JP7433683B2 - How to provide a user interface for automotive competitions - Google Patents

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act Posted on the website "https://www.rallystream.net/jrc/2018/rd1/" on February 1, 2018.

The present invention relates to a method of providing a user interface for displaying driving information of competition vehicles in an automobile competition.

BACKGROUND ART Recently, services that notify client terminals of automobile driving information in real time, including automobile competitions, have become popular.

For example, a method is disclosed in which a control terminal receives GPS location information and operation information from each transportation vehicle via a wireless communication network, and provides various screens to the terminal in response to a request from a client terminal or an administrator terminal. (For example, Patent Document 1).

Furthermore, a method has been disclosed in which a video captured by an on-board camera mounted on a race car is received from a server via a mobile phone communication network and an Internet network (for example, Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-135038 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-46354

However, in automobile competitions, especially in rally competitions, race organizers, spectators,
A user interface that is suitable for athletes and displays competition information in a simple format has not yet been realized.

Although the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 discloses a method of providing information in response to a request from a user or administrator, the submitted information is uniform, especially since it is in a field different from automobile competitions. Special circumstances of race organizers and spectators are not taken into account. Further, Patent Document 2 only discloses a method of providing on-board video, and does not take the above-mentioned circumstances into account.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a user interface that displays competition information in a simple format suitable for race organizers, spectators, competitors, etc. in automobile competitions, particularly in rally competitions.

One embodiment of the present invention is a method for providing a user interface for displaying driving information of competition vehicles in an automobile competition, the method generating a driving route traveled by a competition vehicle as map information, and , generates information that displays the point where the competition vehicle is currently running, generates information related to the competition vehicle, controls the display of the driving route and information related to the competition vehicle at the same time, and controls the vehicle competition operator. It is characterized by changing the content of information related to competition vehicles in response to a reception request from a terminal or a spectator terminal.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a user interface that displays competition information in a simple format suitable for race organizers, spectators, competitors, etc. in automobile competitions, particularly in rally competitions.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a functional block diagram of a service providing server according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing details of a control unit of the service providing server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing details of storage of the service providing server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of the competition vehicle information management table according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of the competition information management table according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of the SOS information management table according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of the content management table according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a functional block diagram of a competition vehicle terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for providing a user interface according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a diagram showing an example of a user interface of an operator terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a diagram showing an example of a user interface of a spectator terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for providing a user interface according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an example of a method for providing a user interface according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an example of a method for providing a user interface according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the user interface according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

The contents of the embodiments of the present invention will be listed and explained. The service providing server according to the embodiment of the present invention has the following configuration.
[Item 1]
A method for providing a user interface for displaying driving information of competition vehicles in an automobile competition, the method comprising:
Generates the driving route traveled by competition vehicles as map information,
generating information that displays the point where the competition vehicle is currently traveling on the travel route;
generating information related to the competition vehicle;
controlling to simultaneously display information related to the driving route and the competition vehicle;
A method characterized in that the content of information related to the competition vehicle is changed in response to a reception request from an operator terminal or a spectator terminal of an automobile competition.
[Item 2]
The method according to item 1, wherein the driving route is composed of a public road route and a special stage that allows a time attack, and the information related to the competition vehicle includes a running speed of the competition vehicle.
[Item 3]
In response to the reception request from the spectator terminal,
When the competition vehicle is traveling on the public road route, the traveling speed is not displayed;
The method according to item 2, characterized in that when the competition vehicle is running on a special stage, the running speed is controlled to be displayed.
[Item 4]
The method according to claim 1, wherein the information related to the competition vehicle includes information indicating reception status of radio waves for mobile phones.
[Item 5]
The method according to item 1, wherein control is performed to display an alert after a predetermined period of time has passed since the information indicating the radio wave reception status indicates that the radio wave is not being received.

(First embodiment)
A service providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a service providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the service providing system includes a service providing server 1, an automobile competition operator terminal 2 connected to the service providing server 1 via a network such as the Internet and/or a mobile phone communication network, It includes a spectator terminal 3 and a competition vehicle terminal 4. In particular, this embodiment focuses on rally competitions in which competition vehicles drive in mountainous areas among automobile competitions, so there may be situations where satellite lines or WiFi cannot be used for communication around the competitors' driving routes. Therefore, it is preferable to use a mobile phone communication network. Also,
In this embodiment, for convenience of explanation, each of the operator terminal 2, spectator terminal 3, and competition vehicle terminal 4 will be explained as one, but each may be composed of one or more terminals.

