JP7592489B2 - Operation support device, operation management system, operation support method, and operation support program - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an operation support device, an operation management system, an operation support method, and an operation support program for managing the operation of a means of transportation.

Generally, departure times for route buses and community buses are determined in advance in a timetable. Similarly, operation plans for taxis, rental bicycles, etc. are also determined in advance, such as the number of vehicles to be deployed at specific locations, such as in front of stations, at each time period.

For route buses that depart from in front of stations, departure times are sometimes set to match the arrival times in the train timetable, taking into consideration the convenience of passengers who get off the train. Even if route bus departure times are set taking into account train arrival times in this way, if a train is delayed, the route bus will depart at the scheduled departure time, and train passengers will have to wait until the departure time of the next route bus.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which a station management center monitors the arrival of trains at a station and transmits delay information indicating the delay time from the train's scheduled time to a bus operation support center.

JP 2003-331379 A

However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 does not take into account the surrounding congestion and usage conditions, and mobile vehicles cannot be operated efficiently.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an operation support device that can efficiently operate a mobile object.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, an operation support device according to the present disclosure includes a user prediction unit that predicts the number of users of the mobile body using people flow information indicating the people flow in a first time period in a location related to a deployment location where the mobile body is deployed. The operation support device further includes an operation plan creation unit that creates the operation plan of the mobile body using a pre-operation plan that is an operation plan of the mobile body created using information acquired in a second time period before the first time period and a prediction result by the user prediction unit , where the deployment location includes an area in front of a train station, the people flow information includes information on the number of train passengers transmitted from the train, and the operation plan creation unit creates the operation plan by changing the operation route, operation interval, or the mobile body to be deployed in the pre-operation plan according to a comparison result between the number of users assumed when the pre-operation plan is created and the prediction result by the user prediction unit .

The present disclosure has the effect of enabling efficient operation of mobile objects.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to a first embodiment; 1 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation support process procedure in the operation support device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for predicting the number of users in an operation support device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of user ratio information of a mobile object according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of coefficient information indicating coefficients of each section in the first embodiment; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a preliminary operation plan and a final operation plan according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer system that realizes an operation support device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of coefficient information indicating coefficients for each station in the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to a second embodiment; 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation support process procedure in the operation support device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to a third embodiment; FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a bus stop that is a support target of the operation support device according to the third embodiment; A flowchart showing an example of an operation support process procedure of the operation support device according to the third embodiment when the advance operation plan is not used. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation support process procedure of an operation support device according to a third embodiment when a pre-operation plan is used. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to a fourth embodiment; A flowchart showing an example of an operation support process procedure in the operation support device according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to a fifth embodiment; 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation support process procedure in the operation support device according to the fifth embodiment.

The operation support device, operation management system, operation support method, and operation support program according to the embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1.
1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to embodiment 1. The operation management system of the present embodiment includes an operation support device 1 that supports the operation of a bus, which is an example of a mobile object, and a vehicle dispatch device 2 that manages the dispatch of the bus.

The operation support device 1 of this embodiment supports the operation of buses that depart from bus stops located in front of stations where trains stop. Note that in front of a station here means an area within a certain distance from surrounding stations, and is not limited to the front of the station.

The vehicle dispatch device 2 is a device that manages bus operations, and as shown in FIG. 1, includes a pre-operation plan creation unit 21, a pre-operation plan transmission unit 22, and an operation plan receiving unit 23. The pre-operation plan creation unit 21 creates in advance an operation plan (also called an operation plan) including the time and operation route of buses departing from bus stops that are the subject of operational support by the operation support device 1. The pre-operation plan transmission unit 22 transmits the pre-operation plan to the operation support device 1. The pre-operation plan creation unit 21, the pre-operation plan transmission unit 22, and the operation plan receiving unit 23 are examples of a pre-operation plan creation unit, a pre-operation plan transmission unit, and an operation plan receiving unit, respectively.

The operation support device 1 predicts the number of bus users using information on the number of train passengers received from the train integrated management device 3 mounted on the train via the ground device 5, creates an operation plan by modifying the advance operation plan using the predicted result, and transmits the created operation plan to the vehicle dispatch device 2 as a confirmed operation plan. The operation plan receiving unit 23 of the vehicle dispatch device 2 receives the confirmed operation plan received from the operation support device 1. The vehicle dispatch device 2 dispatches buses based on the confirmed operation plan. Note that, although an example in which the vehicle dispatch device 2 creates the advance operation plan has been shown here, an advance operation planning device that creates the advance operation plan may be provided separately from the vehicle dispatch device 2. In this case, the vehicle dispatch device 2 receives the advance operation plan from the advance operation planning device and transmits it to the operation support device 1. The operation support device 1 may also be provided with an advance operation plan creation unit 21 that creates the advance operation plan. In this case, the vehicle dispatch device 2 does not need to be provided with an advance operation plan transmission unit 22.

As shown in FIG. 1, the train integrated management device 3 mounted on the train includes a status information acquisition unit 32 that acquires status information corresponding to the devices 4 from various devices 4 mounted on the train, and a status information transmission unit 31 that transmits information on the number of passengers on the train from the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit 32 to the ground device 5. The status information includes information indicating the status of the devices 4, information detected or measured by the devices 4, and the like. The information on the number of passengers on the train is, for example, at least one of information indicating the air spring pressure of the bogie, an image captured by an in-car surveillance camera, a count of the number of people passing through the boarding and alighting gates, and information on radio waves transmitted from a mobile terminal. The information on radio waves transmitted from a mobile terminal may be the number of Bluetooth (registered trademark) devices such as smartphones, or the number of terminals connected to an access point such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) installed in the car. Therefore, the device 4 includes at least one of a device for acquiring information indicating the air spring pressure of the bogie, an in-car monitoring camera, a sensor for counting the number of people passing through the train entrance (e.g., a laser sensor, an infrared sensor), and a receiving device capable of receiving radio waves from a mobile terminal. The information on the radio waves transmitted from the mobile terminal may be, for example, the number of radio waves, i.e., radio signals, received within a certain period of time by the receiving device in the train, or the received power of the receiving device. In addition, other devices 4 are generally mounted on the train, but here, the devices 4 related to the operation of the operation support of this embodiment will be described, and the devices 4 not related to the operation of the operation support of this embodiment will not be described. The ground device 5 is an example of a device in a train system, and the operation support device 1 of this embodiment only needs to acquire information on the number of passengers on the train transmitted from the train integrated management device 3 mounted on the train, and the communication path is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the operation support device 1 includes a people flow information receiving unit 11, a pre-operation plan receiving unit 12, a user prediction unit 13, an operation plan creation unit 14, and an operation plan transmission unit 15. The people flow information receiving unit 11 receives information on the number of passengers on trains, which is an example of people flow information, from the train integrated management device 3 via the ground device 5 and outputs the information to the user prediction unit 13. The pre-operation plan receiving unit 12 receives a pre-operation plan from the vehicle dispatch device 2 and outputs the pre-operation plan to the operation plan creation unit 14. The user prediction unit 13 predicts the number of bus users using information on the number of train passengers and outputs the prediction result to the operation plan creation unit 14. The operation plan creation unit 14 creates an operation plan by correcting the pre-operation plan using the prediction result by the user prediction unit 13, and outputs the created operation plan to the operation plan transmission unit 15 as a confirmed operation plan. The operation plan transmission unit 15 transmits the confirmed operation plan to the vehicle dispatch device 2. The operation plan creation unit 14 may use the prediction results by the user prediction unit 13 to determine not to modify the preliminary operation plan and create an operation plan.

The information on the number of train passengers received by the operation support device 1 of this embodiment is information obtained after the information on the number of train passengers that was used to create the advance operation plan, and is information before the train arrives at the station. In this way, the operation support device 1 of this embodiment corrects the advance operation plan using information before the train arrives at the station, so there is no need for the bus to wait at the bus stop at the scheduled time set in the advance operation plan, and buses can be operated more efficiently than when information obtained after the train arrives is used. In addition, the operation support device 1 of this embodiment creates an operation plan using information obtained after the information on which the advance operation plan was based, so it can create an operation plan that is more appropriate for the actual situation than when operating based only on the advance operation plan.

