JP7548787B2 - Passenger number calculation device and passenger number calculation method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a passenger number calculation device and a passenger number calculation 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

Meanwhile, vehicles such as buses are used by drivers and other vehicle personnel. In conventional technology, if a vehicle personnel is photographed by a camera, the number of passengers is calculated by treating the personnel as passengers based on the photographed image, which may result in an inaccurate calculation of the number of passengers.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above, and has an object to provide a passenger number calculation device and a passenger number calculation method that can accurately calculate the number of passengers on a vehicle.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a calculation device that includes a calculation unit and an acquisition unit. The calculation unit calculates the number of passengers on a vehicle. The acquisition unit acquires related party information on related parties of the vehicle. The calculation unit calculates the number of passengers on the vehicle by excluding the number of people who boarded and disembarked from the vehicle, the number of people corresponding to the related party information acquired by the acquisition unit.

The present invention allows the number of passengers on a vehicle to be calculated with high accuracy.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a calculation method according to the first 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. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an exit terminal device. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the alighting passenger information. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of related party 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 diagram illustrating an example of related person information according to the second embodiment.

Below, embodiments of the calculation device and calculation method disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

First Embodiment
<Outline of calculation method using calculation device>
First, an overview of a calculation method performed by a calculation device according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the calculation method according to the first embodiment.

The calculation method according to the first embodiment can, for example, calculate the number of passengers on a vehicle. Note that, in the following description, a bus 1 is used as an example of a vehicle, but 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 terminal device 10 is installed on a bus 1, and the bus terminal device 10 functions as a calculation device. Specifically, the bus terminal device 10 includes an entrance terminal device 10a and an exit terminal device 10b.

The entrance terminal device 10a is installed at the entrance 2a of the bus 1. The entrance terminal device 10a is equipped with a first camera 11a. For example, the first camera 11a is installed at the entrance 2a of the bus 1 and inside the bus 1 (inside the bus), and captures passenger images of people boarding the bus 1. The entrance terminal device 10a can detect passengers by detecting facial information from the passenger images.

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), and captures an image of a person getting off the bus 1. The exit terminal device 10b can detect the person getting off by detecting facial information from the captured image of the person getting off.

The bus terminal device 10 can calculate the number of passengers based on the passenger information about passengers boarding detected by the boarding terminal device 10a and the alighting information about passengers alighting detected by the alighting terminal device 10b. The calculation of the number of passengers will be described in detail later. The boarding entrance 2a and the alighting entrance 2b are examples of boarding and alighting entrances. The first camera 11a and the second camera 11b are examples of cameras.

Meanwhile, bus 1 is boarded by people related to bus 1, such as the driver (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as bus personnel). Note that bus personnel are not limited to the driver, and may include, for example, maintenance staff and cleaning staff for bus 1.

Here, in the conventional technology, when bus personnel are photographed by the first camera 11a or the second camera 11b, the boarding terminal device 10a detects them as passengers, and the exit terminal device 10b detects them as disembarking. Therefore, in the conventional technology, the number of passengers is calculated assuming that the bus personnel are passengers, and there is a risk that the number of passengers cannot be calculated accurately.

Therefore, the bus terminal device (calculation device) 10 according to this embodiment is configured to be able to calculate the number of passengers on the bus 1 with high accuracy.

Specifically, the boarding terminal device 10a of the bus terminal device 10 first acquires a passenger image of a person (passenger) boarding the bus 1 from the first camera 11a (step S1). Note that the passenger image acquired here may include bus personnel as passengers.

Next, the boarding terminal device 10a outputs passenger information including the passenger image to the exit terminal device 10b (step S2). The passenger information includes, for example, facial information of the passenger (more specifically, facial feature information (described later)) detected from the passenger image, and attribute information such as the gender and age of the passenger.

Next, the exit terminal device 10b acquires from the second camera 11b an alighting passenger image capturing an image of a person alighting from the vehicle (alighter) (step S3). Note that the alighting passenger image captured here may include bus personnel as alighting passengers.

Next, the exit terminal device 10b acquires information about the bus personnel (step S4). The information includes, for example, facial information about the bus personnel and attribute information such as the gender and age of the bus personnel.

Next, the exit terminal device 10b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1. For example, the exit terminal device 10b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 by excluding the number of people corresponding to the related party information from the number of people who got on and off the bus 1 obtained from the alighting passenger information including the alighting passenger image and the boarding passenger information (step S5).

