Patent Application
20250209865
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-215895, filed on Dec. 21, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus.
Techniques are known to read and analyze the fault code recorded in the in-vehicle fault diagnosis device of the vehicle to be assessed, and to reflect the expected repair cost in the purchase price (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
Patent Literature 1: JP 2023-074377A
The purpose of the present disclosure is to perform a vehicle assessment remotely and more accurately.
One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to an information processing apparatus including a controller configured to perform: acquiring and accumulating a plurality of types of data collected in a vehicle, the plurality of types of data correlated with deterioration of the vehicle;
generating a relationship between an accumulated plurality of types of data and a result of an actual assessment of the vehicle corresponding to the plurality of types of data;
outputting information on an assessment of a first vehicle according to the plurality of types of data accumulated for the first vehicle and the relationship.
The present disclosure can also be viewed as an information processing method in which a computer executes processing of the information processing apparatus, as described above. In addition, the present disclosure can be viewed as an information processing program for causing the computer to execute the information processing method, or as a non-transitory storage medium storing the information processing program.
According to the present disclosure, an assessment of the vehicle can be performed remotely and more accurately.
When the user of the vehicle wishes to assess the vehicle, it is conceivable to perform the assessment remotely. For example, it is envisioned that the assessment will be based on images taken of the vehicle and information obtained by fault diagnosis. However, in some cases, the information obtained by imaging and fault diagnosis does not sufficiently represent the condition of the vehicle. For example, deterioration in areas that are difficult for the user to photograph, or deterioration in areas that cannot be diagnosed by fault diagnosis, it was necessary for the assessor to actually see and judge the vehicle. It is also possible to obtain GPS information from the vehicle and make an assessment based on the location where the vehicle was driven. However, information on places visited by users may contain personal information, but it may be difficult to use. In addition, it is conceivable to estimate the usage of the vehicle by acquiring the age of the driver of the vehicle, however, the age of the driver may be difficult to use because it includes personal information.
On the other hand, the information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure uses information that does not contain personal information to remotely assess the vehicle. Therefore, the controller acquires and accumulates a plurality of types of data that are collected in the vehicle and are correlated with deterioration of the vehicle. The plurality of types of data are stored, for example, in a memory of the information processing apparatus. The plurality of types of data is data that correlates with deterioration of the vehicle, and does not include information that identifies the user, information that depends on the user, or information that identifies the user's location. For example, it may include at least 2 of data on the operating angle of the steering wheel, data on the travel distance of the accelerator pedal, data on the travel distance of the brake pedal, and data on the operating time of the engine. These data may be detected, for example, by sensors installed in the vehicle. By using at least two pieces of data, it is possible to reduce the impact of disturbances, etc.
The operating angle of the steering wheel may be an operating amount of the steering wheel. If the steering wheel is turned while the vehicle is running, the vehicle will deteriorate due to the force exerted on the parts of the vehicle. Therefore, the operating angle of the steering wheel is correlated with the deterioration of the vehicle. In addition, the travel distance of the accelerator pedal may be an amount in which the accelerator pedal is stepped on, or an amount of travel of the accelerator pedal. Depressing the accelerator pedal causes the vehicle to accelerate, causing force to be applied to the vehicle's components and a load to be applied to the engine, leading to deterioration of the vehicle. Therefore, the travel distance of the accelerator pedal is correlated with the deterioration of the vehicle. In addition, the travel distance of the brake pedal may be an amount in which the brake pedal is stepped on, or an amount of travel of the brake pedal. Depressing the brake pedal exerts force on the parts of the vehicle, leading to deterioration of the vehicle. Therefore, the travel distance of the brake pedal is correlated with the deterioration of the vehicle. In addition, the operating time of the engine may be the time from IG-ON to IG-OFF. It is believed that the vehicle's driving distance will increase depending on the operating time of the engine, and deterioration of the vehicle will progress. In addition, depending on the operating time of the engine, the deterioration of the engine also progresses. Therefore, the operating time of the engine is correlated with the deterioration of the vehicle. By acquiring and accumulating such a plurality of types of data, it is possible to accumulate data that is correlated with deterioration of the vehicle.
Further, the controller generates a relationship between the accumulated plurality of types of data and the result of actual assessment of the vehicle corresponding to the plurality of types of data. For example, when an assessor actually makes an assessment of a vehicle, a correlation can be obtained with a plurality of types of data accumulated for the vehicle. For example, the controller may generate a model in which the accumulated plurality of types of data are used as input data, and information on the assessment of the vehicle is used as output data, and a model in which the accumulated plurality of types of data and data on the result of the actual assessment of the vehicle corresponding to the plurality of types of data are used as teacher data. By generating this model by the controller, the controller can acquire a plurality of types of data and a relationship with the actual result of the assessment. As another example, statistical methods can be used to generate a relationship between a plurality of types of data and the results of the actual assessment.