The service providing server 1 can provide competition information such as running information of competition vehicles participating in an automobile competition (for example, a rally competition) to an operator terminal or the like via an application. The operator terminal 2, the spectator terminal 3, and the competition vehicle terminal 4 each download an application from the service providing server 1 or another server. By executing this application and accessing the service providing server 1 through web page viewing software or tools such as a browser, it is possible to send and receive information to and from the service providing server 1, and also to receive services. I can do it.

For example, the competition vehicle terminal 4 transmits current position information, speed information, etc. of the competition vehicle to the service providing server 1 via the mobile phone communication network via the downloaded application. The service providing server 1 maps the current position information of the competition vehicle on a pre-stored map showing the driving course, and also generates speed information as display information along with other stored information. , screen data for a user interface corresponding to each of the operator terminal 2, spectator terminal 3, and competition vehicle terminal 4 is generated and transmitted to each terminal.

The operator terminal 2, the spectator terminal 3, and the competition vehicle terminal 4 may be, for example, a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer, or may be a smartphone, a tablet, a mobile terminal, or other information terminal.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the service providing server 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Note that the illustrated configuration is an example, and other configurations may be used.

As illustrated, the service providing server 1 is connected to a database (not shown) and forms part of the system. The service providing server 1 may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer, or may be logically realized by cloud computing.

The service providing server 1 includes at least a control unit 10, a memory 11, a storage 12, a transmitting/receiving unit 13, an input/output unit 14, etc., which are electrically connected to each other via a bus 15.

The control unit 10 is an arithmetic device that controls the overall operation of the service providing server 1, controls the transmission and reception of data between each element, and performs information processing necessary for application execution and authentication processing. For example, the control unit 10 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit).
It executes programs stored in the storage 12 and developed in the memory 11 to perform various information processing.

The memory 11 is a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
The main memory consists of volatile storage devices such as flash memory and HDD (Hard
auxiliary storage constituted by a non-volatile storage device such as a disc drive). The memory 11 is used as a work area for the processor 10, and is also used as a work area for the service providing server 1.
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System)
), and various setting information.

The storage 12 stores various programs such as application programs. A database (not shown) storing data used for each process may be constructed in the storage 12.

The transmitting/receiving unit 13 connects the service providing server 1 to the network. Note that the transmitting/receiving section 1
3 is Bluetooth (registered trademark) and BLE (Bluetooth Low En
ergy) short-range communication interface.

The input/output unit 14 includes information input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, and output devices such as a display.

The bus 15 is commonly connected to each of the above elements and transmits, for example, address signals, data signals, and various control signals.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing details of the control unit 10 of the service providing server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the control unit 10 executes the application program related to the service according to the present embodiment, and the modules of the executed program are divided into several functional blocks as shown in the figure. In addition, all or part of the functional blocks executed by the main control unit of the service providing server may be executed by any one of the operator terminal 2, spectator terminal 3, and competition vehicle terminal 4, or a combination thereof, depending on the nature of the function blocks. is also possible.

First, the map information management unit 21 manages information related to the driving route of the automobile competition and information on the surrounding area as a map, and also manages current position information received from the competition vehicle terminal 4 via this application. By superimposing it on the driving route, the current position information of each competition vehicle terminal 4 on the driving route is mapped.

Next, the competition vehicle related information management unit 22 stores basic information related to the competition vehicle terminal 4, for example,
It manages the ID for identifying the competition vehicle, the bib number, driver and co-driver names, and information received from the competition vehicle terminal 4 via the application, such as current position information and running speed. The competition vehicle related information management unit 22 also provides information for grasping the state of the competition vehicle, such as the acquisition time when the information was received from the competition vehicle terminal 4, the time elapsed since the last acquisition, and the radio wave for mobile phone. It also manages reception status, etc.

The competition information management unit 23 manages the progress of currently held automobile competitions, and, for example,
It manages the ranking, running speed, running condition, and radio wave reception status of each competition vehicle. The competition information management section 23 can also manage competition results of automobile competitions held in the past.