For example, when face information or attribute information of a passenger is newly registered in the passenger information, the exit terminal device 10b adds one person to the number of passengers who have boarded and alighted from the bus 1; more precisely, it increments the boarding and alighting counter 34b (see FIG. 5 described later), which counts the number of passengers who have boarded and alighted from the bus 1 (in other words, the number of passengers currently aboard the bus 1).

The exit terminal device 10b also detects facial information and attribute information of passengers from the captured image of passengers. If the detected facial information and attribute information of passengers matches or nearly matches the facial information and attribute information of passengers, the exit terminal device 10b presumes that the passengers with the facial information and attribute information have alighted from the bus 1, and subtracts the number of passengers who have alighted from the number of passengers who boarded and alighted from the bus 1. More precisely, if the facial information and attribute information of passengers who alight match or nearly match the facial information and attribute information of passengers, the exit terminal device 10b decrements the boarding and alighting counter 34b (see FIG. 5). Note that the number of passengers who boarded and alighted from the bus 1 calculated above (i.e., the value of the boarding and alighting counter 34b) may include the number of bus personnel.

Therefore, the exit terminal device 10b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 by excluding the number of people corresponding to the related party information from the number of people getting on and off the bus 1 (the value of the boarding and alighting counter 34b). For example, if the facial information and attribute information of a passenger included in the passenger information matches or nearly matches the facial information and attribute information of a bus related party included in the related party information, the exit terminal device 10b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 by excluding the passenger from the number of people getting on and off the bus 1, since the passenger is a bus related party. Also, if the facial information and attribute information of a disembarking person included in the disembarking person information matches or nearly matches the facial information and attribute information of a bus related party included in the related party information, the exit terminal device 10b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 by excluding the passenger from the number of people getting on and off the bus 1, since the disembarking person is a bus related party.

In this way, in this embodiment, the number of passengers on bus 1 is calculated by excluding the number of bus personnel from the number of people getting on and off bus 1, so the number of passengers on bus 1 can be calculated with high accuracy even if, for example, bus personnel are photographed by the first camera 11a or the second camera 11b.

<Configuration of Information Processing System>
Next, the configuration of an information processing system including a bus terminal device (calculation device) 10 according to this 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, a bus operator attendance management server 310, 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 connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via short-range wireless communication such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark), but this is not limited thereto, and they may be connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other 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 and the like. The detailed configuration of the exit terminal device 10b will be described later using FIG. 5 and the like.

The management server 200 is a server device that manages passenger information, including boarding and alighting passenger information and information on the number of passengers on the bus 1, transmitted from the bus terminal device 10. The management server 200 can provide passenger information and the like 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 bus company attendance management server 310 is a server device that manages the attendance status of bus personnel. In the bus company attendance management server 310, attendance information indicating the attendance status of bus personnel is preregistered in a storage unit (not shown) through input operations by the bus company and bus personnel.

The bus operator attendance management server 310 can output (respond) related party information including attendance information in response to a request from, for example, the bus terminal device 10. Note that attendance information includes, for example, information on the attendance and absence of bus related parties on the day that the bus 1 is in operation, information on working hours, etc., but these are merely examples and are not limited to these. Furthermore, in addition to attendance information, related party information may also include images of bus related parties, facial information (feature point information) of bus related parties, and attribute information such as the gender and age of bus related parties.

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 provided at the boarding entrance 2a (see FIG. 1) of the bus 1 and inside the bus 1 (inside the bus). In more detail, the first camera 11a is provided at a position where it is possible to capture 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 a passenger image of the passenger and outputs the captured passenger 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 at which the bus 1 is stopped.

The control unit 20a includes an acquisition unit 21a, a detection unit 22a, a registration unit 23a, 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, registration unit 23a, and output unit 24a 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, registration unit 23a, and output unit 24a of the control unit 20a can be configured with hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an 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. Note that in the example shown in FIG. 4, for convenience, "passenger image" is described abstractly as "image E01," but 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 a 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 boarding stop is "Bus Stop H01". The data of a passenger identified by passenger ID "P02" indicates that the passenger image is "Image E02", the feature point is "Feature Point F02", the gender is "Male", the age is "Age G02", the age group is "Adult", and the boarding stop is "Bus Stop H01".

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 3, the acquisition unit 21a of the control unit 20a acquires passenger captured images of people (passengers) riding on the bus 1 from the first camera 11a. For example, the acquisition unit 21a acquires passenger 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 passenger captured images to the detection unit 22a. Note that the passenger captured images are one example of captured images.

The detection unit 22a detects facial information (more specifically, facial feature point information) of the passenger from the passenger 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 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 23a.

