JP7514739B2 - Apparatus and method for determining whether or not a person is boarding or alighting - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a boarding/alighting determination device and a boarding/alighting determination method.

Various technologies have been proposed for calculating the number of passengers who board and disembark on vehicles such as buses (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In these conventional technologies, cameras are installed at the boarding and disembarking entrances, and the number of passengers (number of passengers) is calculated using images of the passengers captured by the cameras.

JP 2014-219913 A

However, the above-mentioned captured image may capture, for example, a person who is simply standing outside the entrance of a vehicle and does not actually board the vehicle. In conventional technology, there is a risk that such a person may be erroneously determined to be a passenger boarding the vehicle, leaving room for improvement. Furthermore, even at the exit side of the vehicle, it may happen that a passenger who does not actually get off is erroneously determined to have got off the vehicle.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a boarding/alighting determination device and a boarding/alighting determination method that can accurately determine whether a person present near the boarding/alighting entrance of a vehicle is boarding or alighting from the vehicle.

To solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a boarding/alighting determination device that includes a detection unit and a determination unit. The detection unit detects the head position of a person near the boarding/alighting entrance of a vehicle. The determination unit determines whether the person has boarded or alighted from the vehicle based on the head position of the person detected by the detection unit.

The present invention makes it possible to accurately determine whether a person near the entrance or exit of a vehicle is getting on or off the vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a boarding/disembarking determination method according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system equipped with a bus terminal device. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the entrance terminal device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of passenger information. FIG. 5A is a diagram for explaining the boarding determination process. FIG. 5B is a diagram for explaining the boarding determination process. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an exit terminal device. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of disembarking passenger information. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the management server. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing sequence executed by the information processing system. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an exit terminal device according to a modified example. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the disembarking determination process.

Below, with reference to the attached drawings, an embodiment of the boarding/alighting determination device and boarding/alighting determination method disclosed in the present application will be described in detail. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below.

<Outline of the method for determining whether or not boarding/alighting is performed by the boarding/alighting determination device>
First, an outline of a method for determining whether or not a vehicle is getting on or off using the device for determining whether or not a vehicle is getting on or off according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the method for determining whether or not a vehicle is getting on or off according to an embodiment.

The boarding/alighting determination method according to the embodiment can, for example, determine whether a person present near the boarding/alighting entrance of a vehicle has boarded or alighted from the vehicle. The boarding/alighting entrance mentioned above includes one or both of the boarding entrance 2a and the alighting entrance 2b of the vehicle. In the following, an example will be described in which the boarding/alighting determination method determines whether a person present near the boarding entrance 2a of the vehicle has boarded the vehicle.

In addition, although a bus 1 is used as an example of a vehicle, the type of vehicle is not limited to this. In other words, the vehicle may be other types of vehicles, such as a railroad car, an airplane, or a ship.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bus 1 is equipped with a bus terminal device 10, which functions as a boarding/alighting determination device. Specifically, the bus terminal device 10 includes an entrance terminal device 10a and an exit terminal device 10b.

The boarding entrance terminal device 10a is installed at the boarding entrance 2a of the bus 1. The boarding entrance terminal device 10a is equipped with a first camera 11a. For example, the first camera 11a is installed at the boarding entrance 2a of the bus 1 and inside the bus 1 (inside the bus). The first camera 11a captures an image A of a person P present near the boarding entrance 2a. Note that in FIG. 1, the person P whose image was captured first is shown by a solid line, and the person P whose image was captured after the person P moved is shown by a dashed line.

The entrance terminal device 10a acquires an image A from the first camera 11a and detects the position of the head Pa of person P near the entrance 2a from the image A (step S1). Next, the entrance terminal device 10a determines whether person P has boarded the bus 1 based on the detected position of person P's head Pa (step S2). This allows the entrance terminal device 10a to accurately determine whether person P has boarded the bus 1.

To explain in more detail, for example, when person P enters bus 1 from outside the vehicle to board, he or she needs to climb step 3 at entrance 2a of bus 1, so the position of person P's head Pa rises relatively before and after the movement of person P. Therefore, in entrance terminal device 10a according to this embodiment, if the position of person P's head Pa rises relatively before and after the movement of person P, as shown by arrow D, it is determined that person P has boarded bus 1.

This allows the entrance terminal device 10a to accurately determine whether person P has boarded the bus 1. In other words, even if a person who is simply standing outside the entrance 2a of the bus 1 and does not actually board the bus appears in the captured image, the entrance terminal device 10a will not determine that the person has boarded the bus 1 because the position of the person's head is not relatively high. This allows the entrance terminal device 10a to prevent erroneous determination of a person who is simply standing outside the entrance 2a as a passenger boarding the bus 1.