In addition, the control unit 10 includes an event management unit 24 that generates information for displaying alerts on the display screen of the operator terminal 2, and an event management unit 24 that generates information for displaying alerts on the display screen of the operator terminal 2; It has a content management section 25 for managing the content, and a screen control section 26 for generating a screen for a user interface based on various information.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing details of the storage 12 of the service providing server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the storage 12 includes the map information storage section 32 that stores map information related to the driving route of the automobile competition. Instead of storing the map information in the storage unit 32, the map information may be stored in a DB (database) external to the server connected via a network, or provided by a third party application via an API (application program interface). You can also access the map provided.
Furthermore, as described above, the storage 12 has an area for storing information related to competition vehicles as a competition vehicle information management table 32. Furthermore, as described above, the storage 12 has an area for storing information related to the competition as the competition information management table 33. Furthermore, the storage 12 has an area for storing an SOS information management table 35 for managing the progress of SOS information received from the competition vehicle terminal 4. The storage 12 also has an area for storing information for managing moving image data transmitted from an on-board camera or the like of the competition vehicle terminal 4 as a content management table 35. Furthermore, the storage 12 includes a content storage section 36 that stores the above-mentioned moving image data. Note that all or part of these tables and video data can be stored in any storage area inside or outside the service providing server 1 instead of being stored in the storage 12.

The details of each table stored in the storage 12 will be described below. FIG. 5 is an example of a competition vehicle information management table 500 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As described above, the competition vehicle information management table 500 includes basic information related to the competition vehicle terminal 4;
For example, the ID that identifies the competition vehicle, the bib number, the driver and co-driver names, and the current location information received from the competition vehicle terminal 4 via the application, for example,
Stores information such as traveling speed. The technical vehicle information management table 500 also includes information for grasping the state of the competition vehicle, such as the acquisition time when the information was received from the competition vehicle terminal 4, the time elapsed since the last acquisition, and the reception of radio waves for mobile phones. It also manages the situation.

FIG. 6 is an example of a competition information management table 600 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
As described above, the competition information management table 600 manages the progress status of the currently held automobile competition, and stores, for example, the ranking of each competition vehicle, running speed, running state, and presence/absence of radio wave reception status. The competition information management unit 23 can also manage competition results and history of automobile competitions held in the past for each competition. In addition, as a competition information management table, there are individual tables according to the type of each terminal so that different information can be provided depending on the terminal requesting information (operator terminal 2, spectator terminal 3, and competition vehicle terminal 4). can be equipped with

Here, the running route of the rally competition consists of a section running on a general public road (public road section) as shown by a broken line 1005 on the running route in FIG. It is often composed of a stage section (SS section). In such a case, when the competition vehicle runs on a public road, the speed on the public road section may exceed the legal speed. For organizers, it is important to constantly track the speed at which competition vehicles are currently running, but on the other hand, it is important for the competition to be able to disclose to spectators the speed at which competition vehicles are running on public roads. This may be undesirable from various viewpoints such as privacy, regardless of whether or not the vehicle is speeding. For this reason, as a competition information management table, for example, for the operator, the speed when driving on public roads is stored as received speed information, and on the other hand, for the spectators, the speed when driving on public roads is stored. It is also possible to separately store competition information management tables for the operator and for the spectators. Alternatively, as a competition information management table, you can maintain a table that stores running speeds regardless of whether or not you are running on public roads.
It is also possible to perform processing such as not displaying speed information of competition vehicles running on public roads at the timing of screen generation.

FIG. 7 is an example of an SOS information management table 700 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As mentioned above, the SOS information management table 700 stores the SOS information received from the competition vehicle terminal 4.
Stores information for managing the progress of S information. For example, the ID that identifies the received SOS information, the ID of the competitor's vehicle that sent the SOS information, and the content of the subsequent response (safely
K) or information indicating no response) is stored.

FIG. 8 is an example of a content management table 800 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As described above, the content management table 800 stores information for managing moving image data transmitted from the onboard camera of the competition vehicle terminal 4. For example, the content ID that identifies the moving image data and the ID of the competitor's vehicle that transmitted the moving image data are stored. others,
Although not shown, it is also possible to manage user IDs, terminal IDs, etc. of spectator terminals to which access rights are granted to each content ID in the same table.

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the competition vehicle terminal 4 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Note that the illustrated configuration is an example, and other configurations may be used.

As mentioned above, the competition vehicle terminal 4 may be a general-purpose computer such as a workstation or a personal computer, or may be a smartphone, tablet, mobile terminal, or other information terminal, and may be provided in the competition vehicle. , carried by the driver or co-driver operating the competition vehicle.