In this embodiment, a route bus or a community bus is used as an example of a moving body, but the moving body is not limited to a bus and may be a water bus, a taxi with a designated boarding point, a PMV (Personal Mobility Vehicle), a rental bicycle, a rental electric kickboard, etc. In the case of a taxi, a PMV, a rental bicycle, a rental electric kickboard, etc., a timetable is not set, but the number of moving bodies to be placed at the boarding point for each time period is determined in advance as an operation plan. Note that the boarding point indicates the location where the movement using each moving body starts, and in the case of rental bicycles and rental electric kickboards, it is the location where they are located, and in the case of a bus, it is a bus stop, etc. For moving bodies other than buses, the vehicle dispatch device 2 creates a preliminary operation plan, which is a preliminary operation plan for the moving body, and transmits it to the operation support device 1, and the operation support device 1 of this embodiment can revise the preliminary operation plan using the number of users predicted using information on the number of passengers of the train, as in the case of a bus operation plan, and transmit it to the vehicle dispatch device 2 as a final operation plan.

In this way, the bus operation plan is an example of an operation plan, and the operation plan is not limited to the bus operation plan. The advance operation plan receiving unit 12, the operation plan creating unit 14, and the operation plan transmitting unit 15 are examples of the advance operation plan receiving unit, the operation plan creating unit, and the operation plan transmitting unit, respectively. In addition, the bus stop in front of the station is an example of a deployment location where the mobile object is deployed.

Next, the operation of the operation support device 1 of this embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation support processing procedure in the operation support device 1 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the advance operation plan receiving unit 12 receives an advance operation plan from the vehicle dispatching device 2 (step S1). As described above, the advance operation plan receiving unit 12 outputs the advance operation plan to the operation plan creating unit 14. There are no particular restrictions on the timing at which the vehicle dispatching device 2 transmits the advance operation plan, but for example, a one-week advance operation plan may be transmitted once a week. In addition, when timetables are set for weekdays and holidays, for example, the vehicle dispatching device 2 may transmit an advance operation plan including the set timetable, and thereafter transmit an advance operation plan each time the timetable changes.

The advance operation plan creation unit 21 of the vehicle dispatch device 2 creates an advance operation plan based on, for example, past demand records. The past demand records are, for example, the result of counting the number of bus users for a certain period of time in the past for each time period. In addition, the vehicle dispatch device 2 may collect the above demand records in association with event data, weather information, etc., and learn the event data, weather information, etc. in association with the demand records to create a prediction model for predicting demand, and create an advance operation plan using the prediction model. The event data is, for example, the date, start time, end time, venue, venue capacity, event content, etc. of various events. The weather forecast values are, for example, weather, temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind volume, etc. The method of creating the advance operation plan is not limited to the above example, and any method may be used. The advance operation plan creation unit 21 creates an advance operation plan by estimating the number of bus users for each time period from the past demand records, etc., as described above. In addition, in this embodiment, the number of bus users for each time period assumed in the advance operation plan is also called an advance scenario. The vehicle dispatch device 2 includes the pre-scenario in the pre-operation plan and transmits it to the operation support device 1.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 2, the people flow information receiving unit 11 receives information on the number of train passengers from the ground device 5 (step S2). As described above, the people flow information receiving unit 11 outputs the received information on the number of train passengers to the user prediction unit 13. The train integrated management device 3 mounted on the train transmits information on the number of train passengers, for example, periodically, and the people flow information receiving unit 11 receives this information via the ground device 5. The transmission period of the information on the number of train passengers is a period in which the people flow information receiving unit 11 can receive information on the number of train passengers once between two adjacent stations while the train is running, and may be, for example, about a few seconds or about a few minutes, but is not limited thereto. The transmission period of the information on the number of train passengers may also be, for example, when the train departs from a station.

Next, the user prediction unit 13 predicts the number of bus users using information about the number of train passengers (step S3). Here, an example of a method for predicting the number of bus users using information about the number of train passengers will be described.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method for predicting the number of users in the operation support device 1 of this embodiment. Station A shown in Figure 3 is a station where trains stop, and a bus stop 6 is provided in front of Station A. The operation support device 1 of this embodiment supports the operation of buses departing from this stop 6. Bus 51 is a schematic diagram of an example of a bus that is dispatched to stop 6 based on a confirmed operation plan, which is an operation plan created by the operation support device 1. Note that stop 6 is, for example, a starting stop, and dispatch to stop 6 can be performed at any time. For example, if there is a possibility of increasing the number of services in the revision of the advance operation plan described below, there is a spare bus waiting at a waiting area not shown, and the vehicle dispatch device 2 can use this bus to dispatch to stop 6 when the number of services is increased.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the direction from Station B to Station A is the upbound direction, with Train 50-1, an upbound train, traveling from Station B to Station A, and Train 50-2, a downbound train, traveling to Station A. In this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, before trains 50-1 and 50-2 arrive at Station A, the operations support device 1 receives information on the number of train passengers from each of the train integrated management devices 3 mounted on trains 50-1 and 50-2 via the ground device 5.

For example, when the information on the number of train passengers is information indicating the air spring pressure of the bogie, the user prediction unit 13 stores in advance correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the information on the number of train passengers and the number of train passengers for each train formation information indicating the type of train cars and the number of cars in the train formation. The user prediction unit 13 then uses the correspondence information to calculate the number of passengers corresponding to the received information on the number of train passengers. Note that when the weight of the car bodies of all trains arriving at Station A is the same and the number of cars constituting one formation is also the same, it is sufficient to store one type of correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the information on the number of train passengers and the number of train passengers. This correspondence information may be a table or the like or a calculation formula.

When the information on the number of train passengers is an image acquired by an in-car surveillance camera, the user prediction unit 13 detects people in the image by image processing and counts the number of detected people. The user prediction unit 13 then stores in advance correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the number of people detected from the image and the number of train passengers for each train formation information indicating the type of train carriage and the number of carriages in the train formation, and the user prediction unit 13 uses the correspondence information to calculate the number of passengers corresponding to the received information on the number of train passengers. As in the above example, when the position of the in-car surveillance camera in a train arriving at Station A is the same regardless of the type of carriage and the number of carriages in one formation is also the same, it is sufficient to store one type of correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the number of people detected from the image and the number of train passengers.

Furthermore, when the information on the number of train passengers is the number of radio signals received within a certain time, the user prediction unit 13 holds correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the number of radio signals received within a certain time and the number of train passengers, and calculates the number of train passengers using the correspondence information and the information on the number of train passengers. When the information on the number of train passengers is the reception power of a single frequency, the user prediction unit 13 holds correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the reception power and the corresponding number of mobile terminals, and calculates the number of train passengers using the correspondence information and the information on the number of train passengers. When the information on the number of train passengers is the reception power for each frequency, the user prediction unit 13 holds the correspondence between the reception power and the number of mobile terminals for each frequency as first correspondence information, and estimates the number of mobile terminals for each frequency using the first correspondence information and the information on the number of train passengers. Furthermore, the user prediction unit 13 holds second correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the number of mobile terminals and the number of train passengers, and calculates the number of train passengers using the estimated number of mobile terminals and the second correspondence information.

After calculating the number of train passengers, the user prediction unit 13 predicts the number of bus passengers departing from platform 6 using the calculated number of train passengers. The user prediction unit 13 holds user ratio information indicating the ratio of bus passengers departing from platform 6 to the number of train passengers. The user ratio information is generated based on, for example, the results of past surveys.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of user ratio information of a moving body in this embodiment. Figure 4 shows an example of user ratio information when both up and down trains stop at station A, as shown in Figure 3. The user ratio information shown in Figure 4 includes, among users who use the bus from platform 6, the ratio of passengers on up trains who use the bus departing from platform 6 (described as up train in Figure 4) and the ratio of passengers on down trains who use the bus departing from platform 6 (described as down train in Figure 4). In the example shown in Figure 4, these ratios are shown as percentages, but this is not limited thereto and they may be shown as ratios when the whole is set to 1. In addition, in the example shown in Figure 4, these ratios are set for each time period, but fixed ratios may be used without dividing them by time period. In addition, in the example shown in Figure 4, the ratios for each two-hour time period are shown, but the length of the time period when the ratio is set for each time period is not limited to two hours. In addition, such user ratio information may be set separately for weekdays and holidays.