Then, the controller outputs information on the assessment of the first vehicle according to the plurality of types of data accumulated for the first vehicle and the relationship. For example, by inputting a plurality of types of data accumulated for the first vehicle to the model, information on the assessment of the first vehicle is output. The information on the assessment of the first vehicle is information representing the value of the first vehicle. The information on the assessment of the first vehicle may be, for example, information on the number of points or rank when the value of the first vehicle is indicated by the number of points or rank.
In this way, the controller outputs information on the assessment of the first vehicle, so that the assessment of the vehicle can be performed remotely even if the assessor does not actually assess the vehicle. In addition, assessments can be made based on data that is not linked to personal information.
Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the present disclosure will be described based on the accompanying drawings. The hardware configuration, module configuration, function configuration, etc. described in the following embodiments are not intended to limit the technical scope of the disclosure to only those unless otherwise stated.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described using the accompanying drawings. The present embodiment describes an example of applying the information processing apparatus according to the present disclosure to a system that provides a vehicle service.
The user terminal 100 is a terminal used by the user of the vehicle 10, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a wearable terminal, or a personal computer (PC). An application program of a browser is installed in the user terminal 100 in the present embodiment. The user terminal 100 includes a processor such as a CPU or GPU, a storage device such as a RAM and a ROM, an input unit that receives user input operations, and a display that presents information to the user. The input unit and the display may be configured as one touch panel display.
The user terminal 100 requests the server 200 to assess the vehicle 10 according to the user's input operation. At this time, the vehicle ID, which is the identification information of the vehicle 10, and the user ID, which is the identification information of the user, are transmitted to the server 200. Then, when the user terminal 100 receives information on the assessment from the server 200, the user terminal 100 causes the display to display the information as a result of the assessment.
The vehicle 10 includes an ECU 41 which are electronic control units and a sensor group 42. These components are connected to each other by the CAN bus, the bus of the in-vehicle network.
The ECU 41 may be configured as a computer having a processor such as a CPU or GPU, a main storage device such as RAM and ROM, an auxiliary storage device such as an EPROM, a hard disk drive, or a removable medium, and a communication device that is a wireless communication circuit that communicates with the server 200 via a network N1. The ECU 41 may be a component such as a Data Communication Module (DCM), a head unit, or a car navigation system.
The sensor group 42 includes, for example, a-sensor that detects a state of the vehicle 10 and a-sensor that detects an operation of the driver. The sensor group 42 includes, for example, a speed-sensor, an acceleration sensor, an accelerator opening-degree-sensor that detects the position of the accelerator pedal, a brake-sensor that detects the position of the brake pedal, a steering wheel angle-sensor that detects the angle of the steering wheel, an engine rotation speed sensor that detects the rotation speed of the engine, a yaw-rate sensor, a turn signal switch sensor (a-sensor that detects the state of the turn signal switch), a shift position-sensor, and a position information sensor (GPS sensor). In addition, the sensor group 42 may include a-sensor that detects that a system such as pre-crash safety has been activated.
The ECU 41 transmits the detection value of the sensor group 42 to the server 200 via the communication device. Note that the detection values of the sensor group 42 may be transmitted sequentially to the server 200 when the vehicle 10 is in the activated state, and may be transmitted collectively to the server 200 every trip. The ECU 41 associates the detection value of the sensor group 42 with the vehicle ID and the user ID and transmits it to the server 200.
The server 200 is a computer operated by a service provider that assesses the vehicle 10. As an example, the service provider may be a business operator who has sold or leased the vehicle 10 to the user, or may be a business operator who purchases or sells the used car. The server 200 may be configured as a computer having a processor such as a CPU or GPU, a main storage device such as RAM and ROM, and an auxiliary storage device such as an EPROM, a hard disk drive, or a removable medium. An operating system (OS), various programs, and various tables are stored in the auxiliary storage device of the server 200. The processor of the server 200 loads and executes the program stored in the auxiliary storage device to the bodywork area of the main storage device, thereby realizing each function that conforms to a predetermined purpose, as described later. However, some or all of the functions of the server 200 may be realized by a hardware circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).