The competition vehicle terminal 4 includes at least a control section 40, a memory 41, a storage 42, a transmitting/receiving section 43, an input/output section 44, etc., which are electrically connected to each other via a bus 46.

The control unit 40 is a calculation device that controls the operation of the competition vehicle terminal 4, controls the transmission and reception of data between each element, and performs information processing necessary for application execution and authentication processing. For example, the control unit 10 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and executes programs stored in the storage 12 and developed in the memory 11 to perform various information processing.

The memory 41 is a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).
The main memory consists of volatile storage devices such as flash memory and HDD (Hard
auxiliary storage constituted by a non-volatile storage device such as a disc drive). The memory 41 is used as a work area for the processor 10, and also stores a BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) executed when the terminal is started, various setting information, and the like.

The storage 42 stores various programs such as application programs. A database (not shown) storing data used for each process may be constructed in the storage 12.

The transmitting/receiving unit 43 connects the competition vehicle terminal 4 to a network such as a mobile phone communication network or the Internet. Note that the transmitting/receiving unit 43 supports Bluetooth (registered trademark) and BLE (Bl
The device may also include a short-range communication interface (e.g., Bluetooth (Low Energy)). Furthermore, the competition vehicle terminal 4 can also be connected to an external service providing server or the like via a network by communicating with a data transmission/reception terminal separately provided in the competition vehicle.

The input/output unit 44 is information input devices such as a keyboard and mouse, and output devices such as a display.

The bus 46 is commonly connected to each of the above elements and transmits, for example, address signals, data signals, and various control signals.

Moreover, the competition vehicle terminal 4 can also be equipped with GPS46. The current position information of the competition vehicle can be obtained using the GPS 46. Alternatively, the competition vehicle terminal 4 can also obtain the current location information by using the location information of the base station of the mobile phone communication network. The competition vehicle terminal 4 can acquire current position information using a GPS installed in the competition vehicle, which is inside the terminal or outside the terminal, and can transmit the information to the service providing server 1.

Although not shown, the competition vehicle terminal 4 is equipped with an acceleration sensor, calculates the speed based on the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor, regards it as the speed of the competition vehicle, and transmits it to the service providing server 1 as speed information. be able to. Alternatively, the competition vehicle terminal 4 can transmit, via an application, speed information obtained by a speedometer provided in the competition vehicle, which is external to the terminal.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for providing a user interface according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This process is realized, for example, by having the control unit 10 execute a program stored in the memory 11 of the service providing server 1.

First, the map information management section 21 of the control section 10 of the service providing server 1 controls the map information storage section 31.
A map indicating the target driving route is generated with reference to (S101). As mentioned above, all or part of the map can be stored in a DB outside the server and extracted by accessing it via the network, or it can be extracted by a third party via API. You can also extract maps by accessing the server. In particular, rally competitions are often held on public roads, and maps provided by third parties (for example, Google Maps, etc.)
You can also generate a map by overwriting the locations that will be the driving route for the current competition. FIG. 11 is an example of a user interface (for operators) for displaying running information of competition vehicles. In FIG. 11, 1002 is an area showing a map including a driving route. The driving route is, for example, a public road section (the section corresponding to 1005 indicated by a broken line), which will be described later.
and a special stage section (section corresponding to 1004 shown in practice). Public road sections and special stage sections can be displayed in different formats (colors, lines, etc.) so that they can be identified, and the identification of competition vehicles running in each section can also be displayed in different formats. be able to.

Next, the competition vehicle related information management unit 22 of the control unit 10 receives information from the transmission/reception unit 13 from the competition vehicle terminal 4.
The current location information is received via (S102). The received current position information is stored in the competition vehicle related information management table. As described above, the current location information may be the location information acquired by the GPS installed in the competition vehicle terminal 4 or the position of the competition vehicle terminal 4 obtained using the location information of the base station of the mobile phone communication network. Information etc. can be used. The current position information is received periodically or depending on the reception status of radio waves received by the competition vehicle.

Next, the map information management unit 22 displays S on the map showing the driving route generated in S101.
Processing is performed to display the current position information of the competition vehicle terminal 4 received in step 102 (S103
). Note that the order in which S101 and S102 described above are executed is not limited. For example, after receiving the current location information in S102, a map is generated in S101, and then the current location information is generated on the map. You can also. In FIG. 11, for example, the current position of the competition vehicle (bib number 1) is displayed as 1006.