The registration unit 23a registers various information including the passenger 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 23a may add information on the bus stop where the passenger image was captured, 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. Note that the passenger information 31a registered by the registration unit 23a may include information on bus-related personnel as passengers.

The output unit 24a accesses the memory unit 30a and outputs the passenger information 31a to the exit terminal device 10b. Note that the output unit 24a 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 timing of the output 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. 5 etc. Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the exit terminal device 10b.

As shown in FIG. 5, 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 a smartphone or a tablet terminal, but is not limited to these.

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 located at the exit 2b of the bus 1 (see FIG. 1) and is also provided 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 alighting information 32b, related party information 33b, boarding and alighting counter 34b, 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. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the alighting passenger information 32b. As shown in FIG. 6, the alighting passenger information 32b includes items such as "alighting passenger ID," "alighting passenger image," "characteristic points," "gender," "age," "age group," "stop where 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.

"Bus stop where passengers disembarked" is information indicating the bus 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 6, 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]".

The related party information 33b is information about people involved in buses. Here, the related party information 33b will be explained using FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the related party information 33b. As shown in FIG. 7, the related party information 33b includes items such as "related party ID," "related party image," "characteristic points," "gender," "age," and "attendance status," and each item is associated with each other.

"Stakeholder ID" is identification information that identifies a bus-related person. "Stakeholder image" is information about a captured image of a bus-related person. "Feature points" is facial feature point information, and is an example of facial 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 face of a bus-related person shown in the stakeholder image, but is not limited to this.

"Gender" is information indicating the gender of the bus personnel. "Age" is information indicating the age of the bus personnel. "Attendance status" is information indicating the working status of the bus personnel, such as the attendance and absence information of the bus personnel on the day that bus 1 is operating, and the working hours.

In the example shown in Figure 7, the data for the bus person identified by the person-in-charge ID "R01" indicates that the person-in-charge image is "Image E21", the feature point is "Feature point F02", the gender is "Male", the age is "Age G02", and the attendance status is "Attended work on the day Bus 1 was operated, working hours are J1 to J2".

Here, the bus person identified by the person-in-charge ID "R01" has the same characteristics, gender, and age as the passenger identified by the passenger ID "P02" in the passenger information 31a, 31b (see Figure 4). Therefore, Figure 4 shows that the passenger identified by the passenger ID "P02" is the bus person identified by the person-in-charge ID "R01".

Returning to the explanation of Figure 5, boarding and alighting counter 34b is a counter that counts the number of people who board and alight from 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. Note that the alighting passenger image is one example of an acquired image.

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 acquisition unit 21b also requests related party information, including attendance information, from the bus operator attendance management server 310. The acquisition unit 21b acquires the related party information output from the bus operator attendance management server 310 in response to the request. In other words, the acquisition unit 21b acquires facial information and attendance information of the related party as related party information. The acquisition unit 21b then registers the acquired information in the storage unit 30b as related party information 33b (see FIG. 7).

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, the feature point information, and the attribute information in the storage unit 30b as alighting passenger information 32b (see FIG. 6). 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. 6). 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 boarding passenger ID "P01".

The calculation unit 25b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1. For example, the calculation unit 25b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 by excluding the number of people corresponding to the related party information from the number of people who got on and off the bus 1 obtained from the boarding passenger information 31b and the alighting passenger information 32b.

In detail, the calculation unit 25b accesses the passenger information 31b in the memory unit 30b, and when new facial information or attribute information of a passenger is registered in the passenger information 31b, the calculation unit 25b adds one to the number of passengers who boarded and alighted from the bus 1; more precisely, it increments the boarding and alighting counter 34b.

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 estimates that the passenger with such characteristic point information has disembarked from the bus 1, and subtracts one alighting passenger from the number of passengers; more specifically, it decrements the boarding and alighting counter 34b.

Here, the number of people getting on and off bus 1 (the value of boarding and alighting counter 34b) calculated as described above may include the number of bus personnel. Therefore, calculation unit 25b calculates the number of passengers on bus 1 by excluding the number of bus personnel from the number of people getting on and off bus 1.

For example, if facial information or attribute information of people related to the bus is included in the images of passengers boarding or disembarking, the calculation unit 25b calculates the number of passengers by excluding the number of people corresponding to the facial information, etc. from the number of people who boarded and disembarked from the bus 1.

