit 116 also uses the link condition and the classification condition as the search condition, as in step S306. As a result, the prediction unit 116 can acquire one travel time statistical information corresponding to the current VICS congestion level from the traffic information database 156, and can use this time as the link travel time of the processing target link. Thereafter, the prediction unit 116 performs addition of the obtained link travel time to the travel time accumulation memory and transition of the processing target link (step S308).

  In addition, between step S314 and step S316, you may determine whether there is reliability of the present VICS traffic congestion degree. The criteria for determining whether or not there is reliability can be arbitrarily determined. For example, the prediction unit 116 can determine whether or not there is reliability depending on whether or not the current VICS congestion level is VICS information received in a predetermined time range from the current time to the past. The prediction unit 116 determines that there is reliability if the VICS information is received within a predetermined time range retroactively from the current time, and determines that there is no reliability if it is outside the predetermined time range. Note that the predetermined time range can be arbitrarily determined, and can be set, for example, according to link attributes (for example, the number of lanes, road width, link length, etc.) in the VICS information that is the basis of the current VICS information. . If the current VICS congestion degree is reliable, the prediction unit 116 shifts the process to step S316. When the current VICS congestion degree is not reliable, the prediction unit 116 shifts the process to step S312.

  When the above-described processing is completed for all the links included in the target route (step S309: YES), the prediction unit 116 is predicted to be necessary for passing the content of the travel time accumulation memory, that is, the target route. Is transmitted to the route search unit 112. Thereafter, the prediction unit 116 ends the process.

  As described above, according to the travel time prediction process of the first embodiment, the prediction unit 116 of the server 10 (information processing apparatus) performs the link travel time (the travel required for the user to pass the road corresponding to the link). When the time is predicted, the traffic information database 156 (information on travel time) is searched. The traffic information database 156 includes a VICS center (second information source) that is an information source different from the vehicle VH (first information source) that transmits the probe information when the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156. ) Includes a substitution permission flag (identification information) indicating whether or not substitution of the degree of congestion acquired from the above is permitted. Therefore, when the substitution permission flag indicates that substitution is permitted (that is, when substitution permission flag = 1), the prediction unit 116 uses the VICS information instead of the current probe congestion level acquired from the probe information. The traffic information database 156 can be searched using the acquired current VICS congestion degree (FIG. 10, step S316). As a result, even when the current probe traffic congestion degree acquired from the probe information cannot be used, the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156 using the current VICS traffic congestion degree acquired from the VICS information, and links Since the travel time can be predicted, it is possible to improve the predictability of the travel time according to the current congestion level.

  Further, when the substitute permission flag indicates that substitution is not permitted (that is, when the substitute permission flag = 0), the prediction unit 116 obtains from the VICS information instead of the current probe congestion degree obtained from the probe information. The current VICS traffic congestion level is not used (FIG. 10, step S312). Therefore, by appropriately setting the substitute permission flag in advance, the first congestion degree when the information on the travel time included in the traffic information database 156 (traffic information data) is classified, and the search key of the traffic information database 156 When the second traffic congestion level is different from each other, the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156 using the second traffic congestion level, and the inappropriate search result as described with reference to FIG. It can suppress that it may get. That is, according to the server 10 of the present embodiment, by appropriately setting the substitute permission flag in advance, the reliability of the predicted link travel time is reduced, in other words, the prediction accuracy by the prediction unit 116 is deteriorated. Can be suppressed.

  Further, according to the travel time prediction process of the first embodiment, the prediction unit 116 of the server 10 (information processing apparatus) is the current congestion degree acquired from the vehicle VH (first information source) that transmits the probe information. If the current probe congestion level (the first current congestion level) is reliable, the current probe congestion level is used to search the traffic information database 156 (traffic information data) to predict the link travel time. (FIG. 10, step S306). In addition, when the current probe congestion level is not reliable or when the current probe congestion level cannot be acquired, the prediction unit 116 searches the traffic information database 156 by another method according to the substitute permission flag (identification information), and links Travel time can be predicted (FIG. 10, steps S312 and S316). In this way, the prediction unit 116 performs appropriate search processing according to the reliability of the current probe congestion level, so that the reliability of the predicted travel time is improved, in other words, the prediction accuracy by the prediction unit 116 is increased. Can be improved.