Next, the competition information management unit 23 confirms whether the competition information transmission request is received from the operator terminal 2 or from the spectator terminal 3 (S104). For example, the type can be confirmed by the user ID or terminal ID of the operator terminal 2 or spectator terminal 3. In addition,
If the service providing server 1 has already confirmed whether the terminal accessing the server is that of the operator or the audience at the time of user login performed in advance, this confirmation process may be omitted.

Here, if the transmission request is from the operator terminal 2, the process proceeds to S105, and the competition information management unit 23 generates the first competition information. FIG. 11 shows a user interface screen for the operator. In FIG. 11, 1002 is an area showing a map including a driving route, and 1003 is an area showing information related to competition vehicles as competition information. As an example of the first competition information, as shown in 1003, information regarding the ranking, running speed, running state, and radio wave reception status of each competition vehicle is generated. Here, as competition information for the operator, the running speed is displayed regardless of whether the competition vehicle is running on a public road section.For example, the competition vehicle with number 9 is Although it is recorded that the vehicle is traveling at a speed of 70 km/h, speed information is also displayed on the user interface screen for operators.

Here, if the transmission request is from the spectator terminal 3, the process proceeds to S106, and the competition information management section 23 generates second competition information. FIG. 12 shows a user interface screen for spectators. In FIG. 12, 2002 is an area showing a map including a driving route, and 2003 is an area showing information related to competition vehicles as competition information. As an example of the second competition information, as shown in 2003, information regarding the ranking of each competition vehicle, running speed, running state, and presence/absence of radio wave reception status is generated, as in the case for the operator.
Here, as competition information for spectators, when a competition vehicle is running on a public road section, the running speed is not displayed. For example, a competition vehicle with number 9 is running at a speed of 70 km. However, it is not displayed on the user interface screen for spectators. In addition, if it is determined that it is unnecessary to display the reception status of radio waves on the user interface screen for spectators, for example, it is possible to control such information not to be displayed.

The display control unit 25 also generates necessary information as screen display information, including other user interface screen parts, and transmits the information to the target terminal (S107).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the server can provide different user interface screens regarding running routes and competition information depending on the terminal that makes the transmission request.

A service providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The basic functional configuration of the service providing server 1 described in this embodiment and the contents of managed information are the same as those described in the first embodiment, unless otherwise specified.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for providing a user interface according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, this is a function particularly related to the user interface screen provided to the operator, and is related to a function that detects events such as troubles that may occur in competition vehicles and contributes to smooth competition management. .

First, the competition vehicle related information management section 22 of the control section 10 of the service providing server 1 receives current position information from the competition vehicle terminal 4 via the transmitting/receiving section 13 (S201). The management unit stores the received current position information in the competition vehicle related information management table 500.

Next, the competition vehicle related information management unit 22 updates the time when the current position information was acquired (S2
02). For example, in S201, the management department selects "
The item ``Current location information'' is updated, and the item ``Acquisition time'' is updated.

Next, the competition vehicle related information management unit 22 checks the time that has passed since the latest location information acquisition time (S203). For example, in the competition vehicle information management table 500, the management department
Check the "elapsed time" item, which indicates the amount of time that has passed since the last time location information was obtained.

Subsequently, the competition vehicle related information management unit 22 checks whether the elapsed time checked in S203 has passed a predetermined time (S204). For example, in the competition vehicle information management table 500, the management department may write "5
Confirm that ``minutes and 30 seconds'' have elapsed, and confirm that the predetermined ``5 minutes'' have elapsed.

If the confirmation result in S205 is that the predetermined time has elapsed, the event management unit 24 generates an alert (S205). For example, in the process of S205, the event management unit 24 determines that because more than 5 minutes have passed since the last time the vehicle with the number 16 acquired location information, some kind of trouble has occurred with the vehicle. , it is estimated that it is unable to receive radio waves and therefore cannot send information, and generates a notification to inform the operator of this fact. The generated notification is transmitted from the service providing server 1 to the operator terminal 2, and the notification is displayed as a pop-up on the display screen of the operator terminal 2, for example. If the confirmation result in S205 is that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to the original elapsed time confirmation process.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the server detects events such as troubles that may occur to the competition vehicle by monitoring information received from the competition vehicle, and notifies the event in real time on the user interface screen of the operator terminal. By doing so, the operator will be able to immediately take action against the target vehicle, and will therefore be able to run the competition smoothly.