In this embodiment, when the boarding terminal device 10a determines that person P has boarded the bus 1, person P becomes a passenger, and an image of the passenger (person P) is used as a passenger image for processing such as calculating the number of passengers.

The exit terminal device 10b is installed at the exit 2b of the bus 1. The exit terminal device 10b is equipped with a second camera 11b. For example, the second camera 11b is installed at the exit 2b of the bus 1 and inside the bus 1 (inside the bus).

<Configuration of Information Processing System>
Next, the configuration of an information processing system including a bus terminal device (boarding/alighting determination device) 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system 100 including the bus terminal device 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing system 100 includes the above-mentioned bus terminal device 10, a management server 200, a bus operator terminal device 300, and a user terminal device 400, which are communicatively connected via a communication network N such as the Internet.

As described above, the bus terminal device 10 includes an entrance terminal device 10a and an exit terminal device 10b. The entrance terminal device 10a and the exit terminal device 10b are communicatively connected via short-range wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), but are not limited to this, and may be communicatively connected via a communication network N or the like in addition to or instead of short-range wireless communication. The detailed configuration of the entrance terminal device 10a will be described later using FIG. 3, etc. The detailed configuration of the exit terminal device 10b will be described later using FIG. 6, etc.

The management server 200 is a server device that manages passenger information, including boarding and alighting information (both described below) transmitted from the bus terminal device 10, and information on the number of passengers on the bus 1. The management server 200 can provide passenger information, etc. to the bus operator terminal device 300. The management server 200 can also calculate the congestion level of the bus 1 based on the information on the number of passengers on the bus 1, and provide congestion level information indicating the calculated congestion level to the user terminal device 400. The detailed configuration of the management server 200 will be described later with reference to FIG. 8.

The bus operator terminal device 300 is a terminal device used by the bus operator who operates the bus 1. The bus operator terminal device 300 may be, for example, a PC (Personal Computer), a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc., but is not limited to these. Passenger information and the like is transmitted from the management server 200 to the bus operator terminal device 300 and displayed thereon. This enables the bus operator to create an operation plan for the bus 1 based on, for example, passenger information and the like.

The user terminal device 400 is a terminal device used by a user who uses the bus 1, or more precisely, a user who is about to use the bus 1. The user terminal device 400 may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a PC, but is not limited to these. The congestion degree information of the bus 1 is transmitted from the management server 200 to the user terminal device 400 and displayed. This allows the user to check, for example, the congestion degree of the bus 1 before boarding. In FIG. 2, two user terminal devices 400 are shown for the sake of simplicity, but the number is not limited to this and may be one or three or more.

<Configuration of boarding gate terminal device>
Next, the configuration of the entrance terminal device 10a will be described with reference to Fig. 3 and other figures. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the entrance terminal device 10a. Note that in each block diagram including Fig. 3, only components necessary for explaining the features of this embodiment are shown as functional blocks, and descriptions of general components are omitted.

In other words, each component shown in a block diagram such as FIG. 3 is a functional concept, and does not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. For example, the specific form of distribution and integration of each functional block is not limited to that shown, and all or part of it can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc.

As shown in FIG. 3, the entrance terminal device 10a includes a first camera 11a, a positioning unit 12a, a control unit 20a, and a storage unit 30a. Note that the entrance terminal device 10a may be a smartphone or a tablet terminal, but is not limited to these.

The first camera 11a is a camera equipped with, for example, a lens and an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The first camera 11a is located at the boarding entrance 2a of the bus 1 (see FIG. 1) and is installed inside the bus 1 (inside the bus). In detail, the first camera 11a is installed in a position that allows the capture of an image from inside the bus that includes at least the face of the passenger who boards the bus from the boarding entrance 2a. The first camera 11a captures an image of a person (including a passenger) present near the boarding entrance 2a and outputs the captured image to the control unit 20a.

The positioning unit 12a acquires position information (e.g., latitude and longitude) of the bus 1. For example, the positioning unit 12a receives radio waves transmitted from a GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite, acquires position information of the bus 1 based on the received radio waves, and outputs the acquired position information to the control unit 20a. Note that the positioning unit 12a may output the position information of the bus 1 acquired when the bus 1 is stopped at a bus stop as the position information of the bus stop where the bus 1 is stopped.