To explain using the example of Figure 4, the passenger identified by passenger ID "P02" has the same feature points, gender, and age obtained from the passenger image as the bus related person identified by related person ID "R01" in related person information 33b (see Figure 7). Therefore, since it can be said that the passenger image contains face information and attribute information of the bus related person, calculation unit 25b assumes that the passenger identified by passenger ID "P02" is a bus related person, and calculates the number of passengers by excluding him from the number of people who got on and off bus 1.

In this way, the calculation unit 25b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 by excluding the number of bus personnel from the number of people getting on and off the bus 1. This makes it possible to accurately calculate the number of passengers on the bus 1 even if, for example, bus personnel are photographed by the first camera 11a or the second camera 11b.

The calculation unit 25b may also calculate the number of passengers based on attendance information indicating working conditions. For example, the calculation unit 25b extracts bus personnel who are at work on the day the bus 1 is operated and whose working hours include the operating time of the bus 1 from among the bus personnel registered in the personnel information 33b. The calculation unit 25b may then determine whether the boarding passenger captured image and the alighting passenger captured image contain facial information and attribute information of the bus personnel based only on the personnel information 33b corresponding to the extracted bus personnel, and calculate the number of passengers based on the determination result.

As a result, for example, calculation unit 25b does not need to use the information of all bus related persons registered in related person information 33b, and therefore the processing load on control unit 20b can be reduced. Furthermore, by using only related person information 33b corresponding to the bus related persons extracted as described above, calculation unit 25b can prevent bus related persons who are using bus 1 as passengers rather than for work (in other words, bus related persons who are using bus 1 for personal purposes) from being excluded from the number of people who get on and off bus 1, and therefore the number of passengers on bus 1 can be calculated more accurately.

The transmitting unit 26b transmits passenger information including some or all of the boarding passenger information 31b and the alighting passenger information 32b, and information on the number of passengers on the bus 1 calculated by the calculating unit 25b, 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 calculated by calculation unit 25b.

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 Processing of Information Processing System According to First Embodiment>
Next, a processing procedure executed by the information processing system 100 including the bus terminal device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a processing sequence executed by the information processing system 100 including the bus terminal device 10 according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, first, the entrance terminal device 10a acquires a passenger image from the first camera 11a (step S10). Next, the entrance terminal device 10a registers passenger information including the passenger image in the storage unit 30a (step S11). Then, the entrance terminal device 10a outputs the passenger information to the exit terminal device 10b (step S12).

The exit terminal device 10b acquires related party information from the bus operator attendance management server 310 (step S13). Next, the exit terminal device 10b acquires images of disembarking passengers from the second camera 11b (step S14). Next, the exit terminal device 10b registers disembarking passenger information including the images of disembarking passengers 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 characteristic point information and attribute information of the alighting passengers in the alighting passenger information match or approximately match the characteristic point information and attribute information of the boarding passengers in the boarding passenger information.

The exit terminal device 10b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 by excluding the number of bus personnel from the number of people who boarded and alighted the bus 1 based on the boarding passenger information, alighting passenger information, the matching result, and related person information (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 calculation device) according to the first embodiment includes a calculation unit 25b and an acquisition unit 21b. The calculation unit 25b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1. The acquisition unit 21a acquires related party information on related parties of the bus 1. The calculation unit 25b also calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 by excluding the number of people corresponding to the related party information acquired by the acquisition unit 21b from the number of people who got on and off the bus 1. This allows the number of passengers on the bus 1 to be calculated with high accuracy.

(Modification)
Next, a modified example will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In the following, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In a modified example, related party information 33b is registered in advance in storage unit 30b. Related party information 33b in the modified example includes, for example, a related party image of a bus related party, facial information (feature point information) of the bus related party, and attribute information such as gender and age of the bus related party, but these are merely examples and are not limited to the above.

The acquisition unit 21b of the control unit 20b can access the memory unit 30b to acquire related party information 33b and output the acquired information to the calculation unit 25b.

In addition, the second camera 11b captures images of bus personnel working on the bus 1 on the day before the bus 1 is operated, and outputs the captured images of the bus personnel to the control unit 20b as employee captured images. The acquisition unit 21b acquires the employee captured images from the second camera 11b, and outputs the acquired employee captured images to the calculation unit 25b.

The calculation unit 25b extracts bus personnel corresponding to the worker captured image from the bus personnel registered in the personnel information 33b. Then, when the bus 1 starts operating, the calculation unit 25b determines whether the boarding passenger captured image and the disembarking passenger captured image contain face information and attribute information of the bus personnel based only on the personnel information 33b corresponding to the extracted bus personnel, and calculates the number of passengers based on the determination result.