The user prediction unit 13 calculates, for example, the number of passengers on each of the trains 50-1 and 50-2 shown in Fig. 3 based on the information on the number of passengers on the trains transmitted from the trains 50-1 and 50-2 as described above. If the calculated number of passengers on the trains 50-1 and 50-2 are _N1 and _N2 , respectively, and the ratio (%) of passengers on the upbound trains and the ratio (%) of passengers on the downbound trains in the user ratio information are _R1 and _R2 , respectively, the user prediction unit 13 calculates the predicted value N _E of bus users, for example, by the following formula (1). Note that the other users N _O are also determined in advance, for example, for each time period based on the results of past surveys and the like.
N _E = (R ₁ /100) x N ₁ + (R ₂ /100) x N ₂ + N _O ... (1)

In the above example, trains 50-1 and 50-2 are the only trains arriving during the time period for which the number of passengers is predicted. However, if trains arrive sequentially, bus passengers can be predicted using the sum of the number of passengers on trains scheduled to arrive for each time period for which the number of passengers is predicted, regardless of whether they are going in the up or down direction. The information on the number of passengers on each train sent from the integrated train management device 3 is assumed to include information indicating the train's location, and the user prediction unit 13 predicts the arrival time of the train based on the information indicating the train's location. The user prediction unit 13 then calculates the number of passengers on the train using information on the number of passengers on the train for trains whose predicted arrival time falls within the time period for which the number of passengers is predicted, regardless of whether they are going in the up or down direction.

For example, assume that the user prediction unit 13 predicts the number of users in 10-minute intervals, and the time period for which the user number is predicted is from 7:40 to 7:50. Also assume that the number of trains expected to arrive between 7:40 and 7:50 is three upbound trains and two downbound trains. In this case, the user prediction unit 13 can calculate the predicted number of users using the above formula (1) by using the sum of the number of passengers of the three upbound trains and the sum of the number of passengers of the two downbound trains as the above N ₁ and N _2, respectively. Note that the time unit for making the prediction is not limited to 10 minutes, and may be set appropriately depending on the number of trains, the average number of bus users, etc.

In addition, since passengers of trains get on and off at each station, in the example shown in FIG. 3, passengers of a bus departing from platform 6 in front of station A are easily affected by the number of passengers on the train between station B, which is the station immediately before station A in the upward direction, and station A, if the train is an upbound train. On the other hand, there are cases where it is desirable to make an earlier prediction, or where the distance between stations is short. In such cases, for example, the number of passengers on the train running between station C, which is the station immediately before station B in the upward direction, and station B can also be taken into consideration. As shown in FIG. 3, the section between station A and station B is section #1, and the section between station B and station C is section #2. In addition, the section between station A and the next station in the upward direction (not shown) is section #3. For example, for each of sections #1 to #3, the correlation between the number of passengers on the train located in the section and the number of passengers on the bus departing from platform 6 is obtained in advance. Then, based on the correlation, a coefficient is determined for each section to be multiplied by the number of passengers on the train running in the section when the predicted value N _E of bus passengers is calculated. This coefficient corresponds to the above ratio and may be expressed as a percentage, like the above ratio.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of coefficient information indicating the coefficients of each section in this embodiment. The user prediction unit 13 holds, for example, the coefficient information exemplified in FIG. 5, and selects a coefficient according to the section in which each train is located in predicting the number of bus users. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the coefficient is also determined for each time period, but the same coefficient may be used regardless of the time period. When predicting the number of bus users, the user prediction unit 13 considers sections #1 and #2 as being related to upbound trains, and does not consider the number of passengers on downbound trains running in sections #1 and #2. Similarly, when predicting the number of bus users, the user prediction unit 13 considers section #3 as being related to downbound trains, and does not consider the number of passengers on upbound trains running in section #3. For example, assume that in addition to the train 50-1 shown in FIG. 3, an upbound train (not shown) was running in section #2. In this case, if the estimated arrival time of an upbound train (not shown) traveling in section #2 at station A is within the time period to be predicted, the user prediction unit 13 calculates the number of passengers on train 50-1 and the number of passengers on trains traveling in section #2, multiplies the calculated number of passengers by the corresponding coefficients among those illustrated in Fig. 5, and calculates a total value by adding the numbers of passengers after multiplication by the coefficients. Also, if there are multiple downbound trains traveling in section #3, the user prediction unit 13 multiplies the numbers of passengers by the coefficients corresponding to these downbound trains, and calculates a total value by adding the numbers of passengers after multiplication by the coefficients. The user prediction unit 13 then adds up the total values of the upbound trains and the downbound trains to obtain the predicted number of bus users N _E. In addition, Figure 3 describes an example of using information regarding the number of passengers on train 50-1, which is an up train heading from Station B to Station A, and train 50-2, which is a down train heading to Station A. However, the information regarding the number of passengers is information at a later time than the information used to create the advance operation plan, and is advance information regarding bus operation to the extent that it is possible to operate the bus based on the revised operation plan.

In the above example, upbound and downbound trains were considered, but if bus stop 6 is in front of a station where trains of multiple routes arrive, the number of passengers for each train can be calculated for each route in the same way, and the sum of the number of passengers scheduled to arrive for each time period to be predicted can be calculated. When calculating the sum, if trains other than those located between the nearest station are also considered, weighted addition using coefficients as shown in Figure 5 can be performed. Also, if there are multiple bus routes that depart from bus stop 6, the user ratio in Figure 4 and the coefficients in Figure 5 can be determined for each bus route, and the number of users of each bus route can be predicted from the number of passengers scheduled to arrive for each time period to be predicted.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, two sections, sections #1 and #2, are considered in the upbound direction, and one section, section #3, is considered in the downbound direction, but the number of sections considered is not limited to this example. In addition, the above-mentioned method of predicting the number of bus users is only one example, and the method of predicting the number of bus users using the calculation results of the number of train passengers is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 2, after step S3, the operation plan creation unit 14 creates an operation plan using the predicted number of users and the advance operation plan (step S4).

Here, an example of a method for creating an operation plan using the predicted number of users and the advance operation plan will be described. As described above, the advance operation plan includes the number of users in each time period assumed in the creation of the advance operation plan as an advance scenario. The operation plan creation unit 14 compares the advance scenario with the prediction result by the user prediction unit 13, and if the prediction result is greater than the advance scenario, increases the number of buses from the advance operation plan, or changes the vehicle to one with a larger capacity. The operation route may also be changed. Specific examples of changing the operation route include passing a bus stop or changing the advance operation route to select a shortcut. At this time, the prediction of the number of users predicts the number of bus users based on the number of passengers on the train that will arrive in the predicted time period. On the other hand, since it takes a certain amount of time to move from getting off the train to the bus stop 6, the time from getting off the train to moving to the bus stop 6 is taken into consideration when reflecting it in the operation plan. For example, assuming it takes about 5 minutes from getting off the train to moving to bus stop 6, the predicted number of bus users based on the passengers of trains arriving between 7:40 and 7:50 is reflected in the operation plan from 7:55 onwards.

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of a pre-operation plan and a final operation plan in this embodiment. The left side of Figure 6 shows the pre-operation plan, and the right side of Figure 6 shows the final operation plan. For example, if the predicted number of bus passengers based on a prediction targeting 7:50 to 8:00 is greater than the number of passengers from 7:50 to 8:00 in the pre-scenario, the number of buses departing at 8:00 may be increased to two as shown in the upper right diagram, or the number of buses may be increased by shortening the operation interval from 8:00 to 8:30 compared to the pre-operation plan as shown in the lower right diagram. Alternatively, as described above, the bus departing at 8:00 may be changed to a vehicle with a larger capacity.