The control unit 20a includes an acquisition unit 21a, a detection unit 22a, a determination unit 23a, a registration unit 24a, and an output unit 25a, and includes, for example, a computer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), input/output ports, and various other circuits.

The computer's CPU functions as the acquisition unit 21a, detection unit 22a, determination unit 23a, registration unit 24a, and output unit 25a of the control unit 20a, for example, by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

In addition, at least some or all of the acquisition unit 21a, detection unit 22a, determination unit 23a, registration unit 24a, and output unit 25a of the control unit 20a can be configured with hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

The memory unit 30a is a memory unit configured with a storage device such as a non-volatile memory or a data flash. The memory unit 30a stores passenger information 31a and various programs.

Passenger information 31a is information about passengers. Here, passenger information 31a will be explained using FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of passenger information 31a. As shown in FIG. 4, passenger information 31a includes items such as "passenger ID," "passenger image," "characteristic points," "gender," "age," "age group," and "boarding stop," and each item is associated with each other.

"Passenger ID" is identification information that identifies a passenger. "Passenger image" is information on a captured image of a passenger. As described above, a passenger image is an image captured of a person (passenger) when the boarding gate terminal device 10a determines that a person near the boarding gate 2a has boarded the bus 1. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 4, for convenience, the "passenger image" is described abstractly as "image E01," but it is assumed that specific information is stored in "image E01." Below, other information may also be described abstractly.

"Feature points" are feature point information of the passenger's face captured in the passenger image, and are an example of face information. Feature point information includes, for example, the positions of feature points such as the eyes (inner corners, outer corners, etc.), nose, and mouth on the passenger's face captured in the passenger image, but is not limited to this.

"Gender" is information indicating the gender of the passenger who appears in the passenger image. "Age" is information indicating the age of the passenger who appears in the passenger image, and "Age group" is information indicating the age group of the passenger. Note that the above information such as gender, age, and age group is an example of passenger attribute information. "Boarding stop" is information indicating the stop where the passenger boarded.

In the example shown in Figure 4, the data of the passenger identified by passenger ID "P01" indicates that the passenger image is "Image E01", the feature point is "Feature Point F01", the gender is "Male", the age is "Age G01", the age group is "Adult", and the stop at which the passenger boarded is "Stop H01".

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 3, the acquisition unit 21a of the control unit 20a acquires captured images of people (including passengers) near the boarding entrance 2a of the bus 1 from the first camera 11a. For example, the acquisition unit 21a acquires captured images when the bus 1 is stopped at a bus stop, but the timing of acquisition is not limited to this. The acquisition unit 21a outputs the acquired captured images to the detection unit 22a.

The detection unit 22a detects the head position of a person near the boarding entrance 2a of the bus 1 based on the captured image. The head position can be set arbitrarily, and can be set to various parts of the head, such as the position of the entire head, the center position of the head, the top end position or the bottom end position of the head. Furthermore, the detection unit 22a detects the size of the face of a person near the boarding entrance 2a of the bus 1 based on the captured image. The detection unit 22a outputs information indicating the detected head position and information indicating the size of the face to the determination unit 23a.

In addition, when a person in the captured image is a passenger, the detection unit 22a detects facial information (more specifically, facial feature point information) of the passenger from the captured passenger image, which is the captured image. For example, the detection unit 22a extracts feature points such as the eyes (inner corners, outer corners, etc.), nose, mouth, and contours from the passenger captured image, and detects the positions of the extracted feature points as feature point information.

The detection unit 22a detects attribute information such as the gender, age, and age group of the passenger from the passenger image. The detection method for the feature point information and attribute information can be set arbitrarily. The detection unit 22a outputs the detected feature point information and attribute information to the registration unit 24a.

The determination unit 23a determines whether a person captured in a captured image is boarding the bus 1. This boarding determination process will be described with reference to Figures 5A and 5B. Figures 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the boarding determination process.

Note that Fig. 5A shows captured image A1, and Fig. 5B shows captured image A2 captured after captured image A1. Also, in Fig. 5A, as in Fig. 1, the person P captured first is shown in solid line, and the person P captured after the person P moved is shown in dashed line. In Fig. 5B, the person P captured after the person P shown in dashed line in Fig. 5A has moved further is shown in dashed line or double-dashed line.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the determination unit 23a determines whether person P has boarded the bus 1 based on the detected position of the head Pa of person P. For example, the determination unit 23a determines that person P has boarded the bus 1 if the position of person P's head Pa rises relatively before and after the movement of person P, as shown by arrow D1. As a result, as already mentioned, in this embodiment, it is possible to accurately determine whether person P has boarded the bus 1.