A service providing system according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The basic functional configuration of the service providing server 1 described in this embodiment and the contents of managed information are the same as those described in the first and second embodiments, unless otherwise specified. Similar to the second embodiment, this embodiment is a function particularly related to the user interface screen provided to the operator, and is a function that may occur in a competition vehicle based on information different from that in the second embodiment. This relates to a function that detects events such as troubles and contributes to smooth competition management.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for providing a user interface according to the third embodiment of the present invention. First, the competition vehicle related information management unit 22 of the control unit 10 of the service providing server 1 checks the radio wave reception status of the competition vehicle terminal 4 (S301). The radio wave reception status can be confirmed by transmitting some information from the server 1 to the competition vehicle terminal 4 using a mobile phone communication network to confirm the reaction, or by transmitting location information as in the second embodiment. One method is to receive some kind of information at regular intervals, and when reception is not possible, it is assumed that radio wave reception is no longer possible. The management unit stores the radio wave reception status of the competition vehicle terminal 4 in the competition vehicle related information management table 500.

Next, in the radio wave status check in S301, the competition vehicle related information management unit 22 checks whether a predetermined period of time has passed since it was confirmed that the radio waves of the competition vehicle cannot be received (
S302). For example, in the competition vehicle information management table 500, the management department may check that the vehicle with the bib number 16 has become unable to receive radio waves.
Confirm that more than 1 minute has passed.

If the confirmation result in S302 is that the predetermined time has elapsed, the event management unit 24 generates an alert (S303). For example, in the process of S302, the event management unit 24 determines that because more than 5 minutes have passed since the last time the vehicle with the number 16 acquired location information, some kind of trouble has occurred with the vehicle. , it is estimated that it is unable to receive radio waves and therefore cannot send information, and generates a notification to inform the operator of this fact. The generated notification is transmitted from the service providing server 1 to the operator terminal 2, and the notification is displayed as a pop-up on the display screen of the operator terminal 2, for example. If the confirmation result in S302 is that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to the original elapsed time confirmation process.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 11 or 12, a competition vehicle in a situation where radio waves cannot be received (the status of "Signal" is "LOST") (in the example of FIG. 11 or FIG.
6) can be identified differently from other competition vehicles on the driving route map. For example, icons representing competition vehicles can be displayed with different colors, types, shapes, etc.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the server monitors the radio wave reception status of the competition vehicle.
By detecting events such as troubles that may occur in competition vehicles and notifying them in real time on the user interface screen of the operator's terminal, the operator can immediately take action on the target vehicle, thereby facilitating smooth competition management. It becomes possible to do this. In addition, in this embodiment, the radio wave reception status of a competition vehicle was explained as an example of a means of detecting trouble, but as another example, the fact that a predetermined period of time has passed since the running speed became zero can also be monitored. It can also be considered.

A service providing system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The basic functional configuration of the service providing server 1 described in this embodiment and the contents of managed information are the same as those described in the first and second embodiments, unless otherwise specified. This embodiment is a function particularly related to a user interface screen provided based on communication between an operator and a competition vehicle, and detects an event such as a trouble occurring in a competition vehicle. This relates to functions that contribute to smooth competition management.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of a method for providing a user interface according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. First, the event management unit 24 of the control unit 10 of the service providing server 1 checks whether an SOS signal has been received from the competition vehicle terminal 4 (S401).
. The reception status of the SOS signal is confirmed by checking whether a signal has been received from the competition vehicle terminal 4 via the transmitting/receiving section 13. When the management unit receives an SOS signal, it
The SOS information management table 700 is updated to indicate that the same signal has been received. As shown in Figure 7,
For example, an ID for identifying an SOS signal (for example, "1") and a driver ID for issuing the SOS signal (for example, "10008") are updated in the same table 700.

Next, the event management unit 24 waits for a predetermined period of time to elapse and checks whether an OK signal has been received (S402). For example, the management unit checks whether an OK signal has been received one minute after the SOS information management table 700 has been updated. The reception status of the OK signal is confirmed by referring to the SOS information management table 700. For example, in the same table 700, for an event whose ID that identifies an SOS signal is "1", it is already OK.
You can confirm that there is a response to the signal. On the other hand, the ID that identifies the SOS signal is "1".
0", it can be confirmed that no OK signal has been received ("None").