As a result, in this modified example, the number of passengers on bus 1 can be calculated accurately even with a simple configuration in which images of bus staff working on bus 1 are captured by second camera 11b before bus 1 begins operation. Note that images of bus staff working on bus 1 on the day may be captured by first camera 11a or another camera.

In addition, in the modified example, as in the first embodiment, the calculation unit 25b does not need to use the information of all bus related persons registered in the related person information 33b, so it is possible to reduce the processing load on the control unit 20b. Furthermore, by using only the related person information 33b corresponding to the bus related persons extracted as described above, the calculation unit 25b in the modified example can prevent bus related persons who are using the bus 1 as passengers rather than on duty from being excluded from the number of people who get on and off the bus 1, and therefore can calculate the number of passengers on the bus 1 more accurately.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. In the second embodiment, wearable information on wearable items worn by bus personnel is used as the personnel information 33b. The wearable items include uniforms, caps, etc. worn by the bus personnel while on duty. The wearable information includes information indicating the characteristics of the wearable items, such as the shape and color of the uniform or cap.

In the second embodiment, the wearable information is registered in advance in the storage unit 30b as the related person information 33b. Here, the related person information 33b in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the related person information 33b in the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the clothing information included in the person involved information 33b includes uniform information K01 and cap information L01. Uniform information K01 includes information such as the shape and color of the uniform of the bus person involved. Cap information L01 includes information such as the shape and color of the cap of the bus person involved.

In the above, the worn clothing information includes the uniform information K01 and the cap information L01, but is not limited to this. In other words, the worn clothing information may include either the uniform information K01 or the cap information L01, or may include information about worn clothing other than the uniform information K01 and the cap information L01, such as a tie or badge worn while working.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 5, the acquisition unit 21b according to the second embodiment accesses the memory unit 30b to acquire the worn article information as related person information 33b, and outputs the acquired information to the calculation unit 25b.

The detection unit 22b detects passenger wear information, which is information on wear worn by passengers, from the passenger image. The detection unit 22b also detects disembarking passenger wear information, which is information on wear worn by disembarking passengers, from the disembarking passenger image. The detection unit 22b outputs the detected passenger wear information and disembarking passenger wear information to the calculation unit 25b. The detection method for the passenger wear information and disembarking passenger wear information can be set arbitrarily.

The calculation unit 25b calculates the number of passengers on the bus 1 based on the clothing information, the passenger clothing information, and the disembarking passenger clothing information. For example, when the passenger clothing information matches or approximately matches the clothing information, the calculation unit 25b determines that the passenger corresponding to the passenger clothing information is a person related to the bus, and calculates the number of passengers by excluding such passenger from the number of people who got on and off the bus 1.

In addition, for example, when the alighting passenger clothing information matches or nearly matches the clothing information, the calculation unit 25b determines that the alighting passenger corresponding to the alighting passenger clothing information is a bus-related person, and calculates the number of passengers by excluding such alighting passenger from the number of people who got on and off the bus 1.

In this way, in the second embodiment, the number of passengers on bus 1 can be calculated with high accuracy by using clothing information as related person information 33b.

In the above-described modified example and second embodiment, the information processing system 100 (see FIG. 2) may be configured without the bus operator attendance management server 310 (see FIG. 2). In addition, the above-described first and second embodiments and modified examples may be appropriately combined.

In the above-described embodiments and modifications, 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 Entrance terminal device 10b Exit terminal device 11a First camera 11b Second camera 21b Acquisition unit 25b Calculation unit 100 Information processing system 200 Management server

Claims (2)

A passenger number calculation device having a control unit for calculating the number of passengers of a vehicle,
The control unit is
The facial information and attribute information of each of the boarding and alighting passengers are compared with pre-registered related person information including attendance information, facial information, and attribute information, and if it is determined that the facial information and attribute information of the related person during work coincides with the facial information and attribute information of the related person,
Calculate the number of passengers of the vehicle by excluding the number of the related persons who are working from the number of the boarding and alighting passengers .
Passenger count calculation device. A method for calculating the number of passengers of a vehicle, the method being performed by a passenger number calculation device,
The facial information and attribute information of each of the boarding and alighting passengers are compared with pre-registered related person information including attendance information, facial information, and attribute information, and if it is determined that the facial information and attribute information of the related person during work coincides with the facial information and attribute information of the related person,
Calculate the number of passengers of the vehicle by excluding the number of the related persons who are working from the number of the boarding and alighting passengers .
How passenger numbers are calculated.

Images