For example, the determination unit 23a may determine that person P has boarded the bus 1 when the position of the head Pa of person P before the movement, shown by a solid line, rises by more than a predetermined value to become the position of the head Pa of person P after the movement, shown by a dashed line. Here, the predetermined value is set according to, for example, the height from the road surface on which the bus 1 is stopped to the step 3 (see FIG. 1). This makes it possible to accurately determine that person P has climbed the step 3 to board the bus 1. Note that, although the predetermined value is set according to the height of the step 3 in the above description, this is merely an example and is not limiting, and may be set to any value.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5B, the determination unit 23a may determine that person P has boarded the bus 1 if the position of the head Pa of person P shown by the dashed line rises relatively before and after the person's movement, and then the size of the face of person P becomes relatively larger before and after the person's movement, as shown by the dashed line (see arrow D2).

In this way, the fact that the size of the face becomes relatively larger before and after the movement of person P indicates that person P has approached the first camera 11a installed inside the bus 1 and boarded the bus 1, and therefore the determination unit 23a can more accurately determine that person P has boarded the bus 1.

The determination unit 23a may determine that person P has boarded the bus 1 if the size of person P's face becomes relatively larger before and after person P moves, and then person P fades out of the captured image A2.

On the other hand, the determination unit 23a may determine that person P is not on the bus 1 if the position of the head Pa of person P shown by the dashed line increases relatively before and after the person moves, and then the position of the head decreases relatively before and after the person moves, as shown by the two-dot chain line, and the size of person P's face decreases relatively before and after the person moves (see arrow D3).

This makes it possible to prevent erroneous determination of person P, who is not on bus 1, as a passenger. In other words, the action of person P shown by the two-dot chain line is, for example, an action of getting off bus 1 after entering the vehicle, because the destination of bus 1 is different from the desired destination.

The determination unit 23a determines that a person P who performs such an action is not on the bus 1, and therefore can prevent erroneous determination of a person P who enters the bus 1 but does not actually board the bus 1 as a passenger.

Continuing with the explanation of FIG. 3, the determination unit 23a outputs the determination result to the registration unit 24a. When the registration unit 24a determines that a person present near the boarding entrance 2a has boarded the bus 1, the registration unit 24a sets the captured image showing the person (passenger) as a passenger captured image. Then, the registration unit 24a registers various information including the passenger captured image (feature point information and attribute information) in the storage unit 30a as passenger information 31a (see FIG. 4). At this time, the registration unit 24a may add information about the bus stop where the passenger captured image was taken, i.e., the bus stop where the passenger boarded, to the passenger information 31a, based on the position information of the bus 1 from the positioning unit 12a.

The output unit 25a accesses the memory unit 30a and outputs the passenger information 31a to the exit terminal device 10b. As a result, the entrance terminal device 10a according to this embodiment can output passenger information 31a that corresponds to the passenger who actually boarded the train, i.e., accurate passenger information 31a, to the exit terminal device 10b.

Note that the output unit 25a executes the output process between when the bus 1 departs from a bus stop and when it arrives at the next bus stop, but the output timing is not limited to this.

<Configuration of Exit Terminal Device>
Next, the configuration of the exit terminal device 10b will be described with reference to Fig. 6 etc. Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the exit terminal device 10b.

As shown in FIG. 6, the exit terminal device 10b includes a second camera 11b, a positioning unit 12b, a control unit 20b, and a storage unit 30b. Note that the exit terminal device 10b may be, but is not limited to, a smartphone or a tablet terminal.

The second camera 11b is a camera equipped with, for example, a lens and an imaging element such as a CCD or CMOS. The second camera 11b is provided at the exit 2b of the bus 1 (see FIG. 1) and inside the bus 1 (inside the bus). In detail, the second camera 11b is provided at a position where it is possible to capture an image from inside the bus that includes at least the face of passengers disembarking from the exit 2b. The second camera 11b captures an image of the passengers disembarking and outputs the captured image to the control unit 20b.

The positioning unit 12b acquires the position information of the bus 1 based on radio waves transmitted from a GPS satellite, for example, and outputs the acquired position information to the control unit 20b. Note that the positioning unit 12b may output the position information of the bus 1 acquired when the bus 1 is stopped at a bus stop as the position information of the bus stop where the bus 1 is stopped.

The control unit 20b includes an acquisition unit 21b, a detection unit 22b, a registration unit 23b, a matching unit 24b, a calculation unit 25b, and a transmission unit 26b, and includes, for example, a computer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, input/output ports, etc., and various circuits.