  Furthermore, according to the travel time prediction process of the first embodiment, the prediction unit 116 of the server 10 (information processing apparatus) indicates that the substitute permission flag does not permit substitution of the current VICS congestion level acquired from the VICS information. In the case of expressing, the traffic information database 156 is searched without considering the current congestion degree, and the link travel time is predicted. As indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2A, a traffic congestion level (first traffic congestion level) in which travel time statistical information included in the traffic information database 156 (traffic information data) is usually classified, and a traffic information database 156 When the link travel time is predicted based on an inappropriate search result that may be obtained when the congestion level of the search key (second congestion level) is different from each other, it is obtained without considering the congestion level When the link travel time is predicted based on the search results obtained, the latter is more reliable for the predicted link travel time. For this reason, the prediction accuracy can be further improved by minimizing the prediction error by the prediction unit 116.

B. Second embodiment:
In the second embodiment of the present invention, a configuration in which processing contents in the travel time prediction processing are different will be described. In the figure, parts having the same configuration and processing as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted. That is, configurations and processes not described below are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

B-1. System outline:
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a guidance system in the second embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is that the guidance system 1 a includes a server 10 a instead of the server 10. The server 10a includes a prediction unit 116a instead of the prediction unit 116, a traffic information generation unit 118a instead of the traffic information generation unit 118, and a traffic information database 156a instead of the traffic information database 156. The prediction unit 116a is different from the first embodiment in the processing content in the travel time prediction process. The traffic information generation unit 118a is different from the first embodiment in the processing content in the substitute permission determination processing. The traffic information database 156a is different from the first embodiment in the content of data stored in the congestion level field.

B-2. Substitute permission judgment processing:
The procedure of the substitute permission determination process of the second embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. However, the traffic information generation unit 118a is different only in that the next step S117 is executed after step S116.
Step S117: The traffic information generation unit 118a determines the VICS congestion level of the travel time information 156x (FIG. 6) regarding the entry corresponding to the entry currently being processed in the traffic information database 156a and classified according to the VICS congestion level. , Travel time statistics information, and add data.

  The traffic information generation unit 118a executes step S117 only when the substitute permission flag is determined to be “0” (that is, when step S116 is performed), and when the substitute permission flag is determined to be “1” (that is, If step S114 is executed), step S117 is not executed. If the substitution permission flag is 1, the substitution of the congestion level in the travel time prediction process is permitted, that is, the prediction unit 116a uses the current VICS congestion level to probe the traffic information database 156a in the travel time prediction process. This means that the travel time statistical information classified by the degree of congestion is searched. For this reason, when the substitute permission flag is 1, it is not necessary to hold the travel time statistical information classified according to the VICS congestion degree in the traffic information database 156a.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the traffic information database 156a generated through the substitute permission determination process of the second embodiment. The travel time statistical information described as “probe: traffic jam”, “probe: congestion”, “probe: smooth”, “no distinction” in the traffic jam field is classified according to the probe traffic jam level as in the first embodiment. Travel time statistics. This travel time statistical information functions as “first time information”.

  On the other hand, travel time statistical information (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 12) described as “VICS: traffic jam”, “VICS: congestion”, and “VICS: smooth” in the traffic jam field is the same as the classification in FIG. It is the travel time statistical information classified according to the VICS congestion level. This travel time statistical information functions as “second time information”. The travel time statistical information (FIG. 12, broken line frame) classified according to the VICS congestion level is stored only in the entry whose substitution permission flag is 0, as shown by a thick frame in FIG.

B-3. Route guidance process:
The procedure of the route guidance process of the second embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. However, the prediction unit 116a of the server 10a is different only in that the travel time prediction process (FIG. 13) of the second embodiment is executed in step S300.

B-4. Travel time prediction processing:
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure of travel time prediction processing in the second embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 10 is that step S402 is provided between steps S304 and S310, step S412 is provided instead of step S312, and step S416 is provided instead of steps S314 and S316. It is a point provided with.

  In step S <b> 402, the prediction unit 116 a acquires the current VICS congestion level of the processing target link from the RAM 140.

  If the substitution permission flag is 0 (impossible) (step S310: 0), in step S412, the prediction unit 116a searches the traffic information database 156a using the current VICS congestion level acquired in step S402 as a key. At the time of this search, the prediction unit 116a uses the travel time statistical information (FIG. 12, broken line frame portion) classified according to the VICS congestion level as a search target. Similar to the first embodiment, the link condition and the classification condition are also used as the search condition during the search.