If the confirmation result in S402 confirms that no OK signal has been received, the event management unit 24 generates an alert and sends the alert to the operator's terminal, especially the terminal of the staff waiting at the radio point ( S403). FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) are examples of user interface screens for issuing an SOS signal and an OK signal on the display screen of the competition vehicle terminal in this embodiment. In FIG. 16(a), the contestant sends an alert to the effect that "SOS is being issued" and then sends an OK signal as shown in FIG. 16(b). The event management unit 24 of the service providing server 1 sends the alert to the operator terminal (terminal waiting at the site).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the server detects events such as troubles that may occur to the competition vehicle through the SOS signal and OK signal received from the competition vehicle, and notifies the operator of the event in real time on the user interface screen of the operator terminal. By doing so, the operator will be able to immediately take action against the target vehicle, and will therefore be able to run the competition smoothly.

Hereinafter, a user interface screen provided by a service providing system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The basic functional configuration of the service providing server 1 described in this embodiment and the contents of managed information are the same as those described in the first embodiment and other previously described embodiments, unless otherwise specified. are equivalent.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a user interface according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 17(a) shows that the competition vehicle is stopped on the driving course and is in a state where it cannot receive radio waves. Specifically, the icon showing the bib number of the competition vehicle is displayed in gray, which is a different color from the color of the running vehicle. Further, in FIG. 17(b), the direction in which the competition vehicle is stopped is expressed by an arrow. Specifically, the competition vehicle is stopped facing the upper left direction of the screen. Furthermore, since the competition vehicle is receiving radio waves (that is, receiving current position information from the competition vehicle at regular intervals), the icon is displayed in black.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another example of the user interface according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 18(a), the competition vehicle is stopped on the driving course for a certain period of time, and
This indicates that radio waves can be received. Specifically, the icon indicating the bib number of the competition vehicle is displayed in black, and since the competition vehicle has been stopped for a certain period of time, an arrow indicating the direction of the vehicle is not displayed. Further, in FIG. 18(b), the direction in which the competition vehicle is traveling is expressed by an arrow. Specifically, the competition vehicle is running facing right on the screen.

As described above, in this embodiment, the color of the icon that identifies the competition vehicle can be changed depending on the driving condition of the competition vehicle and the radio wave reception status, thereby providing a user interface with excellent visibility. be able to. Here, in consideration of the privacy of competition vehicles, etc., it is also possible to control the spectator terminals so that the parking direction and running direction of the competition vehicles are not displayed.

The embodiments described above are merely illustrative to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to be interpreted as limiting the present invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from its spirit, and that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

1 Service providing server 2 Operator terminal 3 Spectator terminal 4 Competition vehicle terminal

Claims (3)

An information processing method using an information processing system that provides a user interface for displaying driving information of competition vehicles in an automobile competition, the method comprising:
With the information processing system,
generating information related to the competition vehicle including a running speed of the competition vehicle;
In response to reception requests from spectator terminals,
When the competition vehicle is traveling on a public road route, the traveling speed is not displayed;
When the competition vehicle is running on a special stage that allows a time attack, controlling the vehicle to display the running speed;
In response to the reception request from the operator terminal of the automobile competition,
controlling to display the traveling speed both when the competition vehicle is traveling on the public road route and on the special stage;
Information processing method. An information processing system that provides a user interface for displaying driving information of competition vehicles in an automobile competition, the system comprising:
generating information related to the competition vehicle including a running speed of the competition vehicle;
In response to reception requests from spectator terminals,
When the competition vehicle is traveling on a public road route, the traveling speed is not displayed;
When the competition vehicle is running on a special stage that allows a time attack, controlling the vehicle to display the running speed;
In response to a reception request from the operator terminal of the automobile competition,
controlling to display the traveling speed both when the competition vehicle is traveling on the public road route and on the special stage;
Information processing system. A program for realizing an information processing system that provides a user interface for displaying driving information of competition vehicles in an automobile competition, the program comprising:
generating information related to the competition vehicle including a running speed of the competition vehicle;
In response to reception requests from spectator terminals,
When the competition vehicle is traveling on a public road route, the traveling speed is not displayed;
When the competition vehicle is running on a special stage that allows a time attack, controlling the vehicle to display the running speed;
In response to a reception request from the operator terminal of the automobile competition,
controlling to display the traveling speed both when the competition vehicle is traveling on the public road route and on the special stage;
program.