The operation plan creation unit 14 may also compare the preliminary scenario with the prediction result by the user prediction unit 13, and if the prediction result is less than the preliminary scenario, it may reduce the number of trains from the preliminary operation plan or change the vehicle to one with a smaller capacity. However, in an environment where reducing the number of trains would have a large impact on users other than train passengers, it is not necessary to reduce the number of trains. In addition, whether to increase or reduce the number of trains depends on how the number of users assumed as the preliminary scenario is set in the preliminary operation plan. For example, as the preliminary scenario, a number of users smaller than the average number may be assumed, and the operation plan creation unit 14 may increase the number of trains or change the vehicle but not reduce the number of trains, or a number of users larger than the average number may be assumed, and the operation plan creation unit 14 may reduce the number of trains or change the vehicle but not increase the number of trains. In addition, as the preliminary scenario, an average number of users may be assumed, and the operation plan creation unit 14 may increase and reduce the number of trains or change the vehicle. The method for creating an operation plan in the operation plan creation unit 14 may be any method for creating an operation plan that modifies a preliminary operation plan by reflecting the predicted number of users, and is not limited to the above-mentioned example.

As described above, the created operation plan is transmitted to the vehicle dispatch device 2 by the operation plan transmission unit 15 as a confirmed operation plan. In this embodiment, the information on the number of train passengers transmitted from the train is an example of people flow information indicating the flow of people in the first time period on the train, which is a location related to the bus stop. In this embodiment, as described above, the bus operation plan is created using the advance operation plan, which is a bus operation plan created using information acquired in the second time period before the first time period, and the prediction result by the user prediction unit 13. As a result, the vehicle dispatch device 2 can perform dispatch according to a more actual number of users that reflects the information of the first time period, which is a time later than the information of the second time period assumed in the advance operation plan. In a method of delaying the departure time of a bus by reflecting the delay time of the train based on the arrival time of the train, when there are more passengers on the train than usual, users cannot get on the bus, which reduces the convenience of users. However, in this embodiment, the number of users according to the number of train passengers is predicted, and the operation plan is created using the prediction result of the number of bus passengers, so that the convenience of users can be improved.

Here, the hardware configuration of the operation support device 1 will be described. In this embodiment, the operation support device 1 functions as the operation support device 1 by executing an operation support program, which is a program describing the processing in the operation support device 1, on the computer system. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer system that realizes the operation support device 1 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, this computer system includes a control unit 101, an input unit 102, a memory unit 103, a display unit 104, a communication unit 105, and an output unit 106, which are connected via a system bus 107.

In FIG. 7, the control unit 101 is, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and executes an operation support program in which the processing in the operation support device 1 of this embodiment is described. The input unit 102 is, for example, composed of a keyboard, a mouse, etc., and is used by the user of the computer system to input various information. The storage unit 103 includes various memories such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a storage device such as a hard disk, and stores the program to be executed by the control unit 101, necessary data obtained in the process of processing, etc. The storage unit 103 is also used as a temporary storage area for programs. The display unit 104 is composed of a display, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display Panel), etc., and displays various screens to the user of the computer system. The communication unit 105 is a receiver and a transmitter that perform communication processing. The output unit 106 is a speaker, a printer, etc. Note that FIG. 7 is an example, and the configuration of the computer system is not limited to the example of FIG. 7.

Here, an example of the operation of the computer system until the operation assistance program of this embodiment is in a state where it can be executed will be described. In the computer system having the above-mentioned configuration, for example, the operation assistance program is installed in the storage unit 103 from a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM set in a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM drive or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM drive (not shown). Then, when the operation assistance program is executed, the operation assistance program read from the storage unit 103 is stored in the storage unit 103. In this state, the control unit 101 executes processing as the operation assistance device 1 of this embodiment according to the program stored in the storage unit 103.

In the above explanation, a program describing the processing in the operational support device 1 is provided on a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM as a recording medium, but this is not limiting. Depending on the configuration of the computer system and the capacity of the program to be provided, for example, a program provided via a transmission medium such as the Internet via the communication unit 105 may be used.

The user prediction unit 13 and the operation plan creation unit 14 shown in FIG. 1 are realized by the operation support program stored in the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 7 being executed by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 7. The memory unit 103 is also used when the control unit 101 executes the operation support program. The people flow information receiving unit 11, the advance operation plan receiving unit 12, and the operation plan transmitting unit 15 shown in FIG. 1 are realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 7. The operation support device 1 may be realized by multiple computer systems. For example, the operation support device 1 may be realized by a cloud computer system.

For example, the operation support program of this embodiment causes the operation support device 1 to execute the steps of predicting the number of users of the mobile body using people flow information indicating the flow of people during a first time period in a location related to the deployment location where the mobile body is deployed, and creating an operation plan for the mobile body using a pre-operation plan, which is an operation plan for the mobile body created using information acquired during a second time period prior to the first time period, and the predicted number of users.

The vehicle dispatch device 2 is also realized by a computer system, like the operation support device 1. The advance operation plan creation unit 21 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by the operation support program stored in the memory unit 103 shown in FIG. 7 being executed by the control unit 101 shown in FIG. 7. The memory unit 103 is also used when the control unit 101 executes the operation support program. The advance operation plan transmission unit 22 and the operation plan reception unit 23 shown in FIG. 1 are realized by the communication unit 105 shown in FIG. 7. The vehicle dispatch device 2 may be realized by multiple computer systems. For example, the vehicle dispatch device 2 may be realized by a cloud computer system.

The vehicle dispatch device 2 may also have the functions of the operation support device 1. When the vehicle dispatch device 2 has the functions of the operation support device 1, the advance operation plan transmission unit 22, advance operation plan reception unit 12, operation plan transmission unit 15, and operation plan reception unit 23 shown in FIG. 1 are not necessary, and the advance operation plan created by the advance operation plan creation unit 21 is input to the operation plan creation unit 14. In addition, the confirmed operation plan created by the operation plan creation unit 14 is input to a functional unit that executes a process of dispatching vehicles (not shown) in the vehicle dispatch device 2.

As described above, in this embodiment, the operation support device 1 predicts the number of bus users using a bus pre-operation plan, which is an example of a pre-operation plan for a moving body, and information about train passengers, which is information about a time later than the information on which the pre-operation plan was created, and creates a bus operation plan by modifying the pre-operation plan using the prediction result. This makes it possible to accurately estimate the number of users, and to dispatch buses according to a predicted value that is close to the actual number of users. In addition, since the number of users is predicted according to the number of train passengers and the operation plan is created using the prediction result of the number of bus users, it is possible to improve user convenience compared to a method of delaying the departure time of the bus by reflecting the train delay time based on the arrival time of the train.

<Modification 1>
In the above example, the number of bus users is predicted using information on the number of train passengers received from the train as people flow information. However, in the case of a station where a train that can be reserved or a train that requires a reservation stops, the number of people who plan to get off at the station may be obtained using train reservation information as people flow information. For example, the people flow information receiving unit 11 of the operation support device 1 receives reservation information indicating the train reservation contents from a management system that manages train reservations, and the user prediction unit 13 estimates the number of people who will get off the train at the station during the prediction target time period using the received reservation information. The reservation information may be collected based on an operation for making a reservation on a mobile terminal including a smartphone. The reservation information is obtained on a date and time close to the actual train operation date and time, such as the day or the day before, and the data is used. The number of bus users and the ratio to the number of people who plan to get off are determined in advance, similar to the correspondence between the number of train passengers and the number of bus users described above. The user prediction unit 13 predicts the number of bus users using this ratio and the number of people who will get off the train at the station during the prediction target time period obtained using the reservation information. The user prediction unit 13 may predict the number of bus users by combining train reservation information and information on the number of train passengers. For example, when both train #1, which requires reservations, and train #2, which does not accept reservations, are scheduled to arrive at a station during the time period to be predicted, the user prediction unit 13 uses the reservation information to determine the number of passengers who will get off at the station for train #1 and multiplies the number by a coefficient corresponding to the determined number of passengers, and uses information on the number of train passengers for train #2 to determine the number of train passengers and multiplies the number by a coefficient corresponding to the determined number of passengers. The user prediction unit 13 then determines the sum of these two values as the predicted value of the number of bus users.