  When the substitution permission flag is 1 (permission) (step S310: 1), in step S416, the prediction unit 116a searches the traffic information database 156a using the current VICS congestion level acquired in step S402 as a key. At the time of this search, the prediction unit 116a uses the travel time statistical information classified according to the degree of probe congestion (FIG. 12, a portion described as “probe: congestion / congestion / smooth” or “no distinction”) as a search target. To do. That is, the search in step S416 is the same as the search in step S316 of the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the travel time prediction process of the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained. That is, since the prediction unit 116a of the server 10a performs an appropriate search process according to the reliability of the current probe congestion level, the reliability of the predicted travel time is improved, in other words, the prediction accuracy by the prediction unit 116a. Can be improved.

  Further, according to the travel time prediction process of the second embodiment, the prediction unit 116a of the server 10a (information processing apparatus) indicates that the substitution permission flag (identification information) indicates the current VICS congestion degree as a substitute for the current probe congestion degree. In the case of expressing that use is not permitted, the current time VICS traffic level, which is the current level of traffic acquired from the VICS center (second information source), is used to obtain the second time information (see FIG. 12, the portion of the broken line frame) is searched and the travel time is predicted. Here, the second time information is travel time statistical information (information related to the required time) for passing the road section corresponding to the link for each VICS congestion degree. In other words, the second time information is travel time statistical information classified according to the VICS congestion degree. Therefore, in this way, by holding the second time information, the congestion degree (first congestion degree) when the travel time statistical information included in the traffic information database 156a (traffic information data) is classified Since the difference from the congestion level (second congestion level) of the search key of the traffic information database 156a can be resolved, the prediction unit 116a obtains an inappropriate search result as described in FIG. It can suppress that there is a case. That is, according to the server 10a, it is possible to suppress a decrease in reliability of the predicted link travel time, in other words, deterioration in prediction accuracy by the prediction unit 116a.

  Further, according to the traffic information database 156a of the second embodiment, the second time information (part of the broken line frame in FIG. 12) that is the travel time statistical information classified according to the VICS congestion degree has a substitute permission flag of 0 ( Stored only in entries that are not allowed. An entry whose substitution permission flag is 1 (permitted) can be searched using the current VICS congestion level as a search key instead of the current probe congestion level in the travel time prediction process. Therefore, the second time information is not necessary for an entry whose substitution permission flag is 1 (permission). Thus, in the traffic information database 156a of the second embodiment, the data storage area can be reduced by holding the second time information only in necessary portions.

C. Third embodiment:
In the third embodiment of the present invention, a configuration for performing each process described in the second embodiment when the congestion standard of the probe congestion level and the VICS congestion level is different will be described. In the figure, parts having the same configuration and processing as those of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the second embodiment described above, and detailed description thereof is omitted. That is, configurations and processes not described below are the same as those in the second embodiment described above. In addition, although 3rd Embodiment is demonstrated as a deformation | transformation of 2nd Embodiment, it is good also as a deformation | transformation of 1st Embodiment.

In the third embodiment, as exemplified in the following c1 and c2, the standard of the degree of congestion represented by the probe congestion degree is different from the standard of the degree of congestion represented by the VICS congestion degree.
(C1) Probe congestion level: Traffic jam 3 (very high congestion level), traffic jam 2 (high congestion level), traffic jam 1 (medium congestion level), smooth (low congestion level)
(C2) VICS congestion level: congestion (high congestion level), congestion (medium congestion level), smooth (low congestion level)