The computer's CPU functions as the acquisition unit 21b, detection unit 22b, registration unit 23b, matching unit 24b, calculation unit 25b and transmission unit 26b of the control unit 20b, for example, by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

In addition, at least some or all of the acquisition unit 21b, detection unit 22b, registration unit 23b, matching unit 24b, calculation unit 25b and transmission unit 26b of the control unit 20b can be configured with hardware such as an ASIC or FPGA.

The memory unit 30b is configured with a storage device such as a non-volatile memory or a data flash. The memory unit 30b stores passenger information 31b, passenger information 32b, boarding and alighting counter 33b, various programs, and the like.

Since passenger information 31b is the same information as passenger information 31a output from entrance terminal device 10a, a description of it will be omitted here (see Figure 4).

The alighting passenger information 32b is information about passengers who get off. Here, the alighting passenger information 32b will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the alighting passenger information 32b. As shown in FIG. 7, the alighting passenger information 32b includes items such as "alighting passenger ID," "alighting passenger image," "characteristic points," "gender," "age," "age group," "stop at which the passenger got off," and "matching result," and each item is associated with each other.

"Disembarking passenger ID" is identification information that identifies the disembarking passenger. "Disembarking passenger image" is information on the captured image of the disembarking passenger. "Feature points" is facial feature point information. Such feature point information includes, for example, the positions of feature points such as the eyes, nose, and mouth on the face of the disembarking passenger captured in the captured image of the disembarking passenger, but is not limited to this.

"Gender" is information indicating the gender of the person who appears in the image of the person who gets off. "Age" is information indicating the age of the person who appears in the image of the person who gets off, and "Age group" is information indicating the age group of the person who gets off.

"Stop where passengers disembarked" is information indicating the stop where passengers who disembarked boarded. "Matching result" is information indicating the matching result when passenger information 31b is matched with disembarking passenger information 32b by matching unit 24b, which will be described later. "Matching result" includes, for example, information regarding the passenger ID of passenger information 31b that matches disembarking passenger information 32b, but is not limited to this.

In the example shown in Figure 7, the data of the alighting passenger identified by the alighting passenger ID "Q01" indicates that the alighting passenger image is "Image E11", the feature point is "Feature point F01", the gender is "Male", the age is "Age G01", the age group is "Adult", the stop where the passenger disembarked is "Stop H11", and the comparison result is "Matches passenger ID [P01]".

Returning to the explanation of Figure 6, boarding and alighting counter 33b is a counter that counts the current number of passengers on bus 1.

The acquisition unit 21b of the control unit 20b acquires, from the second camera 11b, an alighting passenger image in which a person (alighting passenger) getting off the bus 1 is captured. For example, the acquisition unit 21b acquires the alighting passenger image when the bus 1 is stopped at a bus stop, but the acquisition timing is not limited to this. The acquisition unit 21b outputs the acquired alighting passenger image to the detection unit 22b.

The acquisition unit 21b also acquires passenger information output from the entrance terminal device 10a and registers it in the memory unit 30b as passenger information 31b (see Figure 4).

The detection unit 22b detects facial information (more specifically, facial feature point information) of the disembarking passenger from the captured image of the disembarking passenger. For example, the detection unit 22b extracts feature points such as the eyes, nose, mouth, and contour from the captured image of the disembarking passenger, and detects the positions of the extracted feature points as feature point information.

The detection unit 22b detects attribute information such as the gender, age, and age group of the alighting passenger from the alighting passenger image. The detection unit 22b outputs the detected feature point information and attribute information to the registration unit 23b together with the alighting passenger image.

The registration unit 23b registers various information including the alighting passenger image, feature point information, and attribute information in the storage unit 30b as alighting passenger information 32b (see FIG. 7). At this time, the registration unit 23b may add information on the bus stop where the alighting passenger image was captured, i.e., the bus stop where the alighting passenger got off, to the alighting passenger information 32b, based on the position information of the bus 1 from the positioning unit 12b.

The matching unit 24b matches the boarding passenger information 31b with the alighting passenger information 32b. For example, the matching unit 24b accesses the boarding passenger information 31b and the alighting passenger information 32b in the storage unit 30b, and performs a comparison to determine whether the feature information and attribute information of the alighting passenger matches or approximately matches the feature information and attribute information of the boarding passenger. If the feature information, etc. of the alighting passenger matches or approximately matches the feature information, etc. of the boarding passenger, the matching unit 24b registers the comparison result in the "matching result" of the alighting passenger information 32b (see FIG. 7). Here, the matching unit 24b indicates that the feature information and attribute information of the alighting passenger with the alighting passenger ID "Q01" matches the feature information and attribute information of the information of the passenger ID "P01".