<Modification 2>
The number of bus users may be predicted in the same manner using information indicating the number of station users. The information indicating the number of station users may be, for example, the number of people who have passed through the ticket gate, or an image of a security camera at the station platform. The information indicating the number of station users may be information about the station corresponding to the boarding area 6, or may be information other than the station. For example, the information may include information about a plurality of stations, such as information about Station A, Station B, and Station C, as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this case, similar to the coefficient information illustrated in FIG. 5, a coefficient is determined for each time period and station based on the correlation between the number of bus users and the number of users at the station, and the user prediction unit 13 can estimate the number of bus users using this coefficient. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of coefficient information indicating the coefficient for each station in this embodiment. The user prediction unit 13 calculates the number of bus users using the coefficient information illustrated in FIG. 8 and the coefficient corresponding to each station. In addition, for example, when predicting the number of bus users using information about Station C, the number of users can be detected earlier than when predicting the number of bus users using information about Station A, and there is a difference in the time it takes for the number of users at the station to affect the number of bus users depending on the station. Therefore, the user prediction unit 13 may determine which station information to use depending on the time difference between the time when the prediction is made and the time period to be predicted.

Embodiment 2.
9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to a second embodiment. The operation management system of this embodiment includes an operation support device 1a that supports the operation of buses, which are an example of a moving object, and a vehicle dispatch device 2 that manages the dispatch of buses. Components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. Below, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly explained.

In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the operation support device 1a supports the operation of a bus departing from an airport. That is, the location of the mobile body in this embodiment is an airport. The vehicle dispatch device 2 changes the departure point of the bus to be dispatched from the station to the airport, but the configuration and operation are the same as in the first embodiment. However, the information considered when creating the advance operation plan is past performance values suitable for buses departing from the airport. The specific method of creating the advance operation plan in this embodiment may be different from that in the first embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the vehicle dispatch device 2 includes the number of users assumed in the advance operation plan as a pre-scenario in the advance operation plan and transmits it. Note that the advance scenario does not take into account the latest information on the number of passengers for each aircraft, and assumes the average number of passengers for aircraft in the past, etc.

The operational support device 1a of this embodiment receives information on the number of aircraft passengers, which is people flow information indicating the flow of people on aircraft at locations related to airports, from the air traffic control system 7, predicts the number of bus users based on the information on the number of aircraft passengers, and creates a bus operation plan by revising the advance operation plan using the prediction result. Note that, as in embodiment 1, a bus is an example of a mobile body, and mobile bodies are not limited to buses. Also, as in embodiment 1, the bus operation plan is an example of an advance operation plan for a mobile body.

The air traffic control system 7 includes a passenger information storage unit 71 and an aircraft information transmission unit 72. The passenger information storage unit 71 stores information related to the number of passengers on an aircraft. The information related to the number of passengers on an aircraft is, for example, the number of passengers on board. The aircraft information transmission unit 72 transmits the information related to the number of passengers on an aircraft stored in the passenger information storage unit 71 to the operations support device 1a. The air traffic control system 7 transmits information related to the number of passengers on an aircraft for aircraft that are in flight or about to fly. Note that, although an example is described here in which the operations support device 1a receives information related to the number of passengers on an aircraft from the air traffic control system 7, the operations support device 1a may also receive information related to the number of passengers on an aircraft from an airline's system.

The operation support device 1a of this embodiment is similar to the operation support device 1 of the first embodiment, except that it has a user prediction unit 13a and an operation plan creation unit 14a instead of the user prediction unit 13 and the operation plan creation unit 14. The people flow information receiving unit 11 outputs information received from the air traffic control system 7 to the user prediction unit 13a, as in the first embodiment, although the device from which the information is sent is different. The user prediction unit 13a predicts the number of bus users using information on the number of aircraft passengers.

Figure 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operational support processing procedure in the operational support device 1a of this embodiment. Step S1 is the same as in embodiment 1. The people flow information receiving unit 11 receives information on the number of aircraft passengers from the air traffic control system 7 (step S11). The people flow information receiving unit 11 outputs the information on the number of aircraft passengers to the user prediction unit 13a.

Next, the user prediction unit 13a predicts the number of bus users using information on the number of aircraft passengers (step S12). In detail, the user prediction unit 13a uses information on the number of aircraft passengers to calculate the number of aircraft passengers arriving at the airport during the time period to be predicted. The calculation method for the number of aircraft passengers may be a method in which correspondence information indicating the correspondence between information on the number of aircraft passengers and the number of aircraft passengers arriving at the airport is stored and this correspondence information is used, as in the first embodiment, but if the information on the number of passengers is a passenger list or the like, the passenger list and the number of passengers are basically almost the same, so the number included in the passenger list or the like may be used as the number of aircraft passengers as is. The user prediction unit 13a predicts the number of bus users using the calculated number of aircraft passengers. As in the first embodiment, the prediction method for the number of bus users is to obtain the ratio of the number of bus users to the number of aircraft passengers from past performance, and use this ratio to calculate an estimated number of bus users. When multiple aircraft are scheduled to arrive during the time period to be predicted, the sum of the number of bus users corresponding to each aircraft is obtained, as in the first embodiment, and the predicted value of the number of bus users is obtained. Step S4 after step S12 is the same as in embodiment 1, and the operation plan creation unit 14a creates an operation plan in the same manner as in embodiment 1.

The operation support device 1a of this embodiment is realized by a computer system, similar to the first embodiment. The operation support device 1a of this embodiment may be realized by multiple computer systems, similar to the operation support device 1 of the first embodiment. For example, it may be realized by a cloud system. In addition, the vehicle dispatch device 2 may have the functions of the operation support device 1a.

In this embodiment, the information on the number of aircraft passengers is also an example of information for a later time than the information on which the advance bus operation plan was created. As in embodiment 1, the operations support device 1a in this embodiment predicts the number of bus users using the advance bus operation plan, which is an example of a advance mobile body operation plan, and information on the number of aircraft passengers, which is information on a later time than the information on which the advance operation plan was created, and creates a bus operation plan by revising the advance operation plan using the prediction result. This makes it possible to accurately estimate the number of users, and to dispatch vehicles according to a predicted value that is close to the actual number of users.

Embodiment 3.
11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to a third embodiment. The operation management system of this embodiment includes an operation support device 1b that supports the operation of buses, which are an example of a moving body, and a vehicle dispatch device 2 that manages the dispatch of buses. Components having the same functions as those in the second embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those in the second embodiment, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. Below, differences from the second embodiment will be mainly explained.

In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, an example of supporting the operation of a bus departing from an airport will be described. The vehicle dispatch device 2 of this embodiment is the same as the vehicle dispatch device 2 of the second embodiment. The air traffic control system 7 is the same as the air traffic control system 7 of the second embodiment, except that it has a parking information storage unit 73 instead of the boarding and disembarking passenger information storage unit 71. The parking information storage unit 73 stores information about the parking of aircraft. The aircraft information transmission unit 72 transmits information about the parking of aircraft stored in the parking information storage unit 73 as aircraft information to the operation support device 1b. The information about the parking of aircraft is information indicating a parking location to be used when an aircraft arrives at the airport, for example, information indicating an apron (spot). The information about the parking of aircraft includes information indicating the expected arrival time at the airport for each aircraft and the parking location, i.e., the apron to be used by the aircraft. Note that, as in the first embodiment, a bus is an example of a moving body, and the moving body is not limited to a bus. Also, as in the first embodiment, the operation plan of the bus is an example of a pre-operation plan for a moving body.