The server 200 in the present embodiment is configured to realize a web server for performing interaction with the user terminal 100. By performing interaction with the user terminal 100 through execution of the web server, the server 200 receives a request for an assessment of the vehicle 10 from the user of the vehicle 10 and provides the result of the assessment to the user. Note that the server 200 may provide the above-described services by means other than the web server. For example, a service that interacts with the dedicated application software installed in the user terminal 100 by a predetermined protocol may be performed at the server 200.
The server 200 that realizes the above-described functions includes a communication unit 210, a control unit 220, and a storage unit 230, as shown in
The communication unit 210 is a communication interface for connecting the server 200 to a network N1. The communication unit 210 connects to a network N1 via, for example, a LAN or Wi-Fi (registered trademark), and communicates with the vehicle 10 and the user terminal 100 via the network N1. The network N 1 is, for example, a WAN, which is a worldwide public communication network such as the Internet, or another communication network.
The control unit 220 is a software module realized by executing the program stored in the auxiliary storage device by the processor of the server 200. The control unit 220 executes an interaction with the user terminal 100 through the execution of the web server. In the present embodiment, the control unit 220 causes the web page to be displayed in the browser of the user terminal 100. In one example, the web page includes an input field for the user ID and the vehicle ID.
When the user ID and the vehicle ID are input on the web page, the control unit 220 generates assessment information. The assessment information is information on the assessment of the vehicle 10. In generating such assessment information, the control unit 220 extracts the vehicle information from the vehicle information DB 231 according to the user ID and the vehicle ID input on the web page, and inputs the vehicle information to the assessment model 232. Then, the assessment information is output from the assessment model 232.
Here, when the control unit 220 receives the detection value of the sensor group 42 from the vehicle 10, the control unit 220 generates the vehicle information and stores it in the vehicle information DB 231. The vehicle information is information obtained from the detection value of the sensor group 42 of the vehicle 10 and is information on a physical quantity that correlates with the deterioration of the vehicle 10.
In the vehicle ID field, information (vehicle ID) capable of identifying the vehicle 10 is stored. In the user ID field, information (user ID) that can identify the user associated with the vehicle 10 is stored. The vehicle ID and the user terminal 100 are associated with the user ID.
The steering wheel field is populated with information on the total operating angle of the steering wheel. An aggregate of the operating angles of the steering wheel is a value obtained by integrating an amount of change in the angle of the steering wheel at a predetermined time. The angle of the steering wheel is obtained by the steering wheel angle-sensor. As another example, information on the aggregate of the operation amount of the steering wheel may be input in the steering wheel field. The aggregate of the steering wheel operation amount is the aggregate of the distance traveled by a predetermined point on the steering wheel. The steering wheel operation amount is calculated based on the rotation angle of the steering wheel and the radius of the steering wheel. The control unit 220 calculates the operating angle of the current steering wheel based on the detection value of the steering wheel angle-sensor acquired from the vehicle 10 and adds it to the total operating angle of the steering wheel stored in the steering wheel field of the vehicle information DB 231. The steering wheel field is updated by storing this value in the steering wheel field. In this manner, the control unit 220 causes the vehicle information DB 231 to store a sum total of the operating amount of the steering wheel from the new vehicle state to the current state.
In the accelerator field, information on the total travel distance of the accelerator pedal is input. The aggregate of the travel distance of the accelerator pedal is a value obtained by integrating an amount of change in the position of the accelerator pedal at a predetermined time. The position of the accelerator pedal is obtained by the accelerator opening sensor. The control unit 220 calculates the travel distance of the accelerator pedal this time based on the detection value of the accelerator opening sensor acquired from the vehicle 10 and adds it to the total travel distance of the accelerator pedal stored in the accelerator field of the vehicle information DB 231. The accelerator field is updated by storing this value in the accelerator field. In this manner, the control unit 220 causes the vehicle information DB 231 to store a sum total of the travel distance of the accelerator pedal from the new vehicle state to the present moment.
The brake field is populated with information on the total travel distance of the brake pedal. The sum total of the travel distance of the brake pedal is a value obtained by integrating an amount of change in the position of the brake pedal at a predetermined time. The position of the brake pedal is obtained by the brake-sensor. The control unit 220 calculates the current brake pedal movement distance based on the detection value of the brake sensor, and adds it to the total brake pedal movement distance stored in the brake field of the vehicle information DB 231. The brake field is updated by storing this value in the brake field. In this manner, the control unit 220 causes the vehicle information DB 231 to store a sum total of the travel distance of the brake pedal from the new vehicle state to the present moment.