C-1. System outline:
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a guidance system in the third embodiment. The difference from the second embodiment shown in FIG. 11 is that the guidance system 1b includes a server 10b instead of the server 10a. The server 10b includes a prediction unit 116b instead of the prediction unit 116a, a traffic information generation unit 118b instead of the traffic information generation unit 118a, and a traffic information database 156b instead of the traffic information database 156a. The server 10 b further includes a correspondence table 158 in the storage unit 150. The prediction unit 116b is different from the second embodiment in the processing content in the travel time prediction process. The traffic information generation unit 118b is different from the second embodiment in the processing content in the substitute permission determination processing. The traffic information database 156b further includes fields of a correspondence table in addition to the fields described above.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the correspondence table 158. The correspondence table 158 is a table that stores the correspondence relationship between the VICS traffic congestion degree and the probe traffic congestion degree for each type. According to the example of entry E1 in FIG. 15, in the case of type 1, the probe traffic congestion degree “traffic congestion 3” corresponds to the VICS traffic congestion degree “traffic congestion”. Similarly, in the case of Type 1, the probe congestion degree “congestion” corresponds to the VICS congestion degree “congested”, and the probe congestion degree “normal” corresponds to the VICS congestion degree “smooth”. According to the example of the entry E2, in the case of Type 2, the probe congestion degree “congestion 3” corresponds to the VICS congestion degree “congestion”, and the probe congestion degree “congestion 2” corresponds to the VICS congestion degree “congestion”. “Traffic 1” corresponds, and the probe traffic congestion “smooth” corresponds to the VICS traffic congestion “smooth”. According to the example of the entry E3, in the case of Type 3, the probe congestion degree “congestion 2” corresponds to the VICS congestion degree “congestion”, and the probe congestion degree “congestion 1” corresponds to the VICS congestion degree “congestion”. Correspondingly, the probe traffic level “smooth” corresponds to the VICS traffic level “smooth”. In this way, the standard of the degree of congestion represented by the degree of congestion of the probe and the standard of the degree of congestion represented by the degree of congestion of the VICS can be stored in association with each type. The contents of the correspondence table 158 are stored in advance. The correspondence table 158 functions as a “correspondence relationship storage unit”.

C-2. Substitute permission judgment processing:
The procedure of the substitution permission determination process of the third embodiment is almost the same as that of the second embodiment. However, the traffic information generation unit 118b is different in that the next step S115 is executed after step S114 and the next step S118 is executed after step S117.
Step S115: The traffic information generation unit 118b associates any type of correspondence table 158 with respect to the field (FIG. 16) of the entry correspondence table corresponding to the entry currently processed in the traffic information database 156b. Stores whether to use. Which type of association is used may be determined in advance by default, or may be determined according to attributes of the link of interest (for example, the number of lanes, road width, link length, etc.).
Step S118: The traffic information generating unit 118b stores information indicating unnecessary in the field (FIG. 16) of the entry correspondence table corresponding to the entry currently being processed in the traffic information database 156b. .

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of the traffic information database 156b generated through the substitute permission determination process of the third embodiment. The type of the correspondence table is stored only in the entry whose substitution permission flag is 1 as shown by the broken line frame in FIG.

C-3. Route guidance process:
The procedure of the route guidance process of the third embodiment is almost the same as that of the second embodiment. However, the prediction unit 116b of the server 10b executes the travel time prediction process (FIG. 17) of the third embodiment in step S300.

C-4. Travel time prediction processing:
FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of travel time prediction processing according to the third embodiment. The difference from the second embodiment shown in FIG. 13 is that steps S502 and S516 are provided instead of step S416.

  In step S502, the prediction unit 116b refers to the correspondence table 158 and performs a congestion degree conversion process. Specifically, the prediction unit 116b considers the processing target link, the entrance link and the exit link with respect to the processing target link, and the classification condition such as the day of the week on the date and time when the travel time prediction process is executed, and the traffic information. The database 156 is searched and the value of the correspondence table of the matched entry is acquired. The prediction unit 116b searches the correspondence table 158 using the type specified in the correspondence table and the current VICS congestion level acquired in step S402 as a key, and a probe corresponding to the current VICS congestion level acquired in step S402. Get the traffic level.

  In step S516, the prediction unit 116b searches the traffic information database 156b using the probe congestion degree acquired in step S502 as a key. Similar to the second embodiment, the link condition and the classification condition are also used as the search condition during the search.

  As described above, according to the travel time prediction process of the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the second embodiment can be achieved. That is, since the prediction unit 116b of the server 10b executes appropriate search processing according to the reliability of the current probe congestion level, the reliability of the predicted travel time is improved, in other words, the prediction accuracy by the prediction unit 116b. Can be improved. In addition, the congestion level (first congestion level) when the travel time statistical information included in the traffic information database 156b (traffic information data) is classified, and the congestion level (second congestion level) of the search key of the traffic information database 156b. Therefore, the prediction unit 116b can be prevented from obtaining an inappropriate search result as described in FIG.

  In addition, according to the travel time prediction process of the third embodiment, the reference of the degree of congestion represented by the probe congestion degree (the reference for the first congestion degree) and the reference of the degree of congestion represented by the VICS congestion degree (the second The prediction unit 116b uses the correspondence table 158 (correspondence relation storage unit) to obtain the current probe traffic congestion level corresponding to the current VICS traffic congestion level, and the traffic information The database 156b (information on travel time) can be searched.