Figure 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a bus stop supported by the operation support device 1b of this embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 12, the airport has two terminals, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and five aprons, 61-1 to 61-5. In addition, three bus stops, 62-1 to 62-3, are provided. For example, if an aircraft is scheduled to park at apron 61-5, it is desirable that a bus be dispatched to stop 62-3, which is the closest stop to apron 61-5 among stops 62-1 to 62-3, after the aircraft arrives. In this embodiment, the operation support device 1b uses information about the parking of the aircraft to determine the time of bus dispatch and stops 62-1 to 62-3, i.e., the location of the bus dispatch. In addition, although multiple bus stops are provided in the example shown in Figure 12, some airports may have only one bus stop. Therefore, the operational support device 1b only needs to use information about aircraft parking to determine the time to dispatch a bus, taking into account the travel time of passengers depending on the distance between the parking location and the bus stop, and does not necessarily need to determine the location of the bus. Note that FIG. 12 is an example, and the number of terminals and the number of bus stops are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 12. For example, one bus stop may be provided at each terminal.

The operation support device 1b of this embodiment is different from the operation support device 1a of the second embodiment in that it includes a user prediction unit 13b and an operation plan creation unit 14b instead of the user prediction unit 13 and the operation plan creation unit 14, and outputs the information received by the people flow information receiving unit 11 to the operation plan creation unit 14b in addition to the user prediction unit 13b, but is otherwise similar to the operation support device 1a.

In this embodiment, the operation support device 1b may determine the bus dispatch time, or the bus dispatch time and dispatch location, using information about aircraft parking, without using the advance operation plan created by the vehicle dispatch device 2.

Figure 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation support processing procedure of the operation support device 1b of this embodiment when a pre-operation plan is not used. As shown in Figure 13, the people flow information receiver 11 receives information about aircraft parking from the air traffic control system 7 (step S21). The people flow information receiver 11 outputs the received information about aircraft parking to the operation plan creation unit 14b.

The operation plan creation unit 14b creates an operation plan including the departure time and dispatch location of the bus using information about the parking of the aircraft (step S22). The operation plan creation unit 14b outputs the created operation plan to the operation plan transmission unit 15 as a confirmed operation plan. The operation of the operation plan transmission unit 15 is the same as in the first embodiment.

The operation plan creation unit 14b determines the departure time of the bus by taking into consideration the time it takes for passengers who have disembarked from the aircraft to move to the bus stop, for example, using the estimated arrival time, which is the estimated landing time included in the information on the parking of the aircraft. That is, the operation plan creation unit 14b creates an operation plan including the departure time of the bus to be dispatched to the bus stop at the airport. The location to which the bus is dispatched is an example of a location to deploy the mobile body, and the departure time of the bus is an example of a time to deploy the mobile body. Furthermore, if there are multiple bus stops, the stop to which the bus is dispatched is determined using information indicating the parking location included in the information on the parking of the aircraft. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 12, if there is an aircraft parked at at least one of the apron 61-1 and the apron 61-2 during the predicted time period, a bus is dispatched to the stop 62-1 during the predicted time period. At this time, the departure time of the bus is determined by taking into consideration the travel time from the apron where the aircraft arrives to the stop 62-1. In addition, if there is an aircraft parked at at least one of the aprons 61-3 and 61-4, a bus is dispatched to the platform 62-2 during the predicted time period, taking into consideration travel to the platform 62-2.

As described above, the operation support device 1b of this embodiment can create an operation plan without using a pre-operation plan. In addition, the operation support device 1b may create an operation plan by modifying the pre-operation plan using information related to aircraft parking, as described below.

Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation support processing procedure of the operation support device 1b of this embodiment when a pre-operation plan is used. Step S1 is the same as in the first and second embodiments. Step S21 is the same as step S21 shown in Figure 13. However, the people flow information receiving unit 11 outputs the received information on aircraft parking to the user prediction unit 13b and the operation plan creation unit 14b.

The user prediction unit 13b estimates the number of bus users from information on aircraft parking, which is an example of people flow information (step S23). For example, the number of bus users per aircraft is determined in advance from past performance, and the number of users is predicted by multiplying the number of bus users per aircraft by the number of aircraft arriving at the airport during the predicted time period. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, when multiple bus stops are provided at an airport, the user prediction unit 13b predicts the number of bus users for each stop based on information on aircraft parking.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 12, if there is an aircraft parked at at least one of aprons 61-1 and 61-2 during the time period to be predicted, the user prediction unit 13b predicts the number of users at platform 62-1 on the assumption that passengers of the aircraft will use platform 62-1. Similarly, if there is an aircraft parked at at least one of aprons 61-3 and 61-4, the user prediction unit 13b predicts the number of users at platform 62-2 on the assumption that passengers of the aircraft will use platform 62-2, and if there is an aircraft parked at apron 61-5, the user prediction unit 13b predicts the number of users at platform 62-3 on the assumption that passengers of the aircraft will use platform 62-3. The user prediction unit 13b outputs the predicted value of the number of users to the operation plan creation unit 14b. Also, if there are multiple platforms, the user prediction unit 13b outputs the predicted value of the number of users for each platform to the operation plan creation unit 14b.

Step S4 after step S23 is the same as in embodiment 1, and the operation plan creation unit 14b creates an operation plan in the same manner as in embodiment 1. At this time, if there are multiple boarding stations, an operation plan is created for each boarding station based on the predicted number of users for each boarding station.

Note that FIG. 11 shows a configuration capable of performing both the process shown in FIG. 13 and the process shown in FIG. 14. The operation support device 1b can selectively use the process shown in FIG. 13 and the process shown in FIG. 14 depending on the situation. Alternatively, the operation support device 1b may perform only one of the process shown in FIG. 13 and the process shown in FIG. 14. When the operation support device 1b performs only the process shown in FIG. 13 out of the process shown in FIG. 13 and the process shown in FIG. 14, it does not need to include the advance operation plan receiving unit 12 and the user prediction unit 13b. In this case, the vehicle dispatching device 2 does not need to include the advance operation plan creating unit 21 and the advance operation plan transmitting unit 22.

The operation support device 1b of this embodiment is realized by a computer system, similar to the first embodiment. The operation support device 1b of this embodiment may be realized by multiple computer systems, similar to the operation support device 1 of the first embodiment. For example, it may be realized by a cloud system. In addition, the vehicle dispatch device 2 may have the functions of the operation support device 1b.

In this embodiment, the information on aircraft parking is also an example of information at a later time than the information on which the advance bus operation plan was created. As in embodiment 1, the operations support device 1b in this embodiment predicts the number of bus users using the advance bus operation plan, which is an example of a advance mobile body operation plan, and information on aircraft parking, which is information at a later time than the information on which the advance operation plan was created, and creates a bus operation plan by revising the advance operation plan using the prediction result. This makes it possible to accurately estimate the number of users, and to dispatch vehicles according to a predicted value that is close to the actual number of users.

Even if an advance operation plan is not used, buses can be efficiently dispatched according to the arrival time of an aircraft by using information on aircraft parking to dispatch buses. In addition, buses can be efficiently dispatched at airports with multiple bus stops by determining the bus stop to which the bus will be dispatched using information on aircraft parking.

Embodiment 4.
15 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to a fourth embodiment. The operation management system of this embodiment includes an operation support device 1c that supports the operation of a bus, which is an example of a moving object, and a vehicle dispatch device 2 that manages the dispatch of the bus. Components having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. Below, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly explained.

In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the operation support device 1c supports the operation of a bus that departs from the periphery of a building, such as in front of the building. That is, in this embodiment, the location of the mobile body is in front of the building. Here, in front of the building may be within the range used by users of the building, and may be not only in front of the building but also on the side or back of the building, and may be somewhat away from the building. In the following, a building will be taken as an example of a facility, but it may be a facility other than a building as long as it manages the number of people in a building or a site such as a factory or office. The vehicle dispatch device 2 changes the departure stop of the bus to be dispatched from the station to the periphery of the building, but the configuration and operation are the same as in the first embodiment. However, the information considered when creating the advance operation plan is past performance values suitable for buses that depart from the periphery of the building. The specific method of creating the advance operation plan in this embodiment may be different from that in the first embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the vehicle dispatch device 2 includes the number of users assumed in the advance operation plan as a advance scenario in the advance operation plan and transmits it.