The calculation unit 25b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 based on the boarding passenger information 31b and the alighting passenger information 32b. For example, the calculation unit 25b adds one to the number of passengers when face information or attribute information of a passenger is newly registered in the passenger information 31b, and more specifically, increments the boarding and alighting counter 33b.

In addition, when information about a passenger who disembarks is registered in the alighting passenger information 32b that matches or nearly matches the characteristic point information or attribute information of a passenger, the calculation unit 25b presumes that the passenger with such characteristic point information has disembarked from the bus 1, and calculates the current number of passengers on the bus 1 by subtracting one disembarking passenger from the number of passengers; more specifically, it decrements the boarding and alighting counter 33b.

In this way, the calculation unit 25b uses accurate passenger information 31b, and can therefore accurately calculate the number of passengers on the bus 1. Note that the calculation unit 25b executes the calculation process between when the bus 1 departs from a bus stop and when it arrives at the next bus stop, but the timing of the calculation is not limited to this.

The transmitting unit 26b transmits passenger information including some or all of the boarding passenger information 31b and alighting passenger information 32b, and information on the number of passengers on bus 1, which is the value of the boarding/alighting counter 33b, to the management server 200.

Note that the transmission unit 26b executes the transmission process from when the bus 1 departs from the bus stop and the calculation process etc. are completed by the calculation unit 25b until the bus 1 arrives at the next bus stop, but the timing of transmission is not limited to this.

<Management server configuration>
Next, the configuration of the management server 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management server 200.

As shown in FIG. 8, the management server 200 includes a communication unit 201, a control unit 210, and a storage unit 220. The communication unit 201 is a communication interface that is connected to the communication network N for two-way communication, and transmits and receives information between the bus terminal device 10, the bus operator terminal device 300, the user terminal device 400, etc.

The control unit 210 includes an acquisition unit 211, a congestion degree calculation unit 212, and a provision unit 213, and includes, for example, a computer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, input/output ports, etc., and various circuits.

The computer's CPU functions as the acquisition unit 211, congestion degree calculation unit 212, and provision unit 213 of the control unit 210, for example, by reading and executing a program stored in the ROM.

In addition, at least some or all of the acquisition unit 211, congestion degree calculation unit 212, and provision unit 213 of the control unit 210 can be configured with hardware such as an ASIC or FPGA.

The memory unit 220 is configured with a storage device such as a non-volatile memory or a data flash. The memory unit 220 stores passenger information 221, bus information 222, various programs, and the like.

Passenger information 221 is information about passengers on bus 1 transmitted from exit terminal device 10b. As described above, passenger information 221 includes some or all of boarding passenger information 31b and alighting passenger information 32b, as well as information on the number of passengers on bus 1, which is the value of boarding and alighting counter 33b.

Bus information 222 is information about bus 1. Bus information 222 includes, for example, capacity information indicating the capacity of bus 1, but is not limited to this, and may also include other information such as operation plan information for bus 1. Note that bus information 222 is pre-stored in storage unit 220, but is not limited to this, and may be transmitted from an external terminal such as bus operator terminal device 300 and stored in storage unit 220.

The acquisition unit 211 of the control unit 210 acquires the information transmitted from the exit terminal device 10b and stores the acquired information in the memory unit 220 as passenger information 221.

The congestion degree calculation unit 212 calculates the congestion degree of bus 1, more specifically, the current congestion degree of bus 1. The congestion degree is an index value that indicates the degree of congestion on bus 1, and is a value that is indicated on several levels according to, for example, the number of passengers relative to the capacity of bus 1.

For example, the congestion degree calculation unit 212 calculates the current congestion degree of bus 1 based on information on the current number of passengers on bus 1 included in passenger information 221 and capacity information on bus 1 included in bus information 222. The congestion degree calculation unit 212 outputs congestion degree information indicating the calculated congestion degree to the provision unit 213.

The providing unit 213 can provide such congestion degree information to, for example, the user terminal device 400 or the bus operator terminal device 300 via the communication unit 201. The providing unit 213 can also provide passenger information 221 to, for example, the bus operator terminal device 300 via the communication unit 201.