D. Variation:
In the above embodiment, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced by software, and conversely, a part of the configuration realized by software may be replaced by hardware. Good. In addition, the following modifications are possible.

・ Modification 1:
In the said Example, an example of the structure of the guidance system was shown. However, the configuration of the guidance system is merely an example, and any aspect can be adopted. For example, the server may have the function that the navigation device has, and the navigation device may have the function that the server has.

  For example, in the above embodiment, each vehicle that transmits probe information is referred to as a “first information source”, and a VICS center that transmits VICS information is referred to as a “second information source”. However, the VICS center may be a “first information source”, and each vehicle that transmits probe information may be a “second information source”. A sensor that senses road conditions based on a standard other than VICS may be used as the “first or second information source”. Also, the VICS congestion level may be “first traffic level”, the probe traffic level may be “second traffic level”, and the traffic level according to standards other than VICS and probe may be “first or second traffic level”. It is good also as.

Modification 2
In the above embodiment, the navigation device is exemplified as the client device. However, the client device and its configuration in the above embodiment are merely examples, and any aspect can be employed. For example, it is possible to adopt a modification in which a device other than navigation is adopted as the client device, a part of the constituent elements are omitted, a further constituent element is added, or a part of the constituent elements is changed. For example, information processing devices such as smartphones, personal computers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and game machines may be employed as the client device.

・ Modification 3:
In the above embodiment, the configuration of the server is shown. However, the configuration of the server in the above embodiment is merely an example, and any aspect can be adopted. For example, the deformation | transformation which abbreviate | omits a part of the component, adds a further component, or changes a part of a component is possible. For example, the above-described function may be realized by cooperation of a plurality of servers.

-Modification 4:
In the above embodiment, the substitute permission determination process, the route guidance process, and the travel time prediction process have been described with reference to an example of the processing procedure. However, the above procedure is merely an example, and various changes can be made. Some steps may be omitted, and other steps may be added. Further, the order of the steps to be executed may be changed.

  For example, in the substitution permission determination process, the setting of the substitution permission flag may be determined using means other than confirming a significant difference in statistical data.

  For example, in the travel time calculation process, the branching of the process due to the reliability of the current probe congestion level may be omitted. For example, if the current probe congestion level can be acquired, step S304: YES is determined uniformly. If the current probe congestion level cannot be acquired, step S304: NO is determined uniformly, and the subsequent processing is performed. Good.

-Modification 5:
In the above embodiment, the configuration of the traffic information database and the correspondence table has been described. However, the structure of each database mentioned above is an example to the last, and arbitrary aspects can be employ | adopted. For example, some of the fields described as being included in the database may be omitted, or different fields may be added or changed. One database may be divided into a plurality of databases, or a plurality of databases may be integrated into one.

  For example, some of the classification conditions in the correspondence table may be omitted. For example, the substitution permission flag may not be held in the form of a flag. For example, the entering link and the leaving link may be omitted as the link is distinguished only by the link of interest. For example, the second time information of the second and third embodiments (travel time statistical information classified by VICS congestion degree) may be stored in all regardless of the contents of the substitution permission flag.

  For example, the correspondence relationship between the VICS congestion level and the probe congestion level stored in the correspondence table may not be distinguished for each type.

Modification 6:
When searching for the first time information to predict the travel time of the road section corresponding to the predetermined link, as a process when the link cannot use the second congestion degree based on the identification information, Not only the embodiment described above, but a method for suppressing deterioration in prediction accuracy when the traffic congestion level used when generating traffic information data and the traffic congestion level of the traffic information data search key are different from each other. Other methods may be used as long as they exist.

Modification 7:
In the above embodiment, instead of the substitute permission flag, only the flag indicating that the prediction unit 116 does not permit the search of the traffic information database 156 using the current VICS congestion degree may be stored. In this case, the prediction unit 116 uses the current VICS traffic level to determine whether the flag indicating that the traffic information database 156 is not permitted to be searched using the current VICS traffic level is used. For data that is not given a flag indicating that it is not permitted to search the traffic information database 156 using the current VICS congestion level, the traffic information database 156 is searched using the current VICS congestion level. I decided to.

-Modification 8:
In the above embodiment, the substitute permission flag may be stored in a database different from the traffic information database 156. In this case, the substitution permission flag corresponding to the classification condition and the travel time statistical information can be acquired by associating the substitution permission flag with the classification condition and the travel time statistical information by the ID set for each entry. It is.