The operation support device 1c of this embodiment receives information on the number of people in a building, which is an example of people flow information, from the facility management system 8, predicts the number of bus users based on the information on the number of people in the building, and creates a bus operation plan by revising the advance operation plan using the prediction result. Note that, as in embodiment 1, a bus is an example of a mobile body, and mobile bodies are not limited to buses. Also, as in embodiment 1, the bus operation plan is an example of an advance operation plan for a mobile body.

The facility management system 8 includes a occupancy information storage unit 81 and a people flow information transmission unit 82. The occupancy information storage unit 81 stores information about the number of people in the building. The people flow information transmission unit 82 transmits information about the number of people in the building to the operation support device 1c. The facility management system 8 is, for example, a building management system that manages the security of the building or the attendance of tenants in the building, and manages information about the number of people in the building for security management or attendance management. If the facility management system 8 is a system that performs security management, the information about the number of people in the building may be information obtained by a system that manages entry into the building, such as a gate or door, that is, the detection result of the number of people entering and leaving the building, or may be video from a surveillance camera. If the facility management system 8 is a device that manages attendance, the facility management system 8 calculates information about the number of people in the building using attendance information such as electronic time cards.

The facility management system 8 may also be an elevator management device that manages elevators in a building. When the facility management system 8 is an elevator management system, the facility management system 8 estimates the number of people in the building using information indicating the number of elevator users. The ratio between the number of elevator users and the number of people in the building is determined in advance, for example, based on past performance, and the facility management system 8 estimates the number of people in the building using this ratio and the number of elevator users, and the estimated number of people in the building is stored in the occupancy information storage unit 81. The information indicating the number of elevator users may be an image captured by a surveillance camera in the elevator, or the weight of the elevator.

The operation support device 1c of this embodiment is similar to the operation support device 1 of the first embodiment, except that it has a user prediction unit 13c and an operation plan creation unit 14c instead of the user prediction unit 13 and the operation plan creation unit 14. The people flow information receiving unit 11 outputs information received from the facility management system 8 to the user prediction unit 13c, as in the first embodiment, although the device from which the information is sent is different. The user prediction unit 13c predicts the number of bus users using information on the number of people in the building.

Figure 16 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation support processing procedure in the operation support device 1c of this embodiment. Step S1 is the same as in embodiment 1. The people flow information receiver 11 receives information about the number of people in the building from the facility management system 8 (step S31). The people flow information receiver 11 outputs the information about the number of people in the building to the user prediction unit 13c.

Next, the user prediction unit 13c predicts the number of bus users using information about the number of people in the building (step S32). In detail, the user prediction unit 13c calculates the number of people in the building using information about the number of people in the building. When the information about the number of people in the building indicates the number of people in the building itself, the user prediction unit 13c uses the information about the number of people in the building to directly calculate the number of people in the building. Then, for example, the ratio between the number of people in the building and the number of bus users is determined based on, for example, past performance, and the user prediction unit 13c predicts the number of bus users using this ratio and the information about the number of people in the building. Also, when the information about the number of people in the building is a surveillance camera image, the user prediction unit 13c detects people from the surveillance camera image and counts the number of people detected. Then, the ratio between the number of people captured by the surveillance camera and the number of bus users is determined based on past performance values, etc., and the user prediction unit 13c predicts the number of bus users using this ratio and the result of counting the people detected from the image. Step S4 after step S32 is the same as in embodiment 1, and the operation plan creation unit 14c creates an operation plan in the same manner as in embodiment 1.

The operation support device 1c of this embodiment is realized by a computer system, similar to the first embodiment. The operation support device 1c of this embodiment may be realized by multiple computer systems, similar to the operation support device 1 of the first embodiment. For example, it may be realized by a cloud system. In addition, the vehicle dispatch device 2 may have the functions of the operation support device 1c.

In the above example, when the facility management system 8 is an elevator management system, the facility management system 8 estimates the number of people in the building using information representing the number of elevator users and transmits it to the operation support device 1c, but the elevator management system may also transmit information representing the number of elevator users to the operation support device 1c as information regarding the number of people in the building. In this case, the user prediction unit 13c of the operation support device 1c calculates the number of people in the building using the information representing the number of elevator users. When the information representing the number of elevator users is an image, the user prediction unit 13c of the operation support device 1c detects people from the image, counts the detected people, and calculates the number of bus users using the counting result and a predetermined ratio, just as in the case of using the surveillance camera image described above.

In this embodiment, the information representing the number of people in the building and the number of elevator users is also an example of information for a later time than the information on which the advance bus operation plan was created. As in embodiment 1, the operations support device 1c in this embodiment predicts the number of bus users using a bus advance operation plan, which is an example of a advance operation plan for a moving body, and information representing the number of people in the building or the number of elevator users, which is information for a later time than the information on which the advance operation plan was created, and creates a bus operation plan by revising the advance operation plan using the prediction result. This makes it possible to accurately estimate the number of users, and to dispatch vehicles according to a predicted value that is close to the actual number of users.

Embodiment 5.
17 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an operation management system according to a fifth embodiment. The operation management system of this embodiment includes an operation support device 1d that supports the operation of a bus, which is an example of a moving body, and a vehicle dispatch device 2 that manages the dispatch of the bus. Components having the same functions as those in the fourth embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those in the fourth embodiment, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. Below, differences from the fourth embodiment will be mainly explained.

In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the operation support device 1d supports the operation of a bus departing from the vicinity of a parking lot. The parking lot is, for example, a parking lot that is attached to a facility such as a station, a public facility, an airport, a business office, or a commercial facility, or that is provided around the facility. Specifically, for example, a case can be considered in which a bus runs between one or more parking lots provided around a facility such as a large shopping mall, MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference, Event), or IR (Integrated Resort) and the facility. In this embodiment, the deployment location of the mobile body is in front of the parking lot, and in front of the parking lot includes in front of the facility corresponding to the parking lot. In addition, in front of the parking lot may be within the range used by users of the parking lot, and is not limited to the front direction of the facility or parking lot, but may be the side or back of the facility or parking lot, and may be away from the parking lot to some extent. In addition, the deployment location of the mobile body may be within the parking lot. In the vehicle dispatch device 2, the departure point of the bus to be dispatched is changed from in front of the station to the vicinity of the parking lot, but the configuration and operation are the same as those of embodiment 1. However, the information taken into consideration when creating the advance operation plan is past performance values suitable for buses departing from the vicinity of the parking lot. The specific method of creating the advance operation plan in this embodiment may differ from that in embodiment 1. As in embodiment 1, the vehicle dispatching device 2 includes the number of users assumed in the advance operation plan as an advance scenario in the advance operation plan and transmits it.

The operation support device 1d of this embodiment receives information on the number of parked vehicles, which is an example of people flow information, from the parking lot management system 9, predicts the number of bus users based on the information on the number of parked vehicles, and creates a bus operation plan by revising the advance operation plan using the prediction result. Note that, as in embodiment 1, a bus is an example of a mobile body, and mobile bodies are not limited to buses. Also, as in embodiment 1, the bus operation plan is an example of an advance operation plan for a mobile body.

The parking lot management system 9 includes a parking number information storage unit 91 and a people flow information transmission unit 92. The parking number information storage unit 91 stores information related to the number of parked vehicles. The information related to the number of parked vehicles is information related to the number of vehicles parked in the parking lot. For example, if the parking lot is a paid parking lot, the information related to the number of parked vehicles is the number of vehicles parked in the parking lot calculated from the entry and exit times of each vehicle managed for charging parking fees. The people flow information transmission unit 92 transmits information related to the number of parked vehicles to the operation support device 1d. The parking lot management system 9 may also use the number of vehicles that have entered and exited the parking lot using an image of the parking lot taken by a camera installed to monitor the parking lot. The parking lot management system 9 may also transmit images captured by the camera to the operation support device 1d as information related to the number of parked vehicles. The information related to the number of parked vehicles may also include the vehicle type, such as a regular passenger car, a light vehicle, or a large vehicle.