<Control process of information processing system according to embodiment>
Next, a process procedure executed by the information processing system 100 including the bus terminal device 10 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a process sequence executed by the information processing system 100 including the bus terminal device 10 according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, first, the entrance terminal device 10a acquires an image of a person near the entrance 2a of the bus 1 from the first camera 11a (step S10). Next, the entrance terminal device 10a determines whether the person is boarding the bus 1 based on the position of the person's head in the captured image (step S11).

The entrance terminal device 10a registers passenger information including a captured image (passenger captured image) of the person determined to have boarded the bus 1 in the storage unit 30a (step S12). The entrance terminal device 10a then outputs the passenger information to the exit terminal device 10b (step S13).

The exit terminal device 10b acquires an image of the exit passenger from the second camera 11b (step S14). Next, the exit terminal device 10b registers the exit passenger information including the image of the exit passenger in the storage unit 30b (step S15). Here, it is assumed that the passenger information output from the entrance terminal device 10a in the previous process is registered in the storage unit 30b.

Next, the exit terminal device 10b compares the boarding passenger information with the alighting passenger information (step S16). For example, the exit terminal device 10b compares whether the feature information and attribute information of the alighting passengers in the alighting passenger information matches or approximately matches the feature information and attribute information of the passengers in the boarding passenger information.

The exit terminal device 10b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 based on the boarding passenger information, the alighting passenger information, the matching result, etc. (step S17). In addition, when new passenger information is output from the entrance terminal device 10a, the exit terminal device 10b updates the passenger information in the memory unit 30b (step S18).

Then, the exit terminal device 10b transmits passenger information, including boarding and disembarking passenger information, the number of passengers on bus 1, etc., to the management server 200 (step S19).

The management server 200 calculates the congestion level of the bus 1 based on information such as the number of passengers on the bus 1 (step S20). The management server 200 then provides the congestion level information, passenger information, and the like to the bus operator terminal device 300 and the user terminal device 400 (step S21).

As described above, the bus terminal device 10 (an example of a boarding/alighting determination device) according to the embodiment includes a detection unit 22a and a determination unit 23a. The detection unit 22a detects the head position of a person near the boarding/alighting entrance (boarding entrance 2a) of the bus 1. The determination unit 23a determines whether a person has boarded or alighted from the vehicle based on the head position of the person detected by the detection unit 22a. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether a person near the boarding/alighting entrance of the vehicle has boarded or alighted from the vehicle in the embodiment.

<Modification>
Next, a modified example will be described below. In the modified example, the exit terminal device 10b judges whether a person present near the exit 2b (see FIG. 1) of the bus 1 has exited the vehicle.

Figure 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an exit terminal device 10b according to a modified example. In the following, the same reference numerals are used to designate components that are common to the embodiment, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 20b of the exit terminal device 10b according to the modified example further includes a determination unit 27b.

The acquisition unit 21b of the control unit 20b acquires captured images of people (including people getting off) near the exit 2b of the bus 1 from the second camera 11b. The acquisition unit 21b outputs the acquired captured images to the detection unit 22b.

The detection unit 22b detects the head position of a person near the exit 2b of the bus 1 based on the captured image. The detection unit 22b outputs information indicating the detected head position to the determination unit 27b.

The determination unit 27b determines whether a person captured in the captured image has disembarked from the bus 1. This disembarking determination process will be described with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the disembarking determination process. Note that FIG. 11 shows a captured image B1, with the first captured person P indicated by a solid line, and the person P captured after the person P has moved indicated by a dashed line.

As shown in FIG. 11, the determination unit 27b determines whether person P has disembarked from the bus 1 based on the detected position of the head Pb of person P. For example, the determination unit 27b determines that person P has disembarked from the bus 1 when the position of person P's head Pb is relatively lower before and after the movement of person P, as shown by arrow D4. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether person P has disembarked from the bus 1 in this modified example.

To explain in more detail, for example, when person P gets off bus 1, he or she needs to go down step 4 (see FIG. 1) at exit 2b of bus 1, so the position of person P's head Pb drops relatively lower before and after person P's movement. Therefore, in the exit terminal device 10b according to the modified example, if the position of person P's head Pb drops relatively lower before and after person P's movement, it is determined that person P has disembarked from bus 1.

This allows the exit terminal device 10b according to the modified example to accurately determine that person P has disembarked from the bus 1. In other words, even if a person who is simply standing near the exit 2b and does not actually disembark appears in the captured image, the exit terminal device 10b will not determine that the person has disembarked from the bus 1 because the position of the person's head does not lower relatively. This allows the exit terminal device 10b to prevent erroneous determination that a person who is simply standing near the exit 2b is a person disembarking from the bus 1.