-Modification 9:
In the above embodiment, the substitution permission flag may be set to 0 (not permitted) for a link for which VICS information cannot always be acquired. The links where the VICS information cannot always be acquired include links in which the VICS sensor 90 corresponding to the link is broken or links that are not installed.

Modification 10:
In the above embodiment, the travel time obtained by the travel time prediction process (step S300) during the route search process (step S214) may be used. For example, a route with the shortest travel time may be searched by selecting a link included in the route DB 154 using the travel time obtained by the travel time prediction process (step S300). In addition, during the route search process (step S214), a plurality of candidate routes are searched, and the travel times of the plurality of candidate routes are calculated using the travel times obtained by the travel time prediction process (step S300). It is also possible to obtain the route with the highest accuracy and use the route with the shortest travel time as the optimum route.

Modification 11:
In the above embodiment, as an example of searching for the first time information without considering the current traffic jam degree, all the travel time statistical information by traffic jam except for data with no traffic jam level is extracted, A process of calculating one piece of travel time statistical information may be performed by statistically processing the data.

Modification 12:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, examples, and modifications, and can be realized with various configurations without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments, examples, and modifications corresponding to the technical features in each embodiment described in the summary section of the invention are to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or In order to achieve part or all of the above-described effects, replacement or combination can be performed as appropriate. Further, if the technical feature is not described as essential in the present specification, it can be deleted as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a, 1b ... Guidance system 10, 10a, 10b ... Server 20 ... Navigation apparatus 90 ... VICS sensor 110 ... CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 112 ... Route search part 114 ... Congestion degree acquisition part 116, 116a, 116b ... Prediction part 118, 118a, 118b ... Traffic information generation part 120 ... Communication part 130 ... ROM
140 ... RAM
150 ... storage unit 152 ... map database 154 ... route database 156, 156a, 156b ... traffic information database 158 ... correspondence table 210 ... CPU
212 ... Route guidance unit 220 ... Communication unit 230 ... ROM
240 ... RAM
250 ... storage unit 260 ... input / output unit 270 ... current position acquisition unit

Claims (6)

An information processing apparatus,
A storage unit for storing information on travel time for each of a plurality of links constituting the transportation network;
A search unit that searches for information related to the travel time based on a current traffic jam degree and predicts a travel time required for the user of the information processing device to pass through a road section corresponding to the link; ,
Information on the travel time is
1st time information which is the information about the travel time required to pass the road section corresponding to the said link according to the 1st congestion level based on the 1st information source,
The information processing apparatus further includes:
When the prediction unit searches for information on the travel time, the link that enables the use of a second congestion level based on a second information source different from the first information source as the current congestion level Having identification information to identify,
The prediction unit
An information processing apparatus that, based on the identification information, searches for the first time information using the second congestion degree when the second congestion degree can be used as the current congestion degree. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The prediction unit
If the first congestion level as the current congestion level is unreliable, or if the first congestion level cannot be acquired, the information search method is changed according to the identification information. Processing equipment. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The prediction unit
An information processing apparatus, based on the identification information, that searches the first time information without considering the current traffic jam level when the second traffic jam level cannot be used as the current traffic jam level. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The travel time information further includes:
Including second time information that is information related to travel time required to pass through the road section corresponding to the link for each second congestion degree;
The prediction unit
Based on said identification information, when the first impossible search time information before Symbol before utilizing the second congestion level SL, by using the second congestion degree as congestion level of current state, the An information processing apparatus that retrieves second time information. The information processing apparatus according to 請 Motomeko 4, further
A correspondence storage unit that stores a correspondence between the first traffic jam degree and the second traffic jam degree;
The prediction unit
If the first time information using the second congestion degree can be searched based on the identification information, the first congestion degree corresponding to the second congestion degree from the correspondence storage unit. An information processing apparatus that searches for the first time information using the first traffic congestion degree that has been obtained. A computer program for causing a computer to execute a process of predicting a travel time required to pass through a road corresponding to a link,
The predicting step includes
Information relating to travel time for each of the plurality of links constituting the traffic network, the travel time required for passing the road corresponding to the link for each first congestion level based on the first information source First time information that is information about;
Identification information for identifying the link that can use the second traffic level based on the second information source different from the first information source as the current traffic level when searching for information on the travel time And
Based on the identification information, if the second congestion level can be used as the current congestion level, the computer is caused to execute a step of searching the first time information using the second congestion level. Computer program.

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