In the engine field, information on the total operating time of the engine from the time of the new car in the vehicle 10 is input. The total operating time of the engine may be, for example, an accumulated time from IG-ON to IG-OFF, or an accumulated time when the engine rotation speed detected by the engine rotation speed-sensor is higher than 0. In the case of the vehicle 10 driven by the electric motor, information on the total operating time of the electric motor may be input in the engine field. For example, the control unit 220 calculates the operating time of the current engine based on the detection value of the engine rotation speed-sensor acquired from the vehicle 10 and adds it to the sum total of the operating time of the engine stored in the engine field of the vehicle information DB 231. The engine field is updated by storing this value in the engine field. In this manner, the control unit 220 causes the vehicle information DB 231 to store the total operating time of the engine from the new vehicle state to the present time.
Note that in the example shown in
In addition, the control unit 220 generates and stores the assessment model 232 in the storage unit 230.
The vehicle information and the actual vehicle information input to the assessment model 232 are information corresponding to at least two fields of steering wheel, accelerator, brake, and engine shown in
When the user inputs information for requesting an assessment of the vehicle 10 via a web browser of the user terminal 100, the assessment request is transmitted from the user terminal 100 to the server 200. In step S101, the control unit 220 determines whether or not an assessment request is received from the user terminal 100. When the control unit 220 deems it positive in step S101, the processing proceeds to step S102, and the processing ends when the control unit 220 deems it negative.
In step S102, the control unit 220 extracts the vehicle information. The control unit 220 extracts the vehicle information by extracting records corresponding to the vehicle ID and the user ID included in the assessment request from the vehicle information DB 231. In step S103, the control unit 220 acquires the assessment information. The control unit 220 obtains assessment information as output data by inputting the vehicle information extracted in step S102 to the assessment model 232 as input data. The acquired assessment information is stored in the storage unit 230.
In step S104, the control unit 220 transmits the acquired assessment information to the user terminal 100. At this time, the control unit 220 may generate and transmit a command to cause the user terminal 100 to display the assessment information. In addition, the assessment information may include information on the data used for the assessment. For example, the user may be notified of what kind of data the assessment was based on. This allows the user to know the basis for the assessment.
In the above-described embodiment, the evaluation of the vehicle 10 can be performed remotely because the detection value of the sensor group 42 of the vehicle 10 can be used to evaluate the vehicle 10. In addition, an assessment of the vehicle 10 can be performed without the need for assessment by the assessor. In addition, since the information pertaining to the personal information is not used to assess the vehicle 10, the personal information of the user can be protected. In addition, the user can easily obtain the assessment result of the vehicle 10. In addition, the user can know that the assessment will change depending on how the vehicle 10 is operated, and therefore can improve the way the vehicle 10 is operated.
In the present embodiment, the server 200 corresponds to the “information processing apparatus” according to the present disclosure. In addition, the control unit 220 of the server 200 corresponds to the “control unit” according to the present disclosure. Further, the storage unit 230 of the server 200 corresponds to the “storage unit” according to the present disclosure.
The above-described embodiment and modification are merely examples, but the present disclosure can be implemented with appropriate modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the processing performed on the server 200 may be performed on the vehicle 10 or the user terminal 100. In that case, the vehicle 10 or the user terminal 100 corresponds to the “information processing apparatus” according to the present disclosure. In addition, a “controller” according to the present disclosure is achieved by the processor of the vehicle 10 or the user terminal 100 executing a dedicated application program. In addition, the vehicle 10 may have a function of the user terminal 100. For example, an assessment request may be sent from the vehicle 10 to the server 200 by the user performing a predetermined input on the touch panel display provided in the vehicle 10. Further, the information on the assessment of the vehicle 10 may be displayed on the display of the vehicle 10 receiving the information on the assessment from the server 200.
In addition, in the above-described embodiment, assessment information is acquired based on the assessment model 232, which is a machine learning model. However, this is not the only way to obtain assessment information. For example, assessment information may be obtained by a statistical method. 5 is a diagram for explaining another example of obtaining assessment information. The assessment information referred to in this section is information representing whether the condition of the vehicle 10 corresponds to “good” or “bad”. The “break” on the horizontal axis in
In addition, the processing and configuration described in the present disclosure can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical contradiction occurs. In addition, the processing described as being performed by a single device may be shared and performed by a plurality of devices. In addition, the processing described as being performed by a single device or unit may be performed by one device or unit. In a computer system, a hardware configuration for realizing each function thereof can be changed in a flexible manner.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-215895 | Dec 2023 | JP | national |