The operation support device 1d of this embodiment is similar to the operation support device 1c of embodiment 4, except that it has a user prediction unit 13d instead of the user prediction unit 13c. The people flow information receiving unit 11 outputs information received from the parking lot management system 9 to the user prediction unit 13d, as in embodiment 1, although the device from which the information is sent is different. The user prediction unit 13d predicts the number of bus users using information related to the number of parked vehicles.

Figure 18 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation support processing procedure in the operation support device 1d of this embodiment. Step S1 is the same as in embodiment 1. The pedestrian flow information receiver 11 receives information regarding the number of parked vehicles from the parking lot management system 9 (step S41). The pedestrian flow information receiver 11 outputs the information regarding the number of parked vehicles to the user prediction unit 13d.

Next, the user prediction unit 13d predicts the number of bus users using information about the number of parked vehicles (step S42). In detail, the ratio between the number of parked vehicles in the parking lot and the number of bus users is determined, and the user prediction unit 13d predicts the number of bus users using this ratio and information about the number of parked vehicles. If the information about the number of parked vehicles is a camera image or the like, the user prediction unit 13d detects people from the camera image and counts the number of people detected. Then, the ratio between the number of parked vehicles captured by the camera and the number of bus users is determined based on past performance values, and the user prediction unit 13d predicts the number of bus users using this ratio and the result of counting the people detected from the image. Step S4 after step S42 is the same as in embodiment 1, and the operation plan creation unit 14c creates an operation plan in the same way as in embodiment 1.

The operation support device 1d of this embodiment is realized by a computer system, similar to the first embodiment. The operation support device 1d of this embodiment may be realized by multiple computer systems, similar to the operation support device 1 of the first embodiment. For example, it may be realized by a cloud system. In addition, the vehicle dispatch device 2 may have the functions of the operation support device 1d.

In this embodiment, the information regarding the number of parked vehicles is also an example of information regarding a time later than the information on which the advance bus operation plan was created. As in embodiment 1, the operations support device 1d of this embodiment predicts the number of bus users using the advance bus operation plan, which is an example of a advance mobile body operation plan, and information regarding the number of parked vehicles, which is information on a time later than the information on which the advance operation plan was created, and creates a bus operation plan by revising the advance operation plan using the prediction result. This makes it possible to accurately estimate the number of users, and to dispatch vehicles according to a predicted value that is close to the actual number of users.

The configurations shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and may be combined with other known technologies, or the embodiments may be combined with each other. In addition, parts of the configurations may be omitted or modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d Operation support device, 2 Vehicle dispatch device, 3 Train integrated management device, 4 Equipment, 5 Ground device, 7 Air traffic control system, 8 Facility management system, 9 Parking management system, 11 People flow information receiving unit, 12 Advance operation plan receiving unit, 13, 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d User prediction unit, 14, 14a, 14b, 14c Operation plan creation unit, 15 Operation plan transmission unit, 21 Advance operation plan creation unit, 22 Advance operation plan transmission unit, 23 Operation plan receiving unit, 31 Status information transmission unit, 32 Status information acquisition unit.

Claims (20)

a user prediction unit that predicts the number of users of the mobile object using people flow information indicating people flow during a first time period in a location related to a deployment location where the mobile object is deployed;
an operation plan creation unit that creates an operation plan for the moving object using a preliminary operation plan that is an operation plan for the moving object created using information acquired in a second time period prior to the first time period and a prediction result by the user prediction unit;
Equipped with
The deployment location includes a station front of a train station;
The people flow information includes information regarding the number of passengers on the train transmitted from the train,
The operation support device is characterized in that the operation plan creation unit creates the operation plan by changing the operation route, operation interval, or the mobile units to be deployed in the pre-operation plan based on the comparison result between the number of users assumed when the pre-operation plan was created and the prediction result by the user prediction unit. The operation support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the information relating to the number of passengers on the train is information indicating the air spring pressure of the bogies of the train. The operation support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the information regarding the number of passengers on the train is an image acquired by an in-car surveillance camera of the train. The operation support device according to claim 1, characterized in that the people flow information includes reservation information indicating reservation details for the train. the deployment location includes an airport;
the vehicle is a bus,
The operation support device according to claim 1 , wherein the people flow information includes information regarding the number of passengers on an aircraft. the deployment location includes an airport;
The operation support device according to claim 1 , wherein the people flow information includes information regarding aircraft parking. The operational support device according to claim 6, characterized in that the information regarding the parking of the aircraft includes information indicating the expected arrival time of the aircraft at the airport and the apron to be used by the aircraft. The said deployment location includes in front of buildings other than in front of stations,
The operation support device according to claim 1 , wherein the people flow information includes information regarding the number of people present in the building. The operational support device according to claim 8, characterized in that the information regarding the number of people in the building is the result of detecting the number of people entering and leaving the building. The operational support device according to claim 8, characterized in that the information regarding the number of people in the building is information calculated based on the number of elevator users in the building. The operational support device according to claim 8, characterized in that the information regarding the number of people in the building is the number of users of the elevators in the building. The deployment location includes a front of a parking lot;
The operation support device according to claim 1 , wherein the people flow information includes information regarding the number of parked vehicles in the parking lot. A mobile object management device that manages the deployment of mobile objects;
An operation support device according to claim 1 for supporting operation of the moving object;
Equipped with
The mobile management device includes:
a pre-operation plan transmission unit that transmits to the operation support device a pre-operation plan, which is an operation plan for the moving object created using information acquired in a second time period prior to the first time period;
an operation plan receiving unit that receives an operation plan created using the preliminary operation plan transmitted from the operation support device;
An operation management system comprising: the deployment location includes an airport;
The operation management system according to claim 13 , wherein the people flow information includes information regarding the number of passengers on an aircraft. the deployment location includes an airport;
The operation management system according to claim 13 , wherein the people flow information includes information regarding aircraft parking. The deployment location includes a front of a building;
The operation management system according to claim 13 , wherein the people flow information includes information regarding the number of people in the building. The operation management system according to claim 16, characterized in that the information regarding the number of people in the building is information calculated based on the number of elevator users in the building. The deployment location includes a front of a parking lot;
The operation management system according to claim 13 , wherein the people flow information includes information regarding the number of parked vehicles in the parking lot. An operation support method in an operation support device that supports operation of a moving object, comprising:
performing a prediction process for predicting the number of users of the mobile object using people flow information indicating the people flow during a first time period in a location related to a deployment location where the mobile object is deployed;
performing a creation process of creating an operation plan of the mobile object using a preliminary operation plan, which is an operation plan of the mobile object created using information acquired in a second time period prior to the first time period, and the prediction result of the number of users;
The deployment location includes a station front of a train station;
The people flow information includes information regarding the number of passengers on the train transmitted from the train,
This is an operational support method, characterized in that in the creation process, the operation plan is created by changing the operation route, operation interval, or the mobile units to be deployed in the pre-operation plan depending on the results of comparing the number of users assumed when the pre-operation plan was created with the predicted results of the prediction process. Operation support equipment that supports the operation of mobile objects,
A prediction step of predicting the number of users of the mobile object using pedestrian flow information indicating the pedestrian flow during a first time period in a location related to a deployment location where the mobile object is deployed;
a creating step of creating an operation plan for the mobile object using a preliminary operation plan, which is an operation plan for the mobile object created using information acquired in a second time period prior to the first time period, and the prediction result of the number of users;
Run the command,
The deployment location includes a station front of a train station;
The people flow information includes information regarding the number of passengers on the train transmitted from the train,
an operational support program, characterized in that in the creation step, the operation plan is created by changing the operation routes, operation intervals, or the mobile bodies to be deployed in the pre- operation plan depending on the results of a comparison between the number of users assumed when the pre-operation plan was created and the prediction results in the prediction step.

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