For example, the determination unit 27b may determine that person P has dismounted from the bus 1 when the position of the head Pb of person P before the movement, shown by a solid line, drops by more than a second predetermined value to the position of the head Pb of person P after the movement, shown by a dashed line. Here, the second predetermined value is set according to, for example, the height from the road surface on which the bus 1 is stopped to the step 4 (see FIG. 1). This makes it possible to accurately determine that person P has descended the step 4 and dismounted from the bus 1. Note that, in the above, the second predetermined value is set according to the height of the step 4, but this is merely an example and is not limiting, and may be set to any value.

When the registration unit 23b determines that a person near the exit 2b has disembarked from the bus 1, the registration unit 23b sets the captured image showing the person (disembarking passenger) as a disembarking passenger captured image. The registration unit 24a then registers various information (feature point information and attribute information) including the disembarking passenger captured image in the storage unit 30b as disembarking passenger information 32b.

In the above-described modified example, the determination unit 27b determines whether a person has disembarked based on the position of the person's head, but the present invention is not limited to this. The determination unit 27b may determine whether a person has disembarked based on the size of the person's face in addition to or instead of the position of the head. That is, although not shown in the figure, the determination unit 27b may determine that a person has disembarked from the bus 1 when the position of the head is relatively lower before and after the person's movement and the size of the face becomes relatively smaller before and after the person's movement. In this way, the fact that the size of the face becomes relatively smaller before and after the person's movement indicates that the person has moved away from the second camera 11b installed in the bus 1 and disembarked from the bus 1, and therefore the determination unit 27b can more accurately determine that a person has disembarked from the bus 1.

The bus terminal device 10 may perform both the boarding and disembarking determinations described above, or may perform only one of them.

In the above-described embodiment and modified example, the boarding terminal device 10a, the exit terminal device 10b, and the management server 200 each perform various processes, but the devices on which the various processes are performed are not limited to those described above.

That is, some or all of the processing performed in the entrance terminal device 10a may be performed in the exit terminal device 10b or the management server 200. Also, some or all of the processing performed in the exit terminal device 10b may be performed in the entrance terminal device 10a or the management server 200. Also, some or all of the processing performed in the management server 200 may be performed in the entrance terminal device 10a or the exit terminal device 10b.

Further advantages and modifications may readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Bus 10 Bus terminal device 10a Boarding terminal device 10b Exit terminal device 11a First camera 11b Second camera 22a Detection unit 23a Determination unit 100 Information processing system 200 Management server

Claims (6)

A boarding/disembarking determination device having a control unit,
The control unit is
Detecting a head position and a face size of a person based on an image of the person present near the boarding/alighting entrance of the vehicle, the image being captured by a camera installed in the vehicle ;
When the position of the person's head relatively rises before and after the movement of the person, and then the size of the person's face relatively increases before and after the movement of the person, it is determined that the person has boarded the vehicle;
when the position of the person's head relatively rises before and after the movement of the person, and then the position of the person's head relatively falls before and after the movement of the person, and the size of the person's face relatively decreases before and after the movement of the person, it is determined that the person is not riding on the vehicle.
Boarding and alighting determination device. The control unit is
If the position of the person's head is relatively lower before and after the person moves, it is determined that the person has dismounted from the vehicle .
The boarding/alighting determination device according to claim 1 . Detecting the head position and face size of a person getting on or off a vehicle based on a captured image of the person;
a control unit that determines that the person is not riding on the vehicle when the position of the head of the person getting on or off rises and then falls and the size of the face becomes smaller,
Boarding and alighting determination device. The control unit is
If the size of the face of the person increases after the position of the head of the person increases, it is determined that the person has boarded the vehicle.
The boarding/alighting determination device according to claim 3 . The control unit is
When the position of the head of the person getting on or off the vehicle is lowered , it is determined that the person has gotten off the vehicle .
The boarding/alighting determination device according to claim 3 or 4 . Detecting a head position and a face size of a person based on an image of the person present near the boarding/alighting entrance of the vehicle, the image being captured by a camera installed in the vehicle ;
when the position of the person's head relatively rises before and after the movement of the person, and then the size of the person's face relatively increases before and after the movement of the person, it is determined that the person has boarded the vehicle;
when the position of the person's head relatively rises before and after the movement of the person, and then the position of the person's head relatively falls before and after the movement of the person, and the size of the person's face relatively decreases before and after the movement of the person, it is determined that the person is not riding on the vehicle.
A method for determining whether or not passengers are getting on and off , performed by a boarding/off determination device .

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